Sermons & Devotionals by Timothy Shay Arthur

Human Life Timothy Shay Arthur Benjamin Parker was not as thrifty as some of his neighbors. He could not "get along in the world." "Few men are more industrious than I am," he would sometimes say to his wife. "I am always attending to business, late and early, rain or shine. But it's no use, I can't... Read More

I'll See About It By Timothy Shay Arthur Mr. Easton sat alone in his counting-room one afternoon, in a most comfortable frame, both as regards mind and body. A profitable business speculation in the morning had brought the former into a state of great delight, and a good dinner had done all that was... Read More

A Visit with the Doctor by Timothy Shay Arthur "How are you today, Mrs. Carleton?" asked Dr. Farleigh, as he sat down by his patient, who reclined languidly in a large cushioned chair. "Miserable!" was the faintly spoken reply. And the word was repeated — "Miserable!" The doctor took one of the lady... Read More

Kind Words (author unknown) We have more than once, in our rapidly written reflections, urged the habit and propriety of kindness , courtesy , and good-will between man and man. It is so easy for an individual to manifest amenity of spirit, to avoid harshness, and thus to cheer and gladden the paths... Read More

A Talk about Marriage Timothy Shay Arthur, 1861 Two maidens, in youthful bloom and beauty, sat earnestly talking. Their thought was reaching away into the future; their theme was marriage. "I like him well enough," said one of them; "but — " She paused, the objection unspoken. "What is the impedimen... Read More

A Bargain! Timothy Shay Arthur, 1859 I am not much of a bargain-buyer , having had, like most housekeepers, sufficient experience on that subject to effect a pretty thorough cure of the disease , as mild as it was in the beginning. As all diseases, whether bodily or mental, leave behind them a predi... Read More

The Ruined Family Timothy Shay Arthur, 1851 "Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler; whoever is led astray by them is not wise." Proverbs 20:1 "Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaints? Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes? Those who linger over wine, who go to sample... Read More

A Lesson of Contentment Timothy Shay Arthur, 1851 I was very unhappy from a variety of causes, definable and indefinable. My chambermaid had been cross for a week, and, by talking to my cook, had made her dissatisfied with her place. The mother of five little children, I felt that I had a weight of ... Read More

The Life to Come By Timothy Shay Arthur, 1868 "Thank God for the life to come!" said a pale, sad-looking woman, in a voice marked fretfulness and despondency. "What life to come , Aunt Lucy?" The questioner was a slender girl, not over seventeen or eighteen in appearance, but, really, in her twenty-... Read More

Paying the Pastor Timothy Shay Arthur, 1856 " Money, money, money! That's the everlasting cry! I just won't go to church — I'll stay at home and read the Bible! Not that I care for a few dollars more than I do for the dust that blows in the wind; but this selling of salvation for gold disgusts me. I... Read More

Three Scenes in the Life of a Worldling By Timothy Shay Arthur, 1853 Scene 1. "It is in vain to urge me, brother Robert. Out into the world I must go. The impulse is on me. I would die of inaction here." "You need not be inactive. There is work to do. I shall never be idle." "And such work! Delving ... Read More

The Dead Timothy Shay Arthur, 1856 It is strange what a change is wrought in one hour by death . The moment our friend is gone from us forever — what sacredness invests him! Everything he ever said or did seems to return to us clothed in new significance. A thousand yearnings rise, of things we woul... Read More

We Are Led by a Way That We Know Not Timothy Shay Arthur, 1856 "Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands." Deuteronomy 8:2 We are to consider t... Read More

Not as Our Ways By Timothy Shay Arthur, 1868 "All His ways are in mercy," said the minister. "Do not forget that, my sister." They were the parting sentences of one who had often tried, in the sunny days of Mrs. Fielding's life, to lift her thoughts above the outer world, into a consciousness of tho... Read More

The Wanderer's Return (A Thanksgiving Story) Timothy Shay Arthur, 1851 A man, who at first sight, a casual observer would have thought at least forty or fifty years of age, came creeping out of an old, miserable-looking tenement in the lower part of Cincinnati, a little while after night-fall, and, ... Read More

The Hermit by Timothy Shay Arthur A traveler was once passing through a great wilderness, in which he supposed no human being dwelt. But, while riding along in its gloomiest part, he was surprised to see a hermit , his face covered with a long beard, which hung down upon his bosom, sitting on a ston... Read More

Returning Good for Evil (author unknown) Obadiah Lawson and Watt Dood were neighbors; that is, they lived within a half mile of each other, and no person lived between their respective farms, which would have joined, had not a little strip of prairie land extended itself sufficiently to keep them se... Read More

Both are to Blame by Timothy Shay Arthur "Of course, both are to blame." "Of course. You may always set that down as certain when you see two people who have formerly been on good terms, fall out with each other. For my part, I never take sides in these matters. I listen to what both have to say, an... Read More

The New Year's Gift Timothy Shay Arthur, 1851 "Just four weeks off," said a little boy, striking his hands together, "and papa will be home!" "Yes, four weeks more, and we shall see dear father. It will be the happiest New Year's day we ever had; won't it, mother?" said the little boy's sister, a br... Read More

Judging by Appearances Timothy Shay Arthur, 1851 Mr. Everton was the editor and publisher of the Webster Journal , and, like too many occupying his position, was not on the best terms in the world with certain of his contemporaries of the same city. One morning, on opening the paper from a rival off... Read More