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

It is written in Titus ch. 3, vss. 5 & 6, "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy HE SAVED US, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; which He shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior."  It is not my work for the Lord that saves, it was His work for me and in me.  It was not my walk before Him, but His walk before God in His perfect life; not my praying to Him, but His prayers for me; not my works of righteousness which are filthy rags, but His works of righteousness culminating with His “obedience unto death, even the death of the cross.”   My acceptance before God is in no way based upon what I do, but altogether dependent upon the sacrifice of Christ Jesus, The LORD our righteousness.   -copied  

  Hallelujah, praise Jehovah , Author of redeeming grace; He ordained to save a people, Gave His Son to take our place. Chosen in the blest Redeemer, He would be our Substitute, He would be our Substitute.  Hallelujah, praise Jehovah , May His praises never cease; He redeemed His captive people, Brought in everlasting peace. Jesus died to seal our pardon, Died to save His chosen race; Died to save His chosen race. Hallelujah, praise Jehovah , By His pow’r we live again; Now by faith we trust the Savior, Who has saved us from our sin. We are safe in Him forever, Sing the praises of the King; Sing the praises of the King.

"And Peter said, Man, I know not what thou sayest ." -Luke 22:60 [KJV] No, Peter! Why he speaks plain enough. He is confident of thy person, knows thy voice, and the very brogue of thy tongue. He boldly affirms, “Of a truth thou wast with Jesus.” This is a downright lie, to say, “I know not what thou sayest.” Peter is ashamed of his Lord. Is he not ashamed of himself? Not yet. He lied horridly. Next, he cursed and swore bitterly. Might we not expect to hear next, he was damned eternally? He deserved it. Was he here now, he would confess it from the very ground of his heart.  But he is above, confessing his desert of damnation, and ascribing salvation to God and the Lamb. For, “the Lord turned and looked upon Peter.” O who can say, what there was in that turn, and that look! Lord, give us to feel some of the grace and power of it, that we may improve it. Consider,  (1st.) Sin is sin, in God’s saints, as well as others. Yea, their sins exceed all others. Yes, an...

"For the LORD, the God of Israel saith, that He hateth putting away." -Malachi 2:16 [KJV] And well is it for thee, my soul, that He doth: for if the LORD God of Israel had dealt by thee once, as thou hast been dealing with Him always, thou wouldest have been ruined for ever. But what is the cause of thy mercies? Is it not the covenant faithfulness of God thy Father, founded in His own everlasting love, engaged in His promise and His oath, to Jesus, and secured in His blood and righteousness?  And is this the cause why the Lord God of Israel hateth putting away? Is this the cause why God resteth in His love? Oh for grace to see the cause, to adore the mercy; and where the Lord God of Israel rests, there, my soul, do thou rest also. See to it, my soul, that thy life of faith, and thy life of hope, are both founded in Jesus, and not in the sense thou hast of these precious things. The things are the same, how different soever, at different times, thy view of them ...

"I will give thee the treasures of darkness."   -Isaiah 45:3 [KJV] Is not this a strange expression? "Treasures of darkness!" How can there be darkness in the City of Salvation of which the Lord the Lamb is the eternal light? The expression does not mean that the treasures themselves are darkness, but that they were hidden in darkness till they were brought to light. The treasures of Belshazzar, like the Bank bullion, were buried in darkness till they were broken up and given to Cyrus.  It is so in a spiritual sense. Are there not treasures in the Lord Jesus? Oh! what treasures of grace in His glorious Person! What treasures of pardon in His precious blood! What treasures of righteousness in His perfect obedience! What treasures of salvation in all that He is and has as the great High Priest over the house of God!  Yet, all these treasures are "treasures of darkness," so far as they are hidden from our eyes and hearts, till we are brought by ...

“NEVERTHELESS AT THY WORD” The Lord Jesus boarded a boat from which His disciples had been fishing and He instructed them to sail into deeper waters and then cast out their net.  Peter felt obliged to tell the Lord that they had fished all night and had nothing to show for their labors, but then he spoke these words,  “nevertheless  at Thy word  I will let down the net”   (Luke 4:4) .   This is true faith.  There was no evidence to rely upon.  It wasn’t that the disciples saw other fishermen catching fish in the area to which the Lord directed them.  No, there was nothing tangible to depend upon, nothing visible to cause them to think they would catch an abundance of fish.  Merely relying upon the word of the Master, they ventured into deeper water, the net was lowered and a tremendous catch resulted.   Learn this about genuine faith; it hangs upon nothing but the bare Word of God.  True faith needs no ev...

"Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself." -Luke 24:39 [KJV] One Amintos had performed some valiant acts, and lost part of his arm in the field of battle for his country’s good. His brother Aechylus was about to be condemned to die. Amintos came into court, spake not a word, but only lifted up the stump of his arm without a hand: as though he had said, See what I have lost in my country’s cause! His silent oratory prevailed, and saved his brother’s life.  What a much more affecting sight does our dear Lord now present to His disciples! He called upon them, He calls upon us to behold: they, by the eye of sense; we, by the eye of faith. Consider, the reasons for this;  (1st.) To compose and comfort their minds. They were terrified and affrighted. They took him for a spirit. Christ is touched with a feeling of our infirmities. He sympathizes with us in all our troubles. One cause of them is misapprehension of the nature of Christ: we too often forget that...