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

" Fools die for want of wisdom." -Proverbs of Solomon 10:21 [KJV] THERE is such a connection between true wisdom, which is "a knowledge of the holy" (Proverbs 30:3) and the fear of the Lord, and such a connection between ignorance of the Lord and sin, that saved saints are called "wise" and lost sinners are called "fools" not only in the Old Testament, as continually in the Proverbs, but in the New. Many of the Lord's people look with suspicion upon knowledge, from not seeing clearly the vast distinction between the spiritual, experimental knowledge for which we are now contending, and what is called "head knowledge."    They see that a man may have a well-furnished head and a graceless heart, that he may understand "all mysteries and all knowledge," and yet be "nothing" (I Corinthians 13:2) and as some of these all-knowing professors are the basest characters that can infest the churches of ...

" By the obedience of One, shall many be made righteous." -Romans 5:19 [KJV] St. Paul speaks of “Another Jesus, another Spirit, and another gospel” (II Corinthians 11:4.) Some talk of a Jesus, Who shed His blood for sinners, and yet leaves them to perish for want of righteousness: this is another Jesus than what the Scriptures reveal .  They speak of a Spirit, Who strives to make sinners righteous; but, meeting with so much unexpected, perverse wickedness in their nature, He gives over His attempt, and suffers them to perish in their sins: this is another Spirit, than that Spirit, Whose office it is to convince us of sin, and of the righteousness of Christ, to sanctify us in Him, and to glorify Jesus .  Again; they preach what they call gospel, which consists of certain terms to be fulfilled, and conditions performed by us, in order to obtain righteousness and eternal life: this is another gospel, than that good news of everlasting righteousness, life, and s...

"And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabacthani ; that is to say, My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me ?" -Matthew 27:46 [KJV]   Mark, my soul! Jesus had hung upon the cross now for six hours. Think what agonies He sustained both in soul and body. The fury of hell had broke out upon Him, and in the cruelties of the men around Him, exercised upon His sacred person, manifested how extensive that fury was. But had this been all; had God the Father smiled upon Him, had the cup of trembling been taken away, some alleviation would have taken place in Jesus' sufferings; but so far was this from being the case, that the heaviest load of the sorrow His holy soul sustained, was the wrath of the Father due to sin, as the sinner's Surety. Angels, no doubt, looked on. All heaven stood amazed. And, at length, overpowered with the fulness of sorrow and anguish of soul, the dying Lamb cried out, "My God, My God, why h...

"As the truth is in Jesus." -Ephesians 4:21 [KJV] Without truth there is no regeneration; for it is by "the word of truth" that we are begotten and born again (James 1:18; I Peter 1:23) . Without truth there is no justification; for we are justified by faith , which faith consists in crediting God's truth, and so gives peace with God. Without the truth there is no sanctification; for the Lord Himself says, "Sanctify them through Thy truth: Thy word is truth" (John 17:17.) And without the truth there is no salvation; for "God hath chosen us to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and BELIEF OF THE TRUTH" (II Thessalonians 2:13.) And as the truth is the instrumental cause of all these blessings, the divinely-appointed means whereby they become manifested mercies, so truth enters into and is received by all the graces of the Spirit as they come forth into living exercise. Thus, without the truth, there is no faith; fo...

" I call God to record against the day we shall appear before our Lord Jesus, that I never altered one syllable of God’s Word against my conscience, nor would do this day, if all that is in earth, whether it be honor, pleasure, or riches, might be given me." -preacher William Tyndale , (1494-1536 A.D.), Foxe’s Book of Martyrs , p.184

" Ye are fallen from grace." -Galatians 5:4 [KJV] Awful words! Enough to excite in us a holy fear, a godly jealously, and this earnest cry, “Lord, uphold me by Thy free Spirit.” What is here meant by grace? the doctrine of God’s free favour, to lost sinners in Christ? redeeming their souls from the curse of the law, by His blood; justifying their persons before God, by His righteousness, without any works of their own; and saving them, without any desert of theirs.  O, my Lord! what rich, what matchless grace is this! My soul shall love and praise Thee eternally in heaven for this! No! but, stop: thy joy is damped:—thou mayest fall from this grace; lose the favour of God; fall into hell. Who says this? Some say, St. Paul here does. No; it is as impossible for a saint in Christ Jesus thus to fall, as for a glorified saint in heaven to fall into hell.  Christ is God. It is impossible for God to lie. For Christ says, “My sheep shall never perish” (John 10:28.) ...

