Oh, the remembrance of my great sins, of my great temptations, and of my great fears of perishing forever! They bring afresh into my mind the remembrance of my great help, my great support from Heaven, and the great grace that God extended to such a wretch as I. Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners
It is profitable for Christians to be often calling to mind the very beginnings of grace with their souls.Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners (Authentic Original Classic) (Kindle Locations 71-72). Destiny Image. Kindle Edition.
Do you wonder about the trials in your life? Well let me just let you know the purpose of them is to cut away everything in your life, so that Jesus does become your life, and it's worth it.
The man who does not know the nature of the law cannot know the nature of sin. And he who does not know the nature of sin cannot know the nature of the Saviour.
Those who know true joy in the midst of suffering are those who recognize that, in this life, our suffering is never as great or as serious as our sins. Humility: True Greatness (Chapter 11)
The spirit, or soul, or life of Antichrist, is that spirit of error, that wicked, that mystery of iniquity, that under colour and pretence of verity, draweth men from truth to falsehood. The body or flesh of Antichrist, is that heap of men, that assembly of the wicked, that synagogue of Satan that is acted and governed by that spirit.
Sickness, and losses, and crosses, and anxieties, and disappointments seem absolutely needful to keep us humble, watchful, and spiritual minded. Holiness (Chapter 6)
The Christian is not to pray for an immunity from all temporal sufferings. There is no foundation
for such a prayer in the promise, and what God thinks not fit to promise, we must not be bold to ask.
God had one Son without sin, but none in this life without suffering.
In a word, suffering time is the time wherein God makes His attributes visible—"The Lord will be a refuge to His people, a refuge in time of trouble." And what follows? "And they that know Thy name will put their trust in Thee." In the school of affliction God reads lectures upon His attributes and expounds Himself unto His people so that many times they come to know more of God or more experimentally by half a year's sufferings than by many years' sermons.
A man must not run into a suffering without a call, and he must not rush out of it without a call. And therefore you shall find Christ and the apostles, and all the martyrs, that thus they acted. They would hide, and go aside, and avoid their sufferings; but when they were in hold they would not go out though the doors were open. So that that is the next thing: be sure of this, that you do not run into sufferings without a call nor rush out of sufferings without the same call from God.
They that name the name of Christ, let them depart from their constitution sin, or, if you will, the sin that their temper most inclines them to. Every man is not alike inclined to the same sin, but some to one and some to another. Now, let the man that professes the name of Christ religiously consider with himself, "Unto what sin or vanity am I most inclined? Is it pride? Is it covetousness? Is it fleshly lust?" and let him labor by all means to leave off and depart from that.
Reckon with thy own heart every day before thou lie down to sleep, and cast up what thou hast received from God and done for Him and where thou hast also been wanting. This will beget praise and humility and put thee upon redeeming the day that is past, whereby thou wilt be able, through the continual supplies of grace, in some good measure to drive thy work before thee and to shorten it as thy life doth shorten, and mayst comfortably live in the hope of bringing both ends sweetly together.
Before you enter into prayer, ask thy soul these questions: To what end, O my soul, art thou retired into this place? Art thou not come to discourse the Lord in prayer? Is He present? Will He hear thee? Is He merciful? Will He help thee? Is thy business slight? Is it not concerning the welfare of thy soul? What words wilt thou use to move Him to compassion? Riches