T. De Witt Talmage Quotes on Christ, Worry, Forgiveness and Heaven
T. De Witt Talmage preached to thousands every Sunday at the Brooklyn Tabernacle, and millions more read his sermons in the newspaper. He was a master of the short, vivid sentence: a picture you could see, a contrast you couldn't forget, a plea that came at you straight. That's why his lines were clipped and passed around in his own lifetime.
Every quotation below is copied exactly from his books in TheWay Library, with the book and sermon or chapter it comes from, so you can read each one in its setting. In his autobiography, the last chapters were written by his widow; none of those lines are included here. For his life story, see who was T. De Witt Talmage. For a guide to his books, see T. De Witt Talmage books.
On Jesus Christ
Talmage's word pictures always led somewhere, and the somewhere was Christ.
Christ is the A and the Z of the Bible.
Sermons, The A and the Z
Be Christ the burden of our talk; Christ the inspiration of our prayers; Christ the theme of our songs; Christ now, and Christ forever.
Sermons, The A and the Z
A Jesus so kind, a Jesus so good, a Jesus so loving — how can you help but love him?
Sermons, The Wonderful
But the king who walked these streets was Christ the First, and Christ the Last, and Christ the Only.
The Palestine Sermons, The Golden Age of Jerusalem
Oh, such a Christ as that — so loving, so self-sacrificing — can you not trust him?
The Palestine Sermons, Salvation by Faith
That sermon is most effectual, which most pointedly puts forth Christ as the pardon of all sin and the correction of all evil…
The Palestine Sermons, The Glorious Christ
On the cross and forgiveness
He preached Christ as our substitute, and he never tired of telling sinners there was room for them.
The principle is the dominant one in our religion — Christ the Martyr, Christ the celestial Hero, Christ the Defender, Christ the Substitute.
From Manger to Throne, Conclusion: Why This Martyrdom? Substitution!
No; to save your soul and mine from sin, and make eternal life possible He died.
From Manger to Throne, The Assassination
Justice satisfied, sin forgiven, eternal life secured, heaven built on a manger.
The Palestine Sermons, The Sky Anthem
No sin so great that it may not be reached and cured by the balm of Christ's mercy.
From Manger to Throne, Poor Magdalene's Tears Illumined
A man's sin may be like a continent, but God's forgiveness is like the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, bounding it on both sides.
Sermons, God Our Mother
So every wound of the soul, however insignificant, God is willing to bind up.
Sermons, God Our Mother
I remark farther that God has a mother's patience for the erring.
Sermons, God Our Mother
On sin and the heart
Under the color, he was blunt about sin.
So with the sin of the heart and the sin of the life — one is just as plain in God's sight as the other.
Sermons, The Red Word
Why be perplexed about the way sin came into the world, when the great question is how we shall get sin driven out of our hearts?
Sermons, Christ in the House
The grace of God in the heart is a feeble spark, and Christ has to keep both hands over it lest it be blown out.
The Palestine Sermons, The Sky Anthem
I have nothing to brag of by way of Christian experience; but two things I have learned — my utter helplessness before God, and the all-abounding grace of the Lord Jesus.
Sermons, A Startling Announcement
On worry
His sermon "Crossing the Bridge Before You Come to It" is about borrowing trouble. It's one of his most practical.
…the majority of the troubles of life are imaginary, and the most of those anticipated never come.
Sermons, Crossing the Bridge Before You Come to It
God sees that we all need a certain amount of trouble, and so he apportions it for all the days and years of our life.
Sermons, Crossing the Bridge Before You Come to It
Large interest money to pay will soon eat up a farm, a store, an estate, and the interest on borrowed troubles will swamp any body.
Sermons, Crossing the Bridge Before You Come to It
Put every thing in God's hand, and leave it there.
Sermons, Crossing the Bridge Before You Come to It
Take God for your portion, God for your guide, God for your help; then all is well; all is well for time, all shall be well forever.
The Palestine Sermons, The Stormy Passage on Galilee
On faith and seeking God
Faith in Christ is the criterion, is the test, is the pivot, is the indispensable.
The Palestine Sermons, Revision of Creeds
The religion of the Lord Jesus Christ will not come to you; you must go and get religion.
The Palestine Sermons, The Half Not Told
There is not a soul on earth that you may not bring to God if you rightly go at it.
Sermons, As the Stars Forever
On heaven
He spoke of heaven often, and always as a homecoming.
It is astonishing how easy it is for a good soul to enter heaven.
Sermons, Fowl of Every Wing
No crutches in heaven; no sleepless nights in heaven; no dim eyes in heaven; no cross looks for old people.
Sermons, Fowl of Every Wing
The first one that a soul entering heaven looks for is Jesus.
Sermons, The A and the Z
On home, marriage and grief
Talmage preached a whole series on marriage, and he never forgot the mourners in his congregation.
The load of life is so heavy it takes a team of two to draw it.
Around the Tea-Table, chapter LVII
Every mother gets full pay for all the prayers and tears in behalf of her children.
The Wedding Ring, Maternity
Some of the brightest thrones of heaven will be kept for Christian housekeepers.
The Wedding Ring, Trials of Housekeeping
It is no sign of weakness that men are overcome of their sorrows.
Every-Day Religion, Exasperating Comforters
On grace and the church
For eighty years of transgression, an eternity of forgiveness.
Old Wells Dug Out, The Well by the Gate
Life is too short, and the work too great, to allow disputation about non-essentials.
Crumbs Swept Up, The Hatchet Buried
On life and calling
From his autobiography, written for his children, come some plain lessons from a long ministry.
God never repeats Himself, and He never intended two men to be alike, or two women to be alike, or two children to be alike.
T. De Witt Talmage as I Knew Him, Preface
It is always best to stay where you are until God gives you marching orders, and then move on.
T. De Witt Talmage as I Knew Him, The Fourth Milestone
Everybody should get his call from God, and do his work in his own way.
T. De Witt Talmage as I Knew Him, The Fifteenth Milestone
The destruction of any church, no matter how large or how popular, does not destroy our faith in God.
T. De Witt Talmage as I Knew Him, The Seventeenth Milestone
Read the sermons
Talmage's lines are best heard in the sermons that built up to them. Start with his Sermons, especially "Crossing the Bridge Before You Come to It" and "God Our Mother," then read The Palestine Sermons and From Manger to Throne. For marriage and the home, read The Wedding Ring. All ten of his books are on the T. De Witt Talmage author page.