Pithy Puritan Pearls #1

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"Here are some further sayings of the wise." Proverbs 24:23
 

Christian contentment is that sweet, inward, quiet, gracious frame of spirit—which freely submits to and delights in God's wise and fatherly disposal in every condition. (Jeremiah Burroughs)

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It is not the bee's touching of the flower that gathers honey, but her abiding for a time upon the flower that draws out the sweet. It is not he who reads most, but he who meditates most—who will prove to be the choicest, sweetest, wisest and strongest Christian! (Thomas Brooks)

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Let us use worldly things as wise pilgrims do their staves and other things necessary for their journey. So long as they help us forward in our way—let us make use of them, and accordingly esteem them. But if they become troublesome hindrances and cumbersome burdens—let us leave them behind us, or cast them away. The temptations of prosperity, like unseen bullets, wound and kill us before they are discerned! (George Downame)

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The best course to prevent falling into the pit—is to keep at the greatest distance from it. He who will be so bold as to attempt to dance upon the brink of the pit—may find by woeful experience, that it is a righteous thing with God that he should fall into the pit! Sin is a plague, yes, the greatest and most infectious plague in the world; and yet, ah! how few are there who tremble at it, who keep at a distance from it! (Thomas Brooks)

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Riches are . . .
  long in getting—with much pains,
  hard in keeping—with much care,
  quick in losing—with much sorrow. (Thomas Fuller)

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Your life is short,
your duties are many,
your assistance is great,
and your reward is sure!
Therefore faint not, hold on and hold up in the paths of godliness—and Heaven shall make amends for all! (Thomas Brooks)

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Where one thousand are destroyed by the world's frowns—ten thousand are destroyed by the world's smiles. The world, siren-like, sings us and sinks us! (Thomas Brooks)

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We fear men so much—because we fear God so little. One fear cures another. When man's terror scares you—turn your thoughts to the wrath of God! (William Gurnall)

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When we grow careless in keeping our souls—then God recovers our taste of good things again by sharp crosses. (Richard Sibbes)

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How sweet is rest, after fatigue! How sweet will Heaven be, when our toilsome journey is ended. (George Whitefield)

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The winter prepares the earth for the spring—so do sanctified afflictions prepare the soul for glory! (Richard Sibbes)

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As the wicked are hurt by the best things—so the godly are bettered by the worst. (William Jenkyn)

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Poverty and affliction take away the fuel that feeds pride! (Richard Sibbes)

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To bless God for mercies—is the way to increase them.
To bless Him for miseries—is the way to remove them. (William Dyer)

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God's wounds cure—sin's kisses kill! (William Gurnall)

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God would not rub so hard if it were not to fetch out the dirt that is ingrained in our natures! God loves purity so well—that He would rather see a hole, than a spot in His child's garments! (William Gurnall)

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Better be pruned to grow—than cut up to burn. (John Trapp)

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Temptations, when we meet them at first, are as the lion that reared upon Samson. But if we overcome them, the next time we see them we shall find a nest of honey within them. (John Bunyan)

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Death is only a grim porter to let us into a stately palace!  (Richard Sibbes)

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Let your hope of Heaven master your fear of death. Why should you be afraid to die, who hope to live by dying!  (William Gurnall)

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Though Christians be not kept altogether from falling—yet they are kept from falling altogether. (William Secker)

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In our first paradise in Eden there was a way to go out—but no way to go in again. But as for the heavenly paradise, there is a way to go in—but not a way to go out. (Richard Baxter)

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Oh let us continually keep faith in exercise, until it is entirely swallowed up in the boundless ocean of the beatific vision! (George Whitefield)

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Look not how the Christian begins—but how he ends. (William Gurnall)

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A godly man prefers grace before goods, and wisdom before the world. (Richard Bernard)

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Take a saint and put him into any condition—and he knows how to rejoice in the Lord. (Walter Cradock)

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As bees are drowned in honey—so the rich are choked with their prosperity. (Daniel Burgess)

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Death came in by sin—and sin goes out by death! (Edmund Staunton)

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Without Christ, the most stately palace is a Hell!
With Christ, the most stinking dungeon is a palace! (Andrew Gray)

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We drown our sins in the Red Sea of Christ's blood. (William Price)

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God's promises are like a bag full of golden coins that God pours out at the feet of His adopted children and says: Take what you will! (William Spurstowe)

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When we are most lazy—the devil is most busy. Sloth is the cause of sin, and idleness is the fruitful mother of wickedness. (Andrew Gray)

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Christ is not truly prized at all—unless He is prized above all. (Nathaniel Vincent)

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In Christ crucified, you have a full remedy . . .
  for all your needs,
  for all your fears,
  for all your doubts. (William Bridge)

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All the men in the world are either vessels of mercy or vessels of wrath—according to the will of God. (Thomas Hooker)

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The work of the Son in redemption, does not exceed the work of the Father in election. (John Brinsley)

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Predestination is the decree of God, by which he has ordained all men to a certain and everlasting estate. (William Perkins)

