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

"Lest Israel vaunt themselves against Me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me."   -Judges 7:2 [KJV] Thus the Lord reasoned with Gideon. He knows what is in man. He sees the pride of the human heart: how prone we all are to boast in an arm of flesh. The Lord is jealous of His own glory. Gideon’s army of two and thirty thousand, is brought down to three hundred. By this handful of men, and no more, did Gideon gain the victory of the Midianites. The Lord’s wisdom in this was, “Lest Israel should vaunt themselves, and say, Mine own hand hath saved me.” But I have not transcribed the text right. There are two little words of great import, which I have omitted.    Mind then, O Christian—against me. Now remember, whenever thou dost boast of thy power, thy free-will, thy human goodness, thy works, ditties, conditions, and performances in order to be saved, thou art then, as it were, two and thirty thousand strong. “Thou vauntest thyself against the Lord.” Thou art glorying in t...

"O the hope of Israel, the Saviour thereof in time of trouble, why shouldest Thou be as a stranger in the land, and as a wayfaring man that turneth aside to tarry for a night?" - Jeremiah 14:8 [KJV] My soul, follow up these holy pleadings with thy Lord. Jesus loves boldness, and not bondage frames. Remember, when thou goest to Him, thou goest to a tried friend, a long-proved, a faithful friend, and one that loveth at all times; and He that was and is the hope of Israel, hath ever been, and will be thy hope, thy Saviour, the Rock of Ages; yea, "Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever." Is then thy Jesus as a stranger to thee? Are His visits short, and but as the wayfaring man that is hastening on his journey, who, though he stops at the inn for the night, stops only to refresh himself, and takes no account of what passeth in the house?   Pause, my soul, it is time to enquire. I hope no shyness has crept in between thy Lord and thee! When did He last ...

"Wherein shall it be known that I and Thy people have found grace in Thy sight?" -Exodus 33:16 [KJV] Grace is always "found." It is not earned, nor merited, nor worked into; but it is found; and if a man never "found" it, he never had it. It is stumbled upon, so to speak, as the Lord sets forth in the parable of the man who found the treasure hid in a field (Matthew 13:44) . The man was not thinking about the treasure. He was, we may suppose, ploughing in the field. He had no idea that there was gold beneath the clods. But he finds it all on a sudden, in the most unexpected and unlooked-for manner, and for joy thereof "goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field."     So it is with the way in which grace is found. It comes so suddenly, so unexpectedly, and so sweetly into a man's soul, that when it comes he is like a man who has found something which he had no conception of till he found it. He had no idea what it was, nor h...

"And Israel said unto Joseph, Now let me die, since I have seen thy face, because thou art yet alive ."   -Genesis 46:30 [KJV] Strange request! What, just come to the sight and embrace of thy long lost son, and yet want to leave him at the very first interview? One should have thought the language of Jacob would have been, Happy man! I not only see my beloved son, but also see him governor over all the land. Well, I hope I shall live long to enjoy his riches and grandeur. But, no. The good man had lived long enough to make an estimate of the uncertainties of life: to know the evil of days, the vicissitudes of time, and how soon the day of brilliant joy might be changed into the night of gloom and sadness. The sight of his son was the summit of his wishes: that granted, he sought no more. He wished to be at home with his Lord.    Happy Christian! thus to set loose to all creature enjoyments, even when there is the highest enjoyment of them, than to have one’s mind go out...

"And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled." -Acts 4:31 [KJV] Think, my soul, what a blessed testimony this must have been, in confirmation to the disciples, that their God was a prayer-hearing, and a prayer-answering God! And what a full reply to all they had been praying for!' The enemies of God, and of His Christ, had threatened the poor disciples what they would do to them, if they persisted in preaching Jesus to the people. The purport, therefore, of the apostles prayer was, not that the Lord would stop their malice, and silence all their opposition: this they sought not to avoid. But the single prayer was, that their souls might be animated to go on, let the malice of their foes manifest itself as it might. In answer, "the place is shaken." As if the Lord had said, "He that shakes the place, can make your enemies hearts tremble." And so it proved.    Now, my soul, take thine improvement from it. Jesus sees all, k...

"Peace, peace to him that is far off." -Isaiah 57:19 [KJV] Far off! What means that? It means that the soul passing through that experience is separated, in its feelings, and at an infinite distance from God. Now this inward sense of being "far off" is one of the most painful feelings that a quickened soul can experience. The ungodly, who are really afar off, know nothing experimentally of distance from God, for they have never been brought spiritually near. They have felt no "cords of love, no bands of a man" drawing them with sweet attraction to the throne of the most High; they have never sighed after the sweet manifestations of God's mercy and love; but they live gladly, and wallow willfully in those things which separate the soul from its Maker.    But those who are "afar off" in their feelings, are such as have seen something of the beauty of the Lord, and felt the evil of sin, who spiritually know Jehovah's purity and the creat...

