Every one of God's people have
a personal testimony that gives our great triune God all the
glory, all the glory. He gets all the glory. Some of
us may have been steeped in false religions, and the Lord saved
us from those. And some of us might never have
come to a church before the Lord saved us except for a funeral
or a wedding. Some may have been in church
for years and not been given ears to hear the gospel. And all of God's blood-bought
saints proclaim that in our unregenerate state, we were spiritually dead.
We were dead in trespasses and sins, as the scripture says,
not knowing God and not seeking God. And every one, every one
of God's blood-bought people say that. I never sought the
Lord. I didn't care. And we hated God in our minds
and our actions and our speech. We hated God's Messiah. We hated
his gospel. We hated his people. And this
is the natural state of all humans. Even if they don't profess it,
their actions declare it. And this was our natural state.
And nothing, think of this, nothing we did in our natural state pleased
God. Nothing. Nothing. That's humble then. Absolutely
nothing. The things of God were a foolishness
unto us. And in our spiritually darkened
mind, there was no way that we could know or receive the gospel. We may have heard gospel truths,
but we didn't hear them. We did not know God. We were
shut up to God's sovereign mercy. This is our natural state. But
we who are his people have experienced the miracle of the new birth. We've been delivered from that
state of spiritual deadness that we were in. The Holy Spirit of God has quickened
us. We are brought from the state of spiritual darkness. and all the darkness we were
in. But God has delivered us, the
scripture says, from the power of darkness and has translated
us into the kingdom of his dear Son. And it's in him alone that
we have eternal life. Our great God has given us a
new heart that hungers and thirsts after righteousness. And therefore,
if any man be in Christ, he's what? He's a new creature, isn't
he? He's a new creature. same physical body, but there's
a change. There's a change. We have a new
heart, which loves God's anointed Messiah. Loves the Lord Jesus Christ,
and now the gospel we once hated, we love. We love. And the true followers of the
Lord Jesus Christ At one time, we despised and hated God and
the things of God. But think of this, what a miracle
has been wrought in every single one of God's people. It's a miracle. It's a miracle of grace. We who
are his redeemed people are miracles of the grace of God. Because
we know our natural state, we never sought God, did we? Never.
And look at Paul's testimony. He persecuted the church. He
wasted the church. And if Christ has revealed himself
to us and we're born again by the Holy Spirit of God, then
our personal testimony will perfectly harmonize with the truths of
his gospel. Remember what we looked at on
Sunday, in Sunday school. Sanctify the Lord God in your
heart. and be ready to always give an answer to every man that
asketh you a reason of the hope that is within you with meekness
and fear. So again I ask you, who's our
hope? Who's your hope? Who's your hope? Who's your hope for today? Who's
your hope for tomorrow? Who's your hope for eternity?
The believer says Christ is my hope. He's my only hope. My only
hope. And he's already entered into
heaven itself, beloved. And he's seated at the right
hand of God, in the presence of God. Right now, interceding
for us. For all his chosen, blood-bond
people. And where he is, we'll soon be,
won't we? Because where the head is, we're not. The body soon
follows, right? Henry used to say that, and I
love that. It's so true. It's so true. And we who have
tasted that the Lord is gracious will boldly declare the unconditional
electing grace of God the Father, and the perfect redeeming grace
of God the Son for his chosen people, and the sanctifying grace
of God the Holy Spirit in bringing God's elect into the preaching
of his true gospel. Think of that. He was the one
who drew you here to hear the gospel. He's the one who's brought
you here tonight to hear the gospel. It's not by chance we're
all here. Everyone who God ordained is
here to hear this wonderful gospel, to hear this wonderful gospel,
to hear the true gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. So let us
ponder this, that anyone's testimony which is tainted by anything
man has done is false. Anything, anyone's testimony
that's tainted with something they have done is false. Is false. One may say, I know
I'm a child of God because I was baptized. That's a false refuge. That's a false refuge. Somebody
says, well, I know I'm one of God's people. I've been going
to church for years. That's a false refuge. That's
a refuge of lies. Some say, I know I have a place
in heaven because I exercise my free will. That's a refuge of lies. One may say, well, I worship
on Saturday. I worship on the true Sabbath.
