The most ordinary way by which many are brought to Christ, is by a clear and discernible work of the law, and humiliation; which we generally call the spirit of bondage. … But there is a conviction of sin, an awakening of conscience, and work of humiliation, which as we shall point out, rarely miscarries, or fails of a gracious issue, but ordinarily doth resolve into the Spirit of adoption, and a gracious work of God’s Spirit.
– William Guthrie –
from The Christians Great Interest, 1658
Oh what bitterness do I now find in that which Satan, the world, and my own deluded heart told me I should find sweetness in.
– Thomas Brooks –
from Heaven on Earth: A Treatise on Christian Assurance, 1654
Keep the soul open to entertain the Holy Ghost, for he will bring in continually fresh forces to subdue corruption.
– Richard Sibbs –
from The Bruised Reed, 1630
Such is Satan’s way; he is first the tempter to draw us to sin, and then an accuser to accuse us to God for sinning.
– Samuel Bolton –
from The True Bounds of Christian Freedom, 1645
I had not discoursed long when the congregation melted into tears. This abated for a few minutes, till a little boy about seven or eight years of age cried out exceeding piteously indeed and wept as though his little heart would break. I asked the little boy what he cried for. He answered ‘my sins !’ I then asked him what he wanted. He answered, “Christ!”
Others were so earnest for a discovery of the Lord to their souls that their eager crying obliged me to stop, and I prayed over them, as I saw their agonies and distress increase. Oh, the distress and anguish of their souls! oh, the pains that were upon them!
Many of the assembled were deeply affected, groaning and sobbing; there was a great weeping and mourning.
– William Bramwell –
There is no one beyond the reach of the tempter. Keep that in mind. Life may run smoothly for a while, but the testing time is coming.
– DL Moody –
Measure your growth in grace by your sensitivity to sin.
– Oswald Chambers –
And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” (Genesis 3:8-10 ESV)
He was more ashamed of his nakedness than of his sin. Thus do many fear rather to offend because of public shame than for any consciousness of sin just as Cain grieved more because he was made a vagabond than because he had killed his brother.
– Andrew Willet –
1562-1621
A sin is not mortified when it is only diverted.
– John Owen –
from The Mortification of Sin, 1656