Our text will be from verse three. The subject is this, great salvation. Great salvation. You could look
at that from several different angles, so to speak, and consider
it a great salvation. If you consider those who are
saved, it'll take a great salvation for this sinner. You look at
the Savior that God sent. to save sinners, and again, you
see, it's a great salvation. Hebrews 2 and 3, we read, how
shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation? And that's
our first thought. Salvation, great salvation, was
needed. Considering the state we are
in by nature, what we are by nature, could anything less than
a great salvation do us any good? Could anything less than a great
salvation help me? Only a great salvation can save
great sinners. Great sinners. Old Scott Richardson
used to say, and I've told you this several times, I have good
news for sinners. That's what the gospel is, glad
tidings, good news. And Brother Scott would say,
I have good news for sinners if I could only find a sinner.
Everybody makes a profession, just about everybody. Everybody
claims to be saved. They've made a decision. They've
walked out. They've repeated the sinner's
prayer. Old Joseph Hart put it this way. He said, what comfort
can a Savior bring to those who never felt their woe? Our text
is the form of a question. Hart put it in the form of a
question. What comfort can a Savior bring to those who never felt
their woe? And the answer is, God doesn't
comfort any of those who haven't felt their woe. God strips those
before He clothes He brings sinners down before He raises them up. He takes off their robe of self-righteousness,
strips them from it, before He clothes them in the righteousness
of His Son. The answer is that God doesn't
comfort any who have never felt their woe, who have never felt
their need of a great salvation. Religion will. Religion will
do it. Preachers will do it, soul winners
will do it, but God never has. God will not give people a false
hope. He won't do that. Listen to these
words of Jesus Christ on this very subject. In Luke chapter
5, the scribes and the Pharisees murmured against his disciples
saying, why do you eat with publicans and sinners? I mean, can you
just picture them? They're not too close because
Christ is surrounded by publicans and sinners, tax collectors.
men that were despised, and sinners, just a riff-raff. The Pharisees,
if they brushed against such a person on the street, they
would go home and change their clothes. They were self-righteous. So there they stand, looking
down their self-righteous nose, and they asked the disciples
this question, why does your master associate with such people
as that? And Jesus answered them. He said,
I'm going to tell you why. They that are whole don't need
a physician, but they that are sick. I came not to call the
righteous, but sinners to repentance. Most folks are whole. They think
they're fine. They think they're good enough,
like these Pharisees. They never felt their need of
salvation, of grace that brings salvation. Again, a sinner is
a sacred thing, Hart wrote. The Holy Ghost has made him so. Only God can make a sinner. I
mean, we can give lip service to it to get someone off our
backs and say, oh, yes, I'm a sinner. But only God can make a sinner.
Only God can get a man lost. And until he does, only God,
as old Newton put it in his most famous hymn, it was grace that
taught my heart to fear. If God doesn't do that, if God
doesn't get me lost, I'll never be saved. Our Lord told these
Pharisees, you think you're whole. My mission, therefore, is not
to you. I'm not talking to you. You've
already confessed that you don't need me. You don't need what
I brought. You don't need my salvation.
You don't need my grace. You don't need the touch of the
great physician. The physician's business is with
the sick. Therefore, that's the reason
I came. I eat with publicans and sinners,
and he was thankful to do it. Gracious to do it. For generations
now, generations, people have been told that salvation is just
an easy thing. That it's easy to be saved. We
see it on every hand. We read it in tracts by the thousands. It's as easy as A, B, C. It's as simple as saying the
sinner's prayer. There's really nothing to it.
As a matter of fact, God's done all he can. Aren't you glad that's
not true, Billy? God's done all he can, we're
told, and now it's up to you. It's up to you to save yourself. It's up to you to take the first
step. That is contrary to the Word
of God throughout. Martin Luther said this, if you
see yourself as a little sinner, You'll see Christ as a little
savior. When the Lord God asked Ezekiel
about that valley of dead, dry bones, this question, can these
bones live? Can these bones live? The answer
that would be given to that by most religionists today is this,
yes, that's not a problem. Yes, these bones can live. It's
as easy as A, B, C. Really? Really? The Lord Jesus
Christ didn't think so, did he? When he was asked by his disciples,
who then can be saved? Could words be plainer than his
answer? Who then can be saved? He didn't say that it was easy,
did he? As a matter of fact, he said the very opposite of
that. So far from being easy, he said with men, plural, with
men, all men, you, me, and all men. With men, it's impossible. It's impossible. Who can be saved? With men, it's impossible. No
creature can work the change that's necessary for the salvation
of his soul, either in himself or in anybody else. With men,
it's impossible to change the current of their fallen nature,
to change that hard heart, to soften it, that stubborn will,
to bow down before God. The Bible describes the work
of grace as a creation. If any man be in Christ, he's
anew. I know the word there is creature,
but it's creation. It's described as a resurrection.
And with men, that's just impossible. It can never be done by philosophy. It's been tried. By medicine,
by politics, by man's will, or by man's work, it can accomplish
what needs to be done. Oh, but our Lord didn't stop
there, did he? He told the disciples in answer to the question, who
can be saved with men, it's impossible, but, but, but, oh, thank God
for that blessed but, but with God, with God, all things are
possible. Listen to this, the psalmist
in Psalm 37 and 39, but, there it is again, The salvation of the righteous
is of the Lord. He is their strength in the time
of trouble. And the Lord shall help them
and deliver them. He shall deliver them from the
wicked and save them because they trust in him." Isaiah, the
evangelical prophet, Isaiah 12 and 2. Behold, God is my salvation. Or if I experience salvation,
it'll be God. Behold, God is my salvation. I will trust and not be afraid.
If God is my salvation, I really have nothing to fear. For the
Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song. He also has become my
salvation. Again, Isaiah 25 verse 9. And it shall be said in that
day, Lo, this is our God. We have waited for him, and he
will save us. This is the Lord. We have waited
for him. We will be glad and rejoice in
his salvation. That's what old Jonah learned.
He learned it the hard way. He had to learn it the hard way.
My father used to say to me, son, you are so hard-headed. Can you not learn anything except
the hard way? If you can't listen, boy, you're
going to feel. And God, by his grace, makes
us to feel our nothingness, our lostness. That's what he did
with Jonah. He found himself in the belly
of that great fish. And he knew. He knew it was his
will that got him into that mess. But only the will of God Almighty
was going to get him out. Only God by His mighty power
and grace was going to bring him out. He learned this. He
learned this. What God said to Moses, I will
have mercy on whom I will have mercy. And I will have compassion
on whom I will have compassion. So then, what should we conclude
from that? So then, is it not obvious? So then it is not of him that
willeth. So that flies right in the teeth
of most preaching today, doesn't it? It's not of him that willeth.
People advertise on their marquees, on their signs, apostasy. Free
will. Free will. It's not of him that
willeth. Take that down. That's a lie.
That's telling lies on God. It's not of him that willeth.
It's not of him that runneth, but of God. Of God that showeth
mercy. The poem puts it like this. It
took a miracle to put the stars in place. And it took a miracle
to hang the world in space. It wasn't the result of a big
bang, but a big God. Likewise, but when God saved
my soul, cleansed and made me whole, it took a miracle of love
and grace. It took great salvation, great
grace, great power, great mercy, a great savior. Anything less
can never do it. The word of God teaches that
our natural state before God is one of spiritual death. We
need more than religious garment. We need more than a Bible stuck
in our hand. We need more than learning some
doctrine. We need the Son of God to give
us life. I need more than just propping
up. I need life. I can't come to Christ otherwise.
I can't believe otherwise. Wherefore, as by one man, that
is Adam, sent enter into the world, And death by sin, so death
passed upon all men, no exceptions. That little pretty granddaughter
of mine that I saw the other day, spent some time with, a
year old. She's got the same fallen nature
that's in her great-grandma. The same nature that was in fallen
Adam. I don't care whose tree, family
tree you shake, old Adam's gonna come tumbling out. He's in there,
and we traced all of our roots back to him. Israel shall be
saved, but only by the grace of God. It's only him. It's only
the Lord Jesus Christ that can give us life. If he doesn't do
it, it just won't be done. That's what he told Nicodemus,
didn't he? Nicodemus, you must be born again. If you're not
born again, you can't see the kingdom of God. What did he mean
by that? He meant that you can't understand
the kingdom of God. You can't perceive the things
of God unless you're born again. And thank God, that's what he
does for every sinner he saves, gives them a new heart, a new
life, the very life of God in the soul of man. That's what
the Word of God teaches. Because by nature, the natural
man, listen to this, the natural man receiveth not, not the things
of the Spirit of God. Why? There's foolishness to him.
