(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you In the regeneration when the Son of Man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life. But many that are first shall be last, and the last shall be first. Let's pray. Dear Lord God, just thank you for this opportunity to gather for the preaching of your word. I want you to be with our pastor now. Please just strengthen him, fill him with your Holy Spirit, and please just give us all readiness of mind to receive your word with gladness. And in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Okay, we're in Matthew chapter 19. Look down at your Bibles at verse number 5. It says, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife, and they twain shall be one flesh. Wherefore, they are no more twain but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement and to put her away? He saith unto them, Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, suffered you to put away your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. And what I want to preach on this morning is divorcement in the Bible, the subject of divorce in the Bible. Now here in Matthew chapter 19 as well as Matthew chapter 5, we're going to go to that in just a bit. We see God's original plan for marriage was that man was supposed to leave father and mother and cleave or be joined unto his wife. They were to become one unit and this is God's intent that they would be joined together in holy matrimony and that no one would disrupt this holy matrimony. No one would seek to disrupt it or to separate this assembly because of the fact that it is a union that is made before God. Now go to Malachi chapter number 2 if you would. Malachi chapter number 2, we'll come back to Matthew 19 in just a bit. But he says there, verse 6, Wherefore, they are no more twain, meaning two, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. That means anybody outside of the marriage, that means anybody inside of the marriage, no one should disrupt or try to separate the union that they have made before God and other witnesses. It goes on to say in verse number 8, Moses because of the hardness of your heart suffered you to put away your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. Now we'll get into the explanation of what he's referring to there in just a bit, but first I want to show you what God thinks of divorce. And the reason I want to preach this this morning is because of the fact that I haven't preached on it over the last couple of years, so it's time to just hit on it again. And I was thinking about, you know, congratulations to Alex and Sarah, they just got married yesterday. And, was it yesterday? It was Friday. Friday. Friday, sorry. I get my days mixed up. Typically weddings are on Saturday, though I appreciate Friday though, because that gives me an extra day to think about what I'm going to preach on today. So, you know, congratulations to them and it kind of got me thinking about, you know, the fact that God has been blessing our church tremendously. We've had a lot of weddings this year and we've had, you know, a lot of people, a lot of ladies, you know, that they're expecting with children, a lot of babies being born. I mean, God's hand is on our church, I believe that 100%. And an indication of that is the fact that people are getting married and people are having babies, souls are getting saved, the church is growing. You know, everything is growing great in that regard. But along with that, you know, we want to talk about this uncomfortable subject of divorce, okay? Because of the fact that we live in a day and age where, you know, Christians even will take divorce lightly, they'll think it's justified, they think they should partake in it, that the Bible teaches it. And this is something that we have to constantly reinforce in our church to make sure that the next generation understands that divorce is actually wicked in the eyes of God. This is not a gray area, folks. You know, this is not something where like, well, that's your interpretation, that's your take on it. No, this is the Bible's interpretation. This is something that is clearly black and white. This is something that is clearly stated and shown in the Bible. And I'm going to show you first and foremost what God thinks of divorce. And this is in spite of your situation, okay? Now let me just say this is that obviously I'm not preaching against people who have been divorced in our church. I'm sure there are people who have been divorced in our church. You know, I'm not against you, I'm not your enemy, this is not me condemning you because of something that you've done in the past. You know, don't take it in that manner because that's not the manner in which I'm trying to display it. This message is brought to you in part by a man of God who's trying to warn your children, okay? Who's trying to warn your children, trying to warn the next generation to not make the same mistake that you may have made. And yeah, that may be a little hard, but you know what? We should desire that our next generation succeeds in the areas that we failed in, okay? That they would succeed, that they would avoid making the bad decisions that we made and not have this pity party and say, well, what about me? Well, you know, what you should be thinking is what about my kids at this point? But we need to hit on this and this is something that I strongly believe prior to even being a pastor. This is something that our church believes and this is something I believe the Bible clearly teaches. Look at Malachi chapter 2 verse 14, it says, So obviously he's referring to marriage because he says here that God has been a witness between thee and the wife of thy youth. This is referring to the covenant that a man and a woman has made before God, okay? He says in verse 15, Now what does it mean? Why is he saying that? Why is he saying don't deal treacherously? What does it mean to deal treacherously in this context? Look at verse 16, I want you to notice that word there. He didn't say I think I don't like it. He didn't say I think it's icky. He says I hate it. He says he hated what? Putting away. Now what does putting away mean? Well, from a biblical term, the biblical definition is divorce. That's what it's referring to. And the word divorce is found in the Bible. Divorcement is found in the Bible. But it's great to use synonyms and this is a way that he defines divorce is as being put away, you understand? And the Bible says here that he hates it, okay? So if an individual decides to put away his wife, put away her husband, for whatever reason, according to the Bible, you're dealing treacherously against your spouse. And it's such an evil and wicked thing to do that God says I hate it, okay? So you say what's God's attitude towards divorce? He hates it. Yeah, but you don't know my husband, he still hates it. Yeah, but you don't know my wife, still hates it. Okay? Yeah, but you don't know my situation, it doesn't change God's view. He still says that he hates it, okay? Yeah, but you know, he's just a lazy bum, he's not a Christian, and you can go over all these reasons. But that's funny, you didn't take that into consideration before you married him. You understand? People want to make all these accusations against their spouse of how bad they are, but they never bring up the point that you're the one that married him. You're the one that married her. And so it's till death do us part. And I know that's an uncomfortable thing to say or to hear. You know, I know that that may seem a little rude, but folks, I'm trying to deter the next generation from making hasty decisions, right? And from understanding that God hates divorce no matter how it looks or for what reason it's done. Now, go if you went to Ecclesiastes chapter number 5. So first and foremost, I want you to notice that God hates it. There's no way around it, okay? And no, you're not the exception to the rule, you understand? God hates divorce because from the beginning, it was not so. He doesn't want anyone to