Here’s a great little book that contains hundreds of quotes from many different Puritans from (roughly) the 17th century: A Puritan Golden Treasury ed. I. D. E. Thomas (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 2007). This book is in the Puritan Paperbacks series, so it is small (roughly 5×7 inches and 320 pages). The book is arranged topically; for example at the beginning you’ll find quotes about adoption, affliction, and adversity while at the end you’ll find quotes about the word, the world, and worship. Here are a few examples.
Under the topic of Christ:
“It is a destructive addition to add anything to Christ” (Richard Sibbes).
Under the topic of justification:
“If you do not put a difference between justification wrought by the Man Christ without, and sanctification wrought by the Spirit of Christ within…you are not able to divide the word aright; but contrariwise, you corrupt the word of God” (John Bunyan).
Under the topic of love:
“We love him because he first loved us. Love is like an echo, it returneth what it receiveth” (Thomas Manton).
I really appreciate this book and do recommend it, but I also have a few quibbles. I wish it had a topical index and a Scripture index. I realize it would have made the book too lengthy, but citations would be helpful as well. Despite these minor critiques, I encourage our readers to get it (it’s under $10). I’m confident you’ll enjoy these nuggets, and it may even lead you to purchase a few more of these paperbacks if you haven’t already. Feel free to comment if you have enjoyed this book or if you have questions about it.
shane lems
I’ve had this book for years. My copy is well-worn. It’s definitely worth having!
Totally agree, Wes! Have you made any sort of index you’d like to share? I sometimes do that with books, but I haven’t yet with this one. I’d owe you a lunch and discussion someday if you’d send along an index.
shane
Nope, sorry Shane. It would be handy, though. Have you read Jack Hughes’ Expository Preaching with Word Pictures? He has a nearly 100 page collection of quotes just from Thomas Watson. I’ve also found that to be invaluable.
Hi Shane,
Thanks for the book recommendation! It is now on my after Christmas list.
Have a great Christmas!
This book holds a special place for me as it was one of the very first theological books I bought and served as my introduction to the Puritans. It was a hb copy published by Moody Press. Along these “cheat sheet” lines is also Calvin’s Wisdom from BoT.
Thanks for the comments everyone.
@ Wes – I put that book on my Amazon wish list, though do I have a list of Watson quotes I’ve kept for my own studies. BTW, if you ever are inclined to make topical indexes for books you read that don’t have them, be sure to put them on your website – and I’d contribute if you need more resources.
shane
Gotta get this!