Skip to main contentSearch Illustrations
2,805 results found
The Devil's Dread: Why Evil Cries Out Against Christ
This outburst reveals the nature of evil's opposition to Christ.
Mark 5:7Universalspiritual warfareresistance to Christ
The Lighthouse Lantern: Israel's Cyclical Apostasy and God's Unwearying Patience
These phases repeat with such regularity that he compares them to *the white and red lights and darkness reappearing in a revolving lighthouse lantern, or figures recurring in a circulating decimal fraction*.
Why the Poor Rejoice in the Holy One of Israel
The universality of Christianity proves its Divine origin, for it alone adapts itself to the condition and wants of all humanity, coming from Him who sustains, preserves, feeds, and blesses all.
Isaiah 29:19UniversalGod's impartial love
Walking in the Spirit: Life, Progress, and Transformation
It is not mere religious habit but your entire conduct—all you think, feel, desire, speak, do, and suffer.
Galatians 4:25Universalspiritual transformation
The Eyes That Overcome Christ's Heart
Yet understand: there is no opposition between Christ and His people requiring conquest.
Ecclesiastes 5:5
The Prince Makes a Friend of the Beggar
He means it with deliberate, reiterated assurance to that handful of poor, ignorant fishermen who knew Him so dimly.
John 15:14-17
The Shepherd's Restoration of the Weary Soul
So too the soul suffers from inherent liability to weakness, weariness, mistrust of God, and inability to rest upon His precious promises.
Psalms 23:3UniversalDivine mercy toward the backslider
The Perpetual Keeping of God's Law Through Grace
First, observe the *condition*—the small word "So" anchors everything.
Psalms 119:44
God's Kindness Never Ceases to the Living and Dead
First, God's kindness (*chesed*) embodies tenderness toward the God-fearing.
Joshua 1:20
Christ's Prayer Amid Approaching Calvary Secures His People
In Gethsemane He prayed for Himself with agitation and struggle: 'If it be possible, let this cup pass from Me.' Yet here in the High-priestly prayer, His voice carries 'calm serenity and confident assurance.' The difference is this: in Gethsemane,...
Four Essentials of Effectual Prayer Before God
Spurgeon identifies four critical matters that constitute our main concern in prayer.
Psalms 54:2
New Wine in Old Bottles: The Law of Congruity
Both old cloth and new cloth share the nature of cloth; similarly, old wine and new wine share the nature of wine.
Matthew 9:17Universaltransformation
Giving as Grace: The Christian's Test of True Thankfulness
He names it twice in his opening movement (verses 1 and 4), and again when addressing the Corinthians themselves (verses 6-7).
2 Corinthians 8:1-12
Lifting the Gates: Christ's Entry into the Human Heart
First, recognize what we desperately need: the King of Glory dwelling within.
Psalms 24:9UniversalChrist's lordship
David's Name as Bridge to Christ's Intercession
Yet Spurgeon's commentator, John Field, clarifies what this plea was *not*: it was no prayer *to* David, nor did it suggest the dead saints intercede for us.
Psalms 129:10
The Bruised Reed: Christ Arrests the Beginnings of Evil
The *bruised reed*—a slender bulrush crushed by wind or foot, its head hanging by a thread yet not severed—represents evil in its incipient stage, a destructive process begun but still avoidable.
Isaiah 42:3-4
Christ Tempted: Our Sufficient Succour in Trial
Temptation brings suffering to the regenerate soul in distinct ways.
Hebrews 1:18UniversalChrist's empathy through suffering
The Promise Extended: From Apostles to All Generations
This covenant embraced three distinct circles of blessing.
Acts 1:39Universalgenerational promise
God's Pursuit of the Stout-Hearted Heart
The 'stout-hearted'—those untouched by conviction, ignorant of sin, self-reliant and nearly defiant before God—expect rebuke and condemnation from the Almighty's lips.
Isaiah 46:12-13
Holy Love: The Fire That Quickens Rather Than Consumes
Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?' The unworthy members of Zion—the *sinners in Zion*—cry out in terror, supposing the prophet speaks of annihilation.
Isaiah 33:14-15
God's Motherhood: Divine Comfort in Exile and Return
The exiles' return to Jerusalem embodies this metaphor.
Isaiah 63:13
Why David Repeated 'If the LORD Had Not Been'
When danger surrounds us, our fear knows no bounds—we sense the full weight of our peril.
Psalms 124:2
Christ Rendered Powerless: The Peril of Adding to Grace
First, consider the effect of the gospel truly preached.
Galatians 4:4Universalthe sufficiency of Christ's work
The Love of God Flowing Through Christ's Pierced Heart
Christ does not merely teach about divine love—He claims to *be* its Object and its Channel.
John 15:9-11
Judges 2:11-23
Universal
cyclical rebellion and restoration
God's patience amid human stubbornness
Alexander Maclaren245 words
salvation freely given
the Holy Spirit's work
Universal
Christ's affection for the Church
the power of earnest prayer
Universal
divine condescension
friendship with Christ
Alexander Maclaren231 words
God's unwearying pursuit of His people
Universal
covenant faithfulness
divine grace and human agency
Charles H. Spurgeon198 words
Universal
divine constancy
care beyond death
John 17:14-16
Universal
Christ's intercession
spiritual protection amid hostility
Alexander Maclaren226 words
Universal
discernment in prayer
divine responsiveness
Charles H. Spurgeon218 words
spiritual readiness
Universal
divine grace as gift
giving amid suffering
Alexander Maclaren258 words
spiritual receptivity
Universal
intercession through Christ
abolition of old covenant pleas
Charles H. Spurgeon214 words
Universal
Christ's perfect nature enables His redemptive work
Divine power arrests incipient evil
Alexander Maclaren227 words
temptation and spiritual growth
Holy Spirit power
Universal
divine initiative
God's pursuing love
Alexander Maclaren245 words
Universal
divine nature of God
transformation through love
Alexander Maclaren249 words
Universal
God's tender care
maternal divine love
Universal
gratitude and remembrance
God's protective power
Charles H. Spurgeon204 words
the danger of works-righteousness
Universal
divine love made incarnate
the pierced heart as love's channel
Alexander Maclaren221 words