Richard Sibbes famous quotes

There is more mercy in Christ than sin in us.
-- Richard Sibbes

#Sin #Mercy #Christ

The life of a Christian is wondrously ruled in this world, by the consideration and meditation of the life of another world.
-- Richard Sibbes

#Christian #Meditation #World

Death is only a grim porter to let us into a stately palace.
-- Richard Sibbes

#Christian #Blessing #Palaces

Christ chiefly manifests Himself in times of affliction, because then the soul unites itself most closely by faith to Christ. The soul, in time of prosperity, scatters its affections, and looses itself in the creature; but there is a uniting power in sanctified afflictions, by which a believer, (as in rain a hen collects her brood) gathers his best affections unto his Father and his God.
-- Richard Sibbes

#Father #Rain #Grace

Measure not God's love and favour by your own feeling. The sun shines as clearly in the darkest day as it does in the brightest. The difference is not in the sun, but in some clouds which hinder the manifestation of the light thereof.
-- Richard Sibbes

#Love #Light #Differences

The love of a wife to her husband may begin from the supply of her necessities, but afterwards she may love him also for the sweetness of his person; so the soul first loves Christ for salvation but when she is brought to Him and finds what sweetness there is in Him then she loves Him for Himself.
-- Richard Sibbes

#Husband #First Love #Wife

The whole life of a Christian should be nothing but praises and thanks to God; we should neither eat nor sleep, but eat to God and sleep to God and work to God and talk to God, do all to His glory and praise.
-- Richard Sibbes

#Christian #Sleep #Blessing

There is not a minute of time in all of our life but we must either be near to God or we will be undone.
-- Richard Sibbes

#Undone #Minutes

Poverty and affliction take away the fuel that feeds pride.
-- Richard Sibbes

#Pride #Grace #Fuel

The winter prepares the earth for the spring, so do afflictions sanctified prepare the soul for glory.
-- Richard Sibbes

#Spring #Winter #Soul

It would be a good contest amongst Christians, one to labor to give no offense, & the other labor to take none. The best of men are severe to themselves, tender over others.
-- Richard Sibbes

#Christian #Men #Giving

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

#Children #Hate #World

The tenets of [the Christian life] seem paradoxes to carnal men; as first, that a Christian is the only freeman, and other men are slaves; that he is the only rich man, though never so poor in the world; that he is the only beautiful man, though outwardly never so deformed; that he is the only happy man in the midst of all his miseries.
-- Richard Sibbes

#Beautiful #Christian #Blessing

We are only safe when we wisely make use of all good advantages that we have access to. By going out of God's ways we go out of His government, and so lose our good frame of mind, and find ourselves overspread quickly with a contrary disposition. When we draw near to Christ (James 4:8), in His ordinances, He draws near to us.
-- Richard Sibbes

#Christian #Blessing #Government

Faith, whereby especially Christ rules, sets the soul so high that it looks down on all other things as far below, as having represented to it, by the Spirit of Christ, riches, honor, beauty and pleasures of a higher nature.
-- Richard Sibbes

#Christian #Blessing #Soul

The way to cover our sin is to uncover it by confession.
-- Richard Sibbes

#Way #Sin #Confession

It is Christ's manner to trouble our souls first, and then to come with healing in his wings.
-- Richard Sibbes

#Healing #Wings #Soul

When a man is to travel into a far country...one staff in his hand may comfortably support him, but a bundle of staves would be troublesome. Thus a competency of these outward things may happily help us in the way to heaven, whereas abundance may be hurtful.
-- Richard Sibbes

#Country #Men #Hands

No sin is so great but the satisfaction of Christ and His mercies are greater; it is beyond comparison. Fathers and mothers in tenderest affections are but beams and trains to lead us upwards to the infinite mercy of God in Christ.
-- Richard Sibbes

#Mother #Father #Satisfaction

It is better to go bruised to heaven than sound to hell.
-- Richard Sibbes

#Heaven #Sound #Hell

What coward would not fight when he is sure of victory?
-- Richard Sibbes

#Fighting #Victory #Coward

God will have the body partake with the soul-as in matters of grief, so in matters of joy; the lanthorn shines in the light of the candle within.
-- Richard Sibbes

#God #Grief #Light

A man knows no more in religion than he loves and embraceth with the affections of his soul.
-- Richard Sibbes

