The Episode of Simeon and His
Inspired Hymn (vs. 25-35)
Prepared
Luke
2:25-30; Isaiah ch. 59
January 10, 2021
25 “And, behold, there was
a man in
and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the
consolation of
and the Holy Ghost was upon him.” Many expositors
have believed that this
Simeon was identical with Simeon (Shimeon) the son of the famous Hillel,
and the
father of Gamaliel. This Simeon
became president of the Sanhedrin in A.D. 13.
Strangely enough, the Mishna,
which preserves a record of the sayings and works
of
the great rabbis, passes by this Simeon. The
curious silence of the Mishna here
was, perhaps, owing to the hatred which this famous
teacher incurred because
of his belief in JESUS OF
interesting, is, however,
very precarious, the name Simeon being so very common
among the people. Waiting
for the consolation of
general feeling among the more earnest Jews at this time that the
advent of
Messiah would not be long delayed. Joseph of Arimathaea is especially
mentioned as one who “waited
for the
(May it be said of us that we are “waiting for the
2012) Dr. Farrar
refers to the common Jewish prayer-formula then in use: “May I
see the consolation of
daily use.
Manifestly Simeon could go to his last sleep as quietly as
to his nightly rest.
We may commit not only the folded hours of the night to
God,
but
also the folded hours of eternity
What a wonderful blessing for the man, like Simeon, who can
say at the end of
life, “I am satisfied! “Lord, let me depart in peace!” Simeon knew by
special communication from God — “it
was revealed unto him by the Holy
Ghost” (v. 26), that he should reach a certain point in the coming of the
soul was filled with joy and holy satisfaction. It is right for those who are
taking a very earnest interest in the cause of Christ to long to be allowed to
accomplish a certain work for Him. Again and again has the parent thus
striven and prayed and longed to see the conversion of all his (her)
children, or the teacher of his (her) class; the minister of Christ to see the
attainment of some pastoral design; the missionary to win some tribe from
barbarism and idolatry; the translator to render the Word of God into the
native tongue; the national reformer to pass his measure for emancipation,
or temperance, or virtue, or education, or the protection of the lives and
morals of women or children. And this deep desire of the heart has been a
constraining power, which has nerved the hand and energized the life,
which has brought forth the fruit of sacred zeal and
unwearied toil. God
has given to these souls the desire of their hearts, and they have gone to
their grave filled with a holy, satisfying peace. So may it be with us. And
yet it may not be so. We may be called upon to quit the field of active labor
before the harvest is gathered in. Others may enter into our labors. If we have the
spirit of Christ in our service, if we go whither we believe He sends us, and
work on in the way which we believe to be according to His will, we may
rest in the calm assurance that the hour of our cessation from holy labor is
the hour of God’s appointment, and a peace as calm as that of Simeon may
fill our soul as we leave a not- unfinished work on earth to enter a nobler
sphere in heaven.
30
“For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,
31 Which thou hast prepared
before the face of all people (more accurately rendered, all peoples); 32 A light
to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people
who
lived several centuries before the nativity, with their glorious far reaching
prophecies, such as Isaiah 52:10, were far in advance of the narrow,
selfish Jewish
schools of the age of Jesus Christ. It was, perhaps, the hardest
lesson the apostles
and
first teachers of the faith had to master — this full, free admission of the
vast
Gentile world into the kingdom of their
God. Simeon, in his song, however,
distinctly
repeats the broad, generous sayings of the older prophets.
A Satisfied Human Spirit
(vs. 25-30)
There are few more exquisite pictures even in Holy Writ
than the one
which is here drawn for us. An aged and venerable man, who has
lived a
long life of piety and virtue, and who has been cherishing an
ever-brightening hope that before he dies he should look upon the face of
his
country’s Savior, directed by the Spirit of God, recognizes in the infant
Jesus that One for whose coming he has so long been hoping
and praying.
Taking Him up into his arms, with the light of intense
gratitude in his eyes,
and
the emotion of deepest happiness in his voice, he exclaims, “Lord,
now
lettest thou thy servant depart in peace.… for mine eyes have seen
thy
Salvation.” Life has now no
ungranted good for him to await. The last and
dearest wish of his heart has been fulfilled; willingly would he
now close
his
eyes in the sleep of death; gladly would he now lie down to rest in the
quiet of the grave.
