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

"The daughters saw her, and blessed her."   -Song of Solomon 6:9 [KJV] These are the words of Jesus, in commendation of His church. He holds her forth as lovely not only in His view, but in the eyes of others. The daughters probably, mean true believers, in whose esteem Christ and His church are most engaging; and it is more than probable that by daughters, young believers are particularly meant, whose first love, like the blossom of the apple-tree, is most beautiful in its first opening.   Pause, my soul, and behold, from what Jesus Himself saith of His church, how truly lovely she must be in the Redeemer's view; and indeed without a proper apprehension of the infinite value of the human soul, it is not possible to conceive of the exalted light wherein the church must appear to Jesus. We may form some faint idea of its value, from the vast price it cost Jesus in the redemption. None but the Son of God could make the purchase; and even Jesus only by blood. Who shall say h

"That I may be found in Him." - Philippians 3:9 [KJV] The apostle knew a time was coming when God would search Jerusalem as with candles. He knew a day was hastening on when the secrets of all hearts would be revealed. He knew an hour was approaching when the eyes of the Lord would try, and the eyelids of the righteous judge would weigh the words and actions of men. And he knew in his own soul's experience, that all who, in that awful day, were not found in Christ, would be consigned to the eternal pit of woe. He knew that when the Judge took His seat upon the great white throne, and heaven and earth fled away from His presence, no one could stand before His look of infinite justice and eternal purity, but those who had a vital standing in the Son of God. And therefore, looking to that awful time, and the solemnities of that day of judgment, that day of wonders, this was the desire of his soul—and towards that he pressed forward, as an active runner presses towards the g