put man asunder from his wife, from his spouse. He doesn't want them to be torn asunder or separated or have someone cause division within the marriage for any reason. He says he hates that, okay? Now, why does he hate that? Why does he use such strong terminology against divorce? Why does he say that he abhors it? Why does he hate it? Well, I'm going to give you just three reasons why. Number one is because he hates the breaking of covenants, okay? What is a covenant? Well, you know, when I performed the wedding for Alex and Sari, after my sermon, I said, okay, at this time, we're going to go over the what? Vows, okay? And although that sounds romantic and everything, you know, it's all the vows. And it is, amen? You know, at the end of the day, a vow is that they're going to make an oath. Here's the thing, folks, when people get married, they make a vow before God, but they also make a vow before sometimes hundreds of people, you know? That's why the bride and the groom invite people to the wedding so they can witness the covenant, the oath, the vow that they're making before God. They're saying, I want to choose to be with this person for the rest of my life. I want no other person, and I vow myself unto this individual till death do its part. And they do it before God because obviously God is present because he's the one who sanctioned the union of marriage, but also they invite other people so they can witness the fact that these people are claiming to be individuals of integrity, individuals who will keep their vow, keep the covenant, and not break it. So a covenant is an agreement to vow to pledge, and God hates it when people become covenant breakers for any covenant. You know, Israel broke their covenant. You know what? He hated that. They broke their agreement, and therefore he hated it. Anytime someone promises something or vows something and does not keep it, God says, I hate that. It shows no integrity. It shows that you're a liar. Look at Ecclesiastes chapter 5, verse number 4. It says here, When thou vows the vow unto God, defer not to pay it. What does he mean? You better keep your end of the bargain. If you're making an oath and a promise to God, defer not to pay it. You better fulfill your responsibility because you said you would do it. For he hath no pleasure in fools. So the person who decides not to fulfill his oath, not to fulfill his vow, not to keep his covenant that he made before God and before others, God says, you're a fool. Pay that which thou hast vowed, better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay. So how do we apply this to marriage? It's like, well, it's better that you just didn't get married. Not if you're married, it's already too late. But it's like, it's better that you just don't get married, don't make that vow if you don't think you can keep that vow. Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin. Neither say thou before the angel that it was an error. Oh, I just didn't know any better. Right? Oh, I was young, I just made a lot of bad decisions. You know, I didn't know he wasn't a Christian. I didn't know she wasn't a Christian. Don't say before the angel that it was an error. Wherefore should God be angry at thy voice and destroy the work of thine hands? It looks to me that God hates when people make vows and don't keep them. Okay? The Bible says in Hebrews 6 16, go to James chapter 5, For men verily swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife. You know, when you make an oath to someone, you're basically saying, hey, my word is bond. Okay? You know, if I'm making an oath, it's like, okay, this guy's serious about this situation, she's serious about this, it's a confirmation to end all strife, it's like, well, he made an oath, she made a vow, they made a covenant, they're obviously serious about this situation. Okay? James chapter 5 verse 12 says, But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by earth, neither by any other oath, let your yea be yea and your nay nay, lest ye fall into condemnation. Now, obviously we understand that this is not saying never make an oath, because obviously when you get married, you make an oath. What this is saying is that you should not be characterized by just making flippant vows. You understand? Flipping covenants and flippant, you know, oaths, and just kind of carelessly promising things and vowing things. Why? Because if you don't keep them, you're going to fall into condemnation because of it. You understand? So it adds more credence and more weight to when someone makes a covenant to get married. It's basically saying, man, I need to make sure I keep this oath, I keep this vow before God, because obviously he's taking it serious. Now in the day and age in which we live, you ask the world today, divorce is like whatever. If you don't like them, just divorce them. Divorce them, get yourself a new husband, get yourself a new wife. Oh, you know, she gained a little weight after a couple kids, divorce her. Go get yourself someone else. Oh, he changed after he got married and now he's like lazy or whatever. Oh yeah, just divorce him. This is the mentality of the world, folks. And if you're offended by what I'm saying, you need your brain to be washed, folks. I take nothing back. This is wicked to have a stipulation that, well, because they're not a person of character or they're just X, Y, and Z, therefore these are grounds for divorce. Not according to the Bible, it's not. It's till death do you part. And that's not, you know, God telling you, you know, excusing murder or something like that. You know what I mean? Go to Ephesians chapter 5. God hates divorce because he hates when people break covenants for any reason. But of course in context of what we're talking about, we're talking about marriage. So if he hates the breaking of any vows, how much more will he hate the breaking of the vow, oath, and covenant that you make in marriage before God and before others, okay? He also hates it because divorce mars the symbolism of marriage between Jesus and a believer, okay? The Bible says, for I am jealous. I'm in 2 Corinthians 11, you're in Ephesians 5. 2 Corinthians 11, 2 says, for I am jealous over you with a godly jealousy, for I have espoused you to one husband that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. So obviously marriage is a symbolic representation of Jesus Christ and a church, you understand? And it's that holy union. And here's the thing, Jesus would never divorce us. No matter how far we fall, no matter how much we disappoint him, no matter how, you know, no matter how sinful a Christian gets, right? Because to say you divorce him is like you're no longer, you know, a child of God. It's to say like you lost your salvation or something like that. You know, people want to have this Pentecostal view of like marriage, right? Well, you can lose your salvation, you know. You can get divorced by God, wrong, you can't, not if you're saved. Once you're saved, you're always saved, you're always a child of God. You're always going to be the people of God. Jesus Christ will never divorce a believer, amen? But here's the thing, you know, marriage is supposed to picture that. However, when people get divorced, you kind of mar that picture. You kind of destroy that picture, that symbolism. And look folks, God takes that very seriously. I mean think about this, you know, God didn't allow Moses to go into the Promised Land because he messed up a picture of what he was trying to display of Christ in the New Testament. You know, he smote the rock instead of speaking to the rock, therefore marring a symbolic representation of Christ. And he was just like, well, I'm just going to take you home, you're not going to the Promised Land. So it shows you the severity of marring symbolism in the Bible, you understand? Look at Ephesians 5, 23, it says, For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church, and he is the savior of the body. Therefore, as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives as Christ also