You we are still considering the three verses, verses 28, 29, and 30, in the 8th chapter of Paul's epistle to the Romans. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose, for whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son, that he might be the first born among many brethren. Moreover, whom he did predestinate, them he also called and whom he called, them he also justified and whom he justified, them he also glorified. Now there, as we've seen, the apostle is laying down what is commonly being called the doctrine of the final perseverance of the saints, and we've been considering this great doctrine in its various parts and portions. Our interest in it is mainly, of course, due to the fact that it's clearly something that God gives his people in order that they may have an ultimate assurance of their salvation, of its absolute certainty, and of the great goal which God has set for his people, namely, that they are to be conformed to the image of his son. But there are always people who have difficulty with regard to this doctrine, and we have been spending our time, therefore, in trying to deal with some of these difficulties that people find. We considered a number of verses which are generally adduced as teaching something which is contrary to this doctrine, and we try to show that a true exposition of them removes that source of difficulty. And now, having done that, we are making again a positive statement of the doctrine, this doctrine of the final perseverance of the saints, or if you prefer it, this doctrine which teaches that any person who is truly born again and who is a child of God can never fall from that position, and will certainly and inevitably arrive in that ultimate glory and be conformed to the image of God's son. Now we are putting it like this, that first of all, each of the terms that is used in this very statement carries with it that inevitable implication, as it is God who has foreknown us done all these things well, then that in itself is sufficient. Secondly, we saw that everything we are told everywhere in the New Testament about a believer confirms the argument, especially those statements about our being in Christ, joined to him as we were originally to Adam, and terms like regeneration, new birth, and so on. Then the third argument was the argument from the nature of the church, and in particular the teaching which is so clear and explicit, that Christ died for the church, he died for this body of people that God had given to him before. The foundation of the world and which constitutes the church. Then the fourth argument was the argument deduced from teaching in the Bible about chastisement, that it is because we are sons that we are chastised, and that the object of the father in chastising is the ultimate good of the children, and that therefore, if we were not chastised, it would be proof that we are not children, and so on. And we ended last Friday night with the argument for this doctrine based upon the doctrine of the remnant. Very well. We can continue therefore from that point this evening. So that brings me to the 6th general argument in confirmation of this great doctrine. And I'd put it like this, the position by which we are confronted if this doctrine is not true. Now that's always a good way of approaching any difficulty you may have with respect to a doctrine. You don't start with this, but it's a very useful kind of confirmation of a doctrine. Imagine what the position is if the doctrine is not true. So that the question that faces us is this, what is it that keeps any Christian from falling away? That's the question that we really have got to face. If it is not what we are told in this doctrine, namely that it is God's purpose, that we are the called according to his purpose, and that because it is his purpose, he himself keeps us from falling. If it isn't that that keeps us from falling, well then what is it that keeps us from falling? Take now the position of those who believe that it is possible for a regenerate, born again Christian finally to go to perdition, to fall away from this position of being in Christ. Now what they believe is this, that you've got two types of christians. The one type of Christian is going to hold on to the truth and to the faith and is going to arrive in the glory. The second loses hold for some reason or another and falls away and goes to perdition. Now the question is, what is it that accounts for the difference between the two Christians? And it must be that there is only one explanation, and that is that it was the will and the desire of the one Christian to hold on, and that it was not the will and the desire of the second. It is entirely a matter which is determined by the will and the desire and the determination of the particular Christian. Now I say that that's the only conclusion you can come to. But let me prove that to you. If you say that, well then it means this, that such a person is stronger than Adam was. Adam was perfect and he was sinless. He had complete free will, and yet he chose deliberately to listen to the devil, and he thereby fell and produced those consequences with which we are familiar in himself and in all his progeny. So that I am told now then, that here is a person who's got a stronger will and determination even than Adam had. But this person may reply to me by saying, ah, but wait a minute, the Christian's in a better position than Adam. The Christian has received divine life from Christ and therefore he's got something more than Adam had. He's received this new life of God in his soul. And it is this that enables him to stand in a way that Adam was not able to do. But unfortunately for this argument, that doesn't help us at all, because the friends who say a thing