The Wisdom and Insight of Matthew Henry: Helping Modern Christians Strengthen Their Walk with God

By Michael Wing and Victoria Junkins

The Wisdom and Insight of Matthew Henry: Helping Modern Christians Strengthen Their Walk with God is an incredible distillation of Matthew Henry's unequaled insight into the Bible.

The manuscript is a longtime labor of love that has been several years in the making. The authors, Mike Wing and Victoria Junkins, have harvested wisdom and powerful insight of Matthew Henry, one of the most influential theologians of all time. Drawn from his critically acclaimed monumental commentary on the Bible and organized by topic, this book of wisdom and insight cannot help but have a profound effect on the reader and strengthening one's walk with God.

The authors are well-qualified to write such a book. Mike Wing is a lawyer and longtime CEO of several companies with a DMin., a master's in divinity, a master's in theology, and a master's in apologetics. Victoria Junkins is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame, has a master's in business administration, and has spent many years doing ministry work with the church.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Nov 29, 2023
• ISBN: 9798891302143

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The Wisdom and Insight of Matthew Henry

Helping Modern Christians Strengthen Their Walk with God

Michael Wing and Victoria Junkins

ISBN 979-8-89130-213-6 (paperback)

ISBN 979-8-89130-214-3 (digital)

Copyright © 2024 by Michael Wing & Victoria Junkins

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1

The Bible

Chapter 2

Creation

Chapter 3

God Working In and Through Us

Chapter 4

God's Provision

Chapter 5

The Gifts of God

Chapter 6

The Characteristics of Christ

Chapter 7

Serving Him

Chapter 8

Following Him

Chapter 9

Belief

Chapter 10

Temptation

Chapter 11

Sinfulness

Chapter 12

Forgiveness

Chapter 13

Humility

Chapter 14

Correction

Chapter 15

Righteousness

Chapter 16

Good Works

Chapter 17

Pride

Chapter 18

Justification

Chapter 19

Perspective

Chapter 20

The Holy Spirit

Chapter 21

Grace

Chapter 22

Justice

Chapter 23

Prayer

Chapter 24

Mercy

Chapter 25

Salvation

Chapter 26

Jesus Christ

Chapter 27

Trials and Tribulations

Chapter 28

Judgment

Chapter 29

Sanctification

Chapter 30

Stewardship

Chapter 31

Love of God

Chapter 32

Death

Chapter 33

Faith

Chapter 34

The Presence of Christ

Chapter 35

Thankfulness

Chapter 36

God's Guidance

Chapter 37

Marriage

Chapter 38

Love

Chapter 39

Provision of God

Chapter 40

Godly Living

Chapter 41

Peace

Chapter 42

Hope

Chapter 43

Serving Him

Chapter 44

Providence of God

Chapter 45

Eternal Life

Chapter 46

Comfort

Chapter 47

Obedience

Chapter 48

The Sovereignty of God

Chapter 49

Discernment

Chapter 50

Praise

Chapter 51

Holiness

Chapter 52

Liberty

Chapter 53

Atonement

Chapter 54

Promises of God

Chapter 55

Power of God

Chapter 56

Blessings of God

Chapter 57

Joy

Chapter 58

Wisdom

Chapter 59

The Will of God

Chapter 60

Repentance

Chapter 61

Evil

Chapter 62

Trust

Chapter 63

Compassion

Chapter 64

Truth

Chapter 65

Friendship

About the Authors

This book, compiled to help with one's spiritual formation and to strengthen one's faith and walk with God, is dedicated to our children: Lindsay, Jacque, and Brody (Michael's children) and Matthew and Michael (Victoria's sons). Next to the wonderful blessing of our faith in God and the wonderful gift of the saving grace of Jesus Christ, our children are our greatest blessing and source of great joy and admiration.

Introduction

This compilation is like the greatest hits of Matthew Henry.

Matthew Henry is one of the most amazing Bible commentators of all time and is considered one of the best-known and influential writers in Christian history. Originally written in 1706, Matthew Henry's highly renowned Bible commentary is an all-time classic that stands far above and apart from any other Bible commentary produced before or since. He possessed a rare ability to find and highlight profound spiritual insights and express them with simplicity and elegance. His straightforward style in which Scripture is interpreted and brought to bear on the practical matters of life and the key elements of Christian character are transformative in effect. Henry's powerful insights and reflections inspire and challenge the reader by helping to make Scripture real and relevant to daily life. His wisdom, insight, and inspiration are as powerful today if not more so than when initially written over three hundred years ago.

