And God
said
unto Abraham,
Let it
not be grievous
in thy sight
because
of the lad,
and
because of thy bondwoman;
in all
that Sarah
hath said
unto thee,
hearken
unto her voice;
for in Isaac
shall
thy seed
be called.
And
also of the son
of the bondwoman
will
I make a nation,
because
he
is thy seed.
And in very deed
for this cause
have
I raised thee up,
for to shew
in thee my power;
and that my name
may be declared
throughout all
the earth.
And he said,
I will make
all my goodness
pass
before thee,
and
I will proclaim
the name
of the LORD
before thee;
and will be gracious
to whom
I will be gracious,
and will shew
mercy on whom
I will shew mercy.
The LORD
did not set
his love
upon you,
nor choose you,
because
ye were more
in number
than any people;
for ye were
the fewest
of all people:
But
because
the LORD
loved you,
and
because
he would keep
the oath
which he
had sworn
unto your fathers,
hath
the LORD
brought
you out
with a mighty hand,
and redeemed you
out of the house
of bondmen,
from the hand
of Pharaoh king
of Egypt.
Only the LORD
had
a delight in thy
fathers
to love them,
and he
chose
their seed
after them,
even you above all people,
as it is this day.
When the Most High
divided
to the nations
their inheritance,
when he
separated
the sons
of Adam,
he set
the bounds
of the people
according to the number
of the children
of Israel.
For it
was of the LORD
to harden their hearts,
that they
should come
against Israel
in battle,
that he
might destroy them utterly,
and that they
might have
no favour,
but that
he might destroy them,
as the LORD
commanded Moses.
For the LORD
will not forsake
his people
for his great name's sake:
because
it hath pleased
the LORD to make
you his people.
Wherefore
the king
hearkened not
unto the people;
for the cause
was from the LORD,
that he
might perform
his saying,
which the LORD
spake by Ahijah
the Shilonite
unto Jeroboam
the son
of Nebat.
And
he said unto him,
Thus saith the LORD,
Because
thou hast let go
out of thy hand a man
whom
I appointed
to utter destruction,
therefore thy life
shall go
for his life,
and thy people
for his people.
Hast
thou not heard long
ago how
I have done it,
and of ancient
times that
I have formed it?
now have
I brought it
to pass,
that thou
shouldest be
to lay waste fenced cities
into ruinous heaps.
But
I have chosen
Jerusalem,
that my name
might be there;
and have chosen
David to be
over my people Israel.
But
he is in one mind,
and
who can turn him?
and
what his soul desireth,
even
that he doeth.
For he
performeth
the thing
that is appointed for me:
and many such things
are with him.
Blessed
is the nation
whose God
is the LORD;
and the people whom
he hath chosen
for his own inheritance.
Blessed is the man whom
thou choosest,
and causest
to approach
unto thee,
that he
may dwell
in thy courts:
we shall be satisfied
with the goodness
of thy house,
even of thy holy temple.
Moreover he
refused
the tabernacle
of Joseph,
and chose not
the tribe
of Ephraim:
But chose
the tribe
of Judah,
the mount Zion
which he loved.
He chose David
also his servant,
and took him
from the sheepfolds:
From following
the ewes great
with young
he brought him
to feed Jacob
his people,
and Israel
his inheritance.
So he
fed them according to
the integrity
of his heart;
and guided them
by the skilfulness
of his hands.
He sent a man
before them,
even Joseph,
who was sold
for a servant:
Whose feet
they hurt
with fetters:
he was laid
in iron:
Until the time
that his word came:
the word
of the LORD
tried him.
The king
sent and loosed him;
even the ruler
of the people,
and let him
go free.
He made him
lord
of his house,
and ruler
of all his substance:
To bind his princes
at his pleasure;
and teach
his senators wisdom.
For the LORD
hath chosen Jacob
unto himself,
and Israel
for his peculiar treasure.
The LORD
hath made all things
for himself:
yea,
even the wicked
for the day
of evil.
Yet now hear,
O Jacob my servant;
and Israel,
whom
I have chosen:
Thus
saith
the LORD
that made thee,
and formed thee
from the womb,
which will help thee;
Fear not,
O Jacob,
my servant;
and thou,
Jesurun,
whom I have chosen.
And who,
as I,
shall call,
and shall declare it,
and set it
in order for me,
since I
appointed
the ancient people?
and the things
that are coming,
and shall come,
let them
shew unto them.
Then
the word
of the LORD
came unto me,
saying,
Before I
formed thee
in the belly
I knew thee;
and before thou
camest forth
out of the womb
I sanctified thee,
and
I ordained thee
a prophet
unto the nations.
I have loved you,
saith the LORD.
Yet ye say,
Wherein
hast thou loved us?
Was not
Esau Jacob's brother?
saith the LORD:
yet
I loved Jacob,
And I
hated Esau,
and laid
his mountains
and his heritage waste
for the dragons
of the wilderness.
At that time Jesus
answered
and said,
I thank thee,
O Father,
Lord
of heaven
and earth,
because
thou hast
hid these things
from the wise
and prudent,
and hast revealed them
unto babes.
