Our text will be verse 10, our
subject being God's workmanship. If I were asked to find another
verse of scripture as full of comfort, as full of assurance, reassurance,
Then this verse here, Ephesians 2 and 10, I'd be hard-pressed
to find one. There are those which are equal,
but I don't know of any that surpasses what we're told here. Look at verses 8 and 9, and then
we'll come to our text. These are real familiar verses,
at least mentally. These are probably almost like
John 3.16. About everybody can quote them.
You see them on churches' signs everywhere. Verse 8, For by grace
are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It's
the gift of God. Not of works, not of works, lest
any man should boast. Paul sure had a lot to say about
grace, didn't he? Everything he wrote, every sermon
he preached, it was all about the grace of God that's in Christ
Jesus. His entire ministry was a testimony
to the grace of God that made Paul himself to differ. He loved
telling the story of what happened that day on the Damascus Road.
Whether it was before a governor or a king, an emperor, it didn't
matter whether it was to a few ladies in Philippi, at the river's
bank, it didn't matter. His testimony was always the
same. He said that himself. He did
that deliberately. Listen to this. This is Paul
speaking. But none of these things moved
me. the beatings, the imprisonments, the desertions, the false brethren,
the accusations. None of these things move me,
neither count my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish
my course with joy and the ministry which I have received of the
Lord Jesus to testify the gospel of the grace of God. When I was preparing this message
and thinking about it, especially what I just read to
you from Acts chapter 20, Paul's testimony, I couldn't help but
wonder if Paul were alive today Lester, if Paul were alive this
morning, he is alive. He's alive forevermore. But if
he were here, back on this earth today, and he attended the average
worship service, whether it's contemporary or traditional,
you know you can take your pick these days. Whatever keeps the
people happy. Whatever keeps the crowd coming
back. If Paul were here and he heard in the average church the
average message being preached, I was going to say dare say but
it's no dare. I'm pretty sure Paul wouldn't
recognize it. He wouldn't recognize it. He
wouldn't feel comfortable. I don't know if you've had opportunity
to read the article in the bulletin Don't read it now, but I made
mention that I was driving along a week or so ago. It was during
the week of Valentine's Day. And I saw that sign that I made
mention of at a local church. And they said, God is better
than chocolate. And I saw that and I said, how
stupid. How ignorant. And I made the statement in the
bulletin that I feel sorry for the congregation that has such
a pastor that would promote or condone such foolishness. And
I feel sorry for the congregation that doesn't see a problem with
that sort of thing. God is not like chocolate. The
text in that article was from Psalm 50. God said, you thought
that I was altogether like you. I'm not like you. I'm God. You say, well Larry, were your
statements a little harsh? Not at all. Not at all. I'll tell you what's harsh. What's
harsh is to rob God of his glory. What's harsh is to regulate God
to being compared to a chocolate or some other stupid metaphor. Oh no. That's why I say Paul
would not recognize the average message in the average church
today. He wouldn't know what's going on. What is this? You call this worship? That's
not the gospel. That's not the gospel that exalts
man. Paul said, let me tell you the
gospel is the gospel of God's grace concerning his son and
nothing else. Nothing else is. The reason that
the gospel that Paul preached, which is defined and the very
word gospel means good news, what makes it good news is this,
Mike. It tells about how God saves
sinners. That's what we read just a moment
ago in Ephesians 2, 8 and 9. How God saves sinners. How God does it. Not how he assists
sinners to help themselves. No, but how God saves sinners
all by himself, all through grace, all by Jesus Christ, and all
for his glory. Now that's good news. Paul in
another place concerning the gospel that he preached said
this, but I certify you brethren, you can count on this, I certify
you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not
after man. For I neither received it of
man, neither was I taught it by man, but by the revelation
of Jesus Christ." I think it was old John Bunyan that said
concerning God's word to him. He said, his word was burned
into my soul as with a hot iron. And I couldn't deny it. I couldn't
let it go. That's what Paul says. Let me
read you a few comments. One is by Pastor Darwin Pruitt
on that very verse, Galatians 1 and 11. Darwin wrote, I say
that the gospel I preach is not after man. It's not after man.
It's not after his approval. It's not after his acceptance.
