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

"Behold, if the Lord would make windows in heaven, might this thing be?"   -II Kings 7:2 [KJV] This is a daring reply to, “Thus saith the LORD!” The word of the Lord promises, by a great plenty, instantly to relieve His people from a great famine. Doubtless, with a witty sneer, this great peer of the earth uttered this reply to Elisha, as though he had said, “Behold, ye people, do not mind what this mad fellow says; use your reason; judge of the nature of things by your senses: do you think God will make windows in heaven, to pour down corn for you? there is no other possible way for such a supply as Elisha talks of.” Thus, with an imperious air he insults the prophet, and exalts his carnal reason and unbelief against the Lord’s word of promise. Today, he prides himself in his wisdom; to-morrow, he perishes, and is trod under foot, as an unbelieving fool. Here, see the cursed nature of carnal reason; here, Behold the dreadful evil of rejecting the word of the Lo...

" And he was sore athirst, and called on the LORD, and said, Thou hast given this great deliverance into the hand of Thy servant: and now shall I die for thirst, and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised?" -Judges 15:18 [KJV] Here is a sweet thought, my soul, suggested in these words of Samson, and wilt thou not hope that the Holy Ghost may make it blessed to thy evening meditation? The Lord had wrought a great deliverance for Samson, in the discomfiture of his enemies: and now on a renewed pressing occasion, he makes this the plea of looking up for being again delivered. "Thou hast given," saith he,  "this great deliverance into the hand of Thy servant, and shall I now die for thirst, and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised?" As if he had said, "Shall my God cease to be God; or shall I now want His help, who hath always helped me in what has passed? Hath He begun to deliver; and will He now cease to do so?" Pause, my soul! ...

"In whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins." -Colossians 1:14 [KJV] Of all spiritual blessings made known to the soul by the power of God "a knowledge of salvation by the remission of sins"  is the hardest to be obtained, and most prized when got. How many poor tried, exercised, distressed souls are at this very moment sighing and crying for the manifestation of this one blessing. These well know, and some of them by the painful experience of many years' hard bondage and travail, how hard it is to get forgiveness sealed on their heart. Not that it is really hard on the part of God now to forgive, that is, in experimental manifestation; for it is already done to and for all the elect of God: "And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath He quickened together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses" (Colossians 2:13) ; and again, "In whom we have"  (not "sha...

Here’s the Question , Part II by D G Miles McKee   Last time we considered the impossibility of the believer becoming lost and perishing. Here are a few more considerations,   11.  For a believer to become lost and perish, He would have to come into condemnation. But how is this possible?  The Lord has promised that such a thing would never happen. Here´s what the Master taught in John 5:24, “ Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that hears My word, and believes on Him that sent Me, has everlasting life, and  shall not come into condemnation ; but is passed from death unto life.”     12.  For a believer to become lost and perish, He would have to be plucked out of the Father’s hand … a thing which Christ promised would never happen.  In John 10:29 Jesus taught, “ My Father, which gave them Me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of My Father's hand.” No one has the power to force open God's hand. Therefore, be...

"Teaching us, that, denying all ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present evil world." -Titus 2:12 [KJV] We read in Esdras of three young men, who wrote of the strength of different subjects. The first chose Wine; the second, the King; the third Women and Truth. He fully demonstrated, that truth is superior to all the charms of women and the power of a king. “As for truth, it endureth, and is always strong; it liveth and conquereth for evermore. And all the people shouted, and said, Great is truth, and mighty above all things”   (I Esdras 4:38, 41.) Surely, so it is with the truth of God’s grace. The stoutest rebels have been conquered by it: the most mighty kings have fallen before it. Whom it conquers, them it also teaches. When it has brought the heart to yield to its sovereign power, it captivates the affections by its sweet influence, and regulates the life by its salutary rules. There is a most vile sp...

"And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, He hath reserved in everlasting chains, under darkness, unto the judgment of the great day." -Jude 6 [KJV] This scripture, concerning the rebellion, and consequent punishment of apostate spirits, will form a solemn meditation, my soul, for thy evening thoughts to be exercised upon. And perhaps, under grace, it may lead thee to some sweet improvements in the contemplation of the distinguishing grace manifested to our rebellious nature; while judgment the most awful, and everlasting, overtook the higher nature of angels. If we humbly inquire what was the nature of their sin, all we can gather of information concerning it, was, that it was rebellion against God. One part of scripture indeed tells us, that "There was war in heaven:   Michael"   (by which we understand, Michael our Prince, the Lord Jesus Christ, Daniel 10:2l.) and His angels fought against the dragon; and the...

"My doctrine shall drop as the rain, My speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass." -Deuteronomy 32:2 [KJV] In the falling of the natural dew there is something soft, still, and gentle. We therefore read, "We will light upon him as the dew falleth on the ground" (II Samuel 17:12) , that is, stealthily and unseen. It does not rush down like the pelting hail, but falls stilly and often imperceptibly; so that we scarcely know it has fallen, till we go out in the morning and see every blade of grass tipped with the sparkling dew-drops; by these bright gems we know that dew has fallen during the still hours of the night. So spiritually, the kingdom of God is not in noise, rant, or wild excitement. The Lord was not in the strong wind, nor in the earthquake, nor in the fire, but in the still small voice (I  Kings 19:11-12) . And thus there may be a great deal of religious fire, but no presence of...

"The grace of God that bringeth salvation, hath appeared to all men."   -Titus 2:11 [KJV] Here are three blessed and glorious truths. They demand the constant attention of our minds: they tend to sink into the deepest humility of heart, to excite the greatest joy of spirit, and to inspire the most ardent love and gratitude of soul.  (1st.) Salvation . This was the council of heaven; the work of the Son of God; the wonder of angels; the envy of devils, and the glory of apostate, rebellious sinners—sinners, who were born with enmity of heart, rebellion of will, and hatred of affections against God: and who have manifested the enmity of their mind by wicked works; the rebellion of their will, by taking arms against the Lord; and the hatred of their affections, by refusing to lay them down, and submit unto Him. O that precious word! full of wonder, grace, and love; “God commendeth His love towards us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us; when we wer...

