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

"Whosoever abideth in Him sinneth not." -I John 3:6 [KJV] Beware, O my soul! of licentious spirits, who make Christ a minister of sin, instead of a Saviour from all sin. For such are strangers to the sweet experience of abiding in Christ, whereby sin is dethroned in the heart, the power of it subdued in the life, and holiness maintained in the soul. To abide in Christ, is to continue to believe in, and rest upon Him, as the dwelling of our souls. “LORD, Thou hast been our dwelling-place in all generations”   (Psalm 90:1.)  This is the claim and confession of the faithful. Ask a believer, “Where dwellest thou?" he will reply, "On my own freehold, my Father’s patrimony, where my treasure is—IN Christ." Such an one sinneth not. What! never sin in thought, word, or deed? has he no sin in him? This state is the earnest desire of his soul.    Verily, he doth not abide in Christ, who doth not long for it ; but so far from being in it, that every believer...

"And their nobles shall be of themselves, and their governor shall proceed from the midst of them; and I will cause Him to draw near, and He shall approach unto Me; for who is this that engaged His heart to approach unto Me? saith the LORD." -Jeremiah 30:21 [KJV] When the patriarch Jacob was dying, he pronounced, under the spirit of prophecy, that "the sceptre should not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come" (Genesis 49:10.) And here in the prospect of the Babylonish captivity, now on the eve of its arrival, the prophet is commissioned by the Lord to tell the church, that notwithstanding all present appearances, no foreigners should judge or rule over them; but one should proceed from the midst of them, to be their governor, even David their king, whom I (saith Jehovah, verse 9) will raise up unto them. One like unto themselves, such as our Jesus was, like unto His brethren.    Sweet confirmation of our faith! A...

"I the LORD do keep it; I will water it every moment: lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day." -Isaiah 27:3 [KJV]   The Lord Jesus Christ, who lives at God's right hand, has to send down supplies of His grace continually to keep your soul alive unto Himself. Without this life being kept up and maintained by these continual supplies of His grace, you cannot pray, or read, or hear the word, or meditate with any feeling or profit.  You cannot love the Lord and His blessed ways; you cannot submit to His righteous dealings; or hear the rod and Him who appointed it. You may approach His throne, but your heart is cold, clouded, and unfeeling; your spirit sinks under the weight and burden of the trials and difficulties that are spread in your path; nor are you able to do anything that satisfies yourself, or that you think can satisfy God.   By these painful but profitable lessons, you are experimentally taught that you want the life of Christ as well as the ...