Please turn in your Bibles to Psalm 115. Psalm 115. Let us read the word of God from verse 1 of Psalm 115. Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy and for thy truth's sake. Wherefore should the heathen say, where is now their God? But our God is in the heavens. He hath done whatsoever he hath pleased. Their idols are silver and gold, the works of men's hands. They have mouths, but they speak not. Eyes have they, but they see not. They have ears, but they hear not. Noses have they, but they smell not. They have hands, but they handle not. Feet have they, but they walk not. Neither speak they through their throat. They that make them are like unto them. So is everyone that trusteth in them. O Israel, trust thou in the Lord. He is their help and their shield. O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord. He is their help and their shield. Ye that fear the Lord, trust in the Lord. He is their help and their shield. The Lord has been mindful of us. He will bless us. He will bless the house of Israel. He will bless the house of Aaron. He will bless them that fear the Lord, both small and great. The Lord shall increase you more and more, you and your children. Ye are blessed of the Lord, which made heaven and earth. Even the heavens are the Lord's, but the earth hath he made to the children of men. hath he given to the children of men. The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence. But we will bless the Lord from this time forth and forevermore. Praise the Lord. Amen. Dear friends, in this psalm, the psalmist is glorifying God, magnifying God's name. He is saying how great God is, how he rules over everything. But what does the world do? The world has its idols. The world has its man-made devices and things that don't ultimately do anything because they are dead. They are lifeless. They are not in control. But God is in control. We have been thinking on this subject for some time now, this whole subject of the sovereignty of God. And this evening I want us to think about our attitude to this doctrine, our attitude to this fact that God is sovereign. Imagine standing before a great mountain, towering mountain, and its summit is hidden in the clouds. Have you ever been in a situation like that? I have been. where you can't see the top of it. The clouds are covering it. It's majestic and it's immovable. And you feel so small. You think you can get to the top quickly, but after an hour or two, you feel you've only gone up so little. There's still so much more to this great mountain. And so you feel very small and you're in awe of it. You're humbled by the greatness of it. Now consider this, that mountain is but a faint whisper, we could say, of the majesty of God, the sovereignty of God, His rule, His reign over all creation, everything, visible, invisible. That's far greater infinitely higher and also deeply personal. And that's why you try to grasp it and you can't. As soon as you begin to define it, you realize you don't know anything about it. And we grapple with it and we try to understand all of these things and because people don't understand it, because we can't grasp all of it and explain every verse of the scripture, people say, well, it can't be true. It can't be true because as long as I don't understand it, it can't be true. So then our brain, our minds become the sovereign. No, my friends, we must submit ourselves to the word of God. It's not just a theological concept for scholars. It's not just a philosophical thing to discuss. It's not something abstract. It's the heartbeat of the Christian life. When we speak of God's sovereignty, we speak of his absolute sovereignty, unchallenged power, and perfect wisdom in governing all things. And as we read in this Psalm, it says this, in verse three, it says, but our God, this is our God, this is, he is alive, he's in control, he's the creator, but our God is in the heavens. He hath done whatsoever he hath pleased. That's what he's saying. And so he ends the psalm, he says, yes, look at these nations, look at the world, look at our lives. We bless God, we praise God, but we will bless the Lord from this time forth and forevermore, he says, praise the Lord. This is our God, dear friends. And it is this God who sits on his throne ruling the nations and ordering all things according to his perfect plan. Now the world would say, God's perfect plan, we don't like it. Who are we to say anything when we have sinned so much against him? When we have messed up this world and messed up our lives so much, who are we to say God's ways are imperfect? My counsel shall stand, Isaiah says, or the Lord says through Isaiah, my counsel shall stand and I will do all my pleasure. So when we think about these things, we can't just contain these things in a sermon or to read a book about it. But this truth, it demands a response from us. How should we, finite, frail people, respond to a God who holds the universe in his hands and ordains all things? How should we live our lives? In Matthew 11, verse 26, it gives us a powerful example through the words of our Lord Jesus Christ. