A letter from John Calvin to William Rabot, July 14, 1550, a student of law at the University of Padua:
As I understand from your letter, that it is not very long since the Lord shed the light of His gospel on you, I could not give a fitter expression of my love towards you, than by exhorting and encouraging you to daily exercises. For we see sparks of piety immediately disappear which had shone forth on many occasions; because, instead of increasing the flame, they rather extinguish what little light the Spirit of God had enkindled in them, by the empty allurements of the world, or the irregular desires of the flesh. That nothing of this kind may happen to you, you must first of all give devoted submission to the will of the Lord, and in the next place, you must fortify yourself by His sacred doctrines.
Letters from John Calvin: Selected from the Bonnet Edition, the Banner of Truth, 1980, p. 118.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Monday, January 14, 2008
Fears and Corruptions
A selection from a letter by Thomas Chalmers, Free Church of Scotland minister, to Jane Morton, February 6, 1824:
I am more persuaded than ever of the nothingness of man, that his wisdom consists in reliance upon God, in closing with Him as his reconciled Father in Christ Jesus, and casting the whole burden both of his fears and of his corruptions on that Saviour whose blood should wholly dissipate the one, and wholly cleanse from the other.
Letters of Thomas Chalmers, edited by William Hanna, first published 1853, reprinted by The Banner of Truth, 2007, pp. 189-190.
I am more persuaded than ever of the nothingness of man, that his wisdom consists in reliance upon God, in closing with Him as his reconciled Father in Christ Jesus, and casting the whole burden both of his fears and of his corruptions on that Saviour whose blood should wholly dissipate the one, and wholly cleanse from the other.
Letters of Thomas Chalmers, edited by William Hanna, first published 1853, reprinted by The Banner of Truth, 2007, pp. 189-190.
Friday, January 11, 2008
A Revival Began
From the pen of Isaac Backus to Rev. Benjamin Wallin of London, November 16, 1764:
In the town of Providence, which is very populous, and which has been a place of much profaneness and irreligion, a revival began about the middle of last winter, and increased through the spring, and has affected all sorts of people. Some deists, leaders in gaming, and many profane persons, as well as others more civil, have been hopefully converted. I have been among them sundry times, and the joy of seeing such a marvelous change in the town, is better felt than expressed. To hear the profane praising Jesus, to see the irreligious thronging to a place of divine worship, and to discover such a heavenly temper in many, was surely enough to fill a cold heart with love and praise.
A Memoir of the Life and Times of the Rev. Isaac Backus, A.M., by Alvah Hovey, 1858, republished by Gano Books, 1991, p. 142.
In the town of Providence, which is very populous, and which has been a place of much profaneness and irreligion, a revival began about the middle of last winter, and increased through the spring, and has affected all sorts of people. Some deists, leaders in gaming, and many profane persons, as well as others more civil, have been hopefully converted. I have been among them sundry times, and the joy of seeing such a marvelous change in the town, is better felt than expressed. To hear the profane praising Jesus, to see the irreligious thronging to a place of divine worship, and to discover such a heavenly temper in many, was surely enough to fill a cold heart with love and praise.
A Memoir of the Life and Times of the Rev. Isaac Backus, A.M., by Alvah Hovey, 1858, republished by Gano Books, 1991, p. 142.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
True Christianity
From the pen of Martyn Lloyd-Jones to his mother, May 17, 1948:
Anything short of preaching that Christ is the Son of God and that His death and resurrection save us is not true Christianity.
D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones Letters 1919-1981, Selected with Notes, by Ian H. Murray, Banner of Truth, 1994, p. 108.
Anything short of preaching that Christ is the Son of God and that His death and resurrection save us is not true Christianity.
D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones Letters 1919-1981, Selected with Notes, by Ian H. Murray, Banner of Truth, 1994, p. 108.
Monday, January 7, 2008
Translation of Scriptures
A selection from a letter written by missionary to India, William Carey, to pastor John Ryland in England, July 17, 1806:
We are all in good health and spirits, and live in love. I account the translations of S. [Sanskrit] Scriptures the great business of my life.
The Journal and Selected Letters of William Carey, collected and edited by Terry G. Carter, Smyth & Helwys, 2000, p. 98.
We are all in good health and spirits, and live in love. I account the translations of S. [Sanskrit] Scriptures the great business of my life.
The Journal and Selected Letters of William Carey, collected and edited by Terry G. Carter, Smyth & Helwys, 2000, p. 98.
Friday, January 4, 2008
Intensely Serious
Extract from a letter by Rev. William Still to his congregation, Gilcomston South Church of Scotland, May, 1954:
No one doubts that our Lord was intensely human, and had a glorious sense of humour, but it is largely concealed in the Word! And rightly so, for no one who has caught the heart-beat of the eternal God in the agony of Calvary and who is called to communicate the Word will have time or inclination to be any other than intensely serious. Paul and Peter frequently affirm that we must be sober-minded! Away then, with all this silly theatrical display of human personality in Christian work, and let us rather wait to weep than laugh. There is need of it today! And yet, the opposite of carnal frivolity is not always tears, but often radiance.
The Letters of William Still, Banner of Truth, 1984, pp. 49-50.
No one doubts that our Lord was intensely human, and had a glorious sense of humour, but it is largely concealed in the Word! And rightly so, for no one who has caught the heart-beat of the eternal God in the agony of Calvary and who is called to communicate the Word will have time or inclination to be any other than intensely serious. Paul and Peter frequently affirm that we must be sober-minded! Away then, with all this silly theatrical display of human personality in Christian work, and let us rather wait to weep than laugh. There is need of it today! And yet, the opposite of carnal frivolity is not always tears, but often radiance.
The Letters of William Still, Banner of Truth, 1984, pp. 49-50.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Seek Grace
From the pen of Mary Winslow (1774-1854) to a friend:
Let not, then, our deceitful hearts be entangled with the trifles of earth; but seek grace to discharge every relative duty with a single eye to His glory.
Heaven Opened: A Selection from the Correspondence of Mrs. Mary Winslow, edited by her son, Octavius Winslow, 1864, reprinted by Reformation Heritage Books, 2001, p. 106.
Let not, then, our deceitful hearts be entangled with the trifles of earth; but seek grace to discharge every relative duty with a single eye to His glory.
Heaven Opened: A Selection from the Correspondence of Mrs. Mary Winslow, edited by her son, Octavius Winslow, 1864, reprinted by Reformation Heritage Books, 2001, p. 106.
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