THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD IN THE SCRIPTURES OF TRUTH
This study compliments our study on the RESPONSIBILITY OF MAN
"I
have known men bite and grind their teeth in rage when I have been
preaching the sovereignty of God… The doctrinaires of today will allow
a God, but He must not be a King: that is to say, they choose a god who
is no god, and rather the servant than the ruler of men." (C.H.
Spurgeon MTP 36:416)
Before
we come to the relevant verses, it will greatly facilitate our
understanding of them if we read the short passage below. It is a very
perceptive and succinct observation by R.L. Dabney, one of America's
leading Reformed theologians.
"I
have argued that God's will is absolutely executed over all free
agents; and yet Scripture is full of declarations that sinful men and
devils disobey His will! There must be, therefore, a distinction
between His secret and revealed, His decretive and preceptive will.
All
God's will must be, in reality, a single, eternal, immutable act. The
distinction, therefore, is one necessitated by our limitation of
understanding, and relates only to the manifestation of the parts of
this will to the creature. By God's decretive will, we mean that will
by which He foreordains whatever comes to pass. By His preceptive, that
by which He enjoins on creatures what is right and proper for them to
do. The decretive we also call His secret will: because it is for the
most part (except as disclosed in some predictions and the
effectuation) retained in His own breast. His preceptive we call His
revealed will, because it is published to man for his guidance.
Although this distinction is beset with plausible quibbles, yet every
man is impelled to make it; for otherwise, either alternative is odious
and absurd.
Say
that God has no secret decretive will, and He wishes just what He
commands and nothing more, and we represent Him as a Being whose
desires are perpetually crossed and baffled: yea, trampled on ; the
most harassed, embarrassed, and impotent Being in the universe.
Deny
the other part of our distinction, and you represent God as acquiescing
in all the iniquities done on earth and in hell. Again, Scripture
clearly establishes the distinction. Witness all the texts already
quoted Dan 4v35/Prov 21:1/Psalm 76:10/Philippians 2:13/Romans 9:19/Eph
1:11 etc., to show that God's sovereignty overrules all the acts of men
to His purposes. Add Rom. 11:33 to end: Prov. 16:4. See also Deut.
29:29.
Special
cases are also presented, (the most emphatic possible,) in which God's
decretive will differed from His preceptive will, as to the same
individuals. See Exodus 4: 21-23; Ezekiel 3:7, with 18:31. These
authentic cases offer an impregnable bulwark against Arminian
objections; and prove that it is not Calvinism, but Inspiration, which
teaches the distinction." (D.L. Dabney: Systematic Theology p. 161)
Genesis
1:1 In the beginning, God created the Heaven and the earth.
MY COMMENTS: Here
is a basis of God's right to reign over us…He is our Creator. Not only
our Creator, but also our Sustainer (John 5:17/ Colossians 1:17) The
unsaved should consider the implications of Daniel 5:23 "The God in
whose hand thy life is… thou hast not glorified."
Genesis
17:1 I am the Almighty God…
MY COMMENTS: If God is not sovereign in all His
ways, then this statement frankly is not true. As Robert Dabney points
out above, it is but a wish rather than a fact. We cannot improve
upon the application which God Himself makes in this verse …walk before
me and be thou perfect.
Genesis
18:14 Is any thing too hard for the LORD?
MY COMMENTS: If any thing can
frustrate His purposes, then they are said to be too hard. The question
is rhetorical, presupposing a negative answer. For Sarah (context)
it meant trusting the Lord that she would have a child even when reason
(with its limits) and nature suggested otherwise. Sarah's faith in this
matter is acknowledged in Hebrews 11:11
Genesis
50:20 But as for you, ye thought evil against me: but God meant it
unto God, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people
alive.
MY COMMENTS: Here is an example of God's sovereignty at work. He overruled
the wickedness of Joseph's brethren…not merely by preventing it…but by
actually commandeering it and using it to achieve His gracious
purposes. Judah was also included in the much people kept alive and so
the Redeemer's line is secured. Would to God that we were like
Joseph who could quite as easily lost sight of this truth and sought
revenge now that his father had died. Instead there is no anger but
praise for God. The brethren's sin is not glossed over…but neither is
God's sovereignty either.
