If you'll take your Bibles and
turn with me to Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy chapter 7. We'll
be looking at verse 6 through verse 9 this morning. And I've entitled this message,
The Lord Thy God. The Lord Thy God. Now, this book
of Deuteronomy is termed the second law. You remember the
law was given at Mount Sinai. And we have the book of Exodus,
Leviticus, and Numbers as the word of the law given to the
nation of Israel. But this book of Deuteronomy
is termed the second law because, not it's a different law, but
it was the law given a second time to that nation before they
crossed over the River Jordan into the Promised Land. Now,
this book, like all the other books of the Old Testament, especially
the Law and the Prophets, were given for our learning. That's what the apostle said
in Romans 15. He said, Whatsoever things were
written aforetime were written for our learning. These were not just historical
books. These are books that are ever-present
for our learning, for our understanding. that through patience and comfort
of what? The Scriptures. The Scriptures,
we might have hope. Who needs hope this morning?
Who needs confidence? That's what that word hope means,
confidence. God's people do. God's children
need hope. And where do you find it? In
the Scriptures. In the Scriptures. Now, in this
seventh chapter of the book, we have a clear picture. of the
sovereign mercy and grace of God written down for our learning,
for our comfort. And I pray that God would help
me, that God would give me the utterance I need to expound this
to you, and that God would take this by this feeble preacher,
take this message which is a message of God written for your learning,
and apply it. And that's what you should pray
right now, that God should take this message and apply it to
your heart. And so as we read this, we want
to remember that this was written for your learning. Look at verse
6. The Scripture says, For thou
art an holy people unto the Lord thy God. The Lord thy God hath
chosen thee to be a special people unto himself. Above all people
that are upon the face of the earth, the Lord did not set his
love upon you, nor choose you, because you were more in number
than any people. For you were the fewest of all
people. But because the Lord loved you, and because the Lord
would keep the oath that he had sworn unto your fathers, hath
the Lord brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you
out of the house of the bondman from the hand of Pharaoh king
of Egypt. Now therefore, know therefore,
that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which
keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him, and keep
his commandments to a thousand generations. the Lord thy God,
the Lord thy God. My desire this morning preached
you the Lord thy God, to show you the wonderful glory of God
in the face of Jesus Christ And this is the purpose of true gospel
preaching, isn't it? To exalt the Lord thy God, to
lift up the Lord thy God, to lift up Christ before you. That's
what the apostle said to those men. He said, I have evidently
set Christ before you. That's every preacher's purpose. I don't want to set men before
you. I want to set Christ before you. The Lord thy God. And by this I know his people
are called by this gospel, his people are called by the power
of the Holy Spirit to faith in Christ and those who have faith
in Christ by this same scripture are comforted, are comforted. This passage of scripture on
the surface was written to who? To the nation of Israel. This
was at first given to this nation. But we know this, that all of
these things were only a type and a shadow of good things to
come. That's what Paul says about the
law. He said the law, having a shadow of good things to come
and not the very image of the thing, could never by those sacrifices
offer continually take away sin. It was a picture. Now, this may
have been written to the nation of Israel, but it was really
intended for you and me, who are the true Israel of God. And that's something. I'm not
a Jew by nature, but I know this, I am a Jew by spiritual nature. I am of the true tribe of Israel. Paul said, not all those that
are of the sons of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are Israel, but everyone
that believes on Christ. These are the children of promise.