Neither can he know them. Now Nicodemus was a teacher of
the Pharisees and the Lord said, Nicodemus, you don't know these
things? Because neither can he know them. There's foolishness unto him
because they are spiritually discerned and he doesn't have
the equipment to discern these things. We must have life first
before we can believe. We must have life before we repent. We must have life before we're
even willing to come to the Lord Jesus Christ. We must be made
willing. People hear about Sovereign mercy
and grace, and they say, oh my soul, you're saying that God
saves people against their will. I've never said that. I don't
think that. I don't believe that. God doesn't
save man against his will, but he makes them willing in the
day of his power. If God Almighty works the work
of grace in a man's heart, you don't have to drag him up front.
and put words in his mouth, he'll seek God, he'll seek God's grace,
he'll seek Christ the Savior, and he'll seek him till he finds,
he'll seek him with all of his heart. And the reason is, the
great shepherd has sought him first. That's exactly what the
grace of God does in Jesus Christ. Listen, Ephesians 1, you had
he quickened. That means he's given life. He's
made you alive. He did for you spiritually what
He did for Lazarus literally and physically. He gave you life. He breathed. Can these bones
live only if the Son of God, who's the resurrection and life
comes to where they're at and gives them life? Then, then they'll
be willing in the day of God's power. You have He quickened. Aren't you glad He did? He didn't
have to. He didn't owe it to you. You
could do nothing to earn it. You couldn't quicken yourself.
You couldn't give yourself life. Yes, I can make a decision. Yes,
I can walk an aisle, and I can shake every preacher's hand I
run across, but I can't give myself life. And that's what's
necessary. Nicodemus, you must be born again. And here's the good news. You
had, he quickened. God-quickened, who were dead
in trespasses and sins, even when we were dead in sins, had
quickened, made alive, together with Christ, by grace you're
saved. Yes, with God, salvation is possible,
and it's certain, and it's everlasting. Nothing can be added to it. Nothing
can be taken away. It's eternal life. It's the same
light. The light that is in every child
of God is the very same light that's in the Son of God. before
it ends, before it can die, before a child of God can ever die,
before that eternal life can ever cease, the Son of God, the
source of that life, would have to die. He would have to perish,
and that can never happen. Oh, because I live, Christ said,
that's why you'll live. You'll live as long as the Son
of God lives. The life that's in you is the
same life that's in the Son of God. Isn't that a comfort? And
here's the second thought. A great salvation demands requires
a great savior. A great savior. And there's only
one who's mighty to save. There's only one. Only one that's
able to save to the uttermost all that come unto God by him.
There's only one name given among men by which we must be saved. And there's only one mediator
between God and man. There's only one advocate. I
noticed when we were out in Arkansas, Robin and I stayed at Darwin's
house. He was gone, of course, and we
stayed there. On TV, it's just like here. Every other commercial
was for a lawyer, a commercial for a lawyer. Call the man. One call, that's all. Lawyer,
and preachers think they're advocates. Priests think they're advocates
between God and the sinner. There's only one advocate God
will hear. There's only one lawyer that
God will listen to, and that's the Lord Jesus Christ. We have
an advocate with the Father, and it's not preacher, and it's
not priest, and it's not Baptist, and it's not Calvinist. It's
the Lord Jesus Christ. God will hear him. He intercedes
for his people, and God hears him. He hears him for Christ's
sake. God receives us for Christ's
sake. There's only one door, only one way, only one Savior,
and they're all the same. They all fall under that one,
the Lord Jesus Christ. He's all those things. He's our
righteousness, sanctification, our redemption, and wisdom. Christ
is all. All in all, Christ is all. When
the fullness of the time was come, this is why we read in
Galatians 4, for behold, when the fullness of the time was
come, God sent forth his son. His son, made of a woman, made
under the law to redeem. Ooh, I like that. I highlighted
that. To redeem them that are under
the law that we might receive the adoption of sons. The very
fact that salvation could not be accomplished by anyone other
than the Son of God himself is proof that this must be a great
salvation. Not just anybody could do it.
Do y'all remember an old hymn? One of them stupid. songs years
ago, it was very popular in most circles, but suppose God searched
over heaven, remember that? Suppose, ooh, I despise that,
that's about let's go down to the water or river or whatever
that is, but suppose God searched over heaven and he couldn't find
somebody willing to be. The supreme sacrifice was needed.
