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

"That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." -John 3:6 [KJV]   There is no promise made that we shall be set free in this life from the in-being and the in-working of sin. Many think that they are to become progressively holier and holier, that sin after sin is to be removed gradually out of the heart, until at last they are almost made perfect in the flesh. But this is an idle dream, and one which, sooner or later in the case of God's people, will be rudely and roughly broken to pieces. Nature will ever remain the same; and we shall ever find that the flesh will lust against the spirit. Our Adam nature is corrupt to the very core.    It cannot be mended, it cannot be sanctified, it is at the last what it was at the first, inherently evil, and as such will never cease to be corrupt till we put off mortality, and with it the body of sin and death. All we can hope for, long after, expect and pray for, is, that t...

“ The righteous shall be glad in the LORD, and shall trust in Him; and all the upright in heart shall glory.” - Psalm 64:10 [KJV] In what way is a man made righteous before God? I answer; he is not made so by any good works proceeding from himself, by his prayers, duties, and obedience, or by his faith and love to the Lord. God has made him righteous in His own way; and He has revealed it in the word of His grace . There we find that He has in sovereign mercy and discriminating grace, imputed to and laid upon the beloved Surety all the sin and transgression of His chosen inheritance, and transferred to them all the obedience, righteousness, and holiness of His beloved Son, placing it to their account as their justification; and here it is that they are exclusively righteous before God. “ Of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption” ( I Cor inthians 1:30) . So nothing belonging to ...

"We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts." - II Peter 1:19 [KJV]   The "sure word of prophecy" is the mind of God revealed in the Scripture of truth. This is compared to "a light shining in a dark place." This "dark place" is the heart of man, and a dark place it is; and the light shining in the dark place is when the Spirit of God pours His own heavenly light into the dark heart. The Spirit of God works by the word of God. He makes use of the Scriptures of truth, by means of these blessed Scriptures to communicate light. There is no light in the Scriptures themselves; they cannot teach a man to profit, that being God's prerogative. They are a dead letter, nothing but a collection of words and syllables; there is no light in them, no, not a particle, but what the Spirit of ...

“ We will be glad and rejoice in T hee” -Song of Solomon 1:4 [KJV] Sweet are the tunes of love in this most unusual book. First, it expresses the love of Solomon and his wife. Secondly, it typifies the love between Christ and His church. Consider, as the church speaks to her Beloved. “ WE” – Here are the chosen, redeemed and called-out ones. We have “ tasted that the Lord is gracious” ( I Peter 2:3) . We continue to make our “ calling and election sure” ( II Peter 1:10) . We rest in the truth that He is not willing “ that any should perish, but that all [of us] should come to repentance ” ( II Peter 3:9) . “ WILL” – Jesus spoke to His lost generation saying , “y e will not come to M e” (John 5:40) . When the day of His power came to us, we couldn’t resist coming to Him (Psalm 110: 3 ) . We have our lamentations, troubles and woes, but still we will come. The coming is continuous, as Peter said, “to W hom coming” ( I Pet er 2:4) .We are resolved t...

It is an astounding thing that such a sinner as I could ever call the justice of God my friend. God is infinitely and unchangeably holy. I know that. Also, He is just and His justice is inflexible, the same for all as it pertains to sin. He must and He will punish all sin. Being a sinner, there is no way that I in myself could ever look at divine justice with anything but absolute terror and fear! Having made myself an enemy to God, I became a fugitive from His justice. At least that’s what I thought for a good portion of my life. What I didn’t know and what I found out at His appointed time, was that He had already dealt with the matter of my sins. He had already dealt with them justly , satisfying His justice by demanding the full penalty of them against Another. He had in grace appointed a Substitute for me, the Lord Jesus Christ. The eternal Son of God had become Surety for me. He had assumed all the responsibility for my sins before I was even born. God had been ...

"There arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but He was asleep. And His disciples came to Him, and awoke Him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish ." -Matthew 8:24-25 [KJV] It was not calm seas nor gentle breezes that forced our Lord’s disciples to flee to the Savior; it was boisterous waves and howling winds. It was only when they feared for their lives that they cried to Him and it was then that they experienced the blessedness of His glorious presence and realized His authority over the forces of nature. No believer’s life will be exempt from troubles. The Lord never promised freedom from the ordinary discomforts that men experience in this world of sin, sickness and trouble. Lifelong attendance in the school of affliction is mandatory. The Lord has assured, however, His presence to strengthen us and His grace to sustain us. When the disciples were in the boat and the sea grew angry from the storm, they watc...

Weekend Gospel message to follow for All Hands (15-17MAR19) Heads-Up --- Please find enclosed encouragement in "SO GREAT SALVATION"  by the perfect and finished work of our Lord Jesus Christ in saving poor, needy and wretched sinners by His sovereign free grace - God's unmerited favor - from their sins and from Hell: "What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The Son of David. He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? If David then call him Lord, how is he his son?" -Matthew 22:42-45 [KJV] After the Pharisees and Sadducees had peppered and bombarded the Lord Jesus with many needless questions, then the Lord asked them the all important question of questions, 'What think ye of Christ?' It concerns each of us to seriously ask ourselves this heart-searching question. What are my thoughts about t...