This morning, I invite you to turn with me once again to Isaiah chapter 40. Isaiah 40, as we indeed continue the sermon on the sovereignty of God that we began last week. Last week, as you recall, we considered its meaning. And this morning, we consider its comfort and its call. We have, as you know, begun our consideration of the Belgian Confession, considering so far who God is, and also the means by which He makes Himself known to us, special revelation, His Word, and general revelation, His created Word. We take a few weeks now to consider a few of the attributes of God, beginning with the sovereignty of God. Once again, we give our attention to the reading of the Word of God. Isaiah 40, beginning at verse 1. Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins. A voice of one calling, in the desert prepare the way for the Lord. Make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up. Every mountain and hill made low. The rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain, and the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken. A voice says, cry out. And I said, what shall I cry? All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field. The grass withers, and the flowers fall, because the breath of the Lord blows on them. Surely the people are grass. The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the Word of our God stands forever. You who bring good tidings to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You who bring good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with a shout. Lift it up. Do not be afraid. Say to the towns of Judah, here is your God. See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power and His arm rules for Him. See, His reward is with Him and His recompense accompanies Him. He tends His flock like a shepherd. He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart and gently leads those that have young. Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand or with the breadth of His hand marked off the heavens? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket or weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance? Who has understood the mind of the Lord or instructed Him as His counselor? Whom did the Lord consult to enlighten Him and who taught Him the right way? Who was it that taught him knowledge or showed him the path of understanding? Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket. They are regarded as dust on the scales. He weighs the islands as though they were fine dust. Lebanon is not sufficient for altar fires, nor its animals enough for burnt offerings. Before him all the nations are as nothing. They are regarded by him as worthless and less than nothing. To whom then will you compare God? What image will you compare him to? As for an idol, a craftsman casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and fashions silver chains for it. A man too poor to present such an offering selects wood that will not rot. He looks for a skilled craftsman to set up an idol that will not topple. Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood since the earth was founded? He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy and spreads them out like a tent to live in. He brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing. No sooner are they planted. No sooner are they sown. No sooner do they take root in the ground than He blows on them and they wither and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff. To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal, says the Holy One? Lift your eyes and look to the heavens. Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls them each by name because of His great power and mighty strength. Not one of them is missing. Why do you say, O Jacob, and complain, O Israel? My way is hidden from the Lord. My cause is disregarded by my God. Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall. But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not be faint. beloved in the Lord Jesus Christ the God we worship and serve the almighty God of Holy Scripture is the one and only sovereign God as we said last week He is the one and only ruler with absolute power and authority over all over all He is the sovereign creator sustainer and preserver of heaven and earth By His sovereign will, He has determined everything that takes place. And by His sovereign power, He carries out His will perfectly. Paul points to this in Ephesians 1 verse 11 when he speaks of the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will. As we said, He rules sovereignly over all of His creation, over the plants, over the animals, over the laws of nature. Because of His great power and mighty strength, not one of the stars is missing, as Isaiah 40, verse 26 says. As well, God is sovereign over the wills and actions and thoughts of men, as we said, both good and bad. Both good and evil. Even Satan himself cannot act outside of God's control. Again, beloved, a great mystery. A great mystery. God is sovereign, yet man is responsible for his every thought, word, action, intention, and motive. We see, with regard to the war on terror, especially in this past week, in a very vivid way, we see the wickedness of man. Yet somehow, and it is unknown to us, yet somehow God is using and will use this war for His glory, for the advancement of His kingdom and for the completion of His church. In a nutshell, this is