Numbers
22:18 I cannot go beyond the word of my God to do less or more.
MY COMMENTS: Good words of wicked Baalim (2 Peter 2:15-16) He recognised that God
had a decree that He could not pass beyond. When even wicked men
recognise the truth of God's sovereignty, it certainly behoves every
Christian "who walks in the light" to see them also.
Numbers
22:38 Have I now any power at all to say anything? The word that God
putteth in my mouth, that shall I speak.
MY COMMENTS: As above with the added
information that it all boiled down to a matter of power or
sovereignty. Here Balaam admits that He has no power at all to say
anything. Balaam does not merely refrain from trying to oppose this
doctrine by maintaining a sullen silence…but actually conforms to it.
Numbers
23:19 God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man,
that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he
spoken, and shall he not make it good?
MY COMMENTS: As above. Two main thoughts
here: 1 Repent here means to change the mind (for whatever reason…
moral or otherwise) Although the Bible uses the language: God repented
(Jonah 3:10 etc.,) yet this is as it appears unto us. Just as it says
that He has bodily parts when He is, in fact, a Spirit. 2 When God
speaks…He will do that which He has said. He cannot know frustration.
If there is no turning back in the things that God has declared in His
word, then it is foolish for us to do that which is contrary to them.
God cannot deny Himself (2 Timothy 2:13) However, if we are to pray for
something that is not contrary to what God has written, it might be
that God will effect a change on our behalf (as in Jonah 3:10) There is
a sense in which it may be said that Prayer changes things.
Numbers
24:13 I cannot go beyond the commandment of the LORD to do either
good or bad of mine own mind, but what the LORD saith, that will I
speak.
MY COMMENTS: As above. The control is total. It extends to either good or
bad. It overrides Balaam's mind. His will in this case must bow to the
sovereign will of God. Even though he knows that it will annoy
Balak, Balaam is still for speaking God's word. It is a truth to be
maintained despite the cost. Unfortunately Balaam's belief in the
sovereignty of God did not reach his heart. A danger for those who hold
to Calvinist truth but are not regenerated by the Spirit of God.
1
Samuel 3:18 … It is the LORD: let him do what seemeth him good.
MY COMMENTS:
Eli's faithful example. He could have justly laid the blame of the
death of his sons on their sins. However, he went deeper for his own
comfort than that and acquiesces in the sovereign hand of God.
Although there was grief and rightly so, yet there was no rebellion.
He reminds us here of Job who said in his grief: The LORD giveth and
the LORD taketh away…Blessed be the name of the LORD (1:21) We are
distinctly told that Job did not "charge God foolishly" (v22)
2
Samuel 15:31 And David said, O LORD, I pray thee, turn the counsel
of Ahithophel into foolishness.
MY COMMENTS: Athithophel's counsel was as if a
man had enquired at the oracle of God: and yet David cries unto God to
turn it to foolishness. This (as seen in the sequel) involved
intervention in the heart of Absalom. God's sovereignty never
negates our responsibility. Those who argue that prayer is unnecessary
if we believe in the sovereignty of God err knowing not the scriptures
or the power of God. God's sovereignty fuelled this prayer.
2
Chronicle 20:6 And said, O LORD God of our fathers, art not thou God
in heaven? and rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen?
and in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to
withstand thee?
MY COMMENTS: An abundance of acknowledgements of God's
sovereignty. God rules - He does not merely spectate but gets involved
in even the heathen Kingdoms who are unsympathetic to Him. In His hand
there is power and might - infinite like Himself - and none can oppose
Him. A most convincible three fold cord. Again…this truth is found
in the prayers of a child of God. Whatever a man might be in the pulpit
or in the affairs of life…he is (as it were) a Calvinist when he prays.
When he asks God to intervene - especially in the salvation of a loved
one - he is acknowledging sovereign grace. What else can God do for the
sinner except sweetly influence his will by sovereign grace? And that's
Calvinism pure and simple.
