He's got a message for this lower
kingdom in Israel that had seemed to escape his judgments that
had come upon the northern kingdom. They seemed to have been delivered
from Sennacherib, the king of Assyria. This happened a good
20 years after Israel's capital in the North Samaria had been
taken. But God had a message now of
judgment for Judah and for Jerusalem. Judah's sins must be punished. Judah's sins must be corrected. And one of God's prophets charged
with delivering his message of judgment to the nation of Judah
was this man Micah. He served God during the kings
of Israel, the kings of Judah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. Jotham, for the most part, was
a good king. He was a man, for the most part,
who led Israel uprightly. But he failed to destroy their
high places. Their high places were the places
where the children of the covenant, the children of Abraham, Those
men and women who were called by the name of God and claimed
to worship the Lord Jehovah, those high places were the places
where they went and worshipped idols in the name of worshipping
God. And Jotham let them get by with
it. But God would destroy them. Look
at verse one, Micah chapter one. The word of the Lord that came
to Micah the Moreshite in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah,
kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem. Hear, all ye people, hearken,
O earth, and all that therein is. Now mark that. This is a word specifically historically
for Judah, but this is a word for all the earth. God the Spirit
told Micah said you call the attention of all the inhabitants
of the earth to what I'm telling you read up and Let the Lord
God be witness against you Let God himself be witness in your
own conscience against you the Lord from his holy temple For
behold, the Lord cometh forth out of his place and will come
down and tread upon the high places of the earth. Not just
the high places of Judah, not just the high places of Israel,
but all the high places of the earth. All the places where men
worship that which is not God and call it the worship of God.
Jotham's son Ahaz inherited a politically strong kingdom, a kingdom that
was a military might. But Ahaz was one of the most
wicked kings in the history of Judah, and he led the people
more and more into the worship of idols. Ahaz's son, Hezekiah,
was perhaps one of the best kings Judah had, and he restored the
worship of God in Judah. Although Micah Prophesied primarily
to Judah. I remind you these words of his
prophecy were words concerning Judah Historically, but their
words of God intended for you and for me today the judgment
against Judah and Jerusalem like all acts of divine judgment was
a matter of absolute strict justice. It was a outpouring of God's
fury, but it was a matter of justice. Look at verse four.
The mountains shall be molten under him. The valleys shall
be cleft as before the fire and the waters that are poured out,
poured down a steep place. Read on, verse five. The judgment
of God is furious, but it's always a matter of just retribution. It's always a matter of just
retribution. Pastor, what does that mean?
That means that God will always give you exactly what you deserve. Justice demands it. If you go
to hell, You'll go to hell because the wages of sin is death. And you've earned your wages.
And whatever wages you inherit in the pit of the damned shall
be exactly according to the measure of light you have despised and
rejected. The wages of sin is death. But
the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
If you inherit everlasting life, you'll inherit it because you
fully deserve it. by the gift of God. Through the merits of God's darling
son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, because only in Christ are all
the demands of God met and satisfied of righteousness and justice.
But if he punishes your sin, he punishes your sin in justice. Now, that is true with regard
to everlasting damnation. And that is true with regard
to all the judgments that come to pass on this earth in time. Now, children of God, learn to
ignore the opinions of the world and of the religious world about
the judgments that take place on this earth. When God sends
a hurricane, a flood, a tornado, a famine, a war, a pestilence,
a disease, it is always in judgment and a forewarning of eternal
judgment. And it is exactly what we deserve,
exactly what we have merited as a nation, as a people, as
individuals. Read the scriptures. Look here,
Micah chapter 1, verse 5. For the transgressions or the
transgression of Jacob is all this. All this fury. All this judgment. The coming
of Sennacherib and the Assyrians. The coming captivity in Babylon. The destruction of Samaria and
Jerusalem. All this, Micah says, is because
of the transgression of Jacob. God doesn't do anything arbitrarily. And for the sins of the house
of Israel, what is the transgression of Jacob? Is it not Samaria? And what are the high places
of Judah? Are they not Jerusalem? Therefore I will make Samaria
as an heap of the field and as the plantings of a vineyard and
I will pour down the stones thereof into the valley and I will discover
the foundations thereof and all the graven images thereof shall
be beaten to pieces and all the hires thereof shall be burned
with fire. Remember the hires, the hires
of these idolaters. These are the things with which
idol worshipers adorn their idols, their costly garments, the gold
and the silver and the jewels they put on them. The hires of
Babylon, the hires of the harlot. These are all the things that
make false religion and the gods that men make appeal to men. The hires thereof shall be beaten,
the graven images beaten to pieces, and the hires burned with fire.
