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

"It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God ." -Matthew 4:4 [KJV] "Man shall not live by bread alone." There is heavenly food to support his soul, as well as natural food to support his body. If a man is supported spiritually by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God, if this be the only food the Lord's people enjoy, how little they have! If you and I have no more religion than that which comes from what God has spoken into our soul; if that be the bread we are to live upon; if that be the strength of our heart; if that be our living portion and our dying sufficiency;—how it narrows up our religion into so small a compass, that sometimes we seem to require a microscope to see whether we have any or not. But thus we learn this lesson, "that man liveth not by bread alone." He cannot live by doctrines in the head. He cannot live by bodily gestures. He cannot live ...

"Wherefore glorify ye the L ORD in the fires, even the name of the L ORD God of Israel in the isles of the sea." -Isaiah 24:15 [KJV] My soul, hast thou ever considered, in how many ways, and by what a variety of means, every poor sinner called by grace, is furnished with ability to glorify God in Christ? It is blessed to see this, and doubly blessed to be employed in such a service. The poor sinner not only glorifies Jesus, actively, when he is praising Him; but passively also, when his wants and necessities afford occasion for Jesus to be glorified in giving out of His fulness to his relief. And how is the Lord glorified in the fires? Evidently when in the furnace of affliction, or in the fire of temptation, the poor exercised soul glories in his infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon him! when he can, and when he doth receive all, and take all, and feel happy under all, from the consciousness that the Lord's hand is in it, and the Lord's...

" Nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine." -I Timothy 4:6 [KJV] Many a soul is saying, Alas! I hear and hear again, and do not see that I am profited. I obtain little or no comfort from what I hear.  Consider, (1st.) what you hear. Is it the words of faith, and of good doctrine? There is more danger in words than we are aware of. Words convey corrupt ideas to the mind, and nourish vain hopes and false confidences in the heart. They subvert the promises, and pervert the soul. Many words of this sort have obtained amongst us. Such as the merit of works—perhaps you start at that. You would not hear preachers who use the phrase. But these amount to just the same thing, the terms of the gospel—the conditions of salvation. These are not the words of faith, nor of good doctrine; not the words which the Holy Ghost teaches . They are the words of man’s proud wisdom.  They were hatched in the church of Rome, and are contended for by the greatest enemies o...

"The eternal God is thy refuge." -Deuteronomy 33:27 [KJV] There is, to my mind, much sweetness in the contrast betwixt the eternal God being the refuge of His people, and the lying refuges that most hide their heads in. God's people want an eternal refuge. They have a never-dying soul; and unless they have a never-dying refuge, it is not sufficient for a never-dying soul. Works! these are for time; the never-dying soul wants something to stand when works and wonders cease. Doctrines, opinions, sentiments, ordinances, the good opinion of men, the applause and flattery of the creature—these are of the earth, earthy; they fail when a man gives up the ghost. But a child of God wants a refuge, not merely that his soul may anchor in it in time, but that when time is ended, when the angel proclaims, "There shall be time no longer," and his liberated soul escapes its prison-house, and is wafted into the presence of the eternal God, it may find in Him at ...

"And the angel of the L ORD came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for thee. And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights, unto Horeb the mount of God." -I Kings 19:7, 8 [KJV] How blessed is it to observe, in the several instances of God's people, that the Lord measures out strength in proportion to their wants, and fits every back for the burden. The prophet was obliged to flee from the king's court, but the King of kings will give him a table in the wilderness. Elijah shall be taught at one time, how to live by faith, when fed by ravens; and at another, how to go forty days and forty nights without food, when sustained by grace in going to Horeb. My soul, canst not thou find in thy experience, similar exercises of faith; if not so splendid, yet at least no less profitable? Hath not Jesus many a time fed thee at His banqueting ho...

" Most men love to hear of the doctrine of grace, of the pardon of sin, of free love, and suppose they find food therein; however, it is evident that they grow and thrive in the life and notion of them.   But to be breaking up the fallow ground of their hearts, to be inquiring after the weeds and briers that grow in them, they delight not so much, though this be no less necessary than the other." -preacher John Owen, excerpt from 'The Works of John Owen'

" The times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord..." -Acts 3:19 [KJV] Who shall these times come to? Every sinner that repents and turns to Christ for salvation. From whence shall they come? From the presence of the Lord. Here then it is manifest, whether you have repented and turned to the Lord.  If so, (1st.) your soul will delight in God’s presence.  (2d.) You will earnestly long for and highly prize these refreshing seasons.  (3d.) You will say with David, “Thou art my God; my times are in Thy hands. I will bless the L ORD at all times: His praise shall be continually in my mouth” (Psalm 31:14, 15.—34:1.)   Hence, (4th.) you will turn from your sins, your self-righteous hopes, carnal pleasures, and worldly vanities, to seek all your happiness in the enjoyment of the presence of the Lord.  And, (5th.) you will wait in the patience of faith, for the coming of refreshing seasons, believing they shall come. Is it now a night of g...