loved the church and gave himself forward, that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish. So can we think of a reason why we would ever lose our salvation? Is that even possible? No, it's not. We know it will never happen. No matter how far you fall into sin, no matter how much you displease the Lord, he will never take away salvation from you. He will never divorce you from eternal life. Now, he might take your life away and take you home. If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy, the Bible says. And don't take the parallels too far and be like, well, that's what I got to do then. No, this is not a justification for you to take the life of your spouse or something. Go back to Matthew 19. So why does he hate it? He hates it because he hates covenant breaking. He hates it because it mars the symbolism of marriage between Christ and believers. But he also hates it because often divorce results in adultery. So when a person gets divorced, it's often with the intent, with the motive of marrying someone else. It's not like, well, I just want to divorce them and just be alone for the rest of my life. You know, people may say that, but let's just be real honest. They have their eyes on someone else. And even if they don't really know who that someone else is in their mind, they want there to be a someone else. Which, according to the Bible, is considered adultery. Look at Matthew 19, verse 9, it says, And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except to be for fornication, and shall marry another, comitteth adultery. And whoso marrieth her, which is put away, doth commit adultery. So if a man puts away his wife, he divorces his wife, she marries another, she's committing adultery, according to the Bible. But not only that, even if the individual that she's marrying has never been married before in her life, he's committing adultery as well because he's marrying the person who has been put away. You understand? Well, I don't really agree with that. Well, take it up with God, because that's what he said. He defines what sin is, he defines what adultery is, he defines what fornication is. This is his biblical definition, and we're to bring our understanding to his level of definitions in the Bible and agree with that. You understand? His disciples say unto him, If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry. He said unto him, I like what he says, All men cannot receive this saying, save day to whom it is given. He's like, not everyone's gonna agree with me. He didn't say, well, you know, maybe you're right, you know, maybe we should take it easy on people and not talk about this. No, he's like, well, not everyone's gonna be able to receive what I'm saying. They're not gonna like what I'm saying. Now, today, independent fundamental Baptists, unfortunately, and mainstream Christianity, but even in Baptist churches, they have tolerated divorce, okay, for various reasons. Number one, because often the pastor's divorced. So he can't preach on divorce if he's been divorced. And if any pastor out there is divorced, then he's just disqualified himself from being a pastor. He said, what if he's still pastoring even though he's been divorced? Well, I mean, I'm not gonna recognize him as a pastor, you know, and if anybody asks me about an individual who's been divorced and he's pastoring, I'd be like, what is that guy doing? He's disqualified, he doesn't deserve to be a pastor, he should step down, and that's the end of it, you understand? And so, you know, pastors don't want to preach on because they've been divorced, or even if they've never been divorced, they have people in their church who have been divorced, and they don't want to offend the people in their congregation. Therefore, they'll take this toleration of divorce and try to look for these loopholes and caveats in the Bible that don't exist. They'll create loopholes and caveats in the Bible to justify divorce because they don't want to offend the people in their church. But to that I say, you should sit down and shut up and let a man of God get up and actually teach the Bible because why are you afraid of their faces? A pastor should get up and teach the Bible regardless of who it may offend, regardless of who may leave the church, not be worried of, well, what if that tithing family there leaves or something, then they leave. Who cares? Why are you worried about that? I'm worried about preaching the entire counsel of God. Obviously, I don't want to offend people, but folks, not at the expense of just not preaching the Bible. I need to make sure that I preach the word of God and regardless of how people may feel about it, we need to talk about the uncomfortable things. You've had pastors that maybe at one time took a strong stance on divorce, but then in their old age, they start compromising in that area. They don't want to preach on it or they say, well, I misunderstood what this verse meant or I misunderstood this passage of scripture. It's out there because they're getting a little comfortable behind the pulpit. They're getting a little comfortable in their church with the money coming in and basically, it's allowing them to compromise the message, which is wrong. Now, what is he talking about? What they'll do is this. In Matthew 19, he says, I say to you, whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication. I mean, they're like, there it is. There's the golden nugget. That's what we need. And look, folks, I mean, there's people who have taken this so out of, just ripped it completely out of context. For example, I've even heard this. Well, you know, fornication in the Greek is porneia. So I guess that means also that if my husband's involved in porn, then I have justification to divorce him. Wrong. Let me just say this, is that words in Greek, yeah, that may be the same thing. You understand? But definitions do change from one language to another. Understand? And, you know, this is not referring to, well, if he's involved in porn, then you can divorce him. Fornication is the actual literal act. Now let me explain something else to you. Go to Deuteronomy chapter 24. The sexual sins known as adultery and fornication, although both sexual sins, they're both actually very different. They fall under the category of sexual sin, absolutely. But they're actually both very different, and we know that based upon the consequence that is placed upon these particular sins. Okay? And this is important because churches today, they don't understand that. They think fornication is the same thing as adultery. You know, they're listening to Bill Gothard, and if you don't know who that is, then, I mean, good for you, but like, you know, this is a person who had a large influence over independent fundamental Baptists and has changed many definitions to Biblical terms, and has caused basically a lot of people to go astray in these areas, and this is one in particular, where he says that fornication and adultery are the same exact thing. No, it's not the same exact thing. The reason we know that is because the death penalty was placed on individuals who committed adultery. The death penalty was not placed on individuals who committed fornication. So there you go. So how can they be the same exact sin if for one, people are put to death, and for the other, they're not? Think about that. It shows you one is far more severe than the other. Now, why would it be more severe? Well, because one entails two individuals who made a covenant before God for our holy matrimony to stay together forever until they die. The other is a sexual sin of uncleanness of two unmarried individuals committing fornication, which is obviously wicked, it's sinful, it's wrong. We're not, you know, trying to minimize the sinfulness of fornication. We're just showing what the Bible says, that fornication, though sinful, is not as grievous as adultery. Now, with that being said, if we're talking about marriage in Matthew chapter 19, talking about divorce, talking about a wife, then why does he