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

Christ bears the name of all His saints,  Deep on His heart engraved;  Attentive to the state and wants  Of all His love has saved.    In Him a holiness complete  Light and perfection shine;  And wisdom, grace, and glory meet;  A Savior all divine.   The blood, which, as a priest, He bears  For sinners is His own  The incense of His prayers and tears  Perfumes the holy throne.    In Him my weary soul has rest,  Though I am weak and vile;  I read my name upon His breast,  And see the Father smile.    -Hymn: "Majestic Sweetness" -John Newton (1725-1807 A.D.)   "Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the LORD of hosts." -Zechariah 4:6 [KJV] The Temple was a type of the Church, and Zerubbabel was a type of Christ. The great truth shadowed forth by these two types, is that, both the work of preparing materials, and of constructing the house— "the Church of God, pu...

The sovereignty of God may be defined as the exercise of His supremacy. Being infinitely elevated above the highest creature, He is the Most High, Lord of heaven and earth. Subject to none, influenced by none, absolutely independent; God does as He pleases, only as He pleases, always as He pleases. None can thwart Him; none can hinder Him. So His own Word expressly declares, “My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure” (Isaiah 46:10) .  “He doeth according to His will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay His hand” (Daniel 4:35) . Divine sovereignty means that God is God in fact, as well as in Name, and He is on the Throne of the universe, directing all things, working all things “After the counsel of His own will” (Ephesians 1:11) .    -Arthur W. Pink

I love this scripture; Isaiah 1:18-20 . Mr. Spurgeon preached from it and said, "God proposes a conference, not to determine IF we are sinners, nor the EXTENT of our sins, but what is to be done about our sins." We are all sinners, and our sins are deep and double dyed "as scarlet" and "red like crimson:" Sin is so difficult to put away that it is impossible for all but GOD! And even God cannot put away sin except through the precious blood and obedience of THE SON OF HIS LOVE! Hebrews 9:26 declares that "He put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself." What does the Word say? "Come now and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. IF YOU BE WILLING and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land." 1. Are we willing to own and confess our sins? 2. Are we willing to repent of dead works and self-righte...

"He that is of God heareth God’s words." -John 8:47     “The words from Mount Sinai gender to bondage.” -Galatians 4:24    Some of God’s children are kept under bondage by them. They are taught to look on themselves only as servants, not sons of God, because they dare not say they know their sins are forgiven. This is a foolish, unscriptural distinction. St. Paul expressly declares, that every believer is a son of God: “Ye are ALL the children of God, by faith in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:26.) Can a man be a servant of God without faith? No: “without faith, it is impossible to please God” (Hebrews 11:6.)     Every one who hath faith in the Son of God, is a child of God: his sins are as surely forgiven, as that Christ died for sinners: he shall never come into eternal condemnation for them, no more than if he had never committed them. This is God’s word (see John 5:24.) As many as receive Christ, that is, believe on His name, have the pri...

"Verily, verily I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground, and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit." -John 12:24 [KJV] How sweet and lovely is this similitude of the Lord's, in allusion to Himself! See to it, my soul, this evening, that thou art able to receive it. Thou hast been attending thy Lord to the tomb: here behold the blessed fruits of His precious death.   When Jesus became incarnate, like a pure corn of the finest wheat, He fell to the ground; and when at His death, "He made His grave with the wicked, and with the rich in His death,"  He fell into the ground: and now what an abundant harvest of glory to God, and salvation to souls, hath that death, and grave of Jesus produced!   Had Jesus never died, how would He have seen His seed, and the pleasure of the Lord prosper in His hand? Had Jesus not descended to the grave, how would He have been the life-giving, the soul-quickening root of all...

"And seekest thou great things for thyself? seek them not." -Jeremiah 45:5 [KJV]   Whatever schemes and projects the Lord's people may devise that they may prosper and get on in the world, He rarely suffers their plans to thrive. He knows well to what consequences it would lead;—that this ivy creeping round the stem would, as it were, suffocate and strangle the tree. The more that worldly goods increase, the more the heart is fixed upon them; and the more the affections are set upon idols, the more is the heart drawn away from the Lord. He will not suffer His people to have their portion here below. He, therefore, says to them in His providence, as well as in His word, "Seek them not."     But you will perhaps say, "What are we then to seek?" I will tell you in one word,— Realities . What are these great things that you are seeking after? say in religion. Could you see them in their right light, you would see that they are but shadows. Y...