There is a sermon by James Davenport entitled, “The Faithful Minister Encouraged,” on-line at Internet Archive. It is based on II Corinthians 4:1 – “Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not;…” It was preached at the opening of the Synod of New York when it met in Philadelphia on October 1, 1755. The thing that caught my attention and thus this post, is that the published version has a glowing commendation in a Preface by Gilbert Tennent (and a Richard Treat). Tennent was one of the great fathers of American Presbyterianism. Anything he recommended is worth reading. Davenport was pastor of the Presbyterian Church at Southwold, Long Island, but at the time that the sermon was printed was pastor of Hopewell Presbyterian Church in Hopewell, NJ. (Before moving to SC, my wife and I drove through Hopewell almost every day for four years.)

The sermon is 35pp. long. It is the last of four sermons by different authors that are bound together. You will find it beginning on leaf 151. A search of “James Davenport” will not turn up the piece. The volume’s title and author are the title and author of the first piece in the collection. That work is entitled, “A Vindication of Gospel-Truth” and was written by Jedidiah Mills.

You can find this volume here.

The collection also contains a sermon preached at the funeral of another of America’s greatest Presbyterian ministers, Jonathan Dickinson, by John Pierson, pastor of the Woodbridge, NJ Presbyterian church. It is similarly titled, “The Faithful Minister.” There is a large blot on the cover and the first few pages which makes reading bits of it difficult. The other piece in the collection is a sermon by Aaron Burr, President of the College of NJ (Princeton).

I am frequently searching for books online, and as I do so, I will periodically come across a very rare book. I recently came across a volume of sermons by James Thomson, a well loved Scottish Presbyterian minister of the late 18th and early 19th century. Thomson’s works are very hard to find. They usually run somewhere between $500-1000.00. I recently found the two volumes of his theological discourses on Google Books. These contain 29 sermons. You can find volume 1 here, and volume 2 here.

Early in the eighteenth century the village of Quarrelwood, Kirkmahoe, was one of the main centres of the body in Scotland, and it eventually became its chief seat in Dumfriesshire. In 1743, the Quarrelwood pastor, Mr. John Curtis, took part with three other ministers in constituting the Reformed Presbyterian Church, as the denomination came to be called. The region assigned to the little ecclesiastical capital, Quarrelwood, was a very extensive one, bounded by the Esk on the east, the Urr on the west, by a line from New Galloway to Moffat on the north, and by the Solway on the south. It stretched over between thirty and forty parishes, so that the officiating pastor must have undergone immense toil in ministering to the far-scattered families of his flock, at a time when there were few roads and scarcely a wheeled carriage in the County. Mr. James Thomson, ordained in 1796, was the second minister; and in his day a new church and manse were erected at Quarrelwood, and the congregation multiplied extensively. In course of time it became the nursing-mother of new settlements, there being now seven Reformed Presbyterian congregations in the district, all tracing their origin to the little sanctuary at Quarrelwood.

Rev. Jim O’Brien, pastor of Reedy River PCA just outside Greenville, SC, sent me the link to Jonathan Edwards’ Last Will, and the Inventory of his Estate. This looks like a fascinating document. The article was printed in The Bibliotheca Sacra vol. 33 (July, 1876) pp. 438-447.Here is an except:

First of all, I give and commend my soul into the hands of God that gave it, and to the Lord Jesus Christ it’s glorious, all-sufficient, faithful and chosen Redeemer, relying alone on the free and infinite mercy and grace of God through His worthiness and mediation, for its eternal salvation; and my body I commend to the Earth, to be committed to the dust in decent Christian burial , at the discretion of my executrix hereafter named; hoping through the grace, faithfulness, and almighty power of my everlasting Redeemer, to receive the same again, at the last day, made like unto His glorious body.

You can read the rest here.

For several years now I have heard various individuals in the church say something to the intent of, “It would be good for the church in America to suffer persecution.” I have even heard Christians say that there are churches in oppressed countries praying that God would send persecution on the church in America. In the context of America’s bleak future I have recently had more Christians tell me that they thought it would be a good thing for the church if things get worse. This seems like a strange attitude to take in regard to Divine Sovereignty. While it is abundantly clear in Scripture that afflictions, persecutions and sufferings are, in the words of a good friend of mine, “beautifully wrapped presents from the hand of God,” it is equally clear that we never find Christians praying for afflictions on other Christians in Scripture.

