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

"But now we see not yet all things put under H im." -H EBREWS 2:8 [KJV] It is God's special prerogative to bring good out of evil, and order out of confusion. If you were to watch carefully from an astronomical observatory the movements of the planets, you would see them all in the greatest apparent disorder. Sometimes they would seem to move forward, sometimes backward, and sometimes not to move at all. These confused and contradictory movements sadly puzzled astronomers, till Sir Isaac Newton rose and explained the whole; then all was seen to be the most beautiful harmony and order, where before there was the most puzzling confusion. But take a scriptural instance, the highest and greatest that we can give, to shew that where, to outward appearance, all is disorder, there the greatest wisdom and most determinate will reign. Look at the crucifixion of our blessed Lord. Can you not almost see the scene as painted in the word of truth? See those schemi...

If all of God’s elect were “sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” [ H EBREWS 10:10 ] , could we do anything to make ourselves more sanctified? If our Lord Jesus by His one offering “perfected forever them that are sanctified” [HEBREWS 10:14 ] , could we do anything to make ourselves more perfect? If Jesus Christ “by H imself purged our sins” [HEBREWS 1:3 ] , could we possibly do anything to purge that which has already been removed? If the blood of Jesus Christ “cleanseth us from all sin” [I JOHN 1:7 ] , can we who are washed in His precious blood get ourselves any cleaner in God’s sight by our doings? These are questions the works-religionists cannot give a Biblical answer to. They have no love for the truth that they might be saved. “And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness” [II THESSALONI...

"He giveth power to the faint." - ISAIAH 40:29 [KJV]   The Lord often gives His people power to take a longing, languishing look at the blood and righteousness of Jesus; to come to the Lord, as "mighty to save," with the same feelings with which Esther went into the presence of the king Ahasuerus: "I will go in, and if I perish, I perish." It is with them sometimes as with the four lepers who sat at the entering in of the gate of Samaria: "And they said one to another, Why sit we here until we die? If we say, We will enter into the city, then the famine is in the city, and we shall die there: and if we sit still here, we die also. Now therefore come, and let us fall unto the host of the Syrians: if they save us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall but die" [II KINGS 7:3, 4 ] . And so the Lord's people are sometimes brought to this state—"If I perish, I will perish at His footstool." If He give no...

Almighty God be exalted for ever.   الخلاص هو من الرب يسوع المسيح وحده! Salvation is of the Lord Jesus Christ alone! .

Weekend Gospel message to follow for All Hands ( 30 AUG- 01SEP 19) Heads-Up --- Please find enclosed encouragement in SO GREAT SALVATION by the perfect and finished work of our Lord Jesus Christ in saving poor, needy and wretched sinners by His sovereign free grace - God's unmerited favor - from their sins and from Hell: "Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take; the clouds ye so much dread; are big with mercy, and shall break, in blessings on your head. Judge not the LORD by feeble sense, but trust Him for His grace; behind a frowning providence, He hides a smiling face. His purposes will ripen fast, unfolding every hour; the bud may have a bitter taste, but sweet will be the flower. Blind unbelief is sure to err, and scan His work in vain; God is His own interpreter, and He will make it plain." -Gospel report by brother Wm. Cowper (1731-1800 A.D.)

"And they overcame him by THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB , and by the word of their testimony..." -R EVELATION 12:11 a [KJV]   It is not "the blood of the Lamb" as revealed in the word of God, but as applied to and sprinkled on the conscience, which answers the accusations of Satan. But we may observe that there is our coming unto "the blood of sprinkling," and there is "the blood of sprinkling" coming unto us. The Apostle speaks, Hebrews 12:22-24: "Ye are come to the blood of sprinkling, which speaketh better things than that of Abel." This coming to the blood is the first step in gaining the victory. But in Christian warfare defeat generally, if not always, precedes conquest. It is not, therefore, so easy to overcome sin, death, and hell, which are all striving against us; and usually we never look to the right quarter for help until well-nigh all hope is gone. The first gleam generally comes from a view of "the blood o...

"Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God." - I JOHN 3:1 [KJV] There is a great deal said in religious circles about the love of God, but few have a real scriptural concept of the truth of God's love as it is manifested in the scriptures. The general idea most people have is, "that God loves everybody without exception and is trying his best to save everybody, but the sinner will not cooperate." The truth of God's character revealed in the word is that God is Holy, Just and His love is always in harmony with His Holy character as a Just God and a Saviour [ISAIAH 45:21 ] . Those for whom He loves in Christ [REVELATION 1:5 ] , elected in Christ [JOHN 6:37 ] , redeemed in Christ [EPHESIANS 1:7 ] must be justified in Christ [ROMANS 8:28-30 ] and will be called out of bondage into Light [COLOSSIANS 1:12-13 ] . Here are some scriptures that describe this true love of God t...

"For we are H is workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." - EPHESIANS 2:10 [KJV]   Good works, properly so called, spring out of the inward operation of God's grace. By making the tree good He makes the fruit good [MATTHEW 12:33 ] . He works in us first the will to do that which is good, and then He gives us the power. He thus works in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure [PHILIPPIANS 2:13 ] . Under the operations of His grace we are transformed by the renewing of our mind to prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God [ROMANS 12:2 ] ; and as this will is sought after to be known and done, good works follow as the necessary fruit. All those acts of love and affection, of kindness, sympathy, and liberality towards the Lord's people; all those instances of self-denial and willingness rather to suffer than to do wrong; all those proofs of disinteres...

 The Wednesday Word   by preacher Miles McKee Proof 1 - "God so loved the world, that H e gave H is only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in H im should not perish, but have everlasting life" [JOHN 3:16 ] . Notice that God loves the “world,” i.e. the nations, both Jews and non-Jews. Consider the contrast between how the Law was given in Exodus 20 and the giving of the gospel in Acts 2. The former was given in one language and to one people; the latter, in multiplied tongues,…i.e. to the whole world . When the Law was given, it told of man's duty, and was confined to one language; but when grace was published, it proclaimed God's precious salvation to the nations of the world. The Lord loves people from every tribe, kindred and tongue…the whole world. Proof 2 - Not only did God´s love give us the gift of His Son, but we are told in Isaiah 53 that "it pleased the L ORD to bruise H im." Do you ever feel unloved? If so, look at the ...

I can imagine THE DAY OF JUDGEMENT; all are gathered before the throne of God. Those who are robed in the perfect robe of Christ’s righteousness are gathered to His right hand [MATTHEW 25:31-34 ] . The rest wait to hear His voice of condemnation, “Depart from Me!” [MATTHEW 25:41 ] . Does anyone have anything to say? If there be one who has no sin, let him step forth and say so. Come forth, my friend, and state your case! What about the righteousness and holiness in which you boasted while on earth? Come forward and tell about your works, your gifts, your denomination; you found much comfort in those things once. You who scoffed at substitution, who laughed at free grace, imputed righteousness, and covenant mercies - you are not laughing now! You never trembled before but always had so much confidence in your decision and boasted of being as sure for heaven as if you were already there! Why do you not tell God what you did for Him on earth? It is quite evident that...

“ Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus .” - ACTS 4:13 [KJV] Oh! for the grace to rest upon me, as upon those faithful servants of my Lord; that like them, I may manifest the sweet savour of Jesus’ name in every place; wherever I am, with whomsoever I converse, in every state, and upon every occasion, that all may witness for me, and everything bear witness to me, that I have been with Jesus! I would entreat Thee, my honoured Lord, that I may honour Thee so before men, that after my morning visits to Thy throne of grace, my mid-day communion, my evening and nightly fellowship, my return to the society of men might so be distinguished as one that had just been with Jesus. And as it might be supposed, if an angel was to come from heaven that had seen Thy face, and heard Thy voice, and been an eye witness of Thy gl...

"The full soul loatheth an honeycomb; but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet." - PROVERBS 27:7 [KJV] Afflictions, trials, and sorrows are very bitter things. And they must needs be bitter, for God never meant that they should be otherwise. When He takes the rod, it is to make it felt; and when He brings trouble on His children, it is that they may smart under it. Our text therefore does not, I believe, mean that the "bitter thing" is sweet when it is taken, for then it would cease to be bitter; but it is sweet on account of the blessed nourishment that is brought to the soul out of it. I remember reading, many years ago, the travels of Franklin to the North Pole; and a very interesting book it is naturally. But there is one incident mentioned in it which just strikes my mind. In wandering over the snows of the circumpolar regions there was no food to be got for days and, I think, weeks, except a lichen or kind of moss that grew upon th...

"Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." -R OMANS 5:1 [KJV] Peace with God is essential to our salvation and our comfort. I remember seeing signs as a child that said, “ Make Peace With God.” God has been pleased to show me through His word that such a thing is impossible. No sinner can ever make peace with God for himself or anyone else! What we find out when God’s Spirit teaches us the truth of the gospel is that this is a thing already accomplished by Christ . “ And, having made peace through the blood of His cross, by Him to reconcile all things unto Himself; by Him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven” [COLOSSIANS 1:20 ] . The Lord Jesus Himself is both the Prince of Peace and the Peace of God. But not only is this peace a thing accomplished by the cross death of Christ, it is also a thing to be experienced by those He died for. He made peace with God through the blood of His c...

"Being made so much better than the angels, as H e hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they." - HEBREWS 1:4 [KJV]   Christ was made so much better than the angels, not as the Son of God, because as that He was better than they already, being, indeed, their Maker and Creator. Nor did He become God's Son by being appointed “heir of all things," and "obtaining by inheritance a more excellent name" than all the angelic host. If I have an only son, and he inherits my property, his being my heir does not make him my son, but his being my son makes him my heir. So the blessed Jesus is God's heir. But the beauty and blessedness, the grace and glory, the joy and consolation of His being "the heir of all things," lie in this, that He is such in our nature,—that the same blessed Immanuel who groaned and wept, suffered and bled here below, is now at the right hand of the Father as our High Priest, Mediator, Advocat...

When your faith endures many conflicts, and your spirit sinks low, do not condemn yourself. There is a reason for your season of heaviness. Great soldiers are not made without war. Skillful sailors are not trained on the shore. It appears that if you are to become a great believer, you will be greatly tested. If you are to be a great help to others, you must pass through their trials. If you are to be instructed in the things of the kingdom, you must learn from experience. The uncut diamond has little brilliance, and the unthreshed corn feeds no one, and the untried believer is of little use or beauty. There are GREAT BENEFITS to come from your trials and depression. The one who is much plowed and often harrowed will thank God if the result is a larger harvest to the praise and glory of God by Jesus Christ. If your face is now covered with sorrow, the time will come when you will bless God for that sorrow. The day will come when you will see great gain from your los...

"Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life ." - JOHN 11:25 [KJV]   How often we sink into places where we are in our feelings dead men. Has sin never slain you? Have convictions never, so to speak, knocked the life of God out of your soul? Has Satan never come with his fiery darts, with all the artillery of hell, and sought to scorch up every gracious feeling and every living desire? And have you not sunk at times in your soul into such miserable deadness of spirit, that it seemed that not only there and then you were devoid of all grace, but that it was an impossibility for grace ever again to renew and revive your soul? Here you were dead. I have often been here, which enables me to describe it to you. Yet with all this, there is a longing look, a heartfelt groan, a heaving sigh, a resisting unto blood, not an utter giving way, nor sinking down into miserable despair. God the Spirit kept alive His work upon the soul, and Christ Himself as the res...

“ For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” - II TIMOTHY 4:2-3 [KJV] Paul predicted the time would come when people would not receive the gospel of grace, but, motivated by carnal desires, they would seek out, find and listen to those preachers whose objective is to tell folks what they want to hear. Surely the season about which Paul prophesied has arrived. The philosophy of consumerism has been carried over from the marketplace into churches. The rule of the day among false religionists is demand and supply; whatever the congregation demands, that’s what lying prophets are ready to supply. The average preacher may be likened to a shrewd businessman; he is consumer oriented and motivated by personal success. His job is to discover what religious customers want a...

"He that believeth in M e, though he were dead, yet shall he live." -J OHN 11:25 [KJV]   How can any one who is dead believe? He can, or our Lord would not have said so. I will shew you how. He is a living man as quickened into life by the power of the Spirit of God, and yet he is dead. This is the deep mystery, that though he is dead in law, dead in conscience, dead in helplessness, yet God the Holy Ghost has breathed into him and deposited in him a seed of living faith. By this faith he cries, by this faith he sighs, and by this faith he hungers and thirsts after righteousness; yea, more, by this faith he looks unto and believes in the Son of God. He scarcely knows that he has faith. His faith is so weak and so small in his own estimation, that he dare not say he has faith; and yet he has all the fruits of faith, all the marks of faith, and all the evidences of faith. Take as a parallel case Jonah in the whale's belly. Had he faith or had he not ...