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

"Christian bodies are vessels of mercy. There was nothing in them by nature better than that which is found in the vessels of wrath (Romans 9:21-23) . Had the sovereign God left them alone, they would be as base and vile as the vessels of wrath. The difference between the vessels of mercy and the vessels of wrath is the grace of God . ...The regenerated are not vessels of merit but of mercy. The clay is not put on a wheel and left to mere chance. It is in the hands of the sovereign God to do with as and when He pleases. The Potter first makes an outline of the vessel in election, and He imprints it on His vessels of mercy in regeneration. It is manifested in faith, love, and hope." -preacher W. E. Best, excerpt from 'Effectually Called to a Holy Life'

"Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart."   - Psalm 97:11 [KJV]   He, who never doubts his sincerity to God, has great reason to suspect his knowledge of himself. An hypocrite cannot be a Christian. Yet there is hypocrisy in the fallen nature of every Christian. Such are ever suspecting themselves. At times, they fear, lest they should turn out nothing but hypocrites at last. This is a proof, that their hearts are upright with Christ; their fears and suspicions are a blessed means, of keeping them from falling away from Him. Righteous souls pass through many dark frames and disagreeable experiences .    Sometimes, they are put to a stand, ready to question if all be right within or not. For, they are the subjects of a nature, in which dwells every evil, which wars against God, the peace, holiness, and comfort of their souls. Hence they are sometimes in seasons of darkness. They see not things in the light of truth: they en...

"Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people, even for salvation with thine anointed."   - Habakkuk 3:13 [KJV]   Every view of redemption is blessed: but there are some views transcendently so. And when the soul is led out in the contemplation of Jehovah, in His threefold character of person, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, all engaged, in their goings forth from everlasting, for the accomplishment of it, there is somewhat which overpowers the mind with the greatness, and the surpassing glory of the subject. As the salvation of the Lord's people is from Jehovah, and from all eternity; so it is to Jehovah, and to all eternity. All the springs of it are from this one source, and tend to this one end. The song of heaven, which John heard; so proclaimed it: for while the address was to the Lamb, in ascribing to Him all the glory of the work; the great purpose for which it was wrought, was ascribed to the Father: "Thou wert slain, and hast redeemed us to G...

"Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he shall be saved out of it." -Jeremiah 30:7 [KJV]   This "day of trouble" is when sin is laid as a heavy burden upon a man's conscience; when guilt presses him down into the dust of death, when his iniquities stare him in the face, and seem more in number than the hairs of his head; when he fears he shall be cast for ever into the bottomless pit of hell, and have his portion with the hypocrites. This "day of trouble" is not literally a day, a portion of time meted out by the rising or setting sun, a space of twenty-four hours. The hands of a clock, or the shadow of a dial, cannot regulate spiritual troubles. A day here means a season, be it long or short; be it a day, week, month, or year.    And as the season cannot be measured in length, so the trouble cannot be measured in depth. The only wise God deals out various measures of aff...

“Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,  unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.” -Ephesians 3:20-21 [KJV]  The grace, love, and mercy of God shown toward us in and by the Lord Jesus Christ are more than doctrines we believe. They are  dynamic powers of God implanted within our hearts to motivate and drive us in the obedience of faith as we seek to follow and honor Christ in our lives. God the Holy Spirit is the sovereign Agent who imparts these graces to us. He does this by giving us a powerful revelation of God’s glory in our full salvation by the Lord Jesus Christ and the power of Christ’s blood and righteousness for our complete forgiveness and justification before God.  He imparts faith to believe in Christ and submit to His righteousness whereupon we are given such a real sense of God’s love to us that we cannot help bu...

"LORD, be merciful to me: heal my soul, for I have sinned against Thee."   -Psalm 41:4 [KJV]   Is this the language of the man after God’s own heart? Was David a saint when he uttered it? Yes, he was a holy man of God. This confession and prayer shew it. His heart was not hardened through the deceitfulness of sin, nor blinded by self-righteous pride, so as to say, “I have no sin.” Self-righteous hearts cannot away with this, that all the Lord’s saints are yet in themselves miserable sinners; that they daily see need to confess this; and to sue for mercy and healing from the Lord. Here is a confession, a plea, and a prayer.    (1st.) A confession, “I have sinned against Thee.” Thus we must come and confess to the Lord to-day, to-morrow, and every day, till the sun of life sets. Sense of sin, whether fresh contracted, or long since committed, abides with us. It wounds and pains a gracious soul. Here grace discovers itself. That soul waits not for time to...

"Yea, He loved the people; all His saints are in Thine hand." - Deuteronomy 33:3 [KJV]   My soul, here is a very blessed portion to meditate upon in the night watches, and to lie down with, reposing in the bosom of Jesus. The word yea , is a sweet scripture word, and very strong to the purpose. God's "yeas," and "amens," are firmer than all the oaths of creatures; and when Jehovah puts His yea to the love that He hath to His people, it ought to give great comfort and confidence to our faith. And Oh what testimonies hath Jehovah, in His three-fold character of person, manifested in the Father's love, the Redeemer's grace, and the Holy Ghost's fellowship, in proof of this affection! Blessed Lord! help me to keep it in remembrance.   But, my soul, do not stop here. Mark what the Holy Ghost hath said, as a farther testimony of it: "All His saints are in Thine hand." In whatever point of view we read these words, they...