This compilation has distilled many of his greatest insights and inspiration by topical category. It is hoped that the wisdom of Matthew Henry shared herein is a great blessing to you in your spiritual formation and walk with God. May both grow ever stronger as you draw closer to Him.

Chapter 1

The Bible

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

—2 Timothy 3:16–17

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever.

—Isaiah 6:8

This (the Bible) is the light that shines in a dark place, and a dark place indeed the world would be without the Bible.

The New Testament does not cancel or supersede the Old but crowns and perfects it by the bringing in of that better hope that was typified and foretold in it.

Genesis—a history of originals:

The creation of the world.

The entrance of sin and death into it.

The invention of arts.

The rise of nations.

The planting of the church.

The state in its early days.

The Scripture should be remarked as it is impartial in relating the blemishes even of its most celebrated characters.

The law could not conquer death, nor abolish it and alter the property of it, as the gospel does by bringing life and immortality to light, and so introducing a better hope.

The tablets of the law were carefully preserved in the ark for the purpose of teaching us to make much of the Word of God and to hide it in our hearts, in our innermost thoughts, as the ark was placed in the Holy of holies.

The great things of God's law and gospel, we need to have inculcated upon us again and again.

What the law gave but a sight of at a distance, the gospel gives the enjoyment of and a hearty welcome to.

Ministers, by the preaching and expounding of the Scriptures (which are as a lamp), are to enlighten the church, God's tabernacle on earth.

Let not the contempt which some cast upon the Word of God cause us to value it the less: it is the bread of life, substantial bread, and will nourish those who by faith feed upon it to eternal life.

The Word of God is the manna by which our souls are nourished.

The law only shows us our disease; the gospel shows us our help in Christ.

The Word of God is a sword; it is a weapon both offensive and defensive.

We should pray that the gospel may have free course to the hearts of the consciences of men, that it may be glorified in the conversion of sinners.

There are an inviolable constancy and certainty in all the parts of the gospel of Christ. The promises of the gospel covenant stand firm and inviolable.

The gospel aims at our salvation, and we must not think much to suffer for that which we hope to be saved by. It is designed for our sanctification. All who shall be saved hereafter are sanctified now.

Persecuting powers cannot hinder the operation of the Word of God upon men's hearts and consciences; that cannot be bound by any human force.

Those who would acquaint themselves with the things of God must know the Holy Scriptures.

Scripture instructs us in that which is true, reproves us for that which is amiss, directs us in that which is good.

If we consult the Scripture, which was given by inspiration of God, and follow its directions, we shall be made men of God.

Oh, that we may love our Bibles more and keep closer to them than ever!

Scripture is a perfect rule of faith and practice.

The Old Testament set forth in shadows what was to come; the New Testament is the accomplishment of the Old.

The work and design of the gospel are to raise the heart to wait for the second appearance of Christ.

At the glorious appearance of Christ will the blessed hope of Christians be attained.

The gospel is the great means whereby men are brought to fear God and to give glory to Him. It is by the preaching of the gospel men are turned from idols to serve the living God.

The gospel—it is salvation, great salvation, so great that none can fully express, no, nor yet conceive how great it is. It shows how we may be saved from so great sin and so great misery and be restored to so great holiness and so great happiness.

The dispensations of the gospel exceed, very far exceed, the dispensations of the law.

If the hearers have not faith in their souls to mix with the Word, they will never be better for it.

There is no escaping out of the condemned state but by accepting the great salvation discovered in the gospel; as for those who neglect it, the wrath of God is upon them.

The law of God is far more excellent than the law of nations.

The law is a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ.

The Word preached is likely to profit when it comes gently and sweetly insinuates itself into the hearts and affections of the hearers.

His law—it works like a fire; if it is received, it is melting, warming, purifying, and bums up the dross of corruption; if it is rejected, it hardens, sears, torments, and destroys.

The law of God, written in the heart, is certain evidence of the love of God.

Whatever is directly repugnant to sense, to the light and law of nature, and the plain meaning of the written word, we may be sure is not that which the Lord has spoken, nor that which gives countenance and encouragement to sin, or has a manifest tendency to the destruction of piety or charity.

Let our hearts be filled with the Word of God.

Let our eyes be fixed upon the Word of God.

Let our tongues be employed about the Word of God.

