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

" Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God." — Acts 7:5 [KJV] 'Sufficient to the day is the evil thereof.' As the trial and exercise of our day is, so shall our strength be. Saints shall have suffering grace for suffering times. Hours of great outward calamities often prove seasons of the greatest abounding of inward consolation. It is said, "Stephen fell asleep." What! fall asleep under a shower of stones? Yes: the sweetest sleep he ever experienced. It was preceded by a supernatural sight of glory; he awoke in the full enjoyment of glory; he suffered first for Jesus, he is the first who is favored with a view of the glorified Jesus in His kingdom. How faithful is the Lord we serve! how great are His compassions! how reviving to the soul is the spiritual sight of Him! Whether patriarchs, prophets, apostles, martyrs, and confessors, as believers in all ages, the same Lord was the object of their ...

" Then I saw and considered it well: I looked upon it, and received instruction." — Proverbs 24:3 [KJV] Observation is the life of understanding. Experience is the joy of faith. Learning good from others' harms is true wisdom. Can we look around us among the circle of our professing acquaintance, and not see the awful effects of slothfulness in the ways of God? What supine indolence to the cause of Jesus, and careless indifference as to the health and prosperity of the soul, do we behold! A very affecting description of this the Spirit of wisdom here presents to our view: "I went by the field of the slothful," (the once seemingly growing and shining professor) "and lo, it was all grown over with thorns," (the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, has choked the word, Matthew 13:22.) "and nettles has covered the face thereof;" (the rank weeds of corrupt lusts, sensual gratifications, carnal pleasures and deligh...

" Then had the churches rest and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied." — Acts 9:31 [KJV] The form of godliness without the power, is sufficient to make men saints, good church-men, honest souls in the eyes of the carnal world. But when, by the power of the Spirit our hearts possess the faith of Jesus, it cannot be hid, but the life of Jesus also will be manifested in our walk and conversation. Then persecution awaits us, the world hates us, their former esteem for and good opinion of us, is changed into hatred and opposition. The word of the Lord must be fulfilled, "All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution." — II Timothy 3:12 . This is the lot of every disciple, it is a touchstone of faith; but this is overruled by our Master's wisdom, for His glory and our spiritual advantage. These have proved the most thriving seasons to the church of God, most prosper...

" Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer." — Romans 12:12 [KJV] The gospel brings us from a hopeless into a hopeful state; but not into an independent one. We are never to expect freedom from trials and tribulations in this vale of tears; they lie in our way to the end of our hope, the enjoyment of God in glory. Faith takes hold of something that is material, and maketh the soul triumph in hope. Hope makes the soul joyful, and excites to patience. Tribulations cause a throne of grace to be prized, a covenant God in Christ to be sought unto and delighted in. In the rough waves of difficulties, in the storm of affliction, in the boisterous sea of temptation, hope is an anchor to the soul; when that is cast within the veil the vessel shall safely ride out every storm; though tossed, it shall not be driven from its moorings; it keeps the soul safe and steady. The grace of patience is ranged between the joy of hope and the constant e...

  The Day Zacchaeus Got Saved. Part II by D G Miles McKee Ref: Luke 19:1-10 [KJV]   Last week we looked at the man Zacchaeus. Let’s consider next, 2) His Meeting with Jesus! V3  ‘ And he ( Zacchaeus ) sought to see Jesus who He was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature.”   When it says there was a problem with the press it’s not talking about the newspapers. It simply means that the multitudes had pressed in and around our Master and prevented Zacchæus from getting close to Jesus and seeing Him for himself.   Did the crowd stop him?  Of course not!  He wanted to see Jesus, and no one could stop him.   Zacchaeus was unlike many that I’ve talked to about the Lord.  They often have excuses as to why they won’t follow Jesus.  But Zacchaeus wouldn’t let any excuse get in his way. He didn’t, for example, try to find fault with Christ’s followers. He did not point to Peter and say, “He is a lou...

" I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection." —I Corinthians 9:27 [KJV] The neglect of this brings on leanness of soul. If this enemy gains ground, it is alarming; if he prevails, it causes mourning; but when he is kept low, and supplies are cut off, his power is weakened, and victory over him is easily gained. Such are the sensitive powers, carnal affections, and sinful inclinations which compose part of our present frame, the body; a body of sin and death. To gratify and fulfil them is very pleasing and delightful to nature and sense. But how awfully subversive of the comforts of faith, the peace of the mind, and the joy of the soul, thy own sad experience, O disciple, hath proved. Nor can it be otherwise; let us not deceive ourselves; we cannot indulge and pamper the life of the flesh but to the hurt and injury of the life of the soul. There is an irreconcilable enmity between the flesh and the spirit, the old man and the new. The variance and strife...

