HeadTheology

Ch. 9 - God Regards The Piety Of His People
From The Great Gain of Godliness, by Thomas Watson

“though God is sometimes silent, he is not deaf.” -95 & 96

“though a sinner may give God many a sweet, elegant expression in prayer, yet, having the plague in his heart, God will not receive any offering from him.” -98

“It would be counted a great happiness to have the king’s ear; but what is it to have God’s ear.” -98

“God does not bestow his favours according to our desert, but according to his promise.” -98

“A lifeless God is good enough for lifeless worship.” -99

“God has no need of our services; he is infinitely blessed in reflecting upon the splendor of his own infinite being; we cannot add least cubit to his essential glory.” -99& 100

“If God’s Word does not prevail with us, our prayers will not prevail with him.” -100

Ch. 8 - The Godly Should Meditate On God’s Name
From The Great Gain of Godliness, by Thomas Watson

“It is the inseparable sign of a godly man to employ his chief thoughts about God.” -77

“As the mariners needle turns to the North Pole so a saint’s thoughts are still pointing towards God.” -77

“God is the supreme good. There is nothing but God worth thinking upon.” -77-78

“To hinder him from thinking upon God is to bar him from his pleasure.” -78

“O my soul, shall I admire the drip and not the ocean? Shall I think of the workmanship, and not of him that made it? This is the fruit of original sin: it has warped the soul, and taken it off from the right object.” -79

“His ways are secret, but always just.” -79

“Let us look up to Christ that he would stand between us and God’s justice, and that he would intercede for us, that the thoughts of our hearts may be forgiven us.” -82

“Thinking seriously on heavenly things make them stay in our minds, causes delight in them, and makes them nourish us.” -84

“For those who are mounted high in the contemplation of Christ and glory, how do the things of the world disappear, and even shrink into nothing!” -86

“The reason our affections are so chilled adn cold in religion is that we do not warn them with the thoughts of God.” -86-87

“Some complain that they have no joy in their lives; and truly, no wonder, when they are such strangers to heavenly contemplation. Would you have God give you comfort, and never think of him?” -88

“The mind seasoned with good thoughts in the morning will keep the heart in a better state all the day after.” -92

“A person deeply in love cannot keep this thoughts off from the object he loves. The reason we think on God no more, is because we love him no more.” -92

“Why do men think no more of God, but because God and they are strangers? Let a man’s interest in God be cleared and he will not be able to keep his thoughts off from God.” -92

Ch. 7 - The Godly Should Speak of God
From The Great Gain of Godliness, by Thomas Watson

“Indeed, where there is gratia infusa [grace poured in], it will be effusa [poured out]; grace changes the language, and makes it spiritual.” -62

“Had they any love to God, or had they ever tasted how sweet the Lord is, their mouth would ‘talk of his righteousness’.” -63

“Let this cause blushing among Christians, that their meetings are so unprofitable, because they leave God out of their discourse.” -64

“A fiery spirit is unsuitable to the Master we serve, the Prince of Peace; and to his ambassage, the ‘gospel of peace.’” -65

“When men break forth in unsavoury speeches it show the heart is profane.” -66

“It is the sign of the hypocrite to censure others and commend himself.” -67

“What makes a communion of saints but good conversation?” -69

“Have you a friend who has redeemed you, and never speak of him.” -69

“The more spiritual we are in our speeches, the more we resemble Christ.  Should not the members be like the Head?  Christ will not be our Saviour unless we make him our pattern.” -71

“Verba sunt speculum mentis - Words the looking glass of the mind (Bernard).  As you may judge of a face by the mirror, whether it be fair or foul; so by the words we may judge of the heart.” -71

“One single coal is apt to die, but many coals put together keep in the heat.  Christians by their heavenly talk may ‘blow up’ one another’s grace into a flame.” -72

“A Christian by divine discourse may enlighten another when he is ignorant, warm him when he is frozen, comfort him when he is sad, confirm him when he is wavering.” -72

“A good life adorns religion, a good tongue propagates it.” -72

“What men delight in, they will be speaking of.” -74

Ch. 6 - Is the Fear of God in Our Hearts?
From The Great Gain of Godliness, by Thomas Watson

“Sin is worse than all penal evils: there is more evil in a drop of sin, than in a sea of affliction.” -37

“There is justice in hell, but sin is the most unjust thing.  It would rob God of his glory, Christ of his purchase, the soul of its happiness.” -38

“By avoiding the act of sin we preserve our peace; by avoiding the appearance of it we preserve our fame.” -39

“Such as revere the divine majesty dare not go near the borders of sin.” -40

“Gain is the golden bait with which Satan fishes for souls.” -41

“A godly man is assured that a full purse is but a poor recompense for a wounded conscience.” -41

“A man may think himself into hell.  Wat were the apostate angels damned for, was it fore any more than proud thoughts?” -42

“A God-fearer directs the rudder of his life according to the compass of the Word.” -43

“If a good man be providentially placed among the wicked, he will not coalesce with them, but in his deportment displays a majesty of holiness.” -44

