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

"The creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen." -II Kings 4:1  [KJV] My soul, how doth this affect thee? Art thou in debt? By nature and by practice thou wast miserably so, unless the debt be cancelled. As a creature, and as a sinful creature, thou art in thyself for ever insolvent. Thou hast nothing to pay, and art shut up in a total impossibility ever to pay. And how much owest thou unto my Lord? Alas, my soul, thou owest millions of debts to thy Almighty Creditor. The law thou hast broken; justice demands retribution; conscience condemns; Satan accuses; and the creditor is come to take not thy two sons only, but both thy two parts, soul and body, to the prison of death and hell, unless some almighty Surety hath stepped in and paid the dreadful debt, that thou mayest be free.     At death, and at judgment that follows, the everlasting release, or the everlasting imprisonment, will take place. And who knows whether the decision may not be to-morrow? n...

"I have exalted One chosen out of the people." -Psalm 89:19 [KJV]   My soul, wert thou refreshed on the past day with the precious meditation of the God of our fathers glorifying His Son Jesus? Suffer not, then, the blessed subject to pass away from thy thoughts this day, or any day, but look at the same delightful meditation proposed in the words which God spake to His Holy One in vision— "I have exalted One chosen out of the people." Yes, the Lord Jesus, as man and Mediator, was chosen in the infinite mind of Jehovah, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, from everlasting.     And before that God went forth in the immediate acts of creation, when that vast mass of beings the Lord determined to call into existence arose in His own infinite mind at His command, this blessed one, this glorious, this distinguished, this precious individual which was to become one with the uncreated Word, in order to constitute the Wisdom-man, Mediator, was from everlasting chosen. This was t...

  Weekend Gospel message to follow for All Hands   (27-29AUG21) 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 to save us  from our sins and from Hell: "Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O LORD,  in the light of Thy countenance. In Thy name shall they rejoice all the  day: and in Thy righteousness shall they be exalted. For Thou art the glory of their strength: and in Thy favour our horn shall be exalted."  -Psalm 89:15-16 [KJV] ABIDE IN ME! It is true that once a man is saved by God’s grace through faith, he will  remain saved forever; yet the Scriptures are full of warnings to believers  against unbelief (Hebrews 3:12-14) , against drawing back  (Hebrews 10:38-39 ), and  against neglecting the Wo...

"The God of our fathers hath glorified His Son Jesus." -Acts 3:13 [KJV] See, my soul, how every part and portion of scripture is directed to this one subject—to glorify the Lord Jesus. What is the very design of redemption but to glorify the Lord Jesus? What hath God constituted a church for, but to glorify the Lord Jesus? To what do all the precepts, promises, ordinances, sacrifices under the law, and institutions under the gospel, minister, but to this one end—to glorify the Lord Jesus? Talk they of promises? Why, all the promises of God are "in Christ Jesus, yea and amen, to the glory of God the Father by us." Talk they of the law? "Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth." Talk they of commandments? "This is the commandment, that ye believe in the name of the only begotten Son of God; and that believing, ye might have life through His name."     And how hath the God of our fathers glorified His Son Jesus,...

"His servants shall serve Him. And they shall see His face; and His name shall be in their foreheads." -Revelation 22:3, 4  [KJV] Mark these characters, my soul. Jesus hath servants, and they are distinguished from the world. They "serve Him." What is it to serve Christ? The prophet hath described. Free grace hath made them servants, in bringing them from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the sons of God; and therefore he saith, in the Lord's name, "My servants shall eat, but ye shall be hungry; My servants shall drink, but ye shall be thirsty; My servants shall rejoice, but ye shall be ashamed; My servants shall sing for joy of heart, but ye shall cry for sorrow of heart"  (Isaiah 65:13). How distinguishing these characters! God's servants have the table of Jesus to sit down to; the bread of life, the bread of God, the living bread, which is Jesus Himself, to feed upon. They shall drink also; for He that is their living bread...

  The Cities of Refuge , Part III   by D.G. Miles McKee   Just to stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance, Israel, by the command of the Lord, established 6 cities as cities of refuge.  Anyone guilty of manslaughter could flee to anyone of these places and find a refuge and a place of safety (Numbers 35:11; Joshua 20:7-8).  We have also discovered that the names of these cities tell us a great deal about Jesus.  To date we have covered Kedesh and Shechem. Today we encounter the third city, Hebron . Hebron is one of the most ancient of all the cities in the world. After wandering about from place to place in the land of promise, it was here, at Hebron, the patriarchs had, for the first time, a settled home. It was probably near here that the Lord appeared to Abraham when he was seated at his tent door (Genesis 13:18; 18:1). It was in Hebron that David was anointed king of Israel (2 Samuel 5:3-5). It was in this area that John the Baptist grew up before...