"Without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh." — I Timothy 3:1 [KJV] The truths of the gospel are undoubtedly great mysteries to carnal reason. We have naturally no ideas of their existence; but being plainly revealed by the Spirit of truth, they cease to be hid from our knowledge. They are no longer secret mysteries, as to their matter, but plain and open truths to faith. True, the MANNER of their existence is incomprehensible to reason. So they will ever remain mysteries to us. Therefore the sons of natural pride and human ignorance reject and disbelieve them: but the children of wisdom and humility esteem the whole mystery of godliness, every bible-truth, as precious objects of their faith. Blessed be God, our comfort and salvation consists in believing , not in explaining. The Christian, like the prophet, being born of the Spirit, is a "man of strife and contention with the whole earth." — Jeremiah 15:...

" The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat." — Proverbs of Solomon 13:4 [KJV] In the busy scenes of life, in the awful moments of death, the formal professor, as well as the profligate and profane, will desire to escape misery and woe, and enjoy heaven and happiness. But alas! how vain and fruitless are such desires! If these may be called good desires, 'the way to hell is paved with them,' saith an ancient father of the church. But in this, the wisdom of the children of God is manifested . They are diligent in the use of such means, which, through the grace of the Holy Spirit, will be crowned with a blessed end. They cannot rest in desiring, but in possessing; not in wishing, but enjoying. They find and feel their souls want continual supplies of food from Jesus, support from His promises, nourishment from His word and ordinances, and life from His Spirit. And as their desires are quickened, thei...

"If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." — I John 2:1 [KJV] In the glass of God's holy and righteous law we see what an unholy and unrighteous thing sin is; it is hateful in the eyes of a pure God; it has separated between God and the sinner, and tends to his eternal destruction. The gospel in no wise renders sin less odious to God, less heinous in His sight; far from it. Yea, rather it paints sin in the blackest colours, and shews its deepest malignancy, by the gracious method of its atonement. View the holy Lamb suffering for sin on the cross; see the streaming blood, and hear the direful agonies of the Son of God on account of sin; and say, O believer, is sin a little matter, a trifling thing? Learn daily sin's evil by its remedy—sin's poison by its antidote—the hell it deserved by the Person Who redeems. And ever, O my soul, hold fast this as a sacred truth, though God loves thy person in Christ Jesus, ye...

" God hath chosen us in Christ, before the foundation of the world." — Ephesians 1:4 [KJV] So the apostles wrote and preached, to comfort and establish their brethren in the faith of Christ, in the love of God, and in the sanctification of the Spirit unto all true holiness. The election of sinners, by God the Father in Christ Jesus, from all eternity, is the foundation from which all faith and hope spring. If this truth is rejected, the atonement of Jesus is made precarious, the work of the Spirit uncertain, salvation doubtful, faith void, the promise of none effect, and the hope of eternal life is made to depend on the will and power of weak and vile sinners, instead of the grace and truth of God. But in every age, men of corrupt minds, destitute of the truth, have opposed God's sovereign grace, everlasting love, and eternal purposes. God hath suffered it, "that those who are approved might be made manifest." — I Corinthians 11:19 . Humble, self-e...

" What shall we say then? shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?" — Romans 6:1 [KJV] Believer in Jesus, what are thy thoughts? what is the answer of thine heart this day, in regard to thy walk and conduct in life, from the important doctrines of grace? Canst thou say, the everlasting love of God the Father, reigning through the righteousness of Jesus unto eternal life, manifested in the gospel, and applied by the Holy Spirit through faith, have the least tendency to give reins to thy lust, to open a door of licentiousness, and to encourage thee to continue in sin? Doth the belief of the guilt of sin, being atoned by the precious blood of Jesus, influence thee to the love of sin? Doth the knowledge of Christ's righteousness imputed unto justification of life, tend to make thee delight in unrighteousness and unholiness of life? By no means: God forbid! to bring such an heinous charge against divine truths; O what daring impiety! what horrid blasphemy...

The Day Zacchaeus Got Saved, Part 1   by D. G. Miles McKee   Luke 19:1-10. A great preacher was teaching his students about extemporary (impromptu ) preaching.  Without warning he told one of the young men to come up to the podium and preach on Zacchaeus. Here’s what the surprised young preacher said for his sermon. ‘Zacchaeus was a small man…so am I. Zacchaeus was very much up a tree … So am I Zacchaeus made haste to come down…and so will I.’ He sat down to thunderous applause and cries of ‘More, More, More.‘ ‘No’ said the old preacher, no more. He couldn’t improve on that if he tried’    The Biblical story of Zacchaeus is the saga of a small man who wanted to see Jesus. He was probably a youngish, physically fit man.  I say that because he was fit enough to run and active enough to climb trees.  I’ve rarely seen pensioners running or old men climbing trees.   The story starts with the word “behold ” (v2). This is a biblical word indicati...