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight. That's how our Lord Jesus Christ responded. So these words are flowing from a heart of perfect submission. It's coming from a heart that has perfect trust in the Father's will. There is no complaint. Even so, Father, for it seemed good in thy sight. So in every situation, high and low, in happy days, in sad days, in times that we have no understanding, what is happening? And you think to yourself, it's so dark, it's so confusing. I can say, but God knows. I don't know, but the Lord knows. Even so, Father, for it seemed good in thy sight, I can say. Our attitude towards God's sovereignty, it shapes every aspect of our lives. It's fine for us to say we understand these things or we believe these things and that's our confession of faith, but to actually live upon these things. That's something else, my friends. We can point the finger and we can feel very proud of ourselves that we are reformed. And yet I have found more reformed people who are more worried. More anxious. They lose heart, they're fearful. Fearful of what's happening. Fearful of the things that are being done to them. We ought to be very humble when we hold to these doctrines. It humbles us when pride rises. It comforts us when life is so uncertain. This doctrine, it compels us to obedience when our hearts are tempted to wander and stop. This stops you. And say, no, my heart wants me just to go back. Go back, go back, as Pliable said to Christian in Pilgrim's Progress. What are you doing going forward? No, you go back. But this doctrine says, no, we have a God in heaven. And he says to us, as he said to the children of Israel, go forward, he says. And as you have in Proverbs, in Proverbs 1 and verse 7, it reminds us this, that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. In another place, the apostle Paul exhorts us to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. Now, I want to say three things here in the time that we have. How should we respond? What should be our attitude to the sovereignty of God? First, we must respond with godly fear that reverences his majesty. Secondly, we must respond with implicit obedience that submits to his commands. And finally, with joyful resignation that trusts in his perfect plan. So we need to be submissive to the Lord and open our hearts to this truth and we should be praying to God, thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. Now I've been told that I mentioned my points very quickly and people don't have time to write them down. So I'll repeat them a number of times. So your first response should be godly fear, godly fear. That should be the proper response to a vision of the sovereignty of God. That God is in control, so I should have that godly fear of him. It's not a slavish terror, but a reverent awe that acknowledges God is holy. He knows all things. God is holy and he is in the place of majesty. Who am I to approach him? Who am I to go to him? And so again, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, Solomon says. And so when we understand who God is, we cannot remain indifferent. We cannot be casual about Him. Just think about different people. For example, Job. Isaiah, Daniel, these great men of God, their lives illustrate this truth so clearly that Job says, after witnessing the majesty of God, he says, I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes." So when he sees the glory of God, this is Job, a holy man, a godly man, a man better than you and I, spiritually speaking. And he says, when I've seen the glory of God, I used to hear about these things, but now I've experienced who God is. He says, but now, I abhor myself. This is wherefore. Because of this, because of what I've seen, I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes. That's in Job 42 verses five and six. So this is Job's self-abasement. That was a direct result of encountering God's greatness. The reason people do not see who they are and they are not repenting in dust and ashes is because they haven't seen the glory of God. They haven't seen who He is. They haven't seen how holy He is. And similarly, Isaiah, when he's confronted with the vision of God on his throne, he cries out, woe is me for I'm undone because I'm a man of unclean lips, he says in Isaiah 6 and verse 5. This is not somebody who is going to complain against God. and speak ill of God. He says, no, woe is me for I'm undone. Friends, this fear is not a sort of a cringing fear, but one that arises from seeing the difference, the disparity between our sinfulness and God's purity. And that kind of a perspective, that kind of a view, it produces in a person humility. A person who has seen something of the greatness of God becomes a humble person, not a proud person. He's not there ready to fight, but he's there humbly. God has been so gracious to me. It produces reverence in the person, not a casual approach to God. And this is our problem in our modern day Christianity that we have such a casual approach to God. In the way we pray, in the way we address Him, in the way we worship Him, in the way we praise His name, in the way the preacher preaches the whole worship of God, how it's conducted. The attitude of God's people in their personal lives and in the world around them. There's no fear of God. In the world and sadly amongst many who profess to name the name of Christ. And this lack of godly fear is, as I said, evident in society today. There is no fear of God before their eyes, we read in Romans 3.18. And this attitude and this absence of fear leads to widespread disregard for God's sovereignty and authority. And that's why people reject the Word of God. They have no concern for it. What's the point of it? And as I said, even within the church, many approach the scriptures lightly. Oh, it doesn't have to be, you don't take it so seriously. Oh, I don't need to obey all of these commands. I don't need to take these things as strictly as the Bible says. God knows, God understands. Yet, the