I know I'm a true follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, because
I worship on Saturday. That's a refuge of lies. One may say, well, I
did this, and I did that. We hear all different things,
don't we? All different things. And these are testimonies from
people who do not know the true gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
They do not know about the perfect, and I mean perfect, perfect,
redeeming work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Perfect, it's absolutely
perfect. Nothing needs to be added to
it and nothing's taken away from it. The work of Christ is perfect
for his people. And it is He by Himself who purged
the sins of those who were given to Him by God the Father in the
eternal covenant of grace. And the work is complete. Remember
the demonic man that studied, that studied about, we studied
about in Luke chapter 8, he experienced the miraculous healing hand of
Christ, our almighty, all-powerful Savior. And he was told to go
and tell others. Go and tell others about the
great things the Lord had done for him. And this is what we
are to tell others, what he's done for us. What he's done for
us. Because he alone is all our salvation. He alone. I have no other hope
than Christ. Is it so for you? No other hope. What compassion. what mercy the
Lord Jesus Christ has had upon us. And Paul is here by inspiration
of the Holy Spirit of God, bringing forth his personal testimony.
Let's look at verses 13 and 14. The personal testimony to the
mighty work of God, which God has done in him by the power
of the Holy Spirit of God. And notice, Paul's not saying,
I did this. Vicki and I were talking about
that this afternoon after I had prepared most of the message.
In no way is Paul saying, well, I chose Jesus. Well, I prayed
a prayer. It's not there, beloved. It's
not there. Paul was going around wasting
the church. Taking Christians and throwing
them into prison. Now, are we made willing in the
day of His power? Absolutely. Do we flee to Christ?
Absolutely. But remember, if anyone says,
well, I did this, I prayed a prayer, or I did this, I walked in the
aisle, I got baptized, that's a refuge of lies. If you're putting
your hope in anything you do, it's a false refuge. But if you're
putting your hope in Christ alone, in Him for the salvation of your
soul, oh, that's a strong tower, beloved. That's a strong tower. Look at this in Galatians chapter
one, verses 13 and 14. conversations and times past
in the Jews religion how that beyond measure I persecuted the
Church of God and wasted it and profited in the Jews religion
above many my equals in mine own nation being more exceedingly
zealous of the tradition traditions of my father's now no Paul does
not hide his past beloved he doesn't hide his past he doesn't
hide his past doesn't he admits that he hated the Church of God He admits that he hated Christ,
whom he now worships. And Paul, before his conversion,
was a very zealous religious Pharisee. Very zealous religious
Pharisee. And anyone who was against what
he calls here the Jews' religion, then he was against them. But
that changed after the Lord saved him. But at this time, when he's
telling us, before the Lord had saved him, what the situation
was. And note here that he identifies
the Jews' religion. He distinguishes it from those
who were true followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now he's speaking,
in this book again, against those who would yoke believers back
under the law, which the Judaizers were trying to do. But beloved,
Christ fulfilled the law for us. He fulfilled the law for
us. He fulfilled the law for His
people. And Paul here brings forth that salvation by grace
and the law is no salvation at all. Salvation is by grace alone,
plus no works of our own. And note, Paul was a persecutor
of the church, it says here. He both persecuted the church
of God and wasted it. And note the word there, wasted.
In the Greek it means to ravage, to ravish and destroy. He hated
them. He hated Christians. He sought
out to destroy the church, to destroy God's people. And look at, this ties in with
verse 23, look at the same chapter, look at this. But they had heard
only that he which persecuted us in times past now preaches
the faith which once he destroyed. Oh, the miracle of the grace
of God. Oh, my. If we've been delivered
by the Lord Jesus Christ, we will not hide the fact that we
were once sinful, Christ-rejecting people. We're not proud of our
former sinful life. We're not proud at all of it.
Not at all. It shames us. It shames us. But we're thankful
that the Lord Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners.
To save sinners. And all of us feel that we're
the chief of that tribe, don't we? Every one of us. Every one of us feel like that.
