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

"For the L ORD of hosts ha th purposed, and who shall disannul it ? and His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?" -I SAIAH 14:27 [KJV] To say that God is sovereign is to declare that He is the Almighty, the Possessor of all power in heaven and earth so that none can defeat His counsels, thwart His purpose, or resist His will. Whatever takes place in time is but the outworking of that which He has decreed in eternity. The sovereignty of the God of Scripture is absolute, irresistible and infinite! We insist that God does as He pleases, only as He pleases, always as He pleases! "But our God is in the heavens: He ha th done what so ever He ha th pleased" [ P SALM 115: 3] ! " Whatsoever the LORD pleased, that did He in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places " [ P SALM 135:6 ] ! "And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and He doeth according to His will in the army of heaven, ...

THE DOCTRINE OF PREDETERMINATION When I consider the absolute independency of God, and the necessary total dependence of all created things on Him, their first cause, I cannot help standing astonished at the pride of impotent, degenerate man, who is so prone to consider himself as a being possessed of sovereign freedom, and invested with a power of self-salvation, able, he imagines, to counteract the designs even of infinite wisdom, and to defeat the agency of Omnipotence itself. "Ye shall be as gods," said the tempter to Eve in paradise; and "ye are as gods" says the same tempter to her apostate sons. One would be apt to think that a suggestion so demonstrably false and flattering, a suggestion the very reverse of what we feel to be our state, a suggestion alike contrary to Scripture and reason, to fact and experience, could never meet with the smallest degree of credit. And yet, because it so exactly coincides with the natural haughtiness of the h...

"For H e hath made H im to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in H im." - II CORINTHIANS 5:21 [KJV] Our blessed Lord offered Himself for sin; that is, that He might put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself— "Who H is own self bare our sins in H is own body on the tree" [I PETER 2:24 ] . It was absolutely necessary either that the sinner should suffer in his own person, or in that of a substitute. Jesus became this Substitute; He stood virtually in the sinner's place, and endured in His holy body and soul the punishment due to Him; for He "was numbered with the transgressors." He thus, by the shedding of His most precious blood, opened in His sacred body a fountain for all sin and all uncleanness [ZECHARIAH 13:1 ] .   The cross was the place on which this sacrifice was offered; for as the blood of the slain lamb was poured out at the foot of the altar, sprinkled upon its horns, and b...

“…As thy days, so shall thy strength be.” -DEUTERONOMY 33:25 [KJV] Here is a precious promise for a trying day! It belongs to every Christian who is traveling to the Celestial City. It provides for every part of life's journey; for every day — as each day may require. It is especially suited to the dark days, the wintry days, and the trying days — when all our earthly props fail us; the days when our fellow man cannot help us. Fellow pilgrim! Are you dispirited, depressed, and cast down? Are you looking back upon the past with sorrow — and forward into the future with fear? Cheer up! The Lord will not lay on you more than He will enable you to bear — nor will He allow any other to do so. However weak you may feel in yourself, however rough the road you may need to travel, however heavy the burden you may have to carry — God will supply you with sufficient strength for the day! He has never allowed you to be crushed yet, though you may have staggered under so...

Note in scripture how many times the blood is said to be before the Lord. Whether any man saw it or not was of small account, for it was offered for sin before the Lord. When the Passover lamb was slain in Egypt, where was the blood placed? It was on the OUTSIDE of the door; before the Lord. He said, When I see the blood, I will pass over you. The suffering and death of Christ on behalf of His people was BEFORE the Lord, UNTO the Lord, to declare the Lord’s righteousness, to satisfy the Lord’s justice, to fulfill the Lord’s purpose, to glorify the Lord’s character, to enable the Lord to be both just and Justifier! The atonement does not change the NATURE and character of God, but rather the atonement HONORS and MAGNIFIES the character of God. The death of Christ is NOT the cause of God’s love, but the result of it. God is not merciful because Christ died; Christ died because God is merciful. In order that every attribute might be expressed, glorified, and honored, God gave Hi...

"Herein is M y Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be M y disciples." -J OHN 15:8 [KJV] The bearing of much fruit not only brings glory to God, but proves such rich fruit-bearers to be genuine disciples of the Lord Jesus. Now, though there is no merit in their bearing fruit, they sometimes get comfort from it, as proving an abiding union with Christ. "If ye keep My commandments, ye shall abide in My love; even as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love." There is no maintaining of holy confidence in the soul but by walking in godly obedience; nor can there be any true spiritual communion with God whilst the guilt of disobedience lies hard and heavy on the conscience. To make straight paths for our feet; to walk in the fear of God; to live to His glory, are not only sweet tests of genuine discipleship, but faith, hope, and love cannot be maintained without them. And yet if we know anything of what gos...

“ Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and H e shall sustain thee: H e shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.” - PSALM 55:22 [KJV]   The promise is not that the Lord will remove the load we cast upon Him, nor that He will carry it for us — but that He will sustain us so that we may carry it. He does not free us from the duty — but He strengthens us for it. He does not deliver us from the conflict — but He enables us to overcome. He does not withhold or withdraw the trial from us — but He helps us in trial to be submissive and victorious, and makes it a blessing to us. He does not mitigate the hardness or severity of our circumstances, taking away the difficult elements, removing the thorns, making life easy for us — but He puts Divine grace into our hearts, so that we can live sweetly in all the hard, adverse circumstances. II CORINTHIANS 12:9, “My grace is sufficient for thee: for M y strength is made perfect in weakness.” “I can do all thing...

"Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped." -ISAIAH 35:5 [KJV]   That these miracles are effected by the power of the gospel is plain from the words that immediately precede, "Behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; H e will come and save you" [ISAIAH 35:4 ] . And how does God come and save but in the gospel, and by making it His own power unto salvation? If you look back at your experience you will see that one of the first effects of the power of the gospel upon your heart was, to open your ears to receive it as a message from God .   When, for instance, you were first brought under its sound, and began to understand and feel what you heard, was there not given you, as it were, new ears to hear it, and a new heart to receive it? Were not those with you memorable days when you first heard THE JOYFUL SOUND OF SALVATION BY FREE GRACE ; when it first dropped that blesse...

How wondrous are the works of God, Displayed through all the world abroad! Immensely great! Immensely small! Yet One strange work exceeds them all! He formed the sun, fair fount of light; The moon and stars, to rule the night; But night and stars, and moon and sun, Are little works compared with One. He rolled the seas and spread the skies, Made valleys sink and mountains rise; The meadows clothed with native green, And bade the rivers glide between. But what are seas, or skies, or hills, Or verdant vales, or gliding rills, To wonders man was born to prove – The wonders of Redeeming Love? The highest heavens are short of this; ’Tis deeper than the vast abyss; ’Tis more than thought can e’er conceive, Or hope expect, or faith believe. Almighty God breathed human breath! The Lord of life experienced death! How it was done we can’t discuss, But this we know, it was a must. Blest with His faith, then let us raise Our hearts i...

"Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation." - I PETER 1:5 [KJV] Those who are kept by the power of God through faith, are often in their minds troubled and anxious, fearing whether this salvation will ever reach their souls,—whether they may not prove castaways,—whether the work upon their heart is genuine,—whether they are under divine teachings. But the Lord says they are kept by H is power through faith unto salvation: kept as in this garrisoned city, until salvation shall come in all its glory, sweetness, bliss and blessedness into their heart; preserved and encompassed by all the attributes of God from making shipwreck of faith, until they "receive the end of their faith, even the salvation of their souls." Then poor, doubting, distressed, fearing, guilty sinner, this promise is for thee. Thy soul is bound up in the bundle of life with the Lord thy God; thy character and thy name are contained here. And it is a pr...

Weekend Gospel message to follow for All Hands (27-29MAR20) 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 our sins and from Hell: CHRIST IS ALL! Every child of God realizes that without Christ, he is nothing. Christ is our peace, our hope, our joy, our preservation, our life, our wisdom, our sanctification, our righteousness and our redemption; He is our all . Should He forsake us or withdraw His presence from us (something that can never happen), we would again be lost, dead and absolutely unacceptable to a holy God. The fact of the matter is that we are totally dependent upon the blessed Savior for everything. Our eternal safety does not hinge upon our feeble hold of faith upon Him (though we do believe and rely on Him), but upon His almighty grasp of us. And if we ever become ...