The law is good to teach us what is sin and what is dirty.

The Scripture speaks the Word. The Spirit gives the touch, touches the heart, touches the hand.

Many that attend on the Word come rather see and be seen than to learn and be taught—to be made wise of salvation.

All who hear the word of the gospel ought to bring forth the fruit of the gospel.

Whenever the gospel comes, it will bring forth fruit to the honor and glory of God.

The gospel is the word of truth and what we may safely venture our immortal souls upon.

Ministers may be silenced and imprisoned and banished and slain, but the Word of God cannot be run down.

Christ is in heaven, but His Word is near us, and He Himself in that Word. When we mix faith with the Word, submit to its influences and commands, then we touch the hem of Christ's garment.

The unbelief and frowardness of man shall not make the Word of God of no effect.

The same Word yields matters of praise and comfort to Christ's friends and followers, which speaks conviction and terror to His enemies. Such a two-edged sword is the Word of God.

The Scriptures speak plainly, that the soul is immortal, and there is another life after this.

What the Scripture speaks God speaks.

Much Scripture treasure lies underground that must be dug for.

Christ's warnings are designed to engage our watchfulness. We are kept through faith, faith in Christ's Word.

Even in times of temptation, trouble, and persecution, the gospel of the kingdom shall force its way through the greatest opposition. Then the people that do know their God shall be strengthened to do the greatest exploits of all.

The Word of Christ is more sure and lasting than heaven and earth. Every Word of Christ is very pure, and therefore, very pure.

The sense of hearing cannot be better employed than in hearing the Word of God.

Christ's victories over Satan are obtained by the power of His Word.

Christ did not come to alter or invalidate anything foretold in the Old Testament.

By the law was the knowledge of sin, but by the gospel was the conquest of it.

They have best learned the meaning of the Scripture, that have learned how to apply them as a reproof to their own faults, and a rule for their own practice.

They that entertain the gospel must neither grudge the expense of it nor promise themselves to get by it in this world.

It is a great commendation of the gospel from the days of its infancy that it has brought many to holiness that was very unlikely.

Blessed be God that we have both the New Testament doctrine to explain the Old Testament prophecies and the Old Testament prophecies to confirm and illustrate the New Testament doctrine.

The Scripture is teaching to this day, though the penmen of it are gone.

The only way, and a sure way to find rest for our souls, is to sit at Christ's feet and hear His Word.

It is not enough for us to know the Scriptures, but we must labor to know the meaning of them. Ignorance of the meaning of the Scripture is especially shameful in those who take it upon them to teach others.

Both the preaching of the gospel in the world and the power of the gospel in the heart shall prevail.

The great design of the gospel is to bring people to trust in the name of Jesus Christ.

Those who would get good by the Word must be willing to follow it.

The gospel is not set up in opposition to the law but is an explication and illustration of it and a branch growing out of its roots.

The gospel is built up in love and grace and sweetness.

The instance of the power of the Lord Jesus gives us good encouragement to depend upon the sufficiency of His grace. How strong and effective is His Word. He speaks, and it is done.

Out of Christ, God is a consuming fire, but in Christ, a reconciled Father. This is the sum of the whole gospel.

God is every day fulfilling the Scripture.

The Word of God is the sword of the Spirit, the only offensive weapon in all the Christian armory.

The Word of God is our sword, and faith in that Word is our shield; we should, therefore, be mighty in the Scripture.

They that enjoy the benefit of the gospel must be willing that others also should share in that benefit and not covet the monopoly of it.

The Word of Christ does us no good unless we let it sink into our heads and hearts.

The Word of the Lord endures forever, both that of the law and that of the gospel.

The gospel is the time of reformation, not the repeal of the law but the amendment of it.

The Savior of souls is the destroyer of nothing that comes from God, much less of those excellent dictates that we have from Moses and the prophets. No, He came to fulfill them.

We must never be ashamed of Christ and His gospel.

The doctrine of Christ is what thousands of the wisest and best of men have ventured their souls upon.

The written gospel, which we have to this day, exactly agrees with the gospel that was preached in the first days of the church.

The great design of the gospel is to bring people home to God and to bring them nearer to one another.

It is the gospel that speaks to us articulately and gives us a clear view of that which in the Old Testament was seen through a glass darkly.

We must guide our desires by the Word of God and ground our hopes upon it.

The gospel salvation sets up a clear and true light, by which we may order our steps aright.

