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

"Thy holy child Jesus."   -Acts 4:30 [KJV] There is somewhat so very sweet and precious in this expression, that, my soul, I would have thee to meditate upon it. Surely the apostles had a special meaning in calling the Lord Jesus, "the holy child Jesus:" and no doubt the Holy Ghost did not cause His servants thus to express themselves for nought. It will be thy wisdom, therefore, to inquire. I do not find a similar phrase in all the word of God. The Redeemer is spoken of, in the days of His infancy, as "the child Jesus;" and when twelve years of age, He is still called "the child;" see Luke 2: 27, 34, 43; but no where, that I recollect, does He receive the blessed appellation that He is here distinguished by, of "the holy child Jesus." It would be presumption in thee, to determine the cause of this distinction; but it can be none to inquire.   Sit down then, this evening, favourable as it is to solemn meditation, and ponder well th...

"And ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart." - Jeremiah 29:13 [KJV] After the Lord has quickened our souls, for a time we often go, shall I say, blundering on, not knowing there is a Jesus. We think that the way of life is to keep God's commandments, obey the law, cleanse ourselves from sin, reform our lives, and cultivate universal holiness in thought, word, and action; and so we go, blundering and stumbling on in darkness; and all the while never get a single step forward. But when the Lord has suffered us to weary ourselves to find the door, and let us sink lower and lower into the pit of guilt and ruin, from feeling that all our attempts to extricate ourselves have only plunged us deeper and deeper, and the Spirit of God opens up to the understanding and brings into the soul some spiritual discovery of Jesus, and thus makes known that there is a Saviour, a Mediator, and a way of escape—this is the grand turning-point in our li...

  Weekend Gospel message to follow for All Hands (21-23OCT22 A.D.) 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 - Almighty God's unmerited favor - from our sins and from Hell: PREDESTINATION AND PROVIDENCE What is predestination? Before creation came into being, in eternity past, the triune God ordained or purposed everything that should ever exist and determined the end, the goal or the design of everyone and everything. The Bible name for this foreordination of the Lord is called predestination – to destine or determine. The prefix “pre” means the determination or destiny of all things prior to, or ahead of time. Surely no one would ever say that God has no purpose, for to act without purpose would be unthinkable. The predestinated purpose of God is eternal and unchangeable. “ The LORD of hosts hath sworn saying, Surely as I ...

"His glory is great in Thy salvation; honour and majesty hast Thou laid upon Him; for Thou hast made Him most blessed for ever." -Psalm 21:5, 6 [KJV] My soul, it is the most delightful of all thoughts, when at any time thou art solacing thyself in the glories of thy Redeemer, to call to mind that God the Father is glorified, while thou art made happy in the salvation thy Jesus hath accomplished by His blood and righteousness. It is indeed God the Father which called Jesus to the office and character of the Redeemer, and furnished Him with all suitable requisites for the vast work He called Him to do. But the glory and honour of Jehovah were the first and great object of the Redeemer's work; and hence Jesus, in the days of His flesh, never speaks of His own glory, but as in connection with, and leading to the glory of Jehovah. "Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in Him! Father! glorify Thy Son, that Thy Son also may glorify Thee."   Hence, the...

"Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her ."   - Hosea 2:14 [KJV] It is in the margin "to her heart;" and God speaks to the heart; that is the special characteristic of His voice. Men may speak to the ear, and they can do no more; but God speaks to the heart, for it is there that His voice alone is heard. All religion first and last lies in a man's heart. He may have his head well furnished with notions, yet a heart destitute of grace. But not so with the vessels of mercy, for they "believe with the heart unto righteousness;" and it is by the voice of God heard in the heart that a saving faith is raised up in the soul. There God must speak if there is to be any heart religion, any sound or saving experience, any knowledge of the truth so as to be blessed and saved thereby. But in the wilderness we learn the deep necessity there is that God should speak to our heart. We want the Lord Himse...

Jesus the Precious One: Part 1. by D.G. Miles McKee   When Peter penned the words: “ Unto you therefore which believe He is precious ” (1 Peter 2:7), he was writing to believers who were facing great persecution.  Despite the huge hostility they were encountering, these believers had a passion for Christ.  They understood there was nothing of greater value in this life than that of having Jesus as their Lord and Saviour.   Jesus is precious!   Now, to be precious means to be filled with immense value.  Indeed, when something is precious, it is often impossible to calculate its worth.  It’s sad to say, however, Jesus’ lovely name is nothing more than a swear word to many. To many He is not precious.   But notice how our text says that He is already precious to those who believe.  That is one of the reasons why I think that much of that which is portraying itself as authentic Christianity is actually missing the mark.  In lots of what...

"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour, whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world."   -1 Peter 5:8, 9 [KJV] My soul, thou knowest, and hast long known, from the many wounds given thee by Satan, what a cruel, insidious, and powerful enemy thou hast to contend with; and thou too truly knowest, also, how sadly unequal thou art in thyself to resist his wiles. He is a prince of the power of the air: he is by nature, a spirit, and therefore invisible; thou seest not his approaches; he is a tremendous foe, full of envy, malignity, subtilty, craft, and design: and what renders him yet more formidable is, that in the corruptions and unbelief' of thy fallen nature, he hath but too many confederates in thine own heart, to aid him in his diabolical designs.   Where then is thy strength to resist him? It cannot be in thyself...