In fact, just the opposite is true. John writes in 3 John 1:2, ” Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul” Here John is praying for good things–things that he would want for everyone in the church. Whether God chooses to answer that prayer favorably or not is beside the point. We would never imagine praying that one of our brothers and sisters in the church would be striken with terminal cancer, would we? But, someone might argue, that would be good for them because they would be conformed to the image of Christ through that trial. I think we need to remember, when we go through afflictions, that “all things work together for good to those who love God who are called according to His purpose.” At the same time we are called to “pray for the peace of Jerusalem.” Remember that Paul commanded that we “pray for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence (1 Tim. 2:2).” We must always keep these two things in mind: Persecution works for the good of God’s people and the advancement of the church, but we are to pray for peace, and health, and enjoyable blessings. The rest we leave to our God?

Dane Ortland has a very helpful reminder for those laboring faithfully for the glory of Christ in small churches. Is it right to measure success by the numeric growth of a church? Is it to be expected that your church will grow if you are gifted and faithful? Read what Dane has to say here.

Phil Ryken came and preached at Christ the King on Sunday night. We ask him to come and baptize Elijah. It was a great service. Phil preached from Jeremiah 36. The title of the sermon was “The Word Above all Earthly Powers.” It was a special time, having our son baptized and being exhorted to teach him to be a man of the word of God. Here is a photo taken after the service:

Josh Walker has an interesting post over at Bring the Books, concerning the late John Murray’s Confessional position. You can find this post here. I would also encourage everyone to read the comments that go with the post.

When I was in seminary I had the great privilege of forming a beautiful friendship with two brothers from Haiti, Leon Amicy and Octavius Delfis. Octavius graduated a year before me, but we were very close friends. Octavius taught me how to bind antiquarian books. These two brothers in Christ also taught me what it was to deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Jesus. They quietly forsook their lives for three years to come and study theology so that they could plant the first Presbyterian church in Port-au-Prince, one of the most unstable and dangerous places in Haiti. When the hurrican struck Haiti a few weeks ago, Leon’s brother Charles (a MTW supported missionary who has done a tremendous about of kingdom building in Haiti) lost a lot of possessions. People in the church lost children. This was a devastating time for the Amicys. Charles lost cars, a library, and other necessary possessions. If you would like to give to the Amicys or to Octavius you can do so here. If you would like more information about Charles you can find his website here. Paul D. Kooistra, moderator of the PCA GA, has a letter about the Amicy work and situation here.

Haiti is a poor, oppresses country that desperately needs the Gospel of God’s grace in Jesus Christ. A few years ago an OPC missionary, Matt Baugh, while laboring faithfully was killed in a tragic motorcycle accident. This is an opportunity for us to pull our resources to see the work of the kingdom of Christ advance in this place. To Him be glory and honor in the church in Haiti.

For anyone in seminary or in the ministry, who feels the way I do about the need to freshen up on the biblical languages, Tommy Keene–a Greek teacher at Westminster Theological Seminary–has a very useful blog. Tommy has not limited it to Greek resources, but there are plenty of good electronic and written recommendations there. Go check out his Nerdlets blog. You will certainly find it a help to your Greek studies.

I have wanted to post something for a while on the section of Geerhardus Vos’ Biblical Theology, at the beginning of his chapter on New Testament Revelation, in which he explains the development of the New Testament in terms of Jesus preaching the facts of His atoning death on the cross, and glorious resurrection from the dead, and the Apostles interpreting those facts. My good friend Steve Shanley has explained the gist of Vos’ argument in the following manner:

Vos argues for the unity of OT revelation to Christ’s words and especially his works, and then argues for the organic unity to the Apostles that follow him to interpret his works after being completed, which is why the Spirit was given to the Apostles in a special revelatory way (John 16). The Scripture is one undivided unit from Genesis to Christ’s Words, from Christ’s words to Revelation. Thus Vos can say, “He(Christ) has nowhere isolated Himself from His interpreters, but on the contrary identified them with Himself, both as to absoluteness of authority and adequacy of knowledge imparted (Luke 24:44; John 16:12-15)”. That is to say Jesus identifies His revelation to that of those who preceded and proceeded Himself.

Vos’ gives crucial insight into the revelation set forth by the Apostles, that they are as of equal import to the “red letters”, his own words (and in agreement with them) , ” (t)he relation between Jesus and the Apostolate is in general that between the fact to be interpreted and the subsequent interpretation of the fact.”

Vos goes on to say somewhat boldly, “Jesus task interweaves and accompanies the creation of the facts with a preliminary illumination of them, for by the side of His work stands His teaching. Only the teaching is more sporadic and less comprehensive than that supplied by the Epistles.” Vos actually argues that in some sense the teaching in the Epistles is actually more comprehensive than that of Jesus own words! It could be noted that the Epistles don’t contain parables and are not so much historical narratives. But more importantly they interpret the the historical death and resurrection of Christ and how it accomplishes the redemption of His people. The Epistles expound soteriology, if you will. This is the great “fact” or “work” of God in Christ to be expounded by the Apostles. Vos may also be alluding to the miracles of Christ as the “works” that stand by His teaching but even they are physical teachings of the spiritual healing and redemption that Christs death will accomplish.