“When men restrain prayer, they cast off the fear of God.” -45

“How far are they from the fear of God who are hard-hearted to Christ’s poor!” -46

“He who fears God knows it is best to keep in with God; he is the surest Friend, but the sorest Enemy.” -46

“Necessity will not excuse impiety.” -47

“A godly man, knowing there is a spice of this deceit in his heart, fears himself.” -49

“The heart’s deceit is seen in flattering us.  It will make us believe we are not so bad as we are.” -50

“Evangelical repentance works a change of heart.  It produces sanctity.” -51

“Now it is good for the godly so to fear hell as to fear to be in the number of those who shall go to hell.” -59

Ch. 5 - The Excellence of the Fear of God
From The Great Gain of Godliness, by Thomas Watson

“He who fears God considers how vain the world is, and therefore dares not love it; how short time is, and therefore dares not lose it; how precious salvation is, and therefore dares not neglect it.” -27

“The very heart is the temple of God, and fear sweeps and cleanses this temple that it may not be defiled.” -31

“Where the fear of God rules the heart, it expels fleshly fear.” -32-33

“‘He who pampers his body and neglects his soul, is like him who feasts his slave and starves his wife.” -32-33

From Thomas Watson’s, The Great Gain of Godliness

“Faith procures assurance (Eph. 1:13), fear preserves it.” -19

“The godly fear and sin not. The wicked sin and fear not.” -19

“[Those who do not] fear not God’s justice shall not taste his mercy.” -21

“Those who are the least safe are most confident.” -22

Timmy Brister over at P&P proposed a Puritan challenge this year to read 12 Puritan Paperbacks in 2008.  I’ve already read a few of these but hope to finish the challenge by reading the rest.  Though this year will be busy I hope to post my favorite quotes from each book during the month they being read.

Here’s the schedule:
January: The Bruised Reed by Richard Sibbes (128 pp)
February: The Mystery of Providence by John Flavel (221 pp)
March: The Godly Man’s Picture by Thomas Watson (252 pp)
April: Precious Remedies Against Satan’s Devices by Thomas Brooks (253 pp)
May: Come and Welcome to Jesus Christ by John Bunyan (225 pp)
June: The Mortification of Sin by John Owen (130 pp)
July: A Lifting Up for the Downcast by William Bridge (287 pp)
August: The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment by Jeremiah Burroughs (228 pp)
September: The True Bounds of Christian Freedom by Samuel Bolton (224 pp)
October: The Christian’s Great Interest by William Guthrie (207 pp)
November: The Reformed Pastor by Richard Baxter (256 pp)
December: A Sure Guide to Heaven by Joseph Alleine (148 pp)

For more visit Timmy Brister at P&P.

In reading The Great Gain of Godliness by Thomas Watson, these are my favorite quotes from chapter 3 titled ‘Reasons To Fear God’.

“He who is under the eye of his earthly prince will be careful of doing anything that would offend him.” -17

“As not to praise God is to wrong him, so not to fear God is to slight him.” -17

“We are apt to fear men who have power in their hand to hurt us, but what is their power to God’s?  They threaten prison, God threatens hell.  They threaten our life, God threatens our soul, and shall we not tremble before him?” -18

“We must not fear God with such a fear as the wicked do.  They fear him as a Turkish slave does his master; they fear him in such a way as to hate him, and wish there were no God.  We must not serve God with this hellish fear, be we must serve him with an ingenuous fear sweetened with love.” -18

Here are my favorite quotes from chapter two of Thomas Watson’s, The Great Gain of Godliness.

“Fear makes men change their religion as the chameleon does her colours.” -12

“Fear is the leading grace, the first seed God sows in the heart.  When a Christian can say little of faith, and perhaps nothing of assurance, yet he dares not deny that he fears God (Neh. 1:11).  God is so great that the Christian is afraid of displeasing him, and so good that he is afraid of losing him.” -13

“Fear is as lead to the net, to keep a Christian from floating in presumption, and faith is as cork to the net, to keep him from sinking in despair.” -15

“He who fears God has the serpent’s eye in the dove’s head.” -15

In reading The Great Gain of Godliness by Thomas Watson, these are my favorite quotes from chapter 1.

“The more outrageous other are in sin, the more courageous we should be for truth.” -5

“Almost all will court the Gospel Queen when she is hung with jewels.  But to own the ways of God when they are decried and maligned, to love a persecuted truth, this evidences a vital principal.” -6

“Sin is never the better because it is in fashion, nor will this plea hold at the last day, that we did as the most.  God will say, Seeing you sinned with the multitude, you shall go to hell with the multitude.” -7

“Though others wonder we do not sin after the rate that they do, yet remember, it is better to go to heaven with a few than to hell in the crowd.” -9

“If anyone ask what Christ died of, it may be answered, He died of love.” -10

“Reproaches for Christ are ensigns of honour, badges of adoption (I Pet. 4:14), the high honours of accusations, Chrysostom.” -11

“Be not laughed out of your religion.  If a lame man laugh at you for walking upright, will you therefore limp?” -11