--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Let us not satisfy ourselves with a…" description: "\"Let us not satisfy ourselves with a knowledge of God in the mass; a glance upon a picture never directs you to the discerning the worth and art of it.\"..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d77/stephen-charnock-15530_art_let-us-not-satisfy-ourselves-with-a-know_2719002.png" --- # Let us not satisfy ourselves with a knowledge of God in… ![“Let us not satisfy ourselves with a knowledge of God in the mass; a glance upon a picture never directs you to the discerning the worth and art of it.” quote by Stephen Charnock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d77/stephen-charnock-15530_art_let-us-not-satisfy-ourselves-with-a-know_2719002.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d77/stephen-charnock-15530_art_let-us-not-satisfy-ourselves-with-a-know_2719002.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d77/stephen-charnock-15530_art_let-us-not-satisfy-ourselves-with-a-know_2719002.png) > “Let us not satisfy ourselves with a knowledge of God in the mass; a glance upon a picture never directs you to the discerning the worth and art of it.” [Stephen Charnock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-charnock/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True understanding of God requires deep contemplation, not superficial images or mass knowledge. **In simple terms:** Seek deep understanding. Key Takeaway Engage in thoughtful study of faith. Themes spirituality knowledge depth Mood contemplative inspirational Type theological philosophical When to use this quote - personal prayer - study groups - meditation Key Concepts theology reflection Questions to Reflect On - How can you move beyond surface-level learning? - What practices deepen spiritual insight? A Different Perspective Superficial exposure can seem sufficient; depth requires effort. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Knowledge of god](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge-of-god/) [Mass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mass/) ## Related quotes > [I always believed in God, I would go to mass most of the time, but I had no idea of the calling to holiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-caviezel/i-always-believed-in-god-i-would-go-to-mass-most-of-the-time-but-i/) [Jim Caviezel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-caviezel/) > [How can we turn our knowledge about God into knowledge of God? The rule for doing this is simple but demanding. It is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/how-can-we-turn-our-knowledge-about-god-into-knowledge-of-god-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“True and sound wisdom consists of two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calvin/true-and-sound-wisdom-consists-of-two-parts-the-knowledge-of-god-and/) [John Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calvin/) > [“Of all knowledge, the knowledge of God is the principal. There is no true knowledge without godliness (cp. Deu 4: 6, 7).”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bridges/of-all-knowledge-the-knowledge-of-god-is-the-principal-there-is-no/) Charles Bridges > [“The knowledge of God is a sacred pursuit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/the-knowledge-of-god-is-a-sacred-pursuit/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“The story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 1o) can he interpreted mystically in such a way that the question of the knowledge of God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothee-soelle/the-story-of-the-good-samaritan-luke-1o-can-he-interpreted-mystically/) [Dorothee Soelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothee-soelle/) > [Certainly it does make the greatest possible difference what we think about God; the knowledge of God is the very basis of religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gresham-machen/certainly-it-does-make-the-greatest-possible-difference-what-we-think/) [John Gresham Machen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gresham-machen/) > [“Knowlege of God without knowledge of man's wretchedness leads to pride. Knowledge of man's wretchedness without knowledge of God leads to despair. Knowledge of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/knowlege-of-god-without-knowledge-of-man-s-wretchedness-leads-to/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [A little knowledge OF God is worth more than a great deal of knowledge ABOUT him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-i-packer/a-little-knowledge-of-god-is-worth-more-than-a-great-deal-of/) [J. I. Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-i-packer/) > [The knowledge of God is very far from the love of Him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/the-knowledge-of-god-is-very-far-from-the-love-of-him/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [“No matter how hard people work to suppress their knowledge of God, creation itself keeps challenging them. “Human life is a continual wrestling match…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-pearcey/no-matter-how-hard-people-work-to-suppress-their-knowledge-of-god/) [Nancy Pearcey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-pearcey/) > [In all thy actions think God sees thee; and in all His actions labor to see Him; that will make thee fear Him; this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-quarles/in-all-thy-actions-think-god-sees-thee-and-in-all-his-actions-labor/) [Francis Quarles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-quarles/) > [We find the instrument for the Knowledge of God in ourselves But we find God everywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-steiner/we-find-the-instrument-for-the-knowledge-of-god-in-ourselves-but-we/) [Rudolf Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-steiner/) > [The sum total of all possible knowledge of God is not possible for a human being, not even through a true revelation. But it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/the-sum-total-of-all-possible-knowledge-of-god-is-not-possible-for-a/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [“You do not say someone is holy because he puts forth great ideas concerning the knowledge of God and the attributes of God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-molinos/you-do-not-say-someone-is-holy-because-he-puts-forth-great-ideas/) [Michael Molinos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-molinos/) ## More by Stephen Charnock > [Without the heart it is no worship. It is a stage play. It is an acting of a part without being that person, really.