Matthew Henry Quotes & Sayings

That which God plants he will take care to keep watered. — Matthew Henry

Nor shall any partake of the benefit of Christ's sacrifice, or feast upon it, who are not first circumcised in heart, Col. 2:11. — Matthew Henry

That even under the gospel of peace and reconciliation by Christ (of which the intercession of Moses was typical) the moral law should continue to bind believers. — Matthew Henry

for God's work is its own wages, and there is a present reward of obedience in obedience. — Matthew Henry

Those will soon come to make nothing of God that will not be content to make him their all. — Matthew Henry

This practice was forbidden in Rome by Numa, a pagan prince; yet commanded in Rome by the pope, a Christian bishop, but, in this, anti-christian. The use of images in the church of Rome, at this day, is so plainly contrary to the letter of this command, and so impossible to be reconciled to it, that in all their catechisms and books of devotion, which they put into the hands of the people, they leave out this commandment, joining the reason of it to the first; and so the third commandment they call the second, the fourth the third, &c.; only, to make up the number ten, they divide the tenth into two. — Matthew Henry

Christ, under the law, appeared on a red horse, denoting the terror of that dispensation, and that he had yet his conflict before him, when he was to resist unto blood. But, under the gospel, he appears on a white horse — Matthew Henry

The wits or wills of men, their inventions or their injunctions, cannot make that to be sin which the law of God has not made to be so. — Matthew Henry

Though we cannot by our prayers give God any information, yet we must by our prayers give him honor. — Matthew Henry

The liberty of God's people is a heavy grievance to their enemies, Esth. 5:12, 13; Acts 5:17, 33. — Matthew Henry

The God of Israel is sometimes a God who hides Himself, but never a God who absents Himself; sometimes in the dark, but never at a distance. — Matthew Henry

Days of trouble must be days of prayer. — Matthew Henry

No man will say, "There is no God" 'till he is so hardened in sin that it has
become his interest that there should be none to call him to account. — Matthew Henry

Those whom God pardons must be made to know what their sin deserved, and how miserable they would have been if they had been unpardoned, that God's mercy may be the more magnified. — Matthew Henry

Those that go gold into the furnace will come out no worse. — Matthew Henry

Prayer is the breath of the new man, drawing in the air of mercy in petitions, and returning it in praises; it proves and maintains the spiritual life. — Matthew Henry

Be careful if you make a women cry, because God counts her tears. The woman came out of a man's ribs. Not from his feet to be walked on, not from his head to be superior, but from his side to be equal, under the arm to be protected, and next to the heart to be loved. — Matthew Henry

The first lesson in Christ's school is self-denial. — Matthew Henry

If we have, through grace, an interest in Him who is the Fountain, we may rejoice in him when the streams of temporal mercies are dried up. — Matthew Henry

We read of preaching the Word out of season, but we do not read of praying out of season, for that is never out of season. — Matthew Henry

so we must not come to worship God empty-hearted; our souls must be filled with grace, with pious and devout affections, holy desires towards him, and dedications of ourselves to him, for with such sacrifices God is well-pleased. — Matthew Henry

For us to err, with the Bible in our hands, is the effect of pride, sloth, and carelessness. — Matthew Henry

Those who deceive others, deceive themselves, as they will find at last, to their cost. — Matthew Henry

Those, and those only, can expect to be taught by God, who are ready and willing to do as they are taught ... Those who go up to the house of the Lord with an expectation that He will teach them His ways, must go with a humble resolution that they will walk in His paths. — Matthew Henry

Those that are not awakened by the judgments of God upon others, but persist in their defiance of heaven, are ripening apace for the like judgments upon themselves, — Matthew Henry

Here is bread, which strengthens man's heart, and therefore is called the staff of Life. — Matthew Henry

The greater the privileges we enjoy the greater is our danger if we do not improve them and live up to them. — Matthew Henry

It is gracious ambition to covet to be like the Most Holy, for he has said, Be ye holy, for I am holy; but it is sinful ambition to aim to be like the Most High, for he has said, He who exalts himself shall be abased. — Matthew Henry