"And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say, unto thee, today shalt thou be with Me in Paradise ." -Luke 23:43 [KJV] My soul, hear the gracious words of thy Jesus. This was the third cry of the Redeemer on the cross. And Oh! how full of grace, rich, free, unmerited, unexpected, unlooked-for grace, to a poor lost perishing sinner, even in the very moment of death. Let the self-righteous pharisee behold this example of redeeming love, and wonder, and be confounded. Surely no one will venture to suppose that this man's good works were any recommendation, when the poor wretch was dying under the hands of justice.  What was it then that saved him but the complete salvation of Jesus? The Son of God was offering His soul on the cross a sacrifice for sin, and being between two notorious sinners, gave a rich display of the sovereignty of His grace, and His love to poor sinners; and in confirmation, snatched this one as a brand from the burning—took him from the very jaws o...

"Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel." -Isaiah 7:14 [KJV] The Deity of the Son of God shines all through the sacred page. It is the grand cardinal point, on which all the doctrines of grace turn; and he that is unsound there, is unsound everywhere. The Godhead of Christ does not rest upon a few texts of Scripture, but it shines all through the Scripture; it is the light of the Scripture, and it is the life of the Scripture. Take away the Deity of Jesus out of the Scripture, and you would do the same thing spiritually as though you blotted the sun out of the sky naturally; the sacred page would be one black darkness. But the Person of Jesus is not Deity only. No man can see God and live; we could not bear to look upon pure Deity. And therefore the Son of God has taken into union with Himself our nature; He has "taken upon Him the seed of Abraham"— that "holy thing" which was begotten by the Holy G...

" At that day, saith the L ORD , thou shalt call Me Ishi, and shalt call Me no more Baali." -Hosea 2:16 [KJV] Many people say, “The Scripture is a dead letter.” Who told them so? not God in His word. True, St. Paul says, “The letter killeth” (II Corinthians 3:6.) This cannot prove the Scripture to be a dead letter; but only, that the letter of the law is a ministration of death. Therefore, even the law cannot be a dead letter: for that which killeth cannot be dead itself. St. Stephen calls it, “The lively oracles” (Acts 7:38.) Our Lord says, “The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63.)   If we are dead to the law and married to Christ, here is a precious word of spirit and life from our loving Bridegroom to us this night. Married by faith: this is what constitutes “that day,” that gospel-day of our espousals. Whatever may be in the womb of God’s purpose and decree concerning any sinner, yet he can enjoy no comfort of it...

"When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple standing by, whom He loved, He saith unto His mother, Woman, behold thy son. Then saith He to the disciple, Behold thy mother." -John 19:26, 27 [KJV] This was the second among the dying words of the Lord Jesus; and no doubt, of high importance in their full sense and meaning: not simply to recommend Mary to the care of the beloved apostle, John, but probably of greater moment in reference to the church of Jesus at large. My soul, is it not very certain that the Lord Jesus knew all the events which would take place in all generations of His people? And as such, did not Jesus perfectly well know also that the time would come when divine honours would be offered to Mary? These points cannot be disputed.  Well then, is it not worthy the closest observation, that Jesus both in this place, and upon all other occasions, when speaking of Mary, called her woman? Why so? If, as Jesus knew, that there would be some wh...

" Verily, verily, I say unto you , He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber ." - The Word of our Master , John 10:1 [KJV] Here are three marks whereby you may know whether you have entered by faith into the sheepfold.  First , Have you any evidence of being saved in the Lord Jesus Christ with an everlasting salvation?  Secondly , Have you felt any blessed and holy freedom and liberty of going in and coming out of the heavenly sheepfold?  Thirdly , have you found pasture? Sometimes finding pasture in the ordinances of God's house; sometimes in the sacred truths of the gospel, as you read or hear the word of truth; and especially in partaking by faith of the flesh and blood of the Lamb. But there may be those who are in this spot. They see plainly THAT CHRIST IS THE DOOR, and are fully convinced there is no other way of entrance into the fold but by Him; and yet they do not seem to h...

