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           Title: The Sovereignty of God
      Creator(s): Pink, A.W. (1886-1952)
          Rights: Public Domain
   CCEL Subjects: All;
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                             THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD

By: A.W. PINK
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                                    FOREWORD
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FOREWORD TO THE FIRST EDITION

   In the following pages an attempt has been made to examine anew in the
   light of God's Word some of the profoundest questions which can engage
   the human mind. Others have grappled with these mighty problems in days
   gone by and from their labours we are the gainers. While making no
   claim for originality the writer, nevertheless, has endeavoured to
   examine and deal with his subject from an entirely independent
   viewpoint. We have studied diligently the writings of such men as
   Augustine and Acquinas, Calvin and Melanethon, Jonathan Edwards and
   Ralph Erskine, Andrew Fuller and Robert Haldane [1] . And sad it is to
   think that these eminent and honoured names are almost entirely unknown
   to the present generation. Though, of course, we do not endorse all
   their conclusions, yet we gladly acknowledge our deep indebtedness to
   their works. We have purposely refrained from quoting freely from these
   deeply taught theologians, because we desired that the faith of our
   readers should stand not in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
   For this reason we have quoted freely from the Scriptures and have
   sought to furnish proof-texts for every statement we have advanced.

   It would be foolish for us to expect that this work will meet with
   general approval. The trend of modern theology-if theology it can be
   called-is ever toward the deification of the creature rather than the
   glorification of the Creator, and the leaven of present-day Rationalism
   is rapidly permeating the whole of Christendom. The malevolent effects
   of Darwinianism are more far reaching than most are aware. Many of
   those among our religious leaders who are still regarded as orthodox
   would, we fear, be found to be very heterodox if they were weighed in
   the balances of the Sanctuary. Even those who are clear intellectually,
   upon other truths, are rarely sound in doctrine. Few, very few, today,
   really believe in the complete ruin and total depravity of man. Those
   who speak of man's "free will," and insist upon his inherent power to
   either accept or reject the Saviour, do but voice their ignorance of
   the real condition of Adam's fallen children. And if there are few who
   believe that, so far as he is concerned, the condition of the sinner is
   entirely hopeless, there are fewer still who really believe in the
   absolute Sovereignty of God.

   In addition to the widespread effects of unscriptural teaching, we also
   have to reckon with the deplorable superficiality of the present
   generation. To announce that a certain book is a treatise on doctrine
   is quite sufficient to prejudice against it the great bulk of
   church-members and most of our preachers as well. The craving today is
   for something light and spicy, and few have patience, still less
   desire, to examine carefully that which would make a demand both upon
   their hearts and their mental powers. We remember, also, how that it is
   becoming increasingly difficult in these strenuous days for those who
   are desirous of studying the deeper things of God to find the time
   which such study requires. Yet, it is still true that "Where there's a
   will, there's a way," and in spite of the discouraging features
   referred to, we believe there is even now a godly remnant who will take
   pleasure in giving this little work a careful consideration, and such
   will, we trust, find in it "Meat in due season."

   We do not forget the words of one long since passed away, namely, that
   "Denunciation is the last resort of a defeated opponent." To dismiss
   this book with the contemptuous epithet--"Hyper-Calvinism!" will not be
   worthy of notice. For controversy we have no taste, and we shall not
   accept any challenge to enter the lists against those who might desire
   to debate the truths discussed in these pages. So far as our personal
   reputation is concerned, that we leave our Lord to take care of, and
   unto Him we would now commit this volume and whatever fruit it may
   bear, praying Him to use it for the enlightening of His own dear people
   (insofar as it is in accord with His Holy Word) and to pardon the
   writer for and preserve the reader from the injurious effects of any
   false teaching that may have crept into it. If the joy and comfort
   which have come to the author while penning these pages are shared by
   those who may scan them, then we shall be devoutly thankful to the One
   whose grace alone enables us to discern spiritual things.

   June 1918 Arthur W. Pink.
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   [1] Among those who have dealt most helpfully with the subject of God's
   Sovereignty in recent years we mention Drs. Rice, J. B. Moody, and
   George S. Bishop, from whose writings we have also received
   instruction.
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FOREWORD TO THE SECOND EDITION

   It is now two years since the first edition of this work was presented
   to the Christian public. Its reception has been far more favourable
   than the author had expected. Many have notified him of the help and
   blessing received from a perusal of his attempts to expound what is
   admittedly a difficult subject. For every word of appreciation we
   return hearty thanks to Him in Whose light we alone "see light." A few
   have condemned the book in unqualified terms, and these we commend to
   God and to the Word of His grace, remembering that it is written, "a
   man can receive nothing, except it be given him from Heaven" (John
   3:27). Others have sent us friendly criticisms and these have been
   weighed carefully, and we trust that, in consequence, this revised
   edition will be unto those who are members of the household of faith
   more profitable than the former one.

