Skip to main contentSearch Illustrations
1,647 results found
Godly Fear as Strong Confidence and Refuge
The Book of Proverbs unites secular and spiritual wisdom without artificial division, revealing that godly living encompasses all dimensions of existence.
Proverbs 13:26UniversalGod's protection and refugereverent fear producing confidence
Christ Fulfilling the Eternal Moral Law of God
This distinction cuts to the heart of His redemptive mission.
Matthew 5:17UniversalChrist as fulfillment of Scripture
Christ bore our sins though He knew no sin
David declares his uprightness before God—"I was also upright before him, and I kept myself from mine iniquity." Yet this same psalm, when read messianically through the lens of Scripture, applies to Christ Himself.
Psalms 18:23
The Fish Upon Our Table and Divine Dominion
When you sit before your meal, you behold a creature that once swam freely in waters or soared through heavens—now placed there by your authority.
Psalms 8:8
The Silence of God: When Mercy Meets Refusal
He visits rebellious generations with four gifts: the call—spoken through prophets, apostles, and conscience itself, articulated in earthquake and storm; the stretched hands—an open path to the Father with no obstruction, no forbidding, no upbraiding; the counsel—specifically directed at those...
Proverbs 1:28Universal
Scripture's Wonder: A Threefold Reason for Obedience
Spurgeon identifies three compelling reasons woven into Scripture's wonderful character.
Psalms 119:129
The Necessity of Immediate Repentance Before the Risen Christ
Repentance (*metanoia*—a turning around of the mind) in Scripture holds three distinct meanings.
Revelation 1:16Universaldivine judgment
The Fear of God: Restraint and Direction in Righteousness
The fear of God operates as a restraining influence upon the heart.
Psalms 25:12Universaldivine guidance through reverence
Divine Providence Directs What Human Counsel Cannot Control
Higher counsels than ours govern the issues of human conduct.
Proverbs 16:9Universaldivine sovereignty
Making Light of Christ: The Peril of Gospel Indifference
What does it mean to make light of Christ's gospel?
Matthew 20:5Universaldivine invitation rejected
Blood Upon His Own Head: The Weight of Willful Sin
Jeremiah Burroughs, the Puritan divine, illuminated this distinction with precision.
Ezekiel 12:14
God Teaches the Hands to War: Divine Qualification for Service
When God needed a warrior to accomplish His purposes, He qualified David for the work.
Psalms 18:34UniversalDivine empowerment for service
The Studied Neglect That Reveals the Heart
Instead, the king maintained studied silence—he did not send word to the prophet of his triumph.
1 Samuel 15:10-23
Hidden Things Revealed: Providence and the Day of Judgment
Our Lord justifies His parabolic teaching method on the principle that immediate revelation is not always desirable.
Mark 4:22Universaldivine timing and providence
True Children of Abraham: Faith, Not Genealogy
By grace, all believers become Abraham's descendants through three distinct mechanisms: *imitation* (walking in his faith's pattern), *succession* (inheriting his blessing), and *spiritual generation* (Abraham's believing reception of them as children, as Romans 9:8 confirms).
Galatians 1:7Universal
Labour unto Rest: The Christian's Appointed Order
The Hebrew Christians, like wilderness Israelites, were offered the gospel and eternal rest, yet required active faith to obtain it.
Hebrews 4:11Universaldivine rest
God's Will Against Pharaoh's Pride: The Hardened Heart
Moses' honesty is remarkable—he records the magicians' genuine successes in their experiments, lending credibility to the account.
Exodus 10:20
The Land's Rest: Spiritual Training Through Prolonged Conflict
Exell observes that God deliberately extended this campaign for Israel's spiritual formation.
Ruth 4:23
God's Covenant Promise: Conditional Blessing with Unchangeable Warrant
Spurgeon observes that David's sons could never claim ignorance of their obligation.
Psalms 129:12
Fair Words on Unworthy Banners: Ephraim's Presumption
Isaiah 9:10 records a defiant boast spoken in Ephraim and Samaria: "The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones; the sycamores are cut down, but we will put cedars in their place." Scholars suggest these words...
Isaiah 9:10Universal
Christ's Fast: Temptation, Scripture, and the Limits of Austerity
This fast illuminates six crucial truths about temptation and spiritual warfare.
Matthew 4:2Universalspiritual warfare
What Do Ye More Than Others? Christian Superiority in Action
Christians possess incomparable privileges that necessitate corresponding obligations.
Matthew 5:47UniversalChristian duty and distinction
The Wicked Know No Peace: God's Standard Unchanging
Wickedness and peace are mutually destructive terms—not because God arbitrarily withholds peace, but because wickedness itself is incompatible with it.
Isaiah 57:21
True Courage: The Faith That Steadies the Soul
Brute courage, born of insensitivity to danger, fails the thinking man.
Acts 3:13Universalcourage rooted in faith rather than circumstance
The permanence of moral law
Universal
substitutionary atonement
Christ's sinlessness
Charles H. Spurgeon223 words
Universal
divine authority
human stewardship
Charles H. Spurgeon213 words
divine justice
delayed response to grace
Universal
God's character
Scripture's authority
Charles H. Spurgeon196 words
urgency of conversion
the dual nature of godly fear
human agency
spiritual indifference
Universal
divine judgment
personal accountability
Spiritual warfare
Universal
conscience and concealment
divine judgment
Alexander Maclaren246 words
hidden sin revealed
spiritual kinship
faith over works
spiritual labour
Universal
divine sovereignty and human will
hardness of heart as judgment
Universal
spiritual training through adversity
God's sovereignty in delaying victory
Universal
God's faithfulness
conditional blessing
Charles H. Spurgeon201 words
human presumption versus divine authority
disconnect between words and character
scriptural authority
gratitude producing action
Universal
God's unchanging standard
internal consequences of sin
duty as spiritual anchor