William Arnot Quotes on Grace, Hope, Prayer and Daily Wisdom
William Arnot preached in Glasgow and Edinburgh in the middle of the nineteenth century. He'd been a gardener before he became a minister, and he never lost his eye for a picture. His sentences are short and balanced, and many of them turn on a single contrast you won't forget.
Every quotation below is copied exactly from his books in TheWay Library, with the book and the chapter or sermon it comes from. Lines he quotes from others, including the journals and letters of James Hamilton in his Life of James Hamilton, are left out. For his life story, see who was William Arnot. For a guide to all eight books, see William Arnot books.
On sin and grace
Arnot was plain about sin and plainer still about the grace of God in Christ.
As there is no sin so great that the blood of Christ cannot blot it out, so there is no sin so small that it cannot destroy a soul.
The Parables of Our Lord, The Mustard Seed
A little sin is like a little fire: stand in awe of the spark, and rest not till it is quenched.
The Parables of Our Lord, The Mustard Seed
Nor does the freeness of his grace prove that the prodigal's sins are small; it proves only that the forgiving love of Christ is great.
The Parables of Our Lord, The Two Sons
I may — not because my sins are small but because my Saviour is great.
Roots and Fruits of the Christian Life, The Mediator Between God and Man
We could not make our own way back to God, but he has come to us.
Laws from Heaven for Life on Earth, chapter 60
Do not mistake; a fear of hell is not sorrow for sin: it may be nothing more than a regret that God is holy.
Roots and Fruits of the Christian Life, Godly Sorrow, and Its Precious Fruit
On Christ the Saviour
They who needed salvation had dry eyes; he who longed to give salvation wept, because they were perishing in sin.
The Anchor of the Soul and Other Sermons, He Stood and Cried
His love to us is wonderful, passing the love of mothers.
Roots and Fruits of the Christian Life, The Lamentations of Jesus
I do not need any ministry to make Jesus more lovely; but I do need a ministry to make me love Jesus.
The Anchor of the Soul and Other Sermons, He Shall Glorify Me
Nothing more is needed to reconcile God to sinners; but something more is needed to reconcile sinners to God.
The Anchor of the Soul and Other Sermons, He Shall Glorify Me
You are not getting a Saviour; but more than that, the Saviour is not getting you.
The Anchor of the Soul and Other Sermons, He Shall Be Satisfied
God is love: the exercise of loving seems to be, as men speak, the very life of the living God.
The Anchor of the Soul and Other Sermons, He Shall Be Satisfied
He is our peace; and mark, if he be not our peace with God, he is nothing to us.
The Anchor of the Soul and Other Sermons, God Known as a Refuge
On faith and conversion
It is, indeed, true that faith will not justify if it be found alone; but that is because if it abide alone, it is not faith.
Roots and Fruits of the Christian Life, The Lamentations of Jesus
Two things lie in the conversion of Paul and in every conversion; the man gets an Almighty Saviour, and God gets a willing servant.
Roots and Fruits of the Christian Life, Vessels Chosen, Charged, and Used in the Work of the Lord
The salvation of a soul depends not on frightened earnestness in the moment of departure, but on faith's calm closing with Christ, before the moment of departure comes.
The Parables of Our Lord, The Ten Virgins
It is not a clearer head that is needed, but a softer heart.
Laws from Heaven for Life on Earth, chapter 73
It is not to whom you say, Lord, Lord; but who really rules in your hearts.
Roots and Fruits of the Christian Life, The Peace of God Ruling in the Heart
On hope
His best-known sermon pictures a ship holding fast in a storm.
The soul is tossed by many temptations; but the anchor of the soul is sure and steadfast within the veil.
The Anchor of the Soul and Other Sermons, The Anchor of the Soul
Fear repels; it is hope that holds; — blessed hope!
The Anchor of the Soul and Other Sermons, The Anchor of the Soul
Hope is the tenant, not of a heart that was never broken, but of a heart that has been broken and healed again.
Roots and Fruits of the Christian Life, Faith, Hope, Love
The life which is hid with Christ in God is not like grass; it will never decay.
Roots and Fruits of the Christian Life, Man and His Glory Like the Grass and Its Flower
On prayer and trust
Delaying to bestow is not proof of indifference in God; … ceasing to ask is proof of indifference in man.
The Parables of Our Lord, The Importunate Widow
Tell God frankly in prayer that your heart is hard, and plead for the Holy Spirit to make it tender.
The Parables of Our Lord, The Sower
You trust him with the redemption of the soul; trust him with the things needful for the body.
The Anchor of the Soul and Other Sermons, Lazarus Is Dead
All powers, and the money power among them, are in the hands of our Father; nothing can happen amiss to his dear child.
Laws from Heaven for Life on Earth, chapter 44
Strangers may speak of providence; but only the children love it.
Laws from Heaven for Life on Earth, chapter 90
On daily life and work
His book on Proverbs speaks to work, money and home with the same plainness as his sermons speak to the soul.
God needs not our work, but we, for our own sakes, need work in his kingdom.
The Parables of Our Lord, The Vineyard Labourers
Sight will not follow the seed far; but when sight fails sow in faith, and you will reap in joy soon.
Laws from Heaven for Life on Earth, chapter 54
The charity that wins a soul begins at home; and if it do not begin there it will never begin.
Laws from Heaven for Life on Earth, chapter 61
It is not terror, but trust, that becomes a safeguard from the dominion of sin.
Laws from Heaven for Life on Earth, chapter 22
On money
From his lectures on the race for riches, given after a season of business frauds in Glasgow:
The more that you throw into this raging appetite, the more it craves.
The Race for Riches, Lecture II
There are two main paths that lead to destruction, and Satan cannot make even his most willing subjects go by both.
The Race for Riches, Lecture III
On the church and its witness
From his lessons on the Book of Acts:
Those who trust in Christ for the greatest things, have the right to lean on him for the least.
The Church in the House, Lesson XII
Silence is sin, if neighbours are treading the broad path that leadeth to destruction, and your word might lead their steps into the way of life.
The Church in the House, Lesson XIX
This is the true apostolical succession — to know nothing as a Cure for men’s sin but Jesus Christ and him crucified; and no sin which his blood cannot wash away.
The Church in the House, Lesson XXVII
On a good life remembered
Last, from the opening of his life of his friend James Hamilton:
Great and good lives … are like rays of sunlight which gladden the world while they shine, but leave it dark and chilly when they depart.
Life of James Hamilton, chapter 1
Where to read more Arnot
If you read one book of his, make it The Parables of Our Lord. For short daily readings, try Laws from Heaven for Life on Earth, and for his preaching, The Anchor of the Soul. His lessons on Acts are in The Church in the House. All his books are on the William Arnot author page.