Comfort

“The more you see Christ walking in the sweet shades of divine love toward poor sinners, the sooner will your faith revive, and your comforts be restored. ~ A Lifting up for the Downcast by William Bridge”

“There is a generation of men in the world that have the law of God in their hearts, though they cannot act and work towards God as they would. These sometimes are in a dry and barren condition, where no water or comfort is; yet if in this condition they dig pits, go to prayer, wait upon God in duty, though they find no comfort springing up in their duty for the present, yet in due time the rain of God’s blessing will fill those dry pits and empty duties , whereby their life shall be like unto a pool of water, and they shall go from strength of grace to strength of grace, until they see the Lord. Know ye, therefore, any man that is in this valley of Baca, where no water is, yet if he can find in his heart to dig pits, to pray, read, hear, meditate, confer, and perform duties; though those duties be empty of comfort for the present, yet the rain of grace and mercy shall fall upon those pits, and he shall go from strength to strength until he appear before the Lord in Glory. ~ A Lifting up for the Downcast by William Bridge”

“Christians miss a great deal of comfort which they might have from the particular promises in the gospel, if they would consider their connection to the root, the great Covenant that God has made with them in Christ. ~ The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment by Jeremiah Burroughs”

“In time of temptation, apprehensive consciences look so much to the present trouble they are in that they need to be roused up to behold him in whom they may find rest for their distressed souls. In temptations it is safest to behold nothing but Christ the true brazen serpent, the true `Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world', (John 1:29). This saving object has a special influence of comfort to the soul, especially if we look not only on Christ, but upon the Father's authority and love in him. For in all that Christ did and suffered as Mediator, we must see God in him reconciling the world unto himself (2 Cor. 5:19). ~ The Bruised Reed by Richard Sibbes”

“What a support to our faith is this, that God the Father, the party offended by our sins, is so well pleased with the work of redemption! And what a comfort is this, that, seeing God's love rests on Christ, as well pleased in him, we may gather that he is as well pleased with us, if we be in Christ! For his love rests in a whole Christ, in Christ mystical, as well as Christ natural, because he loves him and us with one love. Let us, therefore, embrace Christ, and in him God's love, and build our faith safely on such a Saviour that is furnished with so high a commission. ~ The Bruised Reed by Richard Sibbes”

“Let this support us when we feel ourselves bruised. Christ's way is first to wound, then to heal. No sound, whole soul shall ever enter into heaven. Think when in temptation, Christ was tempted for me; according to my trials will be my graces and comforts. If Christ be so merciful as not to break me, I will not break myself by despair, nor yield myself over to the roaring lion, Satan, to break me in pieces. ~ The Bruised Reed by Richard Sibbes”

“Shall our sins discourage us, when he appears there only for sinners? Are you bruised? Be of good comfort, he calls you. Conceal not your wounds, open all before him and take not Satan's counsel. Go to Christ, although trembling, as the poor woman who said, 'If I may but touch his garment' (Matt. 9:21). We shall be healed and have a gracious answer. Go boldly to God in our flesh; he is flesh of our flesh, and bone of our bone for this reason, that we might go boldly to him. Never fear to go to God, since we have such a Mediator with him, who is not only our friend but our brother and husband. ~ The Bruised Reed by Richard Sibbes”

“Peace and joy are two main fruits of Christ's kingdom. Let the world be as it will, if we cannot rejoice in the world, yet we may rejoice in the Lord. His presence makes any condition comfortable. `Be not afraid,' says he to his disciples, when they were afraid, as if they had seen a ghost, `It is I' (Matt. 14:27), as if there were no cause of fear where he was present. ~ The Bruised Reed by Richard Sibbes”

“That which begins not with prayer, seldom winds up with comfort.”

“Since God is content with Himself alone, if you have Him, you may be content with Him alone, and it may be, that is the reason why your outward comforts are taken from you, that God may be all in all to you.”

“When I am in the cellar of affliction, I look for the Lord's choicest wines.”

“Ye have lost a child; nay, she is not lost to you, who is found in Christ; she is not sent away, but only sent before; like unto a star which, going out of sight, does not die and vanish, but shines in another hemisphere.”

“It is the duty of the saints, especially in times of straits, to reflect upon the performances of Providence for them in all the states and through all the stages of their lives.”

“Providence neither does nor can do any thing that is really against the true interest and good of the saints.”

“A wise Spirit sitting in all the wheels of motion, and governing the most eccentric creatures and their most pernicious designs to blessed and happy issues.”

“His heart stands affected towards us, under all sorts of infirmities whatsoever, either of sin or misery.”

“To be above the stroke of passions is a condition equal to angels; to be in a state of sorrow without the sense of sorrow is a disposition beneath beasts; but duly to regulate our sorrows is the wisdom, duty, and excellency of a Christian.”

“Strong affections make strong afflictions. The higher the tide, the lower the ebb.”

“Griefs are eased by groans, and heart pressures relieved by utterance.”

“A Christian may be stripped of anything but his God; he may be stripped of his estate, his friends, his relations, his liberty, his life, but he can never be stripped of his God.”

“He who has God for his portion enjoys all; and he who lacks a saving interest and propriety in God enjoys nothing at all.”

“We are now come to the banquet, and Christ is the founder of it; nay, he is the Feast itself. He is the Author of it, and he it is that we feed upon.”

“There is in Christ enough to satisfy all the hungry souls in the world, he himself being present at this heavenly banquet.”

“If he bring us to heaven through a valley of tears, it is no matter, for in heaven all tears shall be wiped from our eyes.”

“There is more mercy in Christ than sin in us. It is better to go bruised to heaven than sound to hell.”

“Grace is little at the first; things of greatest perfection are longest in coming to their growth.”

“The strongest are readiest to bear with the infirmities of the weak.”

“The worst that God does to His children is to whip them to heaven.”

“God enriches by impoverishing; He causes the augmentation of grace by the diminution of an estate.”

“Affliction is a bitter root, but it bears sweet fruit.”

“Learn, ye that would have death pleasant, so to rule and square this life, that it may agree in some measure with the life to come.”

“Seeking of Christ is the soul's duty; but Christ manifesting himself is the soul's comfort.”

“Many times Christ hath his face towards us, when we have our backs upon him; and therefore if thou wouldst find Christ, turn thyself to him.”

“There is nothing more helpful, succouring, or comfortable to a Christian while in a state of trial and temptation, than to know that there is a breadth to answer a breadth, a length to answer a length, a depth to answer a depth, and a height to answer a height.”

“Truths are often delivered to us like wheat in full ears, to the end we should rub them out before we eat them, and take pains about them before we have the comfort of them.”

“God has a long arm, and he can reach a great way further than we can conceive he can.”

“The knowledge of the love of Christ to his church is above all knowledge.”

“Christ vouchsafes his gracious presence to his children, upon their desire of it.”

“Grace is glory in the bud, and glory is grace at the full.”

“To have grace, and to be sure that we have grace, is glory upon the throne, it is heaven on this side heaven.”