That's what Paul is bringing forth when he states that he's
the chief of sinners. He's the chief of sinners. Now
let's look at verses 15 and 16. But when it pleased God who separated
me from my mother's womb and called me by His grace to reveal
His Son in me, and I might preach him among the heathen, immediately
I conferred not with flesh and blood. Now take note at how quickly
Paul, after he gives his personal testimony, and it's all about
what the Lord's done, and his lost and sinful condition that
he was in, note how quickly he gives God all the glory. Note
how quickly he does this. Not only for eternal life, which
was given to him by the quickening power of God the Holy Spirit,
but for the physical life that preceded that eternal life that
God had given him. Note the statement, when it pleased
God who separated me from my mother's womb. This has reference
to the physical life that God had given Saul of Tarsus. Brother Chet and I were discussing
this this week. The fact that our parents were
ordained by God to have us as their children, and this was
all according to God's eternal purpose. And they were spared
and kept alive through various situations in life because we
would spring from them. Think of if you have a father
who went to war. He didn't perish. Well, others all around them
fell. That's very humbling for us.
It's not by chance that they live through all those situations.
It's by the providence of God because you would come from them.
We who are his blood bond people. God knows this. We don't have
a clue. God knows this. God knows this. The moment we were conceived
in our mother's womb was ordained by God. The moment we were conceived
in our mother's womb was ordained by God. And there's no accidents
with God. People said, well, we weren't
planning on having that child. And no accidents with God. None
at all. None at all. and ponder this, that the exact
moment we were separated from our mother's womb was ordained
by God all according to his own eternal purpose. And ponder this
further, that the exact location in which we were born, the exact
location in which we were born, and any relocation that occurred
within our lives on this earth, including the place we were living
when our Lord Jesus Christ brought us under the preaching of his
gospel, when he delivered us from the power of darkness and
Satan and sin and self, was all ordained by God according
to his own eternal purpose. And we are reminded of this wondrous
grace which we've been given in Christ Jesus our Lord. As
we see those around us who we know perish in their sins, not
knowing the Lord Jesus Christ and His gospel, we are reminded
just how short this life really is. We're constantly reminded,
aren't we? And by his pervenient grace,
God made sure that we did not go through that doormark death
until he gave us faith to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. There is many times in my life
I can look back and I thought I should have died in that situation. A couple that
are real, real distinct. Oh, praise God for His pervenient
grace. See, He knows that we're His
sheep from eternity. We don't know, but He knows. This gives us hope for our family
members who are lost and our friends who are lost. Gives us
hope, beloved, because we were there. We were there. It's only by His grace that we've
been made to differ. Only by His grace. Noted in our
text it says here, when it pleased God who separated me from my
mother's womb and caught me by His grace to reveal His Son in
me, Now let's leave out the who separated me from my mother's
womb and read our text this way. And it won't do any injustice
to the text. We're breaking down this verse.
It says, when it pleased God, who called me by his grace to
reveal his son in me. Take note how Paul does not draw
attention to anything he's done. Take note of that. Because religion
always tells you something you have to do. But take note here
in our text. Paul didn't draw any attention
to anything he's done that made the difference between his former
sinful life and his new life in Christ. He went from persecuting
the church of God and wasting it, to God calling him by his
grace and revealing his son in him. And then preaching the gospel
that he once despised. This is a miracle, beloved. and proclaiming the Savior that
he once hated. And let us take note also that
Paul was not seeking Jesus Christ, and we saw that earlier in the
text, and we see contrary, he was wasting the church, persecuting
the church. All religions do not lead to
eternal bliss in heaven, nor all false religions are anti-Christ.
They're antichrist. And they'll lead their followers
to eternal doom. There's only one salvation. There's
only one way to God. And that's in and through the
Lord Jesus Christ, the perfect spotless Lamb of God. Let's look
at our text again. When it pleased God who called
me by His grace to reveal His Son in me. We see very plainly
stated here that Paul brings forth that it pleased God to
call him by his grace. Let us think upon these things. Because this is true of every
believer. You're not, you know, we know
there's no chance or luck. I despise the word luck. I really
do. Spurgeon said we should just
take it right out of our vocabulary. It's true. God ordains things. When it pleased God who called
me by his grace to reveal his Son in me. If God our Father
chose us in Christ before the world began, and we know he did,
don't we? We know he did from our studies.
