Charles Spurgeon Collection: Spurgeon - C.H. - Sermons from Matthew: 36 MAT 20:15 Divine Sovereignty

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Charles Spurgeon Collection: Spurgeon - C.H. - Sermons from Matthew: 36 MAT 20:15 Divine Sovereignty



TOPIC: Spurgeon - C.H. - Sermons from Matthew (Other Topics in this Collection)
SUBJECT: 36 MAT 20:15 Divine Sovereignty

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                  Divine Sovereignty



May 4, 1856

by

C. H. SPURGEON

(1834-1892)



"Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with

mine own?- Mat_20:15.



The householder says, "Is it not lawful for me to do

what I will with mine own?" and even so does the God of

heaven and earth ask this question of you this morning.

"Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine

own?" There is no attribute of God more comforting to

his children than the doctrine of Divine Sovereignty.

Under the most adverse circumstances, in the most

severe troubles, they believe that Sovereignty hath

ordained their afflictions, that Sovereignty overrules

them, and that Sovereignty will sanctify them all.

There is nothing for which the children of God ought

more earnestly to contend than the dominion of their

Master over all creation-the kingship of God over all

the works of his own hands-the throne of God, and his

right to sit upon that throne. On the other hand, there

is no doctrine more hated by worldlings, no truth of

which they have made such a foot-ball, as the great,

stupendous, but yet most certain doctrine of the

Sovereignty of the infinite Jehovah. Men will allow God

to be everywhere except on his throne. They will allow

him to be in his workshop to fashion worlds and to make

stars. They will allow him to be in his almonry to

dispense his alms and bestow his bounties. They will

allow him to sustain the earth and bear up the pillars

thereof, or light the lamps of heaven, or rule the

waves of the ever-moving ocean; but when God ascends

his throne, his creatures then gnash their teeth; and

when we proclaim an enthroned God, and his right to do

as he wills with his own, to dispose of his creatures

as he thinks well, without consulting them in the

matter, then it is that we are hissed and execrated,

and then it is that men turn a deaf ear to us, for God

on his throne is not the God they love. They love him

anywhere better than they do when he sits with his

sceptre in his hand and his crown upon his head. But it

is God upon the throne that we love to preach. It is

God upon his throne whom we trust. It is God upon his

throne of whom we have been singing this morning; and

it is God upon his throne of whom we shall speak in

this discourse. I shall dwell only, however, upon one

portion of God's Sovereignty, and that is God's

Sovereignty in the distribution of his gifts. In this

respect I believe he has a right to do as he wills with

his own, and that he exercises that right.



We must assume, before we commence our discourse, one

thing certain, namely, that all blessings are gifts and

that we have no claim to them by our own merit. This I

think every considerate mind will grant. And this being

admitted, we shall endeavour to show that he has a

right, seeing they are his own to do what he wills with

them-to withhold them wholly is he pleaseth-to

distribute them all if he chooseth-to give to some and

not to others-to give to none or to give to all, just

as seemeth good in his sight. "Is it not lawful for me

to do what I will with mine own?"



We shall divide God's gifts into five classes. First,

we shall have gifts temporal; second, gifts saving;

third gifts honourable; fourth, gifts useful; and

fifth, gifts comfortable. Of all these we shall say,

"Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine

own?"



I. In the first place then, we notice GIFTS TEMPORAL.

It is an indisputable fact that God hath not, in

temporal matters, given to every man alike; that he

hath not distributed to all his creatures the same

amount of happiness or the same standing in creation.

There is a difference. Mark what a difference there is

in men personally (for we shall consider men chiefly);

one is born like Saul, a head and shoulders taller than

the rest-another shall live all his life a Zaccheus-a

man short of stature. One has a muscular frame and a

share of beauty-another is weak, and far from having

anything styled, comeliness. How many do we find whose

eyes have never rejoiced in the sunlight, whose ears

have never listened to the charms of music, and whose

lips have never been moved to sounds intelligible or

harmonious. Walk through the earth and you will find

men superior to yourself in vigour, health, and

fashion, and others who are your inferiors in the very

same respects. Some here are preferred far above their

fellows in their outward appearance, and some sink low

in the scale and have nothing about them that can make

them glory in the flesh. Why hath God given to one man

beauty and to another none? to one all his senses, and

to another but a portion? why, in some, hath he

quickened the sense of apprehension, while others are

obliged to bear about them a dull and stubborn body? We

reply, let men say what they will, but no answer can be

given except this, "Even so, Father, for so it seemed

good in thy sight." The old Pharisees asked, "Did this

man sin or his parents, that he was born blind?" We

know that there was neither sin in parents nor child,

that he was born blind, or that others have suffered

similar distresses, but that God has done as it has

pleased him in the distribution of his earthly

benefits, and thus hath said to the world, "Is it not

lawful for me to do what I will with mine own?"



