"Surely if he would not spare his own Son one stroke, one tear, one groan, one circumstance of misery, it can never be imagined that he should, after this, deny or withhold from his people, for whose sakes all this was suffered, any mercies, any comforts, any privilege, spiritual or temporal, which is good for them."
- John Flavel
"He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? "
- Romans 8:32
How long wilt Thou conceal Thy face?
My God, how long delay?
When shall I feel those heav’nly rays
That chase my fears away?
How long shall my poor laboring soul
Wrestle and toil in vain?
Thy word can all my foes control
And ease my raging pain.
- Isaac Watts
"Consider the relationship between boasting and self-pity.
Both are manifestations of pride. Boasting is the response of pride to success. Self-pity is the response of pride to suffering. Boasting says, "I deserve admiration because I have achieved so much." Self-pity says "I deserve admiration because I have sacrificed so much." Boasting is the voice of pride in the heart of the strong. Self-pity is the voice of pride in the heart of the weak. Boasting sounds self sufficient. Self-pity sounds self sacrificing.
The reason self-pity does not look like pride is that it appears to be needy. But the need arises from a wounded ego and the desire of the self-pitying is not really for others to see them as helpless, but heroes. The need self-pity feels does not come from a sense of unworthiness, but from a sense of unrecognized worthiness. It is the response of unappluaded pride."
- John Piper
From the book 'Desiring God', quoted in the book 'Future Grace', pg 94-95
