In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the wonderful plan of salvation that God has accomplished perfectly. He urges the listeners to accept Jesus Christ before it's too late and experience the joys and blessings of salvation. The preacher describes how Jesus' sacrifice on the cross frees us from the bondage of sin and brings us into the light and glory of God. He also highlights the importance of the Holy Spirit in guiding and empowering believers in their Christian living. The sermon references various Bible passages, including Genesis and the book of Ephesians, to support the message.

Tonight I'd like to talk to you about weddings. How about that? Everybody loves to talk about weddings, don't they? Both. The first, that couldn't be newer, could it? The very first and the very last. That's the oldest. Well, at any rate, it's the one yet to come. Still in the future, that's right. It couldn't be any newer, could it? The first wedding we want to read about is in Genesis, and the last one is in Revelation. So we're going to go from, as the colored man said, from generation to revolution. Let's turn to the first chapter of Genesis then, please. Genesis, chapter one, verse twenty-six and seven. And God said, let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth. So God created man in his own image. In the image of God created he him, male and female, created he them. Now turn to the second chapter, please. Second chapter, verse seven. And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. And man became a living soul. And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there he put the man whom he had formed. Now, this first wedding is a picture of the last one. And we want to get the scope of Scripture. You couldn't go to two extremes better than we are tonight. The very first chapter of our Bibles, first two chapters of our Bibles, and then to turn to the last book, and almost the last chapter, to see the last wedding. And the Scriptures in between are going to help us understand this, that this first wedding is but, although it was real, it was genuine, it was a picture, nevertheless, or rather it was genuine, it was a real thing, but nevertheless it was a picture of that which has yet to come. And so we find in these verses here, that God gives Adam the power, in verse twenty of our chapter two, he gave him the wisdom and everything, to give names to all the cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field, but for Adam there was not found an helpmeet for him. And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept, and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof, and the rib which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bone, and flesh of my flesh, she shall be called woman, because she was taken out of man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife, and they shall be one flesh, and they were both naked, and the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. Now there's the pattern. First, man created by the hand of God, breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and then given him wisdom and understanding, and yet there was, out of all the other parts of creation, beautiful and complete as it seemed to be, there was not one part of it that would suit Adam's makeup, and Adam's personality, and nature. So God, out from the very body, the flesh and the bones of Adam, while he was in a deep sleep, formed the bride of his heart, to share with him his regal place of honour, dominion, power, wisdom, and executive responsibilities over the government of the world. He was to be the image of God, image representing, or speaking of representation, representing God in authority, so that where Adam went, it would be as it were God sent. When Adam spoke, it would be as it were God speaking. He would speak and act on behalf of God. The sorrowful part of it is that the whole thing collapsed, so far as anything glorifying to God is concerned. Well you might say, if God knows everything, why did he fix it that way? Just to prove to you, and to me, that humanly, man is incapable of pleasing God on righteous basis. That man, even under the most ideal and sublime surroundings, is incapable of pleasing God, of reaching or attaining to the standards of God's holiness by human righteousness. It is utterly impossible, not now only, when we are in our sins, and far distant by that sin from God, but under the most wonderful circumstances of the primeval condition, in pristine beauty, and ideal creatorial perfection, man, even then, with only one law to keep, not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, not ten, but just one, and then couldn't please God. It's no good, folks, if you're here tonight, trying to do the best you can, struggling with your own personality and your own problems, humanly, to curtail habits and try to be good and turn over a new leaf every once in a while. It's no good. Give it up, my friend. The inevitable result, and sin is sin in the sight of God, and it must be judged. In one sense of the word, God does never forgive sin. He forgives the sinner, yes, but he does never forgive sin, he must punish it. To be truly just to himself, he must punish sin. And if we don't accept the provision in the person of Jesus Christ, who bore the sins, our sins, before a holy God, in an acceptable manner, so that we can be forgiven if we'll appeal to him as our saviour, accept him as such, well then, if we don't, we'll have to bear our own sins and punishment due to them throughout an endless eternity. And woe be, if you have to meet