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For So Great Is The Difference Between Just And Unjust, That It Is Visible Even In The Lifeless Image Of It. For What Order Will Be Left In The World, If These Opposites Be Confounded Together? Such A Distinction As This, Therefore, Between Virtuous And Vicious Actions, Has Not Only Been Engraven By The Lord In The Heart Of Every Man, But Has Also Been Frequently Confirmed By His Providential Dispensations.
-John Calvin
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For So Great Is

John Calvin
For So Great Is The Difference Between Just And Unjust, That It Is Visible Even In The Lifeless Image Of It. For What Order Will Be Left In The World, If These Opposites Be Confounded Together? Such A Distinction As This, Therefore, Between Virtuous And Vicious Actions, Has Not Only Been Engraven By The Lord In The Heart Of Every Man, But Has Also Been Frequently Confirmed By His Providential Dispensations.
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Heart
Men
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Faith Alone Saves, But The Faith That Saves Is Not Alone.
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For Scripture Is The School Of The Holy Spirit, In Which, As Nothing Is Omitted That Is Both Necessary And Useful To Know, So Nothing Is Taught But What Is Expedient To Know. Therefore We Must Guard Against Depriving Believers Of Anything Disclosed About Predestination In Scripture, Lest We Seem Either Wickedly To Defraud Them Of The Blessing Of Their God Or To Accuse And Scoff At The Holy Spirit For Having Published What It Is In Any Way Profitable To Suppress.
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Peace And Friendship Are An Amiable Thing Among Men. They Be So Indeed, And We Ought To Seek Them To The Uttermost Of Our Power. But Yet For All That, We Must Set Such Store By God's Truth, That If All The World Should Be Set On Fire For The Maintenance Thereof, We Should Not Stick At It.
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Nevertheless, Our Constant Efforts To Lower Our Estimate Of The Present World Should Not Lead Us To Hate Life Or To Be Ungrateful Toward God. For This Life, Though It Is Full Of Countless Miseries, Deserves To Be Reckoned Among The Divine Blessings Which Should Not Be Despised. Therefore, If We Discover Nothing Of God's Goodness In It, We Are Already Guilty Of No Small Ingratitude Toward Him.
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He Makes This Favor Common To All, Because It Is Propounded To All, And Not Because It Is In Reality Extended To All; For Though Christ Suffered For The Sins Of The Whole World, And Is Offered Through God’s Benignity Indiscriminately To All, Yet All Do Not Receive Him.
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There Cannot Be A Surer Rule, Nor A Stronger Exhortation To The Observance Of It, Than When We Are Taught That All The Endowments Which We Possess Are Divine Deposits Entrusted To Us For The Very Purpose Of Being Distributed For The Good Of Our Neighbour.
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True It Is, That He Who Has Taken Off His Affection From The Goods Of This World Has Already Sold All, And Has Made Himself Poor, So Far As Depends Upon Himself; But The Fruit And The Proof Of This Spiritual Poverty Are, Patiently To Endure The Loss Of Worldly Goods, And Without Any Regret, When It Pleases Our Heavenly Father That We Should Be Despoiled Of Them.
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Moreover, A True Christian Will Not Ascribe Any Prosperity To His Own Diligence, Industry, Or Good Fortune, But He Will Acknowledge That God Is The Author Of It.
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I Have Never Seen Either A Drop Of Piety Or A Grain Of Truth Or Ingenuousness - Nay, I Have Never Found Common Sense In Any Jew.
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I Consider Looseness With Words No Less Of A Defect Than Looseness Of The Bowels.
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Lawful Worship Consists In Obedience Alone.
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There Is No Place For Faith If We Expect God To Fulfill Immediately What He Promises.
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Humility Is The Beginning Of True Intelligence.
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For Astronomy Is Not Only Pleasant, But Also Very Useful To Be Known: It Cannot Be Denied That This Art Unfolds The Admirable Wisdom Of God.
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All Whom The Lord Has Chosen And Received Into The Society Of His Saints Ought To Prepare Themselves For A Life That Is Hard, Difficult, Laborious And Full Of Countless Griefs.
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It Is Certain That Man Never Achieves A Clear Knowledge Of Himself Unless He Has First Looked Upon God's Face, And Then Descends From Contemplating Him To Scrutinize Himself.
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It Is Therefore Faith Alone Which Justifies, And Yet The Faith Which Justifies Is Not Alone.