And all the idols thereof will I lay desolate, for she gathered
it of the hire of a harlot. Throughout the scriptures, throughout
the scriptures, false religion is always referred to as harlotry. It's always referred to as that
which comes from Babylon, the great whore of the earth. And
they shall return to the hire of an harlot. Now, though the
wrath of God is fully deserved by all upon whom it comes, it is a matter of great sorrow
to God's prophet and to God's people. You cannot go to hell without
earning it. But oh my God, let me not be
unmoved by the fact that folks to whom I preach are going to
hell. Read on. Therefore, the prophet
says, I will wail and howl. I will go stripped and naked. I will make a wailing like the
dragons, the monsters of the earth, and mourning as the owls,
for her wound is incurable, for it is coming to Judah. He's coming
to the gate of my people, even to Jerusalem. Declare it not
in Gath. Don't tell it there where the
Philistines are, lest they have, in their own opinion, greater
reason to mock God. Weep ye not at all in the house
of Aphra. Roll thyself in the dust. This
house of Aphra, among the Benjamites, among God's faithful. Roll yourself
in the dust and lamentation. Pass ye away, thou inhabitant
of Sapphira. Having thy shame naked, the inhabitant
of Zion came not forth in the morning of Bethesda. He shall
receive you He shall receive of you his standing. I'm reminded of the Apostle Paul
who says, my heart's desire to God for Israel is that they might
be saved. He said, I could wish myself
a curse from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen, according to the
flesh. Micah said, I wail and howl like a wild monster in grief
because of God's judgment upon my people. Now look at verse
12. I've been working my way to this.
Here Micah speaks of a place called Meroth. Meroth. But if you look in the scriptures
to find that place Meroth, you won't find it. There was no such
place in Judah or in Israel. Historically, since the writing
of this book, there has never been such a place in Judah or
in Israel called Meroth. The word Meroth here refers not
to a distinct place or village, but rather it refers to a people
scattered in the earth, scattered among those in Judah and in Israel. Some say Mayroth refers to Ramoth,
but I find no reason for that. Mayroth refers to people among
God's covenant people who were in great grief and bitterness.
It doesn't refer to a specific place. The name Mayroth, the
word Mayroth means rough places, bitterness or bitter springs. All right, let's read verse 12.
For the inhabitant of Meroth waited carefully for good. The inhabitant of Meroth waited
carefully, expectantly, anticipating good. But evil came down from
the Lord unto the gate of Jerusalem. Expecting good, finding evil. Meroth is a people who experience
bitter disappointment and disappointing providence in this world. The
people of Judah and Jerusalem expected to be preserved. They
expected to be protected from the Assyrians and from Sennacherib
who was invading them. They had apparently made a league
with the Philistines, with the Egyptians. They had gone down
to God's enemies and made a league with God's enemies to come up
and protect them. And they were secure. Oh, they
were confident everything was all right. But the Egyptians
failed them. And God sent bitterness to them. God sent evil to the very gate
of Jerusalem. Jehovah was angered by their
trust in men and their lack of faith in him. And so he punished
their unbelief by their total overthrow. The Assyrians under
Sennacherib swept over them and they didn't stop. I mean, they
came marching through the land and didn't stop devouring the
land till they got right to the gate of Jerusalem. You can read
about it in Isaiah 36 and 37. Hezekiah prayed to God. And God sent his angel and killed
184,000 Assyrians in one night and stopped them right at the
gates of Jerusalem. Oh, Holy Spirit, teach us now
what you intend by this declaration. It often happens. It often happens. That God in his wisdom, goodness
and grace. Sins evil. When we look for good. He sends that which appears to
be evil. that which in the experience
of it feels like evil, that which we apprehend to be evil when
we're expecting good. These are disappointing providences. The Lord sends temporary evil
that he may bring us spiritual and everlasting good. Remember,
God Never does anything evil to his own. There shall no evil
happen to the just. He sends the evil that he may
do us good. Just as Joseph experienced much
evil when he expected good. And finally, he realizes that
God has put him in the place of God, as it was at that day
when he saved much people alive. So the Lord God often sends evil
when we expect good, but he doesn't explain. He doesn't explain. You see,
God never gives answer for himself. God expects us and graciously
teaches us to trust him. He sends evil when we expect
good that we might learn the better to trust him. Now, let
me show you three things. I'll be as quickly as I can.
