Pithy gems from J.C. Ryle!

(1816 – 1900)

It costs something to be a true Christian. It will cost us our sins, our self-righteousness, our ease and our worldliness!

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A Christian is a walking sermon. They preach far more than a minister does—for they preach all week long!

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According to the men of the world—few are going to Hell. According to the Bible—few are going to Heaven.

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By affliction, Christ . . . shows us our emptiness and weakness, draws us to the throne of grace, purifies our affections, weans us from the world, and makes us long for Heaven.

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Nothing is so offensive to Christ as lukewarmness in religion!

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Beware of manufacturing a God of your own . . . a God who is all mercy—but not just; a God who is all love—but not holy; a God who has a Heaven for everybody—but a Hell for none; a God who will make no distinction between godly and ungodly in eternity.

Such a God is an idol of your own, as truly an idol as any snake or crocodile in an Egyptian temple! The hands of your own imagination and sentimentality have made him. He is not the God of the Bible—and beside the God of the Bible there is no God at all.

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Pride is the oldest and most common of sins. Humility is the rarest and most beautiful of graces.

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Look to the cross, think of the cross, meditate on the cross—and then go and set your affections on the world if you can!

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A crucified Savior will never be content to have a self-pleasing, self-indulging, worldly-minded people!

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The Gospel which we possess was not given us only to be admired, talked of, professed—but practiced! The Gospel was not meant merely to reside in our intellect, memories, and tongues—but to be seen in our lives.

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Happiness does not depend on outward circumstances—but on the state of the heart.

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Health is a good thing. But sickness is far better—if it leads us to God.

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The beginning of the way to Heaven—is to feel that we are on the way to Hell.

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There is a common, worldly kind of Christianity in this day, which many have, and think they have enough—a cheap Christianity which offends nobody, and requires no sacrifice—which costs nothing, and is worth nothing.

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Christian! Your trials, crosses, and conflicts are all temporary.

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I am one of those old-fashioned ministers who believe the whole Bible and everything that it contains.

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There are no lessons so useful—as those learned in the school of affliction.

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Christ is never fully valued, until sin is clearly seen. We must know the depth and malignity of our disease, in order to appreciate the great Physician.

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Our Lord has . . . many weak children in his family, many dull pupils in his school, many raw soldiers in his army, many lame sheep in his flock. Yet He bears with them all, and casts none away. Happy is that Christian who has learned to do likewise with his brethren.

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A religion that costs nothing is worth nothing. A cheap Christianity, without a cross—will prove in the end a useless Christianity, without a crown.

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That preaching is sadly defective, which dwells exclusively on the mercies of God and the joys of Heaven—yet never sets forth the terrors of the Lord and the miseries of Hell.

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Sin forsaken —is one of the best evidences of sin forgiven .

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To be a Christian—it will cost a man his sins!

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There is no such thing as 'chance', 'luck', or 'accident' in the Christian journey through this world. All is arranged and appointed by God. And all things are 'working together' for the believer's good.

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Let it be a settled principle in our minds, in reading the Bible, that Christ is the central sun of the whole book. So long as we keep Him in view—we shall never greatly err in our search for spiritual knowledge. Once losing sight of Christ—we shall find the whole Bible dark and full of difficulty.

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The standard of the world, and the standard of the Lord Jesus—are indeed widely different. They are more than different—they are flatly contradictory one to the other. Never be satisfied with the world's standard of Christianity!

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Hell is truth known too late!

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Sound doctrine and holy living are the marks of true pastors.

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There is no commentary that opens up the Bible, so much as sickness and sorrow.

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Don't mistake God's patience with sinners, for the idea that God is tolerant of sin.

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The saddest road to Hell is the one that runs under the pulpit, past the Bible, and through the middle of warnings and gospel invitations!

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Christ's love towards us, and not our love towards Christ, is the true ground of expectation, and true foundation of hope.

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In the sight of the coffin and the grave it is not easy to be proud.

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Let us cleave to Christ more closely, love Him more heartily, live to Him more thoroughly, copy Him more exactly, confess Him more boldly, follow Him more fully.

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Our best works before we are justified are little better than splendid sins .

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No sin makes less noise, but none so surely damns the soul, as unbelief.

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It is most true, that what costs little, is worth little! A religion which costs us nothing, and consist in nothing but hearing sermons—will always prove at last to be a useless thing. Many have plenty of religion in the tongue, but none in the heart. They are altogether unprofitable, good for nothing, they bear no fruit.

