The Complete Gathered Gold

Solomon said, ‘A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver’ (Proverbs 25:11). John Blanchard has obviously been searching for that kind of gold – and by the looks of this book has met with considerable success.This is a collection of 16,000 quotations covering some 600 subjects by authors from a wide spectrum of Christian belief – and some of probably no Christian belief at all. Having said that, the vast majority of the authors with which I am familiar are evangelical, and the vast majority of those are reformed. This handsomely produced book is the fourth in a series.Gathered gold (1984; 5,000 quotations), More gathered gold (1986; 5,000) and Sifted silver (1995; 5,000) have all been compiled, along with 1,000 additional quotations, to make up this current volume.Much of the book relates to Christian belief and practice, and the quotations run the gamut – from the moving, thoughtful and theological, to the simply humorous, with much in between. This book could be a useful resource for Christians who write or speak publicly, or those who just want some wisdom on a particular subject.Of course, not all the ‘gold’ has the same weight but here’s a sample of some that I appreciated.Thomas Brooks on God’s love: ‘God loves to smile most upon his people when the world frowns most’ (p.241).Dr Lloyd-Jones on gullibility: ‘Incredible as it may seem, there are still people who believe what they read in the newspapers’ (p.282).Clovis Chappell on the aim of preaching and preachers: ‘Put the hay down where the sheep can reach it’ (p.475).Finally, Jonathan Edwards on conviction of sin: ‘The conviction that causes men to think it worth the while to seek salvation is hardly ever a conviction of the worth of the reward, but of the dreadfulness of the punishment’ (p.117).