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

"And He said unto them, Why are ye troubled? And why do thoughts arise in your hearts?"  -Luke 24:38 [KJV]   Help, O help us, Thou dear Lord, who spake these words to Thy affrighted disciples, to gather some sweet consolation from them to our hearts this night. We know Thou prayest for us, when Thou prayest for all who should believe on Thee (John 17:20.) O speak in life and power these words to our troubled hearts, and for the rising thoughts of distress. Thine is the power: Thine shall be the glory.    (1st.) We here see, though their dear Lord was present, yet His beloved disciples were troubled. Yea, and though He had but that moment pronounced peace unto you, yet fears again rose in their hearts. They were as we are, flesh, as well as spirit: men of like passions with us. The frights, fears and troubles which nature is subject to, discompose the spiritual frames of disciples.    But, (2d.) They do not alter our state, nor separate us from ...

"Never man spake like this man." -John 7:46 [KJV]   What a decided testimony were even the enemies of Christ compelled, from their own consciences, to give to the Godhead and power of the Lord Jesus Christ! Think then, my soul, what an evidence thou wouldest bring, if called upon to tell what Jesus hath said to thee! From the first moment that Jesus revealed Himself, in His word, and by His word, to thy heart, thou couldest truly say, as the Jewish officers did, "Never man spake like this man." Never any spake like this Godman, this Glory-man, thy Redeemer. All His words were, and are divine words; powerful, persuasive, tender, gracious words, and full of salvation.    Say, also, how very blessed all that Jesus spake of salvation was to thy heart, when He made it personal, and spake it all to thee. When He said, I am thy salvation. I have pardon, I have peace, I have righteousness, I have grace here, and glory hereafter; and all I have is for thee. S...

"If a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully." -II Timothy 2:5 [KJV] In other words, it is not a bare striving, but a striving according to certain rules. But these rules are spiritual rules; and being spiritual rules, exclude everything of sense, reason, and nature. Now man, in an unregenerate condition, whether he be in a state of profanity, or in a state of profession, has no spiritual knowledge of the way by which to overcome. He may strive against his lusts; he may endeavour to overcome those things that conscience bears testimony against; but he is not crowned, because he strives not lawfully. He strives in his own strength; contends in his own wisdom; and trusts in his own righteousness. Such strugglers and such overcomers (if overcomers they ever are) are not crowned, because they strive not according to the rules laid down in God's word. This at once excludes all creature righteousness, human wisdom, and natu...

"Thus saith thy Lord the LORD, and thy God who pleadeth the cause of His people." - Isaiah 51:22  [KJV] Thou poor soul, who art almost at thy wits’ end, drunk with trouble, and intoxicated with affliction, over thee do men insult, and Satan triumph? Are they saying to thee, “Bow down, thou poor, insignificant wretch! that we may go over thee.” You a Christian! you are not what you profess. In the lowliness of thy mind, and in the meekness of thy heart, dost thou take all this? And, as it were, hast thou laid thy body on the ground, and suffered thyself to be walked over? All this cannot satisfy the fury of thine enemies. Wherein art thou to take comfort under all this? Verily, from, thus saith thy Lord. Thy Lord: mind that.    However men treat thee, they cannot take thy Lord, nor His love from thee: nor should they at any time disturb thy peace, or destroy thy comfort in Him. For the Lord Is thy God . Thy is again repeated. Why? that thou shouldest take spe...

"Sing, O ye heavens; for the LORD hath done it: shout, ye lower parts of the earth: break forth into singing, ye mountains, O forest, and every tree therein: for the LORD hath redeemed Jacob, and glorified Himself in Israel." -Isaiah 44:23 [KJV]   Come, my soul, and join this universal hymn of praise, this lovely evening. Surely, if the Lord, by His servant the prophet, calls upon all nature, both the animate and inanimate parts of creation, to join in the melody,  well "may the redeemed of the Lord say so!" The heavens shall sing the song of redemption; for angels rejoice over converted sinners. The earth shall join the song; for the curse pronounced on the ground is taken away by redemption. Yea, the very trees of the desert, the most remote from the peopled city, in beholding the felicity of God's chosen, shall clap their hands also.   And mark, my soul, what is the running verse and chorus of this blessed song? It is Jehovah's glory; ...

