We believe in the sovereignty
of God. We believe that our God is the
supreme power. He's in control of everything,
and He is free from any external control. Any external control. Now, when we talk about God's
sovereignty, it means that God, as the ruler of the universe,
is ruler over all. He's ruler over all. And He has
the right to do whatever He wants. He also has the power and the
ability to do whatever he is pleased to do, whatever he's
pleased to do. And remember the definition of
sovereignty included freedom from external control, freedom
from external control. Beloved God, our God, our great
King is not bound or limited by the dictates of his created
beings. So he's not controlled by us.
You know, sometimes in a religion they say if you get enough people
praying, you're going to change God's mind. That's just so wrong. That's just so wrong on so many
levels. God does whatever he pleases
to do. Now, he has us pray according, sometimes, we don't even know
it, to his will. And it comes to pass and we glorify
God and we praise his name. But sometimes things don't come
to pass like we want. But it's the way God wanted it
to come to pass. And so we bow our knee as sovereign
grace believers. We bow our knee to our great
God, knowing that he's in absolute full control. So He's not bound
or limited by the dictates of any of His created beings, any
of His created creatures. He's in complete control over
everything. That's our God. Now when we talk about sovereignty,
it's often expressed in the language of kingship, because that's how
we would understand it for us. And in the fact that God rules
and reigns, He's like an absolute sovereign over everything. over
everything. Now in the days of old, people
would understand this a lot more because there was a king. There
was kings who ruled in absolute control. And if you went against
what they said, they'd take your head off. That's just how it
was. Or if you went against them,
you'd end up facing either their armies or as I said, they'd haul
you before them. But our God, he's a God who's
in absolute full control. And he reigns over the entire
universe. We've looked at this many times.
He rules over everything visible and invisible. He's over it all. There is nothing that is above
him and no one that is above him. Angels, which we don't see,
are bound to his will and to his rule. Fallen or the elect,
either ones. They're all under his control,
all under his control. His will cannot be opposed, and
no one and nothing can thwart Him or stop Him from doing what
He wills. He is Lord of heaven and earth,
and He is enthroned, and His throne is a symbol of His sovereignty. His throne is a symbol of His
sovereignty, and His will, again, is supreme, just like the definition. It's absolutely supreme and sovereign. So the sovereignty of God can
be defined as the exercise of His supremacy. The exercise of
His supremacy. He is Lord over all, far higher
than any of us, independent in His rule and His will, being
accomplished, He's subject again to no one, and He's influenced
by no one. He is absolutely independent. Independent. That's our God. Now, if you hear in religion,
that's not the same God, is it? It's not. But that's the God
of the Bible, Father. He does whatever He's pleased
to do. Turn, if you would, to Isaiah 46. Isaiah 46. And we'll see how our great God
does whatever He pleases, when He pleases, and no one can change
His mind. And no one can thwart his plans
or purpose. The Word of God clearly proclaims this wonderful truth.
We know that in Daniel, right? Daniel says this in Nebuchadnezzar. And remember, Nebuchadnezzar
was a great king, right? Nebuchadnezzar was a great king
who ruled. He knew what it meant to be a king because he had a
vast domain. A vast domain. A huge kingdom
in this world. And he says, and at the end of
the days, I Nebuchadnezzar, after he'd been eating dirt for a little
while, we all know that story, I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine
eyes into heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed
the Most High, and I praised and honored him that liveth forever,
whose dominion is an everlasting dominion. So he knew what a dominion
was, because he was a king. And his kingdom is from generation
to generation. He saw that God's kingdom surpasses
It's human. It's from generation to generation. It never ends. See, when a king's
ruling here on earth and he dies, that's the end of his reign,
isn't it? Someone else takes over. But our God's rule is from
generation to generation. He's unchanging. He's unchanging. And all the inhabitants of the
earth are reputed as nothing, and He doeth according to His
will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the
earth, and none can stay His hand or say unto Him, What doest
Thou? Now look in Isaiah 46, and look at this. And that's
over there, what I just quoted was Daniel 4, 34 and 35. And
look at this in Isaiah 46, verses 9 and 10. Remember the former
things of old, for I am God, and there is none else. That
means that any other supposed gods out there are false gods.
They're false gods. None else. And there is none
like me. Look at this. Declaring the end from the beginning.