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The Bible is the best lantern for a dark and cloudy time. Let us beware of traveling without its light. "Your Word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path." Psalm 119:105

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Health is a good thing; but sickness if far better, if it leads us to God. Prosperity is a great mercy; but adversity is a greater one, if it brings us to Christ. Anything, anything is better than living in carelessness, and dying in sin. Better a thousand times to be afflicted, like the Canaanite mother, and like her to flee to Christ—than live in ease, like the rich 'fool', and die at last without Christ and without hope.

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The people and powers of this world are only tools in the hand of God . He is always using them for His own purposes—however little they may be aware of it!

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God's eternal Election is the first link in that chain of a sinner's salvation, of which Heavenly glory is the end!

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A tree may always be known by its fruit. Just so, a true Christian may always be discovered by their habits, tastes and affections.

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To be Christian, it will cost a man his love of ease!

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Christ is never fully valued—until sin is clearly seen. We must know the depth and malignity of our disease—in order to appreciate the great Physician!

That Bible is read best—which is practiced most!

The tree falls with a great crash, but the secret decay which accounts for it—is often not discovered until it is down on the ground. Just so, men fall in private—long before they fall in public!

The children of God all have a cross to bear. A suffering Savior generally has suffering disciples.

We know nothing of humility by nature—for we are all born proud!

Naked we came upon earth—and naked we depart. Of all our possessions—we can carry nothing with us.

There is more to be learned at the foot of the Cross—than anywhere else in the world!

People will never set their faces decidedly towards Heaven, and live like pilgrims—until they really feel that they are in danger of Hell.

Let us be real, honest, and sincere in our Christianity. We cannot deceive an all-seeing God!

Sin rarely seems sin at first beginnings.

The best of men—are men at best!

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Blessed are those who live like pilgrims and strangers in this life—and whose best things are all to come!

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When I speak of a man growing in grace, I mean simply that . . . his sense of sin is becoming deeper, his faith is becoming stronger, his hope is becoming brighter, his love is becoming more extensive, and his spiritual-mindedness is becoming more marked.

The Christian who keeps his heart diligently in little things—shall be kept from great falls.

Until we give God our heart—we give Him nothing at all.

Fathers and mothers—do not forget that children learn more by the eye than they do by the ear . Imitation is a far stronger principle with children, than memory. What they see has a much stronger effect on their minds—than what they are told .

Let us read the Bible reverently and diligently—with an honest determination to believe and practice all we find in it.

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Every fresh act of sin . . . lessens fear and remorse, hardens our hearts, blunts the edge of our conscience, and increases our evil inclination!

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We may love money without having it—just as we may have money without loving it.

The saddest symptom about many so-called Christians is the utter absence of anything like conflict and fight against spiritual apathy in their Christianity. They eat, they drink, they dress, they work, they amuse themselves, they get money, they spend money, they go through a brief round of formal religious services once or twice every week. But of the great spiritual warfare—its watchings and strugglings, its agonies and anxieties, its battles and contests—of all things they appear to know nothing at all. Let us take care that this case is not our own.

If they do not comprehend our doctrines—humility and love are precisely the graces which the men of the world can understand. They are the graces about which there is no mystery, and they are within reach of all classes. The poorest Christian can every day find occasion for practicing love and humility.

What is the reason that some believers are so much happier and holier than others? I believe the difference, in nineteen cases out of twenty, arises from different habits about private prayer. I believe that those who are not eminently holy—pray little; and those who are eminently holy—pray much.

Nothing so hardens the heart of man—as a barren familiarity with sacred things.

Love should be the silver thread that runs through all your conduct!

Sicknesses, losses, crosses, anxieties and disappointments—seem absolutely needful to keep us humble, watchful and spiritual-minded. They are as needful as the pruning knife to the vine—and the refiner's furnace to the gold.

We have no reason to be discouraged and cast down if the religion we profess is not popular and few agree with us. We must remember the words of our Lord Jesus Christ: 'The gate is narrow'. Repentance, and faith in Christ, and holiness of life, have never been fashionable. The true flock of Christ has always been small. It must not move us to find that we are reckoned singular, and peculiar, and bigoted, and narrow minded. This is the 'narrow way'. Surely it is better to enter into eternal life with a few—than to go to Hell with a great company.