#Men #Soul #Affection

When we shoot an arrow, we look to the fall of it; when we send a ship to sea, we look for its return; and when we sow seed, we look for a harvest; so likewise when we sow our prayers, through Christ, in God's bosom, shall we not look for an answer and observe how we speed? It is a seed of atheism to pray and not to look how we speed. But a sincere Christian will pray and wait, and strengthen his heart with promises out of the Word, and never leave praying and looking up till God gives him a gracious answer.
-- Richard Sibbes

#Christian #Prayer #Fall

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

#Soul #Affliction #Taste

It is atheism to pray and not wait on hope.
-- Richard Sibbes

#Atheist #Waiting #Atheism

Satan gives Adam an apple, and takes away Paradise. Therefore in all temptations let us consider not what he offers, but what we shall lose.
-- Richard Sibbes

#Apples #Giving #Temptation

We cannot say this or that trouble will not befall, yet we may, by the help of the Spirit, say, Nothing that does befall will make me do that which is unworthy of a Christian.
-- Richard Sibbes

#Christian #Doe #May

When we go to God by prayer, the devil knows we go to fetch strength against him, and therefore he opposes us all he can.
-- Richard Sibbes

#Prayer #Devil #Fetch

Let weak Christians know that a spark from heaven, though kindled under green wood that sobs and smokes, yet it will consume all at last.
-- Richard Sibbes

#Christian #Blessing #Heaven

What unthankfulness is it to forget our consolations, and to look upon matters of grievance. To think so much upon two or three crosses as to forget an hundred blessing.
-- Richard Sibbes

#Gratitude #Blessing #Thinking

See a flame in a spark, a tree in a seed. See great things in little beginnings.
-- Richard Sibbes

#Flames #Tree #Littles

The Christian will desire to see the beauty of God in his house, that his soul might be ravished in the excellency of the object, and that the highest powers of his soul, his understanding, will, and affections might be fully satisfied, that he might have full contentment.
-- Richard Sibbes

#Christian #House #Soul

Whatsoever is good for God's children they shall have it, for all is theirs to further them to heaven; therefore, if poverty be good, they shall have it; if disgrace be good, they shall have it; if crosses be good, they shall have them; if misery be good, they shall have it; for all is ours, to serve for our greatest good.
-- Richard Sibbes

#Children #Heaven #Religion

Therefore, when we find our heart inflamed with love to God, we may know that God hath shined upon our souls in the pardon of sin; and proportionally to our measure of love is our assurance of pardon.  Therefore we should labour for a greater measure thereof, that our hearts may be the more inflamed in the love of God.
-- Richard Sibbes

#Heart #Love Is #Soul

If believers decay in their first love, or in some other grace, yet another grace may grow and increase, such as humility, their brokenheartedness; they sometimes seem not to grow in the branches when they may grow at the root; upon a check grace breaks out more; as we say, after a hard winter there usually follows a glorious spring.
-- Richard Sibbes

#Christian #Spring #Humility

What is the gospel itself but a merciful moderation, in which Christ's obedience is esteemed ours, and our sins laid upon him, wherein God, from being a judge, becomes our Father, pardoning our sins and accepting our obedience, though feeble and blemished? We are now brought to heaven under the covenant of grace by a way of love and mercy.
-- Richard Sibbes

#Father #Judging #Heaven

God can pick sense out of a confused prayer.
-- Richard Sibbes

#Prayer #Confused

It is good to divert our sorrow for other things to the root of all, which is sin. Let our grief run most in that channel, that as sin bred grief, so grief may consume sin.
-- Richard Sibbes

#Running #Grief #Roots

The depths of our misery can never fall below the depths of mercy.
-- Richard Sibbes

#Fall #Depth #Misery

God knows we have nothing of ourselves, therefore in the covenant of grace he requires no more than he gives, but gives what he requires, and accepts what he gives.
-- Richard Sibbes

#Giving #Grace #Covenant

See here, for our comfort, a sweet agreement of all three persons: the Father giveth a commission to Christ; the Spirit furnisheth and sanctifieth to it; Christ himself executeth the office of a Mediator. Our redemption is founded upon the joint agreement of all three persons of the Trinity.
-- Richard Sibbes