We know he did. Then there has to be a point
in time in our physical life for our life to begin before
he could call us by his grace. There has to be an appointed
time. Therefore, our birth is appointed. Our conception is
appointed, just like our death is appointed. If God, our Father,
wrote our names in the Lamb's book of life and eternity before
the world began, which we know from our studies that he did,
then there has to be an appointed time when he would separate us
from our mother's womb. and preserve our physical life
until He called us by His grace. And if God calls us by His grace,
then it's according to His own purpose, isn't it? It's according
to His own purpose, which was given us in Christ Jesus before
the world began. And let us also ponder that if
God has called us by His grace, and the believer says He has,
it is because Jesus Christ appeared in this life as a man. God the
Son, God incarnate in the flesh, why? To establish a perfect righteousness
for us. We could never do that, could
we? Not one of us. But he established the perfect
righteousness for his people, how? By his perfect obedience
unto death, and even the death of the cross as our substitute. And if we have eternal life in
Christ Jesus, it's because he died for us, yea rather, because
he's risen again. And he's right now at the right
hand of God making intercession for us. And if we know these
precious truths, it's a revelation from God. And how do we know it's a revelation
from God? Because none of us would seek him. He's got to reveal himself to
us, beloved. Oh my, he's brought life and
immortality to light through the gospel. There was a time
when we heard the shepherd's voice calling us through the
preaching of the gospel. We were brought from darkness
to light. God himself has commanded the
light to shine on darkness in our new heart. And He's given us the knowledge
of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ our Lord. Now
note how Paul's personal testimony harmonizes with gospel truths.
Just as it is for every true believer, we proclaim I'm only
a sinner saved by the sovereign grace of God in Christ through
the merits of Christ Jesus my Savior. And it's all by the grace
of God. I once was blind and now I see. Let us consider our text. Paul
here proclaims, "...by inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God, when
it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and
called me by His grace to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach
Him among the heathen, the meaty I conferred not with flesh and
blood." The Lord Jesus Christ was revealed to Paul. Now let
us consider the words of Brother Henry Mahan, when it talks about
Christ in us, Christ was revealed to Paul as Messiah, the atonement,
the sin offering, the fulfillment of every type, prophecy and ceremony,
and in his glory of his person and work. But Christ was revealed
in Paul, for Christ was formed in him. Christ's spirit dwelt
in him. Christ's grace was implanted
in him, and now he lived by faith in the Son of God, and Paul needed
no ceremony, circumcision, or works to make him complete. He was complete in Christ. Period. And we who believe are complete
in Christ. Complete in Him. So we see that
Paul's personal testimony perfectly harmonized with the true gospel
of God's sovereign grace and God's sovereign mercy and the
fact that salvation is of the Lord. And bring this home to
you who are His blood-bought people. Bring this right home.
Bring this right home. You who believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ and stand amazed at God's sovereign, almighty grace, which
you have experienced in your life through Christ alone. Turn,
if you would, to Hebrews 10. I know we haven't turned to many
places, but turn to Hebrews 10. The Lord Jesus Christ was Paul's
sin atoning sacrifice, beloved. And by the supreme sacrifice
of himself, Jesus Christ had sanctified and perfected Paul
in God's sight forever. And the Holy Spirit of God dwelling
in him revealed these glorious truths to the Apostle Paul. We
see that in Hebrews 10, verses 9 to 18. Then said he, being Christ, Lo,
I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that
he may establish the second, by the which we are all sanctified,
which we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus
Christ once for all. And that means for all his elect,
for all his people. And every priest standeth daily
ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifice, which never
which can never take away sin. So all those Old Testament sacrifices
could not take away one sin. But they were poignant. They
were pictures. Remember, they were a shadow
of He who is the substance, the Lord Jesus Christ, who takes
away the sins of His people. But this man, being Christ, after
He had offered one sacrifice for sins, forever sat down on
the right hand of God. once. And he did it all by himself. He has redeemed his people from
their sins from henceforth expect until his enemies be made his
footstool for by one offering. Look at this. He has perfected
forever them that are sanctified. Oh my goodness. That's why we
stand before the Lord wholly and in blameless beloved. Whereof
the Holy Ghost also is witness to us. For after that he had
said before, this is the covenant that I will make with them after
those days, saith the Lord. I will put my laws into their
hearts and in their minds will I write them. And look at this
marvelous mountaintop scripture in verse 17. And their sins and
iniquities will I remember no more. Bought and paid for. bought and paid for. Now, where
remission of these is there's no more offering for sin. God
is absolutely perfectly satisfied with the perfect sin atoning
death of the Lord Jesus Christ, the just one. We'll look at the
Sunday school, the just one, the perfect one, the holy one
dying for the unjust for sinners. Oh, what a Savior, what a Redeemer
is Jesus Christ our Lord. And just like we who believe
on Christ, Paul was delivered from the works of the Mosaic
Law. And he was delivered from the curse of the law because
Jesus Christ was made a curse for him when he hung on the cross
of Calvary. And that's true for every believer.