" There is no fear in love. But perfect love casteth out fear; because fear hath torment; he who feareth is not made perfect in love." -I John 4:18 [KJV] The wild fire of nature’s passions are often mistaken for heavenly love. These have hurried people into dreadful delusions. Some have pretended to be so perfect in love, as to have nothing but pure love in them, and that the being of sin was entirely taken out of them. But they have soon given awful evidence, that they “deceived themselves, and that the truth was not in them” (I John 1:8.)   Be wise by other’s harms. Study the word of God: abide by that. Live upon the perfect love of God: glory in that alone. For you are, and ever will be, while in the body, the subject of sin, therefore subject to that fear which hath torment: to fear God as an enemy, armed with almighty vengeance and vindictive wrath against you, a sinner. How is this tormenting fear to be cast out? By love; the perfect love of God in Chri...

" Hearing Christ preached fills the regenerate with joy, while it fills the unregenerate with hatred because his evil deeds are exposed (John 3:19, 20; Luke 4:5) . Offering Christ appeals to the unregenerate. Christ offered to them leads them to think they can control God and that they have the power to either receive or reject Him. Hence, their ego is excited.  They are led to believe their wills can determine what they will do with the sovereign God of the universe. Offering Christ attracts crowds in crusades, churches, etc. It gets success in the eyes of the world. Preaching Christ is to the contrary. Offering Christ does not bring the unregenerate to the dust at the feet of the sovereign Savior." -preacher Wilbur Elias Best

Saved by Grace in Christ by D. G Miles McKee D.G. Barnhouse tells the following story. Many years ago there was a gospel minister named Harry Morehouse who was walking along the street in a poor part of an American city when he witnessed a minor tragedy. A small boy, who could not have been more than five or six came out of a store with a pitcher of milk in his hands. The little fellow was making his way carefully along the street when he slipped and fell, the pitcher broke, and the milk spilled all over the sidewalk. He let out a wail, and Morehouse rushed to see if the boy was hurt. There was no physical damage, but the child would not be consoled, crying out over and over, “My mama’ll whip me! My mama’ll whip me.” Mr. Morehouse said to him, “Maybe the pitcher is not broken in too many pieces; let us see if we can put it together again.” The boy stopped crying at once, as he had no doubt before seen bits of crockery glued together to remake a broken plate or cu...

"Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do ." -Luke 23:34 [KJV] My soul, art thou still taking thy stand at the foot of the cross? Art thou still looking up to Jesus? If so, listen now to His voice. There were seven expressions of Jesus, which were His last words, which He uttered on the cross. The last words of dying friends are particularly regarded: how much more the last words of the best of all friends; even the dying Friend of poor lost perishing sinners. Those which I have chosen for the portion of the day were the first; and they contain the strong cry of Jesus to His Father for forgiveness to His murderers.  And what endears those expressions yet more to the heart are, that they are not only the first upon the cross, but they are wholly, not for Himself, but the people.  During the whole painful process of suffering, when they scourged Him, crowned Him with thorns, smote Him with their hands, and mocked Him, we hear no voice o...

"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." -Matthew 5:16 [KJV] To glorify God is the highest ambition of angels. The brightest seraph before the throne has no higher aim, no greater happiness, than to bring glory to His name. And yet a poor sinner on earth may glorify God as much, and in some way more, than the brightest angel in the courts of eternal bliss.   What different views the eyes of God and the eyes of men take of events passing on the earth. What glory is brought to God by all the victories gained by one country over another? I have thought sometimes that a poor old man, or feeble, decrepit woman, lying on a workhouse pallet, fighting with sin, self and Satan, yet enabled amidst all to look to the Lord Jesus, and by a word from His lips overcoming death and hell, though when dead thrust into an elm coffin, to rot in a pauper's grave, brings more glory to God than all the exp...

" Woe unto them which justify the wicked for a reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him." -Isaiah 5:23 [KJV] Persons are said in the Scripture to do a thing, when they aim to do it, and, if it were in their power, would do it: so apostates are said “to crucify the Son of God afresh” (Hebrews 6:6.) But that is impossible. Yet, by denying Christ to be the Son of God, they justify the act, and, were it in their power, would do it again. So here, a woe is denounced against persons for teaching cursed, corrupt doctrine.  (1st.) “They justify the wicked for a reward.” This is the common and prevailing doctrine of our day. The wicked is the character of every natural man. Let the lives of such be ever so wicked, yet, instead of being told the necessity of being born again of the Spirit and justified by the Son of God, they are taught to believe they can bribe God’s justice, obtain His favour, and justify their souls in His sight, by their dut...