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Without Christ, Sciences In Every Department Are Vain....the Man Who Knows Not God Is Vain, Though He Should Be Conversant With Every Branch Of Learning. Nay More, We May Affirm This Too With Truth, That These Choice Gifts Of God -- Expertness Of Mind, Acuteness Of Judgment, Liberal Sciences, And Acquaintance With Languages, Are In A Manner Profaned In Every Instance In Which They Fall To The Lot Of Wicked Men.
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While Sin Is Overflowing, [grace] Pours Itself Forth So Exuberantly, That It Not Only Overcomes The Flood Of Sin, But Wholly Absorbs It.
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On The One Hand, Undeserved Success Gives No Satisfaction... But, On The Other Hand, Well-deserved Failure Gives No Satisfaction Either.
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Surely In Judas' Betrayal It Will Be No More Right, Because God Both Willed That His Son Be Delivered Up, And Delivered Him Up To Death, To Ascribe The Guilt Of The Crime To God Than To Transfer The Credit For Redemption To Judas.
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We Should Ask God To Increase Our Hope When It Is Small, Awaken It When It Is Dormant, Confirm It When It Is Wavering, Strengthen It When It Is Weak, And Raise It Up When It Is Overthrown.
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All Men Were Created To Busy Themselves With The Labor For The Common Good.
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The Gospel Is Not A Doctrine Of The Tongue, But Of Life. It Cannot Be Grasped By Reason And Memory Only, But It Is Fully Understood When It Possesses The Whole Soul And Penetrates To The Inner Recesses Of The Heart.
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Now We Shall Possess A Right Definition Of Faith If We Call It A Firm And Certain Knowledge Of God's Benevolence Toward Us, Founded Upon The Truth Of The Freely Given Promise In Christ, Both Revealed To Our Minds And Sealed Upon Our Hearts Through The Holy Spirit.
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The Gospel Acts Without Threats... It Teaches Us About The Supreme Goodwill Of God Towards Us.
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God Preordained, For His Own Glory And The Display Of His Attributes Of Mercy And Justice, A Part Of The Human Race, Without Any Merit Of Their Own, To Eternal Salvation, And Another Part, In Just Punishment Of Their Sin, To Eternal Damnation.
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If God Were Not To Test Us, There Would Be No Patience.
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As By The Revolt Of The First Man, The Image Of God Could Be Effaced From His Mind And Soul, So There Is Nothing Strange In His Shedding Some Rays Of Grace On The Reprobate, And Afterwards Allowing These To Be Extinguished.
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After 50 Years, Is It Not Clear That God Has Raised Up New Illnesses Connected With Fornication? From Where Do These Things Come If Not From The Hand Of God? [in Response To These Diseases] The World Was Astounded, And People Were Terrified For A Time, But They Have Not, To This Day, Observed The Hand Of God.
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But Those Who Wish To Prove To Unbelievers That Scripture Is The Word Of God Are Acting Foolishly, For Only By Faith Can This Be Known.
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Original Sin, Therefore, Appears To Be A Hereditary, Depravity And Corruption Of Our Nature, Diffused Through All The Parts Of The Soul, Rendering Us Obnoxious To The Divine Wrath And Producing In Us Those Works Which The Scripture Calls 'works Of.
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The Pastor Ought To Have Two Voices: One, For Gathering The Sheep; And Another, For Warding Off And Driving Away Wolves And Thieves. The Scripture Supplies Him With The Means Of Doing Both.
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Our Assurance, Our Glory, And The Sole Anchor Of Our Salvation Are That Christ The Son Of God Is Ours, And We In Turn Are In Him Sons Of God And Heirs Of The Kingdom Of Heaven, Called To The Hope Of Eternal Blessedness By God's Grace, Not By Our Worth.
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The Poor Yield To The Rich, The Common People To The Upper Ten, The Servants To Their Masters, The Ignorant To The Scholars; But There Is Nobody Who Does Not Imagine That He Is Really Better Than Others.
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The Scriptures Should Be Read With The Aim Of Finding Christ In Them. Whoever Turns Aside From This Object, Even Though He Wears Himself Out All His Life In Learning, He Will Never Reach The Knowledge Of The Truth.
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True Wisdom Consists In Two Things: Knowledge Of God And Knowledge Of Self.
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When We Recognize The Rod Of A Father, Should We Not Show Ourselves Docile Children Rather Than Rebelliously Desperate Men Who Have Been Hardened In Their Evil Doings?
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They Who Prematurely Put Themselves Forward To Root Out Whatever Is Displeasing To Them Overthrow The Judgment Of God And Rashly Intrude Upon The Office Of Angels.
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The Fire Of Affliction Reveals The Quality Of Our Faith
