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

“ Yet it pleased the L ORD to bruise Him; He hath put Him to grief: when Thou shalt make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the L ORD shall prosper in His hand. He shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied…” -I SAIAH 53:10-11a [KJV]   God’s prophet accurately foretold of Christ over seven hundred years before His incarnation, obedience, suffering and justifying death. In the everlasting councils of the Godhead it was determined a limited and definite number of fallen man would be redeemed. And, it was determined that redemption would be effectuated by the suffering of the God-Man unto death. Christ agreed to fill that place, satisfy justice and be the S ubstitute for the chosen ones . Consider: Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him - Before us is God’s will and predestination. The bruising of Christ was not God’s callous delight but the fulfillment of His gracious purpose. It ...

“ And He led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation” -P SALM 107:7 [KJV] God’s thoughts are not as our thoughts - neither are His ways as our ways! This truth is strikingly exemplified in the manner in which He led the Israelites from Egypt to the promised land. We would have chosen the way that was nearest and most direct - but God decided otherwise. He led them round about through the wilderness, and that for the space of forty years! And not merely was it the most distant way - but it was the most dangerous way as well. It was a land of deserts and of pits - a land of drought and death - a land that no man passed through, and where no man dwelt. But, as strange as it appeared, we are fully justified in saying that it was wisely arranged. Their long detainments; their tiresome and circuitous wanderings; their fierce conflicts with the Moabites and the Amalekites; the bitter waters which they had to drink; and the fiery serp...

"And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus." - E PHESIANS 2:6 [KJV] There is a distinction between being quickened together with Christ and being raised up together with Him. Is not this true in the experience of God's people? To be quickened into divine life, to be convinced of sin, to have the fear of God planted deeply in the soul, is the commencement of a work of grace. But this is not a deliverance, not a being raised up out of darkness, bondage, doubt, guilt, and fear. This is not a knowledge of Christ, and the power of His resurrection; this is not a full coming out of the dark and silent tomb into the glorious light and warmth of day. But here is the great blessedness of a mystical union with the Lord Jesus Christ that, as by virtue of interest in H im there is a partaking of the benefit and power of h is having been quickened, so there is a partaking in the benefit and power of his having...

With broken heart and contrite sigh, A trembling sinner, Lord, I cry. Thy pardoning grace is rich and free, O God, be merciful to me! I smite upon my troubled breast, With deep and conscious guilt oppressed: Christ and His cross my only plea, O God, be merciful to me! Far off I stand with tearful eyes Nor dare uplift them to the skies; But Thou dost all my anguish see, O God, be merciful to me! No alms or deeds that I have done Can for a single sin atone. To Calvary alone I flee, O God, be merciful to me! And when, redeemed from sin and hell, With all the ransomed throng I dwell, My raptured song shall ever be, O God, be merciful to me! Author: Cornelius Elven Tune: “Just As I Am” by William B. Bradley

“ Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you” [JOHN 16:7 ] .  One of the definitions of “ depart” given by Strong’s Concordance is “to pursue the journey on which one has entered; to continue on one’s journey.” In the everlasting covenant of grace, our Lord Jesus Christ commenced a journey which He willingly pursued, one which would lead Him to the cross of death and then to the throne of universal sovereignty. Nothing could hinder Him from embarking upon and triumphantly finishing that journey. Messiah declared that He set His face “ like a flint” [ISAIAH 50:7 ] , an indication of His unwavering resolve to complete the work assigned Him by the Father in the eternal covenant. Nothing could deter or prevent Him from successfully finishing His journey. The Savior was completely committed to the fulfillment of His covenant promi...

"And you hath HE QUICKENED, who were dead in trespasses and sins." -E PHESIANS 2:1 [KJV]   Death in sin is of course a figure, and must be interpreted as such; for moral death is its meaning, and by moral death we understand the utter absence of everything holy, heavenly, spiritual, and divine; the entire want of participation in, and conformity to the life which God lives as essentially and eternally holy, pure, wise, and good, and for ever dwelling in the glorious light of His own infinite perfections. To be dead, then, is to have no present part or lot with God; no knowledge of Him, no faith, no trust, no hope in Him; no sense of His presence, no reverence of His terrible Majesty; no desire after Him or inclination toward Him; no trembling at His word, no reliance on His promise, no longing for His grace, no care or concern for His glory.   It is to be as a beast before Him, intent like a brute on satisfying the cravings of lust, or the movements of m...

"Turn T hou us unto T hee, O L ORD , and we shall be turned; renew our days as of old." - L AMENTATIONS 5:21 [KJV]   Are you not often destitute of the power to repent, and confess your sins before God? Does not conscience often bring to view a melancholy retrospect of carnal thoughts, wicked desires, vain imaginations, foolish words, frivolous speeches, and all that catalogue of evils, that huge bill which godly fear sometimes files in the court within, as seen in all our departures from the life of God? But are you able to repent? are you able to feel cut to the very heart? are you able to mourn and sigh because conscience brings against you this long indictment? Can you always feel your soul melted down with sorrow on account of it? Are you always able to feel contrition because you are proud, worldly, covetous, everything that is evil, everything that is hateful in God's sight?   But, then, there are times and seasons when the Lord is pleased to ...