Apostle Paul, he exhorts believers to work out, as I said, their salvation. As in it means to live the Christian life with fear and trembling. It's not about becoming saved. No, it says you work it out. You need to be exerting yourself but with fear and trembling. So this is not something dreaded fear. But it's a reverential loving respect for God's sovereignty over every aspect of life. Just think about standing before a monarch, a great monarch, aware of that person's authority and dignity. The way you would be thinking, but what are you going to say to him or her? You would be planning, you'd be preparing yourself and you'd be dressed properly to approach that person, speak in a certain way and go to that person in a certain way. And the way you would be, it would show the way you would respect that person and how much more you should stand in awe of the king of kings. So this kind of, this should be your response when you think about God's sovereignty. That this should shape your thoughts and words and actions. So what should we do in terms of application? We should be cultivating this kind of a godly fear. full of love, full of respect for God. I should be contemplating, meditating upon these things to think about the holiness of God, the power of God. These things are radiated so wonderfully in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. So you look at his life and you see that he is harmless. He is undefiled. He is separate from sinners. And yet you see this compassion in coming amongst us and living amongst us. And whoever his hand touched was blessed. And whoever he revealed himself saw this and was a changed person. Isaiah tells us in Isaiah 66 and verse 2, it commends these things and says, to this man will I look, Even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit and trembleth at my word. So that's the first thing I wanted to say. Our response should be a godly fear. If you really believe this doctrine, that's what should be. And then the second thing is the implicit obedience. Implicit obedience. That naturally leads to this truth. The godly fear as a response to God's sovereignty, it leads to implicit obedience. To know God as the sovereign king is to acknowledge his rightful authority over our lives and to submit to his commands without reservation. Imagine that, say, God is sovereign, he is good, he is perfect, and yet I question his commands. I think it's not important for me. I think, well, no, it was all right for that time, it's not all right for now. It's changed his mind. Obedience, my friends, in this sense, is not a burdensome duty, but a joyful alignment. with the will of the holy and the loving God. I'm just aligning my will, my desires with God's will. And so I want to do His will. And there are a number of things I want to say about this, about obedience. First of all, this is what God demands. God's sovereignty demands it. So the Bible consistently, presents obedience as a hallmark of a heart rightly submitted to God. So you have in Exodus 5 and verse 2, Pharaoh's rebellious spirit, it shows how opposite he was. of obedience when he says this, who is the Lord that I should obey him, his voice, to let Israel go? Who is he? Do I need to obey his voice? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go. So Pharaoh's ignorance of God's majesty led to this kind of a defiance. Who is he? that he says these things to me. Who is the Lord that I should obey him? And that also led to his ruin as well. And so that is a warning to us. This example of Pharaoh is a bad example and the Bible is full of these things to tell you, don't follow these examples. It's saying that irreverence toward God will beget disobedience. When a person is irreverent, when a person is careless about God, also that person is disobedient to the commands of God, which then produces with it judgment. And then you have the opposite, the contrast of this, about people who show true reverence. When a person has true reverence towards God, it produces submission. It produces obedience. So you have in the Psalms, Psalm 119 is full of it. In Psalm 119, for example, verses 36 and 37, it's saying, incline my heart unto thy testimony. So he says, my heart, that's the problem. It's not about just me outwardly obeying, but my heart doesn't obey. And so I need to be inclined. So the Psalmist is saying, my heart is not naturally inclined. It needs to be inclined. Incline my heart unto thy testimonies. You might say, you find it hard? Well, the psalmist found it hard, so he prayed about it. And he says, and not to covetousness. You see, he's saying, I covet. The psalmist is confessing something. He says, my problem is, I want things. And my heart doesn't go after, I don't covet God's testimonies, but I covet other things. So instead of coveting the things that is not good for me, then I want to covet God's testimonies. Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity, and quicken thou me in thy ways, he says. So he says, I've got eye problem. My eye problem is I'm looking at things that are empty, useless, bad things, not helpful things. So he says, I need to pray. Do you have a problem with your eyes? Have you been watching things that you're regretting? And do you have this problem? Our society, our culture has that problem. And so what should we do? We should pray about these things. We should ask the Lord, turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity. And then he says, quicken thou me in thy way. He says, I feel so lifeless. I need quickening. I need life. Quicken thou me in thy way. So this prayer reflects a heart yearning to obey God's word, is recognizing that his precepts, God's precepts, are life-giving. It's good. So that's one thing for us to think about in terms of obedience, that God's sovereignty demands obedience. Secondly, under that heading, Christ's example of perfect obedience. We have Christ's example of perfect obedience. And if we are followers of Jesus Christ, we follow him in this too. In obedience, we can't render perfect obedience. That only happens in heaven. But in this world, we follow the Lord Jesus Christ. So the ultimate demonstration of implicit obedience is found in the life of our Lord Jesus Christ. although he was equal with the Father and he is equal with the Father, he humbled himself and submitted entirely to the Father's will in his human nature. So you have in Philippians 2 and verse 8, it describes him in this way, so perfectly, and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. That's how he obeyed, that's how he humbled himself, became obedient, to what point? to the point of death, to the point of blood. That's the kind of obedience that we are following after and there have been many, many Christians who have laid down their lives and have been put to death. They were willing to go so far because they were following Christ. Christ's obedience was neither partial nor selective. We are selected. We choose what we like. This one, it suits me. But that thing, I don't really like it. Are you pick and mix Christianity? Are you a person who goes and say, well, this is wonderful what God is providing, but I'll take my plate, I'll have a little bit of this, I'll have a little bit of that, but these other things I don't like. So the onions I'll leave to one side, even though it's nice. The other things I won't mention, I'll leave to one side because I don't like it. Isn't that the kind of Christianity we have? especially in the West as we all live in luxury. And so we need to be challenged by these things and realize actually the world is bigger than United Kingdom. The world is bigger than the West. There are Christians in other places and it would be good for you to maybe go and see Christians elsewhere and see what kind of a life they live and how thankful they are and how joyful they are. the Lord Jesus Christ was not selective in his obedience. From his submission to earthly parents as a child, he submitted himself, he obeyed his parents and boys and girls, the Bible commands you to obey your parents. But also his submission to God's ordinances in baptism to fulfill all righteousness, the Lord Jesus said, The Lord Jesus Christ exemplified what it means to yield wholly to God. And of course, that submission reached its highest point in Gethsemane, where he is praying, Father, if Thou be willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but Thine be done, he says in Luke 22, verse 42. So in this, the Lord Jesus Christ teaches us that obedience So his flesh, he knew he was going to feel the pain and the hurt and also his soul, he was going to experience the father's wrath. It's not that he enjoyed it. That's why he's praying this prayer. It's his humanity that is suffering. And so he's praying honestly to his father, but he's not refusing the cup. He's saying, if it is thy will. And the Lord Jesus Christ is teaching us that obedience often requires self-denial and trust in the wisdom of God's plan. Even when it includes suffering. And often it does. Because we are living in a cursed world. A world that is full of tears. So that's something else to think about. The example of the Lord Jesus Christ is obedience. But then thirdly, under that heading of obedience, obedience is a mark of true discipleship. For believers, obedience is not optional. It is the evidence of our faith and love for the Lord. The Lord Jesus Christ said this, if you love me, keep my commandments. Obedience is a fruit of a transformed heart that delights in God's law. The psalmist says this so wonderfully. He says, I delight to do. I'm not simply forced to. I delight to do thy will. Oh my God, yay. Thy law is within my heart. Just think about a skilled potter working with clay. And the clay is yielding to the potter's hand. The clay is being shaped and formed and allowing itself to be shaped according to the design. Have you ever seen a clay that resist a potter? Have you ever seen that? I don't even think you have seen very much potters and clays. I used to see that. There was one pottery, we could say. I think that's what the word is in English. Near where I used to pass it when I went to school in Iran. And there was a man there sitting and there was this wheel going round and round and round. And we would sit and he would sometimes mess about and say, he would let the clay just go by itself and it would all go out of shape. And then he would grab hold of it and then make a wonderful thing with it, whatever it was. It was a cruise, I think you would say. But the clay never resisted. The clay went out of shape when the hand of the potter was not on it. But as long as he kept his hand, the clay continued on. Are you worse than a clay? I am certainly because I resist. That's a sad thing when you think about it. And the Bible says that God is the potter. And the more we resist, the harder it becomes. The more he has to take hold of you. That's a big lesson for Christians to learn. The more you resist, the harder it becomes. Obedience means surrendering to God's shaping, trusting that his hands molds us for his glory and our