Welcome to "Quaint Words!”
These posts will contain thoughts, poems, and prayers from old books that I have found at antique stores, flea markets, and garage sales (with an occasional treasure from a bookstore).
I love the rhythm and sound of the older English language, and am blessed by other believers who have gone before me!
"We must not sink into a sad and disconsolate frame of mind, which would make us faint under our trials; but we must endeavor to keep our spirits dilated and enlarged, the better to take in a true sense of our case, and with greater advantage to set ourselves to make the best of it.
Philosophy may instruct men to be calm under their troubles, but Christianity teaches them to be joyful because such exercises proceed from love and not fury in God.
In them we are conformable to Christ our head, and they become marks of our adoption...
Let us take care, in times of trial, that patience and not passion, be set at work within us...let us give it leave to work, and it will work wonders in a time of trouble."
(From "Daily Readings by Matthew Henry" by Matthew Henry, c. 1662-1714)
(A listing of books and authors, and also dates of individual postings from those books, will be found on my "QUAINT WORDS" page)
BLOG = "Blessedly Leaning On God!"
Hi Sharon,
ReplyDeleteI love reading Matthew Henry; his spiritual insights have blessed me.
"...we must endeavor to keep our spirits dilated and enlarged, the better to take in a true sense of our case, and with greater advantage to set ourselves to make the best of it."
Blessings and peace.
MTJ
I like Matthew Henry. He and I spend a lot of time together when I'm studying.
ReplyDeleteThis is my favorite part:
"Philosophy may instruct men to be calm under their troubles, but Christianity teaches them to be joyful because such exercises proceed from love and not fury in God."
I will try to be exhorted by his words. I'm not sure that "exhorted" is correct usage, but you know what I mean.
So... I will endeavor to have joy that it just took me three tries to post this comment and have faith that this next attempt will work.
Sharon, that was beautiful. I love the expression here, and especially the thought that we should let the trial work patience in us, not passion. Something to contemplate before the next trial comes and during that trial.
ReplyDeleteLoved your comment over at my place--so English, you know! I remember that you mentioned one of your favorite things about California (at least as far as food is concerned) is sourdough bread and avocados. Glad I could serve up something to whet your appetite. (The avocado was from Cali)
Have a Happy Mother's Day, Sharon. May it be blessed in many ways, dear friend.
Janis
Matthew Henry's is my favorite commentary to use. I have an old set given to me by my father, so it's extra special. I'm a quoteaholic, too, so I like this quaint words post!
ReplyDeleteI saw you at Gregg's place, and really, I just wanted to say that you have such a joyful and radiant expression that shows your love for Christ. I simply can't believe you're in your 50's.
Have a beautiful day!
When it comes to commentators, I usually choose Matthew Henry! Happy Mother's Day, Sharon!
ReplyDeleteGreat words!
ReplyDeleteI love the English language too.. and the Quaint Words you posted for today from Matthew Henry is just what I needed... patience, not passion is what is needed to take me over the long haul. Passion will tire me out and make me want to give up, but Patience will enable me to stay the course.
ReplyDeleteHappy Mother's Day dear Sharon.
Keep shining for Jesus. You are one blog friend who truly inspires me.
Love
Lidj
Hi Sharon,
ReplyDeleteVery apt at the moment. Hope you have a wonderful Mother's day. We have already celebrated it here, earlier in year. But thank you for your visit and all your kind words. I will be praying along with you for Kerrie, she and another friend of us both, have disagreed rather powerfully and hurtfully over something I would rather not comment on and have very mixed feelings about.
God Bless and Hugs to you - Nita
I too love the sound and rhythm of the old english language. I truly can't wait to look at your Quaint Words page....what a lovely idea. You have a wonderful blog here that I intend to visit often. I didn't see a place for "followers" on your sidebar, but I did subcribe to your reader feed at the bottom of the page so I won't miss one of your posts. :)
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness - this is exactly what I say -
ReplyDeletePhilosophy may instruct men to be calm under their troubles, but Christianity teaches them to be joyful because such exercises proceed from love and not fury in God.
Sometimes I think we need both.
sandie
Patience, not passion... oh, ouch. Just when I think I've got the patience thing down, I find out I really don't. Such good words for me today.
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Pamela
MTJ - Matthew Henry's insights have also blessed me. And I am encouraged by his words as they stretch across the years to me. May I learn to keep my spirit dilated and enlarged...
ReplyDeleteDebbie - You made it! Does Della need to join shiny red Kodak in the trash heap?? Anyway, I like the part that says our troubles proceed from God's love and not His fury - I need to remember that, in spite of evidence to the contrary.
Janis - Patience...such a very tough lesson to learn. I think you're right - many of the lessons have to be learned BEFORE the trial, so we can practice them IN the trial! (You remembered the sourdough, too!! :)
Trisha - WELCOME!! So glad you stopped by and left a comment. That old set of Matthew Henry's commentaries from your dad must be a real treasure! How very special. I do these "Quaint Words" posts on Saturdays, in addition to daily posts - please feel free to visit anytime! (And thank you for the *very* kind comment about my profile picture! Believe me, I picked the youngest looking photo I had - HA!!)
Mary - He's great, isn't he? So simple, and yet so profound. Hope you had a wonderful Mother's Day, too.
Gregg - Thank you! It's great to be blessed by the early saints of the Lord, isn't it?!
Lidj - How wonderful to have you stop by! Thank you for your very kind comment. And yes, I would have to agree with you - my passions consume me - passionate fear or anger. Only patience will carry me to the end - and only God will give me that kind of patience.
Nita - Well, you're a great mother/grandmother ANY day of the year!! Yes, I am greatly saddened by the loss of Kerrie's blog. I hope that somehow hearts will be healed, forgiveness will reign - and that we will be able to enjoy her heartfelt words again soon. We must all learn patience with each other...
Elaine - WELCOME!! What a pleasure to have you visit and leave such a kind comment. For the record, I do have a "Followers" gadget on the sidebar - it's just embedded after a lot of preliminary stuff!! (Look after my Blog List). Anyway, I do hope you visit often - Quaint Words will be posted every Saturday, and I post every day of the week.
Sandie - I agree, we need both. Personally, when I realize that troubles don't come from God's fury, that makes me feel calm. And when I realize that everything comes from His love, that makes me feel joyful.
Pamela - Yup, I had an "ouch" moment on this one, too! I'm asking God to give me a check in my spirit when my emotions want to rage out of control. I'm asking Him to give me the grace to be patient. I'm a *work in progress* on this. :)
GOD BLESS!