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The Marks Of Jesus Are Imprisonment, Chains, Scourgings, Blows And Stoning In Bearing Testimony To The Gospel. Galatians 6:17 - 17 Finally, Let No One Cause Me Trouble, For I Bear On My Body The Marks Of Jesus.
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The Invention Of The Arts, And Other Things Which Serve The Common Use And Convenience Of Life, Is A Gift Of God By No Means To Be Despised, And A Faculty Worthy Of Commendation.
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The Effect Of Our Knowledge Rather Ought To Be, First, To Teach Us Reverence And Fear; And, Secondly, To Induce Us, Under Its Guidance And Teaching, To Ask Every Good Thing From [god], And, When It Is Received, Ascribe It To Him. For How Can The Idea Of God Enter Your Mind Without Instantly Giving Rise To The Thought, That Since You Are His Workmanship, You Are Bound, By The Very Law Of Creation, To Submit To His Authority?-- Hat Your Life Is Due To Him?-- Hat Whatever You Do Ought To Have Reference To Him.
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Whensoever God's Truth Is Defaced Or When Any Man Turns Away From The Pure Simplicity Of The Gospel, We Must Not In Any Wise Spare Him, But Although The Whole World Should Set Itself Against Us, Yet Must We Maintain The Case With Invincible Constancy, Without Bending For Any Creature.
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For Until Men Recognize That They Owe Everything To God, That They Are Nourished By His Fatherly Care, That He Is The Author Of Their Every Good, That They Should Seek Nothing Beyond Him - They Will Never Yield Him Willing Service. Nay, Unless They Establish Their Complete Happiness In Him, They Will Never Give Themselves Truly And Sincerely To Him.
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Christians Rejoice Even While They Truly Sorrow - Because Their Rejoicing Is In The Hope Of Heaven... While Joy Overcomes Sorrow, It Does Not Put An End To It.
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The Denial Of Ourselves Which Christ Has So Diligently Commanded His Disciples From The Beginning Will At Last Dominate All The Desires Of Our Heart.
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Scripture Will Ultimately Suffice For A Saving Knowledge Of God Only When Its Certainty Is Founded Upon The Inward Persuasion Of The Holy Spirit. Indeed, These Human Testimonies Which Exist To Confirm It Will Not Be Vain If, As Secondary Aids To Our Feebleness, They Follow That Chief And Highest Testimony. But Those Who Wish To Prove To Unbelievers That Scripture Is The Word Of God Are Acting Foolishly, For Only By Faith Can This Be Known.
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Things That Are Seen Are Temporal; Things That Are Unseen Are Eternal.
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In Our Good Works Nothing Is Our Own.
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Integrity Is The Best Of All Protectors...we Cannot Be More Secure Than When Fortified By A Good Conscience.
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Conscience
We Have Been Adopted As Sons By The Lord With This One Condition; That Our Life Expresses Christ, The Bond Of Our Adoption. Accordingly, Unless We Give And Devote Ourselves To Righteousness, We Not Only Revolt From Our Creator With Wicked Perfidy, But We Also Abjure Our Savior Himself.
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All The Blessings We Enjoy Are Divine Deposits, Committed To Our Trust On This Condition, That They Should Be Dispensed For The Benefit Of Our Neighbors.
Trust
Christian
Prayer
The Flesh Is Willing To Flatter Itself, And Many Who Now Give Themselves Every Indulgence, Promise To Themselves An Easy Entrance Into Life. Thus Men Practice Mutual Deception On Each Other And Fall Asleep In Wicked Indifference.
Fall
Men
Practice
At This Day . . . The Earth Sustains On Her Bosom Many Monster Minds, Minds Which Are Not Afraid To Employ The Seed Of Deity Deposited In Human Nature As A Means Of Suppressing The Name Of God. Can Anything Be More Detestable Than This Madness In Man, Who, Finding God A Hundred Times Both In His Body And His Soul, Makes His Excellence In This Respect A Pretext For Denying That There Is A God? He Will Not Say That Chance Has Made Him Different From The Brutes; . . . But, Substituting Nature As The Architect Of The Universe, He Suppresses The Name Of God.
Mean
Men
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God Promised By The Mouth Of Isaiah That Queens Should Be The Nursing Mothers Of The Church.
Mother
Queens
Nursing
Thus The Woman, Who Had Perversely Exceeded Her Proper Bounds, Is Forced Back To Her Own Position. She Had, Indeed, Previously Been Subject To Her Husband, But That Was A Liberal And Gentle Subjection; Now, However, She Is Cast Into Servitude.
Husband
Gentle
Casts
If A Preacher Is Not First Preaching To Himself, Better That He Falls On The Steps Of The Pulpit And Breaks His Neck Than Preaches That Sermon.
Fall
Firsts
Steps
It Is Permissible To Use Wine Not Only For Necessity, But Also To Make Us Merry...... [it Must Be Moderate] Lest Men Forget Themselves, Drown Their Senses,.....in Making Merry [those Who Enjoy Wine] Feel A Livelier Gratitude To God.