·
THOSE WHO
MUST BE UNSATISFIED IN SPIRIT. There is a vast
multitude of men who seek for satisfaction in the
things which are seen and
temporal — in
taking pleasure, in making money, in wielding power, in
gaining honor, etc. But they do not find what they seek. It is as
true in
twenty centuries after Christ as ten centuries before, when
Solomon wrote
that “the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor
the ear with hearing.”
(Ecclesiastes 1:8). All the rivers of earthly good may run into
the great sea of
an immortal spirit, but that sea is not filled. Earthly good
is the salt water that
only makes more athirst the soul that drinks it. It is not the
very wealthy,
nor the very mighty, nor the very honored man who is ready to
say, “I
am
satisfied; let me depart in peace.”
·
THOSE WHO MAY BE SATISFIED IN SPIRIT. Simeon knew by
special communication from God — “it was revealed unto him by
the Holy
Ghost” — that he should reach a certain point in the coining of
the
soul was filled with joy and holy satisfaction. It is right for those who are
taking a very earnest interest in the cause of Christ to long to
be allowed to
accomplish a certain work for Him. Again and again has the parent
thus
striven and prayed and longed to see the conversion of all his
(her)
children, or the teacher of his (her) class; the minister of Christ
to see the
attainment of some pastoral design; the missionary to win some tribe
from
barbarism and idolatry; the translator to render the Word of God
into the
native tongue; the national reformer to pass his measure for
emancipation,
or temperance, or virtue, or education, or the protection of
the lives and
morals of women or children. And this deep desire of the heart
has been a
constraining power, which has nerved the hand and energized the life,
which has brought forth the fruit of sacred zeal and unwearied
toil. God
has given to these souls the desire of their hearts, and they have gone to
their grave filled with a holy, satisfying peace. So may it be with us. And
yet it may not be so. We may be called upon to quit the field
of active labor
before the harvest is gathered in. Others may enter into our
labors. But if it
should be so, there is a way in which we may belong.
·
THOSE WHO CANNOT FAIL TO BE SATISFIED IS SPIRIT. For
we may be of those who realize that it is in God’s hand to
fix the bounds of
our present labor, and to determine the measure of the work we
shall do on
earth. We may work on diligently and devotedly as those who have
much
to do for God and man, yet clearly recognizing that God has for us a
sphere in the spirit — world, and that He may at any hour remove us there,
though we would fain finish what we have in hand below. If we
have the
spirit of Christ in our service, if we go whither we believe He
sends us, and
work on in the way which we believe to be according to His
will. we may
rest in the calm assurance that the hour of our cessation from
holy labor is
the hour of God’s appointment, and a peace as calm as that of Simeon may
fill our soul as we leave a not-unfinished work on earth to
enter a nobler
sphere in heaven.
The
Touchstone of Truth (vs. 34, 36)
We do not suppose that Simeon saw the future course of the Savior
and of
His gospel in clear outline; but,
taught of God, he foresaw that that little
Child he had been holding in his arms would be One who
would prove a
most powerful factor in his country’s history; and he saw that relationship
to Him would be A SOURCE OF GREATEST BLESSING or of weightiest
trouble, or of most serious condemnation. Thus guided by this
venerable saint, we
will regard the gospel of Christ as:
·
A TOUCHSTONE. Our Lord
Himself was a touchstone by which the
men of His day were tried. He came not to judge the world, but
to save the
world, as He said (John 12:47); and yet it was also true that “for
judgment He came into the world,” as He also said (ibid.
ch. 9:39). His
mission was not to try, but to redeem; yet it was a necessary
incidental
consequence of His coming that the character of the men who came in
contact with Him would be severely tested. When the Truth itself appeared
and moved amongst men, then it became clear that those who
were
ignorantly supposed to be blind were the souls that were seeing God (“that
they who see not might see”), and equally clear that those who claimed to
know everything had eyes that were fastened against the light (“that
they
who see might be made blind”). As Jesus lived and wrought and spoke, the
hearts of men were revealed — those who were children of wisdom
heard
His voice (ibid. ch. 18:37), while those who loved
darkness rather than
light turned away from the revealing Truth. And today the gospel
is the
touchstone of human character. They who are earnest seekers after God,
after wisdom, after righteousness, gladly sit at the feet of the
great Teacher
to learn of Him; but they who live for pleasure, for gain,
for the honor that
cometh from man only, for this passing world, pass Him by,
indifferent or
hostile. They who are prepared to come as little children to learn
of the
heavenly Father, receive His Word and enter His kingdom (here, ch. 18:16);
while they who consider themselves able to solve the great
problems of life
and destiny keep their minds closed against the truth.
