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

" Fear not, thou worm Jacob." —Isaiah 41:14 [KJV]  In the light of truth, and under the teaching of the Spirit, every believer in Jesus loses sight of the once fancied dignity of his human nature, and sinks in the view of himself to the meanest reptile. Probably the church, in Isaiah's days, had been considering her weak, helpless state; surrounded with trials and difficulties; exposed continually to the power of enemies on every side; in great danger of being trodden under feet and crushed to death; and had been laying her case before the Lord, confessing the words of David, "I am a worm, and no man."—Psalm 22:6.  Well, the Lord condescends to reply to such humble souls in their own language. "Though thou art as mean in thine own eyes, and as despicable in the sight of others as a poor, base, insignificant, crawling worm of the earth, yet thou art precious in my sight. Though thou hast no power in thyself to resist thine enemies, no strengt...

" For all the promises of God in Him are yea, and in Him, Amen, unto the glory of God by us." —II Corinthians 1:20 [KJV] Through the workings of our carnal frames, it is natural to us all to seek comfort from legal work, instead of gospel promises. When a poor sinner is taught by man to believe, "unless he performs the condition, he cannot receive the blessing of the promise:" from this mistaken notion he labours and toils for a season, but finding himself unable to reduce the doctrine to practice, he sits down in dejection, and gives up all hope of mercy in this way. This will always be the case where sincerity is not suffered to give way to self-deceit.  But when the Sun of righteousness ariseth with glory on the soul, these mists of ignorance flee away. When the free-love of the everlasting covenant is made manifest to a sinner's heart, by the Spirit, he cries out in wonder and ecstasy, "This is all my salvation and all my desire." Whe...

" Many, O LORD my God, are Thy wonderful works which Thou hast done, and Thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto Thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered."  -Psalm 40:5 [KJV]

"You are all beautiful, My love; there is  no spot in you." -Song of Solomon 4:1 There is no spot in the Church, because the blood of Jesus entirely obliterates each stain.   Omniscience may look for sins, but no more can they be found. The absence of defect is the result of her being adorned with His perfect righteousness . In this no blemish can exist. Thus she appears righteous, even as God is righteous.   This blessed truth must be held fast without obliterating the knowledge of our own constant and innumerable transgressions. It cannot be too often repeated, that in ourselves we are deformed and loathsome.   The most saintly of saints will ever breathe the prayer, "God be merciful to me a sinner." But Jesus says of His people, "You are all beautiful, My love; there is no spot in you."                              ...

SALVATION by SUBSTITUTION was embodied in the first promise regarding the woman's seed and His bruised heel. Victory over our great enemy, by His subjecting Himself to the bruising of that enemy, is then and there proclaimed. The clothing of our first parents with that which had passed through death, in preference to the fig leaves which had not so done, showed the element of SUBSTITUTION as that on which God had begun to act in His treatment of fallen man.  Abel's sacrifice revealed the same truth, especially as contrasted with Cain's. For that which made Abel's acceptable, and himself accepted, was the death of the victim as SUBSTITUTED FOR HIS OWN; that which rendered Cain's hateful, and himself rejected, was the absence of that death and blood. The slain firstling was accepted by God as (symbolically) Abel's SUBSTITUTE, laid on the altar till He should come-the "woman's seed," "made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem t...

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God; not of works, lest any man should boast." -Ephesians 2:8-9 [KJV] "By grace ye are saved." There is no present sal­vation except that which begins and ends with grace! No man can preach or possess a present salvation ex­cept those who preach and believe that we are saved by grace alone! The work is finished! Any other way of salvation is dependent on the sinner and it will fail.            -preacher Henry Mahan

" Who maketh thee to differ from another?" —I Corinthians 4:7 [KJV] Perhaps few will reply, in the very words of a haughty Arminian, "I of myself, made myself to differ; since I could resist God and divine predetermination, but have not. Why then may I not glory in myself?" Yet such is the language of all our proud hearts by nature, we are so fond of vain-glory. Awful declaration of our Lord's! "Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give an account of in the day of judgment." Who then can be saved? I humbly conceive these idle words imply proud, self-righteous, self-sufficient words, maliciously spoken in contempt of the sovereign, distinguishing grace of God, free justification by the righteousness of Jesus, and full salvation by His finished work ONLY.  So Malachi 3:13, "Your words have been stout against Me, saith the LORD." The whole of that in Matthew 12 seems to prove this sense, and the context confirms it— ...