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

"My soul followeth hard after Thee: Thy right hand upholdeth me."   -Psalm 63:8 [KJV]   David was no advocate for the merit of good works. He ascribes no glory to nature’s power and free-will. Free-grace Paul says, “I laboured more abundantly than they all.” But he immediately corrects himself. “Yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me , ” (I Corinthians 15:10.) So if David’s soul followed hard after God, he gives grace the honour of it: “Thy right hand upholdeth me.” This is the way both to improve and to enjoy lively frames of soul, to see and acknowledge the Lord’s hand to be the cause of them. O it is delightful when the soul follows hard after God. For,    (1st.) It implies such a discovery of the love and grace of the Lord, that the mind is fixed upon Him, the heart drawn out after Him, and the affections cleave unto Him. The language is, “What is there upon earth that I can desire beside Thee?” O, says the soul, “I am in His eyes as one that foun...

"And they feared as they entered into the cloud." -Luke 9:34 [KJV]   My soul, here is much instruction for thine evening thoughts to be employed upon. Sit down, and take a leisurely view of the situation of the disciples of Jesus, at this hallowed season, on the mount. The Lord Jesus was about to manifest to them somewhat of His glory. But the prelude to it was infinitely solemn. "They feared as they entered into the cloud;" though, when there, Jesus was going to open to their souls the richest enjoyment of Himself. And is it not so with all the sweetest manifestations which the Lord makes to His people?   Seasons of sickness, bereaving providences, afflictions from the world, disappointments, crosses, and the like; these are like the cloud to the disciples, as we enter them; but what gracious events have we found folded up in them, and when opened to our view, how much of Jesus' love, and grace, and glory, have come out of them, which, but for the dispensatio...

"For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil." -I John 3:8 [KJV] There will be no thorough destruction of sin within until the body drops into the grave, and the soul mounts aloft to be with the Lord; nor a full destruction of its effects in the body until the resurrection morn, when the body shall be raised from the sleeping dust and changed into the glorious image of the body of the Son of God, meet companion for the immortal soul. Then will the victory be complete; then will Christ appear, shining forth with the lustre of a million suns; then will be the glorious manifestation of the Son of God, and the works of the devil thoroughly destroyed.  The burden of heaven's anthem, the grand theme of eternal adoration, will be the manifestation of the Son of God to destroy the works of the devil. The redeemed will look down from the battlements of heaven and see what works have been executed by the devil; they will see million...

       "Effectual calling is the middle link in the undividable chain of salvation: he that hath it is sure of both the ends [i.e. of his past predestination to life and of his future glorification ].  Our calling is the manifestation of our secret election and a sure forerunner of glory, being, in effect, the voice of God telling us beforehand that He will glorify us."   -brother Wm. Cowper (1731-1800 A.D.)

     "Spiritual matters are beyond the grasp of human philosophers. God given faith ascends higher than mere human philosophy. Paul did not speak of mere hypothetical danger when he said, "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ" (Colossians 2:8) . Human philosophy seeks to deduce the fundamentals of Christianity from its own principles. One such instance is demonstrated by those who deny the Divine Triunity. They say that one plus one plus one equals three, thus deceiving many within their vain philosophy. The truth of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is that one times one times one equals one." -preacher W.E. Best, Diminishing Spirituality in Local Churches

"Therefore will I look unto the LORD: I will wait for the GOD of my salvation: my GOD will hear me."   -Micah 7:7 [KJV] Here is a soul exclaiming against the very worst of foes. “A man’s enemies are the men of his own house.” Under such experience, behold and imitate the conduct before us. Here are two acts of the mind, and the cry of faith.    (1st.) I will look. The Lord is the object looked to. Blessed be the Spirit, He opens our eyes to see Him, and our hearts to believe His love to us and care for us. Then we know the voice of Christ and obey it. He says, “Look unto Me, and be ye saved , ” (Isaiah 45:22.) Whenever distressed with enemies from within and without, sin, Satan, or the world, here is our warrant, to look unto the Lord. He assures us of salvation from them. We shall find and feel these enemies, to the end of life. Therefore looking unto the Lord, is to be the constant work of life. O the special mercy to have such a Lord to look to! Shame to us, that we...

"And lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon Him. And lo, a voice from heaven, saying, This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased." -Matthew 3:16, 17 [KJV] Take thy stand, my soul, this evening by the river Jordan, and by faith behold the wonders displayed in the hour thy Jesus entered upon His public ministry. Behold a decisive proof of the distinct personality in the threefold character, which all the sacred volume of the scriptures gives to the revelation of the Godhead. Behold Jesus, the uncreated word, on the bank of Jordan!    Behold the Holy Spirit, hovering as a dove on His sacred person! And hear the voice of God coming from heaven, proclaiming Who Jesus was, His relationship to Him, and His approbation of Him. And when thou hast duly pondered the precious testimony, bend thy knee in adoration, love, and praise, to the sacred Three-in-One, for so condescending an act of grace, in confirmatio...

"Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love Me, he will keep My words: and My Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and make Our abode with him ." - John 14:23 [KJV] There are two grand vital points that every Christian should seek to be established in. The first is,—Is he a believer in Christ? Has the blessed Spirit made Christ known to his soul? Has he embraced Jesus in the arms of living faith? The second point which he should seek to have established in his soul is,—Does he abide in Christ? This he may know by having some testimony that Christ abides in him, and produces the fruits that flow out of this inward abiding. If Christ abide in him, his heart will not be like the nether mill-stone. He cannot rush greedily into sin; he will not love the world, and the things of time and sense; he cannot happily love idols, or do those things which ungodly professors do without one check or pang.    Jesus in the soul is a guest that will make Himself known; yea, ...

The True Church , Part I by D G Miles McKee   "Father Abraham, who do you have in heaven? Any Episcopalians up there?" "No. No Episcopalians." "Do you have any Presbyterians up there?" "No Presbyterians." "Do you have any Independents or any Seceders?" "No, we do not have any of those." "Have you any Methodists up there?" "No, no, no." "Well, who do you have up there then?" "We do not know those names up here. All who are here are Christians, believers in Christ, men and women who have been cleansed by the blood of the Lamb." "Oh, is that so? Is that the case? Then God help us. God help us to forget all party names and to be Christians in deed and truth." -preacher George Whitfield   I’ve often been asked, “Which is the True Church?” That’s a great question! After all, in America alone there are, according to the Encyclopedia of American Religions, over 15,000 denominations, s...

     "The right of self-defense is the first law of nature; in most governments it has been the study of rulers to confine this right within the narrowest limits possible. Wherever standing armies are kept up, and when the right of the people to keep and bear arms is, under any color or pretext whatsoever, prohibited, liberty, if not already annihilated, is on the brink of destruction." -Mr. Henry St. George Tucker, in Blackstone's 1768 A.D. "Commentaries on the Laws of England."

"We believe, and are sure."   - John 6:69 [KJV]   Here is both faith and assurance. I wish to the Lord I had them, is the language of many a doubting heart, while they have both this very faith and assurance. This assurance is of the essence of faith. Without it faith has no existence. Consider,    (1st.) The nature of this faith and assurance. “We believe and are sure.” Of what? That their names were written in heaven, that they were sure they were the elect of God? No. But, says St. Peter to our Lord, “We believe, and are sure, that Thou art Christ the Son of the living God, and that Thou hast the words of eternal life.” Their minds were as sure of this truth, as of their existence. So must ours at all times, and under all circumstances. But is this faith and assurance? Then, blessed be God, I am a partaker of both. I do believe, I am sure, that Christ is the Son of God, and that He, and He alone, hath the words of eternal life. But I want to be sure of my own in...

"He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory." -II Samuel 2:8 [KJV] A man can never reach heaven unless he travel heavenwards, Zionwards, in the way that God has marked out for His people to walk in. It is a delusion to think that we are going to heaven unless we know something of divine teaching in the soul. But if we know anything of divine teaching, we know what it is to be poor and needy, we know what it is, more or less, to have our mouth in the dust. But many people do so mistake the way to heaven. The ordinary way is to set up a ladder to reach from earth to heaven, and progressively clambering up the different rounds, at last to climb up into the abode of God.    But that is not the way of God's people. They have to go down, down, down, that they may be raised up. It is not with them first "up, up, up," to scale the battlements of heaven. Ev...

"I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eye-salve, that thou mayest see." -Revelation 3:18 [KJV] My soul, take advice of thy Lord, for He is a Wonderful Counsellor, and all these blessings will be thine. He will cause thee to inherit substance, and fill all thy treasures; yea, He will give thee durable riches and righteousness. If Jesus clothe thee with the robe of His salvation, thy nakedness will be indeed covered; but no fig-leaves of thine own gathering and sewing together will do this for thee.    If Jesus but anoint thine eyes with the precious anointing of His Holy Spirit, thou wilt both see and know the way to buy this tried gold. Now, pause over this sweet verse, and ask thyself, how thou shalt buy this golden treasure? What is the treasure, but faith? For the Holy Ghost calls it precious faith; "Y...

     "If a minister be erroneous, how should the flock be sound?  No readier way to destroy a whole town than by poisoning the cistern at which they draw their water." -preacher Wm. Gurnall (1616-1679 A.D.)