So whether classical Protestant Liberals or Emergent folk say, “I just focus on the words of Jesus”, I would have to say with Vos, “Jesus does not represent Himself anywhere as being by his human earthly activity the exhaustive expounder of truth. Much rather He is the great fact to be expounded.”

Sinclair Ferguson has begun a series on the book of Romans on Sunday evenings at First Presbyterian Church in Columbia, SC. You can find those sermons here. Dr. Ferguson is preaching through 2 Corinthians in the morning. These can be found here.

Dr. Philip Ryken has begun a new series on Ecclesiastes at Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, Pa. The mp3 files can be downloaded here, but you have to keep in mind that they will only be available for so many weeks. The Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals owns the right to the Ryken audio files and will pull them in a matter of weeks for their radio program. Then the only way to get copies is to purchase them. These two series look like they will be extremely profitable.

The Lord has continued His loving kindness toward Anna and me by giving us our second son, Elijah Alexander Batzig. This is our second son in under three years of marriage. Our first son, Micah Gersham Batzig, is now 18 months old. The Lord is so exceedingly kind to me “who am not worthy of the least of His mercies.” We praise Him for answering so many of our prayers for Anna’s delivery. We prayed that she would have a relatively painless delivery, that she would deliver before midnight, and that she and the baby would be healthy. The Lord graciously answered all these prayers favorably. All praise to Him who creates a new generation of those who will worship Him through His only son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

Pictures coming soon!

Some would tell us justification by faith alone apart from works is not fundamentally about how sinners who are trusting in themselves are made righteous before a Holy God by trusting in God alone. I wonder if those who argue this really understand the depths of the wickedness of the human heart?

I was struck by Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 1:8-9 today:

“For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life. Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead . . . .”

This is truly amazing! Think about it. The great Apostle Paul who had such a powerful encounter with the Living Christ; who was powerfully converted to Christ; who lived such an exemplary life that he told the Corinthians to imitate him as he imitated Christ; who wrote a large portion of the New Testament; who was persecuted and suffered so much for the sake of the Gospel – - this highest caliber of godly Christian man still desperately needed God to so work in his life circumstances so that he would despair of life and not trust in himself, but in God! Oh how even the best of men are prone to trust in themselves instead of in God alone!

This temptation to trust in ourselves or in our own righteousness is not new to the human heart.
It was true in Israel’s infancy:

Deuteronomy 9:4: Do not think in your heart, after the LORD your God has cast them out before you, saying, “Because of my righteousness the LORD has brought me in to possess this land . . . .”

It was true in Daniel’s day:

Daniel 9:18: O my God, incline Your ear and hear; open Your eyes and see our desolations, and the city which is called by Your name; for we do not present our supplications before You because of our righteous deeds, but because of Your great mercies.

It was true in Jesus’ day:

Luke 18:9: Also He [Jesus] spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others . . .

And it was true in Paul’s day:

Philippians 3:8-9: Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith . . . .

Do you realize the proneness of your own heart to trust in yourself and not in God alone?

If the great Apostle Paul needed to be placed in situations by God’s sovereign hand to cause him to despair even of life itself so that he would not trust in himself, but in God alone, how much more vigilant ought we be to make sure we too are turning from all that is in ourselves, and resting in God alone through our Lord Jesus Christ? May our only boast be in Him and in His glorious cross! And may this free us to live radical lives for the glory of God alone, just like our brother Paul!

Galatians 6:14: But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

Though little is directly reported of it in the Gospels, this [i.e. this idea of the wonder of Jesus] also belonged to the perfection of our Lord Jesus. No one has ever lived in such a marvelous world as He, to whom “the glory of the grass and splendor of the flower” continually revealed the diviner miracle of a Heavenly Father’s munificent love and care. No one ever felt as He did the wonder of God–the infinite majesty and the infinite tenderness, the infinite purity and infinite forgiveness of God. No one has ever felt as He did the wonder of man, of the human soul with its heights and depths, its heroisms of love and loyalty, virtue and self-sacrifice, its marvels too of baseness and ingratitude–the amazingness of sin.1