Job
5:12 He disappointeth the devices of the crafty, so that their hands
cannot perform their enterprise. He taketh the wise in their own
craftiness...
MY COMMENTS: The crafty are those skilled in the ancient art of
manipulation. God can disappoint those schemes, and like Ahithophel
above, turn them from breath taking ingenuity to utter foolishness and
failure. Paul quotes this verse in 1 Corinthians 3:19 which, if
nothing else, shows that the God of the OT is the same God as the NT.
We should ever familiarize ourselves with God's doing of old. There is
a lot of comfort to be gained from these things.
Job
9:4 He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength: who hath hardened
himself against him, and hath prospered?
MY COMMENTS: How then can He fail? His
wisdom cannot allow Him to err or to rely on guesses. He is mighty in
strength - Almighty as shown elsewhere (over 30 times Almighty appears
in Job) and none who oppose Him prosper. He is the Ultimate victor.
Two things [1] Although we are highlighting God's absolute
sovereignty…yet we should never isolate one attribute from the rest.
Here it is specifically linked to His wisdom. He is Love, Compassion
etc., as well as Sovereign. He can be opposed in his declarative will
(see Dabney above) but this ends in disaster.
Job
9:12 Behold, he taketh away, who can hinder him? who will say unto
him, What doest thou?
MY COMMENTS: But Mark 6:6 says: He could do there no
mighty work… because of their unbelief? Was He not hindered then? We
can conclude that He had not determined by decree to do any mighty work
there, otherwise they would have been given faith or at least
restrained from such rampant unbelief. The Lord is not answerable
to any. It is not for us to reason why. The secret things belong unto
the Lord, but the things that are revealed are for us and our children
(Deuteronomy 29:29) Let us therefore keep to the things revealed rather
than dabbling in those which are hidden.
Job
10:7 Thou knowest that I am not wicked; and there is none that can
deliver out of thine hand.
MY COMMENTS: The power of God's hand. Once He grips,
none can smash or loose it. He has a firm control on everything - the
steady hand on the tiller. A great text regarding the eternal
security of the people of God. I give unto them] eternal life; and they
shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
(John 10:28) A cause of rejoicing.
Job
12:14 Behold, he breaketh down, and it cannot be built again: he
shutteth up a man, and there can be no opening.
MY COMMENTS: Absolute dominion.
The final word. How puny man is in contrast to God. Yet proud man
thinks that he has banished God from His own universe. We need to
avoid being "shut up" into a place where there "can be no opening"
Better to seek God as your "rock and fortress" and see that He brings
you "into a large place" (Psalm 18:2/19)
Job
23:13 But he is in one mind, and who can turn him? and what his soul
desireth, even that he doeth.
MY COMMENTS: While we may find it necessary to
see God's will being preceptive or decretive, yet the decree is one to
God. If a double minded man is unstable in all His ways, how much more
a double minded God? CLICK HERE FOR CHS SERMON ON THIS TEXT
Job
33:13 Why dost thou strive against him? for he giveth not account of
any of his matters.
MY COMMENTS: He is answerable to none. When He explains
why…He is graciously condescends to do so. Elihu supplies the
application himself - why do men strive against God? It is a futile
operation. Note, however, his pastoral application in Job's case was a
disaster…even if his doctrine is sound.
Job
34:29 When he giveth quietness, who then can make trouble? and when
he hideth his face, who then can behold him? whether it be done against
a nation, or against a man only:
MY COMMENTS: Again the absolutes are awe
inspiring. God deals with nations and also with individuals. It is as
easy with God to deal with one as with the other. What a word for
the troubled and anxious child of God. When God gives you peace, He
arrays all His sovereign might to secure that no one throws even a
pebble and ripples your placid pond. David ate his full at a table
spread in the midst of his enemies (Psalm 23:5)
Job
40:2 Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct him? he
that reproveth God, let him answer it.
MY COMMENTS: As above (Job 9:4) God's
sovereignty is allied to His other attributes. Here again it is wisdom.
Why do men fear this doctrine? Usually after some heart rending
disaster or atrocity, the old cry goes up "How could God allow this?"
