All light into, all perceptions of this glory, all experience of its power, was, amongst the most, lost in the world. I intend, in all these instances the time of the papal apostasy. Those who had the conduct of religion could discern no glory in these things, nor obtain any experience of their power. Be the worship what it will, they can see no glory in it, nor did it give any satisfaction to their minds; for having no light to discern its glory, they could have no experience of its power and efficacy.

It is the great plea of the {Catholic Church} at this day, in behalf of their transubstantiation, that, if we reject their oral or carnal manducation of the flesh of Christ and drinking of his blood, there cannot be assigned a way of participation of Christ, in the receiving of him in this sacrament, distinct from that which is done in the preaching of the word. But hereby, as we shall see, they only declare their ignorance of this heavenly mystery. But of this blessed, intimate communion with Christ, and participation of him in the divine institution of worship, believers have experience unto their satisfaction and ineffable joy.

Whereas a head is to be present with the body, or it cannot subsist, the inquiry is, How the Lord Christ is so present with his church! And the Scripture hath left no pretense for any hesitation herein; for he is so by his Spirit and his word, by which he communicates all the powers and virtues of a head unto it continually. His promises of this way and manner of his presence unto the church are multiplied; and thereon doth the being, life, use, and continuance of the church depend. Where Christ is not present by his Spirit and word, there is no church; and those who pretend so to be, are the synagogues of Satan.

From the standpoint of the redeemed, the punishment of the wicked is an act of unspeakable mercy. How dreadful would it be if the present order of things, when the children of God are obliged to live in the midst of the children of the Devil, should continue forever! Heaven would at once cease to be Heaven, if the ears of the saints still heard the blasphemous and filthy language of the reprobate. What a mercy that in Heaven, "Nothing evil will be allowed to enter—no one who practices shameful idolatry and dishonesty—but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life!" (Revelation 21:27)

Oh what a constant companion, what a tyrannical commander, what a sly and subtle insinuating enemy, is this sin of pride! It goes with men to the draper, the mercer, the tailor: it chooseth them their cloth, their trimming, and their fashion. Fewer ministers would ruffle it out in the fashion in hair and habit, if it were not for the command of this tyrannous vice. And I would that this were all, or the worst. But, alas! how frequently doth it go with us to our study, and there sit with us and do our work!

One of the most flagrant sins of our age, is that of irreverence—the failure to ascribe the glory which is due to the august majesty of God. Men limit the power and activities of the Lord in their degrading concepts of His being and character. Originally, man was made in the image and likeness of God—but today we are asked to believe in a god who is made in the image and likeness of man! The Creator is reduced to the level of the creature! His omniscience is called into question, His omnipotency is no longer believed in, and His absolute sovereignty is flatly denied. Men claim to be the architects of their own fortunes and the determiners of their own destiny. They know not that their lives are at the disposal of the Divine Determiner. They know not they have no more power to thwart His secret decrees—than a worm has to resist the tread of an elephant!

How can the sinner be held responsible for the doing of what he is unable to do? And how can he be justly condemned for not doing what he could not do? As a creature the natural man is responsible to love, obey, and serve God; as a sinner he is responsible to repent and believe the Gospel. But at the outset we are confronted with the fact that natural man is unable to love and serve God, and that the sinner, of himself,

3.  How is it possible for God to decree that men should commit certain sins, hold them responsible in the committal of them, and adjudge them guilty because they committed them? Let us now consider the extreme case of Judas. We hold that it is clear from Scripture that God decreed from all eternity that Judas should betray the Lord Jesus.