·
A SWORD OF SORROW. It
was not only Mary’s heart that was
pierced by reason of her affection for Jesus Christ. Loyalty to
Him proved
to that generation, and has proved in every age since then, a
sword that has
wounded and slain. At many times
and in many places it has meant violent
persecution — stripes, imprisonment, death. In every land and in every age
it has exposed men to hostility, to reproach, to temporal
loss, to social
disadvantage, to a lower station, to a struggling life, to a wounded
spirit
(ch. 9:23; John 17:14; II Timothy 3:12). Our Lord invites us
to regard this inevitable accompaniment of spiritual integrity as an honor
and a blessing rather than a stigma and a curse (Matthew 5:10-12).
·
A STUMBLING-STONE.
That “Child
was set for the fall… of
many.” The truth which
Jesus spoke, the great work of salvation He
wrought out, has proved to many, not only in
where it has been made known, a rock of offense (see ch. 20:18;
I Corinthians 1:23).
·
A STEPPING-STONE.
Not only for the fall, but for the “rising
again,” was that Infant “set.”
By
planting their feet on that safe, strong
rock:
Ø
the humiliated and
even the degraded rise to honor and esteem,
Ø
the humble to
hopefulness,
Ø
the weak to strength,
Ø
the blemished to
beauty,
Ø
the useless to
helpfulness,
Ø
the children of earth to spheres of blessedness and
joy in the
heavenly world.
Isaiah
59
(I would like to preface this by saying that I
recently watched a sermon
by Adrian Rogers over TV on this
chapter with particular emphasis
on “Truth Fallen in the Street” of
v. 14 – it was entitled “A Nation
in Crisis” – program 2093 – which
aired on April 5, 2009
- I would
recommend accessing this site (Bro. Rogers
is deceased) – at www.lwf.org
(lwf = Love Worth Finding) – Every American should ponder this -
every person in the world could and
should profit from it. (Now I
am writing this eleven
years later and it seems that our nation is much
more down the road in sin
with the complication of COVID – 19 –
if a nation or a world
ever needed to make peace with God, it is NOW!
CY – 2020) This was completed at 12:30 am on Nov.
15, 2020.
Think what has transpired since then, around
seven weeks ago.
A GENERAL REBUKE
OF
(vs. 1-8)
The command given to
the prophet in Isaiah 58:1 to “show God’s people
their
transgression, and the house of
Jacob their sins
“ — partly executed in ibid.
vs.
4-7 and 13 — is now further carried
out by a scathing denunciation of various
forms
of wickedness, more or less prevalent in
been
to separate between
“make
His ears heavy.” The passage has many analogies with ch.
1:2-23.
Read the verses
v. 4 – “None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth:
they
trust
in vanity” - The whole basis of the dealings between man
and man was
unsound, corrupt and chaotic
When truth and plain dealing are set aside, things
soon becomes ruin and confusion.
WE ARE TALKING ABOUT THE FOUNDATIONS OF SOCIETY
HERE!
GOD’S PEOPLE NEED TO WAKE UP TO THE FACT THAT
WHEN “THE FOUNDATIONS BE DESTROYED, LITTLE CAN
THE RIGHTEOUS DO?” – Psalm
11:3
Isaiah 8:19-20
5 “They hatch
cockatrice' eggs, and weave the spider's web: he that eateth
of their eggs dieth,
and that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper.”
They hatch cockatrice' eggs. (On the cockatrice, see the comment upon Isaiah 11:8.)
The meaning here is that the people gave themselves to brooding
on and hatching
purposes which were as pernicious and destructive as the eggs of venomous serpents.
