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

"And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto Aaron, and unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel, saying unto them, The LORD bless thee, and keep thee: The LORD make His face to shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee. The LORD lift up His countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. And they shall put My name upon the children of Israel, and I will bless them." -Numbers 6:22-27  [KJV] Pause, my soul, and in these sweet words behold thine almighty Aaron, even Jesus, in His everlasting priesthood, day by day, thus blessing His people. Observe, the blessing in the name of the Lord Jehovah is thrice pronounced, as if to teach the plurality of Persons in the Godhead. And observe also, after this blessing thrice pronounced, Jehovah, as if to intimate the unity of the divine essence, declares, I will bless them. My soul, mark each. The first may be considered as the personal blessing of God the Father, whose gracious office it is in the wor...

  Weekend Gospel message to follow for All Hands (31DEC21-02JAN22) 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: ARE YOU SEEKING ASSURANCE? There are many believers who seem to have a lack of assurance regarding their eternal safety and salvation in Christ. Our confidence must be drawn from the Word which declares the putting away of sin and the satisfaction of divine justice by the death of Christ who declared with His dying breath,   “It is finished!”  The Scripture declares that he who   “believeth on the Son hath everlasting life”   (John 3:36). There is no formula to help attain a peaceful confidence of security in the Savior, but perhaps a few questions, founded upon the Word of God, will help in your search. Does the preaching of the etern...

"Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mispeh and Shen, and called the name of it Ebenezer, saying, Hitherto hath the LORD helped us ." -1 Samuel 7:12  [KJV] Did Samuel do this? Was that servant of the Lord, who lived not to see Christ in the flesh, so full of faith in the coming Saviour, and in the experience of Jehovah's faithfulness in what was past, that he set up his Ebenezer? Surely, my soul, thou wilt blush to be outdone by the prophet, when thou hast not only seen the day of the Son of man completed, but felt His power. Oh my soul, let thine Ebenezer be Jesus! Let the stone Thou settest up, be indeed the Rock of Ages.    Yes, my soul, set up Jesus indeed, in all places, at all times, upon all occasions. And Oh Lord, do Thou by Thy blessed Spirit set up Thyself in my heart, and enthrone Thyself there, and reign and rule there for ever. Surely, my soul, Jesus is thine every-day Ebenezer; for He not only hath hitherto helped, but He doth help, and will help,...

  A Good Question and a Great Answer.   D.G. Miles McKee   “ And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?  And Jesus said unto him, Why do you call me good? None is good, save one, that is, God.  You know the commandments, do not commit adultery, do not kill, do not steal, do not bear false witness, honour thy father and thy mother. And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up. Now when Jesus heard these things, He said unto him, Yet you lack one thing: sell all that you have, and distribute unto the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven: and come, follow Me."   (Luke 18:18-23) Let’s summarise this story. A wealthy ruler approached Jesus, calling Him ‘Good Master’ and asking what He could do to gain eternal life. That’s a good question! Not all inquiries are as sensible as that one. From time to time, we are all guilty of asking stupid questions. However, the man in our scripture passage asked a g...

"Not one thing hath failed of all the good things which the LORD your God spake concerning you." -Joshua 23:14  [KJV] Say, my soul, in looking back the past year, canst thou set thy seal to this truth? Is there a promise which thy God hath not fulfilled? Is there an instance in which God hath forfeited His word? Canst thou point to the time, or place, in any one trial, or under any one affliction, in which thou hast not found God faithful? Give then the Lord the honour due unto His name. If not one thing hath failed, proclaim His glory, set forth His praise, declare His truth, let the father to the children make known that God is faithful. And Oh let thine heart bear testimony to what must be said of all His Israel, in all ages, "What hath God wrought."   -preacher Robert Hawker (1753-1827 A.D.) December 29th, THE POOR MAN'S MORNING PORTION      

"The eyes of the LORD thy God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year." -Deuteronomy 11:12  [KJV] Oh for grace, to live always under an abiding sense of this most blessed truth. My soul, never forget it, if possible, but always possess in recollection an abiding apprehension of Jesus's gracious presence. And do Thou, dearest Lord, when Thou art coming forth in mercies, give me grace to. be going forth to meet Thee with praises: and while Thou art bartering Thy riches for my poverty, let all Thy bounties be doubly sweetened in coming from Thine own hand, and being sanctified by Thy blessing, that I may receive all to my soul's joy, and to the praise of the Father's grace in Christ Jesus. Amen.   -preacher Robert Hawker (1753-1827 A.D.) December 28th, THE POOR MAN'S MORNING PORTION      

