T. G. Steward

“ Lord, thou preservest man and beast; how excellent is thy loving kindness, O God; therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wing; they shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house, and thou shalt make them drink of the rivers of thy pleasures." I felt filled with that sweet peace that flows as a river, and enters in and fills the soul with glory and with God. ”

“ His limbs, hands and feet are perfect; of his body there is no part lacking; and under the fostering care, and tender nursing of his mother, the rigid but wholesome discipline of the father, he must grow to perfect manhood,—and who can fix the time when the child ceases and when the man begins. Or, see the branch in the vine; as soon as it shoots its buds out of the vine, it is a branch in the vine, and never ceases to be such until cut off. The grain of mustard seed cast into the ground becomes a tree; but who can tell when it ceases to be a plant. So is every one that is born of the Spirit. ”

“ Then repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, are the very groundwork of religion; and are more than all burnt offerings. For He taketh no delight in sacrifices and offerings, but a contrite heart is always acceptable with Him.
What is repentance but a sorrow for sin, and the forsaking of sin for our love to God. Love to God, because He first loved us. God loves us. He wills our salvation; and draws us to Him by the cords of love. We feel a sorrow in our hearts; a weariness of sin, a dread of coming vengeance ”

“ In one she said: "I never close my eyes at night, without looking over you all, and committing you all to God's care; and I do pray God to keep you all; so that when we are all done with the cares of this life, we shall be a family united around the throne—children, grandchildren, and all; and we will make the heavens ring with one eternal song of praise."
"Follow after the meek and lowly Jesus; and if you can't make anything of the old people, try the children; sow the seeds of Divine Truth among them as much as you can; leave no measure untried, no place neglected, as far as in you lies. ”

“ We must conquer them all through the blood of Christ and the sign of the Cross! In this alone can we conquer all our foes, this alone can help us to walk pleasantly in the valley of humiliation. It is only with the Cross of Christ on our shoulders and the love of God shed abroad in our hearts that we can walk the heavenly road.
But with this love we can say always: "Father, Thy will be done." In sickness or health, adversity or prosperity, in afflictions and all trials we can possess [124] our souls in patience. ”

“ Then again my soul replied, I will fear no evil; in God alone will I put my trust. When I found I had to wait awhile longer, I thought I would look around on this side of Jordan, for I had been so anxious to get home to my Father's House, and so busy looking beyond, that I had not noticed anything on this side so much; and in the glory of light that beamed across the river, I had not noticed the poisonous flowers that spread their baneful influence over all the land, or the muddy, filthy pools, sending up their miasmatic odors, poisoning the air ”

“ At the head of the domestic circle, with my uncle, she appeared to have a clear and high notion of home economy. Her house was a house of order, pleasure, books, the Bible, religion, and prayer. Every member of her family was taught that noble and divine idea of liberty in love. The erring were made to feel the weight of guilt keenly, and the force of love [63] deeply. The well disposed were not flattered to ruin, but urged to grace. She reared her children for heaven and God. If any of them should fail to enjoy the end of her life in their behalf, she will still have her reward. ”

“ Then it surely follows, we cannot believe without being justified; and we cannot be justified without being sanctified. "Therefore being justified by faith we have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ," and this peace we can only have by being one in Christ and abiding in Him. It is a peace the world cannot give nor take away; a peace that subdues all evil passions, a peace that keeps us patient and cheerful under difficulties; that keeps us humble and truthful under trials and temptations. This is the grace that must prevail in a distressing hour ”

“ Do you see that little babe? As soon as it is born it is a perfect child; perfect in its father's love, perfect in its mother's tender care; perfect as a child—not yet a perfect man, but all the germ of the man is there. ”

“ I think I shall see Moses and Elijah, from the fact that they were seen with my Saviour on the Mount of Transfiguration; and God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. And I think I shall see Abraham, because Christ himself says the rich man saw him with Lazarus in his bosom. And I shall see Israel, for the Revelator tells me that he saw one hundred and forty and four thousand of the children there. I shall see Solomon and David, and Samuel and Paul, and Peter, and so many others that I cannot now name, all of the one hundred and forty and four thousand of the tribes of Israel. ”

“ In the church she was for the last twenty-five years of her life an abiding and faithful Christian. I have never met with any one who had clearer views of the life and work of faith. Some of the most comfortable, consoling, and impressive conversations I have ever had with Christians, ministers not excepted, have been with her. Her experience was rich, because she had cherished it as from God. The latter part of her life was attended with great suffering, yet she would not complain, but was made perfect through suffering and allowing patience to have its perfect work. ”

“ It is a mistaken idea that we can be Christians and not sanctified Christians; and, as God has use for us in the world, it is very plain that He is not only able to keep us, but He will keep us, until He has finished all His righteous will concerning us; until everything is done that we can do; until we have withstood temptation at every point even as our Saviour did; until the last battle is fought and the victory won! Oh! I wish that every Christian would feel that he is a sanctified Christian, and go to work as such. ”

“ He has let me live to see all my children converted and in the church! My prayers are answered. Thank God! The whole family is in the ark; what a happy woman I am!" It was my privilege to visit her during several severe spells of sickness. I have the first time yet to hear her murmur or complain; but I have often heard her say: "These light afflictions which are but for a moment, are working for me a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." "My work is patience" was a familiar word with her in affliction. ”