God in your sin. Please, please don't. Please, listen to a dying man. Please don't have to meet God in your sin. It's an awful, awful prospect, and you will not be able to stand it. It'll be your ruin for all eternity. Now the door of opportunity to escape such an event is open wide, God's heart is open wide, and you may accept it and enjoy it. Why am I talking thus? Because I find that there are 4,000 years of an interval between these early chapters in Genesis, describing man and male and female as being in the image of God and in the likeness of God. There's 4,000 years about that thing, that God is never able again to mention it, that man is in the image of God since that long distant period of time. And then I have to turn to the New Testament to find the thought taken up. Has God forgotten it? No. But it has been obliterated. Man is no longer in the image of God. He cannot be the image of God in his sin. He can't represent God. He represents everything else but God. And so I find in the 64th chapter of Isaiah for instance, that man's righteousness, the very best that this man can produce then, is as filthy rags, filthy rags, the rags that are off a leper's wounds is the thought. The stenchful, terrible rags that come from the wounds. Oh folks, God has not done this to humiliate you, but to bring you to a sense of your own need of something far beyond the realm of the human. You must be divinely saved. You must be righteously delivered from the dilemma in which you find yourself. And you have no power within the compass. The end of all flesh, the end of flesh has come to flesh in its totality. Flesh in all its greatness, in all its possess. The only way whereby God can deal with us again is in the person, one who has honoured and glorified God to the ultimate. Our blessed, blessed Saviour, gloribly to His name. He is the one who has championed our lost cause and taken up our condition and position, or rather position anyway, as sinners before God and He's borne the punishment to it and we can be restored to God through redemption by new birth. And so I'm going to ask your attention to some scriptures in the New Testament to give us the other side of the picture for this great wedding that's going to be. The first wedding, it's fallen through. Wonderful as though it started in the most ideal surroundings. There was loads of it hanging everywhere all around. Picture of complete supply, nothing to fear, nothing to fear. Now in the 53rd of Isaiah it says, Yet it pleased Him, that's the Lord Jesus, to crush Him with affliction. When His soul shall make a propitiatory sacrifice. You know where that was of course, at Calvary. He shall see a seed which shall prolong His days and the gracious purposes of Jehovah shall prosper in His hand. Sin had defeated those purposes temporarily but do you think for one moment that God had no resource? Do you think for one moment Adam's behavior in the garden, of course that includes both of them for they didn't have a different name, Adam and Eve, until after the fall. So Adam was their name, both of them, man and woman. So do you think that Adam took God by surprise in the way they conducted themselves under test in the garden of Eden? Not if you know our God, you won't think that. God was thoroughly aware, He can look down the ages and write down the history before it happened, by thousands of years. His mind, His intellect, His understanding is limitless. He sees the very end from the beginning open to His wisdom lies, says the poet. And so we find that wonderful fact is true. Therefore, when the book of Isaiah was written, 700 years, it says that it pleased Jehovah to crush Him with affliction. He wrote the history of Calvary and its results 700 years before it took place. That's the only book in the whole world that does that, about its hero. All these old ancient so-called sacred writings, all heathen religions, they never could prophesy about Muhammad or Confucius or some of these other fellas, Buddhas and so on. They can't prophesy about their birthplace and who would bring them into the world and this is the only book of authenticity. This is the only religion that is incomparable. And by the result of His dying, there is nothing that can thwart His gracious foot. In just at the right time, in due time, Christ died for us. It's only sinners that will go to heaven, good people will go to hell. God takes up the bones deep in us, dead in trespassing at you and we were dead in trespassing. We were unloving and unlovely and God couldn't join our church. We must be born again. The second birth is the only way to speak and seeking to see and seeking to work. You are dead morally. As to your soul, your soul is dead. That means that you're separate in a little while and then come tell us to see if your name will be concise. It'll be second death. Oh, don't you shudder, don't you. And so we find that that's what God said. Only begotten Son. He emptied the universe of the Lord. Jehovah thrust His sword into His heart. Dealt with Him as He would have dealt with you and me. For all He's put Him to an open shame. He crushed, having made a propitiatory sacrifice. He's going to see a seed which shall prolong His days. Have a seed in the image of God. Let's turn to the second. Well, first of all, the process goes through Scripture right through. We want to turn to the eighth chapter of Romans, first of all. And see this process beginning. Eighth chapter of Romans, first verses. There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. The rest of the verse is not in the original text. For the law or