And He does that in Scripture, doesn't He? He tells us things
that are going to come to pass. He already knows. He knows the
end from the beginning. We only know the beginning of
our life to the end. He knows the end to the beginning.
He knows how it's all going to come to pass, because it's all
according to His will and purpose, beloved. Look at this. And from ancient times, the things
that are not yet done. saying, My counsel shall stand,
and I will do all My pleasure. Now that right there is the proclamation
of a sovereign King. I will do all My pleasure. Now for the believer, we rejoice
in this, don't we? Because that's our King. That's our Savior. And we know
that we're saved in Christ. And he does whatever he's God.
He does whatever he pleases. I have mercy on whom I have mercy.
God. Christ came down here and he
died for his people, didn't the ones that the father gave him
willingly? Oh, my. So the same truth of
sovereignty is proclaimed also in the New Testament as well.
We saw there in the Old Testament and I read Daniel 4, 34 and 35.
And Paul writes. by inspiration of the Holy Spirit
over there in Romans chapter 9. Turn there if you would. Romans
chapter 9. I'm getting ahead of myself and
I said 19. Romans chapter 9. Paul by inspiration of the Holy
Spirit talking about the potter and the clay and how the clay
has no power but the potter has all power to make the clay whatever
he pleases. And Paul states that God will
have mercy on whomever here have mercy. Knowing that natural man
would object to this, knowing that natural man would
object to this, he pens these words again, again by the inspiration
of the Holy Spirit of God, Paul pens these words, knowing that
man will recoil when we say that God does whatever he pleases.
Look at this in Romans 9, verses 19-23. And remember that these words
are written by the inspiration of God. That was saying to me,
why does he yet find fault for who hath resisted his will? Nay,
but, O man, who art thou that replyest against God? Who are
we to say to God, well, that's not fair that you save some and
you pass by others? Who are we to say that? Who are
we to say that? Shall the thing formed say to
him that formed it, why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the
potter power over the clay of the same lump to make one vessel
unto honor? and another under dishonor, so that lump there
again is humanity. It's humanity. So God has the
power as the potter to make one vessel of honor and to make one
vessel of dishonor. He has the power. Again, we've
talked about this many times, about how the potter has absolute
control over the clay. Absolute control. What if God
willing to show his wrath and to make his power known, endured
with much longsuffering, the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction,
and that he might make known the riches of his glory on the
vessels of mercy, which he had aforeprepared unto glory." Now,
this is divine sovereignty right here before us. Divine sovereignty. Divine sovereignty means that
God is God, and that God can do whatever He pleases, period. That's it. If God can't do anything He pleases,
then He's not God, is He? You see? But if God can do whatever
He pleases, which He can, and He's the absolute supreme ruler,
which He is, then He is the one true God. He can do anything,
anytime He pleases. He is a king, supreme, ruling
and reigning in the throne of the universe, high over all things
visible and invisible. And everything, whether you believe
it or not, is subject unto Him. Everything. That is, spirits,
everything, beloved, are subject to our great God. He is the supreme
ruler, whether everything he's created is subject to him. Everything. And he does all things
after the counsel of his own will. Whatever it pleases him
to do. Mine. Spurgeon said this, here's
a wonderful quote by C.H. Spurgeon on this. He said, there
is no attribute more comforting to his children than that of
God's sovereignty. The fact of God's sovereignty
brings great comfort to God's people. He goes on to say, under
the most adverse circumstances and the most severe trials, they
believe that sovereignty has ordained their afflictions. That's
true, isn't it? That's what we believe. That
sovereignty overrules them. and that sovereignty will sanctify
them all. There is nothing for which the
children ought more earnestly to contend than the doctrine
of their master over all creation, the kingship of God over all
the works of his own hand, the throne of God in his right to
sit upon the throne. We should contend for that, beloved,
because it's absolute truth. It's absolute. In what comfort
it brings the believer to know that our great God is in full
control, full control. Now, this is a doctrine which
we trumpet from our pulpits as grace believers, and it's a truth
which brings great comfort again to God's born-again, blood-washed
people. And yet it is one of the most hated doctrines among
religionists. It's one of the most hated doctrines
among religious and among the lost, who are dead in their trespasses
and sins. Men will talk about God being
sovereign over everything but salvation. Studying for this message, I
was reading a couple articles. I couldn't believe it. Reading
a couple articles, and this guy's saying, oh, you know, God's sovereign
here, sovereign here. And as soon as it got to salvation,
but man has a will. Click. Goodbye. Man has this free choice to choose.