   One word of explanation seems to be called for. A number of respected
   brethren in Christ felt that our treatment of the Sovereignty of God
   was too extreme and one-sided. It has been pointed out that a
   fundamental requirement in expounding the Word of God is the need of
   preserving the balance of Truth. With this we are in hearty accord. Two
   things are beyond dispute: God is Sovereign, and man is a responsible
   creature. But in this book we are treating of the Sovereignty of God,
   and while the responsibility of man is readily owned, yet, we do not
   pause on every page to insist on it; instead, we have sought to stress
   that side of the Truth which in these days is almost universally
   neglected. Probably 95 per cent of the religious literature of the day
   is devoted to a setting forth of the duties and obligations of men. The
   fact is that those who undertake to expound the Responsibility of man
   are the very ones who have lost 'the balance of Truth' by ignoring,
   very largely, the Sovereignty of God. It is perfectly right to insist
   on the responsibility of man, but what of God?-has He no claims, no
   rights! A hundred such works as this are needed, ten thousand sermons
   would have to be preached throughout the land on this subject, if the
   'balance of Truth' is to be regained. The 'balance of Truth' has been
   lost, lost through a disproportionate emphasis being thrown on the
   human side, to the minimising, if not the exclusion, of the Divine
   side. We grant that this book is one-sided, for it only pretends to
   deal with one side of the Truth and that is, the neglected side, the
   Divine side. Furthermore, the question might be raised: Which is the
   more to be deplored-an over emphasising of the human side and an
   insufficient emphasis on the Divine side, or, an over emphasising of
   the Divine side and an insufficient emphasis on the human side? Surely,
   if we err at all it is on the right side. Surely, there is far more
   danger of making too much of man and too little of God, than there is
   of making too much of God and too little of man. Yea, the question
   might well be asked, Can we press God's claims too far? Can we be too
   extreme in insisting upon the absoluteness and universality of the
   Sovereignty of God?

   It is with profound thankfulness to God that, after a further two years
   diligent study of Holy Writ, with the earnest desire to discover what
   almighty God has been pleased to reveal to His children on this
   subject, we are able to testify that we see no reason for making any
   retractions from what we wrote before, and while we have re-arranged
   the material of this work, the substance and doctrine of it remains
   unchanged. May the One Who condescended to bless the first edition of
   this work be pleased to own even more widely this revision.

   ARTHUR W. PINK, 1921 SWENGEL, PA.
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FOREWORD TO THE THIRD EDITION

   That a third edition of this work is now called for, is a cause of
   fervent praise to God. As the darkness deepens and the pretensions of
   men are taking on an ever-increasing blatancy, the need becomes greater
   for the claims of God to be emphasised. As the twentieth century Babel
   of religious tongues is bewildering so many, the duty of God's servants
   to point to the one sure anchorage for the heart, is the more apparent.
   Nothing is so tranquillising and so stabilising as the assurance that
   the Lord Himself is on the Throne of the universe, "working all things
   after the counsel of His own will."

   The Holy Spirit has told us that there are in the Scriptures some
   things hard to be understood," but mark it is "hard" not "impossible!"
   A patient waiting on the Lord, a diligent comparison of Scripture with
   Scripture, often issues in a fuller apprehension of that which before
   was obscure to us. During the last ten years it has pleased God to
   grant us further light on certain parts of His Word, and this we have
   sought to use in improving our expositions of different passages. But
   it is with unfeigned thanksgiving that we find it unnecessary to either
   change or modify any doctrine contained in the former editions. Yea, as
   time goes by, we realise (by Divine grace) with ever-increasing force,
   the truth, the importance, and the value of the Sovereignty of God as
   it pertains to every branch of our lives.

   Our hearts have been made to rejoice again and again by unsolicited
   letters which have come to hand from every quarter of the earth,
   telling of help and blessing received from the former editions of this
   work. One Christian friend was so stirred by reading it and so
   impressed by its testimony, that a check was sent to be used in sending
   free copies to missionaries in fifty foreign countries, "that its
   glorious message may encircle the globe"; numbers of whom have written
   us to say how much they have been strengthened in their fight with the
   powers of darkness. To God alone belongs all the glory. May He deign to
   use this third edition to the honour of His own great Name, and to the
   feeding of His scattered and starved sheep.