Holy Spirit of God dwelling in Paul revealed that glorious truth
to him, just as he reveals that truth to you and I, who are his
blood-bought, born-again people. And take note of verse 16, Paul
had one message, beloved. Now remember, Paul was very,
very well-educated, right? He tells us in another book that
he counts all that education and all that is dumb. He does
nothing. But Paul, note, Paul had one
message. One message. Look at verse 16. To reveal his son in me, being
Christ and him crucified, that I might preach him among the
heathen, immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood. Christ
was the subject of Paul's ministry. He was the object of Paul's ministry. He preached Christ and Him crucified. He tells us that, doesn't He,
in Corinthians. That's who He preached. He preached
Christ in all His offices. He preached Him as prophet. He
preached Him as King. He preached Him as priest, beloved.
And He preached that He was the very Son of God. God incarnate
in the flesh. God and man in one person. And
he preached that we are saved by grace alone through Christ
alone to the glory of God alone. And he preached on Christ obedience
and his suffering and his death as as the substitute of his people.
And he preached that through Christ alone, peace with God
comes. Through Christ alone and not
by the shedding of his precious blood, his precious His people
are forgiven of all their sins, of all their sins, and that we
are justified before God, clothed in that perfect, spotless righteousness
of Christ, which He wrought out for us while He lived upon this
earth, perfectly fulfilling the law of God, the just one, the
great substitute, the Lord Jesus Christ. And we who are and were
sinners are now reconciled to God by Christ. And God is perfectly,
perfectly, perfectly satisfied with the sacrifice of Christ.
Perfectly. I remember one old preacher saying,
two words we always want you to remember. When grace preachers
are preaching two words, substitution and satisfaction. Two words. Oh, wonderful words. Paul preached a complete and
perfect salvation by Christ alone. And he preached to those who
were called the heathen. We notice that, the heathen,
or Gentiles. He was God's chosen vessel to
preach to them, to preach to them. Christ had called Paul
by his grace and then sent him to the Gentiles. Sent him to
the Gentiles to what? To preach Christ, to preach Christ,
beloved. Preach Christ and him crucified,
the only savior of sinners. And Paul knew that the Lord Jesus
Christ was his risen Lord and exalted Lord, the supreme ruler
over this whole universe and everything in it. And the Holy
Spirit had revealed this to him. And that's what he reveals to
us, too. That's what he reveals to us.
Turn, if you would, to Ephesians chapter 4. Ephesians chapter
4, verses 1 to 6. Ephesians chapter 4, verses 1
to 6. The Holy Spirit moved the Apostle
Paul to write these words, I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech
you that you walk worthy of the vocation wherewith you are called.
With all lowliness and meekness, God's people, we are bought low
because we know of the great mercy that we've received in
Christ. It humbles us, beloved. It brings us low. With longsuffering
for bearing one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity
of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Note here, there is one
body and one spirit, even as you are called, in one hope of
your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father
of all, who is above all and through all and in you all. Notice
the repeated word, one, one. And we who are his blood people
belong to the same one body of believers that the Apostle Paul
belongs to. And we have that same Holy Spirit
dwell in us that dwell in the Apostle Paul. We've received
that same holy calling that the Apostle Paul had received. Same
one, same one. We have only one hope just like
Paul. We've received the same hope. Just one hope. That's Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ. He's the
same hope the Apostle Paul had. We know that there's only one
Lord, we know that, and his name is Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ. And every true believer bows
down to the same Christ of God that the Apostle Paul bowed down
to. Right? There's only one faith. Just
one. which God gives to all his people.