"Thou hast ascended on high, Thou hast led captivity captive; Thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the LORD God might dwell among them." -Psalm 68:18 [KJV]   What a painful thing it is to be rebellious! There is hardly any feeling worse than rebellion to a man whose conscience is made tender in God's fear. To have rebellion against a holy and wise God; rebellion against His dealings with us in providence; against His teachings in grace; because we have not more of the light of His countenance; because we have not more and clearer testimonies and manifestations! We know in our judgment that God cannot err in any of His dealings, and yet to find at times such awful rebellion against God, O how painful it is!    The least trifle can work up rebellion. It does not want a storm or a gale to lift up its proud waves. The slightest breath, the faintest breeze that blows, will at times stir up the billows of the rebellious heart, and ...

Ref: Luke 18:9-10 [KJV] Message from preacher Henry Mahan (27 minutes). Link:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqPzxX13J90

"But if He thus say, I have no delight in thee; behold, here am I; let Him do to me as it seemeth good unto Him."   -II Samuel 15:26 [KJV]   Here is majesty in distress: a kingdom in confusion: and the king’s royal heart struck with a panic. Every circumstance concurs to heighten poor David’s sorrow. His own son had stolen away the heart of his subjects—raised a most unnatural rebellion against his royal father, and caused him to flee from his city. Very excellently, says one, “Let a child of God be but two or three years without an affliction, and he is almost good for nothing. He cannot pray, nor meditate, nor discourse at that rate he was wont to do. But when a new affliction comes, he finds his tongue: he comes to his knees with fervency, and lives at another rate.”    Perhaps David was never more weaned from self-confidence, nor did his faith ever run higher, nor was his soul bowed lower, nor did he ever breathe with more humble submission to divine sovereignt...

"Iniquities prevail against me: as for our transgressions, Thou shalt purge them away ." - Psalm 65:3 [KJV] My soul, ponder over this important verse. It is but short, but it is full of precious things. Blessed the man that can, from his heart, make use of what is here said as his own experience! He hath learned much of Christ, that can do so. In a time when a sense of sin abounds, when comforts run low, and the rebellion of the remains of indwelling corruptions riseth high; when the enemy cometh in like a flood, and no answers return from the sanctuary; yea, when the very spirit of prayer fails, and the heaven that is over the head, is as brass, and the earth that is under the feet, is as iron; then to rest simply upon Christ, and to say, "Iniquities prevail against me!"    I feel the dreadful consequences of a fallen state; but all those transgressions Jesus will purge them away; though the Canaanites are yet in the land, my almighty Joshua will, by little a...

"O that I knew where I might find Him! that I might come even to His seat! I would order my cause before Him, and fill my mouth with arguments." -Job 23:3, 4 [KJV] Was not Job in the same spot where we often are? If this aged patriarch had not known what it was to be shut up in his mind, harassed and distressed, and well-nigh overwhelmed with the attacks of the wicked one, he would not have said, "O that I knew where I might find Him! that I might come even to His seat! I would order my cause before Him, and fill my mouth with arguments." Has that ever been, is it now, the genuine feeling, the real experience of your soul? Do look into your heart, you that fear God. Do look for a moment, if you have never looked before, at the work of grace (and where are you, if you have never looked at it?) and consider if you know any of these matters. Did you ever, in a feeling of darkness, gloom, bondage, and distress of soul, cry (I do not say the words, it is the feeling...

The LORD JESUS Christ be magnified! Friends, here's sermon Part II of 'The Faith That Saves." -preached by bro. Henry T. Mahan (13 minutes) Link:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UegWXH-SsH8

The Faith That Saves , Part I  preached by Henry Mahan (15 minutes.) "But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him."    - Hebrews 11:6 [KJV] Link:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgaFDkMru70&t=602s  

"That which is born of the flesh is flesh."   - John 3:6 [KJV]   To learn the total corruption and desperate wickedness of human nature, is a hard lesson to flesh and blood. To have no confidence in the flesh; to consider ourselves upon a level with the very worst and vilest of sinners; yea, with the very devils, in point of hope of salvation in ourselves, is mortifying to our natural pride, and contrary to our carnal reason. “But the LORD of hosts hath purposed it, to stain the pride of all glory, and to bring into contempt all the honourable of the earth , ” (Isaiah 23:9.)     He hath effectually done this, by appearing in our nature, and by the doctrines which He taught. All flesh has become so totally corrupt and abominable in the sight of God, so hopeless and helpless, that nothing but the coming of the Son of God could bring salvation to us . He became the Son of man, that He might seek and save them that are lost. He seeks us, before we seek Him....