Gratitude
Wine
Men
There Is Nothing In Afflictions Which Ought To Disturb Our Joy.
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Ought
We Are Nowhere Forbidden To Laugh, Or Be Satisfied With Food...or To Be Delighted With Music Or To Drink Wine.
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Laughing
Drink
The Vices Of Which We Are Full We Carefully Hide From Others, And We Flatter Ourselves With The Notion That They Are Small And Trivial; We Sometimes Even Embrace Them As Virtues.
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Sometimes
Virtue
When I Took The Leap, I Had Faith I Would Find A Net; Instead I Learned I Could Fly.
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Leap
Though Satan Instils His Poison, And Fans The Flames Of Our Corrupt Desires Within Us,we Are Yet Not Carried By Any External Force To The Commission Of Sin, But Our Own Flesh Entices Us, And We Willingly Yield To Its Allurements.
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Desire
There Is No Wisdom But That Which Is Founded On The Fear Of God, Which Solomon Also Declares To Be The Chief Part Of Wisdom.
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The Excellence Of The Church Does Not Consist In Multitude But In Purity.
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Peace Is Not To Be Purchased By The Sacrifice Of Truth.
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The Surest Source Of Destruction To Men Is To Obey Themselves.
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Now We Must Remark, That There Are Two Parts In The Commandment-the First Forbids The Erection Of A Graven Image, Or Any Likeness; The Second Prohibits The Transferring Of The Worship Which God Claims For Himself Alone, To Any Of These Phantoms Or Delusive Shows.
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Those Little Children Have Not Yet Any Understanding To Desire His Blessing; But When They Are Presented To Him, He Gently And Kindly Receives Them, And Dedicates Them To The Father By A Solemn Act Of Blessing.
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We Must Always Speak Of The Efficacy Of The Ministry In Such A Manner That The Entire Praise Of The Work May Be Reserved For God Alone.
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May
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Prosperity Inebriates Men, So That They Take Delights In Their Own Merits.
Men
Delight
Poverty
Seeing God Hath Thus Set Us At Liberty, What Rashness It Is For Worms Of The Earth To Make New Laws; As Though God Had Not Been Wise Enough.
Wise
Law
Liberty
Again I Ask Whence It Happened That The Fall Of Adam Involved, Without Remedy, In Eternal Death So Many Nations, Together With Their Infant Children, Except Because It So Seemed Good To God? A Decree Horrible, I Confess, And Yet True.
Children
Fall
Together
He Who Has Learned To Look To God In Everything He Does Is At The Same Time Diverted From All Vain Thoughts.
Doe
Looks
Vain
They Babble And Talk Absurdly Who, In The Place Of God's Providence, Substitute Bare Permission - As If God Sat In A Watchtower Awaiting Chance Events , And His Judgments Thus Depended Upon Human Will.
Events
Chance
Judgment
Now The Great Thing Is This: We Are Consecrated And Dedicated To God In Order That We May Thereafter Think, Speak, Meditate, And Do, Nothing Except To His Glory. For A Sacred Thing May Not Be Applied To Profane Uses Without Marked Injury To Him.
Thinking
Order
May
Let That Ethical Philosophy Therefore Of Free-will Be Far From A Christian Mind.
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Mind
Doubtful Prayer Is No Prayer At All.
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Doubtful
We Are Nowhere Forbidden To Laugh.
Christian
Laughing
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To Be Christians Under The Law Of Grace Does Not Mean To Wander Unbridled Outside The Law, But To Be Engrafted In Christ, By Whose Grace We Are Free From The Curse Of The Law, And By Whose Spirit We Have The Law Engraved Upon Our Hearts.
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Mean
There Is No Work, However Vile Or Sordid, That Does Not Glisten Before God.
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Doe
Glisten
For, Since The Fall Of Adam Had Brought Disgrace Upon All His Posterity, God Restores Those, Whom He Separates As His Own, So That Their Condition May Be Better Than That Of All Other Nations. At The Same Time It Must Be Remarked, That This Grace Of Renewal Is Effaced In Many Who Have Afterwards Profaned It
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May
If True Religion Is To Beam Upon Us, Our Principle Must Be, That It Is Necessary To Begin With Heavenly Teaching, And That It Is Impossible For Any Man To Obtain Even The Minutest Portion Of Right And Sound Doctrine Without Being A Disciple Of Scripture.
Teaching
Men
Scripture
Unless Men Establish Their Complete Happiness In God, They Will Never Give Themselves Truly And Sincerely To Him.
Men
Giving
Sincerely
A Dog Barks When His Master Is Attacked. I Would Be A Coward If I Saw That God's Truth Is Attacked And Yet Would Remain Silent.
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Dog
Religious
