Peter Marshall Quotes & Sayings

Left to themselves, humans have always managed their own affairs creatively and well. Indeed, for most of human evolution and history people have lived peaceful, co-operative lives without rulers, leaders, politicians, soldiers, policemen and taxmen. — Peter Marshall

Christianity is a power religion. Christ has the power to re-create men from the inside out, as every man who has ever met Him knows. — Peter Marshall

The proof of how real Jesus knew hell to be is that He came to earth to save us from it. — Peter Marshall

They stopped their ears and refused to listen to their ministers, and they ceased to correct and admonish one another and their children, choosing instead, greed, privacy, independence, and idolatry. — Peter Marshall

With their concern for personal autonomy and individual freedom, anarchists more than any other socialists are aware of the inhumanity of both physical punishment and manipulative cure for anti-social members of the community. They look to reasoned argument and friendly treatment to deal with criminals and wish to respect their humanity and individuality. — Peter Marshall

Lord, where we are wrong, make us willing to change; where we are right, make us easy to live with. — Peter Marshall

Wonder-Working Providences of Sion's Saviour in New England, — Peter Marshall

Whatever its future success as a historical movement, anarchism will remain a fundamental part of human experience, for the drive for freedom is one of our deepest needs and the vision of a free society is one of our oldest dreams. Neither can ever be fully repressed; both will outlive all rulers and their States. — Peter Marshall

Get off, you look ugly (to a blood splattered player during a game) — Peter Marshall

The aim is not therefore to liberate some 'essential self' by throwing off the burden of government and the State, but to develop the self in creative and voluntary relations with others. — Peter Marshall

The continued appeal of anarchism can probably be attributed to its enduring affinity with both the rational and emotional impulses lying deep within us. It is an attitude, a way of life as well as a social philosophy. It presents a telling analysis of existing institutions and practices, and at the same time offers the prospect of a radically transformed society. — Peter Marshall

Godly enthusiasm is not a fire of our own kindling ... If a man, however, has caught fire, let me not quench the Spirit by dampening the ardor of his pure devotion. Enthusiasm is not contrary to reason; it is reason - on fire. — Peter Marshall

The choice before us is plain: Christ or chaos, conviction or compromise, discipline or disintegration. I am rather tired of hearing about our rights and privileges as Americans. The time is come - it is now - when we ought to hear about the duties and responsibilities of our citizenship. America's future depends upon her accepting and demonstrating God's government. — Peter Marshall

Escape is the byword - forwards, backwards, or sideways - into alcohol, busyness, good works, passivity, fantasy, or even madness. For the reality of the present and the immediate future seem even more frightening today — Peter Marshall

Let us not fool ourselves - without Christianity, without Christian education, without the principles of Christ inculcated into young life, we are simply rearing pagans. — Peter Marshall

The longest prayer Peter ever prayed in the Senate-that of March 10, 1947, at the time of Mrs. Alben Barkley's death-took two minutes; the shortest, that which opened the Second Session of the Eightieth Congress-was exactly 36 words long and took a matter of seconds. — Peter Marshall

The resurrection never becomes a fact of experience until the risen Lord lives in the heart of the believer. — Peter Marshall

If God does not enter your kitchen, there is something wrong with your kitchen. If you can't take God into your recreation, there is something wrong with your play. We all believe in the God of the heroic. What we need most these days is the God of the humdrum, the commonplace, the everyday. — Peter Marshall

The modern challenge to motherhood is the eternal challenge
that of being a godly woman. The very phrase sounds strange in our ears. We never hear it now. We hear about every other type of women: beautiful women, smart women, sophisticated women, career women, talented women, divorced women. But so seldom to we hear of a godly woman
or of a godly man either, for that matter. I believe women come nearer to fulfilling their God-given function in the home than anywhere else. — Peter Marshall

No tabloid will ever print the startling news that the mummified body of Jesus of Nazareth has been discovered in old Jerusalem. Christians have no carefully embalmed body enclosed in a glass case to worship. Thank God, we have an empty tomb. The glorious fact that the empty tomb proclaims to us is that life for us does not stop when death comes. Death is not a wall, but a door. — Peter Marshall

The use of the right word, the exact word, is the difference between a pencil with a sharp point and a thick crayon. — Peter Marshall

Small deeds done are better than great deeds planned. — Peter Marshall

God will not permit any troubles to come upon us, unless He has a specific plan by which great blessing can come out of the difficulty. — Peter Marshall

You are leaving port under sealed orders and in a troubled period. You cannot know whither you are going or what you are to do. But why not take the Pilot on board who knows the nature of your sealed orders from the outset, and who will shape your entire voyage accordingly? He knows the shoals and the sand banks, the rocks and the reefs, He will steer you safely into that celestial harbor where your anchor will be cast for eternity. Let His almighty nail-pierced hands hold the wheel, and you will be safe. — Peter Marshall

It is better to fail in a cause that will ultimately succeed than to succeed in a cause that will ultimately fail. — Peter Marshall

Lastly, it is not with us as with other men, whom small things can discourage, or small discontentments cause to wish themselves at home again ...7 — Peter Marshall