What could an unholy man do in Heaven, if by any chance he got there? Let that question be fairly looked in the face and fairly answered. No man can possibly be happy in a place where he is not in his element—and where all around him is not congenial to his tastes, habits and character.

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Do nothing that you would not like God to see. Say nothing that you would not like God to hear. Write nothing that you would not like God to read. Go to no place where you would not like God to find you. Read no book of which you would not like God to say, "Show it to Me." Never spend your time in such a way that you would not like to have God say, "What are you doing?

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Doctrine is useless—if it is not accompanied by a holy life. It is worse than useless—it does positive harm. Something of 'the image of Christ' must be seen and observed by others in our private life, and habits, and character, and doings!

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The love of Christ towards His people—is a deep well which has no bottom!

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Let us daily strive to copy our Savior's humility.

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Imagination is the hotbed where sin is too often hatched. Guard your thoughts—and there will be little fear about your actions.

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The eye of God! Think of that. Everywhere, in every house, in every field, in every room, in every company, alone or in a crowd—the eye of God is always upon you!

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By affliction, God . . . shows us our emptiness and weakness, draws us to the throne of grace, purifies our affections, weans us from the world, and makes us long for Heaven!

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People may refuse to see the truth of our arguments—but they cannot evade the evidence of a holy life!

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Take away the cross of Christ—and the Bible is a dark book.

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A right knowledge of sin lies at the root of all saving Christianity.

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Let us . . . cleave to Christ more closely, love Him more heartily, live to Him more thoroughly, copy Him more exactly, confess Him more boldly, and follow Him more fully!

If God has given His Son to die for us—let us beware of doubting His kindness and love in any painful providence of our daily life.

We must give up the vain idea of trying to please everybody. That is impossible, and the attempt is a mere waste of time. We must be content to walk in Christ's steps—and let the world say what it likes.

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True Christians delight to read the Scriptures—because they tell them about their beloved Savior.

If I never spoke of Hell, I would think I had kept back something that was profitable, and would look on myself as an accomplice of the devil.

To be born again is, as it were, to enter upon a new existence, to have a new mind, a new heart, new views, new principles, new tastes, new affections, new likings, new dislikings, new fears, new joys, new sorrows, new love to things once hated, new hatred to things once loved, new thoughts of God, and ourselves, and the world, and the life to come, and salvation.

Beware of manufacturing a God of your own: a God who is all mercy, but not just. Such a God is an idol of your own.

There are few professing Christians, it may be feared, who strive to imitate Christ in the matter of private devotion. There is abundance of hearing, reading, talking, professing, visiting, contributing to the poor and teaching at schools. But is there, together with all this, a due proportion of private prayer? Are believing men and women sufficiently careful to be frequently alone with God?

We must read our Bibles—like men digging for hidden treasure.

A trial is an instrument by which our Father in Heaven makes Christians more holy. Trials are intended . . . to make us think, to wean us from the world, to send us to the Bible, to drive us to our knees.

God knew what we were before conversion—wicked, guilty, and defiled—yet He loved us.

He knows what we will be after conversion—weak, erring, and frail—yet He loves us.

Holiness is the habit of being of one mind with God—according as we find His mind described in Scripture. It is the habit of agreeing in God's judgment, hating what He hates, loving what He loves, and measuring everything in this world by the standard of His Word.

Are you tempted? Look unto Jesus. Are you afflicted? Look unto Jesus. Do all speak evil of you? Look unto Jesus. Do you feel cold, dull, and backsliding? Look unto Jesus.

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I fear it is sometimes forgotten that God has married together justification and sanctification. They are distinct and different things, beyond question—yet one is never found without the other. All justified people are sanctified—and all sanctified people are justified. Tell me not of your justification—unless you have also some marks of sanctification. Boast not of Christ's work for you—unless you can show us the Spirit's work in you.

What is the cause of most backslidings? I believe, as a general rule, one of the chief causes is neglect of private prayer. People are backsliders on their knees—long before they backslide openly in the eyes of the world.

Happy are those who, in the matter of marriage observe three rules: The first is to marry only in the Lord—and after prayer for God's approval and blessing. The second is not to expect too much from their partners, and to remember that marriage is, after all, the union of two sinners, and not of two angels. The third rule is to strive first and foremost for one another's sanctification. The more holy married people are—the happier they are.

The heart that has really tasted the grace of Christ—will instinctively hate sin.

Let us never forget that our chief danger is from within. The world and the devil combined, cannot do us as much harm as our own hearts will, if we do not watch and pray.

