"Salvation is of the LORD." -Jonah 2:9

"For the Lord will not cast off for ever." -Lamentations 3:31 [KJV] “Then there is no danger of perishing. Let us live as we list: walk after the imagination of our hearts: and fulfil the desires of the flesh and of the mind.” Is this the natural language of such a faith? This the genuine influence of such a hope? This the conduct resulting from the knowledge of God’s everlasting love? Yes, say some, if we could believe such doctrine, we should so act.  Such sadly betray their ignorance of the sanctifying influence of divine truth, upon the heart and life. This day shalt thou be with Me in paradise , says our Saviour to the expiring thief (Luke 23:43.) Could he hence find it in his heart to say, Then will I blaspheme Thee again as I did just now? O no . The grace of God, which brings salvation to our souls, teaches otherwise.  The goodness of God , which keeps us from hell, and preserves us safe to glory, leadeth us to repentance . And faith in the covenant lov...

"He restoreth my soul."   -Psalm 23:3 [KJV] Yes, Lord, it is indeed Thou that bringest back the strayed sheep; for as no man ever quickened, so none can keep alive his own soul. It was indeed Thy promise, and most graciously dost Thou fulfil it! "As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep, so will I seek out My sheep, and bring again that which was driven away." -Ezekiel 34:11-16   My soul, mark this trait of character in thy Jesus for thy morning meditation. It is well for thee that restoring work, reclaiming work, reviving work, all is with Jesus; begins in Him, and is carried on and completed by Him, and through His grace in thee. And it is well for thee, my soul, that though thou so often failest in all things towards thy Jesus, yet He never faileth in His love to thee in any thing. Sweet consideration! His love, and not thy deserts, become the standard for all His tenderness to His people. And mark it down, my soul, ...

"And it shall come to pass in that day, that the great trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the LORD in the holy mount at Jerusalem." -Isaiah 27:13 [KJV] Called by the sounding of the great trumpet, the perishing and outcasts "come." And what do they when they come? Do they trifle with sin, mock God, and abuse His grace? We read not so. They "worship the LORD in the holy mount at Jerusalem." They worship Him in spirit and in truth; they worship Him in the beauty of holiness.  With purified hearts, purged consciences, and spiritual affections, they fall down before Him, and their souls are impressed with a sense of the greatness of His love. They had no such heavenly feelings before; they could not therefore worship the Three-One God in the holy mount nor at Jerusalem.  The great trumpet had not been blown, the jubilee had not ...

“Who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His Person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.”   -Hebrews 1:3 [KJV]  The atonement for sin is made ONLY by Christ, our Great High Priest. He, Himself, and no other, bore our sins; and He, Himself, purged them away. By His sacrifice alone He expiated our sins and accomplished our salvation, and of the people there were none to help nor assist Him.  Moses wrote, “And there shall be no man in the tabernacle of the congregation when the High Priest goes in to make an atonement in the Holy Place, until he come out” (Leviticus 16:17) . When our Shepherd was smitten by the sword of justice, the sheep were scattered, and all His disciples forsook Him and fled.  There were none to appear FOR Him, nor stand BY Him, not in the least to lend an ASSISTING hand in the great work in which He was ...

Here's eight encouraging Gospel gems from a preacher long ago: 1) Christ does not save us because we are holy—but that we may be holy! 2) There are three things that commend the value of Christ's sacrifice:  the dignity of His person, the greatness of His sufferings, and the merit of His obedience. 3) God's power was revealed in the creation, when God made us like Himself out of the dust of the ground. God's love was revealed in our redemption, when He made Himself like us. 4) No soul ever came to Christ without a load of sin and guilt upon his back. It is God's way to speak terror, before He speaks comfort. Were you ever brought to say: "I was a wretch—a miserable, forlorn creature outside of Christ!" Unworthiness and wretchedness felt is the first occasion to bring us to Christ. Never a poor soul who takes sanctuary at the throne of grace, but he first stands guilty there, and in danger of damnation. 5) Man's will contributes nothing to ...

There are those who believe that Jesus Christ died so man would have a chance of being saved. I do not know that I hate anything more in my soul than to hear someone say that Jesus Christ died so as to make salvation a possibility . It makes Jesus Christ so little, that He should do so much, and after all, only give us a chance of being saved.  What an insult it is to the Lord Jesus Christ to fix the eternal honor of God in the salvation of sinners upon chance, and that chance to be managed by a poor sinful creature. No, no .  Thanks be to God for immortal realities and certainties. What is said concerning what Christ has done? He has “put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself” (Hebrews 9:26).   “He redeemed us from the curse of the law” (Galatians 3:13).  He has “obtained eternal redemption for us” (Hebrews 9:12).  “He has redeemed us to God” (Revelation 5:9).   To the honor of the Eternal Trinity, it is said, not that the redeemed shall h...

All praise to God for all His grace,  That grace that reigns in righteousness.    A just God and a Savior He,  This way He must forever be.   From old eternity was wrought,  A purpose of His grace to show.  Eternal love then did design,  To send the Son down here below.   Christ came and lived the perfect Man,  Submissive to the Father's will.  Then on the cross He died to save,  And there His blood did freely spill.   That sacrifice for sins then made,  The debt to justice satisfied.  Now all for whom He suffered there,  Must now be freely justified!   -hymn by Gary Shepard, preacher at Sovereign Grace Baptist church in Jacksonville, North Carolina USA   Sermon Audio link:  https://www.sermonaudio.com/broadcasters/allsovgrace/