Let This Be Our Rule For Goodwill And Helpfulness, That Whenever We Are Able To Assist Others We Should Behave As Stewards Who Must Someday Give An Account Of Ourselves.
Giving
Able
Someday
Men Are Undoubtedly More In Danger From Prosperity Than From Adversity. For When Matters Go Smoothly, They Flatter Themselves, And Are Intoxicated By Their Success
Adversity
Men
Matter
Who Will Venture To Place The Authority Of Copernicus Above That Of The Holy Spirit?
Scary
Copernicus
Venture
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Spiritual
Doe
Fruit
The Name Of Christ Excludes All Merit Of Our Own.
Names
Merit
Christ
Elisabeth, Again, While She Praises Her, Is So Far From Hiding The Divine Glory, That She Ascribes Everything To God. And Yet, Though She Acknowledges The Superiority Of Mary To Herself And To Others, She Does Not Envy Her The Higher Distinction, But Modestly Declares That She Had Obtained More Than She Deserved.
Envy
Doe
Praise
A Perfect Faith Is Nowhere To Be Found, So It Follows That All Of Us Are Partly Unbelievers.
Perfect
Found
Unbelievers
Were The Judgments Of Mankind Correct, Custom Would Be Regulated By The Good. But It Is Often Far Otherwise In Point Of Fact; For, Whatever The Many Are Seen To Do, Forthwith Obtains The Force Of Custom. But Human Affairs Have Scarcely Ever Been So Happily Constituted As That The Better Course Pleased The Greater Number. Hence The Private Vices Of The Multitude Have Generally Resulted In Public Error, Or Rather That Common Consent In Vice Which These Worthy Men Would Have To Be Law.
Men
Law
Numbers
On The Contrary, Therefore, Christ Declares That The Doctrine Of The Gospel, Though It Is Preached To All Without Exception, Cannot Be Embraced By All, But That A New Understanding And A New Perception Are Requisite; And, Therefore, That Faith Does Not Depend On The Will Of Men, But That It Is God Who Gives It.
Men
Giving
Understanding
There Is No Inconsistency In Saying That God Rewards Good Works, Provided We Understand That Nevertheless Men Obtain Eternal Life Gratuitously.
Men
Rewards
Good Work
It Is A Very Important Consideration That We Are Consecrated And Dedicated To God; It Means That We May Think, Speak, Meditate, Or Do Anything Only With A View To His Glory.
Mean
Thinking
Views
Men Will Never Worship God With A Sincere Heart, Or Be Roused To Fear And Obey Him With Sufficient Zeal, Until They Properly Understand How Much They Are Indebted To His Mercy.
Heart
Men
Worship
For It Is Better, With Closed Eyes, To Follow God As Our Guide, Than, By Relying On Our Own Prudence, To Wander Through Those Circuitous Paths Which It Devises For Us.
Eye
Path
Guides
The Human Heart Has So Many Crannies Where Vanity Hides, So Many Holes Where Falsehood Works, Is So Decked Out With Deceiving Hypocrisy, That It Often Dupes Itself.
Heart
Vanity
Hypocrisy
Men Are Idol Factories.
Men
Idols
Factories
God Works In His Elect In Two Ways: Inwardly, By His Spirit; Outwardly, By His Word.
Two
Way
Spirit
No One In This Earthly Prison Of The Body Has Sufficient Strength Of His Own To Press Forward With A Due Degree Of Watchfulness, And The Great Majority [of Christians] Are Kept Down With Such Great Weakness That They Stagger And Halt And Even Creep On The Ground, And So Make Very Slight Advances.
Christian
Body
Weakness
No Man Is Excluded From Calling Upon God, The Gate Of Salvation Is Set Open Unto All Men: Neither Is There Any Other Thing Which Keepeth Us Back From Entering In, Save Only Our Own Unbelief.
Godly
Men
Entering
To Crave Wealth And Honor, To Demand Power, To Pile Up Riches, To Gather All Those Vanities Which Seem To Make For Pomp And Empty Display, That Is Our Furious Passion And Our Unbounded Desire.on The Other Hand, We Fear And Abhor Poverty, Obscurity, And Humility, And We Seek To Avoid Them By All Possible Means.
Mean
Humility
Passion
No One Will Calmly And Quietly Submit To Bear The Cross Except Those Who Have Learned To Seek Their Happiness Beyond This World.
Joy
Suffering
World
A Man That Extols Himself Is A Fool And An Idiot
Men
Fool
Idiot
So Great And Boundless Is God's Wisdom That He Knows Right Well How To Use Evil Instruments To Do Good.
Evil
Use
Instruments
Pagan Philosophers Set Up Reason As The Sole Guide Of Life, Of Wisdom And Conduct; But Christian Philosophy Demands Of Us That We Surrender Our Reason To The Holy Spirit; And This Means That We No Longer Live For Ourselves, But That Christ Lives And Reigns Within Us (rom 12:1; Eph 4:23; Gal 2:20).
Christian
Philosophy
Mean
The Evil In Our Desires Typically Does Not Lie In What We Want, But That We Want It Too Much.
Lying
Evil
Greed
Scripture Is Like A Pair Of Spectacles Which Dispels The Darkness And Gives Us A Clear View Of God.
Views
Giving
Darkness
Those Who Set Up A Fictitious Worship, Merely Worship And Adore Their Own Delirious Fancies; Indeed, They Would Never Dare So To Trifle With God, Had They Not Previously Fashioned Him After Their Own Childish Conceits.
Fancy
Worship
Conceit
It Behooves Us To Accomplish What God Requires Of Us, Even When We Are In The Greatest Despair Respecting The Results.
Despair
Results
Accomplish
Accursed Is That Peace Of Which Revolt From God Is The Bond, And Blessed Are Those Contentions By Which It Is Necessary To Maintain The Kingdom Of Christ.
Blessed
Kingdoms
Christ
Our Prayer Must Not Be Self-centered. It Must Arise Not Only Because We Feel Our Own Need As A Burden We Must Lay Upon God, But Also Because We Are So Bound Up In Love For Our Fellow Men That We Feel Their Need As Acutely As Our Own. To Make Intercession For Men Is The Most Powerful And Practical Way In Which We Can Express Our Love For Them.
Prayer
Powerful
Men
Scripture Points Out This Difference Between Believers And Unbelievers; The Latter, As Old Slaves Of Their Incurable Perversity, Cannot Endure The Rod; But The Former, Like Children Of Noble Birth, Profit By Repentance And Correction.
Children
Differences
Noble
Man's Mind Is Like A Store Of Idolatry And Superstition; So Much So That If A Man Believes His Own Mind It Is Certain That He Will Forsake God And Forge Some Idol In His Own Brain.
Believe
Men
Idols
Wherever We See The Word Of God Purely Preached And Heard, There A Church Of God Exists, Even If It Swarms With Many Faults.
Church
Faults
Heard
Each Eye Can Have Its Vision Separately; But When We Are Looking At Anything Our Vision, Which In Itself Is Divided, Joins Up And Unites In Order To Give Itself As A Whole To The Object That Is Put Before It.
Eye
Order
Giving
But Prosperity, And The Happy Issue Of Events, Ought Also To Be Attributed To His Grace, In Order That He May Always Receive The Praise Which He Deserves, That Of Being A Merciful Father, And An Impartial Judge. About The Close Of The Psalm, He Inveighs Against Those Ungodly Men Who Will Not Acknowledge God's Hand, Amid Such Palpable Demonstrations Of His Providence.
Father
Men
Hands
It Is Only The Goodness Of God Sensibly Experienced By Us Which Opens Our Mouth To Celebrate His Praise.
Mouths
Praise
Goodness
Whoever Shall Now Contend That It Is Unjust To Put Heretics And Blasphemers To Death Will Knowingly And Willingly Incur Their Very Guilt.
Guilt
Unjust
Heretic
Man Is Never Sufficiently Touched And Affected By The Awareness Of His Lowly State Until He Has Compared Himself With God's Majesty.
Men
Majesty
Awareness
Joy Is A Quiet Gladness Of Heart As One Contemplates The Goodness Of God's Saving Grace In Christ Jesus.
Jesus
Heart
Joy
... Let Everyone Regard Himself As The Steward Of God In All Things Which He Possesses.
Stewardship
Stewards
All Things
The Highest Honor In The Church Is Not Government But Service.
Christian
Government
Honor
True Faith Is Ever Connected With Hope.
Faith
Christian
Connected
When Pain And Suffering Strike, Our Faith Is Well Founded If It Is Standing On The Promises Of God. For All Of God's Promises Have Strong Confirmation In Christ.
Faith
Religious
Strong
Let Us Not Cease To Do The Utmost, That We May Incessantly Go Forward In The Way Of The Lord; And Let Us Not Despair Of The Smallness Of Our Accomplishments.
Motivational
Accomplishment
Despair
Bien Que Les étoiles Ne Parlent Pas, Même En étant Silencieux, Ils Crient. Although The Stars Do Not Speak, Even In Being Silent They Cry Out.
Stars
Cry
Speak
We Must Observe That The Knowledge Of God Which We Are Invited To Cultivate Is Not That Which, Resting Satisfied With Empty Speculation, Only Flutters In The Brain, But A Knowledge Which Will Prove Substantial And Fruitful Whenever It Is Duly Perceived And Rooted In The Heart.
Heart
Brain
Knowledge Of God
Creatures Are So Governed By The Secret Counsel Of God, That Nothing Happens But What He Has Knowingly And Willingly Decreed.
Secret
Creatures
Happens
Knowledge Of The Sciences Is So Much Smoke Apart From The Heavenly Science Of Christ.
Science
Religion
Christ
I Exhort All, Who Reverence The Word Of The Lord, To Read It, And Diligently Imprint It On Their Memory.
Memories
Lord
Reverence
There Is No Group Or Type Of People Anywhere In The World That Is Excluded From Salvation, Because God Desires That The Gospel Be Proclaimed To All Without Exception.
People
Desire
Groups
We Must Remember That Satan Has His Miracles, Too.
Christian Inspirational
Miracle
Remember
Is It Faith To Understand Nothing, And Merely Submit Your Convictions Implicitly To The Church?
Church
Conviction
Submit
Without The Fear Of God, Men Do Not Even Observe Justice And Charity Among Themselves.
Men
Justice
Charity
There Is No Worse Screen To Block Out The Spirit Than Confidence In Our Own Intelligence.
Confidence
Block
Christian Inspirational
Angels Are The Dispensers And Administrators Of The Divine Beneficence Toward Us.
Angel
Divine
Solicitude
Rejoicing Refers To Moderation Of Spirit When The Mind Keeps Itself In Calmness Under Adversity And Does Not Give Indulgence To Grief. Constant Praying Is The Way Of 'rejoicing Perpetually', For By This Means We Ask From God Alleviation In Connection With All Our Distresses.
Grief
Mean
Adversity
Since No Daily Responses Are Given From Heaven, And The Scriptures Are The Only Record In Which God Has Been Pleased To Consign His Truth To Perpetual Remembrance, The Full Authority Which They Ought To Possess With The Faithful Is Not Recognized Unless They Are Believed To Have Come From Heaven As Directly As If God Had Been Heard Giving Utterance To Them.
Giving
Heaven
Remembrance
Faith Is Not A Distant View, But A Warm Embrace Of Christ.
Views
Christ
Embrace
Faith Consists, Not In Ignorance, But In Knowledge, And That, Not Only Of God, But Also Of The Divine Will.
Ignorance
Divine Will
Divine
Whatever A Person May Be Like, We Must Still Love Them Because We Love God.
Godly
Christian Love
May
