And although I see few results, future missionaries will see conversions following every sermon. May they not forget the pioneers who worked in the thick gloom with few rays to cheer, except such as flow from faith in the precious promises of God's Word.
David LivingstoneI'd rather be in the heart of Africa in the will of God, than on the throne of England, out of the will of God.
David LivingstoneI will place no value on anything I have or may possess, except in relation to the kingdom of Christ. If anything will advance the interests of that kingdom, it shall be given away or kept only in reference to whether giving or keeping will most promote the glory1 of him to whom I owe all my hopes in time and eternity.
David LivingstoneAll I can say in my solitude is, May Heaven's rich blessing come down on every one - American, English, Turk - who will help to heal this open sore of the world.
David LivingstoneIf you knew the satisfaction of performing such a duty, as well as the gratitude to God which the missionary must always feel, in being chosen for so noble, so sacred a calling, you would have no hesitation in embracing it.
David LivingstoneI am a missionary, heart and soul. God had an only Son, and He was a missionary and a physician. I am a poor, poor imitation of Him, or wish to be. In this service I hope to live; in it I wish to die!
David Livingstone.... the brisk exercise imparts elasticity to the muscles, fresh and healthy blood circulates through the brain, the mind works well, the eye is clear, the step is firm, and a day's exertion always makes the evening's repose thoroughly enjoyable.
David LivingstoneIt is my desire to show my attachment to the cause of Him who died for me by devoting my life to His service.
David LivingstoneIf a commission by an earthly king is considered a honor, how can a commission by a Heavenly King be considered a sacrifice?
David LivingstoneIf we have not enough in our religion . . . to share it with all the world, it is doomed here at home.
David LivingstoneI have found that I have no unusual endowments of intellect, but this day I resolve that I will be an uncommon Christian.
David LivingstoneShall I tell you what supported me through all those years of exile among a people whose language I could not understand and whose attitude towards me we always uncertain and often hostile? It was this: "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world".
David LivingstoneIf you have men who will only come if they know there is a good road, I don't want them. I want men who will come if there is no road at all.
David LivingstoneMay the time come when rich men and great men would think it an honor to support whole stations of missionaries in Africa, instead of spending their money on hounds and horses.
David LivingstoneI will place no value on anything I have or may possess except in relation to the kingdom of Christ.
David LivingstoneHe who died for us, and Whom we ought to copy, did more for us than we can do for any one else. He endured the contradiction of sinners. We should have grace to follow in His steps.
David LivingstoneDo not think me mad. It is not to make money that I believe a Christian should live. The noblest thing a man can do is, just humbly to receive, and then go amongst others and give.
David LivingstoneRemember us in your prayers that we grow not weary in well doing. It is hard to work for years with pure motives, and all the time be looked upon by most of those to whom our lives are devoted as having some sinister object in view. Disinterested labor - benevolence - is so out of their line of thought, that many look upon us as having some ulterior object in view; but He who died for us, and Whom we ought to copy, did more for us than we can do for any one else. He endured the contradiction of sinners. We should have grace to follow in His steps.
David LivingstoneEducation has been given us from above for the purpose of bringing to the benighted the knowledge of the Saviour.
David LivingstoneThe mere animal pleasure of travelling in a wild unexplored country is also great. The effect of travel on a man whose heart is in the right place is that the mind is made more self-reliant: it becomes more confident of its own resources, there is greater presence of mind.
David LivingstoneCannot the love of Christ carry the missionary where the slave-trade carries the trader? I shall open up a path to the interior or perish.
David LivingstoneI saw the duty and inestimable privilege _immediately_ to accept salvation by Christ. Humbly believing that through sovereign mercy and grace I have been enabled so to do, and having felt in some measure its effects on my still depraved and deceitful heart, it is my desire to show my attachment to the cause of Him who died for me by devoting my life to his service.
David LivingstoneIt is hard to work for years with pure motives, and all the time be looked upon by most of those to whom our lives are devoted as having some sinister object in view.
David LivingstoneTo be aroused in the dark by five feet of cold, green snake gliding over one's face is unpleasant.
David LivingstoneIt is emphatically no sacrifice. Say rather it is a privilege. Anxiety, sickness, suffering, or danger, now and then, with a foregoing of the common conveniences and charities of this life, may make us pause, and cause the spirit to waver, and the soul to sink; but let this only be for a moment. All these are nothing when compared with the glory which shall be revealed in and for us. I never made a sacrifice.
David Livingstone