#Sweet #Father #Agreement

Gospel repentance is not a little hanging down of the head. It's a working of the heart until your sin becomes more odious to you than any punishment for it.
-- Richard Sibbes

#Heart #Punishment #Littles

This is a life of faith, for God will try the truth of our faith, so that the world may see that God has such servants as will depend upon His bare word.
-- Richard Sibbes

#Christian #Blessing #Trying

If Christ has once possessed the affections, there is no dispossessing of him again. A fire in the heart overcomes all fires without.
-- Richard Sibbes

#Heart #Fire #Overcoming

Those that look to be happy must first look to be holy.
-- Richard Sibbes

#Looks #Firsts #Holy

It is a destructive addition to add anything to Christ
-- Richard Sibbes

#Add #Christianity #Christ

Self-emptiness prepares us for spiritual fullness.
-- Richard Sibbes

#Spiritual #Self #Emptiness

In the godly, holy truths are conveyed by way of a taste; gracious men have a spiritual palate as well as a spiritual eye. Grace alters the spiritual taste.
-- Richard Sibbes

#Spiritual #Eye #Godly

The wronged side is always the safest.
-- Richard Sibbes

#Safety #Sides #Wronged

In trouble we are prone to forget all that we have heard and read that makes for our comfort. Now what is the reason that a man comes to think of that which otherwise he should never have called to mind? The Holy Spirit brings it to his remembrance; He is a Comforter, bringing to mind useful things at such times when we have most need of them.
-- Richard Sibbes

#Men #Thinking #Remembrance

God's truth always agrees with itself.
-- Richard Sibbes

#Agree

It is evident that our conversion is sound when we loathe and hate sin from the heart.
-- Richard Sibbes

#Hate #Heart #Sound

that which is begun in self-confidence will end in shame.
-- Richard Sibbes

#Self Confidence #Self #Shame

Christ quickens none but the dead. Why do not the papists attain to this grace of justification? They never see themselves wholly dead, but join some life to the natural estate of man. Therefore Christ quickens them not.
-- Richard Sibbes

#Men #Grace #Christ

Providence is the perpetuity and continuance of creation.
-- Richard Sibbes

#Creation #Providence

There are no men more careful of the use of means than those that are surest of a good issue and conclusion, for the one stirs up diligence in the other. Assurance of the end stirs up diligence in the means. For the soul of a believing Christian knows that God has decreed both.
-- Richard Sibbes

#Christian #Believe #Mean

God's children improve all advantages to advance their grand end; they labour to grow better by blessings and crosses, and to make sanctified use of all things.
-- Richard Sibbes

#Christian #Children #Blessing

Possibilitas tua mensura tua'(What is possible to you is what you will be measured by).
-- Richard Sibbes

In all their jollity in this world, the wicked are but as a book fairly bound, which when it is opened is full of nothing but tragedies. So when the book of their consciences shall be once opened, there is nothing to be read but lamentations and woes.
-- Richard Sibbes

#Book #Wicked #Tragedy

As the strongest faith may be shaken, so the weakest, where truth is, is so far rooted that it will prevail. Weakness with watchfulness will stand, when strength with too much confidence fails. Weakness, with acknowledgement of it, is the fittest seat and subject for God to perfect His strength in; for consciousness of our infirmities drives us out of ourselves to Him in whom our strength lies.
-- Richard Sibbes

#Christian #Lying #Blessing

A Christian is the greatest freeman in the world; he is free from the wrath of God, free from hell and damnation, form the curse of the law; but then, though he be free in these respects, yet, in regard of love, he is the greatest servant. Love abaseth him to do all the good that he can; and the more the Spirit of Christ is in us, the more it will abase us to anything wherein we can be serviceable.
-- Richard Sibbes

#Christian #Wrath #Law

The soul is never quiet till it comes to God . . . and that is the one thing the soul desireth.
-- Richard Sibbes

#Soul #Quiet

God is goodness itself, in whom all goodness is involved.  If therefore we love other things for the goodness which we see in them, why do we not love God, in whom is all goodness?  All other things are but sparks of that fire, and drops of that sea.  If you see any good in the creature, remember there is much more in the Creator.  Leave therefore the streams, and go to the fountainhead of comfort.
-- Richard Sibbes

#Sea #Fire #Sparks

What the heart liketh best, the mind studieth most.
-- Richard Sibbes

#Heart #Mind