Well, that makes man sovereign. that makes man sovereign. Now,
do we willingly come to Christ? Absolutely. But we're made willing
in the day of his power. God is sovereign over salvation
and providence. He's absolutely sovereign over
all things, over all things. Sometimes men will talk about
God being everywhere all the time. They say that he's a God
of love and he is beloved and he's a holy God and a just God
who's totally righteous and he's angry with the wicked, with a
righteous anger. And some again speak of His sovereignty
in creation, yet they proclaim that God is sovereign in all
things except the salvation of man. And when you mention that
God is sovereign over that as a sovereign grace believer, then
the knives come out. I've seen it. I've experienced
it many, many, many times. And even when I was lost religionist,
I reacted the same way. So it doesn't surprise me when
people react that way, because I did the same thing when I was
lost. I didn't think it was fair. Well,
you know what? I don't want fair. Do you? Because fair would mean I'd be
in hell. That would be fair. I want mercy. I know you do too, you who believe.
I know you want mercy, because I do too. And I praise God that
I've received mercy. Mercy. Mercy from God. Boy, you tell people that God
saves people when He wills, and whom He wills, and the world,
and false religion, they have no toleration for that kind of
God. But that's the God of the Bible. That's the God of the
Bible. Speak of the sovereignty of the
infinite Jehovah, both in salvation and creation, and see the response
you'll get from natural man. They'll get mad, they'll turn
a deaf ear to what you're saying. They speak of their supposed
wills and the freedom that they have to choose, not knowing that
the whole time that their will is actually a slave to their
own dead nature. That's what their will is. It's
a slave to their nature. because they're dead in trespasses
and sins and they desperately need Christ. God upon the throne
is who we love to preach and proclaim, isn't it? And it's
who you love to hear. It's who you love to hear about. It's the one we trust. It's the
one who saved us by His grace and mercy, which is bestowed
upon us in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. And He has saved
us and redeemed us by the shedding of His own precious blood, by
Him giving His life for us at Calvary's Cross. We looked at
the verse over in Timothy last week where it proclaimed that
there is only one potentate, and that's the Lord Jesus Christ.
That's the Lord Jesus Christ, not some man falsely claiming
to be one in Rome. That's the Lord Jesus Christ.
There's only one potentate, only one. I looked up potentate in
the English dictionary. I looked it up this week, and
this is how it's defined, a monarch or ruler. a monarch or ruler,
especially an adocratic one. And then I looked up the word
adocratic, which is in the definition, and it means this, relating to
a ruler who has absolute power. So that's what that false man
claims to have over in Rome. Isn't that wild? There's only
one potentate, beloved. That's the Lord Jesus Christ.
That's our Savior. That's our Savior. That's our
Lord. Only one who has absolute authority
over all things, and that's the Lord Jesus Christ. No one else.
No one else. It means one also who is in supreme
power. Is this not what the scriptures
that we've looked at proclaim? That our Lord is absolutely sovereign. Turn, if you would, to Psalm
115 and 135. And this is proclaimed, again,
about the fact of God's absolute sovereignty. No, David also faced
the same questions that we do. Because why? Because there's
nothing new under the sun, is there? Human nature hasn't changed. Since the fall, men hate God
and their natural state, and they question his workings. And
the answer that David gives is the same answer we give today.
Same answer. The answer's not changed, and
you know what? It never will, beloved. The answer never will
change. Look at this. Psalm 115. Not unto us, O Lord, verse 1.
Not unto us, but unto thy name give glory for thy mercy and
for thy truth's sake. Look at verse 2. This is what
the heathen said in David's day, and it's what they say in our
day too, isn't it? It's the same thing. But we're going to see
that the answer that we give is the same too. It doesn't change. Look, they say, wherefore should
the heathen say, where is now your God? They say, where's your
God now? I told you guys a couple stories before, but one about
Brother Gene Harmon, when his son died in the construction
site. And that guy said, right after it, where's your God now,
Gene? Brother Henry Mahan, when his son died in Vietnam, they
were asked the same question, where's your God now, Henry?