It's not after his merit or his glory. To the best of my ability,
I preach the gospel of God. Of him, by him, about him, and
for him. God give him grace to keep doing
it. Another man wrote, your former pastor. Contemporary religion's
purpose is to make their message and methods palatable to fallen
creatures at the expense of the glory of God and truth, Tommy
Robbins wrote that. And I thought that's exactly
so. That's exactly the case. The gospel of God is not after
man. It didn't originate with man.
The gospel, words are all I have, so the gospel, so to speak, is
as old as God himself, which is the same as saying it's everlasting. And it's described in scriptures
as being the everlasting gospel of the blessed God. It didn't
originate with man. It's not man's idea. What man
comes up with is another gospel. Another gospel, which Paul said
in that same chapter of Galatians 1, is not another, but a perversion. A perversion of the true gospel. No, God's gospel originated with
himself. And it doesn't glorify man. It doesn't glorify man. Oh no. It tells man to come down. It
tells man to bow down. It tells man to kneel before
the Lord God Almighty or perish. It doesn't have anything flattering
to say about man. It says he's a worm of the dust. He says he's depraved. He says
he's in darkness. He says, as we read in Ephesians
2, he's dead in trespasses and sins. What's he got to brag about? No, this gospel glorifies God. It doesn't do the opposite. It
doesn't rob God of his glory, does it? The day's gospel Another
gospel tells about man's ability, but doesn't say anything about
God's ability. It talks about man's worth, but
doesn't say anything about the worth of God himself, the worth
of the Lamb. That's who they sing about in
glory as being worthy. Worthy is who? Not Paul, not
Calvin, not Spurgeon, not Larry, not Fortner. Worthy is the Lamb. He was slain and he redeemed
us to God by his own blood. Worthy is the Lamb. Today's so-called
gospel exalts man's will. Watch out. There's that sacred
cow. It exalts man's will at the expense
of God's will. That's not good news. Now, all
those statements I made, I ask you, are they true or are they
false? Am I making that up? No. No, not at all. I would that
it wasn't so, but it is. That's why I say that Paul, if
he were here today, would not recognize, he wouldn't support
or attempt a fellowship with such a message as that. It's
another gospel, and again in chapter 1 of Galatians, he said,
let anybody that preaches that be damned. Woo! That's pretty
stout. That's pretty stout, but that's
what he said. That's how important it is. You see, brothers and
sisters, salvation cannot be, and it is not, Salvation cannot
be both by man's free will and God's free grace. It cannot be. It's impossible. I'll say it
again. Salvation cannot be both by man's
free will and God's free grace. One's got to go. One's got to
go. If salvation is by man's will,
free grace gets kicked out the door. And if salvation is by
free grace, then free will has no place in the preaching of
God's glorious gospel. But here's the good news, the
gospel. Paul says, proclaims that salvation
is not by works. Oh no, but it's through faith. By grace are you saved through
faith and that's not of yourselves, it's the gift of God. It's not
of works, Larry Criss. So don't you even think about
breaking. No. It's by the free gift of God's
grace in the Lord Jesus Christ. Let me tell you what. That's
the best news I ever heard in my life. How about you? How about
you? You ever heard anything better
than that? Let me tell you. If God Almighty, if he ever has
or if he has already, if he's ever brought you down to give
you just a glimpse of what you are by nature, what you really
are. If He shows you that all of your
righteousnesses, plural, are nothing but a bunch of filthy
rags, all your decisions for Jesus, all your little turning
over new leaves, all of your professions and all of your good
deeds are nothing but filthy rags at His sight, and then someone
is sent to proclaim to you salvation by grace alone, through faith
alone, in Christ alone, it'll be the best news you ever heard
in your life. You'll drink it up like a sponge,
didn't you? That message is good to hear. Paul continues with this same
blessed note, this sweet music to the ears of those who have
been open to hear it. of God's free grace in Christ,
he keeps hammering that point. And then he comes to his master
argument, which is our text in verse 10. That salvation can
never be the result of man's work because the saved, the saved
are God's work. They are God's work, Don. How
can they be the work, do the work rather, when they are the
work? Is that not what it says? Look at it again. We are His
workmanship. Oh, every word is full of comfort. We are His workmanship. God's workmanship. That's who
His is, God. We're the work, but God's the
worker. We're the saved, but God's the
mighty savior. We're the potter, or rather we're
the clay, but God's the potter. God's the worker, we're the work. God's the creator. Our text says
we're the creation in Christ Jesus. We didn't create ourselves. We were made by God. The product
cannot produce itself. Is that not so? That's impossible. The title of my message is God's
Trophy Case. God's Trophy Case. That's what
Paul speaks of his workmanship displaying. Verse 7, that in
the ages to come, he, God, might show his trophy case, the exceeding
riches of his grace and his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. One definition of trophy is anything
serving as a token or evidence of victory, of valor, of skill. Behold, I went down to the potter's
house and he, the potter, God, wrought a work out upon the wheel.