"For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed: but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the LORD, that hath mercy on thee."   -Isaiah 54:10  [KJV] What a rest is here for a poor redeemed sinner to stand firm upon, in time, and to all eternity! Well may we cry out concerning Jesus, and His great salvation in Him, "He is a rock, and His work is perfect." Yes, yes, Thou Lord God of my salvation: Thou art my dwelling-place in all generations. My soul, look all around Thee, look within Thee, look every where about Thee. Search, behold, examine diligently, what else will or can afford thee any security. And think what a dying world it is in which thou art dwelling, or rather travelling through. What friend, what brother, what child, what relation, can give thee help of soul, or even of body, when thou most shalt need it? Think what a day, a week, an hour, may bring forth! Amidst all these changes, is...

"Jesus Christ of the seed of David." -II Timothy 2:8  [KJV] Sweet thought! Jesus will have regard to both sexes in His incarnation. He will be of the seed of the woman. He will be also truly and properly man. As both the man and woman had sinned, so redemption shall be for both. But in the holy nature, in which as Redeemer He will come, He will partake of none of their sins. The man shall have no hand in His generation. And the womb of the woman shall be but the deposit of that holy thing so called (Luke 1:35), by the miraculous conception of the Holy Ghost.   So that the body which God the Father prepared Him, belonged to both, but was unconnected with either. He must be truly man; for the law had said, "Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy unto the Lord."  He must be a priest; and no woman could minister in that office. He must be a prophet; and no woman could exercise that province, for it is not permitted for a woman to speak in the church. He ...

"And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us." -John 1:14  [KJV] Turn aside, my soul, this day, from every vain and worldly thought, as Moses did at the bush, and behold by faith the accomplishment of what he then saw in type and figure, of this great sight which the Lord hath made known unto thee. The Word, the uncreated Word, even the eternal Son of God, taking upon Him the nature of man, and uniting both in one Person, that by the union He might be a suitable Saviour for His people. As God, He was mighty to save, and fully competent to the wonderful act. As man; He was a suitable Saviour, for the right of redemption belonged to Him. And as both, He, and He alone, could become a proper Mediator, to reconcile and bring together God and man, which by sin were at variance.    This was the glorious news angels posted down from heaven to proclaim. This was the song of heaven, for which they sung "glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will to men." ...

  Weekend Gospel message to follow for All Hands (24-26DEC21) 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: "These things spake Jesus, and lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said ,  Father, the hour is come; glorify Thy Son, that Thy Son may also glorify Thee. As Thou hast given Him power over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as Thou hast given Him. And THIS IS LIFE ETERNAL, that they might know Thee THE ONLY TRUE GOD, AND JESUS CHRIST, whom Thou hast sent."  -John 17:1-3 [KJV] Let us look upon a crucified Christ, as the remedy of all our miseries. His cross has procured a crown —and His passion has expiated our transgressions. His death has disarmed the law —and His blood has washed a believer's soul. His death is the destruction of o...

"Lo, I come." -Psalm 40:7 [KJV] What a longing had old testament saints for the Lord Jesus's coming! And what an earnest wish and prayer it is among new testament believers, for Jesus's coming by the visits of His grace, and the sweet influences of His Holy Spirit, from day to day! My soul, methinks I would realize by faith this day, even this very day, these words of thy Redeemer, as if He were now standing at the door of thine heart, and asking for admission. And shall I not say, under this sweet impression, "Come in, Thou blessed of the Lord, wherefore standest Thou without?"    Oh blessed Jesus, when I consider the many precious instances of Thy coming, set up from everlasting in Thy goings forth for the salvation of Thy chosen, Thy anticipation, in Thy visits before the season of Thy tabernacling in our flesh; Thy visits to the patriarchs and prophets; Thy manifestation openly to the people; Thy secret, sweet, and inexpressibly gracious visits now, and...