principle of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the principle of sin and death. There's the deliverance. There's where the chains are snapped. There's where that ugly picture that has been true of man from the Garden of Eden down ends. Jesus takes our sinful nature on the cross and deals with it. God, Jehovah, deals with it and puts it to death. That's where it belongs. There is God's judicial act of judgment upon you, all of us, every one of us. Saved and unsaved alike as far as that's concerned. But only the saved come into the good of it. For the law, the principle of the Spirit of life in Christ. The principle of the Spirit of life in Christ. This is the Holy Spirit in the character of the life principle of Christian living. Let's turn for a passage of Scripture to the 20th of John at this point, please. You recall, do you please, that as we read in Genesis that God created man of the form, man rather, of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living soul. He came into living vitality by God's breath. That's the first creation. Now look at the second creation, the new creation. That first was called the old creation in the New Testament because it is going to pass away. It's not going to stand forever, thank God. And our first birth brought us into the first creation, the old creation. So that the old creation person who was born the first time to my mother 62 years ago that person belongs to the old creation and that person is an old man. Not because he's got grey hair but because he has a nature that is thoroughly done away with by God. It's old, it has passed away. It is under the judgment of Calvary. It is put out of God's sight and the speaker is delighted that it is so. Are you? So look in this 20th chapter of John. This is remarkable. The Lord Jesus has risen from the dead and during the interim, before his ascension these are some of his words to them, to his disciples of course. The 20th verse please. And when he had so said peace be unto you he showed unto them his hands and his side gave them utter assurance that it was he the same person but risen from the dead the work accomplished of redemption his prediction of his resurrection complete and true and realized and then were the disciples glad when they noticed then said Jesus to them again peace be unto you as my father hath sent me even so send I you and when he had said this he breathed on them and said unto them receive ye the Holy Ghost and that was before Pentecost. Now 8th of Romans again tells us that the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free, delivers me completely from the spirit, the law of sin and death so that now sin can have no more dominion over me it can't change my destiny no matter how much it plays with my affection and so as a Christian I'm secure. Alright, now then that one of the things in the process let's go further. In the 2nd epistle of Corinthians please I'll ask your attention again to a passage of scripture concerning this process of change because not only are we to be born again but after we are born again a great change the spirit of God listen to me so much has been made of the spirit of God using us for blessing to others my dear folks I believe I can say earnestly and sincerely no one's more anxious to be used in the blessing of others than the speaker but I know one thing above everything else and that is that the spirit of God's got lots more to do inside this thing called me than he has in others through me and if he can effectively accomplish his designs of blessing and change in my soul in my nature and give me the moral features of the Lord Jesus and relive that I can relive that life of his to a measured degree of course down here that I'll be more effective in what little I can do in the lives of others and so you see that's what we're talking about it's this change inside the believer that is to be carried on effectively if there's going to be any blessing and so out of the abundance of the heart then the mouth will speak and souls will be won to Christ not by our rhetoric our ability our intellect but rather by the power of the spirit of God who ungrieved can use the vessel that is broken and clean and usable but one who has submitted to these processes 2 Corinthians 3 please 17 and 18 now the Lord is that spirit and where the spirit of the Lord is the same Holy Spirit the Lord the spirit of life in Christ Jesus in Romans 8 1 and 2 as the same person operating here where the spirit of the Lord is there is liberty but we all with unveiled faces if you read the context talking about Moses having to veil his face now it's taking that same thought now we with unveiled face because Moses could go into the presence of God on Sinai and when he though he had to veil his face because it shone see the glare was so great the light, the glory so he veiled his face you remember to read if you have your paper Exodus 34 and you'll get the account of it and that's what this passage is in verse verse 13 of this chapter is referring to Exodus 34 but now as Christians under grace not under Moses standing in the presence of the Lord look what happens with unveiled faces beholding as in a glass what? the glory of the Lord what happens? we are changed into the same image there's the process the change from what we were in our natural selves to be filled with the desire and the actual accomplishment little by little filled with the character transplanted transferred in measure to the individual believer who gives himself over to the teaching of the Spirit of God comes under the ministry of