And weave the spider's web; i.e. "their purposes were as flimsy and unsubstantial as
the web of the spider." He that eateth, etc. If a man partake of their plans, he becomes
morally as bad as they, and is smitten with spiritual death. If an attempt be made
to "crush" and destroy their plans, the only
result is the premature birth of a viper.
8 “The way of peace
they know not; and there is no judgment in their goings: they
have made them crooked paths: whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace.”
The way of peace they know not. They have no desire for "peace," and neither "seek" it
nor "ensue" it (1 Peter 3:11). Peace can only be obtained through righteousness
(ch. 32:17; James 3:18). There is no judgment in their goings; rather, no justice –
no recognition of other men's rights, no endeavour to observe right in their own acts
and proceedings (compare v. 4; and see also ch. 1:17, 21,
23; 3:14-15). They have
made them
crooked paths (compare Proverbs 2:15; 10:9; 28:6). The way that leadeth
to life IS STRAIGHT! They have wandered from it, and made for themselves
"crooked" paths,
which can only LEAD TO DESTRUCTION. In such paths
there neither is nor can be "peace." (ch. 48:22; 57:20-21)
9 “Therefore is
judgment far from us, neither doth justice overtake us: we
wait for light, but behold obscurity; for
brightness, but we walk in darkness.”
Therefore - i.e. on account of these sins - is judgment far from us; i.e. "does
God refrain from judging our enemies." Neither doth justice - i.e. the righting
of the wrongs which we suffer at the hands of the heathen - overtake
us.
We are left by
God unavenged, and our enemies are left unpunished on
account of our many transgressions. We
wait for light. We look for a bright
dawn to succeed the night of our trouble; but we
wait in vain - the obscurity
continues.
10 “We grope for the
wall like the blind, and we grope as if we had no eyes:
we stumble at noonday as in the night; we
are in desolate places as dead men.”
We grope for the wall; rather, we grope along the wall (compare Deuteronomy 28:29;
[a working knowledge and obedience to things in that chapter would have prevented
all that came upon
contemporary world. Remember the maxims “a
stitch in time saves nine”;
“an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure.” CY – 2020] and for the
"blindness that had happened unto
here in Isaiah ch. 29:10, 18; {compare II Thessalonians 2:6-12 – CY – 2020};
35:5; 42:16). We stumble at noonday. It was not that light was really wanting,
but they had no eyes to behold it. We are in desolate places; rather, in dark places.
Are you aware of these passages above? If not, where have you been all your life?
We are required to know them because even in our local judicial system, ignorance
of the law is no excuse! CY – 2020)
11 “We roar all like
bears, and mourn sore like doves: we look for judgment,
but there is none; for
salvation, but it is far off from us.” We roar all like bears;
rather, we growl. The verb is used commonly of the "roaring" of the sea
(ch. 17:12; 51:15; Jeremiah 6:23-24; 50:42; 51:55); but is applied also to the
noise made by a dog (Psalm 59:6, 14). Here it represents the
deep murmur of
discontent, which
alternates with the mournful tones of
the latter being compared to the melancholy cooing of the dove (see ch. 38:14).
We look for judgment, but there is none, etc. The same complaint as in v. 9, clause 1.
I would like to note that in my commentary on Isaiah
that I have
written the dates of August 16, 1966 and
June 17, 1993 – making
reference to the mourning of the doves –
this is a useless comment
but I had been in
August 14, 1966 – May I say that the doves still mourn
and so
does
AND DESPONDENCY and why???? – v. 2 – “HER INIQUITIES
HAVE SEPARATED HER FROM HER GOD!!!! (CY – 2009)
(If you do not believe it, consider the events in the
Unites States of
12 “For our
transgressions are multiplied before thee, and our
sins testify against
us: for our transgressions are with
us; and as for our iniquities, we know them.
Our transgressions are multiplied before thee; i.e. they are very numerous; and they
come "before God," so as to attract His attention and call for His animadversion
(censure). Our sins testify against us; i.e. "rise up against us as witnesses,
whose evidence we cannot disprove, and have not even the face to dispute."