like that also say that all Christians have received that self same life. That is their position, that all who have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ have been born again because they've believed. That's how they put it. They say, because you believe, you're given new life. Very well, but that's true, therefore, of all who believe, it's true of all Christians. They've all got this new life in them, this life of God, and yet they say that some of them fall away from it and some don't. What accounts for the difference? It can't be the divine life that's been received because both parties have got that. That's common to all. So that the thing that keeps one Christian going cannot be that he has this new life, because, as I say, they've all got it. So that doesn't help us at all. And therefore we are driven back to this inevitable conclusion that what keeps a Christian going, according to that argument, in the last analysis, is nothing but the men's own willpower and determination. I trust this point is clear. It cannot be the divine life they've received because they've all got it. That isn't the difference. In any case, they teach, you, see, that you can lose this divine life. What is then this peculiar factor that tells us the difference between the christian that perseveres and the Christian that falls away and goes to perdition and you are left with no other possible explanation but that in the one case the man has the sense and the wisdom and the determination to go on and the other hasn't got it. But that's a natural quality. And therefore your ultimate conclusion is this, that what determines a man's final salvation is not regeneration at all. It is the natural strength of will and of understanding and a man's inherent power. In other words, I think you recognize this, that it is a complete contradiction of the doctrine of grace altogether. A man is not saved, finally, because of God's action in giving him new life and regenerating him. That's, we are told, done to everybody. Therefore, that can't be the determining factor. No, the determining factor is a man's own power to hold on. Some have got it and others haven't got it. It's a natural quality. And so I say it is a final contradiction of the whole biblical teaching of Salvation, and especially of regeneration. That is the conclusion to which you are driven inevitably if you reject this doctrine of the final perseverance of the saints, because it is the purpose of God. However, let's go on to point number seven. In other words, you see, we arrive at this point that it is the failure of these people to realize the ultimate purpose of God's plan of salvation that lends them in difficulty with this doctrine. Now, what do I mean by that? Well, let me put it like this. What is the ultimate purpose of this great and glorious plan of salvation? Now, that seems to me to be the crucial question, and it is because so many friends never stop to consider that at all, that they don't understand the doctrine of the final perseverance of the saints. You ask them, then, that question, what do you say is the ultimate object of the whole plan of salvation? And you'll probably find that they'll say, oh, it is that I be saved, that I be forgiven, that I may go to heaven. And the answer is not correct. It's wrong. That's not the main purpose. That's a subsidiary one. The ultimate object and purpose of the plan of salvation is the glory of God and the vindication of the glory and the sovereignty and the character of God. Now, if we are not clear about that, of course it's not surprising that we go wrong at many points. But this is something which is made perfectly clear in the scripture, I should have thought, from beginning to end. The whole object of the Bible is to vindicate the glory and the character of God, and especially in the great plan and purpose of salvation. And it is because that is the ultimate object and purpose of the plan of salvation that it cannot fail. And it will not fail. Otherwise, the devil would have defeated God. Now then, this is the way it seems to me to look at all this great matter. Why has there ever been a plan of salvation at all? I say there's only one answer. It is to vindicate the character of God, the God who is the creator of everything, the God who made everything perfect, saw that everything was good and was well pleased with it. But as we know, there was that fall amongst the angels, the fall of the devil, Satan, and then the ultimate influence of Satan and his forces upon the man whom God had made in his own image and likeness, and all that became so true of the world. Now here is the way to look at salvation. God, in bringing in the way of salvation, the ultimate purpose of which is that everything should be restored to its original condition. Now let me give you the statement of that. You'll find it in Ephesians 110. Here it is. We are told in verse nine, having made known unto us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he hath purposed in himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of times, he might gather together in one all things in Christ which are in heaven, which are on earth, even in him. That's God's ultimate purpose. In other words, the glory of God demands that this whole universe, this cosmos, cannot be left in its present fallen, evil, sinful condition. It's not consistent with the glory of God. Now, why God ever permitted evil to come in, we don't know. We are not told. And I can't go beyond what has been revealed. But in his own inscrutable wisdom, it seems to me that God had to give this freedom of choice to the perfect creatures that he had created and that contained within it the possibility of a wrong choice. I don't know. That's my speculation. However, the