the Spirit who will take up the things of Christ and reveal him to us and as we behold the glory of the Lord glory is excellent on display I say again it's the excellences of his greatness the excellences of his perfection the excellences of his power the excellences of his humiliation the excellences of his behaviour as a child as a man the excellence of his patience his love his grace his kindness his gentleness his tenderness his vicarious sufferings upon the cross his death his burial his resurrection his ascension his enthronement at God's right hand these glories excellences on display we become like them we are transferred we are changed into the same image let us make man in our image we are changed into the same image from glory to glory step by step we couldn't stand it if it was sudden and of course it's only in a small measure what will it be when we're in his presence when we get down at his feet when we behold his beauty in close proximity won't we be completely transfigured into glory at his feet as the poet says oh what a day brother what a day you may have a headache now but you'll never have a headache up there the sight will be glorious a marvellous picture is pointed out in the transfiguration mount and there they fell down prostrate before him and saw no man save Jesus only you won't worry about whether mother's there or dad's there that's just so trifling when you think of being in the presence of the Lord of Glory of course mother will be there if she was born again and if she isn't then you'll be perfectly of God's mind concerning her and so we find what a beautiful thing it is that under the ministry of the word of God the glory of the Lord is passed before our view all true ministry is Christ centred Christ glorifying Christ exalting and thus true ministry the ministry that the spirit of God inspires results in our change we come at a certain stage of our spiritual development and if we go out in the same stage then there's been no growth we should be different people after the hour has been struck well I must hurry because we've got some more to go into to look at so we are chained into the same image from glory to glory now let's take up a passage of scripture in its proper light instead of the mixed up way in which it is generally taken in the 8th of Romans please some people say well I missed the button and they had an accident so all things work together for good so there's nobody else in the bus with a Christian at that oh how short sighted some of us are we talk so glibly of scripture what does it mean in verse 28 and 29 and we know that all things work together for good to them that love God to them who are called according to his purpose Genesis 1 26 the purpose of having men in his image for whom he did foreknow he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son that's the good thing towards which everything in your Christian life tends that's the objective that's the end of the road for all God's dealings with you and me it may be a rough road some of us have to suffer in the flesh some of us hardly know which way to turn it seems as if the devil himself must be doing a job well and God letting him do it it seems that way but brother don't you remember long ago perhaps or maybe only a short time ago in the glow of your heart delight in the things of Christ you bowed your knees and your head and heart and you said oh God reveal thyself to me teach me more of thy blessed ways Lord Jesus let me understand more of this book bring me more into conformity to thy mind let me be a transliteration of thy personality and see thee reflected in my life God does often our memories are short and when problems arise we've forgotten what we're but God hasn't and he's carrying out his blessed design for your good and for your glory in a coming day his ways are deviant his ways and methods may be different one from the other you may think that you are the object of his well almost despising that he seems to make you the brunt of his attack but my friend whom the Lord loveth he scourges every son whom he receiveth and if we don't have chastening then are we bastards and not sons so may God help us to see the silver lining to the dark clouds it may weigh heavy on your heart just now but there's an end to the road and the end is glory and you'll see the other side of the of the carpet then not till the loom is silent and the shuttle cease to fly will God unroll the canvas and show the reason why the dark threads are as needful in the weaver's skilful hand as the threads of gold and silver in the pattern he has planned he's planned the best for you and for me but the way may be rugged but it's safe it's like that road across the sea it was the only unthinkable ship I've ever heard of because Jesus was there and so this 8th chapter of Romans and that 28th and 9th verses helps us to understand that all things all things drawn outward but I want you to get it all things the rough things the hard things the painful things it may be the expensive things it may be the sharp surgeon's knife it may be the blackness of despair and disappointment the frustration of purposes the loss of loved ones it may be a lot of things crowding in upon one and what is that good that we might be brought into the image of Jesus Christ think that thing through don't let this be the end of such meditation but when you get home tonight before you go to sleep think it over and it will console and comfort and gild the teardrops and lift the loaves and comfort the heart and pour in the balm of Gilead to every precious troubled saint of God