Now that supposes that there might be more than Jesus Christ.
There was no search. Christ was set up as the Savior
of His people before the world was created. There was no search
over heaven. No, no, Christ was always, He
was the man slain from the foundation of the world. He was always the
Savior, the only Savior. God sent forth His Son. There
was no search. And His Son came forth to redeem
His people. It required that the Word, as
we just read here in Hebrews 2, that required that the Word
that was in the beginning with God, and was God must enter into
this world and must be made flesh. He must be made like unto His
brethren in order to save His brethren. He was made, He took
hold of, He took hold of, not the seed of angels. He didn't
come to redeem angels. He took hold of the seed of Abraham. He was made like unto His brethren. Behold, John said, the Word,
the everlasting Word was made flesh and tabernacled among us. Look at that, isn't that a wonder?
Behold that, and He that was made flesh was made sin. Oh my soul. Now that's a mystery. Paul said great is the mystery
of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh. Now Billy you talk about often
you say oh my little gray matter just can't get a hold of that.
Mine can't either. God Almighty, Jesus Christ was
made flesh. That baby in the arms of Mary
in that stable, that's God Almighty. Yeah, oh my soul, but more than
that, think of this. If you think you can wrap your
mind around that, then try this. That word that was made flesh
was made sin. He was made sin. How can God
be made sin? How can he that is sinless be
made sin? I don't know. I don't have a
clue how that could take place, but I know that it did. It had
to. In order for Christ to redeem
and save his people, Oh behold, God sent forth his son to redeem
them that were under the law. This great salvation required
the great God and Savior Jesus Christ being made of a woman,
made under the law, to try and redeem, to offer to redeem, to
hope to redeem. That's how religious folks talk. That's how most church members
talk. But the Word of God never speaks that way. It says, He
didn't come to try and redeem. He came to redeem His people. He came to lay down His life
for His sheep. He didn't try to redeem, He redeemed. Oh, hallelujah! He redeemed all
of His people from all their sins. That's why He cried from
the cross, It is half finished. Oh no, glory to His name, our
Captain. of the captain of our salvation
exclaimed, without doubt, it is finished. He got the job done. That's exactly what he did. That's
why the angel said to those shepherds that night, lo, I bring you glad
tidings of great joy, for unto you is born this day in the city
of David a Savior. A Savior. That's why Christ came,
to save his people from their sin. A Savior, and who is He? He's Christ the Lord. A Savior
that's able to work out a great salvation for great sinners. And that's what He did. He is
as willing to save as He is able. He's a complete Savior, the only
and everlasting Savior. That's why His name is Jesus,
because He saves from sin, from Satan, from the law, from the
world, from death, from hell, and from wrath to come, and from
every enemy the child of God has. Oh, Jesus Christ is a great
Savior, a real Savior. He's not a sham Savior for sham
sinners. He's not a pretended Savior for
pretend sinners. No, He's a real Savior. He saves
His people, all of His people, from their sins. That's what
the angel told Joseph that day. Call His name Jesus. Why are
you giving Him that name? Why did God command you to tell
Joseph to get, why not another name? Why Jesus? Because that
name tells who he is and why. That name tells us what he came
to do. Jesus, Joshua, it means Jehovah
saves. The salvation of the Lord. Call
him that, Joseph, because he shall save his people from their
sins. Who else could perform such a
work? but the great God and Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Who else
could do that? Great sinners need a great salvation. A great salvation requires a
great Savior. Behold, the Lamb of God, He alone
takes away the sin of the world, of Jew and Gentile, black and
white, of all nationalities of people, shall make up the cross,
or rather the crown of our glorious redeemer. trod the winepress of love. He
by himself purged our sins. Oh, see him going in to that
winepress, suffering the wrath of God Almighty, the just and
the holy God. Oh, wake, oh sword, against the
man who is my fellow. When my sin became his, God counted
him guilty of them and punished him as such. He by himself purged
our sins. He, oh glorious Savior, mighty
Redeemer, he obtained eternal redemption for us, he makes intercession
for us, he shall never allow us to perish, he will keep us
from falling, and he will present us without fault before the throne
of God. Oh, I'm looking forward to that.