First, I want you to see that in the initial experience of
grace. God always sends evil. When men
expect good. I know that we live in this age
of easy believism and everybody says you go down Romans Road
and repeat after me, say the sinner's prayer, say I believe
in Jesus and everything's all right. There's a heapsight more to God's
saving grace than that. When God saves a sinner, God
works in that sinner and causes that sinner to be willing in
the day of his power to look away to Christ and trust Christ.
And only grace will make you do that. Zacchaeus must come
down if the Lord Jesus dwells in his house, and so must you. I remind you again of what I
have told you repeatedly, especially in the last few months and weeks.
God always strips before he clothes. He always empties before he feels. He always wounds before he heals. He always makes you thirsty before
he gives you something to drink. He always makes you hungry before
he feeds you. He always abases before he exalts. He always lays you low before
he lifts you up. He is the Lord who killeth and
maketh alive. And if he doesn't kill you, he
won't make you alive. It is true. Our Lord Jesus Christ
is that one who heals all that have need of healing. That's
a marvelous declaration in the last verse of Luke chapter nine.
He healed as many as had need of healing. But he'll never heal
you till he makes you need his healing. It won't happen. Salvation
comes by this marvelous work of God's grace in which he causes
us to know our need of our Redeemer. Turn to the 107th Psalm. I'll call your attention to a couple
of illustrations while you turn it. Our Lord met a woman in John
chapter 4 for whom he had come in grace and mercy. But before
he would make himself known to that woman in John chapter 4,
he first made that woman know her need of him. He created a
thirst in her soul that he might give her water, even himself,
the water of life, springing up into everlasting life. Saul
of Tarsus, that proud, self-righteous Pharisee, must be brought down. And on the Damascus road, the
Lord God threw him in the dirt, causing him to be humbled before
Him suddenly by an act of both providence and of grace. He didn't
just unhorse him that day. He didn't just throw him off
of his horse physically. He threw him off his horse in his soul.
He laid him low in the dust. And God does that for all his
own. Look here in Psalm 107. Oh, give thanks unto the Lord,
for he is good. His mercy endureth forever. Let
the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he hath redeemed from
the hand of the enemy and gathered them out of all the lands from
the east and from the west and from the north and from the south.
How did he do that? They wandered in the wilderness
in a solitary way. They found no city to dwell in. Hungry and thirsty, their soul
fainted in them. Then they cried unto the Lord
in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses
and led them forth by the right way that they might go to a city
of habitation. Oh, that men would praise the
Lord for his goodness. Which of you Who would have dreamed
God was being good to Israel when he led them around wandering
in the wilderness for 40 years? Who would have dreamed that was
good when God sent enemy after enemy against them? Who would
have dreamed that was good when they went through trial and fall
and restoration and trial and fall and restoration and trial
and fall and restoration again and again and again? Who would
have dreamed that was good? Nobody except God who sent it. Read on. Praise God for his goodness,
for his wonderful works to the children of men. For he satisfies
the longing soul. and filleth the hungry soul with
goodness. There are no exceptions. There
are no exceptions. You hunger and thirst after righteousness,
you shall be filled. You long for God as the heart
pants after the water broke, and you'll find him. You seek
and you shall find. Verse 10, such as sit in darkness
and in the shadow of death. Oh, I love to see folks brought
there. In the darkness and shadow of
death, the flames of hell licking your
face as you walk through this world in the shadow of death,
being bound in affliction and iron. How come? Because they
rebelled against the words of God and contempt, despised the
counsel of the Most High. Therefore he the Lord God brought
down their heart with labor. They fell down there was none
to help Then they cried unto the Lord when they fell down
And there was none to help and their trouble and he saved them
out of their distresses He brought them up out of darkness and out
of the shadow of death and break their bands in sunder. Oh That
men would praise the Lord for his goodness. I and for his wonderful
works to the children of the man. That's his way. That's his way. Read on, verse
17. Fools, because of their transgressions
and because of their iniquities are afflicted. The cause is always
in us. Their soul abhorreth all manner
of meat, and they draw near to the gates of death. Then they
cry to the Lord in their trouble. That's the only time we ever
do. And he saveth them out of their distresses. He sent his
word and healed them and delivered them from their destructions.