It would be a different thing if they sat back and said: "How would I
run the world?" The fact is that the world cannot be run any wiser than
God runs it.
Job 42:2 I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee.
MY COMMENTS: "And there is no thought of thine, which thou canst be hindered from bringing into execution. " (John Wesley!)
Psalm
2:1-4 Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?
The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel
together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, Let us
break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that
sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in
derision.
MY COMMENTS: It is altogether a vain thing for even kings to take
counsel together against the LORD and His Christ. Powerful people
though they may be in their own right…yet their combined strength is
totally insufficient to overthrow God's purposes. So much so that God
laughs in derision at their puny attempt. When wicked men oppose
you in your work for God, learn to laugh with God. The Apostles quoted
this Psalm in prayer to God with great fervour in their time of
persecution (Acts 4:25-27)
CLICK HERE FOR CHS SERMON ON THIS TEXT
Psalm
33:9 For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.
MY COMMENTS: As easy as that! No queues! No hassles! No cap in hand requests!
No hard tasks! No effort! He spake…it was done. The centurion with
the dying servant knew how to apply this truth: The centurion answered
and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof:
but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. (Matthew 8:8)
Psalm
33:10 The LORD bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought: he
maketh the devices of the people of none effect.
MY COMMENTS: He can only do
this by positively intervening in the affairs of men. We had the
example above of David praying that God would make the counsel of
Ahithophel of none effect. (2 Samuel 15:31)
Psalm
33:11 The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever, the thoughts of
his heart to all generations.
MY COMMENTS: The counsel of the LORD only stands
at all because it cannot fail. A disappointed God, frustrated by the
designs of His own creatures, cannot be said to stand at all. It does
not stand only for a while…but to all generations. God says: I
counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire..etc,. (Revelation
3:18) This is good counsel. Whatever other counsel you receive…it will
not match this.
Psalm
47:8 God reigneth over the heathen: God sitteth upon the throne of
his holiness.
MY COMMENTS: God's sovereignty does not merely apply to those who
gladly accept it i.e. His own people, but even those who would reject
it. Abraham pleaded with God for Lot in Sodom on the basis of His
sovereign holiness: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?
(Genesis 18:25)
Psalm
76:10 Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee: the remainder of
wrath shalt thou restrain.
MY COMMENTS: What a wonder is this. Although the
wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. (James 1:20) i.e. we
cannot do the work of God in a spirit of anger etc., yet God can still
take the wrath of the ungodly and use it for His immediate glory. His
hand holds the reins tightly so that wicked man cannot do all that they
would desire. I think it was Calvin who wrote: "The devil may go
about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour…but there is a bit
in his mouth and God holds the reins." This ought to steel us for any
battle. It is not a free for all. There is a boundary line over which
the wicked cannot pass and even when they are doing their worst…God is
using it for His glory…else He would have not have permitted it to
happen.
Psalm
93:1 The LORD reigneth, he is clothed with majesty; the LORD is
clothed with strength, wherewith he hath girded himself: the world also
is stablished, that it cannot be moved.
MY COMMENTS: Clearly taught. The Lord
reigneth. It would be a poor reign (indeed a non reign) if He could not
do what He so desired. But He is clothed with majesty - and He is
clothed with strength which certainly does not give the impression that
He just about gets His way! The world hangs on naked space yet it
is established and cannot be moved. Do you not think that if God can do
that to our vast spinning globe and has done ever since its
inception…then your problems pale into insignificance?
Psalm
97:1 The LORD reigneth; let the earth rejoice; let the multitude of
isles be glad thereof.
MY COMMENTS: Again…clearly stated. The Lord reigns.
David certainly believed it. He keeps saying it. The verse carries
its own exhortation. We are to rejoice. Some say that the doctrine of
God's sovereignty is what they call "a family secret" God doesn't think
so. He says it a world wide matter.
Psalm
99:1 The LORD reigneth; let the people tremble: he sitteth between
the cherubims; let the earth be moved.
MY COMMENTS: Again…clearly stated. The
Lord reigns. Again, the verse carries its own exhortation. This
time we are to tremble. We are to alternate between feelings of joy and
feelings of awe. We are certainly not to get giddy about this doctrine.
