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

" Whosoever abideth in Him sinneth not." -I John 3:6 [KJV] Beware, O my soul! of licentious spirits, who make Christ a minister of sin, instead of a Saviour from all sin. For such are strangers to the sweet experience of abiding in Christ, whereby sin is dethroned in the heart, the power of it subdued in the life, and holiness maintained in the soul. To abide in Christ, is to continue to believe in, and rest upon Him, as the dwelling of our souls. “Lord, Thou hast been our dwelling-place in all generations” (Psalm 90:1.) This is the claim and confession of the faithful.  Ask a believer, “where dwellest thou?" he will reply, On my own freehold, my Father’s patrimony, where my treasure is—IN Christ. Such an one sinneth not. What! never sin in thought, word, or deed? has he no sin in him? This state is the earnest desire of his soul. Verily, he doth not abide in Christ, who doth not long for it; but so far from being in it, that every believer feels he is a l...

" Is not this the carpenter’s son?" -Matthew 13:55 [KJV] “Such indignity I cannot bear; such insult is intolerable.” Ah! who? What art thou who speakest thus? Thou sinful dust— thou proud worm of earth, look unto Jesus! See the King of kings; the Son of God, in the form of a mean man, the son of a carpenter!—yea more, himself a carpenter, the Son of Mary! (Mark 6:3.) Mark His condescension; learn humility. Behold His treatment and contempt; learn patience and submission. Astonishing mystery!  Let reason bow and faith adore. Sinners, behold with joy and wonder, thy God in flesh. Born under that curse for sin, “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread,” (Genesis 3:19.) He works at a common trade, and follows an ordinary occupation. O! ye great and mighty, who are above trade, and despise those who follow it, saved ye must be by this carpenter’s son, or perish everlastingly! He is the one and only object of hope and salvation. “He is God and man in one Chri...

" The very hairs of your head are all numbered." -Matthew 10:30 [KJV] I never can understand this, says carnal reason. Therefore, reject it, says human pride. What didst thou ever gain, O Christian! by indulging carnal reasonings, or giving way to human pride? Verily, many a sad hour, many an uncomfortable frame. O, how happy doth simple faith make the heart! It receives every word which the Lord speaks, and draws comfort from it. It serves carnal reason and pride, as David did his ten concubines: he put them in a ward, and shut them up, to the day of their death (II Samuel 20:3.)   For verily, they are like the spies which Moses sent out, “who brought up an evil report of the land” (Numbers 13:32.) Therefore, listen not to their suggestions. Our Lord never spoke a word as a subject for thy curious speculations; but, that thou shouldest humbly believe it, exercise thy believing mind upon it, and derive peace and comfort from it. Our Lord had been telling His d...

" I will make an EVERLASTING COVENANT with them, that I will not turn away from them to do them good ." -Jeremiah 32:40 [KJV] A minister lately preaching on the tremendous solemnity of the last day, at the close of his sermon, thus addressed his hearers: “Most awful as my subject has been; most solemn as the things which you have heard have been—yet I have one thing more to add, which is as awful. ‘Tis this.—Ere to-morrow’s sun, perhaps, you will have forgotten all you have heard of this solemn subject!” Awful conclusion! is not this too much our case, respecting the covenant love and faithfulness of our God? Else, why those unreasonable doubts, groundless suspicions, heart-rending jealousies, and soul-dejecting fears which possess us?  Else, whence that slowness of heart to approach the Lord, to cast our care upon Him, put our trust in Him, glory of Him, live upon Him, and rejoice in Him? The Lord will ever be mindful of His covenant (Psalm 111:5.) But, shame t...

Impossible Things Believed!     I am so thankful for the ministry of the Holy Spirit in relation to the gospel. He gives us faith (Eph 2:8) and then persuades us of impossible things, the most unfeasible of these being the gospel itself!   Have you ever considered the unlikeliness of the whole gospel story?  Here we are on a tiny, insignificant speck of a planet, un-noticeable in the vast array of galaxies and yet God, the creator of all things, has a special interest in us. And the sceptic says, “What a far-fetched idea!” Well it may be far fetched to some, but the truth is He came here and became one of us! And the doubter says, “Wait a minute, I don’t believe in fairy stories!” But this is no fairy story my friend; not only did He become one of us, He also died the cruelest of deaths for us as He took responsibility for our sins and failures. And not only did He die for us, He also became a curse for us and at the cross became the greatest rejec...

" Will the Lord cast off for ever? will He be favourable no more?" -Psalm 77:7 [KJV] St. Paul speaks of some who had cast off their first faith. What was the consequence? having damnation (I Timothy 5:12.) If the power and liveliness of faith abate in the heart, a sense of condemnation will be in the conscience. Hence, enlightened, sensible sinners call in question the Lord’s love and grace towards them. They are prone to think, they have quite tired out His patience, and that nothing but wrath and misery await them. What shall we say to such? The Saviour Himself speaks to them. Is it in wrath? Does He say, because you have forsaken me, I will cast you off for ever; die and be damned for your folly! I will show you no more favour?  True, they have deserved this: they have reason to fear and expect this, was it not for the love of His heart and the grace of His word: therefore, they may joyfully sing, The love divine, which made us Thine, Shall keep us Thine for...

" ...Who remembered us in our low estate, for His mercy endureth for ever." -Psalm 136:23 [KJV] O my soul, never, never forget these two things, thy Lord’s memory, and His mercy. The one was towards thee from eternity: the other endures for ever. What hast thou to do in this little space of time, but to love, serve, and delight in thy mindful, ever merciful Lord?  (1st.) Consider thy low estate. Never lose sight of that. Never forget it, lest thou grow vain in thy imagination, and unmindful of our Lord’s love. At hell’s dark door we lay. Lower we could not be, unless shut up in the bottomless pit. Most awful state! O tremble at the thought! dead in sin. A child of wrath by nature. Under the curse of the law, and the power of the devil. Blind to our danger. Insensible of our destruction. Not a desire to escape damnation. Nay, we sported ourselves with our own deceivings.  Yet, (2d.) He remembered us. Who? Jehovah: Father, Son, and Spirit. The Father loved us from ...