Even so,
Father:
for so
it seemed good
in thy sight.
So the last
shall be first,
and the first last:
for many
be called,
but few chosen.
And
he saith unto them,
Ye shall drink indeed
of my cup,
and be baptized
with the baptism
that I
am baptized with:
but to sit
on my right hand,
and on my left,
is not mine
to give,
but it
shall be given
to them
for whom it
is prepared
of my Father.
And
except those days
should be shortened,
there should
no flesh
be saved:
but for the elect's sake
those days
shall be shortened.
Then shall two
be in the field;
the one
shall be taken,
and the other left.
Then shall
the King
say
unto them on his right hand,
Come,
ye blessed
of my Father,
inherit
the kingdom prepared
for you
from the foundation
of the world:
And
except that
the Lord
had shortened
those days,
no flesh
should be saved:
but for the elect's sake,
whom
he hath chosen,
he hath shortened
the days.
For false Christs
and false prophets
shall rise,
and shall shew
signs
and wonders,
to seduce,
if it
were possible,
even the elect.
But I
tell you
of a truth,
many widows
were in Israel
in the days
of Elias,
when the heaven
was shut
up three years
and six months,
when great famine
was throughout all
the land;
But unto none of them
was
Elias sent,
save
unto Sarepta,
a city of Sidon,
unto a woman
that was a widow.
And many lepers
were in Israel
in the time
of Eliseus
the prophet;
and none of them
was cleansed,
saving Naaman
the Syrian.
And he said,
Unto you
it is given
to know the mysteries
of the kingdom
of God:
but to others
in parables;
that seeing
they might not see,
and hearing
they might not understand.
Notwithstanding in this
rejoice not,
that the spirits
are subject
unto you;
but
rather rejoice,
because
your names
are written
in heaven.
And shall not
God avenge
his own elect,
which cry day and night
unto him,
though he
bear long
with them?
And truly
the Son
of man goeth,
as it was determined:
but woe
unto that man
by whom
he is betrayed!
All
that the Father giveth me
shall come to me;
and him
that cometh to me
I will in no wise cast out.
And this
is the Father's
will
which hath sent me,
that of all which
he hath given me
I should lose
nothing,
but should raise it up
again at the last day.
No man
can come to me,
except the Father
which hath sent me
draw him:
and I
will raise
him up
at the last day.
It is written
in the prophets,
And
they shall be all taught
of God.
Every man
therefore that
hath heard,
and hath learned
of the Father,
cometh unto me.
Ye have not chosen me,
but
I have chosen you,
and ordained you,
that ye
should go
and bring forth fruit,
and
that your fruit
should remain:
that whatsoever
ye shall ask of the Father
in my name,
he may give it you.
If ye
were of the world,
the world
would love
his own:
but
because
ye are not
of the world,
but
I have chosen you
out of the world,
therefore the world
hateth you.
As thou
hast given him
power
over all flesh,
that he
should give eternal life to
as many
as thou
hast given him.
I have manifested thy
name
unto the men
which thou
gavest me
out of the world:
thine
they were,
and
thou gavest them me;
and they
have kept thy word.
I pray for them:
I pray not
for the world,
but
for them which
thou hast given me;
for they
are thine.
Then went this
saying abroad
among the brethren,
that that disciple
should not die:
yet Jesus
said not unto him,
He shall not die;
but,
If I
will
that
he tarry
till I come,
what is
that to thee?
And
he said unto them,
It is not
for you
to know
the times
or the seasons,
which the Father
hath put in
his own power.
Him,
being delivered
by the determinate
counsel
and foreknowledge
of God,
ye have taken,
and
by wicked hands
have crucified
and slain:
For the promise
is unto you,
and to your children,
and
to all
that are afar off,
even as many
as the LORD
our God
shall call.
Praising God,
and having
favour
with all the people.
And the Lord
added
to the church
daily such as should be saved.
But those things,
which God
before had shewed
by the mouth
of all his prophets,
that Christ
should suffer,
he hath so fulfilled.
For to do whatsoever
thy hand and thy
counsel
determined before
to be done.
And
when the Gentiles
heard this,
they were glad,
and glorified
the word
of the Lord:
and as many
as were ordained
to eternal life believed.
And hath made
of one blood all nations
of men
for to dwell
on all the face
of the earth,
and hath determined
the times
before appointed,
and the bounds
of their habitation;
And he said,
The God
of our fathers
hath chosen thee,
that thou
shouldest know
his will,
and see
that Just One,
and shouldest hear
the voice
of his mouth.
Among whom are
ye also
the called
of Jesus Christ:
And we
know
that all things work together
for good
to them
that love God,
to them
who are
the called according to his purpose.
For whom
he did foreknow,
he also did predestinate
to be conformed
to the image
of his Son,
that he
might be the firstborn
among many brethren.
Moreover whom
he did predestinate,
them he
also called:
and whom
he called,
them he
also justified:
and whom
he justified,
them he
also glorified.
Who shall lay
any thing
to the charge
of God's elect?
It is
God
that justifieth.