Mark also, in the distribution of mental gifts, what a

difference exists. All men are not like Socrates; there

are but few Platos; we can discover but here and there

a Bacon; we shall but every now and then converse with

a Sir Isaac Newton. Some have stupendous intellects

wherewith they can unravel secrets-fathom the depths of

oceans-measure mountains-dissect the sunbeams, and

weigh the stars. Other have but shallow minds. You may

educate and educate, but can never make them great. You

cannot improve what is not there. They have not genius,

and you cannot impart it. Anybody may see that there is

an inherent difference in men from their very birth.

Some, with a little education do surpass those who have

been elaborately trained. There are two boys, educated

it may be in the same school, by the same master, and

they shall apply themselves to their studies with the

same diligence, but yet one shall far outstrip his

fellow. Why is this? Because God hath asserted his

sovereignty over the intellect as well as the body. God

hath not made us all alike, but diversified his gifts.

One man is as eloquent as Whitfield; another stammers

if he but speaks three words of his mother tongue. What

makes these various differences between man and man? We

answer, we must refer it all to the Sovereignty of God,

who does as he wills with his own.



Note, again, what are the differences of men's

conditions in this world. Mighty minds are from time to

time discovered in men whose limbs are wearing the

chains of slavery, and whose backs are laid bare to the

whip-they have black skins, but are in mind vastly

superior to their brutal masters. So, too, in England;

we find wise men often poor, and rich men not seldom

ignorant and vain. One comes into the world to be

arrayed at once in the imperial purple-another shall

never wear aught but the humble garb of a peasant. One

has a palace to dwell in and a bed of down for his

repose, while another finds but a hard resting-place,

and shall never have a more sumptuous covering than the

thatch of his own cottage. If we ask the reason for

this, the reply still is, "Even so, Father, for so it

seemed good in thy sight." So, in other ways you will

observe in passing through life how sovereignty

displays itself. To one man God giveth a long life and

uniform health, so that he scarcely knows what it is to

have day's sickness, while another totters through the

world and finds a grave at almost every step, feeling a

thousand deaths in fearing one. One man, even in

extreme old age, like Moses, has his eye undimmed; and

though his hair is grey, he stands as firmly on his

feet as when a young man in his father's house. Whence,

again, we ask is the difference? And the only adequate

answer is, it is the effect of Jehovah's Sovereignty.

You find, too, that some men are cut off in the prime

of their life-the very midst of their days-while others

live beyond their threescore years and ten. One departs

before he has reached the first stage of existence, and

another has his life lengthened out until it becomes

quite a burden; we must, I conceive, necessarily trace

the cause of all these differences in life to the fact

of God's Sovereignty. He is Rule and King, and shall he

not do as he wills with his own.



We pass from this point-but before we do so we must

stop to improve it just a moment. O thou who art gifted

with a noble frame, a comely body, boast not thyself

therein, for thy gifts come from God. O glory not, for

if thou gloriest thou becomest uncomely in a moment.

The flowers boast not of their beauty; be exalted ye

sons of comeliness; and O ye men of might and

intellect, remember, that all you have is bestowed by a

Sovereign Lord; he did create; he can destroy. There

are not many steps between the mightiest intellect and

the helpless idiot-deep though verges on insanity. Thy

brain may at any moment, be smitten, and thou be doomed

henceforth to live a madman. Boast not thyself of all

that thou knowest, for even the little knowledge thou

hast has been given thee. Therefore, I say, exalt not

thyself above measure, but use for God what God has

given thee, for it is a royal gift, and thou shouldst

not lay it aside. But if the Sovereign Lord has given

thee one talent, and no more, lay it not up in a

napkin, but use it well, and then it may be that he

will give thee more. Bless God that thou hast more than

others, and thank him also that he has given thee less

than others, for thou hast less to carry on thy

shoulders; and the lighter thy burden the less cause

wilt thou have to groan as thou travellest on towards

the better land. Bless God then if thou possessest less

than thy fellows, and see his goodness in withholding

as well as in giving.