" And David spake unto the LORD when he saw the angel that smote the people, and said, Lo! I have sinned, and I have done wickedly; but these sheep, what have they done ? " -II Samuel 24:17 [KJV] My soul! here is a subject of an heart-searching nature opened to thee this evening, in those expostulating words of the man after God's own heart. Summon up all thy faculties to the meditation; and yet, infinitely more than this, seek the teaching of the Holy Ghost, that thou mayest profit by them. The apostle was commissioned by the Holy Ghost to tell the church, that for man's sin the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. The slaughter of every beast, the sacrifice of every lamb, proclaimeth with a louder voice than words can declare, the baleful malignity of human transgression.  And if David, when he saw the destroying angel brandishing his dreadful sword over Jerusalem, felt remorse in the recollection of his own sin, and the...

"Lord, all any desire is before Thee; and my groaning is not hid from Thee." -Psalm 38:9 [KJV] Many of the Lord's people cannot clearly read their names in the book of life; many are the doubts and fears that work in their bosom whether the Lord really has begun a work of grace upon their souls, and whether they truly are among the Lord's living family. But this thing they must know— whether at times and seasons they can lie in humility at the footstool of mercy, and appeal to a heart-searching God— "All my desire is before Thee."   They must know whether they ever fell down in humility and brokenness of heart before the divine Majesty, and felt these living desires going out of their bosom into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth; and whether they can, with honesty, uprightness, and godly sincerity, say to the Lord in the language before us, "O Lord, all my desire is before Thee." "Thou seest my heart, and knowest everything that pas...

"Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." -Isaiah 1:18 [KJV] Whenever our Lord denounces His judgments against hardened and impenitent sinners, we are sure to find a word of grace from His precious lips to our dear trembling souls. His loving heart knew that what He had been declaring against others, His people would take to themselves, reason their hearts into dejection and sorrow, and cast away their hopes and their comforts; therefore, as He frequently, in the days of His flesh, turned aside to His disciples and said, “Come now , ” —let not trouble arise in your hearts, let not terror and dread seize on your spirits one moment; so here, “Let us reason together . ”   Do not reason with flesh and blood—with your carnal notions, and your legal hearts; confer not with Satan, who is your enemy and accuser;—but reason with Me: I am jus...

"Thus saith the LORD: Set thine house in order, for thou shalt die, and not live." -Isaiah 38:1 [KJV] My soul! whether or not the decree be as yet gone forth for an early day for thy removal, as here to Hezekiah, it must shortly arrive; and as thou knowest not how soon, it is good to set both thine house and thine heart in order; for he that is best fitted to live, is best prepared to die. How stands thy great account? This body of thine must go down to the chambers of the grave. And surely if the soul be safe in union with Jesus, such an event as the dissolution of the body, is more to be desired than dreaded. If the pearl be safe, no matter though the casket be broken. Pause over the view; for though it be solemn, it is profitable. If a voice from heaven declared the dead to be blessed, who die in the Lord; then will thy death be blessed, if thou art living in union with Christ. See to it this night, this very night, whether this be thy case; all is well if t...

"Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure; for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall."   -II Peter 1:10 [KJV] Have you any testimony to your effectual calling? Has grace indeed laid hold of your heart? O that you might know more fully—more powerfully—what a blessed hope of eternal life is laid up in the bosom of this heavenly calling, that it might cheer and encourage you to press on more and more to realise all that is given you in Christ, both for here and hereafter, in present grace and in future glory! In knowing what is the hope of their effectual calling, the saints of God learn that this hope embraces all things which are made theirs in Christ, whether life or death, or things present or things to come, that all are theirs; and for this blessed and all-sufficient reason, that they are Christ's and Christ is God's.  It is by making sure our calling that we make sure our election,—for the one is the ...

"A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves." -Luke 10:30 [KJV] An awful down-hill journey! Here is a true picture of the woeful backsliding of a believer from his Lord. (1st.) “He went down from Jerusalem,”  which signifies the visions of peace. These are enjoyed by faith, in communion with Christ, and close walking with God. When these are departed from, it is going down, indeed! The way of sin is down hill; the descent is easy; the event, dreadful! It is going down from the delectable mountains, into the dreary vale of Jericho. This place was cursed by Joshua, (6:26.) It was very wicked in the days of Christ; so is this present world now.  (2d.) “He fell among thieves;”  so the believer, when he gives up himself to sinful company, vain delights and carnal diversions. The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life, steal his heart from God, and strip him of his raiment of purity and peace.  (3d.) “The...

"I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys."   -Songs of Solomon 2:1 [KJV] Yes! dearest Lord Jesus, Thou art all this, and infinitely more to my soul; more fragrant than both, and more precious than all the flowers of the field. Help me, this evening, to contemplate my Lord under those sweet similitudes. Do I not, and shall I not henceforth, in the red blushing beauty of the rose, behold Thy human nature, which Thou hast assumed for the redemption of Thy people? Are not Thy bloody sufferings, and Thy red apparel, strikingly set forth by the image of the rose; as Thy spotless purity is shewn under the loveliness of the white lily? Can the sweet-scented rose, even of Sharon, vie with the perfume of the incense of Thy righteousness, to a poor sinner's soul? Or can the beauty of the lily be as grateful to the eye, as the purity of Jesus to a mind conscious of its own pollution, and beholding itself complete in His salvation, who is "holy, harmless...