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

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: He is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.    And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off: and He shall speak peace unto the heathen: and His dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth.   As for Thee also, by the blood of Thy covenant I have sent forth Thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water. ”   - Zechariah 9:9-11 [KJV]                                                            ...

"By one offering, He hath perfected for ever them who are sanctified." -Hebrews 10:14 [KJV] My soul is caught; Heav’n’s sovereign blessings clust’ring from the cross Rush on her, in a throng, and close her round The pris’ner of amaze! I beg this plea to be admitted, as an excuse for a second meditation on this text.  O sinner! if you believe in a crucified Saviour, you are born of God—know the love of God—are sanctified by God—and are for ever perfected before God. All this flows from the one offering of the Son of God; bore witness to in the word, and in our hearts by the Spirit of God. This, like every other truth of Jehovah, Father, Son, and Spirit’s love and grace, is to have its use and influence upon our hearts and lives. Lord grant it may.  Consider, (1st.) hath Christ for ever perfected you before God, in taking away your sins, and reconciling your person? O, then, with what holy boldness, and filial confidence, may you draw nigh to God! Heaven is open t...

"In Thee the fatherless findeth mercy." -Hosea 14:3 [KJV] Sweet thought! In Jesus, and the relationship, which He hath condescended to place Himself in, all His poor followers may find a supply to fill up every vacancy. My soul, contemplate Jesus in this blessed feature of character. What relation do we need? The fatherless are commanded to look to Him whose name is the everlasting Father. The motherless also; for He hath said, "As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort thee."     Doth death make a breach between the husband and the wife? Then the scripture saith, "Thy Maker is thine husband, the Lord of Hosts is His name." Are we friendless? Jesus is the Friend that loveth at all times, that sticketh closer than a brother . In short, there is no situation among the affinities of life, the kinder charities of nature, but what Jesus fills and infinitely transcends all.   Pause, my soul, over this view of Jesus, and behold how He gra...

"Perplexed, but not in despair." -II Corinthians 4:8 [KJV] Oh! what a mercy, amidst every degree of inward or outward perplexity, to be out of the reach of Giant Despair; not to be shut up in the iron cage; not to be abandoned, as Judas or Ahithophel, to utter desperation and suicide, and, after a long life of profession, concerning faith to make awful shipwreck! Now the child of God, with all his doubts, fears, sinkings, misgivings, and trying perplexities is never really and truly in despair. He may tread so near the borders of that black country that it may almost be debateable land whether he is walking in despair or upon the borders of it; for I believe many children of God have at times come to the solemn conclusion that there is no hope for them, for they cannot see how they can be saved or have their aggravated sins pardoned. And though this be not black despair, nor such utter, irremediable desperation as seized Saul and Judas, for there still is a ...

"By one offering, He hath perfected for ever them who are sanctified." -Hebrews 10:14 [KJV] We have two remarkable instances of St. Paul’s holy zeal for the glory of his Lord.  (1st.) Against a gross sin in the church of Corinth. This brought a scandal upon the holy gospel of Christ.  (2d.) Against a legal, self-righteous spirit, which obtained in the church of Galatia. This depreciated and dishonoured the finished work of Christ, and perverted the faith of His members. It is hard to say, whether St. Paul’s zeal exceeded most, in the former or the latter.  Hence learn profaneness and pride, are equally contrary to the faith of the gospel. As a holy faith brings Christ, and His salvation into the heart, it casts out the love of sin, as well as self-righteous hopes. Here is a glorious truth for precious faith to fix upon. O that through the Spirit, it may bring joy and peace to our souls.  Consider, who are said to be “sanctified” here? Those who are sepa...

"And they sought Him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance, and found Him not." -Luke 2:44, 45 [KJV]   May we not gather a lesson of sweet instruction from the anxious and fruitless search the parents made for Jesus in the days of His flesh? What kinsfolks and acquaintances shall we now search among for the Saviour? My soul, how little of Jesus is to be found in this Christless generation! What parlour conversation makes mention of His name? Is it not plain and evident, from the general, nay almost universal silence observed in all companies concerning His name, and offices, and characters, and relations, that Christ is not there?   Shall we seek Him among the professors of the gospel? Who are they that honour Jesus? Not they who deny His Godhead; not they who deny the influences of His Holy Spirit; not they who set up their own righteousness as part, or the whole of their justification before God. Jesus is not in that house, in that family, in that heart, among...

"Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone." -Ephesians 2:20 [KJV] The meaning of this expression, which frequently occurs in the New Testament, is, we think, often misunderstood. It is taken in the first instance from the declaration concerning our Lord in the Psalms, which He in the gospels (Mark 12:10; Luke 20:17) specially claimed and appropriated to Himself: "The stone which the builders refused is become the head-stone of the corner" (Psalm 118:22).   "The head of the corner," or "the chief corner stone," the meaning of both expressions being one and the same, signifies not the stone which stands at the top of the building, uniting the corners of the two walls just under the roof, but the broad foundation stone, which is firmly fixed at the very bottom; and it is called the "corner stone" or the "head" or "chief of the corner," because being laid as a huge and broad stone for a foundat...