© 1994-2017, Scott Sperling
God’s Grace in Answering Prayer
“There is no more proper ground of praise than the fact that God hears
prayer—the prayer of poor, ignorant, sinful, dying men. When we consider how
great is His condescension in doing this; when we think of His greatness and
immensity; when we reflect that the whole universe is dependent on Him, and
that the farthest worlds need His care and attention; when we bear in mind that
we are creatures of a day and ‘know nothing;’ and especially when we remember
how we have violated His laws, how sensual, corrupt, and vile our lives have
been, how low and groveling have been our aims and purposes, how we have
provoked Him by our unbelief, our ingratitude, and our hardness of heart—we
can never express, in appropriate words, the extent of His goodness in hearing our
prayers, nor can we find language which will properly give utterance to the
praises due to His name for having condescended to listen to our cries for mercy.”
-- Albert Barnes (1798-1870)
The Diversity of the Bible
“The parts of Scripture were penned by diverse
secretaries, published in diverse places, in diverse ages,
on diverse occasions, for diverse ends: so the argument
and subject matter, the method and manner of
composing, the texture and the style of writing are
likewise different. Some parts of Scripture were
delivered in prose, others in verse or numbers: some
parts of the Scripture are historical, showing what hath
been done, some are prophetical, showing what shall be
done; others are dogmatical or doctrinal, showing what
we must do, what we must believe. Again, some parts
of Scripture are clear and easy, some are obscure and
very knotty: Some parts of Scripture show what God
made us, others, how sin spoiled us: A third, how Christ
restored us. Some parts of Scripture show forth acts of
mercy to keep us from sinking; others record acts of
judgment to keep us from presuming.”
-- Joseph Caryl (1602-1673)