The gospel is discovering; it is to give light to them that sit in darkness, the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Never any that hoped in God's Word were made ashamed of their hope.

For those whom God fits, He will find out, wherever they are. As the Word of the Lord is not bound in a prison, so it is not lost in a wilderness.

Law must first be preached, then gospel.

The unbelief of man cannot make the threatenings of God's Word of no effect.

The gospel of Christ where it comes in its power, levels the ground, that the Lord alone may be exalted.

As long as we have Bibles, we may keep our communion with God and keep ourselves in His way.

We should covet earnestly to know the true intent and full extent of the Word we hear.

Where the Word is well-kept, there is fruit brought forth with patience.

People that have profited by the Word must look upon themselves as lighted candles.

We ought to take heed how we hear; take heed of those things that will hinder our profiting by the Word we hear; take heed, lest we hear carelessly and slightly; and take heed after we have heard the Word, we lose what we have gained.

It is not the suffering, but the cause, that makes the martyr.

Let us never think that strange, of which the Word of Christ has raised our expectations. If we remember what Christ hath said to us, we shall be the less surprised at what he does with us.

If the gospel be not a savior of life unto life, it will be a savior of death unto death.

A right knowledge of the Scripture, as the fountain whence all revealed religion now flows and the foundation on which it is built, is the best preservative against error.

The words of Christ demand attention.

Many are hindered from profiting by the Word of God by their abundance of the world. Many a good lesson is choked and lost by that prevailing complacency in the world.

When we come to read the Word of God and to attend to the preaching of it, we should come thus disposed, submitting ourselves to the commanding light and power of it: Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth.

You must be wholly for God, for Him and no other. Serve Him only.

Whatever God has made known, we may depend upon.

The Word of God is to be received by us as His, whoever is the messenger that brings it, whose greatness cannot add to it, nor his meanness diminishes from it.

The Word of God will be the death of the sin or the sinner.

It is the work of ministers to give warning from the Word of God of the fatal consequences of sin.

Those that are not refined as gold by the fire of the gospel shall be consumed as dross by it.

When men's hearts are made to burn under the Word, and their wills bow to it, then they know and bear the witness in themselves.

The voice of Providence is designed to open men's ears to the voice of the Word.

Enemies may prevail to burn many a Bible, but they cannot abolish the Word of God, nor defeat the accomplishment of it. The Word of the Lord endures forever.

God's Word looks at things eternal, and so should our desires and hopes.

The written Word is a lamp and a light, shining in a dark place.

These put the truest honor upon their Bibles that study them and converse with them daily, feed on that bread, and walk by that light.

No summaries, extracts, or collections out of the Bible can be effective to convey and preserve the knowledge of God and His will like the Bible itself.

The light that the gospel brought into the world to those that sat in darkness as far exceeded the Old Testament light as that of the sun does that of the moon.

What God's Word has appointed, His Spirit will affect and bring about, for no Word of God shall fall to the ground.

The design of the gospel—to strengthen those that are weak and to confirm them.

There is a time set when God's Word will come for the comfort of all that in it.

As the New Testament explains the Old, so the Old Testament confirms the New, and Jesus Christ is the Alpha and Omega of both.

The treasure of the gospel is put into earthen vessels, and the weak and foolish ones of the world are pitched upon to be preachers of it, to confound the wise and mighty, that the excellency of the power may be of God.

The gospel is a testimony to us concerning Christ and heaven. If we receive it, it will be a testimony for us: it will justify and save us; if not, it will be a testimony against us in the great day.

In the gospel, those celebrated attributes of God, His mercy and His truth, shine most brightly in themselves and most comfortably to us.

The gospel of Christ is ordained to be preached to all nations, and by Him, the partition wall is taken down.

God is made known by His Word; if we praise that, and the truth of that, we praise Him.

Make God's statutes your counselors, and you will be counseled aright.

The design of the gospel is to break the yoke of sin and Satan, to remove the burden of guilt and corruption, that we might be brought into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

The Word of the Lord will furnish us with a happiness that will run parallel with the duration of our souls, which must live forever.

The Word of God has comforts in store for those that by true humiliation for sin are prepared to receive them.

The Word of God is not bound to any one place.

The gospel brings with it, wherever it is received in its power, such peace as this, which shall go on like a river, supplying souls with all good and making them fruitful, as a river does the land it passes through.

Men's fancies are light and worthless, as the chaff that the wind drives away. But the Word of God has substance in it—it is of value, is food for the soul, the bread of life.