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-charnock/without-the-heart-it-is-no-worship-it-is-a-stage-play-it-is-an-acting/) [Stephen Charnock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-charnock/) > [Since therefore all things are ordered in subserviency to the good of man, they are so ordered by Him that made both man and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-charnock/since-therefore-all-things-are-ordered-in-subserviency-to-the-good-of/) [Stephen Charnock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-charnock/) > [Without the heart it is no worship; it is a stage play; an acting a part without being that person really which is acted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-charnock/without-the-heart-it-is-no-worship-it-is-a-stage-play-an-acting-a/) [Stephen Charnock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-charnock/) > [Let us look upon a crucified Christ, the remedy of all our miseries. His cross hath procured a crown, his passion hath expiated our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-charnock/let-us-look-upon-a-crucified-christ-the-remedy-of-all-our-miseries/) [Stephen Charnock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-charnock/) > [It is the black work of an ungodly man or an atheist, that God is not in all his thoughts. What comfort can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-charnock/it-is-the-black-work-of-an-ungodly-man-or-an-atheist-that-god-is-not/) [Stephen Charnock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-charnock/) > [A proud faith is as much a contradiction as a humble devil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-charnock/a-proud-faith-is-as-much-a-contradiction-as-a-humble-devil/) [Stephen Charnock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-charnock/) > [What a curious workmanship is that of the eye, which is in the body, as the sun in the world; set in the head…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-charnock/what-a-curious-workmanship-is-that-of-the-eye-which-is-in-the-body-as/) [Stephen Charnock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-charnock/) > [Our ignorance of God is too great, because our estimations of God are too little.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-charnock/our-ignorance-of-god-is-too-great-because-our-estimations-of-god-are/) [Stephen Charnock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-charnock/) > [God doth not govern the world only by his will as an absolute monarch, but by his wisdom and goodness as a tender father.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-charnock/god-doth-not-govern-the-world-only-by-his-will-as-an-absolute-monarch/) [Stephen Charnock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-charnock/) > [No man is an unbeliever, but because he will be so; and every man is not an unbeliever, because the grace of God conquers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-charnock/no-man-is-an-unbeliever-but-because-he-will-be-so-and-every-man-is/) [Stephen Charnock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-charnock/) > [“Man's wisdom detracts from the glory of God, who is more honoured by the simplicity of the gospel, than luxuriance of wit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-charnock/man-s-wisdom-detracts-from-the-glory-of-god-who-is-more-honoured-by/) [Stephen Charnock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-charnock/) > [Assurance is the fruit that grows out of the root of faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-charnock/assurance-is-the-fruit-that-grows-out-of-the-root-of-faith/) [Stephen Charnock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-charnock/) > [Since we are dead in sin, a spiritual light and flame in the heart suitable to the nature of the object of our worship,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-charnock/since-we-are-dead-in-sin-a-spiritual-light-and-flame-in-the-heart/) [Stephen Charnock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-charnock/) > [Without the heart it’s not worship, it’s a stage play.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-charnock/without-the-heart-it-s-not-worship-it-s-a-stage-play/) [Stephen Charnock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-charnock/) > [How comfortable it is to have One, day and night, before the throne to control the charge of our enemy, and the despondencies of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-charnock/how-comfortable-it-is-to-have-one-day-and-night-before-the-throne-to/) [Stephen Charnock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-charnock/) [Explore all 43 Stephen Charnock quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-charnock/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Let us not satisfy ourselves with a knowledge of God in the mass; a glance upon a picture never directs you to the discerning the worth and art of it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Stephen Charnock" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-charnock/let-us-not-satisfy-ourselves-with-a-knowledge-of-god-in-the-mass-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-charnock/let-us-not-satisfy-ourselves-with-a-knowledge-of-god-in-the-mass-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d77/stephen-charnock-15530_art_let-us-not-satisfy-ourselves-with-a-know_2719002.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d77/stephen-charnock-15530_art_let-us-not-satisfy-ourselves-with-a-know_2719002.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d77/stephen-charnock-15530_art_let-us-not-satisfy-ourselves-with-a-know_2719002.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Let us not satisfy ourselves with a knowledge of God in the mass; a glance upon a picture never directs you…” — Stephen Charnock", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Stephen Charnock", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-charnock/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Let us not satisfy ourselves with...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-charnock/let-us-not-satisfy-ourselves-with-a-knowledge-of-god-in-the-mass-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-charnock/let-us-not-satisfy-ourselves-with-a-knowledge-of-god-in-the-mass-a/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```