Just the other day I received my review copy of the final volume of the Works of Jonathan Edwards. The volume will not be officially published until next month. As noted in an earlier post, this book marks the end of an era. Freedom of the Will, the first volume in the series to appear, was published by Yale University Press in 1957. The Yale edition of Edwards’ Works has taken 51 years to come to completion and has seen three general editors: Perry Miller, John Smith, and Harry Stout. For many years we saw no progress in the publication of volumes in the set, for various and sundry reasons. But in the late 80s and early 90s we saw the series take on a life of its own as volumes seemed to literally pour from the press. And now, what was once only a far-fetched dream in the mind of a Harvard American literature scholar, has now come to full fruition. God certainly had a sense of humor in using a Harvard atheist to promote the cause of perhaps the most non-Atheistic American who ever lived. Miller, who did not care for Edwards’ Calvinism, thought he could slice and dice Edwards and present him to the world to be examined and admired for his philosophical ingenuity. But Edwards would not allow that. Interestingly enough, it is Edwards’ sermons and other exegetical efforts that are catching the spotlight of late. And that is just as well. There are many of his sermons that are gems and his commentary on Scripture is fascinating indeed.

Yes, the end of one era has arrived. The letterpress edition of Edwards’ Works stands complete. But in another sense, the work of Edwards continues. And what work is that? The work of proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ to a lost and dying world and of building up the saints in godliness. That work will continue until our Lord returns.

Just the other day I received my review copy of the final volume of the Works of Jonathan Edwards. The volume will not be officially published until next month. As noted in an earlier post, this book marks the end of an era. Freedom of the Will, the first volume in the series to appear, was published by Yale University Press in 1957. The Yale edition of Edwards’ Works has taken 51 years to come to completion and has seen three general editors: Perry Miller, John Smith, and Harry Stout. For many years we saw no progress in the publication of volumes in the set, for various and sundry reasons. But in the late 80s and early 90s we saw the series take on a life of its own as volumes seemed to literally pour from the press. And now, what was once only a far-fetched dream in the mind of a Harvard American literature scholar, has now come to full fruition. God certainly had a sense of humor in using a Harvard atheist to promote the cause of perhaps the most non-Atheistic American who ever lived. Miller, who did not care for Edwards’ Calvinism, thought he could slice and dice Edwards and present him to the world to be examined and admired for his philosophical ingenuity. But Edwards would not allow that. Interestingly enough, it is Edwards’ sermons and other exegetical efforts that are catching the spotlight of late. And that is just as well. There are many of his sermons that are gems and his commentary on Scripture is fascinating indeed.

Yes, the end of one era has arrived. The letterpress edition of Edwards’ Works stands complete. But in another sense, the work of Edwards continues. And what work is that? The work of proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ to a lost and dying world and of building up the saints in godliness. That work will continue until our Lord returns.

I recently found more Eric Alexander Sermons online. These were delivered in the 80′s and early 90′s. I have searched high and low on the internet for Eric Alexander’s messages and have gathered them together into one place. You can find all the previous Alexander sermons I posted here. The most recently found are the following:

Eric Alexander Jeremiah 9:24; 1 Corinthians 1:18-2:13 #1
Eric Alexander Jeremiah 9:24; 1 Corinthians 1:18-2:13 #2
Eric Alexander 1 Corinthians 3
Eric Alexander 1 Corinthians 4

Eric Alexander 2 Corinthians 5

Eric Alexander 1 Corinthians 1:18-30

Eric Alexander Isaiah 52:10-53:12

There are also two talks that Rev. Alexander gave at the 2003 Shepherd’s Conference. The first message was out of 1 Timothy 4:16, and the second was from Ezra 7. You have to sign up to download them, but the good thing is that sign up is free. There are also quite a few other excellent free audio tracks there. You can find the Shepherd’s Conference page here.

You can also purchase two lectures on preaching that Rev. Alexander delivered at Westminster Theological Seminary here.

William Cunningham was one of the foremost Scottish theologians of the 19th Century. In his very rare volume of sermons he has one particular section on the humiliation of Christ that is very moving. Cunningham observed:

He had been worshiped as God, raised infinitely above the highest archangel. His infinite power and wisdom were no longer put forth so fully and so palpably to promote his own happiness and comfort, to protect Himself from His enemies, and to advance His own purposes: He became frail, and helpless, and dependent. The meanest could insult and the meanest could injure Him. He had once been placed far beyond the reach of sorrow and suffering; now He was liable to misery and death,–and He did suffer and die. Once the highest of created beings could not approach Him without the profoundest adoration and reverence; afterward the lowest of menials and the most abject slave might, and did, spit upon Him, and buffet Him.1

This description of the vast difference between our Lord in glory and our Lord here upon the earth He created strikes at the heart of His humilaiation. The last part especially carries great weight. “Once the highest of created beings could not approach Him without the profoundest adoration and reverence; afterward the lowest of menials and the most abject slaver might, and did, spit upon Him, and buffet Him.” Oh what humiliation our Lord Jesus Christ endured–all for our sins, for our rebellion against Him.

