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

"As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him." -Colossians 2:6 [KJV] It is to the glory of the grace of the holy, blessed, and glorious Trinity, that any sinner receives Christ; and Christ is the glory of that heart which receives Him. Thus, there is a mutual complacency and delight between Jehovah, Father, Son, and Spirit and believing sons. Every one who believes in Christ Jesus, has received Christ as his Lord, his atonement, his righteousness, his salvation as verily as St. Paul, or any of the apostles.  God is alike the Father of all such; the Son is alike the Saviour of all such; and the Holy Ghost is alike the Sanctifier and Comforter of all such. O well may the believing heart cry out in a rapture of joy, Lord, what rich grace is this! What glorious privilege am I invested with? What hast Thou wrought! What am I! Why should Jesus apprehend me, worthless me, that I should apprehend Him!  Lord, what wouldst Thou have me to do? He...

"Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God now accepteth thy works." -Ecclesiastes 9:7 [KJV] My soul, here is a sweet subject for thy morning thoughts. Art thou accepted in the Beloved? Hast thou accepted Jesus, and God accepted thee in Jesus? Well mayest thou then eat of the bread of common providences, and drink of the sweet of all sanctified mercies, for every thing is blessed in Jesus, and Jesus is blessing thee in every thing.  Surely an accepted soul is a blessed soul, for he is blessed in his basket and in his store; blessed in his lying down, and blessed in his rising up; blessed in his going out, and blessed in his coming home; yea, blessed in time, and blessed to all eternity. Yes, Thou blessed Source of all my blessedness, Thou precious Jesus, I will go my way, for Thou art my way; I will eat my bread with joy, for Thou art my bread of life; I will drink the wine which Thou hast mingled for me, for Thy love is b...

"But as many as received him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name." -John 1:12 [KJV] Wherever faith is given to the soul to " receive " Christ, there will be mingled with this faith, and blessedly accompanying it, love to the Lord of life and glory; and sometimes we may know the existence of faith when we cannot see it, by discerning the secret workings and actings of love towards that Saviour, in whom God has enabled us to believe.  There will be, from time to time, in living souls a flowing forth of affection towards Jesus. From time to time, He gives the soul a glimpse of His Person; He shews Himself, as the Scripture speaks, "through the lattice;" passing perhaps hastily by, but giving such a transient glimpse of the beauty of His Person, the excellency of His finished work, dying love, and atoning blood as ravishes the heart, and secretly draws forth every affection of the soul, so that ...