Psalm
115:3 But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he
hath pleased.
MY COMMENTS: Every single event in the history of the world must
be viewed through these glasses. Did Pharaoh perish at the Red
Sea? Why? Although we may say that he had no faith (True) yet Romans
9:16-17 traces it beyond this to the sovereignty of God. Pharaoh is
certainly responsible for his unbelief, but we can also say that God
allowed Him to remain in that wicked condition when He could have done
otherwise.
Psalm
135:6 Whatsoever the LORD pleased, that did he in heaven, and in
earth, in the seas, and all deep places.
MY COMMENTS: As above…note the
universal sphere of His reign. There is not a place in the universe
where God's sceptre does not bear rule. In these Psalms, designed
to be sung, the ancient people of God made these truths a matter of
praise. Some believers will hardly allow them to be mentioned at all or
speak about them in hushed tones. Not the Psalmist who wrote them to be
sung.
Proverbs
16:1 The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the
tongue, is from the LORD.
MY COMMENTS: Even though James 3:8 says that man
cannot tame his own tongue (never mind that of another) yet God has no
problems here. And so we need to look continually to the Lord in
matters that relate to these things. Get to the root.
Proverbs
16:4 The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked
for the day of evil.
MY COMMENTS: Another way of wording to the truth of Romans
11:36. Even the wicked fall within the gambit of God's sovereign rule.
How bothersome the wicked can be to the people of God. Take
comfort in this verse if such are bothersome to you. Although they are
responsible for their wicked designs, God has another design which
brings Him the glory. Mighty!
Proverbs
16:9 A man's heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his
steps.
MY COMMENTS: As the saying goes… Man supposes but God disposes.
Happy is that man who can say like Eliezer of old: I being in the way,
the Lord led me (Genesis 24:27)
Proverbs
19:21 There are many devices in a man's heart; nevertheless the
counsel of the LORD, that shall stand.
MY COMMENTS: As above, only the intensity
of the truth is here established. There are many devices in man's heart
but although this is so (a strong case) it is the counsel of the Lord
that shall stand. Better then to follow the counsel of the Lord.
Never feel overpowered by the ingenuity or apparent strength of the
wicked. God's counsel will stand when man's puny rebellion is blasted
away.
Proverbs
16:33 The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof
is of the Lord.
MY COMMENTS: Even the smallest of issues is covered by the
sovereignty of God. The whole disposing is entirely in God's hands.
It is good to apply these great truths to the smallest of issues.
Often it is the little things that can cause us the greatest bother.
But fret not thyself in these matters.
Proverbs
20:24 Man's goings are of the LORD; how can a man then understand
his own way?
MY COMMENTS: Man is neither a robot or a moron and the verse is
not intended to suggest such. Simply… man cannot explain himself… his
origins... purpose…destiny etc., apart from God. It is good for us
to be grounded in the truths of Scripture. When men scratch their heads
baffled, we have answers when we believe in the Sovereignty of God.
Proverbs
21:1 The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of
water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.
MY COMMENTS: God is not able to
overthrow the wicked devices merely of the weakest of people. But with
what ease can he turn the heart of even the King, and not merely to a
limited choice of places but whithersoever. Perhaps this verse is
nowhere better demonstrated than in the case of the mighty and self
styled "King of kings" Nebuchadnezzar. Yet God calls him "my servant"
(Jeremiah 27:6) because that's simply what he was.
Proverbs
21:30 There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the
LORD.
MY COMMENTS: Here the secret will of God is evidently in view. It is
absolute. It admits of no failure. It decrees and nothing can oppose
it. his ought to strengthen us no end. It is awesome. God is in
complete control. There is nothing that can ever upset the plan of God.
Think of all the intelligentsia so called out there that proudly
proclaim that God is dead. All that they will do. Their counsel will
not stand…only God's.
Ecclesiastes
3:14 I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever:
nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth
it, that men should fear before him.
MY COMMENTS: God's will or work cannot be
overthrown. It cannot be turned back. It is forever. It cannot be
improved or denigrated in any way. The exhortation is in the verse
itself…that we may fear God. Not with a servile fear…but respect Him…
reverence Him, especially as He has revealed Himself to us in His word.
