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

JESUS THE LEAST   by D.G. Miles McKee   “Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there has not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is  least  in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” - Matthew 11:11  In my early years as a Christian, I was taught that this verse demonstrated that the weakest believer in the New Covenant was greater than John the Baptist.   In other words, I was told, for example, that old Maggie Murphy, a wee woman who most days neither knew if she was saved nor lost was greater than the final prophet of the Old Covenant. Poor wee Maggie Murphy didn’t know the difference between predestination and a bar of soap but, according to the prevalent theory, Maggie was greater than the one who was filled with the Holy Ghost from his mother’s womb and who faithfully prepared the way of the Lord.  I’m sorry, but I just couldn’t get my head around that.   Then one day, I believe God opened my eyes.  Who was the least in the Kingdom

"And he looked up and said, I see men as trees, walking." -Mark 8:24 [KJV] I have often considered the case of this man as holding forth a sweet and comfortable lesson of instruction, to the small attainments of the followers of Jesus. Perhaps our gracious Lord, in the method He was pleased to adopt, in the opening of this man's eyes by gradual means, intended so to instruct His people.   My soul, look at it in this point of view; it may be profitable to thee. When the Son of God, who came to give light to the spiritually blind, as well as to restore vision to the eye of the body, first touched this poor man's eyes, the effect was that when he looked up, the men he saw were only like "trees, walking;" the sight was imperfect, and the objects obscure. And such is it very frequently in our apprehension of spiritual things; but then it should be remembered, and remembered with great thankfulness, that this imperfection of our sight differs altogether from tot

"O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock." - Song of Solomon 2:14 [KJV] Jesus is the hiding-place, the only hiding-place from sin and self. "Thou art my hiding place, " said David of old. This was shewn to Moses, in figure, when the Lord put him into the cleft of a rock, which Toplady has so beautifully versified, to paint the longing desires of his soul:  "Rock of Ages, cleft for me,  Let me hide myself in Thee!"   It is on this "Rock of Ages" that God has built His Church. As a rock, He is deep as well as high—so deep as to have under-bottomed the depths of the fall, so high as to be God's fellow, seated at His right hand. As a rock, too, He is broad as well as long—broad enough to bear millions of living stones built on Him, and long enough to reach from eternity to eternity. The Apostle, therefore, prays that the Church at Ephesus may comprehend with all saints, "what is the breadth and length, and depth and height, and know

"For he loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagogue." -Luke 7:5 [KJV] What a very interesting character is given, though but in few words, of this honest centurion. Though unconnected with Israel, and a Gentile, yet he loved the Jews. Was he, like another Rahab, partaker of the faith, and though unconscious of it, had a part in Jesus? It is most blessed to behold such rich provisions in grace, making way for the calling of the people, both Jew and Gentile, in that plan of redemption, "given in Christ Jesus before the world began!" But we must not stop here, in our view of the centurion. He not only loved the Jewish nation, but gave proofs of that love in building them a synagogue. Surely nothing short of grace in the heart could have wrought such acts of love and affection to Israel, and to Israel's God, in a Gentile mind! But, while admiring this gracious conduct in the centurion, and admiring still more the blessed author and giver of that grace whic

"As willows by the water courses." - Isaiah 44:4 [KJV] The willow, we know, cannot exist without water; it must be near the brook or river, or it withers and dies. Take a young willow and plant it upon a mountain top or in the sandy desert, and it soon droops and perishes. But take the barest twig off the willow, and plant it near a stream, so that the water may reach it, and it will soon shoot downwards and push a vigorous stem upwards. So it is with the child of grace: he must live by the river side; he must dip his roots into that "river, the streams whereof make glad the city of God," and by it he must be continually bathed, or he droops and dies. He cannot live in the world, away from Jesus, His word, ordinances, house, people, presence, Spirit, and grace, any more than a willow can live upon the mountain top; he cannot live among carnal men, cut off from union and communion with his great and glorious Head, any more than the willow can thrive and grow in the

"The King's daughter is all glorious within." -Psalm 45:13 [KJV] As the Redeemer is known to His church under a great variety of names and characters, and is blessed to the church in every one, whether of brother, or husband, or friend; so Jesus condescends to call His church by a variety of names also, all descriptive of the unbounded love He bears towards her. She is His fair one, His spouse, His chosen, His sister; and in this song of loves, she is called "the King's daughter." But it is most blessed to observe that by whatever name she is known, it is all in allusion to Jesus, for from Him, and in Him, she derives the whole of her beauty and excellency. Her glory is in her Lord, and she is wholly spiritual, all derived, like the shining of the moon, from the sun.   If the church be comely, it is from the comeliness the Lord Jesus hath put upon her. For as the whole perfection of beauty is in Christ, as a rich and complete constellation, so every perfec

