Treasure up these faithful sayings. Let them be the guides of our life, our comfort, and our instruction. Let these four faithful sayings be written on the four corners of My house. He is so from the imperfection of his nature, and will continue so to the end of his earthly life. The black fingers of sin leave smuts upon our fairest robes.
Sin mars our repentance, ere the great Potter has finished it, upon the wheel.
Selfishness defiles our tears, and unbelief tampers with our faith. The song which thrills to heaven, and seeks to emulate seraphic strains, hath human discords in it. The prayer which moves the arm of God is still a bruised and battered prayer, and only moves that arm because the sinless One, the great Mediator, has stepped in to take away the sin of our supplication. The most golden faith or the purest degree of sanctification to which a Christian ever attained on earth, has still so much alloy in it as to be only worthy of the flames, in itself considered. Even now, though sin dwells in us, its power is broken.