Behold, we are his workmanship. Mr. Toplady put it this way,
the work which his goodness began, the arm of his strength will
complete. His promise is yay and amen and
never, never was forfeited yet. Things future nor things that
are now, not all things below or above can make him his purpose
forego or sever my soul from his love. not if I'm his workmanship. My name from the palms of his
hands eternity will not erase. Impressed on his heart it remains
in marks of indelible grace. Yes, I to the end shall endure
as sure as the earnest is given. More happy but not more secure
are the glorified spirits in heaven. That's exactly so. Workmanship means masterpieces. Did you know that? Did you know
that? The word here for workmanship, it means masterpieces, Mike. Now that alone should tell us
it must be God's work. Whose else could it be? Only
the master can make a masterpiece. God put our work on display in
heaven. Heaven is a place of beauty,
perfection, no sin, no slime, everything glorifying God Almighty
and therefore it must be evidence of His great work and that's
exactly what it is. Let me read you a comment by
that man that will be preaching for us next weekend along this
line. Mr. Fortner wrote, there are
some who make good works to be the cause of salvation. He said
that's a perversion of the gospel. But there is another great wrong
error in the opposite direction which is employed by Satan to
destroy the souls of men. And what is it? This is the era
of the carnal Christian doctrine. And I'll tell you what, that
is Widespread. Widespread. You know why? Because this other
gospel that tells sinners that salvation is partly God's doing
and partly their doing. That message that tells you that
you can take the first step to God, it's produced a whole multitude. I mean, they're being spit out
this morning like cars on an assembly line. You know some
and I know some. I've got them in my family. You
probably do too. They made the decision for Jesus
and just live, if you'll excuse the expression, just live like
hell. But tell them, just hint that
you don't know God and I'll tell you what, they'll want to fight.
They'll want to fight. What's the matter with these
people? They're carnal Christians. They're carnal Christians. That's
the excuse that modern day fundamentalism has made up for all these people
that they lie to and said make a decision for Jesus and slap
them on the back and tell them they're safe and then they go
out not one wit changed at all. Live just like they always lived.
What's going to happen? Well, they'll still go to heaven,
the lie says. They'll simply lose a little
bit of reward. No, no, no. I'll tell you this
again. I say it often and I'll say it
again. If you've never bowed to Jesus
Christ, you're not a carnal Christian. You're not going to lose some
reward in heaven. You're going to lose your immortal
soul if you've never bowed to the Son of God. It doesn't make
any difference how many preachers tell you otherwise. If you've
never bowed to God's Son, you are not a carnal believer. You're
an unbeliever. You're a rebel. And if you don't
bow to Him, you're going to perish. That's just a fact. Our text
says we were created. in Christ Jesus. And our works, as Paul said plainly,
are not the cause of our salvation, as Don said here in his article.
But they're the sure evidence of it, Don. If any man's in Christ,
that's you, that's me, that's anybody else. If he's in Christ
Jesus, he's a new creation. And if he's not, he's lost. You
say, Larry, that doctrine kind of bugs you, don't it? You got
that right. It bugs me because it robs God of His glorious grace
in the salvation of a sinner and it gives multitudes a false
hope of heaven when they shouldn't have it. They shouldn't have
it. Oh, that's a horrible, horrible teaching. No, our text tells
us that we are God's workmanship. We are God's masterpieces. My, so look what grace has done. I mean, the chapter begins by
telling us what we were. We were dead, Mike. What are you going to do to help
God? How are you going to assist God?
You're dead in trespasses and sins. Well, what happened? But
God. But God quickened us. God came
where we were. God gave us life. God raised
us up. God gave us faith. God enabled
us to behold the Lamb of God. Therefore, to God be the glory. Great things He had done. Nobody else. Nobody else. We are His workmanship. And it's for His everlasting
glory, as verse 7 tells us. The trophies of God's mighty,
reigning, sovereign grace. We're His workmanship. Oh, therefore,
child of God, mom, dad, with rebel sons and daughters, oh,
if we're God's workmanship, if salvation is God's work, He can
do for them what He did for you. There's nobody as long as they're
still breathing. There's nobody that's beyond
the reach of God's omnipotent sovereign grace. Nobody. Nobody. Not if salvation is by grace.