"I am not satisfied with my faith," says one. No, of course you aren’t; nor will you ever be; at least, I hope not! The Bible does not say, "Therefore, being SATISFIED with our faith, we have peace with God" it says, "being JUSTIFIED by faith, we have peace with God." "I am not satisfied with my repentance." That is wonderful! What would you do with your repentance if you were satisfied with it? Would you bring it to God instead of the blood? Oh, what pride and self-righteousness must be in any person who is satisfied with his repentance and faith! That person could never find true peace, for such a refuge of lies must fall. "I am not satisfied with my love." What? Did you expect, on this earth, to be satisfied with any grace found in you? Was it your love for Christ or His love for you that gave you peace at first? There is but one thing with which Almighty God is satisfied--entirely satisfied--and that is the person and work...

"Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God ." -I CORINTHIANS 2:12 [KJV] What thick clouds of darkness spread themselves at times over our souls; all things out of sight; our signs and tokens buried, as it were, in mist. It is like a sea fog, that comes out of the bosom of the vast deep, and hides all objects from view. The ships are on the sea, notwithstanding, but this deep fog prevents their being seen. So with our souls at times, all is misty, cloudy, and no signs can be seen of the work of God upon our hearts. And yet we "know" them, by receiving the Spirit of God, for it is the only way whereby they can be known. We can only see light in God's light; only believe by God's faith; only love by God's love; therefore can only know the things freely given to us of God by the revelation of the Spirit.   What we know savingly, exper...

“… and there is no God else beside Me; a just God and a Savior; there is none beside Me” -ISAIAH 45:21 [KJV] God is “ a just God ”. One preacher said, “God is immutably determined by His own essential righteousness to visit every sin with a proportionate punishment.” He thus treats men as they deserve and gives what is their due. His predetermined standard is His own righteousness. He will not and cannot compromise and remain just. As the administrator of justice, He is the Judge of the universe; the final arbiter of justice. JUSTICE ILLUSTRATED: Noah's world [GENESIS 6-8 ] ; Sodom and Gomorrah [GENESIS 18-19 ] . JUSTICE DECLARED: The Lord would “… by no means clear the guilty ” [EXODUS 34:7 ]. JUSTICE DEMONSTRATED: Christ in death. Only man could suffer for man's sins. Only God could be without sin. Since the standard is perfect righteousness and holiness, the perfect God-Man had to suffer. IN HIM JUSTICE WAS SATISFIED. God is “ a Savior ”. H...

"The L ORD loveth the gates of Zion." -P SALM 87:2 [KJV]   What are gates for? Two purposes, entrance and exit. And Zion, too, has her gates of exit and entrance; she has her gates of access to God, entrance into the presence of the Most High; "the door of hope," opened in "the valley of Achor." And who has opened the door; or, rather, Who has not only opened it and made it, but Himself is the Door? "I am the Door," says Jesus. And was not "the door" opened through His rent flesh? As the Apostle speaks: "Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which H e hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, H is flesh." Through His bleeding wounds, through His pierced side, through His mangled feet and hands, there is now access to God: "A door of hope is open'd wide In Jesus' pierced hands and side." ...

Being a believer in Jesus Christ and resting in His good providence does not exempt us from trouble, trial, sorrow and heartache in this life. Our Lord said, "In th e world y e shall have tribulation" [JOHN 16:33 ] . But here is our comfort and help, "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble" [PSALM 46:1 ] . Our blessed Lord said, "Come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need" [HEBREWS 4:16 ] . Our gracious God has promised wisdom to understand the trial [JAMES 1:5 ] . Grace to endure and bear the trial [II CORINTHIANS 12:9 ] . Faith to trust and believe God through the trial [ROMANS 4:19-20 ] . Peace to rest in His purpose, knowing that this trial works to our eternal good [ROMANS 8:28-35 ] . Hope to rejoice in our Lord and Saviour, Who said, "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee" [HEBREWS 13:5 ] . Surely, we must conclude that we are needy cr...

"All thy children shall be taught of the L ORD ." -I SAIAH 54:13 [KJV] The teaching of God can only be known and realised by those who have seen an end of all creature perfection, and who are completely and experimentally destitute of all wisdom in the flesh. And God's teaching does not leave a man where it found him, dead, stupefied, worldly, unfeeling, and carnal. If he is in distress, it does not leave him in distress; if he feels guilty, it does not leave him guilty; if he is in darkness, it does not leave him in darkness; but it lifts him out of these evils. Thus God's people are continually led to come unto H im for H is instruction, because they feel that without H is special teaching they can know nothing as they ought to know. Nay, the more they have, the more they want to have; for no sooner is the light withdrawn, than the darkness is more sensibly felt. If any text of Scripture has been opened up to them, it makes them want to ha...