We came to see that the Great Awakening was actually a reawakening of a deep national desire for the Covenant Way of life. This yearning did not die with the passing of the Puritan era, but only went dormant. It was a desire which would produce a new generation of clergymen who would help to prepare America to fight for her life. — Peter Marshall

Anarchism as a political philosophy seeks to dissolve all forms of authority and power, and if possible, wishes their complete abolition. — Peter Marshall

Preaching after the battles of Lexington and Concord, William Stearns had said: We trust that all whose circumstance will admit of it will go. that none such will refuse to enlist in defense of his country. When God, in His providence, calls to take the sword, if any refuse to obey, Heaven's dread artillery is leveled against them, as you may see ... Cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood! (Jeremiah 48:10). Cursed is the sneaking coward who neglects the sinking state, when called to its defense - O then flee this dire curse - let America's valorous sons put on the harness, nor take it off till peace shall be to Israel. — Peter Marshall

Most of us know perfectly well what we ought to do; our trouble is that we don't want to do it. — Peter Marshall

In the name of Jesus Christ, who was never in a hurry, we pray, O God, that You will slow us down, for we know that we live too fast. With all of eternity before us, make us take time to live
time to get acquainted with You, time to enjoy Your blessings, and time to know each other. — Peter Marshall

May we think of freedom not as the right to do as we please but as the opportunity to do what is right. — Peter Marshall

If you hug to yourself any resentment against anybody else, you destroy the bridge by which God would come to you. — Peter Marshall

Give according to your income lest God make your income according to your giving. — Peter Marshall

God hasn't given up on you. He can still do great things for you, in you, and through you. God is ready and waiting and able. What about you, and me? — Peter Marshall

When we long for a live without difficulties, remind us that diamonds are made under pressure and oaks grow strong in contrary winds. — Peter Marshall

If you don't stand for something you will fall for anything. — Peter Marshall

Wisdom, courage, temperance, fortitude and all those qualities that can command the admiration of noble minds, is not surpassed in the history of any nation under the sun. — Peter Marshall

A different world cannot be built by indifferent people. — Peter Marshall

Give to us clear vision that we may know where to stand and what to stand for - because unless we stand for something, we shall fall for anything. — Peter Marshall

We pray Thee, O Christ, to keep us under the spell of immortality. My we never again think and act as if Thou were dead. Let us more and more come to know Thee as a living Lord who hath promised to them that believe: "Because I live, ye shall live also." Help us to remember that we are praying to the Conqueror of Death, that we may no longer be afraid nor dismayed by the world's problems and threats, since Thou hast overcome the world. In Thy strong name, we ask for Thy living presence and Thy victorious power. Amen. — Peter Marshall

This second step calls one to yield to that local part of the Body of Christ, and to dedicate oneself to that congregation and its work. — Peter Marshall

And so, this was the final major theme we found: that when a group of people, no matter how small or ordinary, was willing to die out to their selfish desires, the life which came out of that death was immeasurable, and continued to affect lives far into the future. — Peter Marshall

Teach us, O Lord, the disciplines of patience, for to wait is often harder than to work. — Peter Marshall

If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land (2 Chronicles 7:14). — Peter Marshall

When we long for life without difficulty,
remind us that oaks grow strong under contrary winds
and diamonds are made under pressure. — Peter Marshall

I need Thee, O Lord, for a curb on my tongue; when I am tempted to making carping criticisms and cruel judgements, keep me from speaking barbed words that hurt, and in which I find perverted satisfaction. Keep me from unkind words and from unkind silences. Restrain my judgements. Make my criticisms kind, generous, and constructive. Make me sweet inside, that I may be gentle with other people, gentle in the things I say, kind in what I do. Create in me that warmth of mercy that shall enable others to find Thy strength for their weakness, Thy peace for their strife, Thy joy for their sorrow, Thy love for their hatred, Thy compassion for their weakness. In thine own strong name, I pray. Amen. — Peter Marshall

Above all, we should question the consumer ethic, which uses up non-renewable resources, creates inequality and injustice, generates pollution, destroys other species and upsets the balance of nature. The consumer ethic not only defiles the environment by creating undesirable change in the biosphere but also corrupts the mind and body by defining pleasure in terms of ownership and absorption. Waste itself is a human concept; everything in nature is eventually used. If human beings carry on in their present ways, they will one day be recycled along with the dinosaurs. — Peter Marshall

Never before in history had the world actually believed in the equality of man. — Peter Marshall

Food is merely a platform for condiments. — Peter Marshall

The world has enough women who know how to be smart. It needs women who are willing to be simple. The world has enough women who know how to be brilliant. It needs some who will be brave. The world has enough women who are popular. It needs more who are pure. We need women, and men, too, who would rather be morally right than socially correct. — Peter Marshall

But," you may ask, "how can we forget the unkind things that are said ... the cruel and unfair treatment one has received? How can we simply forget these things? It is not as simple as that!" There is just one sure way. Never talk about them, and never think about them. If you want to forget something, never speak even to your dearest friend about it. When it bobs into your mind, banish it at once. It will surprise you how quickly you can forget anything by that treatment. — Peter Marshall

Longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth: "that God governs in the affairs of man." And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid? — Peter Marshall