Isaiah
7:5-7 Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, have taken
evil counsel against thee, saying, Let us go up against Judah, and vex
it, … Thus saith the Lord GOD, It shall not stand, neither shall it
come to pass.
MY COMMENTS: Powerful foes indeed with evil counsel and cruel
plans. But God can calmly say that their counsel shall not stand. This
is not a weak God whistling in the dark, trying to bluff His way out of
a tight corner, or employing words based on hope rather than fact all
designed to lift the spirits of the discouraged. Cling unto
verses like these. Here is a great "Thus saith the Lord" which we can
use sword like (Ephesians 6:17) against any foe…not least Satan
himself.
Isaiah
8:10 Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought; speak the
word, and it shall not stand: for God is with us.
MY COMMENTS: If God is with
us then unlimited sovereignty is on our side. Speaking in faith
(as opposed to presumption) we may challenge the forces of darkness
with words like these.
Isaiah
14:24 The LORD of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have
thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it
stand:
MY COMMENTS: Note all the positive words here. He is the Lord of hosts.
Here His sovereignty is joined to His might. He has sworn. He employs
the word Surely and therefore He states the case clearly. His purposes
will stand. In a friendly debate with a non Calvinist, I put to him
whilst it could be said (on the basis of 1 Timothy 2:4) that God wills
that all men be saved, yet it could never be said He had purposed to
save all men i.e. every last fallen member of Adam's race. Had He so
purposed, then every last fallen member would be in Heaven.
Isaiah
14:27 For the LORD of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul
it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?
MY COMMENTS: Who
indeed? With verse like this at your back…how can we hold back in
our evangelism? There is a people out there whom God has purposed
through the indiscriminate preaching of the gospel to save. You cannot
fail…go to it.
Isaiah
23:9 The LORD of hosts hath purposed it, to stain the pride of all
glory, and to bring into contempt all the honourable of the earth.
MY COMMENTS: And so it shall be done. Are we among the honourable of the earth
but not yet among the honourable of Heaven (as in 1 Samuel 2:30) then
be sure that God's purpose to bring us to contempt can never ever be
halted. Seek the Lord. Be found "accepted in the Beloved" (Ephesians
2:6)
Isaiah
28:29 This also cometh forth from the LORD of hosts, which is
wonderful in counsel, and excellent in working.
MY COMMENTS: God could not be
said to be excellent in working if He fails to achieve that which He
set out to do. He would be like the man who was mocked because He
started to build but could not complete it (Luke 14:28-30) God's
sovereignty is tied in to His counsel which is wonderful. It is sad to
hear fellow believers slight what God has purposed (to save many but
not all) as if it were something awful.
Isaiah
43:13 Yea, before the day was, I am he; and there is none can
deliver out of my hand; I will work, and who will let it.
MY COMMENTS: Again…who
indeed? These would be very dangerous questions… indeed foolish…if the
answer was otherwise than "none" John 10:28-29 assures the
believer (who is the Lord's workmanship: Ephesians 2:10) that He is in
the hands of God. None can deliver us from God's hand …not even Satan
himself (Romans 8:35-39)
Isaiah
45:9 Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd
strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that
fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands?
MY COMMENTS: The woe here is pronounced because such striving against the purposes
of God is to no avail. The woe could not be pronounced if the
resistance proved itself to be successful. Such proclamations do
not prevent men from trying. Happy is that man who early learns the
folly of such action. No matter what gains he thinks that he has
made…he only earns for himself the woe of heaven.
Isaiah
46:10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times
the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I
will do all my pleasure: MY COMMENTS: Again…what words can be clearer than
these? They are absolute. What advantage is it to the child of
God to try and whittle down these words? Do we want a God who is less
than completely sovereign? A God whose counsel is somewhat dodgy and
whose pleasure is subject to outside influences which may or may not
avail?
Isaiah
46:11 Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth
my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring
it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.