" God is faithful, by Whom ye were called unto the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ." — I Corinthians 1:9 [KJV] While we entertain a notion of a God out of Christ, it affords no comfort to the mind to hear of God's faithfulness. Nay, if we were not blind to our state, as sinners, the thought would fill us with dread and horror. For how awful, how terrifying is this declaration from a faithful God: "I will by no means clear the guilty." — Exodus 34:7 . But "we know that the L ORD our God, He is God, the faithful God, Who keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love Him and keep His commandments, to a thousand generations." — Deuteronomy 7:9 . O this is the life of poor sinners' souls! this is the joy of their hearts! For whenever one reads of the COVENANT, it reminds of Jesus the Surety, the Mediator, of God in Christ, the God of love, our reconciled God and Father. We have no immediate access to the Father but by His Son Jesus Ch...

" Ye were as sheep going astray, but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls." — II Peter 2:25 [KJV] Scripture allusions continually remind us, "that salvation is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God who sheweth mercy:" therefore, not unto us, not to our free will, but to Thy free grace, O Lord, be all the glory . Like that poor silly creature, a sheep, we naturally stray into all kind of danger, but are unapt to return of ourselves. We never should unless the shepherd sought us. "We have turned every one to his own way," have lost ourselves in the wilderness of sin, are wounded by the wolf of prey, blinded by pride, self-will, and self-righteousness. We delight in our distance from the good Shepherd. We please ourselves in feeding on carnal lusts and sensual vanities, while our poor souls are in a starving, perishing condition. Unparalleled love! the sheep's wounds are healed by the Shepherd...

" Then opened He their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures." — Luke 24:45 [KJV] Though Jesus had captivated the hearts, and drawn the affections of His disciples to Himself, before His sufferings and death, yet they had very little knowledge in the mysteries of His kingdom, and of the mystery of iniquity which worked in them: they were but weak in the understanding of the holy scriptures; hence arose their diffidence and suspicions concerning Him. He left them scattered through fear and unbelief, and He finds them full of unreasonable doubts and troubles: for this He reproves them, "O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken." But amidst all their weakness and ignorance there was a sweet and secret confidence in their hearts. Jesus had apprehended them as prisoners of love, and they were kept by an invisible power, that they might apprehend that for which also they were apprehended of Christ . Though ...

" But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ: to Him be glory both now and for ever . Amen." — II Peter 3:18 [KJV] Christian, know thy danger. Thou art ever liable to be led away by the error of the wicked one, to decline from the TRUTH, and to fall away from thy stedfastness in the faith of Jesus. Exhortations warn of this; they tend to quicken stronger exercises of faith and love, as a remedy against this; yea, through the influences of the Spirit they cause new-born souls to grow and increase with the increase of God, just as reviving showers of rain and warm influences of the sun, cause the fruits of the earth to grow. It behoves every follower of the Lamb to consider this; to wrestle with the God of all grace, lest he grow faint in his mind, his hands hang down, and his knees become feeble; but that he "grow strong in the grace which is in Christ Jesus." Behold the inseparable connection between grace and Jesus...

" He gave them their request, but sent leanness into their soul." — Psalm 106:15 [KJV] When the sunshine of worldly ease, and a greater portion of the good things of this life than he was wont to enjoy, fell to the lot of that champion of Jesus of blessed memory, Luther; it excited a holy fear and jealousy in his heart, which made him cry out, 'Lord, I will not be put off with these things.' However pleasant and agreeable worldly prosperity may be to the flesh, yet indulging and pampering the body begets and feeds many disorders and humors which are destructive to the health of the soul. The body without exercise naturally loses its strength and vigor. Afflictions are the exercise of the soul; though they be dreaded because grievous to the flesh, yet are they profitable to the spirit; or else not one of God's dear children should know what a single trouble is: for they are all the allotments of covenant love. In our prayers we often imitate James a...

" Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip." — Hebrews 2:1 [KJV] The body receives little nourishment, if its food hastily pass through it. To health and strength proper digestion is necessary. Divine truths, eagerly heard and soon forgot, do not comfort, nor strengthen the soul. When the babe Jesus was lying in the manger, and the shepherds had told the glorious things they had seen and heard concerning Him, many WONDERED. But it was the happiness of the virgin mother, "she kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart." — Luke 2:19. We can never be comfortable in Jesus; but while the truths concerning Him dwell in our minds. Many complain of bad memories. They can retain but little of the doctrines of grace. True, Jesus saves none for the sake of a strong memory; neither will His loving heart cast off any because of a weak one. Yet it is our daily interest t...

No Other Hope by D.G Miles McKee     In Luke 18:9-14 Jesus spoke a parable to people who were self-righteous and who, because of their imagined righteousness, looked down on others (See verse 9 ).  Here’s what the Master said. "Two men went up to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'O God, I thank thee that I am not as other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week and tithe (give a tenth of all that I earn)' ‘The tax collector stood afar off, and would not lift even his eyes to heaven, and smote (kept beating) his breast saying, ' God, be merciful to me a sinner.' I tell you, this man went down to his house justified (accepted) with God rather than the other, because everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted."   Back in New Testament times the devout Jew observed three prayer ...