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

"Giving all diligence: add to your faith." -II Peter 1:5 [KJV] Here is the Christian’s work. All diligence is required in it. O believer, be assured (the Lord impress it upon your heart and mine) there is no being a lively, comfortable disciple, without it. Beware you do not add to your faith licentious notions and Antinomian sloth, instead of Christian virtues, holy tempers, and heavenly affections, which adorn our profession, and glorify our Saviour.  Ever remember, you are called to honour Christ by your life on earth, as well as to be saved by and enjoy Him in heaven. By faith we receive Christ, rest upon Him, and look to Him alone for justification unto eternal life. But a lively faith will not leave us barren and unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  If there be not an habitual disposition of soul, to add to faith, virtue, knowledge, patience, godliness, etc., we should examine and see to it; lest, instead of Christ dwelling in our hearts ...

"Wherefore in all things it behoved Him to be made like unto His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people." -Hebrews 2:17 [KJV] What heart can conceive or tongue express the infinite depths of the Redeemer's condescension in thus being made like unto His brethren—that the Son of God should assume a finite nature, subject to the sinless infirmities necessarily connected with a time-state and a dwelling on earth; that He should leave the bosom of His Father in which He had lain before all worlds, and should consent to become a denizen of this world of tears; to breathe earthly air; to be an eye-witness of, and Himself share in human sorrows; to have before His eyes the daily spectacle of human sins; to be banished so long from His native home; to endure hunger, weariness, and thirst; to be subject to the persecutions of men, the flight of all His disciples, an...

"For I know that this shall turn to my salvation, through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ." -Philippians 1:19 [KJV] Blessed frame of mind! when, like Paul, however unpromising circumstances are, to be able to say, `I know that this exercise, be it what it may, is among the all things which work together for good to them that love God, and are the called according to His purpose!' My soul, do thou, once for all, mark down this one certain and never-to-be-questioned truth: that thy God, thy Jesus, hath but one end in view from all the providences He appoints to His people, and is invariably and everlastingly promoting it, however to thy apprehension at times, things seem to run counter. And when thou hast settled this in thy mind, as a certain fixed principle, next take into the account all, or (at least as thou canst not know all,) some of the many foundations on which the certainty, for the accomplishment of a final issue of good ...

" Wisdom is justified of all her children." -Luke 7:35 [KJV] “O! could I but know, and be sure, I am a child of God, I should be quite happy. The want of this makes me very uncomfortable.” Such is the language of many a doubting believer. Well, soul, here is a mark laid down: by it judge of thyself, and know thy state. Art thou a child of wisdom? If so, thou wilt justify wisdom. But what is wisdom? What is it to justify wisdom?  (1st.) Thy Saviour is “the wisdom of God” (I Corinthians 1:24.) He is not only wise to win souls, but is wisdom itself. He makes all His children wise unto salvation, by knowing Him , “of God, made unto us wisdom” (I Corinthians 1:30.) Wisdom is here arraigned, and His ways censured by the calumny of fools. He is condemned as a licentious person; a sot; an epicure; a jovial friend, and companion of wicked sinners. If you are a child of wisdom, you will also meet with the same treatment from a carnal world and self-righteous men.   If ...

"A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked." -Psalm 37:16 [KJV] Hard may be your lot here below, ye suffering saints of the most High, as regards external matters; painful may be the exercises through which you almost daily pass, through the rebellion and desperate wickedness of your carnal mind; grievous temptations may be your continual portion; many a pricking thorn and sharp brier may lie in your path; and so rough and rugged may be the road, that at times you may feel yourself of all men to be the most miserable; and so indeed you would be but for the grace of God in your heart now and the glory prepared for you beyond the grave . Yet with it all, were your afflictions and sorrows a thousand times heavier, well may it be said of you— "Happy, thrice happy, art thou, O Israel!" Whom upon earth need you envy if you have the grace of God in your heart? With whom would you change, if ever the love of God has visite...

"I have said to corruption, Thou art my father; to the worm, Thou art my mother, and my sister." -Job 17:14 [KJV] My soul, take a turn now and then to the grave. It will be profitable to look at the bed where thou art shortly to take up thy residence, before thou art sent there to remain. Nothing so profitable to allay all that heat and folly which keep men in a continual ferment, as a solemn view of "the house appointed for all living." To be sure, nothing can be more humbling than what Job here speaks of his relations: great men and nobles will not be very fond of the alliance; but in reality, all the other affinities of life are imaginary. Corruption is the common father of all. In this we all are formed; for corruption when dried, becomes the original dust it was before it was animated. And as corruption is the father, so the worm is both mother and sister; for here they burrow, and this is their proper element. But, my soul, while thou knowest th...