And you know, both men gave the same answer. And this is the
answer they gave. Our God is in the heaven, look
at verse three. But our God is in the heaven. and he hath done
whatsoever he pleased. That takes grace, doesn't it?
My, the Lord gave him grace to respond in that way. See, our
God's in the heavens. He done whatsoever he pleased.
That's the God of the Bible. That's the God of the Bible.
Turn now, if you would, to Psalm 135. Our God is sovereign in
majesty and power. He's unaffected by anything or
anyone outside of himself, beloved. Look at this in Psalm 135. We'll
read verses 5 to 13 and take note of verse 6 while we read
this. Verses 5 to 13. For I know that the Lord is great.
What a statement. He is great. He needs greatly
to be praised, beloved. And that our Lord is above all
gods. Look and notice the little g. All those other gods are just
false gods. Our God is the one true God.
Whatsoever the Lord pleased, that, look at this in verse six,
look at this. This just trumpets the absolute sovereignty of God.
And remember, this is our Savior. This is our Redeemer, beloved.
This speaks of Him. Because our Savior is the Lord
Jesus Christ. He's God incarnate in the flesh.
Whatsoever the Lord pleased, that He did in heaven and in
earth and in the seas and all deep places. He does whatever
He's pleased to do. That's what that says. That one
verse right there just proclaims the absolute sovereignty of God.
And it's wonderful to the believer. Look at this. He causes the vapor
to ascend from the ends of the earth. He maketh lightnings for
the rain. He bringeth the wind out of his
treasuries. Who smote the firstborn of Egypt,
both man and beast? who sent tokens and wonders into
the midst of thee, O Egypt, upon Pharaoh and upon all his servants,
who smote great nations and slew mighty kings. Sion, king of the
Amorites, and Og, king of Bashan, and all the kingdoms of Canaan,
and gave their land for an heritage, and heritage unto Israel his
people. Thy name, O Lord, endureth forever and ever, or forever,
and thy memorial, O Lord, throughout all generations. Look at that
in verse 6. Whatsoever the Lord please, that
did he in heaven and in earth and in the seas and all deep
places. What a verse to write to our hearts, beloved. My. There's no limits to our God's
rule. Ponder that. There's absolutely no limits
to our God's rule. There's nothing that doesn't
happen to us that's not under his control. And again, this is what makes
God, God. He would not be God if He wasn't
sovereign over all things. But our God is sovereign over
all things. In verse 6, plainly, in Psalm
135, there proclaims that. Our God is so different than
us, He's never frustrated. We get frustrated, don't we?
He's never frustrated. He's never helpless. We find
ourselves in more and more in helpless situations as grace
believers, don't we? We often see ourselves as absolutely
helpless without our God helping us. He's never helpless. He's
never helpless. And think upon this, that our
salvation in Christ alone and God's awesome sovereign providence
is worked out in our lives and we experience it and we're in
awe of our great God and we feel that we feel and know that we
are secure and free in Christ, aren't we? And we are. And we
can say that based upon what? Based upon our God's sovereignty.
Based upon that our Redeemer is God Himself. God incarnated
in the flesh. Turn, if you would, to Jeremiah
chapter 14. Jeremiah chapter 14, we see the
contrast between the false gods of the Gentiles with the sovereignty
of our great God. And we come across a word here
called vanities, the vanities of the Gentiles. And this is
a reference to their false gods, which the Gentiles worshiped. Jeremiah 14, verse 22. And we can even tie this in with
the false gods out there today that people bow down and worship.
There's no difference. And look what they're called.
They're called the vanities of the Gentiles. Verse 22. Are there any among the vanities
of the Gentiles that can cause rain? Any of them? Or can the
heavens give showers? Are thou not He, O Lord our God? Therefore we will wait upon Thee,
for Thou hast made all these things. Do you see the contrast there? of
the vanities of the Gentiles from the great God of the universe.