say, except it be for the cause of fornication? Because if a woman is married to a man, if a man is married to a woman, and they go outside of the boundaries of that union to a foreign person, to a stranger, a strange woman, or a strange man to commit these sexual acts, why would God call it fornication and not adultery? Well, the answer is simply this. This is actually referring to two people during the engagement stage prior to the consummation of marriage. Look what it says in Deuteronomy 24, verse 1. Now, we don't really understand that today in 2021 because of the fact that, you know, this type of courtship is pretty much nonexistent today. This type of engagement and courtship is basically nonexistent in the world in which we live in. But this is a thing. This was a thing. Look at Deuteronomy 24, verse 1. When a man hath taken a wife and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favor in his eyes, why? Because he hath found some uncleanness in her. Let me explain something. Uncleanness and fornication are often used synonymously in the Bible. You'll see that over and over again. They're synonymously used. Fornication is considered uncleanness in the Bible. So what we see here is a man takes a wife, and let me just explain something. This is referring to, like, they're engaged. So in the Bible, when you would get engaged, it was practically like you were married, the difference being you had not consummated the marriage as of yet. Consummated means you've come together physically, you know what I mean, after you've gotten married. So here's talking about the engagement. Well, on the wedding night, he's referring to, they come together and he finds uncleanness in her. He finds that she's not a virgin. That's what it's talking about. She finds no favor in his eyes because of this. Then let him write her a bill of divorcement and give it in her hand and send her out of his house. Now, you say, well, what's the deal with that? Well, here's the thing. Integrity was important in these days. I know it's not important today to a lot of people. It was important to them back then. It should be important to us, amen? Whereas a woman comes to this man, and obviously the example is that a woman portrayed herself to be a virgin, she was not a virgin, and he finds out she's not a virgin, and then he's like, well, I want a bill of divorcement because you claim to be someone that you're not. You claim to be a virgin. By the way, this is talking about specifically virginity. This is not like, hey, you claim to be 185 in weight. You're actually 215, 220. You're not who you claim you were. Hey, I thought you didn't have a belly, and then he takes off that strap or something like that and just kind of like that. He's like, you lied. You're not who you really say you are. It's like they get married, and then he just takes off his eyebrows just like, who are you, you know? Dyed hair or whatever, you know what I mean? It's just like, you're not who you claim you were, you know? And let me just say this, is that when it comes to people getting married, don't we all put our best foot forward? Right? I'm not saying we lie. I'm saying we put our best foot forward. You know what I'm talking about. You want to make yourself to be like the cream of the crop, okay? But after you get married, you know, the cream, it's not as potent as it was before. You get comfortable, and that's just part of marriage. You start seeing each other's flaws, okay? But it's not like, oh, she's not who she was five years ago. She's not who she was ten years ago. Ten years ago, she was slim and trim. Now she's like big. Now she's gained weight. Oh, did she have kids? Well, yeah. Okay, then. I mean, what's the issue? That's what happens. That's life. You're not exactly slim and trim either. And you don't have babies. This is referring to folks, not character flaws. This isn't referring to, you know, some sort of deformity that they have or something like that. You married them and they didn't have, they have a fake ear or something. I don't know. This is in context as referring to virginity. You understand? Because this is important to a man. And if she made this vow, this pledge, and she made herself out to be a virgin, and by the way, it works both ways. If she made herself out to be a virgin, then obviously, he's like, she lied. I don't want to be a part of this marriage. I'm going to write her a bill of divorcement. And when she is departed, verse two, out of his house, she may go and be another man's wife. So he permits, God permits for this individual to depart and be another man's wife under the stipulation that she was given a bill of divorcement during the engagement period. You understand? He said, well, yeah, that's the case. You know, 10 years later, I found out he's not who he really says he is. This is not 10 years later. This is the night of. This is not five years later. This is not even a year later. This is not even a week later. This is the night of. Verse three, and if the latter husband hate her and write her a bill of divorcement, this girl's having a tough week, and giveth it in her hand and sendeth her out of his house, or if the latter husband die, which took her to be his wife, her former husband, which sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after that she is defiled, for that is abomination before the Lord, and thou shall not cause the land to sin, which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance. Go to Matthew chapter number one, if you would. Matthew chapter number one. So guess what? When it says except it be for the cause of fornication, that means that God considers sexual sin during the engagement period as fornication, because you have not yet consummated the marriage physically with your future spouse as of yet. So according to God's window of time, that period between the engagement and the consummation of the marriage, sexual sins outside of that is still considered fornication, okay? It's like, well, you know, my husband cheated on me. My wife cheated on me, not considered fornication. It's considered adultery. Then that means they should be put to death. Well, I mean, yeah, but we live in the United States of America where they don't do that, so, you know, there's a lot of people I think should be put to death. You know, and I don't always get my wish, okay? You know, I wish we lived in biblical times, when these things were executed, but they're not. And so that's what we have to live with, you understand? Look at Matthew 1, because we have an example of this, what this might look like in the New Testament. Look at Matthew 1, verse 18, it says, Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise, when as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Now notice what it says. Mary was espoused to Joseph before they came together. So she was his spouse before they came together. Came together means before they consummated the marriage, okay? Then Joseph, her husband, being a just man, so it's not condemning him, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily. Now this is a good guy. Because, you know, he comes one day and she's pregnant. And he's like, oh man, well, I don't want to embarrass you, I don't want to make you a public example, I'm going to put you away privily, means privately, so as to not make her a public example before everyone else. Because basically what he's thinking is she committed fornication during the betrothal stage, the engagement period. That's what he thinks. Now obviously that wasn't the case. Verse 20 says, But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, the son of David, fear not, to take unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. So obviously that wasn't the case. She did not commit fornication. She did not commit uncleanness. This is a miracle that took place in order for Jesus Christ to be born of a woman. Okay. Go to chapter 5. He says in verse 31 of chapter 5, same thing here, it says, It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement. But I