We don't have a reason to despair of nobody as long as they're
still living. Pray that God Almighty will bring
them down. No matter how great a prodigal
they might be, God can bring them to Himself. As long as salvation
is of grace, and it is, we are God's masterpieces, his trophies. I have in my, I have a trophy. I've got one. Have I ever showed
it to you? Come by the house, I'll be glad
to show it to you. I got one trophy in a little glass case
at home with some other thing. But it's the only trophy I've
ever had. It's about 12 years old. But having got the first
one and the last one. But it says on it, 2005 par 3
champion at the Campbell Open. That was in Danville, Kentucky,
part of the family reunion of Mr. Lindsey Campbell that most
of you know. And it included some golf. And I won the par 3 championship. That's my trophy. I look at it
every now and then. Come on by, Mike, I'll show it
to you. But God, I've got one pitiful
trophy. Oh, but God Almighty, God Almighty,
He has a multitude of trophies. He's got a multitude of trophies. John said, I saw a multitude
in heaven. multitude of all kindreds and
tongues and tribes and people, a multitude. I couldn't number
them. There were thousands and thousands
and thousands and hundreds of thousands and thousands and I
couldn't number them. And they were all redeemed by
the blood of the Lamb. They all stood before the throne
of God without a spot or a blemish or any such thing. They all came
out of great tribulation and landed on heaven's everlasting
shore. God has a multitude of trophies. Glory to His name. And He'll
showcase them. in heaven's glory, will he not? Each on display is showing the
exceeding riches of his grace in Christ Jesus, being his workmanship. Look here in chapter 1 of Ephesians,
verse 3. Paul begins by saying, verse
3, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who
hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places
in Christ. And the first one Paul mentions
is this, according as he hath chosen us in him. You know election
in most churches today is a curse word. They would rather you say
a curse word than use the word election. But believers in the
early church, in God's word, they refer to each other, elect,
elect, elect according to the four knowledge of God. Elect,
chosen to salvation, to God be all the glory. And Paul says
here, according as he has chosen us in him, that is in Christ,
before the foundation of the world. Oh my. Just as David, you remember the
story of how David went out to face the giant Goliath. David
was just a ruddy faced shepherd boy. The youngest of Jesse's
sons who were in the battle. But David, he was staying home
keeping sheep. And he came out one day, and
here comes Goliath out at the same time. And he was challenging
Israel. You don't have a man there. There's
nobody man enough to come out and face me. And they were hiding
in the rocks. And David said, what is this?
Why are you letting this happen? Why are you letting this uncircumcised
Philistine challenge and degrade the God of Israel? Why are you
letting that happen? They said, man, you don't know
what you're talking about. David told Saul, I'll tell you what, I've
killed the bear and I've killed the lion and I'll kill that rascal.
David said, okay, let's get you suited up. Put on armor. David
said, man, I can't work in this. This don't suit me. And he took
it off. And we're told In 1 Samuel chapter 17, David took his staff
in his hand and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook.
Somebody said because Goliath had four brothers, he'd take
care of them too if need be. And he put them in a shepherd's
bag which he had. And a sling was in his hand and
he drew near to the Philistine. David reached down as he was
going out to face Goliath and picked up some stone. Chose is
the word. He chose him five smooth stones. That's the same word that is
used concerning God's election. He chose us. He chose us. Those stones didn't wiggle to
get David's attention. They didn't say, choose me, choose
me, and neither did you and I. God chose us in Christ before
the foundation of the world. Behold, the great potter. rod of work out upon the wheels.
It is God who marks the stone that he will have while it is
yet in the quarry of fallen humanity. God cuts the stone from its mountain,
God uses it, squares it, polishes it, refines it, and makes it
his own precious jewel. To God be the glory. I declare If this is God's work,
if we are God's workmanship, then it must be. It must be a
successful work. Does it not? It must be a successful
work. The idea that God can't succeed
in whatever he undertakes is contrary to common sense. People used to exhort me to trust
the God that needed my help. And I thought to myself, God
needs my help. You want me to trust a God who
needs my help to save me? Well, if that's all He is, He
can't do anything for me. He's too small. He's too small
for this big sinner. No. God's own word declares that
whatever He purposes, He's able to bring to pass, to perform.
