He is no true believer to whom sin in not the greatest burden, sorrow, and trouble. (Rom. 7:24).—John Owen.

MOURNINGS OF A BELIEVER

There is more joy in the penitential mournings of a believer than in all the mirth of a wicked man. I appeal to you that have had melted hearts, whether you have not found a secret content and sweetness in your mournings? So far from wishing to be rid of your meltings, you rather fear the removal of them.—Crisp.

Your life is short, your duties many, your assistance great, and your reward sure; therefore faint not, hold on and hold up, in ways of well-doing, and heaven shall make amends for all. — Thomas Brooks

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

Whatever be the topic of conversation, the spirit of piety should be diffused through it—as the salt in our food should properly season it all, whatever the article of food may be (Col. 4:6).  — Albert Barnes

Christ will be master of the heart, and sin must be mortified. If your life is unholy, then your heart is unchanged, and you are an unsaved person. The Savior will sanctify His people, renew them, give them a hatred of sin, and a love of holiness. The grace that does not make a man better than others is a worthless counterfeit. Christ saves His people, not IN their sins, but FROM their sins. Without holiness, no man shall see the Lord.  — Charles Spurgeon

A grave, wherever found, preaches a short and pithy sermon to the soul.

Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864)

SOME PURITAN THOUGHTS

"When Satan borrows sense to speak one thing, let faith borrow Scripture to speak the contrary." -- David Dickson (1583-1662)

“Sin, and heresy, and superstition are hypocrites; that is, sin hath the appearance of virtue, and heresy hath the appearance of truth, and superstition hath the appearance of religion.”---Henry Smith (1560-1591?)

“God takes a safe course with His children: that they may not be condemned with the world, He permits the world to condemn them; that they may not love the world, the world hates them.” ---Richard Sibbes (1577-1635)

“The reason why our souls are so empty of joy, is because our mouths are empty of prayer.”---Robert Traill (1642-1616)

“The soldier is summoned to a life of active duty and so is the Christian.” ---William Gurnal (1617-1679)

" Thou hast struck a heavy blow at my pride, at the false god of self, and I lie in pieces before Thee. Help me in all my doings to put down sin and to humble pride. Save me from the love of the world and the pride of life, from everything that is natural to fallen man, and let Christ's nature be seen in me day by day. Grant me grace to bear Thy will without repining, and delight to be not only chiselled, squared, or fashioned, but separated from the old rock where I have been embedded so long, and lifted from the quarry to the upper air, where I may be built in Christ for ever." UNKNOWN PURITAN PRAYER

“The hypocrite sets his watch, not by the sun, that is, the Bible, but by the town clock; what most do, that he will do. Vox populi ( voice of the people), is his vox Dei (voice of God).”---William Gurnall ( 1617-1679).

"Jesus Christ came down from heaven, died for the criminals, and gathers them to Himself by effectual calling."---Thomas Boston (1676-1732)

“Let the mantle of worldly enjoyments hang loose about you, that it may be easily dropped when death comes to carry you into another world."---Thomas Boston (1676-1732)

It is a false faith to sleep all day in the sluggard's arm-chair; it is the hypocrite's hope who endures nothing for Christ's sake; it is love in 'lip and tongue and name' that undergoes no labor to please the beloved Object. Look at these things in the light of your own experience. See whether you can find not only faith in your heart, but its work; not only hope, but its patience; not only love, but its labor. (J.C. Philpot)

To hold the same views at forty as we held at twenty is to have been stupefied for a score of years, and take rank, not as a prophet, but as an unteachable brat, well birched and none the wiser. Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894)