These are the ones, those chosen of God, redeemed by the Son,
called by the Spirit. You are the Israel of God, and
therefore, this is written to you. This is written to you. This passage of Scripture is
for true Israel. And if you're a believer in Christ,
I want you to hear this word this morning, because this is
for you. This is God's Word to you. Listen to what God says
to true Israel. Now listen. Thou art an holy
people unto the Lord thy God." You who are believers in Jesus
Christ, I want you to know this. You are a holy people. Now, the word holy has two distinct
meanings. It means, first of all, without
sin. To be holy is to be without sin. Now, I know this, that everyone
that is redeemed by the blood of Christ and quickened by the
Holy Spirit has a holy nature. This is what God purposed you
to be from eternity, that you should be holy and without blame. And Christ, you know this, He
accomplished that holiness by His own merits. then the Spirit
takes that merit and applies it to you in the new nature. The apostles said that we are
created after God in what? True holiness. True holiness. So, in that sense, you are a
holy people. But this word also means a separate
people. a separation. When they sanctified
the table of Shobre, it was wholly unto the Lord. When they sanctified
the offerings, they were wholly separated unto the Lord. And
so this is also the meaning here is that God had chosen the nation
of Israel to be a separate people unto Himself. All believers in
Jesus Christ, I want you to know this, you are a separate people. In other words, God took you
and separated you from everyone else. That's what the meaning,
if you read back at the very beginning of this, God tells
the nation of Israel, He said, look, when you conquer these
people, I don't want you to marry their children. I don't want
you to worship their gods. I don't want you to make covenants
with them. Why? Because you are a wholly
separate people unto me. You will obey my law, my commandments. I will be your God. You shall
be my people. Separate. And so then, I want
you to know this this morning, you, believer, are separate from
everyone else. You are separated by God himself. I want you to know that you're
a holy people simply because God chose you to be. God chose
you to be a holy people. Look at that. He said, Thou art
a holy people unto the Lord thy God. The Lord thy God hath chosen
thee to be a special people unto himself above all people that
are upon the face of the earth. This, my friend, is the blessed
doctrine of election. This is it. This is the blessed
doctrine of election. A wonderful, marvelous thing
that God chose a people unto Himself. The nation of Israel,
He chose them. But they were only a shadow,
a picture of good things. He's talking about true Israel,
His church. He chose his church. Now, natural
man hates this message of sovereign election. You know why? Because
he desires some glory for himself. That's the only reason men hate
this. That's the only reason I could come up with why men
would hate this, because they believe they have something to
offer. They believe that God should accept them based on something
that they could do or merit before God. So they hate election. Men desire to have some glory,
but you know what this, God's word declares this, that only
glory belongs to God. Glory belongs only to God. And this was always God's plan
of salvation, that in eternity past, he would choose a people
for himself. Some of Adam's race that he would
choose to save. You know, election is unto salvation. A lot of people may say, well,
I believe in election, but, you know, not to salvation. God chose
you, but, you know, it's really up to you. No, that's not election. Listen to what Paul said in 2
Thessalonians 2, 13. He said, we are bound to give
thanks always to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord.
Why? Because God has from the beginning chosen you to salvation. Now listen, here's the means.
Through sanctification. There's that word. Thou art to
be a holy people. God chose you to be a separate
people. He separated you to salvation. And in time, Christ came and
accomplished that salvation. And in the appointed time, the
Spirit of God will come to each elect and separate them by the
regeneration power of the Spirit. He will give them a new nature. And by that nature, friends,
we are separate. We are a special people unto
our God, chosen to salvation. And what's the result of this
sanctification of the Spirit? Belief of the truth. There's
the evidence of our sanctification, our redemption, and our election.
Faith in Christ. Belief of the truth. You who
believe, you are a holy people unto God, separate. by the election. Consider this, that before the
first ray of light entered God's creation, He chose you. Before there was anything, God
chose you. God purposed that you should
be saved. Before there was ever a sinner,
there was a Savior. Go over to Ephesians chapter
1. You can hold your place here just a second. We're going to
see a couple of things out of this chapter as we go along.
Ephesians 1, God, Paul blesses God in verse 3. Blessed be the
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Why? He's blessed us
with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places, in Christ,
according as he hath chosen us in Christ before the foundation
of the world. Why did God choose you? that
you should be, what, holy and without blame before Him. He chose you that you should
be without sin, that you should be blameless, that you should
be separated from all people on the face of the earth. You
should be a special people unto Him. And listen, God not only chose
you, but He did something for you. He put you in Christ. He
put you, this special people, He separated, He put them in
union with His Son. God in eternity past, according
to the counsel of His Holy Trinity of persons, chose you to be a
special people. Now then, the question begs the
question, why? Why you? You who believe, you
are chosen. You who trust only in Christ,
you were specifically chosen of God to be a holy people. Now, why? Why did God choose
me? Well, he first gives you the
negative. Go back, hold your place in Ephesians, but go back
and look at the text again. He tells you first the negative,
why you were, you weren't chosen because of this. Listen. God
did not set his love on you or choose you because you were more
in number than any people, for you were the fewest." The fewest. You were the smallest group of
people on the face of the earth. Those Jews, when they... He said,
I'm not choosing you because you're great. You aren't great. Matter of fact,
you were the puniest nation in all the world. When Israel came
to Egypt, you realize there was only 70 people in that nation?
