An Unsound Heart

"'The heart of a wicked man is little worth' Proverbs 10:20

"Sound actions cannot spring from a corrupt heart, so more than sweet water from a bitter fountain. He that considers not how his heart stands, whether it were wound up, whether it were in tune, whether it were melted, or whether it were frozen, that doth not care how drowsy and unsavoury his spirit was, doth not anything as a friend to Christ" (Stephen Charnock, Works, Vol. 4, pg. 590)

A Puritan's Exhortation to Witnessing

"Woe to us, that we know so much to so little purpose; that we should be bushels to hide, and not candlesticks that hold forth the candle of the Lord which He has lit up in us! Oh, how many dark souls may might our candle lead onto the sun! The light that is in Israeel might do much to turn Egypt into a Goshen. Speak , Christians; speak what you have seen, and testify what you believe; bring forth out of your treasure; pity the blind world, or at least be more helpful to one another. Instruct as you have been instructed; convince as you have been convinced, comfort as you have been comforted by God" (Richard Alleine, Heaven Opened, pg 98).

A Puritan's Look at Sin

"The Psalmist in the fourteenth Psalm notably sets forth the corrupt estate of man by nature; and again he sets it forth in the fifty-third Psalm almost in the same words, pointing out to us the great necessity and utility of this doctrine, which admirably tends to undeceive and deliver us from that fascinating (i.e. overinflated) opinion of our own righteousness and worthiness, which too much charms the hearts of all men; and withal to prepare and make us ready to accept a cure from Christ and his regenerating grace" pg 52, Works of Edward Polhill

In this always remember what the Lord says in 1 John 2:1-2:
"My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world."
Increase our faith in this precious promise and truth.

Some Help From Thomas Manton

"The great business of the Christian religion is to dispossess us of the brutish nature which is begotten in us" Works Volume 12, pg 41

"The more you indulge the flesh, the more it is your enemy, and the more your slavery and bondage is increased; so that you grow more brutish, forgetful of God, and unapt for any spiritual use" Works Volume 12, pg 47


"We are all debtors, and this duty taketh place as soon as we come to the use of reason; we all then begin to feel the corruption and imperfection of nature; and we are bound to look after the cure of it, and to use all Christ's healing means that it may be affected" Works Volume 12, pg 47

"Your first enemy is the old man; and it is the last, for it is not extinguished in us till death, therefore as soon as we pass out of infancy into youth, we must look upon ourselves as under this obligation, not to live after the flesh , but after the Spirit, to weaken the corruption of nature more and more" Works, Volume 12, pg 48

Ralph Erskine on Applying the Blood of Christ (Part 1of 8)

Ralph and Ebenezer Erskine are among the shining stars of ministers in Scottish Church History. In this first instalment of eight I am going to give you a taste of Erskine preaching at its finest in the area of applying the blood of Christ. He is utilizing the analogy of Christ's blood and water:
"Water, being liquid when poured out, it runs abroad and spreads; even so the blood of Christ that was poured out upon the cross at Jerusalem, it spread about, and spread abroad, as it is said, Zechariah 14:8, "And it shall be in that day that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of this way and half of them that way." This blood spreads abroad as far as the gospel-dispensation doth, of which Christ says, "Go, preach the gospel to every creature: publish remission of sin in my blood" (Works of Ralph Erskine, Volume 4, 121).