   Morton's Gap, A. W. P. Kentucky 1929
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FOREWORD TO THE FOURTH EDITION

   It is with profound praise to "God most high" that another edition of
   this valuable and helpful book is now called for. Though its teaching
   runs directly counter to that which is being promulgated on every hand
   today, yet we are happy to be able to say that its circulation is
   increasing to the strengthening of the faith, comfort and hope of an
   increasing number of God's elect. We commit this new edition to Him
   whom we "delight to honour," praying that He may be pleased to bless
   its circulation to the enlightening of many more of His own, to the
   "praise of the glory of His grace," and a clearer apprehension of the
   majesty of God and His Sovereign mercy.

   I. C. HERENDEEN. 1949.
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INTRODUCTION

   Who is regulating affairs on this earth today-God, or the Devil? That
   God reigns supreme in Heaven is generally conceded; that He does so
   over this world, is almost universally denied-if not directly, then
   indirectly. More and more are men in their philosophising and
   theorising relegating God to the background. Take the material realm.
   Not only is it denied that God created everything by personal and
   direct action, but few believe that He has any immediate concern in
   regulating the works of His own hands. Everything is supposed to be
   ordered according to the (impersonal and abstract) "laws of Nature."
   Thus is the Creator banished from His own creation. Therefore we need
   not be surprised that men, in their degrading conceptions, exclude Him
   from the realm of human affairs. Throughout Christendom, with an almost
   negligible exception, the theory is held that man is "a free agent,"
   and therefore, lord of his fortunes and the determiner of his destiny.
   That Satan is to be blamed for much of the evil which is in the world
   is freely affirmed by those who, though having so much to say about
   "the responsibility of man," often deny their own responsibility, by
   attributing to the Devil what, in fact, proceeds from their own evil
   hearts (Mark 7:21-23).

   But who is regulating affairs on this earth today-God, or the Devil?
   Attempt to take a serious and comprehensive view of the world. What a
   scene of confusion and chaos confronts us on every side! Sin is
   rampant; lawlessness abounds; evil men and seducers are waxing "worse
   and worse" (2 Tim. 3:13). Today, everything appears to be out of joint.
   Thrones are creaking and tottering, ancient dynasties are being
   overturned, democracies are revolting, civilisation is a demonstrated
   failure; half of Christendom was but recently locked-together in a
   death grapple; and now that the titanic conflict is over, instead of
   the world having been made "safe for democracy," we have discovered
   that democracy is very unsafe for the world. Unrest, discontent, and
   lawlessness are rife everywhere, and none can say how soon another
   great war will be set in motion. Statesmen are perplexed and staggered.
   Men's hearts are "failing them for fear, and for looking after those
   things which are coming on the earth" (Luke 21:26). Do these things
   look as though God had full control?

   But let us confine our attention to the religious realm. After nineteen
   centuries of Gospel preaching, Christ is still "despised and rejected
   of men." Worse still, He (the Christ of Scripture) is proclaimed and
   magnified by very few. In the majority of modern pulpits He is
   dishonoured and disowned. Despite frantic efforts to attract the
   crowds, the majority of the churches are being emptied rather than
   filled. And what of the great masses of non-church goers? In the light
   of Scripture we are compelled to believe that the "many" are on the
   Broad Road that leadeth to destruction, and that only "few" are on the
   Narrow Way that leadeth unto life. Many are declaring that Christianity
   is a failure, and despair is settling on many faces. Not a few of the
   Lord's own people are bewildered, and their faith is being severely
   tried. And what of God? Does He see and hear? Is He impotent or
   indifferent? A number of those who are regarded as leaders of
   Christian-thought told us that God could not help the coming of the
   late awful War, and that He was unable to bring about its termination.
   It was said, and said openly, that conditions were beyond God's
   control. Do these things look as though God were ruling the world?

   Who is regulating affairs on this earth today-God, or the Devil? What
   impression is made upon the minds of those men of the world who,
   occasionally, attend a Gospel service? What are the conceptions formed
   by those who hear even those preachers who are counted as "orthodox?"
   Is it not that a disappointed God is the One whom Christians believe
   in? From what is heard from the average evangelist today, is not any
   serious hearer obliged to conclude that he professes to represent a God
   who is filled with benevolent intentions, yet unable to carry them out;
   that He is earnestly desirous of blessing men, but that they will not
   let Him? Then, must not the average hearer draw the inference that the
   Devil has gained the upper hand, and that God is to be pitied rather
   than blamed?