In addition to this volume of Sermons, Cunningham also left us several very fine volumes on historical and Reformational theology. You should definitely check out this small work, this important historical work, and this masterpiece”. No library would be complete without them.

[1] William Cunningham Sermons from 1828 to 1860(Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1872) p. 106

The Lord God, He is the light of the heavenly Jerusalem, and is the river of the water of life that runs, and the tree of life that grows, in the midst of the paradise of God [Rev. 21:23; 22:1-2]. The glorious excellencies and beauty of God will be what will forever entertain the minds of the saints, and the love of God will be their everlasting feast. The redeemed will indeed enjoy other things : they will enjoy the angels, and will enjoy one another; but that which they shall enjoy in the angels, or each other, or in anything else whatsoever, that will yield them delight and hapiness, will be what will be seen of God in them.1

[1]Jonathan Edwards The Works of Jonathan Edwards (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1999) vol. 17 p. 208.

Text: Ezekiel 37:1-14 (ESV)

The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. 2 And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. 3 And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” 4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. 5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. 6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”

7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8 And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. 9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.

11 Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are clean cut off.’ 12 Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. 13 And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. 14 And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.”

Introduction

The Raising of Lazarus
A few minutes ago we read the account of the resuscitation of Lazarus. If there ever was what seemed like an irreversible set of circumstances, this was it. His life was over. Dead and gone. Lazarus had fallen ill and succumbed to his disease. When our Lord came upon the scene of death and discouragement, Lazarus had already been dead for some time. Jesus sought out the tomb. He stood there in front of the grave. Our Lord stared directly into the face of death and told his old nemesis he would not have the last word. Though overcome with grief, Jesus commanded Lazarus to “Come forth!”

Sin & Death
Death is the result of the Fall and the introduction of sin into our world (Gen. 2:16, Rom. 5:12). As Paul reminds us, “the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23). Death is the just punishment we deserve because of Adam’s sin, our own sinful nature, and the actual transgressions we commit. God has promised us, as he did Adam in the Garden of Eden, that if we are disobedient to him, if we are sinful, death will be the consequence. There is no getting around the fact that death follows sin like night follows day. Even the people of God were not spared this result when they disobeyed God. The children of Israel were God’s chosen people. If anyone could get away with sin, it would seem to be Israel. And yet, this was not at all the case. Because of years stacked upon years of continued disobedience, Israel was first divided. Then it was conquered. The northern kingdom of Israel was carried off into captivity by Assyria never to return to the Promised Land or to be heard from again. Now the southern kingdom of Judah found itself overrun by Babylon.

Reference to Scripture
In this morning’s Scripture lesson we read about the vision the prophet Ezekiel had concerning the valley of dry bones. The larger context of this passage is the period of captivity. God had used the pagan nation of Babylon to capture and destroy Jerusalem and to carry off the very best of the very best of Judah to a foreign land. Ezekiel was a priest who found himself far away from home in Babylon. He daily faced the results of the sin of his people. They were being punished by God and thought of themselves as good as dead. They were experiencing God’s judgment. The wages of sin really is death.

But we know that death does not have the last word. Sin is not allowed to have its way. Even though the children of Israel were sinful and disobedient, they were part of God’s plan to address sin and death. Even though the children of Israel felt cut off from their God, from their ancestral homeland, from others of their people, God was not ignorant of their situation. However, the children of Israel were not in a position to correct the problem themselves. Like the dead man Lazarus, the children of Israel needed a divine miracle to rescue them. They needed the Word and Spirit. And we sinners are in the same predicament. While we may not find ourselves taken from our homeland and families, we are just as sinful and just as dead and, apart from the grace of Christ, just as much under the curse of God.

Thesis & Outline
It would take a mighty act of God to reverse the situation in which the children of Israel find themselves. It is just as true for us. This morning I want to first take us through the experience of the valley of dry bones. Then, second, I want us to consider our own sin and death. Third and finally, I want us to concentrate on our Lord’s life, death, burial, and resurrection as the answer to our own sentence of judgement and death. Jesus is the only way for us to experience a miracle like Ezekiel witnessed in the valley of dry bones. Only the supernatural Word and Spirit of God can reverse the effects of the divine death sentence. Can these bones live? With man it is impossible. But with God all things are possible!

You can read the rest here.