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A wicked man, when he comes to die, will prefer Heaven before Hell.
But a saint on earth, prefers Heaven before earth.
If Christ is ours, then . . .
  God is ours,
  Heaven is ours,
  all is ours! (Nathaniel Vincent)

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This is the reason that some love him, and others do not—because he reveals himself to some and not to others. (John Preston)

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Faith sucks the honey of contentment, out of the hive of the promises. (Simeon Ashe)

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Faith finds its luster in action—and not just in notion.
It enters our hearts—and not just our heads. (Samuel Ward)

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A true believer looks on religion, not as a burden which he must be forced to endure—but a privilege which is his happiness to enjoy. (Andrew Gray)

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A believer's heart is the garden where Christ has planted this sweet flower of His redeeming love. (Thomas Watson)

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The less we discern pride in ourselves—the more it reigns in our hearts. (William Perkins)

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Sin is never our master—until we consent to have it so. (Daniel Burgess)

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The throne of sin is in the heart.
The strength of sin lies in the love of it.
Sin ruins none but those who love it. (Nathaniel Vincent)

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Love other things than Christ—and you have vexing care over them, both about their gaining them, keeping them and losing them. (John Preston)

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It is astonishing to see what power, petty vain toys have over a person. (Henry Smith)

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Riches steal away the hearts of men. It is a hard thing for a man to pass from delights on earth, to delights in Heaven. (Francis Taylor)

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Though you have sinned yourself near to Hell—yet you have not sinned yourself into Hell. (Nathaniel Vincent)

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He who hides sin—loves it! (Nathaniel Vincent)

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Lovers of the world are much more afraid of losing their earthly substance, than they are of losing their immortal souls! (Nathaniel Vincent)

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The dearest thing must be parted with—either as a snare or as a sacrifice. (William Strong)

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What sin is worth being damned for? (Charles Spurgeon)

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My sins are as numerous as the sand of the sea!
O that my tears of repentance were as abundant as the water of the sea! (William Spurstowe)

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It can never be sufficiently lamented, that sin has made so many madmen in the world. (Nathaniel Vincent)

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He who will be a saint—will be a sufferer. (Nathaniel Vincent)

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It is nothing to murmur about, to have tribulation for several days—and then to triumph in the presence of God, and of the Lamb forever! (Nathaniel Vincent)

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We have no reason to complain for our light and transitory afflictions. (Christopher Love)

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Affliction is to be chosen before iniquity. (Richard Byfield)

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It is better to be a chastened son, than an undisciplined bastard. (John Arrowsmith)

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God has not promised to keep His people from afflictions, but to keep them from the hurt of them. (Edmund Calamy)

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It is expedient that you should endure the cross—to inherit the crown. (Thomas Watson)

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How many men are there, who are easily drawn to excessive sorrow for worldly crosses. (Christopher Love)

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Whatever afflictions you meet with, or whatever comforts you part with—your sorrows should never be extreme. (Christopher Love)

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You never saw God in his mercy—when you do not see him in your afflictions. (Jeremiah Burroughs)

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God has put us into the fire of affliction to refine us, and make us a vessel fit for His use. (Edmund Calamy)

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To every believer, the debt-book is crossed out; the black lines of sin are crossed out in the red lines of Christ's blood. (Thomas Watson)

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The pope, by his lies, thoroughly proves himself the most dear child of the devil, the author and founder of all lies! (Henry Greenwood)

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It is the blood of souls which the devil principally thirsts after as a murderer! (Nathaniel Vincent)

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One said well that . . .
  old wood is best to burn,
  old friends are best to trust,
  and old books are best to read. (John Arrowsmith)

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Words are the mirror of the mind—they show what is in the heart. (Thomas Watson)

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Guilty men do not love to hear of the day of judgment! (Thomas Watson)

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Man's spiritual deadness is such, that he can no more move toward Heaven, so much as one step, than a dead man can rise of himself! (John Philips)

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Truth is the most sovereign remedy for curing the nation and church. (Christopher Love)

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A hard heart is frequently accompanied with a brazen face. (John Arrowsmith)

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Men either go to Hell, or Heaven. Unless of course men will follow the Papists to make purgatory—which fire was kindled in the Pope's kitchen! (Thomas Hooker)

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He who despises the Word of God and its commands—is not sincerely converted, but damnably deluded! (Nathaniel Vincent)

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The Word without the Spirit of God—is like the carcass without the soul. (Nathaniel Vincent)

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All events are wisely disposed of by the governing care of God's providence.
Providence is a servant to God's eternal counsel and purpose.
There is no altering the course of providence. (Matthew Mead)

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Whatever afflictions, curses, and punishments are in the world—they are ordained by God for the sin of man. (William Perkins)

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The promises are the field—and Christ is the hidden pearl which is to be sought in them.
He who truly expects glory—earnestly pursues grace. (William Spurstowe)

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God does not so much look to the measure and quantity of grace, as to the sincerity and soundness of it. (John Philips)

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A heart full of grace, is better than a head full of notions. (Thomas Watson)

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Christians are jewels—and Heaven is the golden cabinet where they shall be locked up safe! (Thomas Watson)