Quotes from Thomas Watson

We must love God more for what He is, than for what He bestows.

Satan loves to fish in the troubled waters of a discontented heart.

Better is that sin which humbles me, than that duty which makes me proud.

No flattery can heal a bad conscience, so no slander can hurt a good one.

The worst that God does to His children is to whip them to heaven.

The prayer that is faithless is fruitless.

The mercies of God make a sinner proud, but a saint humble.

Be like Noah's dove. She made use of her wings to fly, but trust in the ark for safety.

Neither deficiencies nor disappointments, losses nor crosses, can cause disquieting discontents in that bosom where faith is commander in chief.

If God should show mercy only to such as deserve it, he must show mercy to none.

When promises are verified, God's truth is magnified.

Obedience without knowledge is blind, and knowledge without obedience is lame.

Great was the work of creation, but greater was the work of redemption. Great wisdom was seen in making us—but more miraculous wisdom in saving us. Great power was seen in bringing us out of nothing—but greater power in helping us when we were worse than nothing. (...) In the creation, God gave us ourselves; in the redemption, He gave us Himself.

If we do not regard God when he speaks to us, he will not regard us when we pray to him.

Our sins should humble us, but they must not discourage us from coming to Christ.

The bare knowledge of God's will is inefficacious, it doth not better the heart. Knowledge alone is like a winter sun, which hath no heat or influence; it doth not warm the affections, or purify the conscience. Judas was a great luminary, he knew God's will, but he was a traitor.

God comes down to us by his Spirit, and we go up to him by prayer.

Either sin must drown in the tears of repentance—or the soul must burn in hell.

If God spares us as a father does his son, let us imitate God. It is natural for children to imitate their parents. Let us imitate God in this one thing: As God spares us, and passes by many failures, so let us be sparing in our censures of others; let us look upon the weaknesses and indiscretions of our brethren with...a more tender, compassionate eye. How much God bears with us!

The race is short between the cradle and the grave!

If you set your love on worldly things, they will not satisfy.

The word preached is not only to inform you but reform you;

Affliction promotes holiness. The more the diamond is cut, the more it sparkles!

It is not how much we do, but how much we love.