Oh, that men would praise the Lord for his goodness and for
his wonderful works to the children of men. Verse 23. They that go
down to the sea in ships that do business in great waters,
these see the works of the Lord and his wonders in the deep.
For he commandeth and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth
up the waves thereof. They mount up to the heavens,
they go down again to the depths. Their soul is melted because
of trouble. They reel to and fro and stagger
like a drunken man and are at their wits end. Then they cry
unto the Lord in their trouble. He bringeth
them out of their distresses. He maketh the storm a calm, so
that the waves thereof are still. Then they're glad because they
be quiet. So he bringeth them to their
desired haven. Oh, that men would praise the
Lord for his goodness and for his wonderful works to the children
of men. This is God's way with man. This
is God's way with man. In the blessed experience of
his grace, when men expect good, God sends evil. He sends evil,
he may send greater good. George Whitefield, that famous
evangelist of Great Britain, spent so much time in this country,
God used so remarkably, always tried to be a faithful witness
wherever he was. Wherever he stayed, he tried
to benefit the folks with whom he stayed. And there was a young
maid who waited on him at a place where he was preaching in Pennsylvania,
I believe it was, and took care of him. And Whitfield sensed
that she was having some difficulty. And he called her aside and started
talking to her. And she expressed her concern
to know the Lord. And Whitfield said to her, he
said, you pray that God will show you yourself. And he left. Some months later,
he came back there, was preaching again, and the young lady wasn't
there. And he asked the lady of the
house what had become of her, and he said, oh, or she said
to him, oh, since you were here the last time, something tragic
has happened. She's just unable to function. She's just in constant despair
all the time. And Whitfield asked about her,
and they went and got her and brought her to see him, and he
talked with her. And he said, I told you to pray
that the Lord would show you yourself, and it's obvious that
he has. Now ask him that he'll show you
himself. And he did, and God saved her
by his grace. But he will never show you himself
until he shows you yourself. It won't happen. To understand
God's truth or right, this grand distinction must be known. Though
all are sinners in God's sight, there are but few so in their
own. To such as these the Lord was sent, there are only sinners
who repent. What comfort can the Savior bring
to those who never knew their woe? A sinner is a sacred thing. The Holy Ghost has made him so. New life from Christ we must
receive before for sin we rightly grieve. Here's the second thing. In our first experience of grace,
when we expect good, God sends evil. And as God graciously causes
us to grow in grace, when we expect good, God sends evil. I expect many of you can relate
to this great hymn by John Newton. I asked the Lord that I might
grow in faith and love and every grace, might more of his salvation
know and seek more earnestly his face. It was he who taught
me thus to pray, and he, I hope, has answered prayer, but it has
been in such a way as almost drove me to despair. that in some favored hour at
once he'd answer my request and by his love's constraining power,
subdue my sins and give me rest. Instead of this, he made me feel
the hidden evils of my heart and let the angry powers of hell
assault my soul in every part. gave more with his own hand,
he seemed intent to aggravate my woe, cost all the fair designs
I schemed, blasted my gorge and laid me low. Lord, why is this? I trembling cried, will thou
pursue thy worm to death? It is in this way the Lord replied. I answer prayer for grace and
faith. These inward trials I employ
from self and pride to set thee free. and break thy schemes of
earthly joy that thou may seek thine all in me." Those words describe what I know
something of my experience. And realizing that, you'll understand
that I know myself utterly unfit to talk to you about spiritual
growth. But this I know, when we begin
to see good in ourselves and to expect good from ourselves,
God will send evil. You can mark it down. The Lord
said to his disciples, you're all going to forsake me. Peter
said, well, Bob Coffin might and Bobby Estes might, but Don
Fortner not going to. Not me. Not me. And that's exactly
what Peter said. That's exactly. They might do
that, but not me, Lord. I'll follow you to death. And
he was sincere and he was honest. He did follow the Lord to death.
