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

"And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lift up his eyes, and looked, and behold, there stood a man over against him, with his sword drawn in his hand. And Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? And he said, Nay, but as Captain of the host of the L ORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship." -Joshua 5:13,14  [KJV] Behold, my soul, what a most blessed portion here is, for thee to feast upon, in almost endless thought. Who could this be, that appeared to Joshua, but the Lord Jesus Christ? Who ever called himself the Captain of the Lord's host; but He whom the Holy Ghost hath called, "the Captain of our salvation?" Hebrews 2:10 . is He not the same who appeared to Adam in the garden, to Abraham in his tent, to Jacob at Bethel, to Moses at the bush? And though He diversified His form, upon these and several other occasions; yet all were only intended to familiarize Hi...

"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." - Ephesians 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 (1 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 glory. He was to us a root...