God's Word will be magnified and made honorable when those that mock at it shall be vilified and made contemptible.

The Word of God is the sword of the Spirit.

The Word of God is to our souls what our necessary food is to our bodies; it sustains the spiritual life and strengthens us for the actions of life.

Those that are humbly simple, sensible of their own folly, and willing to be taught shall be made wise by the Word of God.

All Scripture is profitable to convey divine light into our understandings.

To meditate in God's Word is to discourse with ourselves concerning the great things contained in it, with a close application of mind, a fixedness of thought, till we are suitably affected with those things and experience the savor and power of them in our hearts.

Let the Word of God determine all controversies.

Let but the cause of God and truth be fairly stated and fairly heard, and it will keep its ground.

It was the business of God's prophets to stir up God's people to that which is good, and to help them in it, to strengthen their hands, and, by suitable considerations fetched from the Word of God, to quicken them to their duty and encourage them in it.

Blessed be God that our faith and hope are not built upon the niceties of names and numbers, genealogy, and chronology but on the great things of the law and gospel.

In the glass of the law, we may see our deformities and defilements and know what to acknowledge and what to amend.

Those that tremble at the convictions of the Word may triumph in the consolations of it.

Life eternal lies in the knowledge of God and Jesus Christ.

By the gospel, life and immortality are brought to light, are brought to hand.

The Word of Christ strips sin of its cloak, that it may appear sin.

The advantage that those have that enjoy the gospel—Christ in it comes and speaks to them; He spoke in person to the men of that generation and is still speaking.

It is not humility, but infidelity, to put away the offers of the gospel.

When we think the Scripture must be made to agree with the false ideas we have imbibed, no wonder that we complain of its difficulty, but with revelation, it becomes easy.

Having Christ's commandments, we must keep them. Having them in our heads, we must keep them in our hearts and lives.

The Word of Christ is spoken; there is a cleansing virtue in that Word. It cleanses as fire cleanses the gold from its dross.

It is in the Word that we receive and embrace Him, and so where the Word of Christ dwells richly there Christ dwells.

We are sure that the Scripture cannot be broken or found fault with. Every Word of God is right.

A good man relies upon the Word of God as his rule and regards the glory of God as his end. He is furnished with a faithful guide in all his doubts and a powerful guard in all his dangers.

The Words of Christ, rightly understood, are what we may venture our souls upon.

The gospel sometimes gains great victories when it meets with great opposition.

Where the Word of God has no place, no good is to be expected, for the room is left there for all wickedness.

His Word we must not only receive but keep—not only have but hold. We must keep it in mind and memory, keep it in love and affection, keep in it as our way, keep to it as our rule.

The design of the gospel is to open men's eyes.

The power of the Word of God: it is searching, it is startling, and it can strike a terror into the heart of the proudest and daring sinner.

Christ and heaven are the two great doctrines of the gospel—that God has given to us eternal life and this life in His Son.

The cross of Christ was a stumbling block to the Jews, but Paul stood to it; in preaching that, he preached the fulfilling of the Old Testament predictions.

Some are wrought upon by the Word, and others hardened—some receive the light, and others shut their eyes against it.

With regards to the gospel, it is not hearing but doing that will save us.

Scripture is a tried weapon in our spiritual conflicts: let us, therefore, stick to it.

How apt we are to misunderstand scripture and to expound scripture by our schemes, whereas we ought to form our schemes by the Scriptures.

When we have heard those words that have done our souls good, we cannot wish but to hear.

Divine revelation, as it now stands in the written Word, is not only pure truth without mixture but entire truth without deficiency.

It is through the Word that souls are brought to believe in Christ.

The Word of Truth receives its sanctifying virtue and power from the death of Christ.

The doctrine of Christ needs not be ashamed to appear in the most numerous assembly, for it carries its own strength and beauty along with it.

Knowledge of Christ ought to be diffused throughout every nation in their own tongue, that people may converse as freely with the Scriptures as they do with their neighbors.

Salvation is to be had upon gospel terms and no other.

Let the words of Christ speak for themselves. The best end of men's controversies would be to keep to the express words of Scripture. Scripture language is the safest and most proper vehicle of Scripture truth.

Those speak best of the honor of the Word of the Lord that have themselves been subdued by its power and comforted by its sweetness.

