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

" Let no man beguile you of your reward." — Colossians 2:18 [KJV] There is a present reward of grace enjoyed in the hearts of the faithful, which consists in pardon of sin, peace of conscience, and joy in the Holy Ghost. These are the rewards of Jesus' toils and sufferings for us. Since an artful and subtle serpent hath gained access to the human heart, we can never be warned too much to beware of men . Satan deceived man at the beginning by means of part of himself. He still beguiles men by man. Though the adversary cannot pluck one of Christ's sheep out of his hands, nor rob the loving Saviour of one of the precious jewels of His mediatorial crown, still we are to consider him as a restless, implacable foe, who will strive by all means to perplex and distress our souls. Has Jehovah Jesus appeared to us in the vision of faith? Hath He spoke to our trembling hearts in HIS WORD and by His Spirit, as He did to the father of the faithful? [i.e., Abraham]. ...

"... Because in him there is found some good thing toward the L ORD God of Israel, in the house of Jeroboam." — I Kings 14:13 [KJV] Such was the testimony which the Lord gave by His prophet of young Abijah, the son of wicked Jeroboam. The father was branded, even to a proverb, for his abominable wickedness. Behold, the son is recorded by the Lord for his goodness: singled out from the whole house of his father, to be blessed of his God, and to come to his grave in peace. Children of grace often spring from the loins of ungodly parents. The offspring of godly parents, often appear graceless. Grace is not hereditary. Grace is the sovereign gift of God. Parents may and ought to give good instructions, but God only makes them successful. Some good thing would not have been found in young Abijah, if the Lord had not put it there. It was of the will of the Lord, or because the Lord was his Father, as his name Abijah signifies. God's covenant children, though by na...

" For the L ORD will not forsake His people for His great name's sake: Because it hath pleased the L ORD to make you His people ." — I Samuel 12:22 [KJV] The prophet Samuel, like the apostle Paul, "shunned not to declare all the counsel of God." — Acts 20:27 . They feared no licentious consequences from preaching the faith-establishing, soul-comforting truth of God's unchangeable love to His people. Yet Samuel encourages the people to cleave close unto the Lord, and not turn aside from following Him; assuring them, if they walked contrary to the Lord, though He would never change in His love, or cast off His people, "whom He did foreknow," yet He would change in His conduct and dealings towards them. "God will surely visit their transgression with a rod, and their iniquity with stripes; nevertheless, His loving-kindness He will not utterly take away, nor suffer His faithfulness to fail." — Psalm 89:32, 33 . Like a tender...

" The ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price." — I Peter 3:4 [KJV] Godly parents are delighted at their very hearts, if they see their dear children partakers of the grace of God. How joyful to hear those, who are part of one's self, enquire after Jesus and His salvation! Love and duty unite to constrain us to teach our little ones the knowledge of Jesus; to instruct them in the ways of the Lord. And if the spirit of grace is pleased to crown such endeavours with success, infinitely more precious is the adorning of grace to their immortal souls, than all the gaiety of dress to their perishing bodies. As we to ours, so doth the Lord rejoice over all His dear children in Christ Jesus. He takes pleasure in their dress, which is the robe of His Son's righteousness. Their ornaments, which are the graces of His Spirit, are delighting to His eyes. "He makes them all-glorious within:" He loves His own image, wh...

Jesus, the Bread of Life for the Hungry Soul by D. G Miles McKee   In John’s Gospel, we find the seven ‘I Am’ scriptures, spoken by Jesus to declare His Deity.  Among them, we discover John 6:35, “I am the bread of life: he that cometh to Me shall never hunger, and he that believeth on Me shall never thirst.” Listening to this, we must conclude that, if Jesus is not God, He can hardly be viewed as a repository of deep humility.  Here, He declares Himself as the Bread, the One who sustains life.  What a cheek to make this claim … that is if He is not God! Indeed, when we read the discourse, in John 6, we discover that Jesus makes a sevenfold reference to Himself as the Bread of Life (see verses 32, 33, 35, 48, 50, 51,58).  According to Jesus, this is the very bread that must be eaten, by faith, to receive everlasting life (see verses 50, 51, 53, 54, 56, 57, 58).    We should note that the Roman Communion makes much of this discourse to establ...

" And she shall bring forth a Son, and thou shalt call His name JESUS; for He shall save His people from their sins ." — Matthew 1:21 [KJV] O precious birth! precious Son! precious name! The Holy Ghost brings consolation to the hearts of poor sinners, from the belief of the manhood of JESUS. To this end the comforter bears so particular testimony by the word of the conception and birth of Christ. This is our happiness; at all times to consider the Saviour as "Emanuel, God with us:" our brother: "flesh of our flesh and bone of our bone." As Elihu says of himself, "Behold I am, according to thy wish, in God's stead. Behold, my terror shall not make thee afraid, neither shall my hand be heavy upon thee." Job 33:6, 7 . Thus to conceive of Jesus, is a sweet mystery, joyfully known to believing hearts. The Holy Ghost brings joy to our souls, by the NAME of JESUS. This name is above every name to us: it is "as precious ointment ...

"For Christ is entered into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us." — Hebrews 9:24 [KJV] How highly was Zacharias honored! He heard the gospel of salvation from the mouth of an angel; who said, "I am Gabriel, who stand in the presence of God, and am sent unto thee, to shew thee these glad tidings." But we see the awful effects of unbelief. Though thus beloved, and honored of God, yet he was struck dumb for a season— Luke 1:20 . Though God most dearly loves His people in Christ, yet, He sees their sins, and with fatherly affection chastises for them. Do we not see somewhat of our own case here? For, as faith inspires the heart and tongue with boldness, so unbelief strikes us dumb. We cannot speak a word, nor offer a plea for our poor souls, if faith lose sight of Jesus. But He never forgets us. Our souls are never neglected by Him. The Lamb is in the midst of the throne FOR US. In our nature, in the same human body, which was hang...