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

"And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy; even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem. When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof, by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning." -Isaiah 4:3-4  [KJV] What a precious scripture is here! and what vast things are contained in the bosom of it! Mark them down, my soul, one by one, this evening, and see what of thy personal interest thou canst trace in the whole. And first, who they are, of whom these things are said, namely, "the living in Jerusalem; even every one that is written: and he that is left, and he that remaineth." By living, and being written, can only be meant what the beloved apostle saith of being "written in the book of life." - Revelation 13:8  And of "him that remaineth," there is, as ...

  God’s Thoughts or Man’s?  by  D.G Miles McKee “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, saith the L ORD .”  (Isaiah 55:8). A few years ago, a lady, dying of cancer, became very anxious about her place in eternity. As a result, she began asking almost everyone she met about their views of salvation.  She received various replies. One person told her to pray a lot and she’d be OK.  Another told her to do a lot and she’d be fine.  That person went on to say that salvation came by working for God and doing good deeds.  One man, on the other hand, went as far as to tell her there was no such thing as salvation.  He said that we are born, we grow up, we get old and then we die … that’s it.  It’s all over.  Finito. There’s nothing more beyond. A Christian then visited her. The sick lady, now bedridden, earnestly inquired, “What are your views of salvation?”  “I have no views,’ was the reply.  T...

"Commit thy way unto the L ORD ; trust also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass." - Psalm 37:5 [KJV] What shall God bring to pass? The thing that lies deepest in the heart— "thy way."   Does not thy way lie deepest in thy soul— the path that God has led, the path that God is now leading you by? You may be troubled in your soul, doubting and fearing in your mind, distressed in your feelings; you may sink down to the lowest point that a child of God can sink to; yet that way, in which you are so deeply sunk, if the Lord enable you from time to time to commit it to Him, and trust in Him, He will bring to pass above what your heart desires.  Look at the movements of your heart God-ward; look at your embarrassments, temptations, and exercises; look at that which rolls backwards and forwards in your mind, that which is tossed to and fro on the waves of your anxious bosom,—what lies nearest, dearest, and deepest,—let honest conscience speak. That, whatever it be, the Lo...

"A man in Christ." -II Corinthians 12:2  [KJV] My soul! thy last evening's meditation was sweet, (was it not?) in contemplating thy Jesus, as glorious in His own person, and as glorified in His people. Wilt thou add to that subject, for it is part of the same, for thy present thoughts, what is suggested in this motto, "a man in Christ?" Dost thou fully enter into the pleasing apprehension of what the phrase implies? Now, who shall fully describe it; or who is competent fully to conceive the whole extent of it? "A man in Christ," must imply every thing connected with a oneness, an union, a part of Himself; yea, "a life hid with Christ in God." "A man in Christ" is as much a part in Christ's mystical body, as the head, or hand, or foot, is a part of that body to which those members belong.     Hence, (which is indeed a sweet part of the subject) every one who is "a man in Christ," is, to all intents and purposes, in...

"Being justified freely by His grace." - Romans 3:24 [KJV] And it is because grace is free it can reach us. How free is the sun in sending forth its enlightening, warming beams; how free the clouds in discharging their watery treasures; how free the dew in falling from the face of heaven; how free the wind in blowing where it listeth. Now these are scriptural types and    representatives of the free grace of God. It shines as freely as     the sun; drops as freely as the rain; falls as freely as the dew; and blows as freely as the wind. But not in grace as in nature to all men. I mean not that; but all to whom it comes it comes freely. And whenever it so comes it communicates precious things with it.  As the sun lights and warms, as the rain fertilises, as the dew softens, as the wind invigorates, so it is with the grace of God which comes out of the fulness of Christ. It enlightens the understanding, warms the heart, fertilises the soul, softens the spiri...

"He shall come to be glorified in His saints, and to be admired in all them that believe." -II Thessalonians 1:10  [KJV] Among a thousand wonders that will be unfolded before the astonished world, at the great day of God, to call up the unceasing praises of the church of Christ to all eternity, there are two very blessed events which will take place, and which this scripture records; the one is, how Jesus will be glorified in His own sacred person, in the view of His redeemed, when all His beauties are then displayed; and the other is, how Jesus will be glorified in them, from the saving change which His grace hath wrought in them.     Let thine evening meditation, my soul, be upon both. And first, think how Jesus, thy Jesus, will then appear. He hath indeed been always known to thee, since He was first revealed to thee by grace, as wonderful; and every act of His towards thee, hath fully answered to this name. For in all His perfections, offices, characters, and relatio...

"An inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away."   -I Peter 1:4 [KJV] Whatever you may have in this world, be it much or little, you must leave. And if you have no other inheritance than earth gives, where will be your portion in death and to all eternity? But if you are begotten again unto a lively hope, even if you do not enjoy the full assurance of faith, you have before you an inheritance which fadeth not away. We fancy sometimes how happy we should be if we had this man's fine estate, or that man's large property; how much better we should spend it than he does, and what good we should do with it. And do you think that these men are happy with all their possessions, and that you would be happier or better if you had them?  It is not in nature to be happy. These rich men have a canker which eats up all their happiness. And even if free from the heavier troubles of life, all satisfaction of the flesh fadeth away, for possession of itself rub...