"And they shall spring up as among the grass." - Isaiah 44:4 [KJV] The Lord's people are spoken of here as at once "springing up" under the influence of the water poured and of the floods given. We cannot mistake the spiritual meaning of the figure, as it is so clear and certain. In those burning regions where rain does not fall at all seasons from the skies, as in our dripping clime, the effect of copious showers falling upon the parched vegetation is almost miraculous. A few days completely reverse the scene, and on every side vegetation springs up as if it started with gigantic growth out of the bosom of the heated soil. To this the figure in the text alludes, "They shall spring up," that is, Zion's children, "as among the grass," with all that young and active growth which so clearly manifests the power and the blessing of God.   But what may we understand by the expression  "grass?"  May we not interpret it as emblematic

Weekend Gospel message to follow for All Hands (25-27NOV22 A.D.) 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 - Almighty God's unmerited favor - from our sins and from Hell: WHERE SIN ABOUNDED, GRACE DID MUCH MORE ABOUND In Rom ans 5:19 Paul describes to us the TERRIBLY EFFECTUAL results of Adam's sinful disobedience; "Many were made sinners." This is the awful truth that thunders through this chapter and all the word of God; "Sin hath reigned unto death." We had absolutely nothing to do with becoming a sinner; we are born that way by nature. Because of Adam's disobedience, we inherited all his sinful traits. Even so, by the obedience of one, Jesus Christ, we see the WONDERFULLY  EFFECTUAL results of His obedience; "Many shall be made righteous." Here is  a glorious truth that also thunders

"And He said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven." - Luke 10:18 [KJV] It deserves our utmost attention and prayerful consideration to see, by the eye of faith, the display of wisdom and power shining forth in the way in which the all-wise God sent His dear Son "to destroy" or, as the word is in the original, to unloose "the works of the devil" (1 John 3:8) . Satan had, so to speak, spun a ravelled knot when he cast the cords of sin round man's heart. This tangled and tight-drawn knot could not be cut through as by a sword of omnipotent power; but had by infinite wisdom and patience to be unravelled through its whole length. The work which Satan had done was to be undone. Disobedience had to be repaired by obedience—the voluntary obedience of the Son of God, and therefore of infinite value. Sin had to be atoned for by sacrifice—the sacrifice of the nature which had sinned, in union with the Person of the Son of God, and therefore

"While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen."   -II Corinthians 4:18 [KJV] His was the blessed plan of old testament believers, under present exercises— to look off from the objects of sight, and to substantiate and realize the objects of faith. They saw "the day of Christ afar off;" and in that view, "rejoiced and were glad." By this means they brought into present enjoyment things which—were distant; their faith acting like those glasses which magnify and bring home whatever is remote, as though it were nigh. Now, my soul, take instruction from those eminent worthies of the old testament school, that "through patience and comfort of the scriptures, thou also mayest have hope." By virtue of thine interest in Jesus, thou hast a large property in the world to come. If Christ be thine, all is thine. And certainly it is an extensive domain which thou hast in Christ's bond promises, and God's cove

  Jesus Leaves us Speechless.   “And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knows;). How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.”  -II Corinthians 12: 3-4 [KJV]   “Thanks be unto God for His  uns peaka ble  gift.”   -II Corinthians 9:15   I am going to attempt to do the impossible. I will in these next few lines endeavour to speak about the unspeakable One, the Lord Jesus Christ.  The apostle Paul had been transported to Paradise where he heard unspeakable words.  He must have been overwhelmed with the reality of the invisible God made visible in the Lord Jesus.  He was left speechless.  There are many who think that the pinnacle of spirituality is to speak in tongues, but when Paul was confronted with the exalted Christ in His majesty, he couldn’t speak at all.     May we yet become speechless as we take time to meditate on the glory of God in the person of Christ. May we yet

"The Lord's free-man." -I Corinthians 7:22 [KJV] And who is the Lord's free-man? Jesus Himself hath given a decided answer to this enquiry. "Whosoever committeth sin (saith Jesus) is the servant of sin." Now as by nature we were all born in this state of bondage to sin, and by practice have fully manifested the stock of servitude to which by nature we belong; we are Vassals and slaves to sin, and in bondage to all the dreadful consequences. "But (saith Jesus) if the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed!" John 8:34-36 . Hence then; my soul, learn what it is to be the Lord's free-man, and the blessed effects resulting from this freedom. If this be thy portion thou art no longer in bondage to "the curse of God's broken law." Jesus hath freed thee from this; having "redeemed thee from the curse of the law, in being made Himself a curse." Thou art no longer under "the penalty of sin:" Jesus deli