But he set himself in his own estimation far too high. And God brought him down. He put him in Satan's hands to
be sifted as wheat. until at last the Lord Jesus
comes to him and says, now Peter, lovest thou me more than these? Do you really think so? Do you
really think so? Lovest thou me more than these?
And the third time, he used a different word for love, the strongest
word in the Greek language for love. He said, Simon, do you
really love me? And Peter was grieved in his
heart because the Lord said to him the third time, do you really
love me? And Peter said, Lord, you know
all things. You know what I am and you know
what I've done and you know my filth and my sin and my pride
and my stupidity. And you know that I love you. You know that I love you. Turn
to 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians chapter 12. Paul was exalted above all his
brethren. He had been brought up to the
third heaven and he saw things that no other man had ever seen
and come back to the earth and talked about. He heard things
that no man had heard and come back and talked about. In fact,
he said, the things I saw and heard can't be put in words.
They're unutterable. They can't be described. And
he said, lest I be exalted above measure, God gave me a thorn
in the flesh, the messenger, Satan, to smash me in the face. every time I lifted my head to
buffet me, to keep beating me down, to keep beating me down,
to keep beating me down. And he said, I begged him three
times, take this from me. And the Lord answered him. Lord
answered him. Verse nine, he said to me, My
grace is sufficient for thee. For my strength is made perfect
in weakness. It's my glory. It's my glory
to use useless things. So I'm going to keep you just
that way. It's my glory. to use that which no other God
could or would use. My glory to use that which no
man could or would use. I want to keep you just this
way. My grace sufficient for you. Read on. Most gladly, therefore, will
I rather glory in my infirmities that the power of Christ may
rest upon me. When I'm weak, then am I strong. Does that make any sense to you?
When I'm weak, then I'm strong. When I understand by the sweet
force of God's grace that there's nothing in me but sin, and I
can't do anything for God or for men, then the power of Christ
rests on me. And I can do all things through
Christ who strengthens me. Maybe if God will empty us, maybe
if God will strip us, maybe if God will humble us, maybe if
God will make us nothing, he'll use us for something. But not
until then. Now, here's the third thing.
Back in Micah chapter 1. In the initial experience of
God's saving grace, when poor lost sinners expect good, God
sends evil. In the blessed experience of
spiritual growth, when we expect good, God sends evil. And in
the affairs of God's wise, adorable, and good providence, when we
expect good, he sends evil. The inhabitants of Meroth waited
carefully for good, but evil came down from the Lord under
the gate of Jerusalem. Let me call your attention to
four things. I'll wrap this up. Number one, what sad, troubling disappointments
we meet with in this world. I'm talking particularly to you
who are God's people, to you who are believers. We are enduring
difficult times, difficult times as a nation, difficult times
as a generation, spiritually, politically, civilly, Every aspect
of life, we're doing tough times. And I fully expect them to get
worse. I fully expect them to get worse. We place confidence
in so much. Man works all his life, exercises
great care, all the skill he can to provide for retirement
for himself and his family, make things a little bit better for
his sons and daughters than he had growing up. And then suddenly,
everything takes wings and flies away. Man places confidence in
his children. Oh, what a delight those boys
and girls are. that crush your heart, or God
takes them and that crushes your heart. Husband and wife enjoy
the blessedness of a sweet union together, and then God lays one
on the bed permanently, or takes one from the other in pain. Grips the heart. Grips the heart. We have friends and they betray. And I expect that's just about as
painful as anything you experience in this world. Betrayal of trusted
friends. Vanity of vanities, all is vanity,
saith the preacher. And there are no exceptions.
Solomon didn't write that as a frustrated, defeated, schizophrenic,
or manic-depressive. He wrote that under inspiration
of God the Holy Spirit. Larry, Chris, everything you
can see and touch and feel with this body. Everything on this
earth is earthy. And that means it's vanity. Everything. Everything. Vanity of vanity. All is vanity, saith the preacher.