Our
transgressions are with us - i.e. "constantly haunt us" - and as for our
iniquities, we know them; i.e. we are aware of them, we acknowledge them,
we have them continually
in our memories. It is one of the most certain phenomena
of consciousness
that grievous sins, deadly sins, haunt the mind, and
cannot in
this life be wiped out
from the memory. What did David say after committing
adultery with Bathsheba? “I acknowledge my transgressions: and MY SIN IS
EVER BEFORE ME” (Psalm 51:3)
13 “In transgressing
and lying against the LORD, and departing away from our
God, speaking oppression and revolt,
conceiving and uttering from the heart
words of falsehood.” An enumeration of special sins.
rather, treason and unfaithfulness to Jehovah (Cheyne); followed by
departing away from God, or the secret act of apostasy.
wrong - the "wrong," probably, of false accusation (compare
Deuteronomy 19:16); and,
14 “And judgment is
turned away backward, and justice standeth
afar off:
for truth is fallen in the street, and equity
cannot enter.” Judgment
is turned away
backward. In conclusion, the crying sin of perversion of justice is admitted with
much amplification.
acquitted. (Is this
not what is going on in high places in American government,
especially in the year 2020?
CY – 2020)
·
Justice standeth afar off - too far off to be able to hear those who make appeal
to
it.
·
Truth is fallen in the street; i.e. false witness prevails over true in the courts of
Justice.
·
Equity cannot enter - is not admitted inside the courts, but waits without.
A PROMISE OF
DELIVERANCE TO OPPRESSED
(vs.
15-21)
The godly in
The prophet promises a deliverance from both. The deliverance
will be
followed by the establishment of Messiah’s kingdom, which will continue
for ever.
15 “Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth
from evil maketh himself a prey:
and the LORD saw it, and it displeased Him
that there was no judgment.”
Yea, truth faileth. Truth itself is altogether gone, is missing, not forthcoming.
"Tetras Astraea reliquit." This is the worst of all. For truth is the basis of the social
fabric, the groundwork of all morality. Once let there be no regard for truth in a state,
no discredit attaching to lying, and all virtue is undermined, all soundness is vanished –
nothing remains but "wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores" (Isaiah 1:6). He that
departeth from evil maketh himself a prey. Evil-doers prosper. The man who "eschews
evil," and declines to employ (as others do) the weapons of fraud and violence, simply
gives himself over as a prey to those who are less scrupulous than himself.
And the Lord saw it. The division of the verses here requires alteration. The opening
clause of v. 15 belongs to what precedes; the second clause
to what follows. "The Lord
saw" that condition of things in
Him; literally, it was evil in His eyes, especially in that there was no judgment.
Justice was not done between man and man; no one thought of pronouncing
just judgments. The circumstances were such as to invite A DIVINE
INTERPOSITION! (Do you believe that things are
ripe today for such A
DIVINE INTERPOSITION?” CY – 2020)
16 ““And He saw
that there was no man, and wondered that there
was no intercessor: therefore His arm
brought salvation unto him;
and his righteousness, it sustained him.” He saw that there was no man,
and wondered that there was no intercessor; i.e. God looked for some champion of
the oppressed to arise; it was to be expected under the
circumstances. But, alas! "there
was no man." None stood up to resist the unrighteous and protect the innocent;
much less did any stand up to deliver
said that God "wondered" at no champion appearing, we must understand the
expression as an anthropomorphism· Therefore His arm brought salvation unto Him.
As them was no
human champion, it
became necessary that God should arise in His
own Person, and show Himself. "His arm" and "His righteousness" were enough;
no human aid was needed, or could have added anything to the resistless strength
of His might (compare ch. 63:5).
There was no resolve in man so it was necessary for God to
arise and show Himself.
AND WE DO NOT HAVE
THE STOMACH OR RESOLVE TO
DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT (like being like the “salt of the earth”)
BUT GOD HAS THAT WILL AND THAT RESOLVE!!!
MAY ALL GLORY BE UNTO HIM FOR EVER FOR BEING SUCH
A JUST AND RIGHTEOUS GOD AS HE – “Give unto the Lord the
glory due His name” – Psalm 29:2
17 “For He put on
righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of
salvation
upon His head; and He put on the garments of
vengeance for clothing, and was
clad with zeal as a cloke.” He put on righteousness as a breastplate. Jehovah
arms Himself for the battle in a way that is manifestly
metaphoric. He
puts on a
"Divine panoply:"
·
righteousness as His breastplate,
·
salvation as His helmet,
·
vengeance for garments, and
·
zeal, or jealousy, for a cloak.