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We must cast away everything which hinders us upon our road towards Heaven—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye and the pride of life; the love of riches, pleasures and honors; the spirit of lukewarmness and carelessness and indifference about the things of God—all must be rooted out and forsaken if we are anxious for the prize. We must mortify the deeds of the body—we must crucify our affections for this world.

There is not enough Bible-reading among us. It is not sufficient to have the Book. We must actually read it—and pray over it ourselves. It will do us no good, if it only lies still in our houses. We must be actually familiar with its contents, and have its texts stored in our memories and minds. Knowledge of the Bible never comes by intuition. It can only be obtained by diligent, regular, daily, attentive, wakeful reading.

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Meekness is one of the brightest graces which can adorn the Christian character.

Let your Christianity be so unmistakable, your eye so single, your heart so whole, your walk so straightforward—that all who see you may have no doubt whose you are, and whom you serve.

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We are all naturally self-righteous. It is the family disease of all the children of Adam.

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Of all the doctrines of the Bible, none is so offensive to human nature as the doctrine of God's sovereignty.

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Examine your own hearts. Do you see there any habit or custom which you know is wrong in the sight of God? If you do, don't delay for a moment in attacking it. Resolve at once to lay it aside. Nothing darkens the eyes of the mind so much, and deadens the conscience so surely—as an allowed sin. It may be a little one, but it is not any less dangerous!

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If we are true Christians, we must not expect everything smooth in our journey to Heaven. We must count it no strange thing, if we have to endure sicknesses, losses, bereavements, and disappointments, just like other people. Free pardon and full forgiveness, grace by the way, and glory to the end—all this our Savior has promised to give. But He has never promised that we shall have no afflictions. He loves us too well to promise that!

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Wealth is no mark of God's favor. Poverty is no mark of God's displeasure.

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True Christianity is not merely believing a certain set of dry abstract propositions—it is to live in daily personal communication with an actual living person—Jesus Christ.

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Our prayers may be weak, stammering, and poor in our eyes. But if they come from a right heart—God understands them. Such prayers are His delight.

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Walk more closely with God. Get nearer to Christ. Seek to exchange hope for assurance. Seek to feel the witness of the Spirit more closely and distinctly every year. Lay aside every weight, and the sin that so easily threatens you. Press towards the mark more earnestly. Fight a better fight, and war a better warfare every year you live. Pray more. Read more. Subdue self more. Love the brethren more. Oh that you may endeavor to grow in grace every year, that the end of your Christian course may be better than the beginning!

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The only way to be really happy in such a world as this—is to be ever casting all our cares on God!

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It costs something to be a real Christian, according to the standard of the Bible. There are . . . enemies to be overcome, battles to be fought, sacrifices to be made, an Egypt to be forsaken, a wilderness to be passed through, a cross to be carried, and a race to be run. Conversion is not putting a person in an arm-chair and taking them easily to Heaven. It is the beginning of a mighty conflict, in which it costs much to win the victory.

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There is more Bible buying, Bible selling, Bible printing and Bible distributing than ever before in our nation. We see Bibles in every bookstore—Bibles of every size, price and style. There are Bibles in almost every house in the land. But all this time I fear we are in danger of forgetting that to HAVE the Bible is one thing—and to READ it quite another.

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It is neglect of the Bible which makes so many a prey to the first false teacher whom they hear.

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Unless a man is born again—he will wish one day, that he had never been born at all.

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Do not glory in your own faith, your own feelings, your own knowledge, or your own diligence. Glory in nothing but Christ!

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True repentance begins with knowledge of sin. It goes on to work sorrow for sin. It leads to confession of sin before God. It shows itself before a person by a thorough breaking off from sin. It results in producing a deep hatred for all sin.

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If you want to find out how much someone loves you—find out how much they pray for you.

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If you love Christ, never be ashamed to let others see it and know it. Speak for Him. Witness for Him. Live for Him.

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Never does a person see any beauty in Christ as a Savior—until they discover that they are a lost and ruined sinner.

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O Christian, look up and take comfort. Jesus has prepared a place for you, and those who follow Him shall never perish, neither shall anyone pluck them out of His hands!

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How is it that many who profess and call themselves Christians—do so little for the Savior whose name they bear?

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I believe it to be clear evidence of the Spirit's presence—when the Word of God is really precious to a person's soul.