Seventy. Seventy souls came to Egypt,
and God did not choose them because they were a mighty nation. That
nation of Israel were nomads. They had no land. What is a nation
without a land? It doesn't have a land. It just
wandered around. Abraham wandered, Isaac wandered,
Jacob wandered, Israel wandered in the wilderness for 40 years
before God gave them a land. They were nomads and they were
rebels. They were stiff-necked people. And so it was with true Israel. God did not choose us because
of our greatness. Matter of fact, we were nomads.
We were wanderers in the wilderness of sin. We were without a land,
without a people. We were rebels and haters of
God by nature. We were born and dead in trespasses
and sin. Back in Ephesians chapter 2,
in chapter 1, he tells you that you were chosen of God, that
by grace you were redeemed by Christ. By grace you were called
by the Spirit. And then in chapter 2 of Ephesians,
he gives you your experience. You were born dead in trespass
and sin. You have be quickened who were dead in trespasses and
sins, who walked according to the course of this world, according
to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now
works within children of disobedience, among whom we all had our conversation
in time past, according to the lust of the flesh. So what made
the difference? You believer, listen, what made
the difference? Here's these two words, Ephesians 2, but God. Look over there at Ephesians
2 and verse 4. You were by nature the children
of wrath even as others, verse 4, but God. Who made the difference? God. So thankful for that divine interjection. We were altogether unrighteous. Remember, believer, that sin
was not just what we did, it's who we are. And because we are
by nature sin, therefore it is written, there is none righteous,
no, not one. There's none that understandeth,
there's none that seeketh after God. They are altogether become
an unprofitable. There's none that doeth good,
no, not one. And if we are altogether unprofitable
and unrighteous, then why would God look upon us and choose us? If it was not for our greatness,
if it's not because of who we are, or what we could do, then
why would God choose us? God gives you two reasons in
your text. Look at your text. God gives you two reasons why
you were chosen. Not because of you. You were
not chosen because of your goodness, your merit, or what you could
do for God. You could do what everyone else
could do. Nothing. You could do what everyone
else could do. Sin. That's what you could do. That's what I could do. Why did
God choose us? First of all, he loved us because
he would. Look at verse eight. The Lord
did not choose you because of your greatness, but because the
Lord loved you. God chose you because he loved
you. Not love what you have done or could do or would do. He loved
you because he loved you. That's it. There it is. Why did
God choose me? Because He loved me. Because
He loved me. You know, God is love. John says
that, doesn't he? God doesn't just love, but He
is Himself love. Just as He is righteous, and
justice, and holiness, He is also love. God has, in His great
love, chose some. chose some. Why is that great? Because by nature we all deserve
death. That's what we deserve. But yet
God in love chose some. It was His love that moved Him
to choose people for Himself. God did not elect you for your
glory, but for His. For His. Look back in Ephesians
chapter 1, and I just end where verse 4, that you should be holy
and without blame before Him. I believe these words, in love,
better go with verse 5. In love, having predestinated
us under the adoption of children by Jesus Christ. In love. immutable love, unchangeable
love, omnipotent love. He predestinated us to be His
children by one specific way, by Jesus Christ, for one specific
reason, according to the pleasure of His will. That's why you were
chosen. That's why you were chosen. Let
this be a comfort to you who believe. God loves you. I didn't say God loves everyone.
That's a lie of false religion. I know this. God loves His people. God loves His people, and His
love is not a love like unto our love. His love is an eternal
love. Now, what he said in Jeremiah,
he said, Jeremiah chapter 31, verse 3, The Lord appeared to
me of old and said, Yea, I have loved thee. With what kind of
love? An everlasting love. An eternal, immutable love. And I love this about God because
his love is not only eternal and unchangeable, his love has
power. Therefore, he said, with loving
kindness have I drawn thee." You see, God's love comes with
power. How many of us have children
that are, that have gone out into the world and, you know,
they've done all sorts of evil things, and you love them, but
you recognize that your love is so limited, it has no power
over them. You cannot draw them back. You cannot keep them. You cannot
save them. But God's love is not like that.
When God loves someone, he will save them. He will draw them. They will be saved. And there is nothing on earth,
nothing in heaven or in hell that can stop God from doing
this. His love has power. I tell you
what, there's the false god of this world. They say, well, he
loves everybody, but he just, he can't save everybody. Well,
that's not the god of this book, friends. That's a false god,
and he's not worthy of any praise. This god is worthy of praise.
