To maintain an opinion because it is thine, and not because it is true, is to prefer thyself above the truth.
Ralph VenningRead
Take notice not only of the mercies of God, but of God in the mercies. Mercies are never so savoury as when they savour a Saviour.
Interpretation
We should recognize both God's kindness and His presence within those kind acts.
This quote emphasizes the importance of perceiving not just the blessings we receive in our lives, but also recognizing the divine source behind those blessings. It suggests that true appreciation comes from acknowledging the presence of God within our experiences of mercy and grace.
In practice
This quote could be used in a sermon to illustrate the importance of gratitude.
To maintain an opinion because it is thine, and not because it is true, is to prefer thyself above the truth.
Many people despise those who spend their health, strength and money for the salvation of others, and call them mad. And yet it is they who will save many and be saved themselves.
We are like horses who hurt themselves as soon as they pull on their bits - and we bow our heads. We even lose consciousness of the situation, we just submit. Any re-awakening of thought is then painful.
I seem to have run in a great circle, and met myself again on the starting line.
In our period, they say there is free speech. They say there is no penalty for poets, There is no penalty for writing poems. They say this. This is the penalty.
Our technological society has no longer any place in it for wisdom that seeks truth for its own sake, that seeks the fullness of being, that seeks to rest in an intuition of the very ground of all being. Without wisdom, the apparent opposition of action and contemplation, of work and rest, of involvement and detachment, can never be resolved.
There is no man so good, who, were he to submit all his thoughts and actions to the laws, would not deserve hanging ten times in his life.
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