II. So far most men probably have gone with us; but

when we come to the second point, GIFTS SAVING, there

will a large number who will go from us because they

cannot receive our doctrine. When we apply this truth

regarding the Divine Sovereignty to man's salvation,

then we find men standing up to defend their poor

fellow creatures whom they conceive to be injured by

God's predestination. But I never heard of men standing

up for the devil; and yet I think if any of God's

creature have a right to complain of his dealings it is

the fallen angels. For their sin they were hurled from

heaven at once, and we read not that any message of

mercy was ever sent to them. Once cast out, their doom

was sealed; while men were respited, redemption sent

into their world, and a large number of them chosen to

eternal life. Why not quarrel with Sovereignty in the

one case as well as the other. We say that God has

elected a people out of the human race, and his right

to do this is denied. But I ask, why not equally

dispute the fact that God has chosen men and not fallen

angels, or his justice in such a choice. If salvation

be a matter of right, surely the angels had as much

claim to mercy as men. Were they not seated in more

than equal dignity? Did they sin more? We think not.

Adam's sin was so wilful and complete, that we cannot

suppose a greater sin than that which he committed.

Would not the angels who were thrust out of heaven have

been of greater service to their Maker if restored,

than we can ever be? Had we been the judges in this

matter we might have given deliverance to angels but

not to men. Admire then, Divine Sovereignty and love,

that whereas the angels were broken into shivers, God

hath raised an elect number of the race of men to set

them among princes, through the merits of Jesus Christ

our Lord.



Note again, the Divine Sovereignty, in what God chose

the Israelitish race and left the Gentiles for years in

darkness. Why was Israel instructed and saved, while

Syria was left to perish in idolatry? Was the once race

purer in its origin and better in its character than

the other? Did not the Israelites take unto themselves

false gods a thousand times, and provoke the true God

to anger and loathing? Why then, should they be

favoured above their fellows? Why did the sun of heaven

shine upon them while all around the nations were left

in darkness, and were sinking into hell by myriads?

Why? The only answer that can be given is this, that

God is a Sovereign, and "will have mercy upon whom he

will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth."



So, now, also, why is it that God hath sent his word to

us while a multitude of people are still without his

word? Why do we each come up to God's tabernacle,

Sabbath after Sabbath, privileged to listen to the

voice of the minister of Jesus, while other nations

have not been visited thereby? Could not God have

caused the light to shine in the darkness there as well

as here? Could not he, if he had pleased, have sent

forth messengers swift as the light to proclaim his

gospel over the whole earth? He could have done it if

he would. Since we know that he has not done it, we bow

in meekness, confessing his right to do as he wills

with his own.



But let me drive the doctrine home once more. Behold

how God displays his Sovereignty in this fact, that out

of the same congregation, those who hear the same

minister, and listen to the same truth, the one is

taken and the other left. Why is it that one of my

hearers shall sit in yonder pew, and her sister by her

side, and yet that the effect of the preaching shall be

different upon each? They have been nursed on the same

knee, rocked in the same cradle, educated under the

same auspices, they hear the same minister, with the

same attention-why is it that the one shall be saved

and the other left? Far be it from us to weave any

excuse for the man who is damned: we know of none: but

also, far be it from us to take glory from God. We

assert that God makes the difference-that the saved

sister will not have to thank herself but her God.

There shall even be two men given to drunkenness. Some

word spoken shall pierce one of them through, but the

other shall sit unmoved, although they shall, in all

respects, be equally the same both in constitution and

education. What is the reason? You will reply, perhaps,

because the one accepts and the other rejects the

message of the gospel. But must you not come back to

the questions, who made the one accept it, and who made

the other reject it? I dare you to say that the man

made himself to differ. You must admit in your

conscience that it is God alone to whom this power

belongs. But those who dislike this doctrine are

nevertheless up in arms against us; and they say, how

can God justly make such a difference between the

members of his family? Suppose a father should have a

certain number of children, and he should give to one

all his favors, and consign the others to misery-should

we not say that he was a very unkind and cruel father?

I answer, yes. But the cases are not the same. You have

not a father to death with, but a judge. You say all

men are God's children; I demand of you to prove that.