the meaning of God's sovereignty, that He is the one and only ruler with absolute power and authority. And as we quoted last week from Daniel, I believe that Nebuchadnezzar summarized the best what God's sovereignty means when he said, Then I praised the Most High. I honored and glorified Him who lives forever. His dominion is an eternal dominion. His kingdom endures from generation to generation. All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as He pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back His, that is God's hand, and say to Him, what have you done? And again, boys and girls, that fits with that Sunday school song, doesn't it? My God is so big, so strong, and so mighty, there's nothing my God cannot do. And the comfort of God's sovereignty for His people is that there's nothing that our God will fail to do, again, for His glory and for the good of His people. Last week we quoted some of Psalm 135, these words, I know that the Lord is great. The Lord does whatever pleases Him in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and all their depths. And beloved, the Bible clearly teaches us that it pleases Him to glorify Himself through the salvation of His people. If that didn't penetrate, think about it for a moment. It pleases God to glorify Himself through the salvation of His people. Paul points to that as well as he says in Ephesians 1, 5, and 6, in love, he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ in accordance with his pleasure and will to the praise of his glorious grace. Beloved, the comfort of God's sovereignty is that God controls all things, first of all, for his glory and for my good. I believe we can consider this comfort in terms of what this teaches us about God himself. we are to be comforted as we understand the being and the nature of God. And also we can understand what this teaches with regard to our personal and our corporate comfort, that is, as individual believers and as a church. And then finally, what it means with regard to our neighbor and evangelism. Our comfort in God's sovereignty with regard to God Himself has to do, again, as we said last week, with the extent or the scope of His sovereignty. That alone ought to be very comforting to you and me. The scope of God's sovereignty. Because, as we mentioned, there is nothing outside of His jurisdiction. There's not one second of time and not one inch of this universe that does not belong to God. It all belongs to Him. He controls it all. As well, He is fully independent. He does not depend upon you or me or anything in all creation for anything. Unlike you and I in all of creation, we are completely and fully dependent upon God. He has no rivals that present a serious threat to Him. He has rivals, we know that. Satan and his hosts. Those who reject Him. But in truth, his rivals do not pose a threat to him. You see, even if everything in heaven above and on earth turned against him, God would not be harmed. God would not be in danger. In fact, the psalmist in Psalm 2, verse 4 says, The one enthroned in heaven laughs. The Lord scoffs at those who rise up against him. And we know that that laughter is just the precursor to his righteous anger. It is God who chained Satan and has Satan on a leash, according to Revelation 20. It is Satan who is subject to God, not God who is subject to Satan. It is not Satan's purposes which will be fulfilled, but God's purposes are sure and will be perfectly fulfilled. And one proof of that, I believe, is God's Word, the Bible. He's given to us His Word through which He teaches us about God's history of Revelation and His history of redemption. And His Word, by its very own testimony, is able to make you wise for salvation and it is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. And the Word of God teaches us, beloved, that God's purpose includes that He has chosen through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. God's purpose includes that He chose a people whom He has called out of darkness into His wonderful light. And His purpose for that people, His purpose for the church, is that she be the bride of Christ, which He makes holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the Word, and to present her to Himself as a radiant church without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. All of this, you see, the testimony of God's Word. God's Word, the Bible, clearly teaches us about God's sovereign purposes already fulfilled in Christ Jesus, but also that which we still look forward to. As believers look forward to that inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade, kept in heaven for God's people who through faith are shielded by God's power. And all of this, you see, will be after Christ has put all of His enemies under His feet. How can we be so sure of all this? simply because our God is indeed sovereign. And we know in part what that means, as we've already considered. And His sovereignty then gives meaning to all of God's attributes. For example, because He rules with absolute power and authority, our comfort is that it's not Satan, the one who hates us, who's in control. But God is, who enjoys the attributes of being merciful, gracious, loving, and patient. In other words, in His goodness, He will work all things for our good. Because God is sovereign and holy, that which is unholy cannot eternally harm us. Because He is changeless and true, we don't have to