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

With broken heart and contrite sigh, A trembling sinner, Lord, I cry. Thy pardoning grace is rich and free, O God, be merciful to me! I smite upon my troubled breast, With deep and conscious guilt oppressed: Christ and His cross my only plea, O God, be merciful to me! Far off I stand with tearful eyes Nor dare uplift them to the skies; But Thou dost all my anguish see, O God, be merciful to me! No alms or deeds that I have done Can for a single sin atone. To Calvary alone I flee, O God, be merciful to me! And when, redeemed from sin and hell, With all the ransomed throng I dwell, My raptured song shall ever be, O God, be merciful to me! Author: Cornelius Elven Tune: “Just As I Am” by William B. Bradley

“ Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you” [JOHN 16:7 ] .  One of the definitions of “ depart” given by Strong’s Concordance is “to pursue the journey on which one has entered; to continue on one’s journey.” In the everlasting covenant of grace, our Lord Jesus Christ commenced a journey which He willingly pursued, one which would lead Him to the cross of death and then to the throne of universal sovereignty. Nothing could hinder Him from embarking upon and triumphantly finishing that journey. Messiah declared that He set His face “ like a flint” [ISAIAH 50:7 ] , an indication of His unwavering resolve to complete the work assigned Him by the Father in the eternal covenant. Nothing could deter or prevent Him from successfully finishing His journey. The Savior was completely committed to the fulfillment of His covenant promise a

"And you hath HE QUICKENED, who were dead in trespasses and sins." -E PHESIANS 2:1 [KJV]   Death in sin is of course a figure, and must be interpreted as such; for moral death is its meaning, and by moral death we understand the utter absence of everything holy, heavenly, spiritual, and divine; the entire want of participation in, and conformity to the life which God lives as essentially and eternally holy, pure, wise, and good, and for ever dwelling in the glorious light of His own infinite perfections. To be dead, then, is to have no present part or lot with God; no knowledge of Him, no faith, no trust, no hope in Him; no sense of His presence, no reverence of His terrible Majesty; no desire after Him or inclination toward Him; no trembling at His word, no reliance on His promise, no longing for His grace, no care or concern for His glory.   It is to be as a beast before Him, intent like a brute on satisfying the cravings of lust, or the movements of m