ultimate good. It's a foolish thing to think we know better than God. So this, fourthly, challenges our obedience. It challenges, too, our obedience. So while obedience is the natural, should be the natural response to God's sovereignty, it's often met with resistance because I have a sinful heart. Because my heart is bad, it's not a good heart. And that's the natural heart. I often resist the Lord's things. I don't want to. But when I was unconverted, I resisted all the time. I didn't delight in any of the things that he wanted. So the carnal mind, the worldly mind, resists submission. I want to be autonomous. I want to be independent. Yet God's sovereignty demands not sort of selective obedience, selective adherence, but wholehearted obedience. James tells us in James 4 and verse 13 to 15, he says, So we need to recognize God's rule, it compels us to submit our plans and desires to His will. So just think about the areas where you may be resisting God's commands. Areas where you're resisting the Lord's will. Are you yielding fully to his word? Are you picking or choosing what to obey? True discipleship means submitting every aspect of your life, your time, your resources, your relationships to his authority. And then another thing to say is blessings of obedience. This brings peace. This brings joy. This brings deeper fellowship with Him. Our Lord Jesus Christ said this, blessed are they that disobey the word of God. No, blessed are they that hear the word of God and keep it. Was the Lord Jesus Christ telling lies? Was He saying that, no, I'm just telling you this, but you know it's so hard. So you'd be miserable if you follow my commands and if you listen to my words. If the person hears and keeps it. The problem is we don't hear properly and we don't keep it properly. And when we do things, we do it in our own strength, when we do it in our own ways and wisdom. You're not trusting in the Lord. When we obey, we experience, dear friends, the blessings of living in harmony with our Creator's design. That's the design of God. But also it brings glory to God. It shows how sovereign He is to a watching world. So let's follow Christ's example. who obeyed perfectly, even at such a great cost. And by God's grace, may our lives be marked by the kind of obedience, implicit obedience, unreserved obedience that honors His sovereign rule. Now, finally, and I know our time is gone, I need to finish with the words of joyful resignation. Joyful resignation. When we understand and when we take hold of something of this truth, this doctrine of the sovereignty of God, it does lead us to a place of joyful resignation, a willing and cheerful submission to God's will. even in the face of trials, even in the face of uncertainties and disappointments. This is why the epistle to the Philippians, it's full of joy. And yet the man who wrote it, he was bruised and marked, and he was left for dead many times, and he had been left with shipwreck, and he had been left for dead, and then now he was in prison. And yet he speaks about joy in the Holy Spirit. It's amazing. And the Apostle Paul was resigned to the will of God. And this is not a resignation born out of defeat. This is not fatalism. Saying whatever will be, will be. That's not what we're talking about. But it's one that rests in the assurance of God's perfect wisdom and goodness and control. His controls over all things. And he's my father in heaven. He knows what he's doing. I can trust him. So we need to trust Him in every trial. Resign our resignation to God's will in trials. That's one thing I want us to think about. Life is filled with circumstances that challenge our faith and it tempts us constantly. You're being tempted all the time to resist God's will. Now that can't be it. However, the believer who trusts in God's sovereignty finds peace in surrendering his providence. And I have rest in that. I leave it with the Lord. I'm not going to try to fix it. I'm not trying to go against God's will. I'll leave it with the Lord. If this is God's will, I will leave it there. And so Job responds to his immense suffering. How did Job respond? to it, the Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord, he says. And that is telling us something. It's telling us of his understanding that God's sovereignty governs both blessings and trials. He gives, he takes away. And you see the same with Eli, that high priest, when God said, I will judge your children. I will judge your household. And despite the devastating news that came, and it was a heartbreaking thing. Imagine you receiving that from God, that it's God who is judging your household and he's going to kill your children. Eli responds very humbly, he says, it is the Lord. Let him do what seemeth him good, he says. And that kind of a submission, it flows from a heart that trusts God's justice. He knows God is just. He knows this is the right thing. He finds it hard. How can you not find it hard? This is a most heartbreaking thing to think your children have disobeyed the Lord so much that God's judgment has to come upon them. It's a heartbreaking thing. He would have shed many tears. But he's relying on the Lord. It seems good to God, he's saying. He's saying God is good. God is good. My children have not been good. I've not been good. Maybe he has regrets about the way he trained them up. But still God is good. Even when his ways are incomprehensible. Just think about a child going through surgery to correct some kind of a lifelong condition, a life-threatening condition. And the procedure is very