fact is that that has happened. Now, though, the argument is this, that the glory of God demands and insists that that condition be not allowed to remain. God, if I may so put it, because he is God, must restore it. He must restore all that he has made to its original perfection. That's what Paul is saying there in Ephesians 110, that he's going to head up again in Christ. All things, heaven and earth, all is to be headed up again in its original perfection and glory in Christ. And the reason for that is that is given everywhere is according to his own good pleasure. It's according to the glory of his own grace. You watch those great terms that the apostle always uses when he's introducing this great theme. It is all in order to establish the character and the glory and the sovereignty of God, who made all and who owns all and who is ruler overall. Very well. Now then, here is my argument. If that is the ultimate object and purpose of salvation, is it conceivable or possible for a moment that it should all be dependent upon your power and mine to hold on. We are being asked to believe that ultimately the glory of God is in our hands, and that it is our power and capacity to hold on and to continue and to persevere, that maintains and will finally establish the glory of God. Now the whole thing, of course, is just quite ridiculous. We all know ourselves. We know our frailty. We know our proneness to sin. We know our ignorance, our own smallness. We know something about the power of the devil and the forces against us. And yet we're asked to believe that the ultimate glory of God rests upon some natural ability in us to hold on by willpower and by understanding. The thing, of course, is not only ridiculous and laughable, it is something which is quite contrary to the teaching of the scripture itself. Now let me show you what I mean. The apostle has already said this very clearly in the fourth chapter of this great epistle of his to the Romans, where he puts it in the. In the 16th verse. Therefore, it is of faith that it might be by grace to the end. Here's the point. To the end. The promise might be sure to all the seed. We spent some time on that when we were dealing with it. But it's so important that I don't apologize for repeating it. Therefore, it is of faith, not by works, not anything that depends upon men. It is of faith that it might be by grace to the end, the ultimate object being that the promise might be sure to all the seed. In other words, that it could not fail. It has to happen in this way, says Paul. It couldn't be a matter of works. It couldn't be dependent upon man's works or man's decision or anything else. Why? Well, because then it wouldn't be sure to anybody. But this has got to be sure, says the apostle. And the only way to make it sure is that it should be this way, which is by grace through faith. You see there it is already stated perfectly and completely in the fourth chapter and in the 16th verse. Go back and back to that verse. If any of you get trouble with this great doctrine of the final perseverance of the saints, there's your answer. This thing has got to be guaranteed. It's got to be sure to all the seed, whether they are of the law or whether not, not only to those which are of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abram, who is the father of us all, all us who believe, in other words, which has been his previous argument. Well, now then, let me work out this a little bit further with you, because this is one of the most important aspects of this doctrine that one can ever consider. I know of nothing that is more comforting and consoling than this. This is the whole point about the entire doctrine. As I've been repeating Friday by Friday. The thing I say not only cannot fail, it will not fail, because the whole glory of God is involved in it. It must succeed. Very well. Let me put it to you in this way. The proof of this doctrine is that the whole of salvation depends upon the Lord Jesus Christ himself, the son of God. Here was the position. Let me put it in this form. Here is man. He's fallen into sin. Man was the supreme object of God's creation. He made him lord of creation. But man fell. Everything fell with him. The ground was cursed. Chaos prevails. How is God now going to restore this fallen universe? Let me put it in a form that is often used in the Bible itself. I do it for the sake of argument. I quote to you what the apostle says in chapter six in verse 19. I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh, for as ye have yielded. Well, he goes on then to use his illustration, but he explains that he's using an illustration because of the infirmity of their flesh. I'm doing the same this evening. I'm going to use an illustration. Here is the fallen universe. God's glory demands that this be rectified. How can he do it? Well, let's say that the first possibility that occurred to the mind of God was this. I'll create another man. I made that first man, Adam, but he fell. Very well. I'll make another man, but immediately. Of course, that suggestion would have to be rejected for this reason. If God made another man, he couldn't have made a man better than Adam. Adam was perfect. He was sinless. He was completely innocent. And even God could not make a man more perfect than Adam because Adam was perfect. Men made in the image of God. Very well. So you see, when God comes and brings in his way and plan of salvation, he does not just make another man, another Adam, because it would have led to the same result and God's glory would not have been vindicated. But God's glory must be vindicated. God has got to introduce a plan of salvation that cannot fail. So what does he do? Well, you see, he does this amazing thing which is the heart of the