"First, souls look to Christ, by faith, for pardon through His blood; and then they mourn for sins pardoned: and never do they mourn better and more kindly, or are more ashamed and confounded because of their sins, than when they are most satisfied that God is pacified towards them for all that they have done." -preacher John Gill

"Take heed and beware of covetousness."   -Luke 12:15 [KJV]   It is said, if a person seeks for the philosopher’s stone (-which turns all metals into gold) with a covetous desire to be rich, he may be sure not to find it. We are sure, that precious jewel contentment, is not to be found in a covetous heart. Let philosophers and moralists reason ever so persuasively against the evil of covetousness, yet the love of money will rise superior to all. What mighty charms are there in gold! But the voice of our Beloved here speaks. His words are spirit and life. Hear then, O disciple, “Take heed and beware.” Consider,    (1st.) This admonition of thy Lord. It is redoubled. “Take heed: beware!” Just as the loving parent, seeing his dear child running into the jaws of danger, cries out with vehemence, Take care! take care! Fix this in thy mind, there is great, very great danger here. Our Lord sees it. His love speaks with the utmost earnestness, that we may avoid covetousn...

"And His feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem." -Zechariah 14:4 [KJV] My soul, pause over this blessed promise. To whom could it refer, but to Jesus? "That day," through all the old testament dispensation, meant the gospel church of the new testament dispensation. And when the Son of God came, the day was come also. And did not Jesus stand often, during this day of His grace, in His own ministry, teaching the people on the mount of Olives? Yea, was it not the very last sacred spot on which His holy feet stood, when from thence He ascended to heaven, having finished redemption-work upon earth? My soul, do thou often, by faith, visit the hallowed ground, and from thence let thy meditation take wing, after thine ascended and exalted Saviour.   And while, like the wondering disciples, looking after Jesus as He went up, thou art contemplating the glory of thy Lord, Who is now above, carrying on all the blessed designs of His ...

"Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; for He is faithful that promised." -Hebrews 10:23 [KJV] Faith cannot rest upon fancy; it can only rest upon the solid truth of God, as revealed in the Scriptures. And when it comes into the truth of God, as Noah's dove came into the ark as its own nest and home, then it finds rest and peace. Many persons think we build our faith and hope, not on the Scriptures, but on some mental feelings, or fancies of our own, distinct from the word of God. I do not and cannot build my faith on anything but what is revealed in the Bible; and I must do it because I have no other foothold for it to stand upon . Do you not feel the same, you who know anything of the trial of faith? You have had many a tossing up and down, and have often wanted a foothold for your faith to stand upon. You have tried to believe this or that doctrine, or to get into this or that experience; but you kept still falling short, for you found that yo...

"The Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many."   -Matthew 20:28 [KJV] Most gracious words to me, who am a poor sinner, and have nothing to bring to Christ, but an empty hand, to receive most precious ransom for me, who have the sentence of death in myself. May faith be high, and self low to-night! The poor disciples were now wrangling about precedence and supremacy. What was the consequence? They were moved with indignation. They strangely forgot the end of Christ’s coming, and the nature of His kingdom. God knows we are poor as beggars, yet proud as devils. The very same spirit works in us all, as did in them. Lord grant that the evil which occasioned these words, may be made a blessing to us. Consider,    (1st.) Our proud notion of ministering to Christ. Some indeed did minister to Christ of their substance, (Luke 8:3.) But this was of natural things. Though empty of all good, and full of all evil, yet we vai...

"For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink, in My name, because ye belong to Christ, verily, I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward." -Mark 9:41 [KJV] How little is this attended to in the charities of life! I fear, that even the soul which loveth Jesus most, doth not regulate his alms, whether of this world's goods, or of prayer, or of good wishes, when he giveth them, by this blessed standard. Dost thou not, my soul, plead guilty to this charge? Heavenly Lord! enlighten mine eyes to see Thee in all Thy representatives. And when I have only the cup of cold water to bestow upon any poor needy creature, yet let me give that in Thy name!    'Do you belong to Christ?' should be the only question. This is a claim which carries every thing before it. Is it Jesus, Who, in the person of His poor members, asketh the alms? Doth the Lord of life and glory condescend to be beholden to the poor creatures of His bounty; and of His own absolutely receives as...