Now Among The Other Things Proper To Recreate Man And Give Him Pleasure, Music Is Either The First Or One Of The Principal;and We Must Think That It Is A Gift Of God Deputed For That Purpose'.
Men
Thinking
Giving
If The Gospel Be Not Preached, Jesus Christ Is, As It Were, Buried.
Jesus
Christ
Buried
Human Will Does Not By Liberty Obtain Grace, But By Grace Obtains Liberty.
Grace
Liberty
Doe
The Answer Of Our Prayers Is Secured By The Fact That In Rejecting Them God Would In A Certain Sense Deny His Own Nature.
Prayer
Answers
Facts
It Is Evident That Man Never Attains To A True Self-knowledge Until He Has Previously Contemplated The Face Of God, And Come Down After Such Contemplation To Look Into Himself.
Men
Self
Looks
Our True And Genuine Wisdom Can Be Summed Up As The Knowledge Of God And The Knowledge Of Ourselves.
Knowledge Of God
Christianity
Genuine
If We Believe Heaven To Be Our Country, It Is Better For Us To Transmit Our Wealth Thither, Than To Retain It Here, Where We May Lose It By A Sudden Removal.
Country
Believe
Heaven
The Church Is The Gathering Of God's Children, Where They Can Be Helped And Fed Like Babies And Then Guided By Her Motherly Care, Grow Up To Manhood In Maturity Of Faith.
Christian
Baby
Children
There Is Also An Old Proverb, That They Who Pay Much Attention To The Body Generally Neglect The Soul.
Soul
Attention
Body
The Cross Of Christ Only Triumphs In The Breast Of Believers Over The Devil And The Flesh, Sin And Sinners, When Their Eyes Are Directed To The Power Of His Resurrection.
Life Changing
Eye
Devil
The Whole Gospel Is Contained In Christ.
Christ
Whole
The Most Accomplished In The Scripture Are Fools, Unless They Acknowledge That They Have Need Of God For Their Schoolmaster All The Days Of Their Life.
Needs
Scripture
Fool
In Truth We Know By Experience That Song Has Great Force And Vigour To Move And Inflame The Hearts Of Men To Invoke And Praise God With A More Vehement And Ardent Zeal.
Song
Moving
Heart
If Everything Proceeded According To Their Wishes, They Would Not Understand What It Means To Follow God.
Mean
Wish
Ifs
We Shall Never Be Fit For The Service Of God, If We Look Not Beyond This Fleeting Life.
Fleeting Life
Looks
Fit
There Can Be No Courage In Men Unless God Supports Them By His Word.
Men
Support
The Sufferings Of Christ Are The Means Of Forgiveness Of Sin And Eternal Glory
Mean
Suffering
Sin
Only Those Who Have Learned Well To Be Earnestly Dissatisfied With Themselves, And To Be Confounded With Shame At Their Wretchedness Truly Understand The Christian Gospel.
Christian
Shame
Wells
Christ's Intercession Is The Continual Application Of His Death To Our Salvation.
Christ
Salvation
Application
No Man Can Survey Himself Without Forthwith Turning His Thoughts Towards The God In Whom He Lives And Moves; Because It Is Perfectly Obvious, That The Endowments Which We Possess Cannot Possibly Be From Ourselves; Nay, That Our Very Being Is Nothing Else Than Subsistence In God Alone.
Moving
Men
Surveys
Whether Each Of The Faithful Has A Particular Angel Assigned Him For His Defence, I Cannot Venture Certainly To Affirm... Not One Angel Only Has The Care Of Every One Of Us, But That They All With One Consent Watch For Our Salvation.
Angel
Faithful
Together
Without Knowledge Of Self There Is No Knowledge Of God.
Self
Knowledge Of God
Self Knowledge
...nothing Good Can Proceed From Our Will Until It Be Formed Again, And That After It Is Formed Again In So Far As It Is Good, It Is Of God, And Not Of Us.
When A Certain Shameless Fellow Mockingly Asked A Pious Old Man What God Had Done Before The Creation Of The World The Latter Aptly Countered That He Had Been Building Hell For The Curious.
Men
Done
World
Seeing That A Pilot Steers The Ship In Which We Sail, Who Will Never Allow Us To Perish Even In The Midst Of Shipwrecks, There Is No Reason Why Our Minds Should Be Overwhelmed With Fear And Overcome With Weariness.
Fear
Sailing
Mind
I Have Not So Great A Struggle With My Vices, Great And Numerous As They Are, As I Have With My Impatience. My Efforts Are Not Absolutely Useless; Yet I Have Never Been Able To Conquer This Ferocious Wild Beast.
Struggle
Effort
Vices
Joy And Patience Are Far Above Our Strength... We Must Persevere In Prayer That He May Not Permit Our Hearts To Faint... Prayer And Perseverance Are Necessary In Our Daily Conflicts. The Best Remedy To The Weariness Is Diligence In Prayer.
Perseverance
Prayer
Heart
Man With All His Shrewdness Is As Stupid About Understanding By Himself The Mysteries Of God, As An Ass Is Incapable Of Understanding Musical Harmony.
Stupid
Men
Understanding
But A Faithful Believer Will In All Circumstances Mediate On The Mercy And Fatherly Goodness Of God.
Faithful
Mercy
Goodness
The Subject Then Of These Chapters May Be Stated Thus, - Man's Only Righteousness Is Through The Mercy Of God In Christ, Which Being Offered By The Gospel Is Apprehended By Faith.
Faith
Men
Mercy Of God
There Are Babies A Span Long In Hell.
Baby
Long
Hell
Hatred Grows Into Insolence When We Desire To Excel The Rest Of Mankind And Imagine We Do Not Belong To The Common Lot; We Even Severely And Haughtily Despise Others As Our Inferiors.
Hatred
Desire
Common
Prayer Doesn't Change Things - God Changes Things In Answer To Prayer.
Faith
Religious
Prayer
Understanding Quotes: Their Essence and Application

