Where persons love little, do little, and give little, we may shrewdly suspect that they have never had much affliction of heart for their sins and that they think they owe but very little to divine grace.
Interpretation
The quote suggests that those who do not love or give much may lack a deep sense of remorse for their sins and may undervalue divine grace.
Charles Spurgeon's quote reflects on the connection between an individual's ability to love and their sense of gratitude towards divine grace. It implies that those who exhibit little love, action, or generosity may not have experienced significant struggle or guilt in their lives, leading them to believe they owe little to a higher power. This highlights the relationship between personal suffering, moral reflection, and the capacity for compassion towards others.
In practice
This quote could be used in a sermon to emphasize the importance of love and humility in one’s relationship with God.
Amusement should be used to do us good “like a medicine”: it must never be used as the food of the man...Many have had all holy thoughts and gracious resolutions stamped out by perpetual trifling. Pleasure so called is the murderer of thought. This is the age of excessive amusement: everybody craves for it, like a babe for its rattle.
When you see no present advantage, walk by faith and not by sight. Do God the honor to trust Him when it comes to matters of loss for the sake of principle.
It is far easier to fight with sin in public than to pray against it in private.
You will never glory in God till first of all God has killed your glorying in yourself.
After faith comes repentance, or, rather, repentance is faith's twin brother and is born at the same time.
["All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant."] The original Hebrew word that has been translated "paths" means "well-worn roads' or "wheel tracks," such ruts as wagons make when they go down our green roads in wet weather and sink in up to the axles. God's ways are at times like heavy wagon tracks that cut deep into our souls, yet all of them are merciful.
Free from gross passion or of mirth of anger constant spirit, not swerving with the blood, garnish'd and deck'd in modest compliment, not working with the eye without the ear, and but in purged judgement trusting neither? Such and so finely bolted didst thou seem.
There is little or no magic about them, except the ordinary everyday sort which helps them to disappear quietly and quickly when large stupid folk like you and me come blundering along, making a noise like elephants which they can hear a mile off.
Being harmless means being so strong, so empowered, that the idea of showing power through harm is not even a part of your consciousness.
As a general rule, I would say that human beings never behave more badly toward one another than when they believe they are protecting God.
Neither happiness nor grief are everlasting in this life - but one of the two is everlasting in the next. Which one do you want?
In one case out of a hundred a point is excessively discussed because it is obscure; in the ninety-nine remaining it is obscure because it is excessively discussed.
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