“ Hast thou not received good from the hands of the Lord, and shalt thou not receive the evil? And if thou doest well, shalt thou not dwell in the land of the living forever? For the mercy of the Lord is round about them that put their trust in Him. Though clouds and darkness may be round about Him, yet righteousness and judgment are the habitation of His throne." At these words the tempter left me, and Patience again resumed her seat, and commenced to soothe and tranquilize my spirit, saying: "Return unto thy rest, for the Lord has dealt bountifully with thee. ”

“ This is the power that puts the whole Christian life in action. This love must be toward God, with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to our neighbor as ourself. As impossible as this may appear to the "carnal mind," yet to the child of God it is very possible. What can be more possible than for a child to love his father and his own brothers and sisters! Although, as children, they may not all agree in everything, they will have different sentiments, different opinions, and different ways of acting. ”

“ Some men will say: "How are the dead raised up, and with what body do they come? Thou fool; that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die, and that, which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but are grain; it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain, but God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body. There are also celestial bodies and bodies terrestial; but the glory of the celestial is one and the glory of the terrestial is another. ”

“ It is found in her abundant Scriptural knowledge qualifying her to believe intelligently; in her knowledge of persons acquired by habits of close observation; her knowledge of history and the natural sciences, and her general acquaintance with literature. These accomplishments united to the most modest demeanor, rendered her a woman of note and a Christian for whom any community, church or age might have been grateful. It is not mine to estimate her worth or paint her character. The homage which I bear her makes all praise seem tame. ”

“ Just and true are thy ways, thou King of Saints. Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name, for Thou only art holy; for all nations shall come and worship before thee, for thy judgments are made manifest. ”

“ There is one glory of the sun and another of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differeth from another star in glory, so also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body; there is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. And so it is written, that the first man, Adam, was made a living soul, the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. How be it, that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural, and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of earth, earthy, the second man is the Lord from heaven. ”

“ Unassuming in all she did; free to give expression to her thoughts; steadfast in faith; with such an abundance of those qualities that adorn humanity, that we cannot enumerate them; she was one of those of whom the world is not worthy; and therefore, God took her from the evil to come.
Dear reader, in the life and character of this beloved Christian woman, we have a most happy illustration of Christian faith and practice. ”

“ It seems that the Master was sparing her to see her mother of ninety years close her eyes before He called her to that blessed reward with that sainted mother, who went three weeks before her, and a dear sister, who had gone a day before her mother. Oh, what a blessed meeting there must have been, when they met in that heavenly land; where affliction and sorrow are all over, and where the dead in Christ rest from their labors and their works follow them! ”

“ As a father pitieth His children so the Lord pitieth them that love Him. The father will labor hard night and day, will make any sacrifice, will deny himself any pleasure, will travel East, West, North or South, and endure any hardships for his children's sake; and should he have a dozen or more, yet his care over them will not diminish, nor will he grow weary of his labors. "If ye then being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Heavenly Father give His holy spirit to them that ask Him." ”

“ Once more, God renews the covenant He made with Abraham, or in other words fulfilled it. Here it requires again the shedding of blood, and this time it must be the precious blood of the Lord Jesus, the only begotten son of God which cleanses from all sin. If the typical blood of Abraham's heifer and Moses' lamb, could prevail with God, to the temporal salvation of man, how much more shall the precious blood of Christ prevail to the purifying and washing away of all our sins. As God gave the promise of the "seed" to Abraham, and set it apart in Israel, he has perfected it in Christ. ”

“ He laid aside His glory and made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Himself the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of sinful flesh, and humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross; therefore, in following Him, we must, as saith the apostle, lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily besets us. We must strip ourselves of all un-godliness and worldly lusts, of every appearance of evil, to the plucking out of the right eye or the cutting off of the right hand. It is better to live maimed than to die whole. ”

“ He shunned none for their poverty and favored none for their wealth. He was never presumptuous or proud. When tempted by Satan to exert His power for His own benefit, He refused, and silenced the tempter with the scathing rebuke: "Get thee hence, Satan, for it is written, thou shall not tempt the Lord thy God."
Thus in all things our Saviour was bearing His cross; tempted by Satan; hated and scorned by false friends; persecuted by enemies; and finally, dying for the sins of the world.
This, dear Christian, was the path trodden by our [120] Saviour. And remember, He was a sanctified Saviour. ”

“ To the Christian, whose eye is ever turning to the end of life, nothing can be more interesting than the life and death of the saints. It is never difficult to secure a large congregation to the funeral services of a well known Christian.
In looking upon a life closed, from a Christian standpoint, we see the Divine and the human blended. We see human nature moulded by divinely cast circumstances ”

“ All I have,—all my affections, all my wealth (what I have) , all my labors, as far as I can understand, are His, to be used for His glory."
Mark, she says: "I consecrate myself, anew." She had been the Lord's before, for many years, and she now makes no new covenant, but she renews the old covenant. This was in strict accord with all her previous life, and although she advanced far towards the heights of holiness, she always turned away from the theory of special sanctification, regarding it as an error in doctrine and an unreality in experience ”

“ The Lord calls for laborers. Christian brothers and sisters will you not awake; will you not have faith in Christ; seeing that God hath perfected in him all that He promised in Abraham, and all that He "set apart in Israel." The Lord which made heaven and earth is thy keeper. "He will not suffer thy foot to be moved; He that keepeth thee will not slumber. Behold He that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil ”