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

  Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To-day thou shalt be with Me in Paradise .— Luke 23:43 Unbelief, how great its power! how strong its influence! it would for ever blind the eyes, and harden the heart against Jesus and His grace; but "He shall divide the spoil with the strong." The prophet's prediction is here clearly fulfilled; the sovereignty of grace is fully displayed. Our Lord's own doctrine is truly verified in these two thieves: "One shall be taken, the other left." —Matt. 24:40. Pride is the companion of unbelief. This keeps men in obstinacy; they will not see; they will not bow to God's sovereignty. But this is a comfortable truth to self-abased souls! God's power is their hope. But doth our Lord bring sinners to glory without faith, repentance, and holiness? Doth He leave His people in their sins and rebellions? No, blessed be His name! Jesus is exalted to be a Prince and a Saviour: He gives repentance and remission of sins. &

" For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me." — II Corinthians 12:8 [KJV]    Our Saviour represents God's own elect as crying day and night to him— Luke 18:7 . Sore temptations, soul-burdens, Satan's buffetings, are peculiarly felt by them. Their crying under them is a proof of spiritual life; their crying to the Lord only, is an evidence of the faith of God's elect; their entreaties to be delivered from them, shew the sanctified, holy disposition of their souls. Thus the Lord draws out into exercise the graces of His children. His eyes are ever upon them, His ears, open to their prayers, and His almighty power and grace sufficient to deliver them.  But "he that believeth, must not make haste." We must tarry the Lord's leisure, and be strong in hope. His time is best. It is God's will we should tell Him of our trials and temptations. After we have done this, "we have need of patience;" we must wait for t

" Behold I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame." — Revelation 16:15 [KJV]  Vain confidence begets spiritual sloth. Licentious principles harden the heart in sin, deafen the ear to the calls of grace, and cause the tongue to pronounce evangelical excitements to love and obedience, LEGAL. But the faith of Jesus enlivens to duty, and inspires the soul with godly jealousy and holy watchfulness. So the members of Jesus are blessed; blessed in Him with all spiritual blessings; and they enjoy a sweet sense of blessedness in obeying Him. "Behold I come," saith Jesus the Head. In the faith of this, enable me, Lord, to watch alway, saith every living member. We know but in part; there are infinitely greater blessings to be found in Jesus, more of His knowledge, His love, His peace, of His image, greater conformity to, and likeness of Him.  For this we are called to watch, and wait, and pray conti

" David said moreover, The L ORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. " —I Samuel 17:37 [KJV]    Faith, by ancient writers, has been styled 'the queen of graces.' As such she displays her dignity, by disdaining to consult any power below the King of saints. When she calls in reason and reflection upon past experiences, it is to give all the glory to her sovereign Lord. Thus David makes confession of faith in his king. What was the gigantic size, the formidable appearance, and the haughty threatenings of his Philistine antagonist? To the eye of his faith, all were mean and contemptible; for he saw Him that was invisible: he fixed his confidence on the invisible power of the Omnipotent. He considered not himself: "he was strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might:" he had sweet experience of the truth of his Lord: "To him that believeth, all things ar

" Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart." —II Chronicles 32:26 [KJV]   Outward, gross, abominable sins, self-righteous Pharisees cry out against, and profess to humble themselves for; but to mourn over, and be humbled for heart sins, spiritual pride, etc. is peculiar to gracious souls only. We read of two things in the word, the most opposite to each other: Hear and adore! the high and lofty ONE, that inhabiteth eternity, "humbleth Himself" to visit man .— Psalm 113:6 . Hear, and be astonished! "Man opposeth and exalteth himself against God." — II Thessalonians 2:4 . "Pride proceeds out of the heart," saith Jesus,— Mark 7:21 . This makes us murmur against the God of providence, fretful under His dispensations, forgetful of His benefits, and unthankful for His mercies. Pride opposeth the sovereign God of grace, and would snatch the crown of glory from the everlasting God of love, and place it upon the head of that guilty creature

" We know that when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is." — I John 3:2 [KJV]  Why should the Lord, Who giveth us all things richly to enjoy, lay an embargo on our fully gratifying ourselves in the use of them? Why are we called to daily mortification and self-denial, as to sensual objects? Verily, it is all in love to our souls, that Jesus and spiritual objects might be more enjoyed; for experience proves the life of sense to be opposite to the life of faith. The more pleasure, comfort, and happiness we enjoy in the things of this life, this tends to make us love the world, and loath to leave it; and so our affections to Jesus cool, our desires after His appearing abate in their fervor, and we lose our longings after the unclouded sight of Him in glory. So St. Paul reproves Christians of old: "Are ye not carnal, and walk as men?" — I Corinthians 3:3 .  How justly applicable is this interrogation to us also! Reflect on this soul-revi

Finished For Us by  D.G. Miles McKee For the believer, salvation has been accomplished by the doing and dying of the Lord Jesus Christ alone (see Isaiah 63:3; Hebrews 1:3).   No man or angel can add anything to Him and His finished work (see Ecclesiastes 3:14). For this truth we are eternally grateful.   By the way, did you know that all that Christ did was done for us?   He was born for us  (Isaiah 9:6). For unto  us  a Child is born, Unto  us  a Son is given;  …    He was made a curse for us  (Galatians 3:13), Christ has redeemed  us  from the curse of the law, having become a curse  for us  (for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree ").   He died for us  (2 Corinthians 5:14). For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died;   He was wounded and bruised for us  (Isaiah 53:5). “But He was wounded  for our  transgressions. He was bruised  for our  iniquities. The chastisement of  our  peace was upon Him, And b

" Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God, for I shall yet praise Him, Who is the health of my countenance, and my God." — Psalm 42:11 [KJV]  We are not to expect the sunshine of joy all the way through this vale of tears. Comfortable frames and joyful feelings, though sweet and delightful, are not always so profitable to the soul. Were we always on the mount of joy, alas, we should forget we are strangers and pilgrims on the earth; but should be for building tabernacles of rest in a polluted place; and cry out with the highly-favored disciples, "It is good for us to be here; but they knew not what they said." — Luke 9:33 . It is the glory of a Christian to live by faith on Jesus; to judge of His Saviour's love from the word of truth, more than by sense and feeling; yea under dejection and disquiet of soul, then to hope and trust in God, to check and rebuke one's self for doubts and diffidence; this is trul

" Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, shall seek to enter in, but shall not be able." —Luke 13:24 [KJV]  Thou feeble-minded disciple, weak in faith, thy Jesus speaks not thus to discourage thee from seeking salvation by Him only; for He also says, "Every one that seeketh findeth." But rather He hereby animates and encourages thy soul in striving against every enemy that opposeth thy entering His kingdom by the strait gate, even by His one atonement, and one righteousness ONLY. He designs also to shew that men may not only SEEK, but STRIVE, yea, strive as in an agony " to enter in, but shall not be able. " Why? Because they expect to enter the kingdom by some other gate than Jesus . But, says the apostle, " No man is crowned, except he strives lawfully ." Earnestness, zeal, activity, avail nothing, while Jesus is not the ONLY object: His blood, the only plea for pardon; His righteousness, the only hope for acceptance

"...t hat I may win Christ." — Philippians 3:8 [KJV] No sooner had good king Hezekiah established his throne in righteousness, restored religion in his kingdom, set his whole heart to serve the Lord, and his God prospered him, but an invading Sennacherib enters his territories, and encamps against his fenced cities.— II Chronicles 32:1 . Scripture and experience daily preach to God's children, "This is not your rest:" You are in a militant state. Though Jesus hath taken possession of the soul, and cast out the strong man armed, think not of folding your arms, and saying, I shall see war no more; for your adversary has many after-games to play. He will not only encamp against your fenced cities, and attack your out-works, but will also attempt your very heart and mind. Beware of such suggestions as these, they are the whispers of a destroying foe: "Come, you are now an excellent Christian; you have a tongue to speak for Jesus, you don't live and act as

" Henceforth know we no man after the flesh; yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh; yet henceforth know we Him no more." —I Corinthians 5:16 [KJV]   How eminent does the grace of God shine in the conduct of Levi! when the glory of Jehovah was at stake, when his honor was to be vindicated against those who had sinned with an high hand, "He said unto his father and mother, I have not seen him:" —that is, no one that mine eye shall pity, nor mine hand spare, who has transgressed in this matter. "Neither did he acknowledge his brethren, nor know his own children." — Deuteronomy 33:9 . The Lord our God is a jealous God. It behoves His children to be valiant for the truth as it is in Jesus. It is our duty to face all opposition against it; to stand in defence of it from every quarter, and to know no man after the flesh, so as to give up the truth for fear of Him. This is our highest honor; and this is highly acceptable in the sight of our God. "

Weekend Gospel message to follow for All Hands (17-19FEB23 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: HOW GOOD DO YOU HAVE TO BE? How good does a man have to be to get to heaven? Will God accept sincerity? Will God accept you if you do the best you can and lead a good life? Can you get to heaven if, from this day forward, you serve the Lord? Anyone who knows anything about God and His Word knows that the answer to these questions must be an emphatic NO! It is not possible for any man to do or think anything that is good or acceptable to God (Isaiah 64:6). God cannot and will not accept anything less than WHAT HE IS, which is absolute perfection.   He says in Leviticus 22:21, “ It shall be perfect to be accepted.” In order to get to heaven by our works, w

" The word was made flesh and dwelt among us (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father) full of grace and truth." —John 1:14 [KJV]  When the Lord gave Lamech a son, he called his name Noah, which signifies repose or consolation; and he said, "This same shall comfort us concerning the work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the Lord hath cursed" Genesis 5:29 . Noah was an eminent type of Jesus. Every sinner, who is poor, and made low (as Lamech signifies) has infinite reason so to conclude of Jesus, the Son of God. This same shall comfort us, though the work and toil of hands have been evil, and we are cursed for sin.   To be poor and made low in self, and to be struck with the display of the glory of the Lord Jesus, is the work of the Spirit, by the word of truth, and is peculiar to believers in all ages. "Abraham rejoiced to see Christ's day of incarnation; he saw it and was glad." And all the childre