worry that even one of His promises will fail. Again, because God is sovereign, we are to be comforted that this God is present wherever we are. He knows all things perfectly, even what we need long before we need it. And all power is His to accomplish His purpose for us perfectly. Beloved, God's sovereignty is to be to our comfort as a church and as believers for the very reason that because of who God is and because of what He has already done through His Son Jesus Christ and because of what He says He will do, we are secure. We are secure. Notice verse 11 of chapter 40. He tends His flock like a shepherd. He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart. He gently leads those that have young. You see, our good shepherd, our sovereign God is tender and loving to care for His sheep, the sheep of His pasture. Yet at the same time, He is strong and powerful to deliver His sheep from Satan, that prowling lion who would seek to steal us from the flock and destroy us. And that security that we are able to boast of is both from outside dangers, as Paul says in Romans 8, nothing in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. But that security is also from ourselves. As Jude 24 speaks of Him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy. You see, beloved, our comfort is that our eternal future is sure. It is secure. No one can take it away from us all because of our sovereign God And therefore, that's what gives us comfort in this life, in the midst of this world. We are secure forever. And therefore, we enjoy comfort for today. You see, beloved, Satan is not in control. Contrary to what it might look like at times. We sing the familiar words of that beautiful hymn, A Mighty Fortress is Our God. those words which are these, and though this world with devils filled should threaten to undo us, we will not fear, for God has willed His truth to triumph through us. The prince of darkness grim, we tremble not for Him. His rage we can endure, for lo, His doom is sure. One little word shall fell Him. Yet the truth is we need comfort in this life. We need a comfort that can only be true comfort that flows from a sovereign God. We need comfort, beloved, because we will face trials, persecution, and temptations because of sin and evil. God allows these things to come upon me, yet I'm safe. Why? Because He controls them, not Satan. Because God controls them. My comfort is the truth of Jesus as He said that no one can or will snatch His sheep out of His hand. We will face, we have faced, and we will face sickness and death and sorrow and anxiety and worry. Some face these more than others. We don't know why. When a particular family has dealt with one tragedy or difficulty over and over again, we often say, well, they've had enough. They've had their share. But in truth, beloved, that's not our call, is it? That's not our call. It's not our job to compare what's fair and what's not. We don't know why God gives a larger, more difficult load to bear to some than to others, but it's our job, each and every one of us, no matter what situation of life God lays upon us. It's our job to be faithful in dealing with those situations of life and to rejoice. To rejoice because the trials of life, beloved, are used by God to sanctify us. They are used by God to draw us closer to Himself. And they are used by God to prepare us for glory. And our comfort is that He says, cast your burden upon me. But the truth is we do worry, don't we? It doesn't matter what age we're at. We do worry. As children, we worry about our friends liking us. We worry about getting to play at least the position we want in the soccer game. As we get a little older, we worry about our grades. We worry again about our friends. We worry about graduating from 8th grade and going into high school. What's that going to be like? And then graduating from high school. going into college, will I be accepted into college? We worry about what vocation or job we might do. We wonder, will I be able to find a spouse? When we're still older, we worry about our children. We worry about their safety. We worry about the friends they make. We worry about the decisions they make. When we're still a bit older, we worry that some of our children and grandchildren are not giving evidence of having faith as they neglect the things of the Lord, especially the fellowship of the church, church membership, church attendance, which we hold so dear, that communion of the saints, which God requires of us. You see, beloved, it's easy to rejoice in God's sovereignty when all is well, when life is good. But it's hard to trust God's sovereignty when you face the battles of life. You see, when we look at ourselves instead of at God, then we can only see the mountains that seem unclimbable or the valleys which seem uncrossable. Boys and girls, when Peter was walking on the water to Jesus, when Jesus was walking on the water, and he took his eyes off of Jesus and began to focus on the wind and the waves, what happened? Well, the wind and the waves got the best of him, didn't they? He began to sink. And that's what happens to us if we take our eyes off of Jesus. We sink into the depths of despair because we cannot handle it. We cannot handle the difficulties of life without Him. But true comfort is that with body and soul, in life and in death, we belong to our faithful Savior, Jesus Christ. Because He has redeemed us and said in