Homilist Revelation 5:1-4 And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals.… I. IT IS CONDUCTED ACCORDING TO A VAST PRECONCERTED PLAN. The Almighty never acts from impulse or caprice, but ever from plan or law; and this plan is truly vast. "It is written within and on the backside." All that shall happen through the vast futurities of individuals, families, nations, worlds, is mapped out on the pages of this wonderful book. Predestination is no special doctrine of the Bible; it is written on every part of nature; it includes as truly the motions of an atom as the revolutions of a world — the growth of a plant as the conversion of a soul. True philosophy, as well as Christianity, resolves everything but sin into the predestination of Infinite Love. II. THIS VAST PRECONCERTED PLAN IS SEALED IN MYSTERY. 1. It transcends all finite intelligence. 2. It is frequently the source of great mental distress. 3. It is an inestimable means of spiritual discipline: it sobers, humbles, stimulates. III. THAT THE MYSTERY OF THIS PLAN IS TO BE EXPOUNDED BY CHRIST. He discloses the eternal purposes in various ways. (1) In His creative acts. Stars, suns, and systems are but the palpable forms or diagrams of Infinite ideas. (2) In His redemptive operations. (3) In His judicial conduct. "The Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son." In the last day what new disclosures will be made! (Homilist.) Parallel Verses KJV: And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals. |
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