Without fault before the throne of God, he shall do that. If
he doesn't, he shall lose his glory. If he allows one of his
sheep that God put into his hands, that he became the surety for,
that he agreed with the Father, I'll be responsible, as Paul
wrote, put whatever he owes you, put that on my account. Put that,
whatever Onesimus owes you, Philemon, put it on my account. I'm telling
you, I'm giving you my word. I will repay it. I will repay
it. God Almighty in that covenant of grace took the word of his
son when he put all of the sheep into the hands of his son, our
great shepherd, and the son said, I will do. I will repay. I'll
repay the debt. I will restore that which I took
not away. And if he doesn't do that, he'll
lose his glory. He'll lose his honor. Yeah, I'll
lose my soul, but he'll lose more than that. He'll lose his
glory. And that can never be. That can never be. All the son
of God or rather God himself said concerning his son, behold
my servant. 700 years before, behold my servant. Before he came into this world,
behold my servant whom I uphold, my elect, and whom my soul delights. I put my spirit upon him, he
shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not cry
nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. A
bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he
not quench. He shall bring forth judgment unto truth. He shall
not fail. He came to save His people from
their sins. And God says, He shall not fail.
He's going to trod the winepress, and He shall not fail. He's going
to be our everlasting surety, and He shall not fail. He'll
be that mediator between God and man, and He shall not fail.
He shall keep all of his sheep, and he shall not fail. He shall
seek them and find them and bring them home, and glory to his name,
he's gonna bring them all the way home. He's not gonna carry
them halfway and say, now you're on your own, get there the best
way you can. He's gonna bring them all the way home, and God
says, listen, he shall not fail. Ah, so that's encouraging, isn't
it? I'm in the hands of one who has not failed, can not fail,
and never shall fail. He shall not fail, he won't even
be discouraged. I heard Brother John Chapman
preaching from that or make reference to it one time, and he said,
well, if you knew you wouldn't fail, would you be discouraged?
There is no reason to be. He shall not fail nor be discouraged
until he has set judgment, justice in the earth, and the owl shall
wait for his law. Thus saith the Lord, he that
created the heavens and stretched them out, he that spread forth
the earth and that which cometh out of it, he that giveth breath
unto the people upon it and spirit to them that walk therein, I,
the Lord, have called thee in righteousness. This is God speaking
of his Son. I have called thee in righteousness
and will hold thy hand and will keep thee and give thee for a
covenant of the people for a light of the Gentiles, to open the
eyes of the blind, to bring out the prisoners from the prison,
and to them that sit in darkness out of the prison house. Yes,
he shall be great, as any sinner. Any great sinner. Those he saves
consider themselves to be the chief of sinners. Every one of
them do. Great sinners. Yes, he shall be great. Ask that
poor leper. Ask blind Bartimaeus. Ask any
of that multitude of the redeemed who even now stand before the
throne of God. Ask them, is he a great savior? And they all will answer with
the very same words, the very same song. They cry, salvation
to our God, which set it upon the throne and unto the Lamb.
Oh, thank God that it's not of him that willeth. Thank God that
it's not of him that runneth, but of God that shows mercy.
Oh, bearing shame and scoffing rude, in my place condemned he
stood. He sealed my pardon with his
blood. Hallelujah. What a Savior. Guilty,
helpless, lost were we. Blameless, spotless, Lamb of
God was he. Sacrificed to set us free. Hallelujah. What a Savior. He was lefted
up to die. It is finished was his cry, now
in heaven, exalted high, hallelujah, what a thing. It's no wonder
that before the angel went to Joseph, after Mary found herself
with child, that holy thing in her, that he came afterwards,
or rather before that, he had gone to Mary and said, Mary,
behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb and bring forth a son,
and thou shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great. He shall be great. How great
thou art. The lady at the well said, hmm,
are you greater than our father Jacob? Are you? The prophecy
concerning him, he shall be great. Well, are you greater than Jacob?
Here's our Lord's answer. Whoever drinks of this water
shall thirst again. The wells of this world yield
no lasting satisfaction. Drink often, drink long, drink
much, And here's the result. You're going to thirst again.
You won't be satisfied. Any unbeliever will never be
satisfied no matter how much they drink or how often they
drink. Oh, but the Lord Jesus Christ, is he greater than Jacob? Listen, whosoever drinketh of
the water that I shall give him, unlike this well, shall never
thirst. But the water that I shall give
him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting
life. This living water is the grace
of God, the life of God, in the heart of every believing sinner.