"If thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it."   -Exodus 20:25 [KJV]   This chapter abounds with legal terror. Here, the glorious Jehovah is giving the law with thunderings and lightnings, and the sound of a trumpet. The mountain smoking. Poor sinners, trembling and fleeing, saying, “Let not God speak with us, lest we die.” Most awfully tremendous! Well might St. Paul call it, “the ministration of death and condemnation,” (II Corinthians 3:7, 9.) But blessed, blessed be God, it contains precious gospel-grace to law-condemned sinners. Here, rejoice, and say, Let God speak, and we live . For here is an altar commanded. God is accessible to us. “An altar of earth thou shalt make unto Me.”     Here is gospel-grace. That beloved Son typified, Who was made like unto us, and appeared in our earthly nature. Thou shalt offer thy burnt-offerings and peace-offerings upon it. “Our God is a consuming fire , ” (Hebrews 12:29.) Yet, “we have an altar , ” (Hebrews ...

"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, saith the LORD." -Isaiah 55:8 [KJV]   My soul, hast thou ever considered the blessedness in this verse, as it concerns the great work of salvation? Ponder over it, this evening. There is nothing, perhaps, in which there is a greater and more striking difference than there is between our crude and contracted notions of redemption, and the perfect and unerring thoughts of Jehovah on this point. Our conduct towards each other is so limited on the score of pardon, that though we may forgive a first or second offence, yet if it be repeated too many, nature revolts at the offender, and seems to take a kind of justification in withholding any farther acts of clemency. Hence; we frame the same standard to judge by, concerning God.    But with God, abounding sin calls forth abounding grace, and, like the tide, riseth above high water-mark, yea, overflows all the banks and surrounding ground; so much so, indeed...

"O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee?" -Hosea 6:4 [KJV] Most of the Lord's people have some peculiar thing that they want to have granted. Most living souls have some peculiar temptation from which they want to be delivered. If some of the Lord's family could sum up all their desires in one petition, it would be to have the pardon of their sins sealed upon the conscience .    If others of God's people could crowd up in one sentence all the wants of their soul, it would be to be brought into the enjoyment of gospel liberty . If others could condense in one short prayer the chief desire of their heart, it would be to be delivered from some powerful temptation, or be preserved from some peculiar besetment. And if others could get into one request the longings that heave in their bosom, it would be to be relieved from some special trial or trouble that at times seems as though it would weigh them down to the dust.    When the Lord, then, does but enable them to come...

     "Whence is it that the doctrines of special election, of efficacious grace in regeneration and conversion, of justification by the imputed righteousness of Christ, and of the infallible perseverance of the saints, though so clearly revealed and so strongly proved in the word of God, and, notwithstanding, so generally denied, opposed, and ridiculed?  Because they give all the glory to God, and will not allow man so much as to boast a little ." -unknown preacher of righteousness 

The Message of the Cross / Who Is Jesus? Why Did He Die & Where Is He Now? -Message from preacher Henry Mahan (27 minutes)  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fyt992dTfk   The Message of the Cross is a biblical message from Matthew 27:33 –37 that centers on the death, identity, resurrection, authority, and saving work of Jesus Christ. Everyone knows that Jesus of Nazareth died on a cross—but what does His death actually mean? This message examines four crucial questions:  1. Who is Jesus of Nazareth? Jesus Christ is revealed in Scripture as the Son of God, the Lamb of God, Emmanuel—God with us—and God manifest in human flesh.  2. Why did Jesus die on the cross? His death was not an accident or merely an example of suffering. Scripture presents Christ’s death as God’s appointed plan to redeem His people, satisfy divine justice, put away sin, justify sinners, and purchase a people for Himself.  3. Where is Jesus Christ now? Christ is risen, glorified, and seate...

"Death, or things present, or things to come, all are yours."   -I Corinthians 3:22 [KJV] “O death, how bitter is the remembrance of thee to a man who is at rest in his possessions; unto the man who has nothing to vex him, and who hath prosperity in all things!” O death, how sweet is the remembrance of thee, to a man who is alive to God, dead to the world; who longs to be absent from the body, and present with the Lord; to see the glory of Jesus, and to reign eternally with Him! Christian, here is a precious legacy left thee by the Lord: a covenant-gift from the God of thy salvation: “Death is yours.” He is your conquered enemy; your faithful friend.    (1st.) Your conquered enemy. You need not fear him. He has neither strength nor sting. Christ, the victorious Captain of your salvation, has disarmed him of both. He can neither destroy nor wound your soul. Yea, “He hath abolished death” (II Timothy 1:10.) There is no substance in him; he is changed into a shadow. It i...