say unto you that whosoever shall put away his wife, save him for the cause of fornication, causeeth her to commit adultery, and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced, comitteth adultery. Now let me just say this, is that he says, Moses gave you this commandment because of the hardness of your hearts. But from the beginning it was not so. Now pay attention to how he says that. Because obviously he's not trying to contradict what Moses says. Because Moses, you know, he's inspired by the Holy Ghost to write these things. And there's certain commands that we see in the Old Testament, okay, where God gave an explanation of how it's to be done, not because it's right to do, but because he knows humans are going to do it. You understand? For example, polygamy is sinful. Right? Having more than one wife trying to be a Mormon or something, you know, having more than one wife is wicked. But here's the thing, in the world in which we live, it does exist. And so if you have a man who has five wives, and he gets saved, well you have to kind of create some rules for that and show him what the Bible says about polygamy. You know, we don't have that problem in the United States of America, thank God, we don't have that problem here. You know, but it could be a thing sometimes. You know, a guy walks in and he's just like, he gets saved, but he has like three wives. He's not to divorce those three wives. You understand? You know, if they all want to come to the church, it's like, that's, I mean, what can we do? That's kind of like the world in which we live. What I'm saying is, it doesn't mean he's sanctioning or, not sanctioning, it doesn't mean he's putting a stamp of approval on that act. He's telling you what to do in case it does happen. So when Jesus said, Moses gave you this commandment because of the hardness of your heart, but from the beginning it was not so, what he's saying is this. You know, ideally, because from the beginning it was not so, if she does this act, if she's unclean, the ideal thing is to forgive her and just marry her. That's what he's saying. Because, you know, if you love her, if you love him, you know, you should just kind of like forgive and move on. And look folks, I mean, Christians commit worse against Christ. You understand? And he still accepts his back. We have the example of Hosea and Gomer in the Bible that kind of depicts that. You understand? So what he's saying is this, is like, yeah, he gave you leeway because he knows that the hardness of your heart, your unwillingness to forgive, will not allow you to forgive, and therefore you need a way out, which is understandable because she committed this sin, this grievous sin. But, you know, the attitude should be I forgive and I still love you. You know, you still love your spouse and you still want to marry. You understand? Now, you know, the person who committed this sin shouldn't say, hey, you got a hard heart, man, you should forgive me. This is obviously dependent upon the attitude of the person who is not involved in the sin, okay? Now go to 1 Corinthians 7, if you would. 1 Corinthians 7. So God hates divorce. He hates putting away. There is no caveat. There is no clause, escape clause, in the Bible in regards to marriage. Fornication, you know, cheating on you or, you know, cheating on their spouse is not room for divorce. There is no room for divorce, okay? We have to understand what the Bible says about these. Now, 1 Corinthians 7 is an important chapter because it deals with marriage, it deals with, you know, the subject of courtship, marriage, the physical relationship, and it actually debunks a lot what people say regarding divorce. And in fact, dispensationalists love using this chapter to try to justify divorce because, you know, they're a bunch of wicked people. You know, Peter Ruckman and the like, these Ruckmanite dispensationalists, Peter Ruckman had a bunch of wives. You know, he was married and divorced many times. But even today, Baptists will try to use this to try to prove, you know, that it's okay to divorce and remarry. So I'm just gonna go through this chapter and just explain what's being stated here, okay? First and foremost, we're gonna look at the responsibility of due benevolence. Now folks, make sure you pay attention to the sermon, okay? Especially you young people who are not married yet. Okay, I know you want me to rip on reprobates and all this other stuff. Hey, this is important, okay? Especially if you're not married, you'll thank me later. You understand? It's important for you to know these things and to understand what the Bible says about this and you need to ingrain this into your core and believe it, you understand? The only way you're gonna not sin and not do these things is by ingraining what the Bible actually says about this into your core being. You gird about your loins with truth and say, well, this is what I believe. This is what's embedded into my heart. I believe this to the core. Therefore, I will never justify divorce. So number one, we see the responsibility of due benevolence. Look at verse number one. Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me, it is good for a man not to touch a woman. Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife and let every woman have her own husband. So this is the solution to a young man or a young lady not committing sin, not committing fornication. It's like, it's good for you not to touch, first and foremost. You know, kissing and rubbing and hugging and necking and petting. You shouldn't partake in those things because isn't that considered touching? Right? I mean, he says, but don't worry, I have a solution for that and the solution is this, get married. There you go. He says, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, let every woman have her own husband, verse three. Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence and likewise also the wife unto the husband. The wife hath not power of her own body but the husband and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body but the wife. Verse five, defraud ye not one another, except to be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency. So let me explain what this is talking about. When it says do benevolence, that word benevolence means kindness. But in context, it's referring to physical kindness. Obviously we want to keep this PG-13, but this is referring to the physical relationship between a husband and a wife. And he's saying that each spouse should render unto each spouse due benevolence. That means the wife owes her body to her husband and the husband owes his body to the wife. Okay? That means that if the husband wants to have a physical relationship at any time, the wife is obligated according to the Bible to give that physical relationship. And vice versa. I don't even know about that. That's what it says. Why are you mad? Don't get mad at me, this is what the Bible says. And the reason this is important is because today in 2021, women through feminism have been taught to use this as a weapon against their spouse. Which is wicked. Because it says do benevolence. This is what you owe your spouse. When you got married, you agreed that this is what you're going to do. With your spouse. Now the only time it's acceptable not to partake in that physical relationship is when you're fasting and praying. Okay? So he gave a really hard thing to do, fasting and praying, to remove any excuse as to why you wouldn't do it. Because not everyone fasts and prays, folks. And obviously there's other exceptions, different things or whatever, but for the most part, he's saying, look, you need to make sure you don't defraud one another. Don't say, no, I'm not in the mood. No, I don't want to. No, I don't feel like it. No, it's this or whatever. Then at that point you're actually sinning. Yes, I said it, I said it. Make a clip out of that and put me on Fox 11 News, I said it. You're sinning if you don't do that. Because according to the Bible it's due. And it's for both. Husband and wife. So