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

" Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God that ye may be able to stand in the evil day, and having done all to stand." -Ephesians 6:13 [KJV] St. Paul was an experienced veteran in the camp of Christ. He had been in many campaigns: fought many battles under the Captain of his salvation, against the combined enemies, the world, the flesh, and the devil. He warns his fellow soldiers of their foes and dangers, by exhorting them to take, and put on, nothing less than the whole armour of God.  The very same armour, which he himself fought in, is provided for us also. Blessed be God for that. So sure as Paul fought his way through, and safely arrived in glory, so shall we also, in this armour of God. O Christian, consider, this is not an armour of flesh and blood—not what is natural to man, or is in the power of man to provide for himself; but the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of the whole earth, hath provided it for all Christ’s soldiers.  What is this...

"The hind of the morning."  -Psalm 22 in the title to the chief Musician. Ref: Strong's Concordance for "Aijeleth" (H365) and "Shahar" (H7837) The dying patriarch Jacob, under the influence of the prophetic spirit, pointed to the seed of Naphtali as a hind (- deer ) let loose. But it is the church which points to Jesus as the hind of the morning; for He is, indeed, the loving hind, and the pleasant roe. It is sweet and profitable to observe in what a variety of methods the Holy Ghost hath been pleased to give sketches of Jesus.  My soul, look at Jesus for thy present meditation as the hind of the morning. Was He not, from the very morning of eternity, marked under this lovely character? Did not the church speak of Him, and desire His appearance, under this same character, when she begged of Him, that until the shadows of Jewish ordinances were passed away, and the day of gospel light should break in upon her, that her beloved would be li...

"And the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel." -Isaiah 4:2 [KJV] By "the fruit of the earth" we may understand that gracious and holy fruit which grew upon the Branch: and it seems to be called "the fruit of the earth," because it appeared on earth when our Lord was there. Thus not only all His words, works, and ways, all the parables, doctrines, precepts, and promises uttered by the mouth of the Son of God in the days of His flesh, but all the benefits and blessings that spring in the way of redemption out of His complex Person, and grow as it were a holy fruit out of Him as the Branch, such as His atoning blood, His glorious righteousness, His dying love, His resurrection and ascension, and His power to save to the uttermost all that come unto God by Him , may all be considered as "the fruit of the earth," because wrought by Him in and upon the earth, and done in the days of His ...

" With His stripes we are healed." -Isaiah 53:5 [KJV] A great professor once said to me, “I can never conceive how one man can be made righteous, by the righteousness of another.” Thus his carnal reason led him to object against Christ’s righteousness being imputed to us . I replied, Why then do you profess to believe, that your sins can be washed away by the blood of another? He was silent.  “Without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness.” Too great a mystery for human reason to comprehend: but not too great for divine faith to receive, to the joy of godliness. Sin is a malignant and mortal disease. The soul must die eternally of it, unless healed. This healing the soul, is the pardoning of sin. This is obtained by the stripes of Christ.  You feel the evil of sin; you mourn over the guilt of sin; you groan under the burden of indwelling sin, from day to day. The Spirit of truth, the Comforter, here holds forth a blessed remedy for you to look to, f...

"Sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind." -Luke 8:35 [KJV] Look at this man, my soul, and see whether thou canst find any resemblance to thyself. Before that he heard the voice of Jesus, he was under the possession of the evil spirit. It is said of him, that he wore no clothes. He dwelt in no house, but abode among the tombs. He was cutting himself with stones. No man could tame him, neither fetters nor chains bind him.  Poor miserable creature! And yet, my soul, was not this a true emblem of thy state; and indeed, of every man's state by nature? Had not Satan full possession of thine heart and affections, my soul, before that thou becamest savingly acquainted with the Lord Jesus Christ? Did he not lead thee in the pursuit and gratification of thy lusts and pleasure at his will? Thou mightest truly be said to wear no clothes; for so far from having on the garment of Jesus' righteousness, in those days of thine unregeneracy, thou wer...

"In that day shall the Branch of the L O RD be beautiful and glorious." -Isaiah 4:2 [KJV] Where in heaven or on earth can there be found such a lovely Object as the Son of God? "What is thy beloved more than another beloved?" ask the companions of the Bride. But she answers, "My beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand." If, then, you have never seen any beauty in Jesus, you have never seen Jesus; He has never revealed Himself to you; you never had a glimpse of His lovely face, nor a sense of His presence, nor a word from His lips, nor a touch from His hand.  But if you have seen Him by the eye of faith, and He has revealed Himself to you even in a small measure, you have seen a beauty in Him beyond all other beauties, for it is a holy beauty, a divine beauty, the beauty of His heavenly grace, the beauty of His uncreated and eternal glory, such as no earthly countenance can wear, nor man or woman, no, not Adam, in all his u...

" If any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God on this behalf." -I Peter 4:16 [KJV] “The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch” (Acts 11:26.) It is a blessed name. We ought ever to glory in it, and never be ashamed of it. But the bare name will no more avail us in life, death, and judgment, than to be called rich, while we are feeling the pinching hand of want. Christ signifies anointed. He was anointed to be our Saviour (Acts 10:38.) All who are saved by Him, and come to Him, are His anointed ones.  So St. John speaks of all Christ’s living members. “Ye have an unction from the Holy One” (I John 2:20.) To anoint, is to consecrate and set apart for holy and spiritual purposes. Christians are consecrated and set apart from the rest of the world, to be a people peculiarly devoted to the glory of Jesus. They are the jewels which compose His mediatorial crown.  Are you thus highly honoured by the Lord of life and ...