Pirates do not use to set upon poor empty vessels; and beggars need not fear the thief. Those that have most of God, and are most rich in grace— shall be most assaulted by Satan, who is the greatest and craftiest pirate in the world.
God will have nothing to do with proud persons, he will never dwell with them, he will never keep house with them.
He that dwells in the highest heavens, will never dwell in a haughty heart.
For a close, remember this, that your life is short, your duties many, your assistance great, and your reward sure; therefore faint not, hold on and hold up, in ways of well-doing, and heaven shall make amends for all!Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices
The main reason why men dote upon the world, and damn their souls to get the world, is, because they are not acquainted with a greater glory!Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices
Afflictions are God's furnace, by which he cleanses his people from their dross. Affliction is a fire to purge out our dross, and to make virtue shine. Afflictions are medicines which heal soul diseases, better than all the remedies of physicians.Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices
By divine withdrawings, the soul is put upon hanging upon a naked God, a naked Christ, a naked promise. Now the soul is put upon the highest and the purest acts of faith (Isa. 63:15–16)—namely, to cleave to God, to hang upon God, and to carry it sweetly and obediently toward God—though He frowns, though He chides, though He strikes, yea, though He kills (Job 13:15).
The best God will always take the best time to hand out mercies to His people; there is no mercy so fair, so ripe, so lovely, so beautiful as that which God gives out in His own time. Therefore, hold thy peace; though God delays thee, yet be silent, for there is no possibility of taking a mercy out of God's hand till the mercy be ripe for us, and we ripe for the mercy (Eccl. 3:11).
The holiness of God and the honor of God call aloud upon all Christians to avoid the suspicion of sin. God is so essentially holy; so universally holy; so transcendently holy; so superlatively holy; so originally, radically, and fundamentally holy; He is so independently holy; so unchangeably, constantly, and exemplarily holy that He cannot but hate and abhor the very appearance of evil. Look, as apparent sin stirs up the judicial anger of God against sinners, so the appearance of sin stirs up the fatherly anger of God against saints. A gracious heart knows that God is "of purer eyes than to behold evil" (Hab. 1:13), and therefore He keeps at a distance from the appearance of iniquity. Of all men in the world none honors God at so high a rate as those that keep most aloof from the appearance of evil.
Man is made to be a friend, and apt for friendly offices. He that is not friendly is not worthy to have a friend; and he that has a friend and does not show himself friendly is not worthy to be accounted a man. Friendship is a kind of life, without which there is no comfort of a man's life. Christian friendship ties such a knot that great Alexander cannot cut. Summer friends I value not, but winter friends are worth their weight in gold.
A sincere Christian prays his friends to search him, and he prays soul-searching ministers to search him; but, above all, he begs hard of God to search him: "Search me, O God."
Faith has an influence upon all other graces. It is like a silver thread that runs through a chain of pearls; it puts strength and vivacity into all other graces.Smooth Stones
Sinful examples are very enticing and encouraging; many have found it so to their eternal undoing. Those that have no ears to hear what you say have many eyes to see what you do. Bad princes make bad subjects, bad masters make bad servants, bad parents make bad children, and bad husbands make bad wives. It is easier for the bad to corrupt the good than for the good to convert the bad. It is easier to run down the hill with company than to run up the hill alone.
Though the devil be the greatest scholar in the world, and though he have more learning than all the men in the world, yet there are many thousand secrets and mysteries in the gospel of grace that he knows not really, spiritually, feelingly, efficaciously, powerfully, thoroughly, and savingly.Privy Key of Heaven
Melancholy is a dark and dusky humor which disturbs both soul and body, and the cure of it belongs rather to the physician than to the divine. It is a most pestilent humor where it abounds; one calls it the devil's bath. It is a humor that unfits a man for all sorts of services, but especially those that concern his soul, his spiritual estate, his everlasting condition. The melancholy person tires the physician, grieves the minister, wounds relations, and makes sport for the devil. There are five sorts of persons that the devil makes his ass to ride in triumph upon— namely, the ignorant person, the unbelieving person, the proud person, the hypocritical person, and the melancholy person. Melancholy is a disease that works strange passions, strange imaginations, and strange conclusions. It unmans a man; it makes a man call good evil and evil good, sweet bitter and bitter sweet, light darkness and darkness light. The distemper of the body oftentimes causeth distemper of the soul, for the soul follows the temper of the body. Cabinet of Choice Jewels