It's the same faith that was given to the Apostle Paul. Isn't
that amazing? It's amazing. We're born again
by the same Spirit. Same Spirit as Paul was born
again by. We're born again by the same Spirit. Holy Spirit
of God. One Spirit. Oh my. God's people have experienced
the same miracle, the new birth that the Apostle Paul received,
and it's all a work of God. It's all a work of God. It's
nothing we did. We're receivers of this mercy
and grace. You see the opposite of what
religion says? They tell you what you gotta do. No, the grace
preacher says, stands up and proclaims, look at what Christ
has done. Look at what he's done. Oh, what
a great God we have. There's only one God and Father
of all, who is above all and through all and in you all. If you've received the same spirit
of adoption that the Apostle Paul received, we not only serve
the same God the Apostle Paul served, all of us have the same
Heavenly Father. We who are his blood-bought redeemed people.
All of us are in the same blessed family of God, and let us never
forget that there is one eternal life, or one eternal, infinite,
almighty God of heaven and earth. Just one. Just one. Who is the father of
all believers in Christ, and who is the sovereign God over
all. And it is He who has saved us. It's He who was pleased to call
us. It's humbling. It's very humbling. And it's all according to His
eternal plan and purpose. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ who had blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places in Christ, according as He hath
chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world. that we should
be holy and without blame before him in love, having predestined
us into the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself according
to the good pleasure of his will. Ephesians 1, 3, and 5. And then
the scripture says, for as many as are led by the spirit of God,
they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the
spirit of bondage again to fear, but you have, nope, received.
It's not something you do. You've received the spirit of
adoption whereby we cry, Abba, Father, the spirit itself bear
witness with our spirit that we are the children of God. Now
turn to Romans chapter eight and we're closed with this. Romans
chapter eight, verses 28 to 33. And I'll say one more thing after
we read this portion. Romans chapter eight, verse 23. You remember our text, I'll read
our text again. But when it pleased God who separated
me from my mother's womb and called me by his grace to reveal
his son in me that I might preach him among the heathen, immediately
I conferred not with flesh and blood. Look at this in Romans
chapter eight, verses 28 to 33 in light of that. And we know
that all things work together for good to them that love God,
to them who are called according to his purpose. Ah. For whom he did foreknow, he
also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son, that
he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom
he did predestinate, them he also called. And whom he called, them he also
justified. And whom he justified, them he
also glorified. Notice all past tense. It's wonderful. It's absolutely wonderful, isn't
it? Oh my. What shall we then say to these
things? If God before us, who can be against us? He that spared
not his own son, but delivered him up for us all. How shall
he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay
anything to the charge of God's elect? And let this burn in your
heart, beloved. It is God that justifies. Why? Why are we justified by
God? Because it pleased Him to do
so. All according to His eternal
plan. In closing, I'd like to ask this
one question of all of us. Received ye the Spirit by the
works of the law or by the hearing of faith? Received ye the Spirit
by the works of the law or by the hearing hearing of faith,
examine yourself and ask yourself, does my personal testimony harmonize
with the gospel of God's amazing grace that he bestows upon his
people through the merits of the Lord Jesus Christ? If it
does, if it does, then truly you can say with the hymn writer,
it is well with my soul. It's well. Gracious Heavenly
Father, we thank thee For the wonder of Scripture, which we've
looked at tonight, we see how Paul wasted the Church of God,
destroyed the Church of God, but yet he was a chosen vessel
of yours. He's one of your people from
eternity. And you had separated him from his mother's womb, just
as you separate every one of us from our mother's womb. You
know us. You've known us from eternity. You've loved us from
eternity, even when we were born dead in trespasses and sins,
and we hated thee, and we shook our fist at thee. Oh, but yet
your love was set upon your people." Oh, it's overwhelming for us,
Lord. And as we read these marvelous
verses and realize that you brought us to be where we were when we
heard the gospel of thy amazing grace, and that salvation is
all of you, pure, free, and sovereign grace of God, we marvel, Lord.
We marvel because we know what we are. We're sinners, but yet
you saved us. You've saved us, Lord, and we
will be amazed and sing praises to thee, worthy is the Lamb,
worthy is the Lamb that was slain. All glory and honor and praise
to you, Lord Jesus. In your name we pray. Amen. Let's
sing