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

" And he bowed himself, and said, What is thy servant, that thou shouldest look upon such a dead dog as I am? " -II Samuel 9:8 [KJV] Old love cannot be forgotten: it makes such deep, and leaves such lasting impressions on the mind, which time itself cannot efface. This was verified in David and Jonathan. The latter is dead; yet love to his memory lives in David’s heart. Hence, he enquires after the remains of his family, to shew kindness unto them. Mephibosheth, the lame son of Jonathan, is introduced to the king: he thus expresses the affection of his royal heart to him, “Fear not; I will surely shew kindness to thee, for Jonathan thy father’s sake, and will restore thee all the land of Saul thy father, and thou shalt eat bread at my table continually.”   Had any of David’s subjects a right to arraign, and call him to an account, for this sovereign act of favour? Which of them would dare to say unto him, What doest thou? But yet proud hearts rise with indignati...

" The kingdom of God is not in word, but in power." -I Corinthians 4:20 [KJV] It is the wisdom of a Christian to improve from the various objects he meets with. See we an open, profane sinner? beware of looking down upon him with Pharisaic pride, and supercilious contempt: behold in him your wicked nature! Remember, grace alone made the difference: be humble: adore the God of grace. See we only the form of godliness in any? St. Paul tells us how to act: “From such turn away” (II Timothy 3:5.) You will get no good from them. There is little hope of doing good to them: leave them.  Why so? Because they are strangers to the vital power of godliness, and destitute of the inward experience of the grace of Christ upon their souls. True, they may make a great shew; have vast zeal for the interest of a party; be very warm and violent for the form of sound words, a consistent plan of doctrine, and a set of Scripture notions. But, yet, after all, it is but the notion and...

Selfish Salvation?   by D.G. Miles McKee   1 Corinthians 10:31 ¨ do all to the glory of God.¨ Have you ever heard someone say, "I'm concerned about the motives that led me to Christ. They were very selfish. They were not seeking the glory of God." Selfish? Not seeking the glory of God? Yes indeed, that’s probably true. Most if not all of us were like that, we were concerned only for ourselves when we first trusted Christ for mercy. When we saw our wretched lostness, neutral feelings about our condition tended to melt away. Through the gospel, the Holy Spirit often imparts a sense of impending and imminent trouble that causes us to turn to God. Although these motives for self-preservation do not qualify us for salvation, they most certainly do not disqualify us from the same. Our first trusting in Christ is usually motivated by self-interest. But is this wrong? Some might say that a man who fled from a burning house was selfish or self-centred, yet others of...