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

"Obedience motivated by love is better than a sense of duty. The one continually loving Jesus Christ will keep His precepts impartially without picking and choosing one command and passing by others. He loves God's law in its entirety."   -preacher Wilbur Elias Best, from ' The Elect Bring Forth Fruit'

"Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him."   - Romans 5:9 [KJV]   All heresies are founded in pride, and spring from ignorance and unbelief of the Lord’s word. Some strike at the glory of the free grace of God. Others at the divinity of the Son of God. Others at His atonement and righteousness, whereby our sins are pardoned, our persons justified, and final perseverance to eternal glory is secured to every believer. St. Paul, under the influence of that Spirit, who foresaw every heresy which would spring up, divide the church, dishonour Christ, and distress His members, here sets himself against that pernicious heresy, That souls once justified and pardoned by the blood of Christ, may afterwards perish, under the wrath of God.    (1st.) What is meant by being justified by the blood of Christ? Just the reverse of being condemned for sin by the law. For His blood takes away sin, which is the cause of conde...

"Perfect in Christ Jesus."    -Colossians 1:28 [KJV]   Sweet thought! And where should perfection be found, but in Christ Jesus! My soul! turn the subject over and over again; look at it in every point of view; consider it as it relates to the life that now is, and that which is to come; and where wilt thou find any perfection for grace here, or glory hereafter, but in Christ Jesus? Oh! what heart-aches would it have saved me, had I but learned this sweet lesson when the Lord first took me into His school. Had I but thought aright when the Lord passed by, and saw me in my blood, and bid me live, that a creature so polluted, and so poor, could never recompense such fiches of grace, it would have tended to hide pride from mine eyes.   But I was delighted with myself, and the supposed improvement I should make; all my views were directed how to requite the Lord's goodness, and how to shine above others in the attainments I should make in the divine life: an...

"That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him." -Ephesians 1:17 [KJV]   Revelation means literally an uncovering or unveiling of a concealed or covered-up object. It is used, therefore, sometimes in the sense of manifesting, making known, or bringing to light, what had before been hidden in darkness and obscurity. This revelation is, therefore, either outward in the word, or inward in the soul, and the two strictly correspond to and are counterparts of each other. Immediately that, by the power of divine grace, a poor Gentile sinner turns to the Lord, the Spirit of revelation removes the veil off the Scriptures, and off his heart. Have we not found it so? What a sealed book was the word of God once to us! How we read or heard it without one real ray of light to illuminate the dark page; and what a thick veil was there of ignorance, unbelief, prejudice, self-righteousnes...

How little the most of us know of that spirit of devotion to Christ which led Athanasius of old to reply to the emperor’s taunt, “All the world is against you,” by the never-to-be-forgotten words, “Then I am against all the world.” -preacher H. A. Ironside, ‘Lectures on Daniel the Prophet,’ p.57

"By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left."   -II Corinthians 6:7 [KJV]   What sign shewest thou? Shew us a miracle, and we will believe you are inspired, says an evil and adulterous generation. A sign and a miracle! Why, every regenerate soul is both a sign and a wonder to carnal men. They are born from above—They live above—their views, end, and aims are to things above. They study to approve themselves to God, who is above. These words, though peculiarly applicable to the ministers of Christ, yet are true also of every disciple of Christ.    He studies to approve himself, (1st.) by the Word of Truth . What is that? Where is that to be found? God’s book, the Bible. O the Bible! Say some weak heads, and deceived hearts, the letter of scripture is not God’s word. Find a surer testimony of God, and from God, if you can. We will be content to fix our faith upon this word of truth, for it tes...

"The wilderness of sin."     -Exodus 16:1 [KJV]   My soul! thou art still in a wilderness state, not yet arrived home to thy Father's house; and thou art frequently exercised with wilderness dispensations. Perhaps, under the Spirit's teaching, an evening's meditation on the wilderness of sin, where Israel sojourned, will be profitable to thee. Let faith lead thee thither, and see what subjects are there opened before thee. Was there ever an instance like Israel, which was brought out with a high hand, and stretched out arm, from the tyranny of Egypt?   Did the sea open a path for them to march through; and that memorable spot, which to them became the way of salvation, become to their enemies that pursued them, the pit of destruction? Did the Lord go before them in a pillar of cloud by day, and cover them from danger by the pillar of fire by night? After such miracles, yea, in the moment of receiving the same continuance of divine favour, while on th...