Continuing our studies in this ninth chapter of Paul's Epistle to the Romans,

let us read this evening from verse 18 to verse 24.

From verse 18 to verse 24 in the ninth chapter of the Epistle to the Romans.

Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will

he harbeth. Thou wilt say then unto me, why doth he yet find fault, for who hath resisted

his will? Nay, but, o men, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed,

say to him that formed it, why hast thou made me thus? That's not the potter power over the

clay of the same lump to make one vessel unto to honour and another and to dishonour.

What if God willing to show his wrath, and to make his power known,

endured with much long suffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction,

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. Now, last Friday evening, we were dealing with the argument

in the 17th verse, where the apostle deals with the second case which he puts forward to answer the objection that he had put before us

in verse 40. There the objection was, what shall we say? Is there unrighteousness with God?

Because that is, that he has said, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated? He answers that,

as we've seen by putting forward, two cases. And the second case, in order to demonstrate

and to establish this principle that God hated Esau, while Jacob and Esau was still unborn in their mother's womb,

he demonstrates that in terms of the case of Pharaoh.

For the scripture, saith unto Pharaoh, even for this purpose, have I raised thee up?

That I might show my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.

Now, we considered the essence of that statement.

We saw that it really means that God had produced Pharaoh,

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