Gems from Richard Sibbes (1577-1635)

An extract from Words Old and New: Gems from the Christian Authorship of all Ages (pp. 140-141).¹

1. When we come to be religious, we lose not our pleasure, but translate it. Before we fed on common notions, but now we live on holy truths.

2. The whole life of a Christian should be nothing but praises to God.

3. Is it not an unreasonable speech for a man at midnight to say, It will never be day? It is as unreasonable for a man in trouble to say, O Lord, I shall never get free; it will be always thus!

4. Having given up ourselves to God, let us comfort our souls that God is our God. When riches, and men, and our lives fail, yet God is ours. We are now God’s Davids, God’s Pauls, God’s Abrahams. We have an everlasting being with him, as one with Jesus Christ his Son.

5. God takes it unkindly if we weep too much for the loss of a wife, or child, or friend, or for any cross in this life; for it is a sign that we do not fetch our comfort from him. Nay, though our weeping be for sin, we must keep moderation, with one eye looking on our sins, and the other on God’s mercy in Christ. If, therefore, the best grief should be moderated, how much more the other!

6. That is spiritual knowledge which alters the relish of the soul; for we must know there is a bitter opposition in our nature against all saving truths; especially, there is a contrariety between our nature and that doctrine which teaches us we must deny ourselves and be saved by another. The soul must relish before it can digest.

7. When thou art disappointed with men, retire to God and to his promises; and build upon this, that the Lord will not be wanting in anything to do thee good.

8. Faith makes us kings, because thereby we marry the King of heaven. The church is the queen of heaven, and Christ is the king of heaven.

9. If we have a time of sinning, God will have a time of punishing.

10. If the touch of Christ in his abasement upon earth drew virtue from him, certain it is that faith cannot touch Christ in heaven but it will draw a quieting virtue from him which will in some measure stop the issues of an unquiet spirit.

11. Sin is not so sweet in the committing as it is heavy and bitter in the reckoning.

12. He wants no company that hath Christ for his companion.

13. Most of our disquietness in our calling is that we trouble ourselves about God’s work. Trust God and be doing, and let him alone with the rest.

14. God is never nearer his church than when trouble is near.

15. Every Christian may truly say, God loves me better than I do myself.

16. God hath two sanctuaries; he hath two heavens: the heaven of heavens and a broken spirit.