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

     Divine Election is the Scriptural doctrine stating that God the Father, before the foundation of the world, by His sovereign grace alone, blessed His foreknown people to be chosen to be holy, blameless, and saved (Ephesians 1:3f; II Thessalonians 2:13; Psalm 65:4 & 33:12; I Peter 1:2; et.al.) . Divine Election is called “the election of grace. And if by grace, then it is no longer of works” (Romans 11:5f) . We read also of “the purpose of God according to election ..., not of works but of Him who calls” (Romans 9:11) . Jehovah calls His chosen people “My servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe Me, and understand that I am He” (Isaiah 43:10).  They are also called “Jehovah’s chosen ones” (Psalm 105:6, 43) , “chosen in the Lord” (Romans 16:13) . “The elect of God, holy and beloved” (Colossians 3:12) , “the elect whom He chose” (Mark 13:20 adapted) , “His own elect” (Luke 18:7) , “God’s elect” (Romans 8:33; Titus 1:1) , a...

"I have remembered Thy name, O LORD, in the night."   -Psalm 119:55 [KJV]   Consider, (1st.) Hebrew names express the nature of the things to which they are applied. Whatever name the LORD makes Himself known by to us, is expressive of His nature, and of His covenant of love and grace to us. Hence there is no name so sweet to us sinners, as that which He hath assumed, the name JESUS: The LORD, the self-existing Jehovah, Jesus . All the glorious perfections of wisdom, love, and power, shine with the greatest lustre in that name: the great God, even our Saviour Jesus Christ (Titus 2:13.) All the attributes of Jehovah are magnified and glorified in that precious name.    (2d.) To remember the name of the Lord, is to meditate in faith, upon what He is to us, hath done for us, and hath promised to bestow upon us, as the Lord our Saviour. O what a wide field for meditation is here!    But (3d.) David remembered the Lord in the night. While others w...

"Why have I found grace in thine eyes, that thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I am a stranger?" -Ruth 2:10 [KJV]   My soul! dost thou not find continual causes for sending forth the same inquiry as this poor Moabitess did, when thou art receiving some renewed instance of Jesus' favour? Her heart was overwhelmed with the kindness of Boaz, in permitting her to glean only in his fields, and to eat a morsel of food with his servants: but thy Boaz, thy Kinsman-Redeemer, hath opened to thee all His stores of grace and mercy; He bids thee come and take of the water of life freely; yea, He is to thee, Himself, the bread of life, and the water of life; and is now, and will be for ever, thy portion, on which thou mayest feed to all eternity.    When thou lookest back, and tracest the subject of His love from the beginning, in the springs and autumns of His grace; when thou takest a review of the distinguishing nature of these acts of grace; when thou bringes...

"Him hath God exalted with His right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins." -Acts 5:31 [KJV] Jesus is "exalted to be a Prince and a Saviour to give repentance and remission of sins." The two go together. Whenever He gives repentance, He gives remission; wherever He grants remission, He bestows repentance. It will not do to let repentance go. Every child of God is brought to repent of his sins, and by repentance to forsake them. "But," you say, "have I repented?   Considering the nature and magnitude of my sins, were I a repenting sinner, surely I should be mourning and sorrowing over them all the day long."     What, then, creates that doubt in your mind? Because you are often hard, dark, dead, cold. Here, then, again, we must distinguish between that godly sorrow for sin which is felt in the spiritual mind, and that hardness and darkness of our carnal mind which is still enm...