Christian Scriver



Christian Scriver (January 2, 1629 – April 5, 1693) was a German Lutheran devotional writer.

Gotthold's Emblems (1667)

 * Gotthold's Emblems: or, Invisible Things Understood by Things That Are Made (1667), translated from the twenty-eighth German edition by the Rev. Robert Menzies (Edinburgh: T. and T. Clark, 1862). 366 meditations, one for every day of the year.


 * Well, then, Lord Jesus! I will creep if I cannot walk; I will take hold of Thy word. When I stumble, Thou wilt support me; when I fall, Thou wilt hold out Thy Cross, and help me with it to rise again, until at length I reach the place where Thou art, and with all my weaknesses, anxieties, and wants, cast myself into Thy bosom.
 * VII. The Child Learning to Walk, p. 43.


 * O, my God! withhold from me the wealth to which tears, and sighs, and curses cleave. Better none at all than wealth like that!
 * VIII. The Money Scales, p. 45.


 * Lord Jesus, engrave Thou Thy name with Thine own finger upon my heart, that it may remain closed to worldly joy and worldly pleasure, self-interest, fading honor, and low revenge, and open only to Thee!
 * XXVI. The Lock, p. 65.


 * In the school of Christ they are the best scholars who continue learning to the last.
 * XXXVIII. The Copy-Line, p. 79.


 * My God, help me always resolutely to strive, and through life and death, to force my way unto Thee.
 * LXXXVII. The Sailors, p. 137.


 * Never have I greater reason for suspicion than when I am particularly pleased with myself, my faith, my prayers, and my alms.
 * CI, The Eye That Does Not See Itself, p. 152.


 * My God, give me neither poverty nor riches; but whatsoever it may be Thy will to give, give me with it a heart which knows humbly to acquiesce in what is Thy will.
 * CLXI. Gold in Water, p. 225.


 * God has given you your child, that the sight of him, from time to time, might remind you of His goodness, and induce you to praise Him with filial reverence.
 * CXCIX The Only Child, pp. 274–275.


 * The whole of Christianity is comprised in three things — to believe, to love, and to obey Jesus. These are things, however, which we must be learning all our life.
 * CCVIII. The Swarm of Bees, p. 286.


 * My God, I ask not of Thee the leaves of external consequence; I will be content to continue simple, lowly, and plain, if Thou wilt only give me grace to serve Thee and my neighbor. Outward pomp withers like a flower, but inward worth lasts even after death.
 * CCXII. The Double Flowers, p. 292.


 * As this brook not merely washes off impurities, but overwhelms them, so that they can no longer be found, even so Thy Divine mercy, and the stream of my Saviour's blood, not only purge away, but extinguish my sins, sweeping them into the depths of the sea, where through all eternity they shall be remembered no more.
 * CCXXX. The Brook, p. 312.


 * It is self-love, and its offspring, self-deception, which shut the gates of heaven, and lead men, as in a delicious dream, to hell.
 * CCLVIII. The Magnifying-Glass, p. 347.


 * O my God! close my eyes that I may see Thee; separate me from the world that I may enjoy Thy company.
 * CCLXXXVI. The Blinded Bird, p. 375.


 * As ravens rejoice over carrion, so infernal spirits exult over the soul that is dead in sin.
 * CCCXVII. The Bier, p. 415.


 * Jesus, save me from the infatuation of avarice! I too will lay up a treasure, but Thou shalt have the keeping of it.
 * CCCXIX. The Savings-Box, p. 417.


 * Be less concerned about the number of the books you read, and more about the good use you make of them. The best of books is the Bible.
 * CCCXXI. Books, p. 420.


 * My God! my time is in Thy hands. Should it please Thee to lengthen my life, and complete, as Thou hast begun, the work of blanching my locks, grant me grace to wear them as an unsullied crown of honour.
 * CCCXXIII. Grey Hairs, p. 422.