Grace that reigns where sin once reigned. Grace that abounds where
sin once abound. Grace that will never die, that
will never cease until it blossoms into everlasting glory. Being confident of this very
thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform
it into the day, of the Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, a greater
than Jacob is here. The Jews asked him on one occasion,
are you greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? And all
the prophets, they're dead too. Who do you make yourself out
to be? Who do you think you are? They asked him in John 8. Who
do you think you are? We've got Abraham as our father.
We don't need you. And the Lord told him, your father
Abraham rejoiced to see my day and he saw it and was glad. Abraham saw a type of the Lord
Jesus Christ when he offered up his son Isaac. And again,
when he saw the ram in the thicket, he saw the type. The Lord will
provide, Abraham said, Jehovah Jireh. Are you greater, the Pharisees
asked him on another occasion, are you greater than these? They wanted a sign, and the Lord
said, adulterous. Generations seeks after a sign,
and here's the sign I'll give you, like the sign of the prophet
Jonah. The men of Nineveh shall rise
up in judgment with this generation and shall condemn it because
they repented at the preaching of Jonah and behold a greater
than Jonah is here. A greater than Jonah is here.
Meaning Jesus Christ himself greater in his person, in his
office, in his life, in his obedience, in his sufferings, his death,
his resurrection from the dead. Yes, behold a greater than Jonah
is here. Remember Jonah had first fled
from the work that God gave him to do, but the Son of God never
did. He never went back. Behold, a
greater than Jonah. I do always those things that
please my Father. I come to do thy will, O my God. Jesus therefore knowing, I love
this passage, John 18. Jesus therefore knowing all things
that should come upon him turned and ran. Oh no, knowing all things. Knowing all things that should
come upon him, went forth and said, Whom seek ye? I've told
you that I am he. If therefore ye seek me, let
these go their way. These are the words we read in
Hebrews 2, that the same might be fulfilled which he spoke of
them which thou hast given me. I have lost none. Yes, a greater
than Jonas is here. Behold, a greater than Solomon,
he said on one occasion. Solomon's rich and worldly wealth
was but Jesus Christ is rich in grace. That in the ages to
come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace and his kindness
toward us through Jesus Christ. Grace that never runs out, that's
never less or diminished. Grace is always full, always
full of Christ and Christ full of grace. He giveth and he giveth
and he giveth more grace. Last of all, thank God for this
great salvation experienced. If you have tasted, if you have
tasted the sweet fruit of God's grace coming through the Lord
Jesus Christ, oh, how thankful. Paul contemplated, rather I mean
David contemplating God's many mercies, blessings on him all
of his life, said, oh, what shall I render unto the Lord for all
his benefits toward me? Listen to this. 1 Thessalonians
5 verse 9. For God hath not appointed us
to wrath. I hear people say that a child
of God can be saved and then lost. Oh, my soul. No, that's not what we read here.
God has not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our
Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep,
we should live together with him. Wherefore, comfort yourselves
together, and edify one another, even as also you do. God's appointments
can't be frustrated, can they? Does God purpose something that
will not come to pass? Well, then why would he purpose
such a thing as that? What a comfort it is to know
that our great salvation is in the hands of our great God and
Savior, and he has never failed in doing anything that he purposed
to do. How good to hear him declare,
Israel shall be saved with an everlasting salvation. Ye shall
not be ashamed. nor confounded world without
end. Remember, listen to our God,
remember the former things of old, for I am God, and there
is none else. I am God, and there is none beside
me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times
the things that are not yet done, saying, my counsel shall stand,
and I will do A-double-L all my pleasure. When I hear my God
and Savior say that, that my counsel shall stand, I will do
all my pleasure. Oh, what sweet words are these.
Fear not, little flock. Listen to your great shepherd.
Fear not, little flock. It is your father's good pleasure,
and he shall do all his pleasure. It is your father's good pleasure
to give you the kingdom. Fear not. God's little flock
has his eternal love encircling them, his everlasting arms underneath
them, and a heavenly inheritance before them. Oh, fear not. Thank you, Lord, for saving my
soul. Thank you, Lord, for making me
whole. Thank you, Lord, for giving to
me thy great salvation, so rich and so free. Thank you, Lord,
for the unspeakable gift of your grace. Amen.