painful. And yet in this, the child is trusting the parents who consent to it. That child knows the parents want the best for him. His parents want, desire their good, that child's good. And so in a similar way, our resignation to God's will, it comes from, it springs from a confidence in His love, His purpose, even in our pain. So we're not saying it's easy to resign, but This is how we ought to approach it. And then this resignation is in everyday life, in everyday life. Resignation to God's will, it extends to the mundane and ordinary aspects of life. James tells us, he says to us this in James 4, 15, for that he ought to say, if the Lord will, if the Lord will, we shall live and do this or that. He says, in ordinary things, this and that, He says, whatever it is. So He's recognizing that every detail of our lives is subject to God's sovereign decree and that helps us to approach our plans with humility and dependence on Him. I'm trusting in the Lord. And that would produce contentment. Are you content? I feel we need to go back to understand who God is. If we lack contentment, then we are not trusting in the Lord. There are some things that is imbalanced in our thinking. And Paul has this attitude. He says, as he writes, he says, I've learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content. And he's chained to two soldiers at that time in a prison. That's in Philippians 4.11. So the heart that is resigned to God's sovereignty, it rests in the assurance that God's plans is always for his glory and our ultimate good as we read in Romans 8 and verse 28. And again think about very quickly of Jesus Christ's example of joyful resignation. In all things, our Lord Jesus Christ provides that supreme example of joyful resignation. And as I've said before, in the Garden of Gethsemane, He's facing this agony of the cross. He's going to have the sins of the world. He's going to be made sin for us, who knew no sin, and He's going to experience something he has never experienced before. Not just becoming sin for us, not just being treated as a sinner, but the wrath of the father being poured upon him and the father turning his face away from him. To the point where he says, father, why hast thou forsaken me? So he says, oh my father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou will. So his submission was not begrudging but marked by trust in the Father's perfect will. So even in his suffering, Jesus Christ is displaying joy that is fulfilled in God's plan, his Father's plan. So he says, who for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross. That's in Hebrews 12 and verse 2. Despising the shame and he sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. This joy that we're talking about, it's not something that he'd taken some sort of a something to numb his brain. It wasn't that he took half a glass of wine to make himself happy. That's not what he was doing. No, this joy is rooted and also this joy wasn't because he was having lots of nice chats and socializing with his friends. He was forsaken. He is in the worst, worst position that anyone could have ever been. And yet he says, for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and he sat down at the right hand of God, throne of God. So he's confident in the Lord, his God, and the purposes of God. He knows what the Lord will do. And so there are these blessings that come with resigning ourselves to the Lord's will. And so the Apostle says, And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. This peace will guard us in the storm of life. But if you're resisting it, if you're resisting and just not submitting and just dragging our feet, if you drag your feet, you get a hole in the sole of your shoe. And then you complain about that and say how bad God has been. Look at He allowed the sole of your shoe to have a hole in it. And now your feet is in pain and so on. I'm saying these things and it's light-hearted comment. But it's true, isn't it? We oftentimes complain about these things and yet it's been our own fault. We did it to ourselves. It's dragging our feet. But if we were to submit, this peace of God will guard us in that storm of life. It is that then that helps us to face the trials with confidence. And it glorifies God. This resignation glorifies God. Let me finish. This calls us to worship God. This doctrine calls us to worship God. This, our attitude, our response toward God's sovereignty should be one of godly fear, implicit obedience, and joyful resignation. This is not all intellectual acknowledgement. It's not signing some sort of confession of faith and saying now we are reformed. But it's a heartfelt reactions to the majesty and authority of a creator. So you think about this, you meditate on this doctrine, we should then join with the psalmist who said this, bless the Lord oh my soul and all that is within me, bless his holy name. This is a truth that is not a truth to be resisted but one to be embraced with thanksgiving and with worship knowing that the one who reigns over all is infinitely wise and good and powerful. That should lead us to echo the words of the Lord Jesus. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight. May that be the phrase that we use more often this year. For it seemed good in thy sight. So may our lives be marked by this reverence, awe-filled reverence, this wholehearted obedience, and also this peaceful surrender to God's perfect will. And in all things, may we bow before Him in adoring worship while we are shedding tears, proclaiming Thy will be done. Amen.