Quotes, or quotations, are powerful tools in communication, encapsulating ideas, emotions, and wisdom in concise expressions. They serve various purposes across different contexts, from academic writing to everyday conversation.

1. Defining Quotes

A quote is a repetition of someone else's statement or thoughts. It can be a direct replication of words spoken or written by another individual, often used to support arguments, provide evidence, or convey profound insights.


2. The Importance of Quotes

2.1. Enhancing Credibility

Incorporating quotes from authoritative sources can bolster the credibility of your work. By referencing experts or primary sources, you demonstrate thorough research and a solid foundation for your arguments.


2.2. Providing Evidence

Quotes serve as concrete evidence to support claims. In academic and professional writing, they validate points made, offering readers a basis to trust the information presented.


2.3. Conveying Emotions and Perspectives

Quotes can encapsulate emotions and perspectives succinctly. They allow writers to express complex feelings or viewpoints through the words of others, often more eloquently than paraphrasing.


3. Types of Quotes

3.1. Direct Quotes

Direct quotes involve copying the exact words from a source, enclosed in quotation marks. They are used when the original wording is significant or particularly well-expressed.


3.2. Indirect Quotes (Paraphrasing)

Indirect quotes restate the original message in your own words. While not enclosed in quotation marks, they still require proper attribution to the original source.


3.3. Block Quotes

Block quotes are lengthy direct quotations, formatted as a separate block of text. They are typically used for quotes exceeding a certain length, varying by citation style. For instance, in APA style, quotes longer than 40 words are formatted as block quotes.



4. Proper Usage of Quotes


4.1. Contextual Relevance

Ensure that the quote you choose is relevant to the topic and adds value to your content. Avoid inserting quotes solely for decorative purposes.


4.2. Integration into Your Writing

Seamlessly integrate quotes into your writing. Introduce them appropriately and follow up with analysis or commentary to connect them to your main points.


4.3. Attribution and Citation

Always attribute quotes to their original authors and provide proper citations according to the required style guide (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.).


5. Common Mistakes to Avoid


5.1. Overusing Quotes

Relying too heavily on quotes can overshadow your voice. Use them sparingly to support your arguments, not replace them.


5.2. Lack of Analysis

Presenting a quote without analysis or explanation can leave readers questioning its relevance. Always follow up with your interpretation or discussion.


5.3. Misquoting or Taking Out of Context

Ensure that quotes are accurate and not taken out of context, as this can mislead readers and undermine your credibility.



6. Quotes in Different Contexts


6.1. Academic Writing

In academic writing, quotes are used to support arguments, provide evidence, and engage with existing literature. Proper citation is crucial to avoid plagiarism.


6.2. Journalism

Journalists use quotes to provide firsthand accounts, add authenticity, and present multiple perspectives within a story.


6.3. Literature and Creative Writing

In literature, quotes can be used to convey character voices, themes, and stylistic elements. They enrich narratives and provide depth to storytelling.



7. Punctuation and Formatting


Understanding the correct punctuation and formatting of quotes is essential:


Quotation Marks: Always enclose direct quotes within quotation marks.


Punctuation Placement: In American English, periods and commas are placed inside quotation marks, while colons and semicolons are placed outside.


Block Quotes: For longer quotes, format them as block quotes without quotation marks, and indent the entire block.



8. Ethical Considerations


Ethical use of quotes involves accurate representation, proper attribution, and respect for intellectual property. Misuse can lead to plagiarism, which carries serious academic and professional consequences.

9. Tools for Managing Quotes


Utilize tools like citation generators and plagiarism checkers to manage quotes effectively. These tools help ensure proper formatting and originality in your writing.



Conclusion


Quotes are invaluable in enriching content, providing evidence, and conveying complex ideas succinctly. When used appropriately, they enhance the quality and credibility of your writing. Always ensure relevance, proper integration, and ethical usage to maximize their impact.


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