"Look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged." -Isaiah 51:1 [KJV] It is as though the Lord would here by the pen of His prophet turn our eyes to our native origin. And what is that? The same quarry out of which the other stones come. If you and I, by God's grace, are "living stones," we come out of the same quarry with the dead, unbelieving, unregenerate world; there is no difference in that respect. Nay, we are perhaps sunk lower in the quarry than some of those in whom God never has and never will put His grace. It is not the upper stratum, what is called "the capstone," of the quarry, which is to be taken to be hewn into a pillar; they go down deep into the pit to get at the marble which is to be chiselled into the ornamental column. So with God's saints. They do not lie at the top of the quarry; but the Lord has to go down very low, that He may bring up these stones out of the depths of ...

"I sleep, but my heart waketh." -Song of Solomon 5:2 [KJV] My soul, behold the church fallen into a sleepy state, after having been at the banquet of her Lord; and view in her the resemblance of thyself. How often art thou in this cold and lifeless situation; and instead of seeking increasing communion and fellowship with Jesus, falling asleep, as one insensible to past enjoyments and present need! It is not indeed the sleep of death; for, through the sovereignty of almighty grace, thou hast been quickened to a new and spiritual life in Christ Jesus; and thine heart waketh to the knowledge of thy Lord. But how unsuitable and unbecoming is it, for one who hath tasted that the Lord is gracious, to be indifferent to the farther enjoyment of Him! Time was, when, if thou didst miss Jesus in the ordinance, or hadst not a visit from thy Lord for a short space, thou wert on the wing of love, going forth in every way, and in every direction, in the inquiry, "Saw ye...

Outstanding Christ-honoring Gospel message of great comfort and encouragement to God's justified, sanctified and redeemed saints (see link below). By preacher Clay Curtis of Free Grace YouTube Channel. Message under 33 minutes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prAT2h_PQTI&t=1875s

"These all died in faith." -Hebrews 11:13 [KJV] An officer in the Navy, who held me exceedingly in derision on account of religion, was taken dangerously ill. To my great surprise, he sent for me. I found him in distress of soul: spoke freely to him of our lost estate, of Christ’s love and salvation, and prayed with him. He wept sore: clapping his hands to his breast, he cried out, “O, my God! have I got a soul?” As though he had never known it before. Turning to the place where I kneeled, he said, “Where have I lived, that I never heard these things before? O I shall never forget what I have heard this night!” I visited him to his last moments, and trust he died in the faith, and hope to see him in glory.  “Heaven is a house full of the miracles of Christ’s free-grace,” says one. There is the once idolatrous Manasseh; the murdering, adulterous David; the persecuting Saul; the Christ-denying Peter, etc. O my God, shall wretched I be there? Yes, if I die in t...

"Praise waiteth for Thee, O God, in Sion; and unto Thee shall the vow be performed." -Psalm 65:1 [KJV] What a sweet thing it is to bless and praise God! There is no feeling upon earth equal to it. But how often are we in that state when we can neither pray nor praise, when sullenness, frowardness, and peevishness seem to take such complete possession, that, so far from praising God, there is no power even to seek His face; and so far from blessing Him, there are even dreadful things working up in the heart against Him, which awfully manifest the enmity of the carnal mind. Those who are painfully exercised with such feelings are certain, therefore, that it is God's work to enable them to praise and bless His holy name. And does not the heaven-taught soul come sometimes into this spot, "O that the Lord would give me something to praise Him for, would bring me out of this trial, break this wretched snare, remove this awful temptation, lift me out of this p...

"And they continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness, and singleness of heart, praising God, and having favour with all the people." -Acts 2:46, 47 [KJV] What a beautiful picture is here given of the primitive church! My soul, think of the happiness of the saints of God in those days, when, instead of that idle and unprofitable conversation, which, for the most part, fills up the employment of Christians professing godliness in the present day, believers never met without celebrating the Lord's supper ( for so the expression of eating bread from house to house means ); and their ordinary meals were conducted with a single eye to God's glory! What a sad change hath taken place in the circumstances of Christians! "They were daily with one accord in the temple:" and thousands who would be very highly offended, were their religious profession to be called in question, ...