Cease for man whose breath is in his nostrils. The sooner we
learn that, the better. Expect nothing from this world
but disappointment. Don't expect anything from this
world but disappointment. Don't expect anything from your
job, from your career, from your associations on this earth, from
your carnal associations, be they ever so dear, except disappointment. Expect everything from Christ. And I promise you, you will never
find disappointment. Never. Set your affection on
things above, where Christ sits on the right hand of God. Set
your affection on the Redeemer. Set your heart on the Savior,
not on things on the earth. Trust in Christ. We have every
reason to live upon the tiptoe of faith,
looking for our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. Every reason
to expect comfort in trial, restoration in fall, preservation to the
end, every reason to expect to die in peace, to be raised in
glory, and to inherit everlasting bliss with Christ our Savior.
Second, Lord willing, I'll come back to this another time before
we finish the study in Micah. But I want you to understand
the source of the evil we experience in this world. Evil came down
from the Lord. What's the source? I am the Lord. I make light and create darkness. I make peace and create evil. They're not talking about God
causing men to sin. He's talking about the evil of
trials and afflictions and adversity, war and pestilence and sickness
and bereavement and poverty, evil that men experience in this
world. came down from the Lord. What calamity is there that the
scripture does not ascribe to God? Shall there be evil in the
city and the Lord has not done it? We speak of war and we think
it's caused by man's greed, pride, politics, and they are as far
as man's concerned. I can't think of a war in history
that was fought over anything else. I can't think of a what,
not a what. But the war is what God's talking
about here. The Assyrians were greedy to
gobble up Judah. It was war. And Micah says evil
came down from the Lord. Out of him came forth the corner
Out of him the nail, out of him the battle bow, out of him every
oppressor together. He created the waster to destroy. In other words, all difficulties,
all suffering, all trial, all adversity comes from God. Comes from God. David understood
that. Shemai came out cussing David
and David's friend Abishah. He said, let me go over and take
his head off his shoulders. And David said, leave him alone.
The only reason he's out here is because God said, go cuss
David. Perhaps the Lord will requite me good for his cussing
this day. The Chaldeans and Sabeans spoiled
Job of everything. And Job said, the Lord gave,
and the Lord has taken away." Aaron's two sons were slain in
the holy place because of their rebellion against God burning
strange fire. And Aaron bowed before God in
silence, never said a word. Eli, when he saw his sons destroyed
by the hand of God, said, it is the Lord, let him do what
seemeth him good. The evil God sends are the fruits
of sin. That was true with regard to
Aaron's sons and Eli's sons and David and Shammai. All the evil
that God sends are the fruits of sin. And yet they are the
means by which God corrects evil in us. The means by which he teaches
us to trust him. The means by which he weans us
from the world and breaks us off from other things. Paul said,
our light afflictions, which are but for a moment, work for
us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. Third, notice
the time of deliverance. It was at the gate of Jerusalem. Why there? God could have stopped him a
hundred miles out of town just as easily as he did there. But
Hezekiah conquered Sennacherib and the Assyrians on his knees
before God just at the moment of utter necessity. when it's
most needed, when God would show forth His glory most greatly. And so it is with all our difficulties. The Lord God intervenes when
we're at our wits' ends. And we can do nothing. And we're
made to know it. Right at the gate of Jerusalem. Now one last thing. We won't
have time to turn to look at it. But there's another place
that's called bitterness in the scriptures. You can read about
it in Exodus chapter 15. The children of Israel had just
been delivered out of the land of Egypt, and they had been going
through the wilderness, and they found no water. They didn't have
anything to drink. And they finally came to a place
called Marah. And they, oh! Got some water,
but it was salt water. They couldn't drink a bit of
it. And they murmured against God, kind of like you and I do
when we come up against something unexpected, difficult, and frustrating,
and disappointing. And they cried out to Moses.
And Moses said, Lord, what am I going to do? And the Lord said
to Moses, see that tree? Put it in the water. And he put that tree in the water,
and the bitter waters were made sweet. And Israel drank, and
they were refreshed. And the Lord said, Now learn
this, My name is Jehovah Rapha. I am the Lord that healeth thee.
Now do this with all your bitterness in this world. Cast in the cross
of our Lord Jesus Christ. Look away to Christ the Savior. Bury your soul in His goodness
and His mercy. Bury your soul in the knowledge
of Him who loved you and gave Himself for you. And watch how
He makes every bitter thing sweet for His own. Amen.