" Lest Israel vaunt themselves against Me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me." -Judges 7:2 [KJV] Thus the Lord reasoned with Gideon. He knows what is in man. He sees the pride of the human heart: how prone we all are to boast in an arm of flesh. The Lord is jealous of His own glory. Gideon’s army of two and thirty thousand, is brought down to three hundred. By this handful of men, and no more, did Gideon gain the victory of the Midianites. The Lord’s wisdom in this was, “Lest Israel should vaunt themselves, and say, Mine own hand hath saved me.”   But I have not transcribed the text right. There are two little words of great import, which I have omitted. Mind then, O Christian— against Me. Now remember, whenever thou dost boast of thy power, thy free-will, thy human goodness, thy works, ditties, conditions, and performances in order to be saved, thou art then, as it were, two and thirty thousand strong. Thou vauntest thyself against the Lord . Thou art gloryi...

"Wherein shall it be known that I and Thy people have found grace in Thy sight?" -Exodus 33:16 [KJV] Grace is always "found." It is not earned, nor merited, nor worked into; but it is found; and if a man never "found" it, he never had it. It is stumbled upon, so to speak, as the Lord sets forth in the parable of the man who found the treasure hid in a field (Matthew 13:44) . The man was not thinking about the treasure. He was, we may suppose, ploughing in the field. He had no idea that there was gold beneath the clods. But he finds it all on a sudden, in the most unexpected and unlooked-for manner, and for joy thereof "goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field." So it is with the way in which grace is found. It comes so suddenly, so unexpectedly, and so sweetly into a man's soul, that when it comes he is like a man who has found something which he had no conception of till he found it.  He had no idea what it w...

"O the hope of Israel, the Saviour thereof in time of trouble, why shouldest thou be as a stranger in the land, and as a wayfaring man that turneth aside to tarry for a night?" -Jeremiah 14:8 [KJV] My soul, follow up these holy pleadings with thy Lord. Jesus loves boldness, and not bondage frames. Remember, when thou goest to Him, thou goest to a tried Friend, a long-proved, a faithful Friend, and one that loveth at all times; and He that was and is the hope of Israel, hath ever been, and will be thy hope, thy Saviour, the Rock of Ages; yea, "Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever." Is then thy Jesus as a stranger to thee? Are His visits short, and but as the wayfaring man that is hastening on his journey, who, though he stops at the inn for the night, stops only to refresh himself, and takes no account of what passeth in the house? Pause, my soul, it is time to enquire. I hope no shyness has crept in between thy Lord and thee! When ...

"Peace, peace to him that is far off." -Isaiah 57:19 [KJV] Far off! What means that? It means that the soul passing through that experience is separated, in its feelings, and at an infinite distance from God. Now this inward sense of  being "far off" is one of the most painful feelings that a quickened soul can experience. The ungodly, who are really afar off, know nothing experimentally of distance from God, for they have never been brought spiritually near. They have felt no "cords of love, no bands of a man" drawing them with sweet attraction to the throne of the most High; they have never sighed after the sweet manifestations of God's mercy and love; but they live gladly, and wallow wilfully in those things which separate the soul from its Maker. But those who are "afar off" in their feelings, are such as have seen something of the beauty of the Lord, and felt the evil of sin, who spiritually know Jehovah's purity and th...

"And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled." -Acts 4:31 [KJV] Think, my soul, what a blessed testimony this must have been, in confirmation to the disciples, that their God was a prayer-hearing, and a prayer-answering God! And what a full reply to all they had been praying for! The enemies of God, and of His Christ, had threatened the poor disciples what they would do to them, if they persisted in preaching Jesus to the people. The purport, therefore, of the apostles prayer was, not that the Lord would stop their malice, and silence all their opposition: this they sought not to avoid. But the single prayer was, that their souls might be animated to go on, let the malice of their foes manifest itself as it might. In answer, "the place was shaken." As if the Lord had said, "He that shakes the place, can make your enemies hearts tremble." And so it proved. Now, my soul, take thine improvement from it. Jesus sees ...

" And Israel said unto Joseph, Now let me die, since I have seen thy face, because thou art yet alive." -Genesis 46:30 [KJV] Strange request! What, just come to the sight and embrace of thy long lost son, and yet want to leave him at the very first interview? One should have thought the language of Jacob would have been, Happy man! I not only see my beloved son, but also see him governor over all the land. Well, I hope I shall live long to enjoy his riches and grandeur. But, no. The good man had lived long enough to make an estimate of the uncertainties of life: to know the evil of days, the vicissitudes of time, and how soon the day of brilliant joy might be changed into the night of gloom and sadness. The sight of his son was the summit of his wishes: that granted, he sought no more.  He wished to be at home with his Lord. Happy Christian! thus to set loose to all creature enjoyments, even when there is the highest enjoyment of them, than to have one’s mind go ...

"Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; for He is faithful that promised ." - Hebrews 10:23 [KJV] Faith cannot rest upon fancy; it can only rest upon the solid truth of God, as revealed in the Scriptures. And when it comes into the truth of God, as Noah's dove came into the ark as its own nest and home, then it finds rest and peace. Many persons think we build our faith and hope, not on the Scriptures, but on some mental feelings, or fancies of our own, distinct from the word of God. I do not and cannot build my faith on anything but what is revealed in the Bible; and I must do it because I have no other foothold for it to stand upon. Do you not feel the same, you who know anything of the trial of faith? You have had many a tossing up and down, and have often wanted a foothold for your faith to stand upon. You have tried to believe this or that doctrine, or to get into this or that experience; but you kept still falling short, for you...

"And His feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem." -Zechariah 14:4 [KJV] My soul, pause over this blessed promise. To whom could it refer, but to Jesus? "That day," through all the old testament dispensation, meant the gospel church of the new testament dispensation. And when the Son of God came, the day was come also. And did not Jesus stand often, during this day of His grace, in His own ministry, teaching the people on the mount of Olives? Yea, was it not the very last sacred spot on which His holy feet stood, when from thence He ascended to heaven, having finished redemption-work upon earth? My soul, do thou often, by faith, visit the hallowed ground, and from thence let thy meditation take wing, after thine ascended and exalted Saviour. And while, like the wondering disciples, looking after Jesus as He went up, thou art contemplating the glory of thy Lord, Who is now above, carrying on all the blessed desi...

" Take heed and beware of covetousness." -Luke 12:15 [KJV] It is said, If a person seeks for the philosopher’s stone (which turns all metals into gold) with a covetous desire to be rich, he may be sure not to find it. We are sure, that precious jewel contentment, is not to be found in a covetous heart. Let philosophers and moralists reason ever so persuasively against the evil of covetousness, yet the love of money will rise superior to all. What mighty charms are there in gold! But the voice of our Beloved here speaks. His words are spirit and life. Hear then, O disciple, “take heed and beware.”   Consider, (1st.) This admonition of thy Lord. It is redoubled. “Take heed: beware!” Just as the loving parent, seeing his dear child running into the jaws of danger, cries out with vehemence, Take care! take care! Fix this in thy mind, there is great, very great danger here. Our Lord sees it. His love speaks with the utmost earnestness, that we may avoid covetousne...

"For His eyes are upon the ways of man, and He seeth all his goings." -Job 34:21 [KJV] The Christian has to prove that nothing escapes the eye of a just and holy God; that He lays bare every secret thought, searches every hidden purpose, and scrutinizes every desire and every movement of the mind. He thus discovers and brings to light all the secret sins of the heart. Men in general take no notice of heart sins; if they can keep from sins in life, from open acts of immorality, they are satisfied. What passes in the chambers of imagery they neither see nor feel.  Not so with the child of grace; he knows the experience described in Psalm 139 . He carries about with him the secret conviction that the eye of God reads every thought. Every inward movement of pride and self-righteousness, rebellion, discontent, peevishness, fretfulness, lust, and wantonness, he inwardly feels that the eye of God reads all, marks all, condemns by His righteous law all, and because He is...

"For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink, in My name, because ye belong to Christ, verily, I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward." -Mark 9:41 [KJV] How little is this attended to in the charities of life! I fear, that even the soul which loveth Jesus most, doth not regulate his alms, whether of this world's goods, or of prayer, or of good wishes, when he giveth them, by this blessed standard. Dost thou not, my soul, plead guilty to this charge? Heavenly Lord! enlighten mine eyes to see Thee in all Thy representatives. And when I have only the cup of cold water to bestow upon any poor needy creature, yet let me give that in Thy name! 'Do you belong to Christ?' should be the only question. This is a claim which carries every thing before it. Is it Jesus, Who, in the person of His poor members, asketh the alms? Doth the Lord of life and glory condescend to be beholden to the poor creatures of His bounty; and of His own absolutely re...

" The Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many." -Matthew 20:28 [KJV] Most gracious words to me, who am a poor sinner, and have nothing to bring to Christ, but an empty hand, to receive most precious ransom for me, who have the sentence of death in myself. May faith be high, and self low tonight! The poor disciples were now wrangling about precedence and supremacy. What was the consequence? They were moved with indignation. They strangely forgot the end of Christ’s coming, and the nature of His kingdom. God knows we are poor as beggars, yet proud as devils. The very same spirit works in us all, as did in them. Lord grant that the evil which occasioned these words, may be made a blessing to us.  Consider, (1st.) Our proud notion of ministering to Christ. Some indeed did minister to Christ of their substance, (Luke 8:3.) But this was of natural things. Though empty of all good, and full of all evil, yet we ...