His Word, You are Mine. You belong to Me, which we read in Isaiah chapter 43. Therefore also the Word of the Lord in verse 2 of chapter 43. There we read, When, not if, When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. And when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned. The flames will not set you ablaze. See, beloved, in the book of Job we read that God laid the foundations of the earth really somewhat of a repeat and echo we have here in Isaiah compared to Job. But we read that God laid the foundations of the earth. We read that God set each and every star in its place. And we read that God has established the boundaries for the sea to hold the sea back so that it does not cover us and wipe us out. All of that, you see, points to the greatness of our God that He indeed controls all things. Knowing that, though, there are still times, aren't there, when we still think that God is not able to understand our situation. I'm special, you see. Certainly God cannot understand what I'm going through. Or we think that He is, if He doesn't answer us the first time we call upon Him or answer us the way we want, we think that He is ignoring our plight. Or we might be tempted to think that He is not able to make a difference in our lives. Yet He says in verse 27 of chapter 40, Why do you say, O Jacob, and complain, O Israel, my way is hidden from the Lord, my cause is disregarded by my God? Why do you say that? In other words, if God knows the stars by name and not one of them is missing, if He cares for the sparrow and He clothes the lilies of the field, if He has sent His one and only Son to take our place and bear our punishment so that now we can confidently call Him our Father, if all of that is true and it is, how can we not be comforted then that not a hair falls from our head apart from His will? He can level mountains. He can and has parted seas for His people. And no power on earth or in heaven can stop His purpose. Beloved, praise God that our doubt cannot lessen or reduce His sovereignty. He stays the same yesterday, today, and forever. Our comfort is based on who God is and what He has already done for His people in Christ Jesus? No, life is not always great. We get sick. At times we are lonesome. We do become weary. We cry. We fight. We argue. We get hurt. We get attacked. Maybe one day even to the point of losing our earthly life. We suffer loss. We get battle scars. But praise God that we don't get mortally wounded. Again, we can't always, if ever, figure out why. I was reminded of this again by a beautiful illustration by one of our elders at a family visit this past week. Think of a latch hook rug or some sort of a latch hook tapestry. If you look at the back side of it, we see the knots, don't we? See the individual strings going here and there, the ends. We do see the beautiful colors of the different strings, but we don't see the picture, not clearly, until you turn it over and you see what it's all about. That's life for us, isn't it? We see the knots. In fact, sometimes we're knotted up. We experience the knots, the difficulties, the unclearness. Indeed, God gives us a glimpse of the beautiful colors, but it's not yet perfectly clear the picture. We don't always see it clearly until one day. And Paul says that. He says in 1 Corinthians 13, verse 12, that now we see dimly, as in a mirror dimly. He says, now I know in part. Then I shall know fully. Beloved, when you face the difficult situations of life, whether it be temptations from the evil one or sickness or job loss or whatever the case may be, when you face the difficult situations of life, remember, Job was not afflicted for his sin. Job was afflicted for his righteousness. Satan said that Job served God because it paid. But God proved that that wasn't true. The greatest comfort of the truth of God's sovereignty is that the devil is not in control, but God is, as has been proven in Jesus Christ. And therefore, I am safe. Yes, I will get scarred in the fight, but He will get me through to the other side. And this is also comforting with regard to evangelizing my neighbor. God controls the words of my mouth. As Jesus told His disciples, don't worry about what you're going to say. It doesn't mean we don't prepare. He says, don't worry about what you're going to say. The Spirit of God will give you the words to say. And we too must be comforted by that. And He also controls the heart of the one who hears. He alone gives life to those who were dead in trespasses and sins, those whom He has chosen. And this is to be comforting to us because if it was up to me, I don't have the words to say. There would be nothing there. A mouthful of marbles maybe. And I'm not able to change the heart of another. This is, only God can do that. This is to be comforting to us because otherwise, otherwise we would get discouraged, you see, if God were not in control. Preachers would get discouraged when they don't see the change that they think a sermon should make. And we do think that, believe me. But God's people would get discouraged when they don't see any fruit from trying again and again and again to share the Gospel with a co-worker or a neighbor or a son or a daughter. Our comfort must be that God is sovereign even over the hearts of others and He will have mercy and compassion upon those whom He has chosen to receive His mercy and compassion. He is the One who removes the obstacles of the