I have loved you with an everlasting love, therefore with loving kindness
have I drawn thee. You see, God has love, and his
love has power. Isn't that a marvelous that God
loves me? Oh, that God would give us grace
to swim in the depths of his love. That the billows of this
love would overflow our souls. Because it's infinite. It doesn't
change. Sometimes I feel like God's love
changes, don't you? Circumstances change and providences
change. I change, you change. But one
thing that never changes is God's love for his people. Perfect. That's why he chose
you, because he loved you. He loved you. And second of all,
he chose you because of a covenant. Look at that back in your text.
Verse 8, because he loved you and because he would keep the
oath, the covenant that he swore to your fathers. Go to Hebrews
chapter 6. Hebrews chapter 6. This is the
oath that is spoken of, is the oath that was given to Abraham. Hebrews chapter 6, and look at
verse 13, for when God made promise to Abraham, Because he could
swear by none greater, he swore by himself, saying, Surely blessing
I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thee. You see,
God swore to Abraham concerning the nation of Israel. Yet we
know that, as I told you at the beginning, was only a shadow
of good things to come. This covenant that he made with
Abraham is a picture of the covenant of grace that he had made with
Christ. unto Abraham and unto his seed,"
Paul says in Galatians chapter 3, which seed is Christ. The covenant was made with Christ. So Abraham's covenant was a shadow,
a picture of the great covenant of grace made with Christ for
all the elect. And listen, he made this covenant,
this oath, that by two immutable things, that is, his counsel
and his promise, he has given hope and consolation to all who
believe on Christ. You this morning, I want you
to know God's will for you is that you be comforted, that you
have consolation. Look at verse 17 of chapter 6.
It says, wherein God willing more abundantly. to show to the
heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel." You know what
that counsel is? It's his purpose. That eternal
purpose that God chose you to save you, that's an eternal purpose
of God. He wants to show you, He is willing
to show you this, that His purpose is immutable. It's unchangeable. And what did He do to show that?
He confirmed it by an oath. Listen, friends, when God says
something, is it not your... When God speaks one time, is
that not enough? And yet what does God do for
you and me since we're so weak? He condescends to swear. God cannot lie, so why would
He need to swear? Because you and I are so weak
that we are so feeble and unbelieving. God condescends and says, I want
you to be so comforted, I'm going to swear on myself. When there's
nobody higher, I swear. When you make an oath to your
friends, what do you do? You swear by something higher, don't you?
Well, I swear on my mama's life. That's what we used to say when
we were kids. Why? Because mama was our highest.
Mama, we loved her. We didn't want her to die. We
swore by something greater. God can't find anything greater
than himself, so he says, I swear by myself that I'm going to do
what I promised to do. That by two immutable things,
his purpose and his oath, impossible for God to lie, that you might
have a strong consolation, a strong comfort, a firm foundation. for those who fled for refuge
to lay hold on Christ. You have a strong consolation.
This morning, are you tossed about? I'm telling you, this
world, God wants you to, God puts us in there for a reason,
because in this world, you shall have tribulation. In this world,
you're going to be tossed about. The storms of your life are ordained
of God. Therefore, God knows you will
be tossed about. God knows your fear. He knows
your unbelief. Therefore, He is willing to give
you a strong foundation to stand on. He's giving you something
that's firm. Though everything in your life
is tossed upside down, this is firm. This is sure. No matter
what you see, no matter what you feel, no matter what you
go through, no matter what happens to you, this is sure. This is
sure. How do I know? Because God made
an oath. God chose me according to his
love and according to his oath, he swears to save me. He swears
to save all of his elect. You look at that back in Ephesians
chapter two, and he says in verse four, but God, who is rich in
mercy for his great love, wherever he loved us, what did he do?