I never read it in my Bible. I dare not say, "Our

father which art in heaven," till I am regenerated. I

cannot rejoice in the fatherhood of God towards me till

I know that I am one with him, and a joint heir with

Christ. I dare not claim the fatherhood of God as an

unregenerated man. It is not father and child-for the

child has a claim upon its father-but it is King and

subject; and not even so high a relation as that, for

there is a claim between subject and King. A creature-a

sinful creature, can have no claim upon God; for that

would be to make salvation of works and not of grace.

If men can merit salvation, then to save them is only

the payment of a debt, and he gives them nothing more

than he ought to give them. But we assert that grace

must be distinguishing if it be grace at all. O, but

some say is it not written that "He giveth to every man

a measure of grace to profit withal?" If you like to

repeat that wonderful quotation so often hurled at my

head, you are very welcome, for it is no quotation from

Scripture, unless it be an Arminian edition. The only

passage at all like it refers to the spiritual gifts of

the saints and the saints only. But I say, granted your

supposition, that a measure of grace is given to every

man to profit withal, yet he hath given to some a

measure of particular grace to make that profit. For

what do you mean by grace, which I put out, to profit?

I can understand a man's improvement in the use of

grace, but grace improved and made use of by the power

of man I cannot comprehend. Grace is not a thing which

I use; grace is something which uses me. But people

talk of grace sometimes as if it was something they

could use, and not as influence having power over them.

Grace is something not which I improve, but which

improves, employs me, works on me; and let people talk

as they will about universal grace, it is all nonsense,

there is no such thing, nor can there be. They may talk

correctly of universal blessings, because we see that

the natural gifts of God are scattered everywhere, more

or less, and men may receive or reject them. It is not

so, however, with grace. Men cannot take the grace of

God and employ it in turning themselves from darkness

to light. The light does not come to the darkness and

say, use me; but the light comes and drives the

darkness away. Life does not come to the dead man and

say, use me, and be restored to life; but it comes with

a power of its own and restores to life. The spiritual

influence does not come to the dry bones and say, use

this power and clothe yourselves with flesh; but it

comes and clothes them with flesh, and the work is

done. Grace is a thing which comes and exercises an

influence on us.



"The sovereign will of God alone

Creates us heirs of grace;

Born in the image of his Son,

A new-created race."



And we say to all of you who gnash your teeth at this

doctrine, whether you know it or not, you have a vast

deal of enmity towards God in your hearts; for until

you can be brought to know this doctrine, there is

something which you have not yet discovered, which

makes you opposed to the idea of God absolute, God

unbounded, God unfettered, God unchanging, and God

having a free will, which you are so fond of proving

that the creature possesses. I am persuaded that the

Sovereignty of God must be held by us if we would be in

a healthy state of mind. "Salvation is of the Lord

alone." Then give all the glory to his holy name, to

whom all glory belongs.



III. We now come, in the third place, to notice the

differences which God often makes in his Church in

HONOURABLE GIFTS. There is a difference made between

God's own children-when they are his children. Note

what I mean: One hath the honourable gift of knowledge,

another knows but little. I meet, every now and then,

with a dear Christian brother with whom I could talk

for a month, and learn something from him every day. He

has had deep experience-he has seen into the deep

things of God-his whole life has been a perpetual study

wherever he has been. He seems to have gathered

thoughts, not from books merely, but from men, from

God, from his own heart. He knows all the intricacies

and windings of Christian experience: he understands

the heights, the depths, the lengths, and the breadths

of the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge. He has

gained a grand idea, an intimate knowledge of the

system of grace, and can vindicate the dealings of the

Lord with his people.



Then you must meet with another who has passed through

many troubles, but he has no deep acquaintance with

Christian experience. He never learned a single secret

by all his troubles. He just floundered out of one

trouble into another, but never stopped to pick up any

of the jewels that lay in the mire-never tried to

discover the precious jewels that lay in his

afflictions. He knows very little more of the heights

and depths of the Saviour's love than when he first

came into the world. You may converse with such a man

as long as you like, but you will get nothing from him.