christian gospel. He does send a second man a last Adam. But he isn't merely a man this time. His own son, the Lord from him becomes the second man, the last Adam. Now there's the key to the whole thing. You see, God has done it in this way because it must succeed. It cannot fail. A man isn't enough. You need a God man. Yes, it's got to be done in human nature. But human nature alone is not enough. The human nature has got to be joined to the divine nature. So you have the whole miracle and marvel of the incarnation and the two natures in the one person. Now it's amazing to me that people don't see this. This is the sole explanation of why the son of God ever came into this world. God has done it in this way. I say for this reason. It is not simply that no man could have taken upon himself the guilt of all who had sinned against God in Adam and as the result of their own transgressions. It needed a God man to do that. But it doesn't stop at it. You need a God man also to defeat the devil, to conquer death in the grave. And not only that, to continue acting as our high priest and intercessor and advocate in the presence of God. Now, the Lord Jesus Christ's work in our salvation did not finish upon the cross. It is still continuing, as is put in hebrews seven. It is because he ever liveth to make intercession for us that he saves us to the utmost, which means this, that he doesn't merely start our salvation, he continues it. And he will continue it until the utmost, until, in other words, we are finally delivered, until we are completely glorified. Because he's alive. He's still carrying on our work of salvation. He keeps us going. He doesn't merely die for us and then leave. No, no, he keeps us going. He sustains us. He's working in us still. And he will go on doing it through the Holy Spirit until he has brought it to that utmost point of our final glorification. Very well, then. We've got to understand and to realize that the whole object of sending his only begotten son into this world was to ensure that his plan of salvation could not fail. It can't go wrong. It's impossible. God has these chosen people, these people whom we saw last Friday night, he has given to his son. And the Son has said that he came into the world to do this work for those people at the behest of his father. It cannot fail. Otherwise. The glory of God is not vindicated and the devil is still triumphant. Now he is the first born amongst many brethren. And as we've seen, we are saved not simply because he died for us, but because we are united to him. We are in him and he is in us. As the father he says, is in him, so are we in him and he is in us. That is the relationship that subsists. We are bound to him by this indissoluble bond. And my argument is that God has done it in this particular way in order to make absolutely certain that it could never fail, that the promise shall indeed be sure to all the seed. No man was enough, but the God man has come in order that it is enough and it cannot possibly fail. He's the guarantee of the success, not our holding on to him, but his grasp of us. Now then, let me show you how our lord himself, in very plain and explicit terms, taught this very thing. You'll find it in the 6th chapter of John's Gospel. Let me start reading at verse 37. Now this is the Gospel According to St. John, chapter six, beginning at verse 37. I'm emphasizing that lest there may be some innocent person here who has listened to the foolish and ridiculous teaching which says, oh, it's only the apostle Paul who says that. You don't get that in the gospels. Such nonsense. There's no contradiction in the scripture anywhere. But here is the gospel of John, the gospel of love. All that the father giveth me shall come to me. All that the father giveth me shall come to me. And him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out, for I came down from heaven not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me. I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that everyone which seeth the son, everyone that seeth the son and believeth on him may have everlasting life, and I will raise him up at the last day. If that isn't enough for you, I give up in entire despair. Those are the words of the son of God himself. But listen again to the reading beginning at verse 46. Not that any man hath seen the father, save he which is of God. He hath seen the father. Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me hath everlasting life, and everlasting means everlasting. It isn't merely a quality of life it is a quality, but there's the time element. In addition, it means everlasting life. Now, then, I am that bread of life. And listen. Your fathers did eat manner in the wilderness and are dead. See, they were interested in the manner that Moses had given. They were arguing that he was not as great as Moses. They said, moses gave us manna. What are you giving? He says, you're blind. He says, I'm giving you bread. But it's altogether different from the manner that Moses gave you. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and they're dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven that a man may eat thereof and not die. You see the argument? You ate that earthly manner, and you died. It didn't keep you going. It didn't keep you alive. If you eat of the bread that I give, it'll keep you alive. You'll never die. That's the difference between the two breads. And yet I'm asked to believe that people can have received this heavenly manner, this bread from heaven, from the Lord Jesus Christ, and yet die. He says, this is the bread which cometh down from heaven. That a man may eat thereof and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever. And the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. If any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever. My dear friends, there is really nothing to be said for any objection to this doctrine of the final perseverance of the saints. It's just a complete misunderstanding. A failure to understand the glory and the greatness of this plan that God has worked out in and through his only begotten, beloved son. That is why the Son, after he had risen from the dead, said to his disciples, all power is given unto me in heaven and earth. He can't fail. It's impossible. The idea that failure is conceivable is a contradiction of the whole thing. All his statements are to this effect. This is something guaranteed. That's why God has done it in this way. There's no danger. There's no danger of this failing. Otherwise it would be a repetition of what had happened in Adam. God has done it this way in order that it cannot fail. It will not fail. His own son is the guarantee. He's conquered all the enemies, and we are joined to him. Now then, that is why I asked you to sing that hymn just now. You see, the teaching is that Christ is a king, and he came to establish a kingdom. And the success of his kingdom, thank God, doesn't depend upon us, depends upon him. It's the king who makes the kingdom. And that's why Charles Wesley, who's always better in his hymns than in his spoken theology, puts it so well. You see, his kingdom cannot fail. He rules or earth and heaven. The keys of death and hell are to our Jesus given. Lift up your hearts, lift up your voice. Rejoice again, I say rejoice. His kingdom cannot fail. Of course it can't. And yet we are asked to believe that it depends upon us and our capacity to hold on, and that if a sufficient number of us don't hold on, that his kingdom will fail. The thing's impossible. His kingdom cannot fail. Why? Well, because he is who he is. That's why God sent him. You see, it's the contrast between the first Adam and this last Adam, the first men and the second men. This is the Lord. From him, the first Adam, he was of the earth. Earth, he. What about this second one? Well, here's a quickening spirit. The first Adam could give us physical being, but here's one who gives us spiritual being. He renews us spiritually, gives us life. You see, the contrast is absolute. The first Adam couldn't give me this spiritual life that guarantees my persistence. This one does. Hence the whole magnificent glory and triumph of one. Corinthians 15. It can't fail. He's conquered everything. Keep on, says the apostle, whatever may be against you. Very well, then, work out that great argument for yourselves. So you see, I put it like this as my 8th point. It is thus alone that the glory of God is not only vindicated, but also manifested. If this doctrine isn't true, well then, if you ever find yourself in glory, the glory will have to go to you for holding on. The position would be this, that you, like a number of other people, had been given the same gift of salvation and eternal life. They foolishly didn't hold on to you onto it, but you did. And therefore the glory goes to you for holding on. But that's a blank contradiction of the teaching of the scripture. Everywhere no man can burst with regard to this. Him that glorieeth, let him glory in the Lord. Man has got nothing to boast of at all. And when you and I arrive in heaven, my dear friends, we'll realize that we're there not because we held on when others gave up, but because he held on to us, and because we were in the purpose of God, and that he kept us going in spite of ourselves and our weakness. And we'll give him all the praise and the honor and the glory. We will see that it is his glorious plan from beginning to end. And we'll worship the lamb, the son of God, who's done it all, and who must have all the glory without any fraction taken away from him in any respect at all. It is entirely his doing. And the praise and the glory must be to him and be to him alone. Well, there is the great argument, as I see it. Shall I add a little footnote before we close? The history of this doctrine is a little bit interesting. You will never find an unbeliever who believes the doctrine of the final perseverance of the saints. There's never been such a thing. Unbelievers not only don't believe it, but they ridicule it and post scorn upon it. You're making men an automaton, they say. It's interesting, isn't it? It's a good thing in and of itself to believe something that an unbeliever never believes. Here's one of them. Let me give you a second argument. Take these people who are known as higher critics, these modernists, liberals in their theology. Not one of them believes in the doctrine of the final perseverance of the saints. Not one of them. That's interesting, isn't it? You see these men who come to the scripture as authorities and say, yes, I accept it, but I don't accept this. Not one of them believes in the doctrine of the final perseverance of the saints. I'm not surprised, because they only believe what they think and what they like. They don't take the revelation of the scripture. I don't know about you, my friend. I don't like to be in that sort of company. But let me give you some other evidence. This great doctrine that I've been putting before you, and it's a great privilege to do so. He has not only taught plainly, as I've shown you in the scripture, this has been the sheet anchor of the noblest and the greatest souls that the church has ever known. Saint Augustine believed this, and that's why he was about the only light illuminating the darkness of so much of those middle ages. This, of course, was the doctrine of doctrines. To the protestant reformers, I don't only mean Martin Luther. He believed it with all his soul. John Kelvin. But I'm not only referring to the