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A humble and prayerful person will find a thousand choice things in the Bible—which the proud theologian will utterly fail to discern.

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I maintain that to tell a person they are born again, while they are living in carelessness or sin—is a dangerous delusion!

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If you want to be delivered from the power of selfishness—then go to the cross of Christ!

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The blood of Christ can cleanse away all sin. But we must 'plead guilty' before God can declare us innocent.

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No one ever said at the end of his days: "I have read my Bible too much, I have thought of God too much, I have prayed too much, I have been too careful with my soul."

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Faith is to the soul—what life is to the body. Prayer is to faith—what breath is to the body. How a person can live and not breathe, is past my comprehension—and how a person can believe and not pray, is past my comprehension too.

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There will be no universal peace—until the Prince of Peace appears.

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No time is so well spent in every day—as that which we spend upon our knees.

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Unity without gospel truth is a worthless unity—it is the very unity of Hell.

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A Christian is nothing more than a sinner who has found out their sinfulness, and has learned the blessed secret of living by faith in Christ.

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To say that we are sorry for our sins is mere hypocrisy—unless we show that we are really sorry for them, by giving them up. Doing is the very life of repentance.

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Whatever you read, read the Bible first. Beware of bad books—there are plenty in this day. Take heed what you read!

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Look not to yourselves! You are by nature wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked. Look simply unto Jesus.

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Let us be very careful that we never exalt any minister, or sermon, or book, or friend—above the Word of God.

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Knowledge of the Bible never comes by intuition. It can only be obtained by diligent, regular, daily, attentive reading.

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The nearer we live to God while we live—the more ready we will be to dwell forever in His presence when we die.

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It is easy to deceive ministers, relatives and friends. But it is impossible to deceive Christ!

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It must not content us to take our bodies to church—if we leave our hearts at home.

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Fear not because your prayer is stammering, your words feeble, and your language poor. Jesus can understand you.

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No person ever thought too much of Christ.

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There is no fickleness about Jesus—those whom He loves, He loves to the end!

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The fear of punishment, the desire of reward, the sense of duty, are all useful arguments, in their way, to persuade people to holiness. But they are all weak and powerless, until a person loves Christ.

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To be prayerless is to be . . . without God, without Christ, without grace, without hope, and without Heaven.

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All the simplicity in the world can do no good, unless you preach the simple gospel of Jesus Christ so fully and clearly that everybody can understand it. If 'Christ crucified' has not His rightful place in your sermons, and sin is not exposed as it should be, and your people are not plainly told what they ought to believe, and be, and do—then your preaching is of no use!

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The very sermon that we needlessly miss—may contain a precious word in season for our souls.

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Let us watch against pride in every shape . . . pride of intellect, pride of wealth, pride of our own goodness. Nothing is so likely to keep a person out of Heaven, and prevent them from seeing Christ, as pride. So long as we think we are something— we shall never be saved. Let us pray for and cultivate humility. Let us seek to know ourselves correctly, and to find out our place in the sight of a holy God.

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Let us beware of repentance without evidence.

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The Gospel which we possess was not given to us only to be admired, talked of, and professed—but to be practiced .

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Let us strive, every year we live, to become more deeply acquainted with Scripture.

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Next to praying there is nothing so important in practical religion, as Bible-reading.

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HATE SIN! Instead of loving it, cleaving to it, excusing it, playing with it—we ought to hate it with a deadly hatred.

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Sin will not come to you saying, "I am sin!" It would do little harm if it did. Sin always seems good, and pleasant, and desirable, at the time of commission—but sin's wages are dreadful!

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Prayer will consume sin—or sin will choke prayer.

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Conversion is not putting a man in an armchair and taking him easily to Heaven. Conversion is the beginning of a mighty conflict, in which it costs much to win the victory.

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Live as if you thought that Christ might come at any time!

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The chief end for which Christ lived and died: To provide eternal redemption for sinners.

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Never let us be guilty of sacrificing any portion of truth, on the altar of peace.

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God is far more willing to save sinners—than sinners are to be saved.

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There is only one door, one bridge, one ladder, between earth and Heaven—the crucified Son of God.

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Wherever we may be, or whatever our circumstances—the Lord Jesus sees them. We are never beyond the reach of His sympathetic care.

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We know but little of true Christianity—if we don't feel a deep concern about the souls of unconverted people.

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If Christ had not gone to the cross and suffered in our stead, the just for the unjust—there would not have been a spark of hope for us. There would have been a mighty gulf between ourselves and God, which no man ever could have passed.