If you ask why is it, I answer, there is a Sovereignty

of God in giving knowledge to some and not to others. I

was walking the other day with an aged Christian, who

told me how he had profited by my ministry. There is

nothing humbles me like that thought of yon old man

deriving experience in the things of God, receiving

instruction in the ways of the Lord from a mere babe in

grace. But I expect that when I am an old man, if I

should live to be such, that some babe in grace will

instruct me. God sometimes shutteth the mouth of the

old man and openeth the mouth of the child. Why should

we be a teacher to hundreds who are, in some respects,

far more able to teach us? The only answer we can find

is in the Divine Sovereignty, and we must bow before

it, for has he not a right to do as he wills with his

own? Instead of being envious of those who have the

gift of knowledge, we should seek to gain the same, if

possible. Instead of sitting down and murmuring that we

have not more knowledge, we should remember that the

foot cannot say to the head, nor the head to the foot,

I have no need of thee, for God hath given us talents

as it hath pleased him.



Note, again, when speaking of honourable gifts. Not

only knowledge, but office is an honourable gift. There

is nothing more honourable to a man than the office of

a deacon or a minister. We magnify our office, though

we would not magnify ourselves. We hold there is

nothing can dignify a man more than being appointed to

an office in a Christian church. I would rather be a

deacon of a church than Lord Mayor of London. To be a

minister of Christ is in my estimation an infinitely

higher honour than the world can bestow. My pulpit is

to me more desirable than a throne, and my congregation

is an empire more than large enough; an empire before

which the empires of the earth dwindle into nothing in

everlasting importance. Why does God give to one man a

special call by the Holy Ghost, to be a minister, and

pass by another? There is another man more gifted,

perhaps, but we dare not put him in a pulpit, because

he has not had a special call. So with the deaconship;

the man whom some would perhaps think most suitable for

the office is passed by, and another chosen. There is a

manifestation of God's Sovereignty in the appointment

to office-in putting David on a throne, in making Moses

the leader of the children of Israel through the

wilderness, in choosing Daniel to stand among princes,

in electing Paul to be the minister to the Gentiles,

and Peter to be the Apostle of the Circumcision. And

you who have not the gift of honourable office, must

learn the great truth contained in the question of the

Master, "Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with

mine own?"



There is another honourable gift, the gift of

utterance. Eloquence hath more power over men than all

else besides. If a man would have power over the

multitude, he must seek to touch their hearts, and

chain their ears. There are some men who are like

vessels full of knowledge to the brim, but having no

means of giving it forth to the world. They are rich in

all gems of learning but know not how to set them in

the golden ring of eloquence. They can collect the

choicest of flowers, but know not how to tie them up in

a sweet garland to present them to the admirer's eye.

How is this? We say again, the Sovereignty of God is

here displayed in the distribution of gifts honourable.

Learn here, O Christian man, if you have gifts, to cast

the honour of them at the Saviour's feet, and if you

possess them not, learn not to murmur; remember that

God is equally as kind when he keepeth back as when he

distributeth his favours. If any among you be exalted,

let him not be puffed up; if any be lowly, let him not

be despised; for God giveth to every vessel his measure

of grace. Serve him after your measure, and adore the

King of Heaven who doth as he pleaseth.



IV. We notice in the fourth place, the gift of

USEFULNESS. I have often done wrong in finding fault

with brother ministers for not being useful, I have

said you might have been as useful as I have been had

you been in earnest. But surely there are others even

more earnest, and more efficient: others labouring as

constantly, but with far less effect. And, therefore,

let me retract my accusation, and in lieu thereof

assert that the gift of usefulness is the result of

God's Sovereignty. It is not in man to be useful, but

in God to make him useful. We may labour ourselves with

all our might, but God alone can make us useful. We can

put every stitch of canvass on when the wind blows, but

we cannot make the wind blow.



The Sovereignty of God is seen also in the diversity of

ministerial gifts. You go to one minister and are fed

with plenty of good food: another has not enough to

feed a mouse; he has plenty of reproof, but no food for

the child of God. Another can comfort the child of God,

but he cannot reprove a backslider. He has not strength

of mind enough to give those earnest home strokes which

are sometimes needed. And what is the reason! God's

Sovereignty. One can wield the sledge hammer but could

not heal a broken heart. If he were to attempt it, you

would be reminded of an elephant trying to thread a

needle. Such a man can reprove, but he cannot apply oil

and wine to a bruised conscience. Why? Because God hath

not given to him the gift. There is another one who

always preaches experimental divinity; and very rarely

touches upon doctrine. Another is all doctrine, and

cannot preach much about Jesus Christ and him

crucified. Why? God hath not given him the gift of

doctrine. Another always preaches Jesus-blessed Jesus;

