Augustine of Hippo (c. 354 to 430)

“Have I spoken of God, or uttered His praise, in any worthy way? Nay, I feel that I have done nothing more than desire to speak; and if I have said anything, it is not what I desired to say. How do I know this, except from the fact that God is unspeakable? But what I have said, if it had been unspeakable, could not have been spoken. And so God is not even to be called unspeakable, because to say even this is to speak of Him. Thus there arises a curious contradiction of words, because if the unspeakable is what cannot be spoken of, it is not unspeakable if it can be called unspeakable. And this opposition of words is rather to be avoided by silence than to be explained away by speech. And yet God, although nothing worthy of His greatness can be said of Him, has condescended to accept the worship of men's mouths, and has desired us through the medium of our own words to rejoice in His praise. For on this principle it is that He is called Deus (God). For the sound of those two syllables in itself conveys no true knowledge of His nature; but yet all who know the Latin tongue are led, when that sound reaches their ears, to think of a nature supreme in excellence and eternal in existence.”[i]

St. Patrick (as supposed, ca. 387- 493 ad), from “Patrick’s Breastplate” [i]

I rise today:  with the power of God to pilot me,
God’s strength to sustain me,
God’s wisdom to guide me,
God’s eye to look ahead for me,
God’s ear to hear me,
God’s word to speak for me,
God’s hand to protect me,
God’s way before me,
God’s shield to defend me,
God’s host to deliver me:
from snares of devils,
from evil temptations,
from nature’s failing,
from all who wish to harm me,
far or near, alone and in a crowd.

Jonathan Edwards (c. 1703 to 1758)

“… to talk of Liberty, or the contrary, as belonging to the very Will itself, is not to speak good sense; if we judge of sense, and nonsense, by the original and proper signification of words.—For the Will itself is not an Agent that has a will: the power of choosing, itself, has not a power of choosing. That which has the power of volition is the man, or the soul, and not the power of volition itself. And he that has the Liberty of doing according to his will, is the Agent who is possessed of the Will; and not the Will which he is possessed of.”[i]

Henry Drummond (1851-1897), The Greatest Thing in the World

Souls are not made sweet by taking [ill tempers] out, but by putting something in - a great Love, a new Spirit, the Spirit of Christ. Christ, the Spirit of Christ, interpenetrating ours, sweetens, purifies, transforms all. This can only eradicate what is wrong, renovate and regenerate, and rehabilitate the inner man. Will-power does not change men. Time does not change men. Christ does. Therefore "Let that mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus."

Francis A. Schaeffer (1912 – 1984)

“Love is internal, not external. There can be external manifestations, but love itself will always be an internal factor. Coveting is always internal; the external manifestation is a result. We must see that to love God with all the heart, mind, and soul is not to covet against God; and to love man, to love our neighbor as ourselves, is not to covet against man. When I covet God’s prerogatives for myself, or covet another person’s things for myself, I am not loving God or the person as I should.”[i]

Tertullian (c. 160 – c. 225)

“Looking up to heaven the Christians – with hands outspread, because innocent, with bare heads because we do not blush, yes! and without one to give the form of words, for we pray from the heart – we are ever making intercession for all the emperors. We pray for them long life, a secure rule, a safe home, brave armies, a faithful senate, an honest people, a quiet world – and everything for which a man and a Caesar can pray…. But why need I say more of the religious awe, the piety, of Christians, where the emperor is concerned? We must needs respect him as the chosen of our Lord. So I have a right to say, Caesar is more ours than yours, appointed as he is by God.”[1]