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

"Whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth." -H EBREWS 12:6 [KJV]   Does not James say, "Blessed is the man that endureth temptation?" And again, "Count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations?" Why? Is there any joy in trials, any pleasure in sorrow? No, none. But in the deliverance from the Lord; in the power of God put forth to bring the soul out; there is joy there. And, therefore, we have to walk in a dark path to make the light dear to our eyes; we have to pass through trials to taste the sweetness of the promises when applied with power; we have to endure temptations, that we may enjoy the sweetness of deliverance. And this is the way, be sure of it, that God deals with His people. Is your conscience made honest? Does that monitor in your bosom speak the truth? Tell me what it says. Does it not say, "Few trials, few consolations; few sorrows, few joys; few difficulties, few testimo

"In Whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him w ho worketh all things after the counsel of His own will."   -E PHESIANS 1:11 [KJV] The eternal will of God is the rule of His conduct in providence, according to which He proceeds. His wisdom- which fixed His will and therefore is said to be the counsel of His will- presides, guides, and directs in the execution of it. The execution of His will is called His working. Therefore, providence is to be reckoned as His work. The wise man says there is "a time to every purpose under the heaven" [ECCLESIASTES 3:1 ] . Whatever is done under the heaven in time, there was a purpose for it in eternity; and for the execution of that purpose a time was fixed; and at that time it is brought about by the providence of God Who "made every thing beautiful in His time," [ECCLESIASTES 3:11 ] , that is, in the time and season in which He appointed it to

"Although my house be not so with God; yet He hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure : for this is all my salvation, and all my desire, although H e make it not to grow." -II S AMUEL 23:5 [KJV]   David's words in the time of his death reveal much as to what a believer's comfort is at all times. David was a king and a prophet. He did great and mighty things by the power of God. He was a man after God's own heart. Yet, with all he did, it was all marred and polluted by sin. He was also an adulterer, a murderer, and a sinner in heart. There was no comfort in himself, in what he'd done or in his circumstances around him. How could he live or die in peace? His comfort was in the covenant. It was in the pledge and covenant of God who does not lie or change. God's covenant with His people is an "everlasting covenant." It was made before David ever breathed his first breath and God included and orde