John Gale brings us forth on a verse that none of the idols
of the Gentiles called upon. They were all called vanities
because it was a vain thing to apply to them any hope or anything,
whether it be rain or anything. They could not give it. They
were pieces of stone and rock. And then the contrast is, therefore
we will wait upon Thee, being the true and living God, for
Thou has made all things. None of these false idols could
bring rain or cause it to rain, but our great God could. Our
great God could. Art Thou not He, O Lord our God? Therefore we will wait upon Thee,
for Thou has made all things. He is the everlasting and unchangeable
Great I Am. Great I Am. And I love how John
told me how he talks to people about who we worship. And John,
that's wonderful to say that. He says, I worship the Great
I Am. That's who we worship. And if
people say, well, who's the Great I Am? The Lord Jesus Christ.
He said so himself in the book of John. He said before Abraham
was, I am. He's the unchanged. That title
proclaims he never changes. He's absolutely sovereign. He's
our covenant God. And only he can give rain, as
they said in Jeremiah here. And this is only attributed,
this is only attributed to God himself. Turn back four chapters
in Jeremiah there to Jeremiah chapter 10. And we'll look at
this with awe and wonder. And then put your finger in Mark
chapter 4. Only God can give rain. And keep in wonder and awe, too,
that the one spoken of here is the keeper of our souls. The
one spoken of here is the keeper of our souls. The one whom we
trust and the one who we rest our eternal souls in. Look at
this in Jeremiah chapter 10 verses 10 to 13. But the Lord is the
true God. What a statement. But the Lord
is the true God. He is the living God and an everlasting
King. At His wrath the earth shall
tremble and the nations shall not be able to abide His indignation. There's absolute sovereignty
of God again proclaimed. It's all through the scriptures,
beloved. It's all through the scriptures. Thus shall you say
unto them, the gods that have not made the heavens and the
earth, even they shall perish from the earth and from under
these heavens. He hath made the earth by his
power. He spoke it into existence. He hath established the world
by his wisdom and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion.
When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the
heavens that causeth the vapors to ascend from the ends of the
earth. He maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the
wind out of his treasures." So there it proclaims that God is
the one who sends the rain, isn't it? Very plainly. Now turn, if
you would, to Mark chapter 4. Now think upon those verses and
show our God's absolute control over all things and by His almighty
power. And note what the Lord Jesus
Christ does here by manifesting His divine power. Now never forget
that our Savior is God incarnated in the flesh, beloved. Oh my,
He's the one spoken of there in Jeremiah. Look at this. Now this is wonderful. Mark chapter
4, verses 35 to 41. And the same day, when the evening
was come, he said unto them, let us pass over unto the other
side. And when they had sent the multitude, they took him
even as he was in the ship, and there was also with him other
little ships. And there arose a great storm of wind, and the
waves beat unto the ship, so that it was now full. And they
said this was just a monster tempest that had just come, huge
storm on the sea. He was in the hindered parts
of the sleep. Where was he? He was asleep on a pillow. Oh
my. And they awake him and say unto
him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? Now all this
has come about, why? So that he can manifest his power,
isn't it? It's all according to God's will.
And he arose, look at this. Now remember, remember we saw
in Jeremiah, the one who sends the rain is God. Well, look at the Lord Jesus
Christ's divine power manifest here. And he arose and rebuked
the wind and said unto the sea, peace, be still. And the wind
ceased and there was a great calm. And that's like, I never
forget when back home in Canada, sometimes you go to a lake and
it's just like glass. You get it here too in Michigan.
It's just like glass, beloved. That's what that's talking about.
So imagine, there was huge waves, the boat was getting filled with
water. They were fearful for their lives, and then all of
a sudden, he gets up and he rebukes the winds and the waves, and
there's just utter calm. Utter calm. He's manifesting
his divine power, beloved. He's manifesting who he is. And
he said unto them, why are ye so fearful? How is it that ye
have no faith? And they feared exceedingly and
said one to another, what manner of man is this that even the
wind and the sea obey him? He's God incarnate in the flesh. That's my savior, is he yours? That's the one who saved me. My. Only God, beloved, can control
the wind and the rain. And the Lord Jesus Christ is
God incarnate in the flesh. And He came to this earth to
save His people from their sins. And the believer says, wonder
of wonders. This is amazing. And no doctrine is more despised
by the natural mind than the truth that God is absolutely
sovereign. Because you know why? It goes
against human pride. It goes against human pride.