"By His knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew." - Proverbs 3:20 [KJV] When the Lord said, "Let there be light," instantly there was light. So when the Lord says, "Let the earth open," the heart immediately opens, the conscience is made tender, and the soul hears and receives what God speaks. And what follows this opening? The heart receives the dews and showers of God's grace that fall into it; and these dews and showers of God's grace communicate to it softness, fertility, and productiveness. O how we have to learn this by painful experience! Is not our heart as hard sometimes as the nether millstone; and to our feelings, utterly destitute of light, life and power, without one grain of brokenness, contrition, godly sorrow, spiritual desire, or fervent breathing after the Lord? This painful experience the Lord's people have to pass through perpetually, that they may know that "in them, that is, in their fl

"Let Him kiss me with the kisses of His mouth; for Thy love is better than wine." -Song of Solomon 1:2 [KJV] And what are the kisses of Jesus, but the manifestation of Himself to His people? Old testament saints longed for this blessing; and new testament believers live by the same faith in the enjoyment of it. The cause is most evident indeed; for the love of Jesus passeth knowledge . Nothing of the nether-springs in comforts can even describe the blessedness of it; for corn, and wine, and oil, when they increase, cannot satisfy those desires, which Jesus in Himself and His upper-spring mercies, can alone fulfil. Wine indeed may act as a temporary cordial to the body's weakness, and it may for the moment relieve worldly sorrow; but in both cases, the maladies will return, sometimes with double violence, and baffle all its powers; nay, if wine be used too freely, so far from affording relief, it will add drunkenness to thirst.   But Thy love, blessed Jesus, never fails o

"That He would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him, all the days of our life." - Luke 1:74-75 [KJV] Holiness consists mainly of two points:   1. Being made a partaker of the spirit of holiness whereby, as born of God, we are made meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light; set our affections on things above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God; have our conversation in heaven; put on the new man which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him which created him; live a life of faith in the Son of God, and beholding, as in a glass, the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.   To be thus spiritually-minded, to be thus brought near unto God through His dear Son, to walk before Him in the light of His countenance, and to know something of spiritual communion with the Lord of

"And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said unto him, Zaccheus, make haste, and come down; for to-day I must abide at thy house ." Luke 19:5  Precious Jesus! what an instance is here of the freeness, fulness, and sovereignty of Thy grace! And was there "a needs be," O Lord, that Thou shouldest go to the place where this publican was? "A needs be" to look up and see him? "A needs be" to call him? and "A needs be" to abide at his house? Is this Thy manner, O Lord, in calling sinners? So then it was not Zaccheus seeking Jesus, but Jesus seeking Zaccheus. His curiosity, as he thought, led him thither; but it was the prevenient grace of Jesus in the poor man's heart, that first awakened that curiosity in him. And did Jesus seek Zaccheus, call Zaccheus, incline Zaccheus to receive Him, and bring salvation to his heart and house that blessed day? Oh! then for grace to see, and enjoy Jesus in all. Yea, I see,

"The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations."   -II Peter 2:9 [KJV] Few will sincerely and spiritually go to the Lord, and cry from their hearts to be delivered from the power of a temptation, until it presses so weightily upon their conscience, and lies so heavy a burden upon their soul, that none but God can remove it. But when we really feel the burden of a temptation; when, though our flesh may love it, our spirit hates it; when, though there may be in our carnal mind a cleaving to it, our conscience bleeds under it, and we are brought spiritually to loathe it and to loathe ourselves for it; when we are enabled to go to the Lord in real sincerity of soul and honesty of heart, beseeching him to deliver us from it, I believe, that the Lord will, sooner or later, either remove that temptation entirely in His providence or by His grace, or so weaken its power that it shall cease to be what it was before, drawing our feet into paths of darkness and evil.   As

"The eyes of all wait upon Thee, and Thou givest them their meat in due season. Thou openest Thine hand, and satisfieth the desire of every living thing." -Psalm 145:15, 16  [KJV] What a full and comprehensive scripture is here! and what a view doth it open to the mind in the contemplation of God, in all His works of nature, providence, and grace! Pause over it, my soul, and as thou meditatest, apply it to the several circumstances of thine own wants, and the wants of Jesus's church in Zion: Remember, that as all eyes of the redeemed wait upon thy God, as well as thine; so it is Jesus, and Jesus only, that can satisfy the desire of all. Figure to thyself, at this moment, the court of Jesus thronged with waiting petitioners! and behold Jesus coming forth to supply, and answer all, and every one. Think, how many, how great, how diversified their cases. And then behold Jesus as not only having the suited blessing for all; but that when the desire of every living thing, is s