MY COMMENTS: God has spoken
and that word cannot return unto Him void. The purpose and the doing of
it are all contained in the one breath. Gill applies this
description of the ravenous bird to King Cyrus who was a wicked man.
But then even the wicked in their rebellion are subject to the decree
of God.
Jeremiah
4:28 For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be
black: because I have spoken it, I have purposed it, and will not
repent, neither will I turn back from it.
MY COMMENTS: Again, the speaking and
the purposing of it which will surely go through. We may speak but
often there is an eating of words. We are unable to follow through. See
above on Numbers 23:19 for an explanation on those verses which
speaking of God repenting. See above on Numbers 23:19
Jeremiah
23:20 The anger of the LORD shall not return, until he have
executed, and till he have performed the thoughts of his heart: in the
latter days ye shall consider it perfectly.
MY COMMENTS: If referring to God's
secretive will…then the thoughts of His heart will, without any doubt,
be executed and absolutely performed. Meanwhile we should try and
consider it perfectly now. While there is much that we cannot know at
all (Deuteronomy 29:29) or must until hereafter to know (John 13:8) yet
we should, as much as some things are revealed, seek to learn about
them here and now. Hence these studies.
Jeremiah
32:27 Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any
thing too hard for me?
MY COMMENTS: No…because, LORD, thou art absolutely
sovereign. We may tap into this absolute power of God by faith
(Matthew 17:20)
Jeremiah
51:29 And the land shall tremble and sorrow: for every purpose of
the LORD shall be performed against Babylon, to make the land of
Babylon a desolation without an inhabitant.
MY COMMENTS: What! Every purpose of
the Lord shall be performed? Yes…exactly just what it says.
Although not fitting that we should always rejoice here and now in the
wrath of God against sinners…yet we are not unmindful that the saints
in Heaven rejoice over the fall of Babylon the Great.
Laments
3:37 Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass, when the Lord
commandeth it not?
MY COMMENTS: Any takers? Jeremiah, an oft afflicted
man, learns even in his sore lament, to fall back upon this most
comforting of doctrines.
Daniel
4:17 … that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the
kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up
over it the basest of men.
MY COMMENTS: The choice here is God's. He gives that
most powerful of possessions - the kingdom - to the one whom He
desires. We live in a day when men fear countries who are known as
"nuclear powers" yet we may be assured that they are only such because
God has allowed them such a degree of power. The most powerful "force"
still in the universe is God Himself.
Daniel
4:25 … till thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of
men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.
MY COMMENTS: Context of these words is
that the mighty Nebuchadnezzar was going to become as a beast of the
field…all because He failed to acknowledge that God was sovereign and
not he. See above in Daniel 4:17
Daniel
4:35 And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing:
and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the
inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him,
What doest thou?
MY COMMENTS: Sovereignty linked again to power. He does
according to His will both in Heaven and in earth. None can stay His
hand, nor even challenge Him forcing Him to withdraw or redraw His
plans. The Lord Jesus taught us to pray: Thy will be done on earth
as it is in Heaven. (Matthew 6:10) With verses like this one in Daniel
in God's word, we have all the fuel we need to pray.
Daniel
5:23 …the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy
ways, hast thou not glorified.
MY COMMENTS: All our ways are in God. He
intervenes in each step of men's lives, because He has ordained
whatsoever comes to pass. These things being so, we can either own
Him as our Lord and so glorify Him… or seek foolishly to oppose Him and
pay the awful price. We must live with the consequences of both.
Matthew
11:25-26 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.
MY COMMENTS: Having reproved those
cities wherein He did His great works for not repenting (and so
confirming both their responsibility and wickedness) Christ
acknowledges God's act of preterition…i.e. when He decided to leave
them in their deserved darkness. This act of preterition was entirely
sovereign, although their damnation is earned by their non
repentance. Christ not only acknowledged these truths, but found
room to rejoice in them as well. He did not gloat, but He rejoiced in
the sovereign will of God. So should we.
Matthew
20:15 Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is
thine eye evil, because I am good?
MY COMMENTS: The answer is: "Yes" Much of
men's hatred of this doctrine stems either from their misunderstanding
of it - they imagine God to be a monster - or their own wickedne