Can infinite wisdom fail? Now think about that. Can omnipotence
lack power? Can absolute sovereignty be defeated? No, no, no, no. Child of God? Child of God? No matter what
you may pass through, No matter how deep the valley, no matter
how many nights weeping may endure, no matter if you think to yourself,
I can see no light at the end of this tunnel, bless God, know
this, that our God is in the heavens and he hath done whatsoever
he hath pleased. And I'll tell you what, that
alone will give you a sweet pillow to rest your weary head on. That
our God is omnipotent, doing whatsoever he will. And it pleased
God. It pleased God to call you by
His grace. Our God is in the heavens doing
whatsoever He hath pleased. And lo and behold. How about
this miracle? How about this wonder? It pleased
Him to call you by His grace. It pleased him to bruise his
son, Isaiah 53, in the room, in the stead, in the place of
his people. And the great shepherd himself,
who laid down his life for us, said, Fear not, little flock.
It's God's pleasure. God's pleased to give you the
kingdom. God's pleased to make us his
workmanship, and he will never, never, ever forsake the work
of his hands. like you and I do. I do it all
the time. I'll begin something I can't
finish. A week or so ago, I was in the backyard and I saw all
those pine needles that I had just been pushing with the lawnmower
under those pine trees and that pile just kept getting higher
and higher and I said, well, I probably need to rake them up, bag them
up. So I got out there and I started
raking and bagging I looked and I had about nine or ten bags,
big garbage bags, just full of pine needles. And I looked under
those trees and it looked like I hadn't made a dent. Hadn't
made a dent. And I said, well... I wish I'd
have never started this job. I'll leave them alone for another
year. They really don't look too bad. God doesn't do that. God doesn't do that. He's God. He must succeed. And let me say
this, not only must this workmanship of God's be successful, it must
be a gracious work, is it not? Is that not exactly what Paul
is driving at? Is that not his main point in
our text? It's a gracious work. This great
work of salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone in
Christ alone. And thank God that that's so.
Thank God that that's so because that's the only hope a sinner
has. That's the only hope a sinner has. I remember hearing Jack
Shanks preaching Danville years ago. You may have known Jack. He was that tall Texan pastored
there in Texas for so many years. But he was telling the story
about Jonah in the belly of the great fish. And he said, can
you imagine one of these free will preachers getting in a boat
and rowing out to where Jonah was? And he stands up in the
boat and he yells down, hey, Jonah. Jonah, why don't you just
wheel yourself out of that big vicious belly? Why don't you
exercise your free will, Jonah, and come out of there? And Jack
said, and Jonah would answer, it was my will that got me in
this mess. It's going to take God's will
to get me out. It's not of him that willeth
or of him that runneth, but it's of God that showeth mercy. If
I get out of here, God's going to have to get me out. And then
he cupped his hands together and said, salvation is of the
Lord. And as I told you before, I'm
sure that was an Arminian whale, because that just left a sour
taste in his mouth. He spit Jonah out. He couldn't
stand that free grace preaching. I've been spit out a few places
myself, shouting that salvation is of the Lord. Thank God that
it is, or none would be saved. It must go on. I'll wrap this
up, but I want you to turn with me to 1 John. 1 John chapter
5. 1 John chapter 5. I sometimes hear people professing
Christian's talk as if doubting is some sort of virtue. And I
know we all have our times of doubt and so forth, but I hear
people talk about like it's some sort of spiritual progress to
always be doubting. Oh, I just don't know, I hope,
I think, I maybe. Brethren, It's salvations by
grace, through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. If I'm God's workmanship, God give me grace not to doubt
it, but to rejoice in it and to give Him the glory. That's
exactly what John says here in 1 John chapter 5. Look at verse
11. And this is the record. This
is the record. This is settled in heaven. This
is God's word to you, believer. And this is the record that God
has given to us eternal life and this life is in His Son.
He that hath the Son hath life. Well, Mike, should I doubt that?
Should I doubt that? Should I not believe God? He
that hath the Son hath life. As Bobby sang a moment ago, I'm
His and He is mine. And he that hath not the Son
of God hath not life. These things have I written unto
you that believe on the name of the Son of God, that you may
pout and doubt. No, no, no. That ye may know
that you have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name
of the Son of God. Now look down at verse 20. And
we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding,
that we may know Him, that is true, and we are in Him, that
is true. Nobody can break that blessed
union. even in his son Jesus Christ. This is true God and eternal
life. Loved. Oh, that's so comforting. I asked Bobby to sing that song
this morning. Loved with an everlasting love,
led by grace that loved to know. Spirit breathing from above,
thou has taught me it is so. Oh, this full and perfect peace.