(For the children
being not yet born,
neither having done any good
or evil,
that the purpose
of God
according to election
might stand,
not of works,
but of him that calleth;)
It was said
unto her,
The elder
shall serve
the younger.
As it is written,
Jacob
have
I loved,
but Esau
have I hated.
What shall
we say then?
Is there unrighteousness
with God?
God forbid.
For he
saith to Moses,
I will have
mercy on whom
I will have mercy,
and I
will have
compassion
on whom
I will have compassion.
So then it
is not
of him that willeth,
nor of him that runneth,
but of God
that sheweth mercy.
For the scripture
saith unto Pharaoh,
Even for this same purpose
have
I raised thee up,
that I
might shew
my power
in thee,
and that my name
might be declared
throughout all
the earth.
Therefore hath
he mercy on whom
he will have mercy,
and whom
he will
he hardeneth.
And that
he might make
known
the riches
of his glory
on the vessels
of mercy,
which he
had afore
prepared unto glory,
Even us,
whom
he hath called,
not of the Jews only,
but also of the Gentiles?
Esaias
also crieth concerning
Israel,
Though the number
of the children
of Israel
be as the sand
of the sea,
a remnant
shall be saved:
For he
will finish
the work,
and cut it short
in righteousness:
because
a short work
will
the Lord
make
upon the earth.
And
as Esaias
said before,
Except the Lord
of Sabaoth
had left us
a seed,
we had been
as Sodoma,
and been made like
unto Gomorrha.
Even so
then
at this present time
also there is
a remnant
according to
the election
of grace.
What then?
Israel hath not obtained that
which he
seeketh for;
but the election
hath obtained it,
and the rest
were blinded.
(According as it
is written,
God hath given them
the spirit
of slumber,
eyes that
they should not see,
and ears that
they should not hear;)
unto this day.
For ye
see your calling,
brethren,
how that
not many wise men
after the flesh,
not many mighty,
not many noble,
are called:
But God
hath chosen
the foolish things
of the world
to confound the wise;
and God
hath chosen
the weak things
of the world
to confound
the things which
are mighty;
And base things
of the world,
and things which
are despised,
hath
God chosen,
yea,
and things which
are not,
to bring
to nought things
that are:
That no flesh
should glory
in his presence.
But we
speak
the wisdom
of God
in a mystery,
even the hidden wisdom,
which God
ordained
before the world
unto our glory:
But
when it
pleased God,
who separated me
from my mother's womb,
and called me
by his grace,
According as he
hath chosen us
in him
before the foundation
of the world,
that we
should be holy
and
without blame
before him
in love:
Having predestinated us
unto the adoption
of children
by Jesus Christ
to himself,
according to
the good pleasure
of his will,
Having made
known
unto us the mystery
of his will,
according to
his good pleasure
which he
hath purposed
in himself:
That in the dispensation
of the fulness
of times
he might gather together
in one all things
in Christ,
both which
are in heaven,
and which
are on earth;
even in him:
In whom also
we have obtained
an inheritance,
being predestinated according to
the purpose
of him who
worketh
all things
after the counsel
of his own will:
For we
are his workmanship,
created
in Christ Jesus
unto good works,
which God
hath
before
ordained
that we
should walk in them.
According to
the eternal purpose which
he purposed
in Christ Jesus our Lord:
Put on therefore,
as the elect
of God,
holy
and beloved,
bowels
of mercies,
kindness,
humbleness
of mind,
meekness,
longsuffering;
Knowing,
brethren beloved,
your election
of God.
That ye
would walk worthy
of God,
who hath called you
unto his kingdom
and glory.
But we
are bound
to give
thanks alway
to God for you,
brethren beloved
of the Lord,
because God
hath
from the beginning
chosen you
to salvation
through sanctification
of the Spirit
and belief
of the truth:
Who hath saved us,
and called us
with an holy calling,
not according to our works,
but
according to
his own purpose
and grace,
which was given us
in Christ Jesus
before the world began,
Paul,
a servant of God,
and an apostle
of Jesus Christ,
according to the faith
of God's elect,
and the acknowledging
of the truth
which is after godliness;
In hope
of eternal life,
which God,
that cannot lie,
promised
before the world began;
Of his own
will
begat
he us
with the word
of truth,
that we
should be a kind
of firstfruits
of his creatures.
Elect according to
the foreknowledge
of God the Father,
through sanctification
of the Spirit,
unto obedience
and sprinkling
of the blood
of Jesus Christ:
Grace unto you,
and peace,
be multiplied.
Who verily was foreordained
before the foundation
of the world,
but was
manifest
in these last times
for you,
Wherefore the rather,
brethren,
give diligence
to make your calling
and election sure:
for if
ye do
these things,
ye shall never fall:
For there are certain men
crept
in unawares,
who were before
of old
ordained to this condemnation,
ungodly men,
turning the grace
of our God
into lasciviousness,
and denying
the only Lord God,
and our Lord Jesus Christ.
And all that
dwell
upon the earth
shall worship him,
whose names
are not written
in the book
of life
of the Lamb
slain
from the foundation
of the world.