Puritan Nuggets of Gold # 9

The Bible

The Bible is the statute-book of God's Kingdom, wherein is comprised the whole body of the heavenly law, the perfect rules of a holy life, and the sure promise of a glorious one. (Ezekiel Hopkins)

The Scripture is the library of the Holy Spirit; it is a pandect of divine knowledge, an exact model and platform of religion. The Scripture contains in it the "credenda", "the things which we are to believe," and the agenda, "the things which we are to practice." (Thomas Watson)

O ye saints, how you should love the Word, for by this you have been converted. Tie it about your neck, write it upon your hand, lay it in your bosom. When you go let it lead you, when you sleep let it keep you, when you awake let it talk with you. (Proverbs 6:21-22). You that are unconverted, read the Word with diligence; flock to where it is truthfully preached. Pray for the coming of the Spirit in the Word. Come from your knees to the sermon, and come from the sermon to your knees. (Joseph Alleine)

The Word generates faith and regenerates us. (Joseph Alleine)

The godly man will read the Word by day, that men, seeing his good works, may glorify his Father who is in heaven; he will do it in the night, that he may not be seen by men; by day, to show that he is not one of those who dread the light; by night, to show that he is one who can shine in the shade; by day, for that is the time for working - work whilst it is day; by night, lest his Master should come as a thief, and find him idle. (Sir Richard Baker)

I will give you this as a most certain observation, that there never was anything of false doctrine brought into the church, or anything of false worship imposed upon the church, but either it was by neglecting the Scripture, or by introducing something over the Scripture. (John Collins)

We hold that neither man nor angel is any wise to add or detract any thing, to change or to alter any things from that which he Lord hath set down in His Word. (John Penry)

I know there is nothing in the Word or in the works of God that is repugnant to sound reason, but there are some things in both which are opposite to carnal reason, as well as above right reason; and therefore our reason never shows itself more unreasonable than in summoning those things to its bar which transcend its sphere and capacity. (John Flavel)

Among the many arguments to prove the penmenship of the Scripture inspired by the Spirit of God, this is not the last and least - that the penmenship of Holy Writ do record their own faults and the faults of their dearest and nearest relatives. For instance herof, how coarsely doth David speak of  of himself: "So foolish was I, and ignorant; I was a beast before Thee." And do you think that the face of Paul did look the more foul by being drawn with his own pencil, when he says, "I was a murderer, a persecutor, the greatest of sinners," etc.? Moses sets down the sin and punishment of his own sister, the idolatry and superstition of Aaron his brother, and his own fault in his preposterous striking the rock. (Thomas Fuller)

As the title set over the head of Christ crucified, was the same in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, so are the Scripture the same, whether in the original, or other languages into which they are faithfully translated. Yet, as the waters are most pure, and sweet in the fountain, so are all writings, Divine and human, in their original tongues. (John Robinson)