Oh, this transport all divine. In a love which cannot cease,
I am his and he is mine. There was a man years ago named
William Gurnall. I think I'm pronouncing that
right. He wrote a book called The Saint's Everlasting Armor,
or The Saint's Incomplete Armor, I'm sorry. Let me read you just
a portion of what he said. He says, God's love for his saints
sets his power in motion. He who has God's heart does not
lack for his arm. Thus God in love sets his other
attributes to work. All are ready to bring about
what God loves. Can you imagine, he wrote, the
love God has for a child that he has carried so long in the
womb of his eternal purpose? If God delighted in his purpose
before he spoke the world into being, how much greater is his
delight to witness when that chosen sinner believes. Believes. God showed us how much
a soul is worth by the purchase price he paid. It cost him dearly,
and that which is so hard won will not be easily given up. He spent his son's blood to purchase
you, And He will spend His own power to keep you. He will keep me till the river
rolls its water at my feet and then He'll bear me safely over
where my Savior I shall meet. And this must be a perfect work
because we are trophies of God's grace. Through the trials and
the heartache and the valleys, the hurting Remember this, child
of God. God, the great potter, and we,
the clay, his workmanship, by those things, he's molding us
into the image of his own dear son. He had one son, as well
been said. He had one son without sin, but
he has none without suffering. And the great potter uses all
these things. And when he's done, he'll put
us up on the display in the trophy case of his grace in heaven.
And angels will wonder, oh my soul, look what God did. Look what God did. We're his
workmanship. We shall be like him. A few weeks ago, I was in a store,
a jewelry store downtown, just looking for a gift. And they
didn't have what I went in to look for, but this fella put
something else out. And I said, yeah. And he said,
wait a minute. And he laid it down on this velvet
cloth. And I said, oh, yeah, I believe
that'll work. That looks nice. Oh, I declare. God's grace. Oh, how in that day it's going
to sparkle. It's going to shine. And Christ
will look at his church and say, I'm satisfied. I'm satisfied. And so shall we ever be with
the Lord, displayed as trophies of God's amazing grace. I'm going
to close. Let me share this with you. Remembering
that God's elect are masterpieces, His best work, His highest work,
His signature work. Malachi chapter 3, And they shall
be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my
jewels. And I will spare them as a man spareth his own son
that serveth him. Mr. Pink wrote this. I think
you'll like it. He wrote, it almost surprises
one to learn that the great and self-sufficient God has jewels,
but our surprise increases to astonishment when we learn that
these jewels are living creatures. And astonishment gives place
to overwhelming amazement when we discover that these living
creatures are fallen and depraved sinners, redeemed from among
men. Truly, nothing but divine grace
would ever liken such wretched worms of the dust unto precious
jewels. Yet that is the very thing which
we find God doing in this text. It is not the unfallen angels,
nor the Holy Seraphim, or the exalted cherubim, who are spoken
of as Jehovah's valued treasure, but lost and ruined sinners saved
by amazing grace. This is an exceedingly hard thing
for the Christian to really grasp, for he feels such a wretched
and worthless creature himself. that the Lord of Glory should
deem him of great worth, it is difficult to conceive and yet
it is so. And yet it is so. Isaiah chapter
62 verse 3, you will be a glorious crown in the Lord's hand and
a royal diadem in the palm of your God. Pink went on the right,
wondrous is it to think of rough stones, which first looked like
small pebbles being found in the mud and mire of earth, then
cut and polished until they sparkle with a brilliancy surpassing
any earthly object, and being given an honored place in the
diadem of a monarch. But infinitely more wonderful
as is, that poor lost sinners, saved by sovereign grace, should
be among the crown jewels of the Son of God. That is amazing, is it not? Our
Lord said, then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the
kingdom of their Father, who hath ears to hear, let him hear. Yes, that work which is goodness
begin, The arm of his strength will complete. His promise is
yea and amen and never was forfeited yet. Things future nor things
that are now nor things that are below or above can make him
his purpose forgo or sever my soul from his love. We are his
workmanship. Thank God for that.