It is the glory of the Word of the Lord that the further it spreads, the brighter it shines. What a light, what a power, what a treasure does the gospel bring along with it.

The gospel is a word of grace, the assurance of God's goodwill to us. It is the word of Christ's grace, for it is in Him alone that we find favor with God. Christ Himself has attested this word of grace; He has assured us that it is the Word of God.

Those that were under the law were to do all themselves, but the gospel discovers the greatest part of the work done already.

The gospel is concerning matters of life and death.

The grace of God in the gospel is designed for the healing of those that are spiritually lame and paralytic and cannot help themselves.

In studying the Scriptures, it is good to be methodical.

The gospel of Christ does not make men melancholy but fills them with joy.

Wherever the gospel gains the admission and submission it ought to have, evil spirits are dislodged.

Can we expect God should hear our prayers if we will not hearken to His Word?

Christ sent His gospel to slay all enmities.

The preaching of the gospel should be both scriptural preaching and rational; we must reason out of them and upon them. Reason must not be set up in competition with the Scripture, but it must be made use of in explaining and applying the Scripture.

It was necessary the Messiah should suffer, and die, and rise again, for the Old Testament prophecies concerning the Messiah made it necessary He should.

Those that read and receive the Scriptures must search them, must study them that they may find out the whole truth contained in them, and may have an intimate acquaintance with the mind of God revealed in them. Searching the Scriptures must be our daily work.

Those that rightly study the Scriptures, and meditate therein day and night, have their minds filled with noble thoughts.

The net of the gospel encloses all, both bad and good, that before were clean and unclean.

The words of the gospel are words whereby we may be eternally saved—not merely by hearing them but by believing and obeying them. They open the way of salvation to us.

Those that embrace the gospel of Christ will have salvation brought by it to their families.

Whatever we profess or pretend, we do not really believe the gospel if we do not cordially embrace Christ offered to us in the gospel.

The law is a lamp and a light; it opens the eyes and prepares the way of the Lord.

The gospel is the counsel of God.

As that which is straight discovers that which is crooked, so there is no way of coming to know of our sin without knowing the law.

The design of the law was to lead people to Christ. Christ is the end of the ceremonial law because He is the perfection of it.

By the Word of His grace, we understand the gospel of Christ.

Those that are to teach others must first themselves be taught the Word of the Lord, not only to talk of it but to walk in it. It is not enough to have our tongues tuned to the Word of the Lord, but we must have our feet directed into the way of the Lord.

Many that read the prophets do not know the voice of the prophets. They have the sound of the gospel in their ears but not the sense of it in their heads.

Let all that hear the gospel of Christ know these two things:

It is an act of indemnity—it is for and in consideration of the mediation of Christ that this act of grace is proclaimed.

It does for us that the law of Moses could not do.

The rule of the gospel is a rule of direction, not a rule of contrariety.

The sum and substance of the whole gospel is Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

The Old Testament does not only borrow light from, but return light to, the revelation of the New Testament. Christ is the treasure hid in the field of the Old Testament. To Him bear all the prophets bear witness.

The gospel is revealed, not to be talked of, and disputed about, but to be submitted to.

God in Christ reconciling a sinful world to Himself, and shedding abroad the riches of His grace on a reconciled world, is the sum and substance of the gospel.

The gospel is a doctrine to be obeyed and that from the heart, not in profession only but in power—from the heart, the commanding part of us.

The gospel is the great rule both of truth and holiness; it is the stamp—grace is the impression of that stamp.

The gospel will come into those souls whose doors and windows are thrown open to receive it.

It is common for those to make a jest of the Word of God who are resolved that they not be ruled by it.

The tendency of the gospel of Christ is both to reconcile us to poverty and affliction and to arm us against temptations to worldliness and sensuality.

The Scripture is now the ordinary way of making God's mind known to us, and it is sufficient.

Scriptures are the Word of God for they had their exact and full accomplishment, and that Jesus Christ was sent of God, for they had their accomplishment in Him.

Were we but more conversant with the Scripture and the divine counsels as far as they are made known in the Scripture, we should not be subject to such perplexities as we often entangle ourselves in.

There are things dispersed throughout all the Scriptures concerning Christ. You cannot go far in any part of Scripture, but you meet with something that has reference to Christ, some prophecy, some promise, some prayer, some type or other. A golden thread of gospel grace runs through the whole web of the Old Testament. The New Testament expounds the Old.

We should better understand what Christ does, if we did but better remember what He has said.