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Tomorrow is the devil's day—but today is God's day. Satan does not care how spiritual your intentions are, or how holy your resolutions are—if only they are determined to be done tomorrow .

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No one ever reached Heaven without repentance toward God—and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.

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If you profess to be a child of God—leave it to the Lord Jesus to sanctify you in His own way.

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Do we profess to love Christ? Then let us show it by our lives .

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Good hymns are an immense blessing to the Church. They train people for Heaven, where praise is one of the principal occupations.

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Since Satan can't destroy the gospel—he has too often neutralized its usefulness by addition, subtraction or substitution.

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Better to confess Christ 1000 times now, and be despised by men—than be disowned by Christ before God on the day of Judgment.

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Children are very quick observers. They are . . . very quick in seeing through hypocrisy, very quick in finding out what you really think and feel, very quick in adopting all your ways and opinions. You will often discover that, as the father is—so is the son.

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Prayer needs neither learning, wisdom or book knowledge to begin it. It needs nothing but heart and will.

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Miserable indeed is that religious teaching which calls itself 'Christian'—and yet contains nothing of the cross.

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Let us receive nothing, believe nothing, follow nothing—which is not in the Bible, nor can be proved by the Bible.

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There are eternal consequences resulting from all our thoughts, words and actions—of which we take far too little account.

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The first step towards attaining a higher standard of holiness—is to realize more fully the astonishing sinfulness of sin.

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Faith in the Lord Jesus is the only sure medicine for troubled hearts.

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How can we love sin—when we remember that because of our sins Jesus died?

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The love of the Bible—will show itself in a believer's actions.

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Praying and sinning will never live together in the same heart. Prayer will consume sin—or sin will choke prayer.

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We can never make too much of Christ. He is worthy of all the honor that we can give Him.

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I declare I know no state of soul more dangerous than to imagine we are born again and sanctified by the Holy Spirit—simply because we have picked up a few religious feelings.

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We should no more tolerate false doctrine—than we would tolerate sin!

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Read the Bible daily. Make it part of your everyday business to read and meditate on some portion of God's Word. Gather your manna fresh every morning. Choose your own seasons and hours. Do not scramble over and hurry your reading. Give your Bible the best, and not the worst, part of your time. But whatever plan you pursue, let it be a rule of your life to visit the throne of grace and the Bible every day.

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Amidst the flood of dangerous reading, I plead for my Master's book! I call upon you not to forget the book of the soul. Do not let newspapers, novels, and romances be read—while the prophets and Apostles be despised. Do not let the exciting and sensual swallow up your attention—while the edifying and the sanctifying can find no place in your mind.

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Millions of people profess and call themselves Christians—whom the Apostle Paul would not have called Christians at all.

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A saved soul has many sorrows. They have their share of bereavements, deaths, disappointments and crosses. What shall enable a believer to bear all this? Nothing but the consolation there is in Christ.

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The world's idea of greatness is to rule—but Christian greatness consists in serving.

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Abide in Me says Jesus. Cling to Me. Stick fast to Me. Live the life of close and intimate communion with Me. Get nearer to Me. Roll every burden on Me. Cast your whole weight on Me. Never let go your hold on Me for a moment. Be, as it were, rooted and planted in Me. Do this—and I will never fail you. I will ever abide with you.

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In Christ alone, God's rich provision of salvation for sinners is treasured up. By Christ alone, God's abundant mercies come down from Heaven to earth. Christ's blood alone can cleanse us. Christ's righteousness alone can adorn us. Christ's merit alone can give us a title to Heaven. Jews and Gentiles, learned and unlearned, kings and poor men—all alike must either be saved by the Lord Jesus, or lost forever.

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What is the cause of most backslidings? I believe, as a general rule, one of the chief causes is neglect of private prayer.

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The love of our Lord Jesus Christ towards sinners is strikingly shown in His steady purpose of heart to die for them.

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Just as the telescope and microscope show us that there is order and design in all the works of God's hand, from the greatest planet down to the least insect—so does the Bible teach us that there is wisdom, order and design in all the events of our daily life.

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If you and sin are friends—then you and God are not yet reconciled.

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Be very sure of this—people never reject the Bible because they cannot understand it. They understand it only too well! They understand that it condemns their own behavior. They understand that it witnesses against their own sins, and summons them to judgment!