even when we were dead in sins, he loved us. Can you not reason this? If he
loved me before I was saved, shall he not love me after I'm
saved? If his love was the same before
I was converted, do you not suppose his love is still after the same,
after my conversion? But listen to what he did. While
we were dead in sins, he quickened us together with Christ. In other
words, all that Christ accomplished, all that Christ merited, we were
in Him. For by grace you are saved. God through His Word there then
comforts His children in times of grief and pain. He is willing
and abundantly willing to show to us the immutability of His
counsel by taking an oath. And so that he chose us in Christ
before the foundation of the world because of his love and
secondly, because of his oath. Now, the next thing I want you
to know is this. Not only did God choose you because
he loved you and because he had a covenant, swore a covenant,
but I want you to see the fulfillment of this covenant. Look in the
back again at your text, go back to your text. Verse 8, because
the Lord loved you, because He would keep His oath, He swore
to your fathers. What did He do? Hath the Lord brought you
out with a mighty hand and redeemed you out of the house of the bondman? Just as God brought Israel out
of the bondage of Pharaoh, Even so, God swears to deliver and
redeem every one of his chosen people. How did he deliver Israel? You remember, Israel was in bondage
to Pharaoh for 400 years. They were weak. They could not
deliver themselves. How did God deliver them? You
remember He sent those ten plagues, but it was only the last plague
that caused their deliverance, and that was the Passover. That
night before their deliverance, God commanded them to sacrifice
a lamb and put the blood on the doorpost and the lentil, and
that night when God passed through, He passed over everyone that
had the blood. Again, this is a shadow of good
things to come, isn't it? Just as God delivered Israel
that night by blood, even so God purposed to deliver spiritual
Israel by the blood of His Son. You see, Jesus Christ is the
Passover Lamb. His blood was shed for the redemption
of His people. I'll tell you this, by nature
we were like Israel in bondage. We were in bondage to sin and
could not free ourselves. Jesus said Satan was like a strong
man armed. I don't care how hard men try
to save themselves, they cannot do it. You can will it. You can determine it. You can
work at it. You can give your life for it.
You cannot free yourself. And except a stronger man come and overcome the strong man armed,
you will continue to live and die in your sins. Satan is a strong man. And I'll
tell you this, men love to be ruled by him. Why? They love their sin. You see,
when I tell you of Jesus Christ and forgiveness of sins, men
say, well, that's nice for someone else. What? That means you don't
need it. You don't want it. Why don't you want it? Make no
mistake, it's because you're in bondage. You love your sins. And unless Jesus Christ comes
and breaks the chains of your sins, you will die in your sins. Is this not so with us? Were
we not also under the bondage and yoke of sin? Until when? Until God exposed our need of
freedom. Until God exposed my need of
righteousness and blood, that I could not provide for myself.
Then he showed me a fountain of blood opened by Jesus Christ. And what did we find? What can
wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. You see, God chose us. He also
covenanted to save us. He also fulfilled the covenant
by the blood of Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul says, this man,
Jesus Christ, after he had offered one sacrifice for sin, what did
he do? He sat down. When you get done with something,
what do you do? You set out. You're finished. He's finished the work. He's
fulfilled the covenant. God says, I have redeemed thee
by blood. But listen, He didn't just redeem
them by blood, He also redeemed them by power. You see, that nation of Israel,
they were redeemed and they went out, right? And you remember
that they were trapped. They had the sea in front of
them, Pharaoh behind them, hills to the left, desert to the right.
They could go nowhere. And then God in power opened
the Red Sea, and they walked through on dry ground. And when
Pharaoh tried to do the same, God crushed him and his armies
with that sea. What is this a picture of? This
is a picture of the power of the Holy Spirit in regeneration. You see, our redemption came
before our regeneration, didn't it? When God redeemed us, there's
an appointed time where God stops us. He surrounds us, and there's
no place to go. The sea pictures the justice
of God, the holy wrath of God. We could not go forward. Except
what? Except God part the sea of His
wrath and judgment, and that He did by Christ. And when the
Holy Spirit comes, He makes the way open. And what do we do? We, by faith, are baptized into
the sea. And you know what happens to
all our sins? They've been crushed like Pharaoh. Our sins and our
captors have been crushed by the blood of Jesus Christ. Cleanses
us from all our sins. Isn't this a wonderful God? a
God who loved us, a God who chose us, a God who redeemed us. Now, for your comfort, is this
so of you? Are you chosen? Are you loved? Has Christ fulfilled the covenant
promises? on your behalf, I'll tell you
this, the only evidence of this is faith in Christ. That's it. If you believe, don't you realize
that you've been set free? You know why men won't believe?
