Top 110 Quotes & Sayings by William Gurnall

Of all creatures in this visible world, light is the most glorious; of all light, the light of the sun without compare excels the rest.

All the plots of hell and commotions on earth have not so much as shaken God's hand to spoil one letter or line he has been drawing.

God hath made it a debt which one saint owes to another to carry their names to a throne of grace.

Godliness, as well as the doctrine of our faith, is a mystery.

Never was a faithful prayer lost. Some prayers have a longer voyage than others, but then they return with their richer lading at last, so that the praying soul is a gainer by waiting for an answer.

The sins of teachers are the teachers of sin.

Compare not thyself with those that have less than thyself, but look on those that have far exceeded thee.

Mercy should make us ashamed, wrath afraid to sin.

Great comforts do, indeed, bear witness to the truth of thy grace, but not to the degree of it; the weak child is oftener in the lap than the strong one.

And while God had work for Paul, he found him friends both in court and prison. Let persecutors send saints to prison, God can provide a keeper for their turn.

Humility is a necessary veil to all other graces.

Justifying faith is not a naked assent to the truths of the gospel.

The Christian must trust in a withdrawing God.

We have peace with God as soon as we believe, but not always with ourselves. The pardon may be past the prince's hand and seal, and yet not put into the prisoner's hand.

It is not only our duty to pray for others, but also to desire the prayers of others for ourselves.

Christ bears with the saints' imperfections; well may the saints one with another.

In heaven we shall appear, not in armour, but in robes of glory. But here these are to be worn night and day; we must walk, work, and sleep in them, or else we are not true soldiers of Christ.

Men are what they see and judge; though some do not fill up their light, yet none go beyond it.

Let your hope of heaven master your fear of death.

Humble souls are fearful of their own strength.

The soldier is summoned to a life of active duty and so is the Christian.

God's wounds cure, sin's kisses kill.

Compare Scripture with Scripture. False doctrines, like false witnesses, agree not among themselves.

The grace thou hast will soon be less, if thou addest not more to it.

The devil had as good have let Paul alone, for he no sooner comes into prison but he falls a preaching, at which the gates of Satan's prison fly open, and poor sinners come forth.

God would not rub so hard if it were not to fetch out the dirt that is ingrained in our natures. God loves purity so well He had rather see a hole than a spot in His child's garments.

Our enemies are on every side, so must our armour be.

The storm may be tempestuous, but it is only temporary.

The mightier any is in the word, the more mighty he will be in prayer.

The Christian in prayer comes up close to God, with a humble boldness of faith, and takes hold of him, wrestles with him; yea, will not let him go without a blessing... They are only a few noble-spirited souls, who dare take heaven by force, that are fit for this calling.

A minister, without boldness, is like a smooth file, a knife without an edge, a sentinel that is afraid to let off his gun. If men will be bold in sin, ministers must be bold to reprove.

Christ is the door that opens into God's presence and lets the soul into His very bosom, faith is the key that unlocks the door; but the Spirit is He that makes this key.

Satan cannot deny but that great wonders have been wrought by prayer. As the spirit of prayer goes up, so his kingdom goes down. Satan's strategems against prayer are three. First, if he can, he will keep thee from prayer. If that be not feasible, secondly, he will strive to interrupt thee in prayer. And, thirdly, if that plot takes not, he will labour to hinder the success of thy prayer.

He that loves the Word and the purity of its precepts cannot turn traitor.

The Christian is bred by the Word, and he must be fed by it.

Job's friends chose the right time to visit him, but took not the right course of improving their visit; had they spent the time in praying for him which they did in hot disputes with him, they would have profited him, and pleased God more.

To forsake sin, is to leave it without any thought reserved of returning to it again.

The chains of love are stronger than the chains of fear.

God Himself underwrites your battle and has appointed His own Son 'the captain of your salvation'.

Never venture near the door where sin dwells, lest you are dragged in.

We must not confide in the armour of God, but in the God of this armour, because all our weapons are only mighty through God.

We fear men so much, because we fear God so little.

The possessions God allows us to have are intended for our use, not our enjoyment. Trying to squeeze something out of them that was never in them in the first place is a futile endeavor. A cow's udders, gently pressed, will yield sweet milk, nourishing and refreshing. Applying more and more pressure will not produce greater quantities of milk. We lose the good of material things by expecting too much from them. Those who try hardest to please themselves with earthly goods find the least satisfaction in them.

We must come to good works by faith, and not to faith by good works.

When people do not mind what God speaks to them in His word, God doth as little mind what they say to Him in prayer.

We live by faith, and faith lives by exercise.

Set a strong guard about thy outward senses: these are Satan's landing places, especially the eye and the ear.

The Word of God is too sacred a thing, and preaching too solemn a work, to be toyed and played with.

For a beggar to live at court is not so much as the King to dwell with him in his cottage.

Can Christ be in thou heart and thou not know it? Can one king be dethroned and another crowned in thy soul and thou hear no scuffle?

It is the image of God reflected in you that so enrages hell; it is this at which the demons hurl their mightiest weapons.

Cowards never won heaven. Do not claim that you are begotten of God and you have His royal blood running in your veins unless you can prove your lineage by His heroic spirit: to dare to be holy in spite of men and devils.

Nothing is more contrary to a heavenly hope than an earthly heart.

Least doers are the greatest boasters.

God loves the saints as the purchase of his Son's blood. They cost him dear, and that which is so hardly got shall not be easily lost. He that was willing to expend his Son's blood to gain them, will not deny his power to keep them.

One Almighty is more than all mighties

Furnish thyself with arguments from the promises to enforce thy prayers, and make them prevalent with God. The promises are the ground of faith, and faith, when strengthened, will make thee fervent, and such fervency ever speeds and returns with victory out of the field of prayer. The mightier any is in the Word, the more mighty he will be in prayer.

Hope fills the afflicted soul with such inward joy and consolation, that it can laugh while tears are in the eye, sigh and sing all in a breath; it is called "the rejoicing of hope" (Hebrews 3:6).

We are justified, not by giving anything to God,--what we do,--but by receiving from God, what Christ hath done for us.

Say not that thou hast royal blood in thy veins; say not that thou art born of God if thou canst not prove thy pedigree by daring to be holy!