if the wife is in the mood, and the husband chooses not to render that due benevolence, he's sinning as well. And he says don't defraud one another, because what happens if you do, Satan will tempt you for your incontinency. This is where the possibility of adultery can take place. So, yeah, benevolence can be described as the man providing for his wife financially, providing emotional stability, providing, you know, everything that the wife needs, including that which is physical. Due benevolence and vice versa. So both of them owe each other these responsibilities. Okay? Look at verse 7. For I would that all men were even as I myself, but every man had this proper gift of God, one after this manner and another after that. I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, it is good for them if they abide even as I. So he's saying look, you singles and, you know, widows, you know, if your spouse passed away, it's good that you should probably just live the way I do. Which Paul the Apostle, obviously he's not married, he's kind of serving the Lord, he says I say therefore, or excuse me, verse 9, but if they cannot contain, let them marry, for it is better to marry than to burn. Now this particular calling is very, very specific, and it's very unique, and that's the calling of abstinence, lifelong abstinence, where you're just called to singleness. In other words, it's like you don't desire a spouse, you're happy just the way you are, and you don't have that need, you know. And let me just say this, is that young people never make a vow to be single for the rest of your life. Because you may not feel like getting married now, but you may feel like it later on. And if you make a vow, you know, just reference the first point that I made. You understand? And so he's saying there, it's good for you to remain even as I, because obviously he has more time to serve the Lord, et cetera. But if you're burning, you know, you're struggling, then he's saying that you should marry. It says in verse 10, and unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, let not the wife depart from her husband, but, and if she depart, let her remarry again. Let her just choose anybody, some Bible-believing guy who's just a great guy. No. It says let her remain what? Unmarried. So he's saying don't depart from your spouse. That's the command. Don't do it. When he says but if she departs, or if he departs, because obviously some people are going to do it, he goes, okay, here's the second command. Remain unmarried. That means it's not right for you to get remarried. Now look, folks, there's people here who were divorced, and they got remarried. I'm not talking about you because it's already done with, and I don't believe this doctrine that you're just in perpetual adultery because you got divorced or something like that. I know people who believe that, who are literally like, oh, you get divorced. It's like they should never be allowed into church again because they're like in perpetual adultery. Wrong. Once the act is done, it's done. Okay. I'm not talking to you guys. I'm talking to the people who have not yet married or who are married and have not yet divorced. Okay. Let not the wife depart from her husband, but if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or look what it says, be reconciled to her husband, and let not the husband put away his wife. So here's your solution if you're already divorced. One, remain unmarried. But I want to get married. Well, you kind of already, that's over and done with. I know that's a hard truth, but that's what the Bible says. Okay. But here's your other option. You can be reconciled to your husband, to your spouse. Okay. You go, well, it's easier said than done, but these are the options, folks. Sin complicates things. It complicates things. And sin leaves you with fewer options the deeper you get into it. Okay. So we see here the instructions against divorce. He tells you, don't let them depart. Don't let them leave you. Don't divorce. Okay. Now, look, there's situations where you're like, yeah, I don't want to, but my spouse wants to divorce. Okay. And it's in my personal opinion that you should prolong that as long as possible. Do as much as you can to do that. The second option would be to get a legal separation. Okay. Which is not a divorce. It's, you're still married, but you kind of operate, you know, in a different way. You're not living together. You're basically, you know, you can look it up. There's different things that, stipulations that come with that, but you're not legally divorced. Okay. You're still staying married because, you know, for whatever reason, religious reasons, as they would say, you know, obviously, we believe that that would be appropriate if you had to separate from your spouse for whatever reason, but divorce is never the option. Okay. The only other option would be a legal divorce. Now, you say, well, I'm at, like, option for them because I'm beyond that. They're already writing the divorce papers. Then at that point, there's nothing you can do about that. Obviously, if that's the case, that's the case. And you have to work with what you have at that point. But, folks, put up a fight and try not to get divorced. Try your best to keep, try your best to reconcile that relationship. And when I say try your best, I mean your best. Because I've heard a lot of people that are just like, I've tried everything. Have you really tried everything? Everything is a lot, folks. I mean, have you gone to the Hosea stage? Were you just willing to do whatever it takes for the rest of your life? This is the covenant that you made. If it's that important to you, put in the considerable amount of effort to reconcile that relationship. Pray fast. Do whatever you can. Win that person over as much as you can. You know, do whatever you must do to try to reconcile the relationship because it's worth it. Okay. And I know that's not popular, but that's what the Bible tells us. He's called us unto peace, which means reconciliation. Look at verse number 12. But to the rest speak I, not the Lord. If any brother hath a wife that believeth not, and she be pleased to dwell with him, let him not put her away. So now he's dealing with that which the subject of marrying an unsaved person. And man, I've heard this a lot. We're like, yeah, I'm getting divorced because he's not a believer. She's not a believer, Pastor. She doesn't believe in the reparatory doctrine. They're not believers. You know? And you know the Bible says, be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers. Yeah, that commandment was before you got married. It's funny how you want to pull that out now. You know 2 Corinthians 6 existed, like, long ago? All of a sudden you want to pull out that card now, huh? Well, it's too late. What does the Bible tell us when it comes to marrying an individual who is not saved? Verse 13 says, Folks, he's still not for divorce. And look, folks, people get married all the time who are not Christians. Did you know that? Did you know people are, some people who are not Christians, they get married and they stay married? Isn't that amazing? They literally stayed together for like 60, 70, 80 years. It's out there. And they don't even believe the Bible. Here it's saying if you marry someone who is unsaved, don't let them depart. Stay with that individual. Why? Verse 14, Now what does that mean? When it says that they're sanctified by the wife, they're sanctified by the husband, Well, if you have two unbelieving partners, pay attention please, if you have two unbelieving partners, it's very unlikely that those children are going to get saved. Because they don't know the gospel, the parents don't know the gospel. But when you place the element of a saved individual into that marriage, at that point, the children are holy in the sense that they're sanctified, they're set apart, the parent can make them wise unto salvation. Now what's a biblical example of that? Well, how about Timothy? Who had a believing mother and an