"There are times when solitude is better than society, and silence is wiser than speech. We should be better Christians if we were more alone, waiting upon God, and gathering through meditation on His Word spiritual strength for labour in his service. We ought to muse upon the things of God, because we thus get the real nutriment out of them. . . . Why is it that some Christians, although they hear many sermons, make but slow advances in the divine life? Because they neglect their closets, and do not thoughtfully meditate on God's Word. They love the wheat, but they do not grind it; they would have the corn, but they will not go forth into the fields to gather it; the fruit hangs upon the tree, but they will not pluck it; the water flows at their feet, but they will not stoop to drink it. From such folly deliver us, O Lord. . . .""
— Charles Spurgeon

God said to Israel and to us, "When I see the blood, I will pass over you." He did not say, “When I see your goodness, your morality, your works, your fervent religious worship, your earnestness in trying to keep the Ten Commandments or observe the Golden Rule." No, it is simply this, "When I see the blood I will pass over you." Do you think that I have made too much of the blood, that have I over-emphasized its importance? Listen, blood is mentioned in the Bible about Seven Hundred Times from Genesis to Revelation, and when we see the redeemed throng in heaven in the book of Revelation, we hear them singing, not about their goodness, not about how they have kept the law and been faithful, but this is the song, "Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood"