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

“The gospel of God, to which Paul was separated, signifies the glad tidings of salvation which God has proclaimed. It is the supernatural revelation which He has given, distinguished from the revelation of the works of nature. It denotes that revelation of mercy and salvation, which excels in glory, as distinguished from the law, which was the revelation of condemnation. It is the gospel of God, inasmuch as God is its Author, its Interpreter, its Subject. Its Author, as He purposed it in His eternal decrees; its Interpreter, as He Himself hath declared it to men; its Subject, because in the gospel His sovereign perfections and purposes towards men are manifested. For the same reasons it is also called the gospel of the grace of God, the gospel of peace, the gospel of the kingdom, the gospel of salvation, the everlasting gospel, the glorious gospel of the blessed God.   This gospel is the glad tidings from God of the accomplishment of the promise of salvation that ha...

Precious Savior, friend of sinners, We, as such, to Thee draw near; Let Thy Spirit dwell within us With that love that casts out fear; Matchless Saviour, let us know Thee, As the LORD our Righteousness; Cause our hearts to cleave unto Thee, Come, and with Thy presence bless.   Open now Thy precious treasure, Let Thy word here freely flow; Give to us a gracious measure, ‘Tis Thyself we long to know; Come and claim us as Thy portion, Let us all find rest in Thee; Leave us not to empty notions, We would find our hope in Thee!   ----------0----------   "God’s sovereign, electing grace in and by the Lord Jesus Christ strips us of all merit, removes from us all ground for boasting in ourselves, leaves us helpless in the dust to save or keep ourselves, and ascribes all glory to God alone as He reveals Himself in the glorious Person and effectual, redemptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ, Who alone has all the preeminence in the salvation of God’s elect."  —Arthur Pink ...

"Return, ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings." -Jeremiah 3:22 [KJV] Backsliding is a species of apostacy from the faith. Apostacy is the high road to destruction. Total apostacy will certainly end in eternal damnation: for there can neither be repentance, or hope, for such a soul. The Son of God is the only sacrifice for sin: this, the backslider once professed to believe. But now he tramples on His precious blood, wilfully despises and rejects the Saviour; so that now, he has only “a certain fearful looking for of judgment, and fiery indignation, which shall devour every adversary of Christ”   (Hebrews 10:26, 27.) Most striking is the picture of such, drawn by Mr. Bunyan, in his Pilgrim’s Progress , as a man in an iron cage, who thus confesses: “I was once a fair and flourishing professor, both in mine own eyes, and the eyes of others; I was, as I thought, fair for the celestial city, and had even joy at the thoughts that I should get thi...

"And the desire of all nations shall come." -Haggai 2:7 [KJV] And who could this be, but Jesus? Who, but He alone, could be the object of desire; or able to gratify the desire of all nations? Sit down, my soul, this evening, and consider the subject to the full; and if the result be, as it surely must be, under divine teaching, that none but Jesus can answer to this character, and He most fully and completely comes up to it in every possible point of view; thou wilt find another sweet testimony to the truth as it is in Jesus, that He who alone is thy desire, hath ever been, and still is, to all that need and seek salvation, the desire of all nations.And, first, consider how universal the want of Jesus must be. "All the world is become guilty  (the scripture saith) before God."   -Romans 3:19 Hence, in every nation, kindred, tongue, or clime, every poor awakened and convinced sinner stands in need of a Saviour; and, however diversified by language, cus...

"For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." -II Corinthians 5:21 [KJV] Our blessed Lord offered Himself for sin; that is, that He might put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself— "Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree" (I Peter 2:24) . It was absolutely necessary either that the sinner should suffer in his own person, or in that of a substitute. Jesus became this Substitute; He stood virtually in the sinner's place, and endured in His holy body and soul the punishment due to Him; for He "was numbered with the transgressors." He thus, by the shedding of His most precious blood, opened in His sacred body a fountain for all sin and all uncleanness (Zechariah 13:1) . The cross was the place on which this sacrifice was offered; for as the blood of the slain lamb was poured out at the foot of the altar, sprinkled upon its horns, and burned in its ever-endur...

One of the declarations that Christ made by His Resurrection was how He completely satisfied the Covenant of Grace in His death on the Cross. He declared in His resurrection that He had completely “…put away sin by the Sacrifice of Himself”   -Hebrews 9:26 . This payment for sin was so successful, so complete, and so effective, that He came forth from the tomb victorious. By His resurrection, Christ declared that He was so successful in His work on the Cross, that the sin debt was paid in full, as He cried, “It is finished” -John 19:30 . These three words are translated from one Greek word. That word means, “concluding an action, discharging a debt.” He said the work of salvation was fully accomplished , not just possible. To me, it is very interesting that the religious Christian world would even consider celebrating the resurrection of Christ, since He (in their theology) is such an absolutely unsuccessful savior. They contend, “He loved everybody. He died f...

As the resurrection of the Messiah from the dead was predicted by the prophets, so the very time thereof was fixed by them. Hence the writers of the New Testament, as they declare that Christ rose from the dead, according to the scriptures of the Old Testament, so they likewise declare, that He rose from the dead the third day, (I Corinthians 15:4) which scriptures referred to. These scriptures are not merely some typical predictions of the Old Testament, as that of Isaac’s deliverance on the third day, after he had been given up to death by his father, Genesis 22:4 ; and that of Jonah’s being three days and three nights in the whale’s belly, Jonah 1:17 compared with Matthew 12:40 ; though undoubtedly reference is made to them; but to a real prophecy, which in its literal and obvious sense is to be understood of this affair.    The prophecy I have in view is Hosea 6:2 . After two days He will revive us, in the third day He will raise us up; and we shall live in...