unbelieving father who the Bible just says pretty much nothing about. And I would say that his dad was probably not saved. Because when it talks about the salvation of his parents, it only talks about his mom and his grandmother, Lois and Eunice. But even then, the mother was able to make Timothy wise unto salvation using the scriptures, teaching him, therefore, he can get saved. So what God is saying is, don't see it as a detriment, see it as a blessing because you can get your husband saved. You can get your wife saved. You can get your kids saved. It's far more likely that they're going to get saved because now you have the element of a saved individual in the marriage, okay? It says in verse 15, but if the unbelieving depart, let them depart and remarry. Nope. It just says let them depart. In other words, if you can't do anything to stop it, then you can't do anything to stop it. You know, this isn't the movie Misery where you're just going to chain them down to a bed and you ain't going nowhere or whatever. I never saw it. I just know the plot. But everyone who laughed gave themselves away. He says, if the unbelieving depart, let them depart. A brother or sister is not under bondage in such cases, but God hath called us to peace. Now, in 1 Corinthians 7, please pay attention. 1 Corinthians 7, you have these two terms being used. You have bound and bondage, okay, in regards to marriage. You know, you're bound and then there's bondage, okay? It's like, man. Bondage, they're both separate things. Okay, now explain what bound means. Bondage is referring to that due benevolence. You understand? When you're married, you're in bondage to God. You're in bondage to give due benevolence to your spouse. You owe them that. You know, you think of someone who owes something, they're in bondage to that individual. And this is the picture that we have in marriage that each spouse is to render due benevolence. However, if one partner decides to depart, okay, and they're no longer fulfilling their role, their responsibilities to give you due benevolence and all these other areas, then basically they have relinquished the privilege of having you render due benevolence unto them as well. You're no longer under bondage to give that to them. The reason this is important is because of the fact that, you know, let's say, for example, a husband leaves his wife, okay, and, you know, doesn't provide for her, for the kids, doesn't do anything for them, but he still wants to have that physical relationship. I know this is uncomfortable, folks, but, you know, every two years I gotta preach on this, so just bear with me, all right? I'll probably make it every year now. He wants that physical relationship because they're still married. Well, she's not obligated to give that to him because he's not keeping his end of the bargain, so to speak. He's not rendering due benevolence. He's not rendering due kindness to his spouse by providing, giving emotional support, the responsibilities of a husband, and vice versa. So it says here, a brother or sister is not under bondage in such cases, like you don't owe that person because they're not keeping their end of the covenant. This doesn't mean get divorced, though. It just means you don't owe that specific benevolence. Now, look what it says, but God hath called us to peace. So what is he saying? But you should seek to reconcile that relationship as much as possible, okay? For what knowest thou, O wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband? How do you know? Or how knowest thou, O man, whether thou shalt save thy wife? How do you know? Well, you don't know my husband, you don't know my wife. Yeah, but how do you know? How do you know if you can't save them? Okay, look at verse 25. Now concerning virgins, I have no commandment of the Lord, yet I give my judgment as one that hath obtained mercy of the Lord to be faithful. I suppose, therefore, that this is good for the present distress, I say, that it is good for a man so to be. Art thou bound unto a wife? Seek not to be loosed. Art thou loosed from a wife? Seek not a wife, but, and if thou marry, thou hast not sinned. Now this is the diptych's favorite verse right here, because they think verse 28 is saying, oh, cool, so if I'm divorced and I remarry, I haven't sinned. Bring in all the wives. Let me get remarried. Because here it says that I have not sinned. But, and if thou marry, thou hast not sinned, and if a virgin marries, she hath not sinned. Nevertheless, such shall have trouble in the flesh, but I spare you. Now let me explain what this means. Bound, when he says, art thou bound unto a wife? Seek not to be loosed. In other words, it's like, you should be content being married. He says, art thou loosed from a wife? Seek not a wife. Loosed means, bound and loosed is referring to marriage. Loosed meaning that the spouse dies. So if a spouse dies, you can remarry, and you have not sinned. Because your spouse is dead. Go to Romans 7. They see it as, oh, bound as in like, you know, I've been loosed, like I divorced them, or they divorced me, I can remarry, and I have not sinned. Wrong, because that would contradict everything else we just saw. Don't you love it how people just cherry pick the Bible? They're just like, this kind of looks like what I want to believe right here. I can kind of twist this to make it seem what I want to do. Folks, I love context. The context of the entire Bible, the context of the entire book, the context of the entire chapter, gives us the meaning of these things, okay? So when it says bound, it means you're bound by the law unto your husband. Look at Romans 7, verse 1. Know ye not, brethren, for I speak to them that know the law, how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth? For the woman which hath an husband, look what it says, is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth. Obviously, yes, she liveth too, because once you're dead, you're not going to marry anybody. But if the husband be dead, look what it says, she is loosed from the law of her husband. So you're bound to your spouse while you're still alive. But the moment your spouse dies, you're loosed from that, from that obligation from that covenant. Look at verse 3. So then if while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, you know, divorce and remarry, she shall be called a what? An adulteress. Isn't that what Matthew 5 and Matthew 19 say? So if a woman remarries, or if a man remarries, after he's divorced his wife, he's an adulterer. She's an adulteress, according to the Bible, because they're still bound by the law to their spouse. But if her husband be dead, she is free from that law, so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man, the Bible says. So here's the only time you can remarry, according to the Bible. When they die. And, you know, sometimes a situation like this can get so difficult, that this kind of crosses the mind of the spouse sometimes. I'm being serious. I'm not saying that they're gonna kill the spouse or something like that. I hope not. But they're like, pray for their death, is it bad to want them to die? And here's the thing is, you have not because he asks not, you have not because he asks amiss, that you may consume it upon your own lust. Because the thing is, most people want their, if they've been separated from their spouse, they want their spouse to die, so they can what? Remarry. But that shouldn't be the goal. If there's no reconciliation, if the marriage has been burned beyond recognition, the attention should just get off of yourself and put your attention on your children to make sure they grow up to have a godly marriage one day. That should be the goal. You say, well what about me? What about them? They're still young, you understand? They have a chance, okay? And so, you know, and it could be that the spouse might die. I mean, I don't think, you know, I'm not saying you shouldn't pray for that. Obviously, when people are in anguish of heart, they can say whatever they want into the Lord. They can pour