heart, who flattens out the mountains, who makes the valleys, who raises up the valleys, who makes the rough ground level, who makes the rugged places plain. He is the one who removes the obstacles of the heart for His own to hear and respond to His call. Last week we said that we can only begin to scratch the surface of knowing God's sovereignty. And that's all we've been able to do, is begin to scratch that surface. But finally, what is the call of God's sovereignty? Verse 31 of chapter 40, that familiar comforting verse, But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not be faint. We are called to hope only in our Sovereign Lord. That hope includes acknowledging the truth of God, that He is indeed Sovereign, and the truth that salvation can only be found in Him, as Psalm 62 says. And this then includes honoring His sovereignty, being in awe of this Sovereign God, You see, beloved, coming to a realization that God is sovereign does something to the believer. It deepens the true believer's honor for the living and true God. And recognizes that He is the only fit object of worship. And it understands that this ruler is to be joyfully sought after, worshipped, and obeyed. J.I. Packer wrote in his book, Knowing God, these words, living becomes an awesome business when you realize that you spend every moment of your life in the sight and company of an omniscient and omnipresent Creator. Isn't that true? Is it true for you? If it's not, then you need to ask yourself, do I realize this? Do I realize this? This is a reminder to us that every inch and every second of our lives is under His rule. And it's in His sight and in His presence. We are to know that, beloved. We are to be aware of that. And therefore, as His children, we are called to live like that. God's sovereignty touches all of life. Where do we begin, huh? It is so difficult. Where do we begin? It touches all of life. our work, our play, how we sit in the classroom, students. Our business practices. The raising of our children. And worship. And it's especially worship that I urge us to focus on in a particular way for a moment because I truly believe that the reason worship has degenerated among so many is because of a lack of understanding and awareness and reverence for this awesome God. You see, beloved, our worship is to be for Him, first of all. Not for us, but for Him. Our attitude toward the Lord and His day, our attitude about the worship service is to honor Him. And beloved, this is reflected in how you and I prepare for this day and for worship. In fact, we ought to be preparing each and every day of the week as every day we pray that the Lord will prepare us to worship Him on the Lord's Day as well that the Lord would prepare His servant to preach His Word to us on the Lord's Day. But as well, it used to be a practice and I believe a good one that many people were seated 10, 15, 20 minutes before the start of the service. Hard to do here for the second service, I understand. Some still do it here. I remember when I was younger and a new minister came to our church, it wasn't long before there was a change in the bulletin, and that was the very first words that we read at the very top of the bulletin when you opened it up said something to the effect, upon entering God's house, bow in prayer. Not read the bulletin. Not look around to see who else is there. Not even to greet your brother or sister in Christ, which can be done after the service. Bow in prayer. Praying that God will prepare your heart for worship. Because He is most important when we come here together. Not me, not you, but Him. Our day, unfortunately, has changed to the point that it seems that for some, Worship becomes something that is squeezed into the schedule, if I can make it fit, instead of a priority on this day. It's become a matter of convenience, but not seen as absolutely necessary or a first priority. And beloved, that dishonors God. Our posture, our attitude toward worship, is also to reflect an understanding of a sovereign God. And that includes hearing His call to worship. I'm going to get a little personal now. It might strike some of you right in the heart. And I understand I'm in good company because I've heard that Reverend Camming did the same thing. It includes hearing His call to worship. Some of us here never hear God's call to worship. Why? Because we're always late. We're not late for work. We're not late for school. We're not late for a sporting event. We're not late for a musical concert. In fact, we're often early to get the best seat. But we're late for worship. Don't be late for worship. Don't keep God waiting. That is stealing from God. It is saying to Him, in essence, I don't think your voice calling me to worship is really that terribly important. I can do without it. We are to be humbled as we hear God's sovereign voice in His call to worship, in His greeting, in His law, in His assurance of pardon, in His Scripture reading and preached Word, and in His benediction. And we are to honor Him as the supreme and sovereign ruler of us as we respond to His voice with our prayers, with our confession of sin, with our profession of faith, with the words of the songs we sing, also with the giving of our offerings. Beloved, our response to God's sovereignty is so important. Isaiah 40 rebukes an improper response to God's sovereignty. Verse 25 again, To whom will you compare Me, or who is My