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
internet: hyperlink
Box 318
Columbus, NJ 08022
....online since 1986