out their heart like water, you understand? And that's appropriate to pray, you know, unto the Lord, the anguish and misery of your heart if that's how you feel. But what I'm saying is this, is that if God doesn't answer that prayer, be content where you're at. Remain unmarried, serve the Lord without distraction, and seek to raise your children in the ways of the Lord, okay? Go back to 1 Corinthians 7, I'm almost done. Look at verse number 39, the wife, synonymously what we see in Romans chapter number 7, the wife is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth, but if her husband be dead, she is at liberty to be married to whom she will, only in the Lord. In other words, it has to be a safe person. But then he throws this in here, verse 40, but she is happier if she so abide after my judgment, and I think also that I have the Spirit of God. He's just saying, look, I'm just saying, it's pretty cool to be single. Now, I don't agree with Paul. You know, Paul's a godly guy, but you know, he's still fallible, you know? Obviously, he's speaking from his experience, and the reason he's saying that people should abide as he is, as a single person, is because Paul can basically get persecuted like crazy, spend the nights in the deep, be stoned to death, and not have to worry about coming home to his, you know, wife and kids. He doesn't have any kids to worry about. He could just die whenever he wants. I mean, he could just like, he can do just whatever he wants, eat whatever he wants, because he's single. He can do those things. Whereas, when we're married, we have like us to worry about, but we also have our wives to worry about, we have our kids to worry about, you understand? He can serve the Lord without distraction. He's like, I can sleep in my car if I want, or my horse, you know what I mean? I could make a tent right here in the corner. I can eat hot pockets all day long. I don't have to shower for a couple days. I mean, it's just you're single. But folks, when you're married, that's not the case. You know, and don't expect your spouse to be able to live like the way you lived when you were single. Well, what's the problem? I did this for years. You know? It's just like, why do you have a problem with it? Well, because it's different now. You're married. The Bible says you're supposed to tend to the things of the world how you may please your wife. Did you know that? That means you're supposed to take care of the things of this world to please your wife. Okay? Take care of your wife, comfort your wife, give her security, okay? That's important, folks. I'll park it right here for a little bit. It's important to give your wife security. You know, if your wife's worried about whether you're gonna make it to the end of the month, you better get yourself like three jobs. And say, why are you worried about that? I'm gonna provide for the food, the rent, and extra goods for you, whatever you want, if you wanna buy yourself a dress or something. I don't worry about anything. I'm always gonna take care of you. I'm not only gonna take care of you, you're gonna have a great time being married to me. You're gonna like being married to me. That's how it should be, folks. You know, when we're single, we can just kinda wing it. You know, we kinda eat whenever. It's not like that when you get married, folks. Okay? Especially when you have children. Don't act like a single when you're already married, amen? So that's why he says that, okay? That's it. I'm gonna stop right there, because I'm out of time. So what's the sermon today? The sermon is simply this, you know, let's continue to have this attitude of divorce that it's wicked. Because it is, according to the Bible. You know, and if you don't agree with me, then come with the Bible in hand and tell me where I'm wrong. Show me where I'm wrong. And by the way, use the verses that I used. Right? Because if you're gonna disprove me, disprove me using the Bible. And look, I'm not upset at you if you disagree with me, just as long as you understand that you're basically disagreeing with what the Bible says. I don't mind you coming up and saying, well, you know, I disagree with the Lord on this. I wish it wasn't like this. Okay, you know. Then at that point, I shall have mercy upon whom I will have mercy. But if you're like, no, I don't agree with your interpretation, I think we made it pretty clear. I think we left no stone unturned. I think if someone were to disagree with everything that I just said, you're just being stubborn. Prideful, arrogant, and you are subverting the Bible, folks. I hate divorce, but you know why I really hate divorce? It's because of the fact that I want my children to admire, revere, respect, and love marriage. I want my son to grow up and to be married to one woman and love that woman for the rest of his life, for the rest of her life. I want him to be faithful to her. I want my daughters to marry godly young men who will be with them through thick and thin, you know, physically, financially, okay? More thick than thin sometimes. That's what it's all about, folks. Okay? Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for your word, and thank you so much for the union of marriage, and I know this is a hard saying for a lot of people, Lord, even in our church, but it is what the Bible says. I pray that you help them to take it in stride, to believe it, to have faith in it, and Lord, there's a lot of great people. I know a lot of great people that are struggling. They're going through a difficult time, and this is a hard sermon, and I pray, God, that you give them grace. I pray that you fill them with your spirit and your power, give them clarity of mind and wisdom, and thank God that, you know, they're going through something like this in our church, if that's the case, because they have support here, people who love them, who care for them, who walk them through this, and I pray, God, that you bless our next generation, Lord. I pray that my sons and my daughters, they get married, and they stay married for the rest of their lives, Lord, and that they would honor that vow that they make before you in the coming years, and same goes for every child here, Lord. I pray, God, that the parents in our church would have that vision for their children, not to be millionaires or famous, but to just live a godly life, to marry godly spouses, to have a godly marriage, and raise up children for you. We love you, and we thank you. We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Hey, man, song number 102, He hideth my soul, is our last song. Song number 102, He hideth my soul. Song 102, we'll sing it on that first. A wonderful savior is Jesus, my Lord, a wonderful savior to me. He hideth my soul with every left and no wrong, to there He is. And the cleft of the rock, to the rivers of pleasure I see. Behind my soul, the cleft of the rock, that shadows a dry, thirsty land. He hided my life in the dance of his love, and covered the earth with his hand, and covered me there in his hand. A wonderful seeker is Jesus, my Lord. He takes my burden away. Behold, I'll be up, and I shall not be moved. He gives me strength as my dear. He hides my soul in the cleft of the rock, that shadows a dry, thirsty land. He hided my life in the dance of his love, and covered me there with his hand, and covered me there with his hand. With numberless blessings, a moment he crowns, and filled with his goodness. I sing in my rapture all glory to God, for such a redeemer as mine. He hides my soul in the cleft of the rock, that shadows a dry, thirsty land. He hided my life in the dance of his love, and covers me there with his hand, and covers me there with his hand. When clothed in his brightness, transported I rise, to meet him in clouds of the sky. His perfect salvation, his wonderful love, I'll shout it with millions on high. He hided my soul in the cleft of the rock, that shadows a dry, thirsty land. He hided my life in the dance of his love, and covers me there with his hand, and covers me there with his hand.