The natural man loathes the suggestion that God orders everything, controls
everything, and rules over everything. They hate it. They hate it. And the reason this occurs is
that the carnal mind burns with enmity against God. It abhors
the biblical teaching that nothing comes to pass except according
to His eternal decrees. And the thing that the flesh
hates most of all is the notion that salvation is entirely God's
work. Because they want to do something. If God chooses those who would
be saved and if it was his choice was settled before the foundation
of the world, then believers deserve no credit for their salvation,
do we? And that's what we proclaim.
We don't get what we deserve. We receive mercy. Mercy. Therefore we proclaim, as the
Scriptures proclaim, that salvation is of the Lord. It was for those
who were given to Christ by the Father that Christ died for,
they were given to Him in the everlasting covenant. And Jesus
was appointed as their head, and He took their responsibilities,
their sins upon Himself, and He wrought out a righteousness
for them which is perfect and eternal. Now we don't know who
God's elect are, do we? We have no clue. Therefore we
preach the Gospel to all, And the Holy Spirit draws in His
people, regenerates them, turns them to Christ, and we run to
Christ, don't we? That's why we say, flee to Christ.
He's the only hope. He's the only hope for sinners. And it was for God's people,
those who were given to Christ by the Father that Christ died
for. They were given to Him in the everlasting covenant, and
Jesus Christ was appointed their head. And again, He willingly
came to this earth to redeem them from their sins. And it was our great sovereign
God who sent and appointed the Lord Jesus Christ to come into
this world and to die for His bride. And that's what we are.
We're the bride of Christ. Blood-bought believers are the
bride of Christ. He was made in the likeness of
our flesh, yet He was sinless. We're sinners, but yet He was
sinless. And He magnified the law and
honored it in our place. And He bore the sins of all His
people on Calvary's cross. And He made a full atonement
for all the sins of God's people. Paid for in full. Oh, how that
makes my soul rejoice. And I know it's you too, you
who are His blood-bound people. He was buried and rose again
on the third day for our justification. According to the Scripture, now
He sits as a mediator at God's right hand. Ponder this truth
and be in awe. You who are beloved of God, Christ
took your place at Calvary's cross. He took your place at
Calvary's cross. He took that place before the
law and justice of God. and now His righteousness is
yours. It's amazing. It's absolutely
amazing. Because of His atonement on Calvary,
now His standing before God is yours. You ever ponder that? Because He took our place on
Calvary, now His standing before God is ours. That's why we can
appear in the presence of God. Because of the righteousness
of Christ. He's given us eternal life. And because of what Christ
has done for us, there is not a single condition for us to
meet. Not one. Not one. Not a single responsibility
for us to meet for our salvation. It's all in Christ. By one offering
he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. Now we know
that the sovereignty of God was on full display. in the different
ways in which he dealt with his creatures as part of the angels
fell and part he kept. Adam and Israel were placed on
conditional footing and continued the blessing was dependent upon
their obedience to God. But let us marvel at the contrast
of those things even, beloved, with the little flock of God.
He has given us an unconditional, immutable standing in God's covenant. It's not conditioned on anything
in us. It's all conditioned on Christ
and what He's done. So all the blessings of the covenant
are wholly dependent upon what Christ has done for His people.
Nevertheless, the foundation of God standeth sure, having
the seal, the Lord knoweth them that are His. What a sure foundation
the believer has. What a sure foundation on which
we stand. It's a perfect foundation because
it's in Christ. Nothing can be taken away and
nothing can be added to this wonderful salvation that we have
in Christ. Nothing. I know that whatsoever
things God doeth, it shall be forever. That's including our
salvation. It's wonderful. It shall be forever. Nothing can be put to it, nor
anything taken away from it. And God doeth it that man should
fear before him. That's Ecclesiastes chapter 3
verse 14. Think of that in light of your
salvation from a sovereign, almighty God. I know that whatsoever God
doeth, it shall be forever. Oh, praise His mighty name. Heavenly
Father, we thank Thee for the wonderful salvation that we have
in and through the Lord Jesus Christ, and we who are your blood-bought
people, we rejoice that you did not leave us dead in our trespasses
and sins, but we've been born again, regenerated by the power
of the Holy Spirit of God, and we've been taught these wonderful
truths of your absolute sovereignty and our absolute unworthiness
and salvation, and how you have had mercy upon us. upon undeserving
sinners, which is what we are. Lord, we praise your name. We
seek that you'd be glorified and magnified through the rest
of the services today. In Jesus' name, amen.