"The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart; that is the word of faith which we preach, that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth, the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."   - Romans 10:8-10 [KJV] My soul, behold the tenderness of God the Holy Ghost to His people, in order to prevent the possibility of error, in their knowledge and enjoyment of Christ. It is not difficult to attain a clear apprehension, whether a soul be in grace, or not; for here the point is most plainly set forth; "The word is nigh thee." What word? The word of faith. Christ in the word, Christ in the promise, Christ Himself the salvation of the sinner .    And when a poor sinner hath been led to see who Christ is, and what He hath wrought, what He hath done for sinners, and what He is to th...

"And if children, then heirs; heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified together." -Romans 8:17 [KJV]   O the blessedness of being a child of God! Can heart conceive or tongue express the heights and depths of grace and glory, the safety, the happiness, the honour, the bliss, the delight of being an heir of God and a joint-heir with Christ? We soon shall have to put off our mortal bodies—soon have to lie down with the worms of the grave and the clods of the valley—soon have to enter into the invisible world. Well may we then ask ourselves what are our prospects of eternity? Where then will be our inheritance? Will it be one of eternal misery and woe, of weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth, or of the pleasures which are at God's right hand for evermore? Have we any evidence or testimony that we are the children of God?    Has the Spirit ever borne any direct or indirect witness to our adop...

I Never Knew You | False Assurance of Salvation | Salvation by Grace Alone ,  Critical message -preacher Henry Mahan (45 minutes) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLD9VyF5Vm0 In this solemn exposition of Matthew 7:21 –23, we examine one of the most frightening passages in all of Scripture. Jesus warns that many who profess to be Christians will stand before Him on the Day of Judgment and hear the words, “I never knew you.”  This sermon explains the difference between religious profession and genuine salvation, showing that church membership, ministry activity, good works, and outward morality cannot save. The only foundation for eternal life is Jesus Christ and His finished work on the cross.  In this message you will learn: What Jesus meant by “I never knew you” Why many religious people will be deceived.  The difference between knowing about Christ and truly knowing Christ  Why good works cannot earn salvation  The biblical foundation of salvation by gra...

"Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away."   -II Timothy 3:5 [KJV]   St. Paul says, “The gospel is the power of God” (Romans 1:16,) and, “Christ is the power of God ; ” (I Corinthians 1:24.) and, “that our faith standeth in the power of God , ” (I Corinthians 2:5.) Hence it is plain, that godliness is of a powerful nature upon the soul. It consists not in form and shadow, not in notion and speculation, but in the real enjoyment of Christ in the heart, and in an experimental knowledge of the grace of the gospel, through faith. It is the grand concern of every living and lively member of Christ, to enjoy more of the light, life, liberty, and power of Christ and His gospel . While those who have only the form of godliness, are content in their heads—are clear in the notion of divine truths—if they can but see a harmony and consistency in the plan of salvation—give good account of the doctrines of grace—talk fluently about them, and ...

" And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard. And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die. " -Deuteronomy 21:20, 21 [KJV] My soul, pause over this Jewish precept. What a thundering command must it have been to flesh and blood! Think, how agonizing to the feelings of tender parents, to have come forth as the accusers of rebellious children, and gluttons and drunkards! What comfort could such have concerning them in their welfare of the life that now is, and what hope for that which is to come? But, as if these distressing feelings were not enough, it is they, the very parents, which are here commanded to bring forward the charge to the elders against their own bowels, and they are to be the means of bringing them to death. But, painful as it must have been to flesh and blood, such were the triumphs of grace, that, by virtue of it, "all Isr...

"The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God." -Romans 8:16 [KJV] You may not perhaps, for the most part, enjoy a strong or clear assurance of your interest in Christ; you may be frequently much exercised whether you are a child of God; and yet you may at times have had a sweet testimony that grace is in your heart. You may have heard the servants of God so describe the feelings of your soul, so enter into your exercises, and bring forward such evidences of grace, that, in spite of all your unbelief, you were convinced that if these men spake agreeably to the mind of God, which you could not well doubt from the power which accompanied it, you were one of His children; and as you felt this inward witness, your heart was softened and moved within you, and you could not help lifting up your soul in praise and adoration to the God of all your mercies. You might sink again almost as low as before; but whilst that heavenly feeling lasted, y...