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

"And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water." -Isaiah 35:7  [KJV] Oh how refreshing is this promise to my poor, dry, barren, thirsty soul! Surely every poor sinner, like me, that knows his own leanness and poverty, will feel the blessedness of it; for whether it be in the sapless state of unawakened nature, or whether in a scorched or languishing state from the want of the renewings of grace, nothing can be more refreshing than such a promise.    Precious Jesus, do Thou revive the languishing frame of Thy people; do Thou "pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground." Oh what a fulness, blessed Lord, there is in Thyself to supply all. Surely Thou art, as the church said, "A fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and streams from Lebanon." Do Thou then, Oh Lord, send forth this day, this blessed day, such copious streams from Thyself, as may cleanse, revive, comfort, satisfy, and streng...

"Christ hath given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God, for a sweet-smelling savour." -Ephesians 5:2  [KJV] If, when Noah offered by faith his sacrifice at the coming forth from the ark, the Lord smelled a sweet savour in it, because both the ark and sacrifice were a type of His dear Son, how fragrant and acceptable must have been the substance, when Jesus offered Himself without spot to God? Behold Him by faith, my soul, in that hour, in the full incense of His own merit, the censer of His own offering, and the golden altar of His own nature. And while God, even the everlasting Father, accepts Jesus as thy Surety, in the fragrancy of His offering, wilt thou not by faith so apprehend the sweet influence of His person, work, and righteousness, as to rejoice before God in the sure acceptance of thyself and all thy poor offerings in the Beloved?     Oh let a throne of grace be a daily, hourly, testimony for thee, that all thy approaches here are under the inc...

  Weekend Gospel message to follow for All Hands   (12-14NOV21) 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  our  sins and from Hell: SALVATION IS OF THE LORD! “But the salvation of the righteous is of the LORD: He is their strength in  the time of trouble.”  -Psalm 37:39 What glorious and blessed truth that shines on every page of Holy Scripture.  We as needy, great and guilty sinners need a mighty and victorious Saviour,  who is almighty to save (Isaiah 63:1; Hebrews 7:25). The Lord Jesus Christ is the  only answer and remedy for our sin. He is the Saviour that saves (Matthew  1:21), the Redeemer that delivers and justifies (Galatians 1:3-5; Romans 5:6).  What a full and complete revelation God gives of His, so great salvation…it  ...

"And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the gentiles seek, and His rest shall be glorious." -Isaiah 11:10  [KJV] Jesus is both the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and MORNING STAR; and therefore, is not this the day, the very day, the joyful day, in which He who was set up, as God the Father's ensign from everlasting, for salvation in the council of peace? And was He not brought forth, and set up, and proclaimed as God's salvation to us poor gentiles in the fulness of time, as well as the light of His people Israel? Surely it can have reference to no other.    Precious Jesus, I do indeed behold Thee as set up from everlasting. Thou wert so exhibited in the council of peace, and Thy goings forth were, from everlasting, when Thou wentest forth for the salvation of Thy people. In the bible Thou art the great promise; and the whole of the promises. Thou art the whole of the law and the pr...

"For such an High Priest became us, Who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens." -Hebrews 7:26 [KJV]   What a sweet thought! surely, as a poor sinner, I need an High Priest to act for me. I cannot, I dare not, approach in myself, and with my poor polluted offerings, without one. But He that intercedes for me must be Himself holy, free from sin; His sacrifice holy, His obedience holy, and in all points suited to His office and my necessities.    Cherish, then, the thought, my soul—He that is thine High Priest is all this, and infinitely more. So holy in Himself, that not the shadow of sin was in Him. So harmless, that in His mouth was found no guile. So undefiled, that though He took all the sins of His people upon Him, yet in Himself He was free from all sin. So separate from sinners, that though He took the nature of man, yet wholly underived from man. And so much higher than the heavens, that His own personal holiness infi...

  Whom Exactly did Paul Blaspheme? by D.G. Miles McKee   “And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious…." -I Timothy 1:12-13 [KJV]     Paul’s statement in 1Timothy 1:12-13 provides a very important reference to the Deity of Christ. The apostle, speaking of his life as a Pharisee, calls himself a blasphemer. So, when was Paul ever a blasphemer?  In case you are not aware, by definition, blasphemy is the act of insulting or attacking God or the act of claiming the attributes of deity.  We can discount the second part of the definition in Paul’s case for we have no record whatsoever of him ever claiming to possess the attributes of Deity within himself. Of all the charges leveled against the apostle this is not one of them!   So, according to Paul, he was an insulter and attacker of God.  He was a blasphemer. Bu...

"And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt."   -Daniel 12:2  [KJV] What a morning will this be! how distinguished from every other! Lord, how often do I now awake with thoughts of earth, and sin, and trifles, and vanity. How have I opened mine eyes this morning?—was it, dearest Jesus, with thoughts of Thee? In that solemn morning there will be no longer dreams, as now, even in our waking hours—for all childish imaginations, shadows, doubts, and fears, will be done away. Precious, blessed Lord Jesus! cause me morning by morning, while upon earth, to awaken with sweet thoughts of Thee.     Let the close of night, and the opening of the day, be with Thy dear name in my heart, on my thoughts, and on my lips; and in that everlasting morning, after having dropped asleep in Jesus, and in Thy arms by faith, may I awake up in Thy embraces, and after Thy likeness, to be everlastingly a...