Living in “Doubting Castle” A gospel minister once visited a lady who was living in what John Bunyan called, “Doubting Castle.” She suffered from persistent doubts and fears and was filled with all manner of misgivings about the future Judgment. (By the way, none of us are always entirely free from such bombardments of unbelief. Even the most mature believers are not always immune). To try and answer her concerns, the preacher quoted 1 John 4:18 “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear has torment. He that fears is not made perfect in love." He then asked her, "Do you know what that means? " She paused for a moment, and then replied, "I suppose it means that when I love God perfectly, I shall get rid of my doubts and fears " “Yes, certainly you will,” he replied “but that will not be until you arrive in glory. This verse is about Jesus, not about what you are supposed to do. It is about what He has done!” The de...

It is no wonder that the religious voices of our day speak of a "grace" that is not very amazing at all. It is because the true condition of all people by nature is denied. In R OMANS 5 , the apostle Paul speaks of abundant and abounding grace. He tells of the true grace of God in the Lord Jesus Christ as it meets the true condition and need of sinful men. What is the true condition that grace meets? Grace meets those who are "without strength" [vs . 6 ] . They have no ability to save themselves, no ability to perform works of perfect righteousness and no ability to come to Christ that they might have life. Grace meets those who are "ungodl y " [ vs. 6 ] . They are "without God" and therefore without hope in this world. They do not love God, desire God, serve God, worship God, praise God, believe God, come to God or submit to God. They are ungodly! Grace meets those who are "sinners" [ vs. 8 ] . Those who must be s...

"I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain." -G ALATIANS 2:21 [KJV] It would be a miserable thing indeed, and sadly frustrating, and making void, the riches of God's grace, to join anything of the work of the creature, in whole, or in part, as in the least contributing to justification before God. For if righteousness come by the law: if any of the fallen race of Adam, could be supposed capable of working out for themselves a righteousness of their own; yea, could perform a single deed, or exercise a single thought of purity, to recommend themselves to the great searcher of hearts: in this case, it would set aside, the necessity of redemption. For this would at once show, that the creature hath a capability of somewhat, be that somewhat ever so little; and by improvement, more might then be expected from him. And then, the consequences which would follow, would be, that there could have been no cause ...

"That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world." -E PHESIANS 2:12 [KJV]   The Apostle here tells the Ephesians that in their natural state, before divinely quickened and made alive unto God, they were "without Christ," that is, without manifest union and communion with Him. Though in the purposes of God, and by their eternal election in Christ, they were members of His mystical body, they had not been baptized into Christ by the Spirit so as to be made living members of His spiritual body, the Church [I CORINTHIANS 12:13 ] , and therefore had not "put on Christ" [GALATIANS 3:27 ] .   And as they were, such were we. We were "without Christ" in our Gentile days. He had no place in our thoughts. We knew nothing of His Person and work, blood and righteousness, beauty and blessedness, grace and glor...

"O that men would praise the L ORD for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!" - P SALM 107:8 [KJV] If we complained less, and praised more, we should be happier, and God would be more glorified. Let us daily praise God for common mercies--common as we frequently call them, and yet so priceless, that when deprived of them we are ready to perish. Let us bless God for the eyes with which we behold the sun, for the health and strength to walk abroad, for the bread we eat, for the raiment we wear. Let us praise Him that we are not cast out among the hopeless, or confined amongst the guilty; let us thank Him for liberty, for friends, for family associations and comforts; let us praise Him, in fact, for everything which we receive from His bounteous hand, for we deserve little, and yet are most plenteously endowed. But, beloved, the sweetest and the loudest note in our songs of praise should be of redeeming love. God’s redeeming ...

"Be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God." -R OMANS 12:2 [KJV]   How shall we find the will of God acceptable? Only as we are renewed in the spirit of our mind, and are transformed and conformed to the suffering image of the sorrowing Son of God. How fearful, then, how dangerous, and yet how ensnaring is that worldly conformity which sets us in deadly opposition to that good and perfect will of God which was, and is "acceptable" to His dear Son, to all the holy angels round the throne, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to his spiritually-minded people on earth, and hateful to none but devils and carnal, ungodly men. And how truly blessed to be brought out of the power and prevailing influence of this worldly spirit, and to be cast into the gospel mould, where, being renewed in the spirit of our mind, we prove that t...