continental reformers, your english reformers believed it. The men who really founded Protestantism in this country, they believed this doctrine. They all saw the vital importance of it. You see, the thing to rest upon was no longer the church of Rome and her priesthood. No, no. Upon this glorious doctrine of God's purpose. John Knox, of course, I needn't say believed it and preached it and taught it. It's in the formularies, therefore, of these churches. Church of England, 39 articles, it's there. Westminster confession of faith, it's there. The great puritan teachers of the 17th century, they all taught it. There was just one big exception amongst them, John Goodwin. All the others believed this and they preached it and they taught it. Those mighty men, those profound expositors of the scriptures, they're unanimous. People like Isaac Watts, Philip Dudridge, these great hymn writers, the greatest of them all, they believed it. The greatest evangelist and preacher that England has ever produced, George Whitfield, he preached it, believed it, rested upon it. All the great Methodist fathers in Wales at the same time, unanimous in the same way. And the greatest preacher of the last century, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, preached it and put it in one of his sermons. You'll find it in this volume of his revival year sermons. He went as far as to say this, that he rarely doubted whether a man who didn't believe this was a Christian at all. I don't know that I'd quite put it like that. I think there are some Christians who are so muddled headed and so badly instructed that they don't think clearly and may be like Charles Wesley, that in experience they know it. But when they try to think it out, they get muddled and introduce their own philosophy and their own attempt at understanding and explanation. The fact is, you see, that throughout the centuries, with the exception of people like Arminius and Sir Sinus and the Wesley brothers, John in particular, apart from those, there has been this great unanimity, surely that ought to carry some weight with us. People no longer seem to know and to understand that until about 1860, apart from the Methodists, this was a doctrine that was held universally amongst the nonconformist bodies of this country and by most of the evangelicals in the Church of England. I've already quoted you, Charles Simeon, on this very doctrine. That was the position, and it is to me nothing less than tragic that during this present century, especially at the present time, amongst evangelical people, this is regarded as some strange new doctrine, whereas it has been the doctrine in which those who have understood the way of salvation have glory throughout the centuries and which they are prized above everything else. Be careful, my friend, lest you classify yourself with the unbelievers and the liberals, higher critics, modernists, the people who don't believe this as the word of God, inerrant and inspired. Be careful lest you begin to use your philosophy. And because you can't understand this or that, that you put your own little puny mind up against this glorious revelation of God, go back to that 6th chapter of John's Gospel and remember that our Lord said that the Father had sent him on a mission, and that of those people that had been given to him, none was to be lost. And though he said with thankfulness in his great high priestly prayer that none was lost, the son of perdition Judas was always known as what he was. He says that all given to him have eternal life, and that he is certainly going to raise every one of them up at the last day in Christ. We have already passed through judgment into life. There is no more condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus the purpose of God. His kingdom cannot fail. He rules, o earth and heaven. The keys of heaven and hell are to our Jesus given. Lift up your hearts, lift up your voice. Rejoice again, I say. Rejoice. Rejoice in him and give him who deserves it all the glory for your salvation from the very beginning to the very end. None of it must come to us. It belongs to him and to him alone, in whom the glory and the character of God are forever vindicated, and in whose glory we shall rejoice in eternity. Amen. O Lord our God, we come thus unto thee, and thank thee, and praise thy great and holy name, thou alone not worthy to be praised. Blessing and honor, glory and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne and unto the lamb forever and forever. O God, forgive us that we are ever foolish enough to question or to query thy great and glorious way. Keep us humble, we beseech thee, and keep us from attempting to intrude into things that are beyond our understanding. Keep us ever rejoicing in Christ Jesus, our blessed Lord and savior. And now may the grace of our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ, and the love of God, the fellowship and the communion of the Holy Spirit abide and continue with us now, this night, throughout the remainder of this hour, short, uncertain earthly life and pilgrimage, and until we shall see him as he is in all his glory, be made like him in glory, and spend our eternity in his glorious presence. Amen. We do hope that you've been helped by the preaching of Dr. Martin Lloyd Jones. All of the sermons contained within the MLJ Trust Audio library are now available for free download. You may share the sermons or broadcast them. However, because of international copyright, please be advised that we are asking, first, that these sermons never be offered for sale by a third party and second, that these sermons will not be edited in any way for length or to use as audio clips. You can find our contact information on our [email protected]. That's mljtrust.org.