and so I wish the time hadn't gone or almost gone but that's what we've got before us now I want to go to the 5th chapter of Ephesians for a passage please the 5th chapter of Ephesians we just have to break that that process off at that point you know what it says in the first epistle of John in the 3rd chapter we know not what we shall be but we know that when we when he shall appear we shall be like him why? because we'll see him as he is if here on earth the thoughts of Jesus love so comfort the spirit that the pilgrims sing what will the sunshine of his presence prove ah brother what a day when everything will be concluded at his feet and then it won't be the conclusion except for the sordid and the troubled life that we've lived down here it'll be but the entrance into the eternal sublime presence of God and all the blessings full, rich and rare for every one of us to revel in and bask in and bathe in throughout the countless and you dear Christian will be one of us in that glory land forever just because Jesus died upon the cross for you and me he, God, crushed him with affliction that you might never know the affliction of the judgment of God upon sin might we well bow our heads and gratefully acknowledge it epistle of Ephesians says twenty-fifth verse we must start husbands love your wives even as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it that he might sanctify and cleanse it with a washing of water for the words that he might present it to himself a glorious church not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing for that it should be holy and without blemish so ought men to love their wives as their own love it himself down further please the thirtieth verse for we are members of his body of his flesh and of his bones where did we read that before at the first wedding now we're getting ready for the last wedding and it's going to be the best of all the best wine is left till last and therefore for this cause shall a man leave his father and mother and rejoin unto his wife what about the Lord Jesus did he leave his father he certainly did he left his father not only in position left his father in heaven and came down to earth but he left the entire spirit world and took upon himself a body the father continues in a spirit the Holy Spirit continues without a body but Jesus left these always equal with them but took on a wonderful human body and is in a body now in the presence of God a body of glory all alone so far as the body is concerned and God said about Adam and Eve it is not good that the man I like that article the man should be alone dwell alone I will make for him and he help me and then he put him in a deep sleep it's all a picture true it was but it's a picture Jesus had to go into a deep sleep God could save his precious son it's not good for him to be alone he's going to take a body and to be in heaven with a body and the only person I don't want him to be alone I want to have for him a great company of glorified saints with bodies of glory like his to share and be compliments to his being and to share his honour and glory and so the blessed saviour is going to have a body a bride of his body and so a Roman spear pierced his side went through the ribs and from out of that side forthwith flowed blood and water to purge and to cleanse a bride for him we're going to share his we're going to share his regal glory his acquired redemptive glory we're going to share with him we're going to reflect his glory to wandering angels and what a prospect and so he says this is a great mystery that he should leave his father then his mother what about the mother from the earliest of Jesus' life on earth he ruled out Mary as being his mother he never referred to her as his mother always spoke to her as woman and on the cross he could say to John behold not behold my mother but thy mother showing a careful woman behold thy son he didn't say mother behold thy son nor did he say John son behold my mother now my friends he left his mother too he left his father too in that sense I know there's limitations to the picture but it's certainly there he left father and mother to take to himself a bride from the earth and he's going to have it like him and we're going to be distinctly different to all the glorified the angelic hosts the seraphim and the cherubim too they'll be our servants and we'll share the regal robes and glories on the throne of our blessed lord king of kings and lord of lords let's just turn please to the 19th of Revelation 19th of Revelation we're a happy people surely in the 7th verse let us be glad and rejoice no matter how hard the road may be brother it's glory on ahead it's just indescribable glory you're destined you can't miss it if you're born again if you're not born again none of this is yours none of it I say it oh I'd love to see you saved tonight if you're here unsaved this is for you just as much as it is to any one of us none of us have gotten this thing by merit of any sort you can't get it by merit so on the merit system you're out so are we but by the grace of God as a free gift we acknowledge our guilt before God and you can do the same and we've bowed the knee and accepted the lord Jesus Christ gratefully, gladly, happily, thankfully as the great deliverer of our souls from penalty of sin and that's what you can do if you're humble enough the trouble is sin makes you proud sin is sweet and lovely and you want to go on with your sins my friend it won't do you can't have it here and there too so turn your back upon yourself upon your pride upon your way of life and bow