men of the Hawker school-and many say, oh! they do not

give us experience enough; they do not go into the deep

experiences of the corruption which vexes the children

of God. But we do not blame them for this. You will

notice that out of the same man will at one time flow

streams of living water, while at another time he will

be as dry as possible. On one Sabbath you go away

refreshed by the preaching, and the next you get no

good. There is Divine Sovereignty in all this, and we

must learn to recognize and admire it. I was preaching

on one occasion last week to a large crowd of people,

and in one part of the sermon the people were very much

affected; I felt that the power of God was there; one

poor creature absolutely shrieked out because of the

wrath of God against sin; but at another time the same

words might have been uttered and there might have been

the same desire in the minister's heart, and yet no

effect produced. We must trace, I say, Divine

Sovereignty in all such cases. We ought to recognize

God's hand in everything. But the present is the most

godless generation that ever trod this earth, I verily

believe. In our fathers' days there was hardly a shower

but they declared that God caused it to fall; and they

had prayers for rain, prayers for sunshine, and prayers

for harvest; as well when a haystack was on fire, as

when a famine desolated the land; our forefathers said,

the Lord hath done it. But now our philosophers try to

explain everything, and trace all phenomena to second

causes. But brethren, let it be ours to ascribe the

origin and direction of all things to the Lord, and the

Lord alone.



V. Lastly, GIFTS COMFORTABLE are of God. O, what

comfortable gifts do some of us enjoy in the ordinances

of God's house, and in a ministry that is profitable.

But how many churches have not a ministry of that kind;

and why then have we? Because God hath made a

difference. Some here have strong faith, and can laugh

at impossibilities; we can sing a song in all ill

weathers-in the tempest as well as in the calm. But

there is another with little faith who is in danger of

tumbling down over every straw. We trace eminent faith

entirely to God. One is born with a melancholy

temperament, and he sees a tempest brewing even in the

calm; while another is cheerful, and sees a silver

lining to every cloud, however black, and he is a happy

man. But why is that? Comfortable gifts come of God.

And then observe that we ourselves, differ at times.

For a season we may have blessed intercourse with

heaven, and be permitted to look within the veil? but

anon, these delightful enjoyments are gone. But do we

murmur on that account? May he not do as he will with

his own? May he not take back what he has given? The

comforts we possess were his before they were ours.



"And shouldst thou take them all away,

Yet would I not repine,

Before they were possessed by me

They were entirely thine."



There is no joy of the Spirit-there is no exceeding

blessed hope-no strong faith-no burning desire-no close

fellowship with Christ, which is not the gift of God,

and which we must not trace to him. When I am in

darkness and suffer disappointment, I will look up and

say, he giveth songs in the night; and when I am made

to rejoice, I will say, my mountain shall stand fast

for ever. The Lord is a Sovereign Jehovah; and,

therefore, prostrate at his feet I lie, and if I

perish, I will perish there.



But let me say, brethren, that so far from this

doctrine of Divine Sovereignty making you to sit down

in sloth, I hope in God it will have a tendency to

humble you, and so to lead you to say, "I am unworthy

of the least of all thy mercies. I feel that thou hast

a right to do with me as thou wilt. If thou dost crush,

a helpless worm, thou wilt not be dishonoured; and I

have no right to ask thee to have compassion upon me,

save this, that I want thy mercy. Lord, if thou wilt,

thou art able to pardon, and thou never gavest grace to

one that wanted it more. Because I am empty, fill me

with the bread of heaven; because I am naked, clothe me

with thy robe; because I am dead, give me life." If you

press that plea with all your soul and all your mind,

though Jehovah is a Sovereign, he will stretch out his

sceptre and save, and thou shalt live to worship him in

the beauty of holiness, loving and adoring his gracious

Sovereignty. "He that believeth" is the declaration of

Scripture "and is baptized, shall be saved; but he that

believeth not shall be damned." He that believeth in

Christ alone, and is baptized with water in the name of

the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, shall be

saved, but he who rejecteth Christ and believeth not in

him, shall be damned. That is the Sovereign decree and

proclamation of heaven-bow to it, acknowledge it, obey

it, and God bless you.



Provided by:



Tony Capoccia

Bible Bulletin Board

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Columbus, NJ 08022

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