The treasures of wisdom are hidden not from us, but for us, in Christ. — Matthew Henry

They that pray in the family do well; they that pray and read the Scriptures do better; but they that pray, and read, and sing do best of all. — Matthew Henry

Herein Moses was a type of Christ, who stands between God and man, to show us the word of the Lord, a blessed days-man, that has laid his hand upon us both, so that we may both hear from God and speak to him without trembling. — Matthew Henry

If ill thoughts at any time enter into the mind of a good man, he doth not roll them under his tongue as a sweet morsel. — Matthew Henry

We cannot expect too little from man nor too much from God. — Matthew Henry

Let no man go beyond or defraud his brother, for, though it be hidden from man, it will be found that God is the avenger of all such. — Matthew Henry

By the light of nature we see God as a God above us, by the light of the law we see Him as a God against us, but by the light of the gospel we see Him as Emmanuel, God with us. — Matthew Henry

Prayer time must be kept up as duly as meal-time. — Matthew Henry

So great was the extremity of his pain and anguish, that he did not only sigh but roar. — Matthew Henry

A garment that is double dyed, dipped again and again, will retain the color a great while; so a truth which is the subject of meditation. — Matthew Henry

The provisions of Christ's gospel appear mean and scanty to the world, yet they satisfy all that feed on him in their hearts by faith with thanksgiving. — Matthew Henry

Note, It is common for those that are indulgent to their own sin to be severe against the sins of others. — Matthew Henry

As if men did not die fast enough, they are ingenious at finding out ways to destroy one another. — Matthew Henry

The word of God is the manna by which our souls are nourished, Matt. 4:4. — Matthew Henry

Those that in good earnest set their faces heaven-ward, and will live godly in Christ Jesus, must expect to be set upon by Satan's temptations and terrors. — Matthew Henry

Cast not away your confidence because God defers his performances. That which does not come in your time, will be hastened in his time, which is always the more convenient season. God will work when he pleases, how he pleases, and by what means he pleases. He is not bound to keep our time, but he will perform his work, honor our faith, and reward them that diligently seek him. — Matthew Henry

Those who complain most are most to be complained of. — Matthew Henry

Do nothing till thou hast well considered the end of it. — Matthew Henry

When men's spirits are sinking every thing helps to sink them. — Matthew Henry

We have a cunning adversary, who watches to do mischief, and will promote errors, even by the words of scripture. — Matthew Henry

God has wisely kept us in the dark concerning future events and reserved for himself the knowledge of them, that he may train us up in a dependence upon himself and a continued readiness for every event. — Matthew Henry

God's promises are to be our pleas in prayer. — Matthew Henry

Though we may now think some sins light and little, if the Lord awaken the conscience, we shall feel even the smallest sin heavy upon our souls. — Matthew Henry

All this and heaven too. — Matthew Henry

Man takes great pains to heap up riches, and they are like heaps of manure in the furrows of the field, good for nothing unless they be spread. — Matthew Henry

Seducers are more dangerous enemies to the church than persecutors. — Matthew Henry

Converted sinners ought frequently to reflect upon the sinfulness and misery of the state they were in by nature. — Matthew Henry

Conscience is that candle of the Lord which was not quite put out. — Matthew Henry

The more reverence we have for the Word of God, the more joy we shall find in it. — Matthew Henry

The more dead we are to the delights of sense the better prepared we are for the pleasures of heaven. — Matthew Henry

Brown bread and the Gospel is good fare. — Matthew Henry

Note, Our sorrow upon any account is sinful and inordinate when it diverts us from our duty to God and embitters our comfort in him, — Matthew Henry

If therefore our houses be houses of the Lord, we shall for that reason love home, reckoning our daily devotion the sweetest of our daily delights; and our family-worship the most valuable of our family-comforts ... A church in the house will be a good legacy, nay, it will be a good inheritance, to be left to your children after you. — Matthew Henry

The counsels and decrees of God do not truckle to the frail and fickle will of man. — Matthew Henry

The way to preserve the peace of the church is to preserve its purity. — Matthew Henry