the knee in the sight of God and bow before Jesus and you will share this let us be glad and rejoice and give honor to him for the marriage of the lamb is come you see we're on our way to a wedding and we're going to be the bride of that great matchless, marvelous, nuptial day the wedding of the lamb the church is the bride from the side of the great Adam after he has been dead on the cross where he fell into a deep sleep and from his side God took there out a bride for his name and God's going to present us as God the father's gift to his son someday when the father gives us away won't it be grand when father gives us away to his son to be his bride forever welter if you ever were a bride you know how it feels I never have been and so I'm waiting for that day to be when I'll be lifted out of this thing down here called life where I'll really see life in all its perfection at my savior's side let us be glad and rejoice and give honor to him for the marriage of the lamb is coming the wife has made herself ready have you are you making yourself ready is your true self getting getting collected together are you doing your fine embroidery work these perfections of Christian devotion this change from the old habit no matter whether you say well I can't give it up yes you can give it up if you love him enough you will it's all a matter of love not a matter of ability it's a matter of affection you know what you do for the girl you married before you married her maybe you won't do it now but I mean before you were married wouldn't you do it for her then I know I would sit up all night in the train getting down there to see be with her for a weekend oh brother didn't it hurt personally when you had to leave her well alright when such love prompts us to do such for me at least ridiculous things I wouldn't think of doing them now in my right mind but I did then to have our hearts going out to Christ well anyway he says to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen clean and white for the fine linen is the righteous conduct or behavior of the saint it's a plural noun really the righteousness is of the saint and so he says unto me right blessed that is happy are they which are called unto the marriage supper no wonder I fell at his feet to worship him the news was so great he thought that this angel was true truly God himself but no it wasn't he said see thou do it not I am thy fellow servant and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus worship God for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy and so on and then we find the great dressing room and the word of God with a garment dipped in blood and the bride with her linen garment the bridal array and Satan even Satan is dressed for the occasion he's dressed with a now we've got the woman or rather Satan was in front leading the procession and the woman followed he followed too in the end at the tail in his wrong place bride and there they were disgraced humiliated but out here at the end of the Bible we see another procession and the right one is in front and they're all dressed the man the true Adam the second the last Adam this Adam is dressed with a garment and the woman she's dressed in garment she's going to be an added glory to the blessed Lord going to beautify him going to complete all eternity he can look in the travel of his soul he's going to be dressed so you've heard about the first and last wedding how wonderful it is to think of God's plan of salvation how he has accomplished it so perfectly and you are involved in it if you will accept Jesus Christ now, tonight before you can have the joys and blessings of all this prospect out of the distance and darkness so deep out of the settled and perilous sleep out of the region and shadow of death out of the foul and testament breath out of bondage and wearying chains out of companionship ever withstained into the light and the glory of God into the holiest made clean by blood into his arm the embrace and the kiss into the scene of ineffable bliss into the quiet and infinite calm into the place of the song and the psalm wonderful love that has wrought all for me wonderful work that has thus set me free wonderful ground upon which I have come wonderful tenderness welcoming home out of the horror of being alone alone forever in hell out and forever of being mine own out of the hardness of heart and of will out of the longings which nothing could still nothing out of the bitterness and madness and strife of this world out of myself and all I call life into communion with father and son into the sharing of all that Christ won into the ecstasies full to the brim into the having of all things with him into Christ Jesus there ever to dwell into more blessings than words can ever tell wonderful lowliness draining my cup wonderful purpose that ne'er gave me up wonderful patience that waited so long wait wonderful glory to which I have come out of my poverty into his wealth out of my sickness into his health out of the false and into the true out of the old man into the new out of what measures the full depth of loss out of it all and at infinite cost into what must with that cost correspond into that with which there is nothing beyond into the union which nothing can part into what satisfies his and my heart into the deepest of joys ever had into the gladness of making God glad wonderful person whose faith I'll behold wonderful story then all to be told wonderful all the dread way that he trod wonderful end he has brought us to God what a wonderful thing may God bless us for his name's sake shall we pray