equal? says the Holy One. Number one, He's saying there is no equal. There is no one to be compared with Me. However, that verse rebukes wrong thoughts about God, Thoughts that say he's not great enough or that he can possibly be compared with another. Verse 27 again, Why do you say, O Jacob, and complain, O Israel? My way is hidden from the Lord. My cause is disregarded by my God. That verse rebukes wrong thoughts about ourselves, thinking that God abandons His people when He has said, I will never leave you or forsake you. And then verse 28, Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom. And that verse rebukes slowness to believe and to respond to God's majesty. Our whole life is to be a proper response to God's sovereignty. You see, God's sovereignty calls us to fix our eyes only on Him, on His goodness, on His power, on His wisdom. He calls us to fix our eyes on Him to understand His sovereignty and to understand our lives in relation to that sovereignty. For example, in educating our children. We indeed, beloved, are so blessed to have Calvin Christian School right here. That our children are taught that indeed God is sovereign. That they are taught that as the events of history unfold, it is God who planned those events of history. As they study in chemistry class and learn the chemicals, they learn that God is the one who created those chemicals and hid them in the earth. We are to focus on God's sovereignty in our work. That all of our work is to be done as unto the Lord. because indeed, as in our living, we are servants of the only ruler. He is the one who rules us. We are to fix our eyes on Him, because only in Him, beloved, is there hope. And He is the only hope of the nations. The church is called to boldly proclaim the gospel truth. To get up on a high mountain, as Isaiah says, to proclaim that gospel and truth of the sovereign God. And to declare to those who will believe by the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit, to declare, here is your God. The church must also boldly proclaim the danger, though, for those who reject Him. Verses 23 and 24 points to that. He brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing. No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown, no sooner do they take root in the ground than He blows on them and they wither and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff. Reminiscent of Psalm 1, right? Talking about the righteous. And then those words, not so the wicked. They are like the chaff which the wind drives away. But then the church is also called to boldly proclaim the assurance. The gospel assurance for those who look to Jesus Christ alone with faith and trust. Verse 2 says, Speak tenderly to Jerusalem and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins. Then the last three verses, beginning at 29, He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall, but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not be faint. A beautiful picture pointing forward to glory. Beloved, may we not only be used of God to spread, to proclaim the truth of His sovereignty, but may we also ourselves be those who hear and respond to those beautiful words, here is your God, your sovereign God. And may God be gracious to us and bless us with the knowledge of His sovereignty. May He encourage us with the comfort of His sovereignty. And may He challenge us with the call of His sovereignty. May He transform our lives in every part in such a way that we would walk humbly before Him, submitting to His rule and being obedient to His Word. May we not treat the Bible as simply a book of suggestions. But may we honor it as His sovereign Word to be obeyed. Bowing before God's sovereignty means bowing before His Word as the only rule for faith and practice. And may we praise Him knowing that this sovereign God is none less than our Father for Jesus' sake. Boys and girls, indeed, our God is so big, so strong and so mighty, there's nothing our God cannot and will not do for the good of His people. May that truth give us all assurance and may we grow in faith with the confidence that nothing happens by chance. All things are well planned out by Him and will result in a perfect end for His people. He will work all things for His glory and our good and nothing shall separate us from the love of our sovereign God and Father which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen. Shall we pray? Father, again, as You've given to us a glimpse of what it means that You are sovereign and have reminded us of the comfort and call of Your sovereignty. Father, we pray that You would build us up with joy, knowing that the one and only ruler of all is our God and Father for Jesus' sake. And we pray, Father, that we might live like that. That we might indeed boast of you, humbly boast of you to the world. Indeed, giving the warning that there is none other besides you. And for those who reject you and your sovereign power, you will do away with them forever and ever. But also giving that gospel promise of those who look to the Lord Jesus Christ alone in repentance and faith. By the grace of God, that theirs is life forevermore. as a child of the Sovereign Father, for Jesus' sake. We thank you and praise you for your word, which is good. Continue to strengthen our faith and to build us up in the assurance of our salvation. In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray these things. Amen.