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

"And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said unto him, Zaccheus, make haste, and come down; for to-day I must abide at thy house ." Luke 19:5  Precious Jesus! what an instance is here of the freeness, fulness, and sovereignty of Thy grace! And was there "a needs be," O Lord, that Thou shouldest go to the place where this publican was? "A needs be" to look up and see him? "A needs be" to call him? and "A needs be" to abide at his house? Is this Thy manner, O Lord, in calling sinners? So then it was not Zaccheus seeking Jesus, but Jesus seeking Zaccheus. His curiosity, as he thought, led him thither; but it was the prevenient grace of Jesus in the poor man's heart, that first awakened that curiosity in him. And did Jesus seek Zaccheus, call Zaccheus, incline Zaccheus to receive Him, and bring salvation to his heart and house that blessed day? Oh! then for grace to see, and enjoy Jesus in all. Yea, I see, ...

"The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations."   -II Peter 2:9 [KJV] Few will sincerely and spiritually go to the Lord, and cry from their hearts to be delivered from the power of a temptation, until it presses so weightily upon their conscience, and lies so heavy a burden upon their soul, that none but God can remove it. But when we really feel the burden of a temptation; when, though our flesh may love it, our spirit hates it; when, though there may be in our carnal mind a cleaving to it, our conscience bleeds under it, and we are brought spiritually to loathe it and to loathe ourselves for it; when we are enabled to go to the Lord in real sincerity of soul and honesty of heart, beseeching him to deliver us from it, I believe, that the Lord will, sooner or later, either remove that temptation entirely in His providence or by His grace, or so weaken its power that it shall cease to be what it was before, drawing our feet into paths of darkness and evil.   As...

"The eyes of all wait upon Thee, and Thou givest them their meat in due season. Thou openest Thine hand, and satisfieth the desire of every living thing." -Psalm 145:15, 16  [KJV] What a full and comprehensive scripture is here! and what a view doth it open to the mind in the contemplation of God, in all His works of nature, providence, and grace! Pause over it, my soul, and as thou meditatest, apply it to the several circumstances of thine own wants, and the wants of Jesus's church in Zion: Remember, that as all eyes of the redeemed wait upon thy God, as well as thine; so it is Jesus, and Jesus only, that can satisfy the desire of all. Figure to thyself, at this moment, the court of Jesus thronged with waiting petitioners! and behold Jesus coming forth to supply, and answer all, and every one. Think, how many, how great, how diversified their cases. And then behold Jesus as not only having the suited blessing for all; but that when the desire of every living thing, is s...

"Underneath are the everlasting arms." - Deuteronomy 33:27 [KJV] The "everlasting arms" of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, the divine Jehovah, are "underneath" every one of His people, and, being underneath them, they can neither fall through them nor out of them; but they are borne, and supported, and carried along by them until they are brought to the eternal enjoyment of a Three-One God. Now, if these "everlasting arms" were not underneath a man, so deceitful is his heart, so desperately wicked is his corrupt nature, such awful stratagems does Satan lay for his feet, and such numerous perils encompass every step, that he must infallibly perish.   But what we want to  feel  is, that these arms  are  underneath us. What good will the doctrine do us? The doctrine of the "everlasting arms" being underneath us will not satisfy our souls, if we feel that we are sinking fathoms. If we keep sinking, sinking, sinking, and are afraid, at...

  Weekend Gospel message to follow for All Hands (18-20NOV22 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: T HEY RECEIVED NOT THE LOVE OF THE TRUTH “Because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” - II Thessalonians 2:10-12 [KJV] For what cause will God bring this awful judgment on a man that God Himself will send that man strong delusion so that he will believe a lie, so that he will spend eternity in hell? The answer is found in the previous verse. “Because they received not the love of the Truth, that they might be saved. And for this ca...

  "Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them. Then they cried unto the L ORD in their trouble, and He delivered them out of their distresses." - Psalm 107:5, 6 [KJV] Until they wandered in the wilderness—until they felt it to be a solitary way, until they found no city to dwell in, until hungry and thirsty their soul fainted in them— there was no cry . There might have been prayer, a desire, a feeble wish, and now and then a sigh or a groan. But this was not enough. Something more was wanted to draw forth lovingkindness out of the bosom of the compassionate Head of the Church. A cry was wanted,—a cry of distress, a cry of soul trouble, a cry forced out of their hearts by heavy burdens. And a  cry  implies necessity, urgent want, a perishing without an answer to the cry. It is the breath of a soul bent upon having eternal realities brought into the conscience, or perishing without them. It is this solemn feeling in the heart that there is no other refuge but God. ...

  Jesus the Precious One, part V   “ Unto you, therefore, which believe He is precious ” (1 Peter 2:7). As we read the Acts of the Apostles we see that power, forgiveness and salvation are related to the precious name of Jesus.  Take, for example, in Acts 8 where we discover the story of Philip and the Eunuch.  As you remember, Philip the Evangelist was instructed by the Angel of the Lord to go to Gaza where he encountered an Ethiopian sitting in his chariot reading the Scroll of Isaiah.  Let’s take up this story from verse 32.   “ The place of the scripture which he was reading was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth: In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth.” And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man?   The ...