Because they can't. You know why I believe? Because
I can. Because He's freed me. He set
me free. And now then, you that have been
set free, look at what the knowledge that God gives you. Look at verse
9. Know therefore, because you are a separate people, a chosen
people, a loved people, a covenant people, a redeemed people, know
this. Your God is God. Your God is God. I want you to know this, believer,
and get a hold of this. Your God is God. This is to give you courage in
every trial and difficulty. This knowledge should give you
peace in every trouble, to know that your God is God. God says
this, I am the Lord, there is none else, there is no God beside
me. There's only one God, friends,
only one God. Listen to what he says. I form
the light and create darkness. I make peace and create evil. I, the Lord, do all these things.
My God is God. What does that mean? That means
that God is sovereign in everything. Rules over everything. And there is no other God besides
Him. He said, I am the Lord, besides
me there is no Savior. I want you to be comforted in
this because of your troubles. In your troubles, because God
is on the throne. And there is not a trouble that
you face. that is not designed by His own
hand. Hear Him. I form the light. I create darkness. I make peace. I create evil. Now, He's not
saying that He creates sin, that sin is His. He cannot sin or
be charged with sin. What that word means is calamity.
It means affliction. It means trouble, adversity. I create adversity. I create
conflict. I do this myself. Remember, your troubles and trials
are created by your God. And they're intended not for
your destruction, but for His glory and your good. You remember that Psalm 107 I
preached this last year? I preached it at Lincoln Wood
recently. That mariner, he sets out to
sail in those deep waters, and then God commandeth the waves
to rise to the heavens and drop to the earth. And that man, that
poor sailor, he's an experienced sailor, and he's trying his best
to right the ship. He's trying his best to save
everything. He's doing his work, making sure
all of his sails are good, his knots are good, and he does all
that he can. You know what he comes to? His
wit's end. You know what all your troubles are for? So that
you and I should come to our wit's end and cry to God. Why? Because God is worthy of
glory. And what happens when we cry?
He calms the waves. And what are we? We're glad.
And we praise God for the calm. You see, He created the trouble
so that He should make the calm. That's what He's for. Thy God
is God. And secondly, know this, thy
God is the faithful God. What does this mean? It means
this, that all that He chose in love will come to Christ.
He's faithful. He's faithful. Jesus said, "...all
that the Father hath given me shall come to me." And this is
faithful. "...him that cometh to me I will
in no wise cast out." Now listen, I'm just speaking to sinners.
If there's any sinner who has not come, why? Why will you not come? He said, "...him that cometh
to me I will in no wise cast out." Is that not the most gracious
word you've ever heard? Why? Why would He not cast me
out? Because if you can come, the Father gave you to Christ.
They shall come to Him, and He won't cast them out. He came
from heaven to do the will of His Father that sent Him, and
this is the Father's will, that He should lose nothing. Any God
that loses anyone is not God. Well, I believe you can be saved
today and lost tomorrow. Your God is not God. My God is
God, because He's the faithful God. He's the God that keeps
His covenant to a thousand generations. He keeps His covenant and mercy. I like that. Covenant and mercy. That covenant He swore to keep,
He's going to keep it. And all along the way is mercy.
He keeps mercy. Because His people are in constant
need of mercy. Constant need of mercy to a thousand
generations. How long is our lifetime? There's not a thousand generations
longer than your lifetime. Yes, it means infinite faithfulness. And this is a true and faithful
God. He said this, My sheep hear My
voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. I give unto them eternal life,
and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them
out of My hand. Why? The Father which gave them
Me is greater than all, and I and My Father, no one's going to
pluck them out of My Father's hand. I and My Father are one.
Faithful God, your God is a faithful God. The Lord thy God is a gracious
God, a faithful God. He is faithful to keep you. Jude said this, he is faithful
to keep you from falling. He is able, he is able to keep
you from falling. And so then when you pass through
the trials and difficulties of this life, this is your comfort.
Behold the Lord thy God. He set you apart. He chose you. Why? He loved you and made a covenant
with Christ for you. And Christ fulfilled the covenant.
He did redeem you from all your sins. And in power he came and
quickened you to faith and life in Christ. Now know this, that God is your
God. And that God, the only God, is
faithful. He's faithful so that none of
his people that he chose will ever be lost. I love it. Isn't that the most sure thing?
None of what I said can be doubted. It's just plain. Nothing that
has been said did not come from that text. What then have we to fear? My God is God. So as this new
age, this new year comes along, a lot of trouble's coming. It's
all right. Your God is God, the faithful
God. Keep a covenant in mercy to a
thousand generations.