"For His eyes are upon the ways of man, and He seeth all his goings." -Job 34:21 [KJV]   The Christian has to prove that nothing escapes the eye of a just and holy God; that He lays bare every secret thought, searches every hidden purpose, and scrutinizes every desire and every movement of the mind. He thus discovers and brings to light all the secret sins of the heart. Men in general take no notice of heart sins; if they can keep from sins in life, from open acts of immorality, they are satisfied. What passes in the chambers of imagery they neither see nor feel. Not so with the child of grace; he knows the experience described in Psalm 139. He carries about with him the secret conviction that the eye of God reads every thought. Every inward movement of pride and self-righteousness, rebellion, discontent, peevishness, fretfulness, lust, and wantonness, he inwardly feels that the eye of God reads all, marks all, condemns by His righteous law all, and because He is so intrinsi...

"...the salvation of the righteous is of the LORD, He is their strength in the time of trouble."   -Psalm 37:39 [KJV]   We may say of righteousness, as Job says of wisdom, “Where shall righteousness be found? And where is the place of perfect righteousness? Man knoweth not the price thereof, neither is it to be found in the land of the living , ” (Job 28:12, 13.) The Patriarch says, It is not in me . The Prophet says, It is not in me . The Apostle says, It is not in me . The Lord saith, “All flesh hath corrupted his way , ” (Genesis 6:12.) “There is none righteous, no not one , ” (Psalm 14:3.) Why then do the Scriptures speak so much of the righteous, if there be no such persons upon earth? Indeed there are. This is a point of great importance .    The Lord settle it well in your heart and mine. We are guilty sinners in ourselves. We have no righteousness of our own. Yet, saith the Lord Jesus, the righteous one, “Their righteousness is of Me , ” (Isaiah 54:17...

"I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit." -I Samuel 1:15 [KJV]   My soul, look at Hannah at the mercy-seat, and mark the sorrowful spirit with which she there appeared. Blushing and sorrow, at the feet of Jesus, are among the highest tokens of real heartfelt communion. Perhaps there never was a moment in the life of Hannah, in which faith was in more lively exercise, than in that memorable season. And, perhaps, never did she speed with more success than then; for it is said, that when she arose from before the throne, "she went her way, and her countenance was no more sad."   Now, my soul, take a precious instruction from her example. Do thou go to the throne, and present thyself at the feet of thy Jesus. Let grace have a full and lively exercise in thine heart. See that thy prayers be really and truly heart prayers, and not lip-service. Tell thy Lord how greatly thou needest His grace and mercy; and tell Him, also, how much thy Lord Jesus will get glory in being grac...

"Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" -Romans 7:24 [KJV] If the Lord the Spirit has implanted that piteous cry in our soul, "O wretched man that I am!" this will follow as a necessary consequence— "Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" Where shall I look for deliverance? From what quarter can it come? Shall I look to the law? O no! that curses and condemns me, because I am continually breaking it. Can I look to friends? They may pity and sympathise; but they cannot remove the body of sin and death; it is too fast linked on for them to remove.  Shall I go to ministers of truth? I may hear what they say with approbation; but there is something more wanted to remove this chilling embrace of the body of sin and death. Shall I look to the Scriptures? They contain the remedy; but I want that remedy to be sweetly applied— "Who then shall deliver me?"  What refuge can I look to? Whither can I go, or whither shall I turn? Fro...

“Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto Thy name give glory, for Thy mercy, and for Thy truth’s sake.”   -Psalm 115:1 [KJV]    Let me just whisper a word in the ear of anyone who has scarcely learned to pray.  Poor sinner, laden with guilt and full of fears,— you say, “How can I plead with God for mercy?  I have rejected it for years; I have been often rebuked, and I have hardened my neck; I fear I have no plea with which to urge my suit in craving God’ mercy.    Here is a plea for you to use; say to Him, "For   Y our mercy and your truth’s sake, have pity on me, the least deserving of all your creatures; for, surely, if You will only save me, it will be an eternal wonder to men and to angels.  If You will save me, then I will sing,— All Thy mercy’s depths I prove, all its heights are seen in me.”   I remember one, who said, “Oh, if the Lord Jesus Christ will only pardon me, He shall never hear the end of it!”  And this is what ...

How blest are they whose sin and guilt Are fully washed away; They need not fear the wrath of God, When comes the Judgment Day.   Offended justice fell on Christ, Who for the guilty died; And by His bloody sacrifice, Poor souls are justified.   ‘Tis with the death of Christ the Lord, That God is satisfied; He magnified the holy law, When on the cross He died.   Since Jesus bore their load of guilt, Upon the rugged tree; The ransomed of the Lord are safe For all eternity.   How can we know that Jesus died, And suffered in our place? ‘Tis in this way, if we by faith, The Son of God embrace.      Tune:  “How Sweet the Name” CM Words by J. Byrd                       “Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me:  for my soul trusteth in Thee:  yea, in the shadow of Thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast.  I will cry...