The grace of the gospel is a full discharge from the curse of the law.

We must not frame a Christ according to our fancy, but we believe in a Christ according to the Scripture.

The substance of the whole gospel—He that hears and believes has everlasting life. It is not enough to be within hearing of it, but we must also hear and obey. It must abide by the gospel of Christ as the fixed rule of our faith and practice.

Christ, in all the execution of His understanding, had an eye to the Scripture.

Many have the Word of God coming into them and making some impressions for a while, but it does not abide with them; it is not constantly in them, as a man at home, but only now and then, as a wayfaring man.

If we believe not the divine inspiration of those writings, how shall we receive the doctrine of Christ?

The Scripture assures us of an eternal state set before us and offers to us eternal life in that state. The scriptures, even those of the Old Testament, testify of Christ, and by them, God bears witness to Him.

We must show people how it was written of old concerning the Messiah and the glories and graces of His kingdom and then must tell them how all this was fulfilled in the Lord Jesus. Repentance for sin must be preached in Christ's name and by His authority.

The spirit of a man is a candle of the Lord, and it was the eternal Word that lighted this candle. The light of reason, as well as the life of sense, is derived from Him. From whom may we better expect the light of divine revelation than from Him who gave us the light of human reason?

In the beginning was the Word. This bespeaks His existence, not only before His incarnation but before all time.

New birth is owing to the Word of God as the means and the Spirit of God as the great and sole author. True believers are born of God.

In the gospel, we have the discovery of the greatest truths to be embraced by the understanding, as well as of the richest grace to be embraced by the will and affections.

The indwelling of the Word, and Spirit, and grace of God in us, is best tried by its effects, particularly by our receiving what He sends, especially Christ whom He has sent.

That which was given by Moses was purely terrifying and threatening but that which is given by Jesus Christ has all the beneficial uses of the law but not the terror, for it is grace. The endearments of love are the genius of the gospel, not the affrightments of law and the curse.

Men's actions must be captivated to God's Word and not God's Word accommodated to men's.

When we have so strong a faith in the gospel of Christ as boldly to venture our souls upon it, then, and not till then, we shall be willing to venture everything else for it.

Though we cannot account for every mystery, every obscurity, in Christ's doctrine, yet we know that it is the word of eternal life and therefore must live and die by it.

The Old Testament had grace in the picture; the New Testament has grace in the person.

The Word of God and the works of God do mutually explain and illustrate each other.

The great gospel mystery revealed: God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.

The very marrow and quintessence of the whole gospel—that Jesus Christ came to seek and to save the children of men from death and recover them to life. Saving as opposed to condemning.

He proved Himself sent of God, and therefore, His words are to be received as the Words of God.

The gospel of Christ is not a doubtful opinion, like a hypothesis or new notion in philosophy, but it is a revelation of the mind of God, which is of eternal truth in itself.

The light of the gospel is sent into the world to reprove the evil deeds of sinners, to show people their transgressions, to show people their transgressions, to show that to be sin, which was not thought to be so.

The success of the gospel exasperates its enemies.

There are multitudes as ready to receive the gospel as a field of corn that is fully ripe is ready to be reaped.

We have in the gospels a faithful record of all that Jesus began both to do and to teach. They are interwoven because what He taught explained what He did and what He did confirmed what He taught.

Nothing in Scripture is written in vain, and it is our wisdom and duty to receive instruction from it.

He died for our sins; He was buried and rose from the dead, according to the Scripture—prophecies. It is a great confirmation of our faith in the gospel to see how it corresponds with ancient prophecies.

We must use the Scripture as a light that God has sent into the world to dispel that darkness that is upon the face of the whole earth.

If we apply ourselves to the Word of God, we certainly do well in all respects what is pleasing to God and profitable to ourselves.

If ever men are made wise to salvation, it is by the shining of the Word of God into their hearts. Natural notions of God are not sufficient for fallen man.

The New Testament is a history of that whereof the Old Testament is a prophecy.

How firm and sure should our faith be, who have such a firm and sure word to rest upon!

The prophets and penmen of the Scripture spoke and wrote what was the mind of God.

The Christian knows the Bible to be the Word of God in which he sees all the proper marks and characters of a divinely inspired book.

The Holy Ghost is the supreme agent; the holy men are but instruments. The Holy Ghost inspired and dictated to them what they were to deliver of the mind of God. Mix faith therefore with what you find in the Scriptures; esteem and reverence your Bible as a book written by holy men, inspired, influenced, and assisted by the Holy Ghost.