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Conduct is the grand test of character. Words are one great evidence of the condition of the heart.

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Laughter, ridicule, opposition and persecution are often the only reward which Christ's followers get from the world.

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Whatever others around you think—don't you ever be ashamed of being a Christian.

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It was the whole Trinity, which at the beginning of creation said, "Let us make man". It was the whole Trinity again, which at the beginning of the Gospel seemed to say, "Let us save man".

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Obedience is faith visible, faith acting, and faith manifest. Obedience is the test of real discipleship among the Lord's people.

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Necessity is laid upon us. We must fight. There are no promises in the Lord Jesus Christ's epistles to the seven churches, except to those who 'overcome.' Where there is grace—there will be conflict. The believer is a soldier . There is no holiness without a warfare. Saved souls will always be found to have fought a fight.

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The man who has nothing more than a kind of Sunday religion—whose Christianity is like his Sunday clothes put on once a week, and then laid aside—such a man cannot, of course, be expected to care about growth in grace.

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Why is a believer patient? Because he looks for the coming of the Lord. He waits quietly for the King.

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God does not look at riches, titles, education, or beauty. There is only one thing that God does look at—and that is the heart.

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Christ's death is the Christian's life. Christ's cross is the Christian's title to Heaven. Christ "lifted up" and put to shame on Calvary is the ladder by which Christians "enter into the holiest," and are at length landed in glory!

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We never know who they are that God will saving draw to Himself—and have nothing to do with that. Our duty is to invite all—and leave it to God to choose the vessels of mercy.

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Oh, dear friend, if you love your children, I charge you, do not let the early impression of a habit of prayer slip by. If you train your children to do anything, train them, at least, to have a habit of prayer.

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The work of the preacher resembles that of the sower. Like the sower, the preacher must sow good seed, the Word of God.

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True worship leads to a more full knowledge of self, God, Heaven, duty, doctrine, practice and experience.

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Let us resolve by God's grace that, however feeble and poor our prayers may seem to us—we will pray on.

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What is the best safeguard against false doctrine? The Bible regularly read, regularly prayed over, regularly studied.

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One single soul saved—shall outlive and outweigh all the kingdoms of the world.

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The Word of God is ROCK—all else is sand!

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The cross is the foundation of the Bible. If you have not yet found out that Christ crucified is the foundation of the whole volume—you have hitherto read your Bible to very little profit. Your religion is a sky without a sun, an arch without a keystone, a compass without a needle, a clock without a spring or weights, a lamp without oil. It will not comfort you—and it will not deliver your soul from Hell.

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If men come among you who do not preach all the counsel of God, who do not preach of Christ, sin, holiness, of ruin, redemption, and regeneration, and do not preach of these things in a Scriptural way—you ought to cease to hear them.

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Solid scriptural theology should be valued in the church. Books in which Scripture is reverently regarded as the only rule of faith and practice—books in which Christ and the Holy Spirit have their rightful office—books in which justification, and sanctification, and regeneration, and faith, and grace, and holiness are clearly, distinctly, and accurately delineated and exhibited—these are the only books which do real good. Few things need reviving, more than a taste for such books as these among Christians.

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True repentance is no light matter. It is a thorough change of heart about sin—a change showing itself in godly sorrow and humiliation—in heartfelt confession before the throne of grace—in a complete breaking off from sinful habits, and an abiding hatred of all sin. Such repentance is the inseparable companion of saving faith in Christ.

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The parent who tries to train his child without setting a good example—is building with one hand, and pulling down with the other!

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If the Bible is not the Word of God and inspired—then the whole of Christendom for 1800 years has been under an immense delusion—half the human race has been cheated and deceived—and churches are monuments of folly. If the Bible is the Word of God and inspired—then all who refuse to believe it are in fearful danger—they are living on the brink of eternal misery. No man, in his sober senses, can fail to see that the whole subject demands most serious attention.

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Do something, by God's help, to make Heaven more full and Hell more empty.

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Instruction, and advice, and commands will profit little—unless they are backed up by the pattern of your own life. Your children will never believe you are in earnest, and really wish them to obey you—so long as your actions contradict your counsel. Do not think that your children will practice—what they do not see you do. You are their model picture—and they will copy what you are. They will seldom learn habits which they see you despise—or walk in paths in which you do not walk yourself.

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Without the blessing of the Lord, your best endeavors will do no good. He has the hearts of all men in His hands, and unless He touches t