He takes no offensive weapons - "the out-breathing of His Spirit (v. 19) is enough!"
v. 17 – GOD’S ATTIRE
“Righteousness” – a breastplate
“Salvation” – a helmet
“Vengeance” - clothing
“Zeal” – a cloak
Compare MAN’S ATTIRE OR ARMOR according to the Apostle
Paul in
Ephesians 6:11-17
“Truth” - for a loin cloth
“Righteousness” (like God) – a breastplate
“Gospel of Peace” – for shoes
“Faith” – for a shield
“Salvation” (like God) – a helmet
“Word of God” – as a sword of the Spirit
18 “According
to their deeds, accordingly He will repay,
fury to His
adversaries, recompence to
His enemies; to the islands He will repay
recompence.” According to their deeds; rather, according to their deserts
(compare Psalm 28:4. He will repay. The ordinary future here, and in the
remainder of the prophecy, replaces the "perfect of prophetic certitude"
(speaking of the future as if it was already past), which has been employed
in vs. 16-17. Fury to His adversaries, recompense to His enemies. God's
"adversaries" are those of His own household - His people, the ungodly
Israelites; His "enemies" are the heathen that oppress His people
(compare ch. 1:24, which is very similar). To the islands; i.e. the maritime lands,
which, under Assyria, and afterwards under
of His people.
19 “So shall they fear
the name of the LORD from the west, and His glory
from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall
come in like a flood,
the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard
against him.”
So shall they fear; rather, and they shall fear. The result of the triumphant
exhibition of God's might will be a conversion of the Gentiles, who will flock
in both from the west - the quarter of "the islands" - and from the
east, to do
reverence to the name and to the glory of the Lord.
When
the enemy shall
come in (rather, come on) like a flood; literally, like the river; i.e.
the
of the river, strong and many,
even the King of
When this shall be the case, then the Spirit of the Lord - hypostasized (giving
an identity to a concept) or nearly so – shall lift up a standard against him
(compare ch. 10:18; Zechariah 9:16), and easily vanquish him. The metaphor
of "lifting a standard" for making an armed resistance is common
in Isaiah (ch. 5:26; 13:2; 18:3; 31:9).
20 “And the Redeemer
shall come to
turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the LORD.”
And the Redeemer shall come to
Redeemer for Zion, and for those who turn, etc. When the "adversaries”
and the “enemies" shall have been
punished, repentant
saved BY THE COMING OF THE MESSIAH! As usual, the prophet does
not note, or perhaps see, intervals of time, but blends events of various
periods into one glorious vision of triumphant deliverance,
redemption, and prolonged
spiritual life in the Redeemer's kingdom.
21 “As for me,
this is my covenant with them, saith the
LORD;
My
spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth,
shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the
mouth of thy seed,
nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the LORD, from
henceforth and for ever.” As for me; literally, and I. The prophet begins
with one construction, and then checks himself, and introduces another.
This is my covenant (compare Jeremiah 31:31-34; and see the comment on
ch. 55:3). The new covenant involved the giving of God's Spirit to
His people
(Joel 2:28);
and this Spirit, it is here promised, shall not depart from
God's people
while time endures. The Spirit will be accompanied with certain "words" which
will be put into the Church's mouth; and these words will remain unchanged and
pass on from
mouth to mouth, age after age, for ever. The "words" intended
are probably those of the entire Bible - all God's revelations - which the
Church will
maintain as INSPIRED TRUTH THROUGH ALL AGES!
Upon thee! i.e. upon
upon thee") is not unusual in Isaiah (1:29; 33:2; 49:5; 62:11-12).
vs. 20-21 - And the Redeemer shall come to
from transgression
in Jacob, saith the LORD. As for me, this is my covenant
with them, saith the LORD; My Spirit that is upon thee, and my words
which
I have put in thy
mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth,
nor out of the
mouth of thy seed,
nor out of the mouth of thy seed’s seed, saith the
LORD,
from henceforth and
for ever.
Excerpted text Copyright AGES
Library, LLC. All
rights reserved.
Materials are reproduced by
permission."
This material can be found at:
http://www.adultbibleclass.com
If this exposition is helpful, please share
with others.