The gospel excludes none who do not exclude themselves.

The gospel teaches us to worship God in spirit and truth and not by ritual observances and through the meditation of Christ alone and not of any angels.

The soul prospers when the Word of God dwells in us richly.

How happy would the gospel make the world, if it everywhere prevailed, and how much would it influence every state of things and every relation of life!

God will glorify the gospel, and so will glorify His own Name.

We should receive the Word of God as the word of God. The words of men are frail and perishing, like themselves, and sometimes false, foolish, and fickle, but God's Word is holy, wise, just, faithful, and abides forever.

The design of the gospel is to teach men not only what they should believe but also how they ought to live.

The Word will turn the inside of a sinner out and let him see all that is in his heart.

The Word of God is food and nourishment to the life of grace.

The gospel dispensation is more full, free, and efficacious than that of the law.

The Old Testament was never intended to be rested in but to prepare for the institutions of the gospel.

The gospel covenant is a new covenant, distinct from the covenant of works.

Under the gospel, we have all access with boldness to God.

The Word of God should be made our chief study, and what we hear and know of it, we must take care to practice.

The only way to render our perishing creature solid and incorruptible is to entertain and receive the Word of God—for this will preserve everlasting life and allow us to abide with Him forever.

The Word of God is the great instrument of a sinner's purification.

Strong desires and affections to the Word of God are a sure evidence of a person being born again. The Word of God does not leave a man as it finds him.

The law was given to convince men of the necessity of a Savior. The law is by no means inconsistent with the promise. The design of it is to discover men's transgressions and to show them the need they have of a better righteousness than that of the law. The law discovered their wounds but could not afford them a remedy.

The Word of God is the only rule God has given us.

The law was to lead men to see their need of the promise, by showing them the sinfulness of sin, and to point them to Christ.

Those in whom the Word of God dwells are well-furnished for the conquest of the world.

God's Word is a treasure worth laying up, and there is no laying it up safely but in our hearts.

The Word of God reaches to all cases, to all times.

A Bible is a pleasant companion at any time.

The written Word is a surer guide to heaven than anything else.

A good man, wherever he goes, carries his Bible along with him, if not in his hands, yet in his head and in his heart.

What we love, we love to think of. The Word of God should be our meditation.

The best evidence of our love for the Word of God is never to forget it.

Where the Word of God dwells richly, it will be a well of living water.

The Word of God is a lamp and a light. It discovers to us, concerning God and ourselves, that which otherwise we could not have known.

The Word of God's effects upon the consciences of men, both for conviction and comfort are wonderful.

The Word of God gives us admirable discoveries of God and Christ—admirable proofs of divine love and grace.

The Word of God answers all purposes better than money does for it enriches the soul toward God.

We stand no longer than God holds us and go no further than He carries us. Those that hope in God's Word may be sure that the Word will not fail them.

Christ, in His gospel, manifests Himself. Let each of us add to the number of those that give honor to Him.

As a testimony, the Word directs our faith; as a law, it directs our practice, and we ought both to subscribe to the truth of it and submit to the precepts of it.

As the works of God abundantly prove that He is God alone, so does His Word.

The more reverence we have for the Word of God, the more joy we shall find in it.

The Word of God is what one may venture one's all upon.

The more intimately we converse with the Word of God, and the more we dwell upon it in our thoughts, the better able we shall be to speak to God.

There are delights—variety of delights—in the Word of God, which the saints have often the sweetest enjoyment of when they are in trouble and anguish.

The more we see God's commandments, the more industrious we should be to bring others acquainted with them. We should always make the Word of God the governor of our discourse so as to never transgress it by sinful speaking or sinful silence, and we should often make it the subject matter of our discourse, that it may feed many and minister grace to the hearer.

God has made Himself known to us in many ways in creation and providence but most clearly by His Word.

If we keep God's Word, God's Word will keep us.

God in His Word, God in His promise, is a shield, a sure protection, to all those that put their trust in Him. It is sufficient, and therefore, we must not add to it.

Every Word of God is pure; there is not the least mixture of falsehood and corruption in it.

In the Word and prayer, there is a balm for every wound.

God does, by the written Word, by His servants the prophets, and all the ministers of this Word, declare His mind to sinners.

The Words of God are the fountain and standard of wisdom and understanding.

There is in the Word of