He will come quickly; let this word be always sounding in our ear, — Matthew Henry

Extraordinary afflictions are not always the punishment of extraordinary sins, but sometimes the trial of extraordinary graces. — Matthew Henry

Esther came to a proud imperious man; we come to the God of love and grace. — Matthew Henry

Prayer is a salve for every sore, even the sorest, a remedy for every malady, even the most grievous. — Matthew Henry

Everlasting life is a jewel of too great a value to be purchased by the wealth of this world. — Matthew Henry

He that is in haste may contract much guilt in a little time. What we say or do unadvisedly when we are hot, we must unsay or undo again when we are cool, or do worse. — Matthew Henry

for those that would be kept from any sin must be careful to avoid all temptations to it, and every thing that looks towards it or leads to it. — Matthew Henry

When God is about to give His people the expected good, He pours out a Spirit of prayer, and it is a good sign that He is coming towards them in mercy. — Matthew Henry

When our heads are fullest of care, and our hands of business, yet we must not forget our religion, nor suffer ourselves to be indisposed for acts of devotion. — Matthew Henry

Meekness is calm confidence, settled assurance, and rest of the soul. It is the tranquil stillness of a soul that is at rest in Christ. It is the place of peace. Meekness springs from a heart of humility, radiating the fragrance of Christ. — Matthew Henry

When men drive God's word from them he justly permits their delusions, and answers them according to the multitude of their idols. — Matthew Henry

The prosperity of the soul is the best prosperity, and what we should be most solicitous about for ourselves and others. — Matthew Henry

The best evidence of our having the truth is our walking in the truth. — Matthew Henry

it is a great mercy to be reclaimed and called home when we go astray, though it be by a tempest. — Matthew Henry

None are sent empty away from Christ but those who come to him full of themselves. — Matthew Henry

God warns before he wounds. — Matthew Henry

The better day, the worse deed. — Matthew Henry

Though Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, yet not from the command of it, — Matthew Henry

A man that is endued with the powers of reason, by which he is capable of knowing, serving, glorifying, and enjoying his Maker, and yet lives without God in the world, is certainly the most despicable and the most miserable animal under the sun. — Matthew Henry

Note, Religion teaches good manners, and obliges us to give honour to those to whom honour is due. — Matthew Henry

It is good for us to keep some account of our prayers, that we may not unsay them in our practice. — Matthew Henry

Grace is the free, undeserved goodness and favor of God to mankind. — Matthew Henry

Hope for the best, get ready for the worst, and then take what God chooses to send. — Matthew Henry

When we cannot do the good we would, we must be ready to do the good we can. — Matthew Henry

for we are by baptism brought into covenant, that we may be taught to observe all things whatsoever Christ has commanded us, — Matthew Henry

Our duty as Christians is always to keep heaven in our eye and earth under our feet. — Matthew Henry

It is a great affront to God to jest with sacred things, particularly to make sport with the word and ordinances of God, or to treat them with lightness, — Matthew Henry

The word of God directs us in our work and way, and a dark place indeed the world would be without it. The commandment is a lamp kept burning with the oil of the Spirit, as a light to direct us in the choice of our way, and the steps we take in that way. — Matthew Henry

God can bring his people through the greatest difficulties, and force a way where he does not find it. — Matthew Henry

Come, Lord Jesus, put an end to this state of sin, sorrow, and temptation; — Matthew Henry

The beauty of holiness is that which the grave, that consumes all other beauty, cannot touch, or do any damage to. — Matthew Henry

Riches, in the hands of a man that is wise and generous, are good for something, but in the hands of a sordid, sneaking, covetous miser, they are good for nothing. — Matthew Henry

Such is the corruption of nature that the bad are much more likely to debauch the good than the good to reform the bad. — Matthew Henry

The observance of the laws of Christ cannot be less necessary than the observance of the laws of Moses was. — Matthew Henry

Saying and doing are two things. — Matthew Henry

Nothing can make a man truly great but being truly good, and partaking of God's holiness. — Matthew Henry

None can know their election but by their conformity to Christ; for all who are chosen are chosen to sanctification. — Matthew Henry