   But does not everything seem to show that the Devil has far more to do
   with the affairs of earth than God has? Ah, it all depends upon whether
   we are walking by faith, or walking by sight. Are your thoughts, my
   reader, concerning this world and God's relation to it, based upon what
   you see? Face this question seriously and honestly. And if you are a
   Christian you will, most probably, have cause to bow your head with
   shame and sorrow, and to acknowledge that it is so. Alas, in reality,
   we walk very little "by faith." But what does "walking by faith"
   signify? It means that our thoughts are formed, our actions regulated,
   our lives moulded by the Holy Scriptures, for, "faith cometh by
   hearing, and hearing by the Word of God" (Rom. 10:17). It is from the
   Word of Truth, and that alone, that we can learn what is God's relation
   to this world.

   Who is regulating affairs on this earth today-God or the Devil? What
   saith the Scriptures? Ere we consider the direct reply to this query,
   let it be said that the Scriptures predicted just what we now see and
   hear. The prophecy of Jude is in course of fulfilment. It would lead us
   too far astray from our present inquiry to fully amplify this
   assertion, but what we have particularly in mind is a sentence in verse
   8-"Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise
   dominion and speak evil of dignities." Yes, they "speak evil" of the
   Supreme Dignity, the "Only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of
   lords." Ours is peculiarly an age of irreverence, and as the
   consequence, the spirit of lawlessness, which brooks no restraint and
   which is desirous of casting off everything which interferes with the
   free course of self-will, is rapidly engulfing the earth like some
   giant tidal wave. The members of the rising generation are the most
   flagrant offenders, and in the decay and disappearing of parental
   authority we have the certain precursor of the abolition of civic
   authority. Therefore, in view of the growing disrespect for human law
   and the refusal to "render honour to whom honour is due," we need not
   be surprised that the recognition of the majesty, the authority, the
   Sovereignty of the Almighty law-giver should recede more and more into
   the background, and the masses have less and less patience with those
   who insist upon them. And conditions will not improve; instead, the
   more sure Word of Prophecy makes known to us that they will grow worse
   and worse. Nor do we expect to be able to stem the tide-it has already
   risen much too high for that. All we can now hope to do is warn our
   fellow-saints against the spirit of the age, and thus seek to
   counteract its baneful influence upon them.

   Who is regulating affairs on this earth today-God, or the Devil? What
   saith the Scriptures? If we believe their plain and positive
   declarations, no room is left for uncertainty. They affirm, again and
   again, that God is on the throne of the universe; that the sceptre is
   in His hands; that He is directing all things "after the counsel of His
   own will." They affirm, not only that God created all things, but also
   that God is ruling and reigning over all the works of His hands. They
   affirm that God is the "Almighty," that His will is irreversible, that
   He is absolute Sovereign in every realm of all His vast dominions. And
   surely it must be so. Only two alternatives are possible: God must
   either rule, or be ruled; sway, or be swayed; accomplish His own will,
   or be thwarted by His creatures. Accepting the fact that He is the
   "Most High," the only Potentate and King of kings, vested with perfect
   wisdom and illimitable power, and the conclusion is irresistible that
   He must be God in fact as well as in name.

   It is in view of what we have briefly referred to above that we say,
   Present-day conditions call loudly for a new examination and new
   presentation of God's omnipotency, God's sufficiency, God's
   Sovereignty. From every pulpit in the land it needs to be thundered
   forth that God still lives, that God still observes, that God still
   reigns. Faith is now in the crucible, it is being tested by fire, and
   there is no fixed and sufficient resting-place for the heart and mind
   but in the Throne of God. What is needed now, as never before, is a
   full, positive, constructive setting forth of the Godhood of God.
   Drastic diseases call for drastic remedies. People are weary of
   platitudes and mere generalisations-the call is for something definite
   and specific. Soothing-syrup may serve for peevish children, but an
   iron tonic is better suited for adults, and we know of nothing which is
   more calculated to infuse spiritual vigour into our frames than a
   scriptural apprehension of the full character of God. It is written,
   "The people that do know their God shall be strong and do exploits"
   (Dan. 11:32).

   Without a doubt a world-crisis is at hand, and everywhere men are
   alarmed. But God is not! He is never taken by surprise. It is no
   unexpected emergency which now confronts Him, for He is the One who
   "worketh all things after the counsel of His own will" (Eph. 1:11).
   Hence, though the world is panic-stricken, the word to the believer is,
   "Fear not!" "All things" are subject to His immediate control: "all
   things" are moving in accord with His eternal purpose, and therefore
   "all things" are "working together for good to them that love God, to
   them who are the called according to His purpose." It must be so, for
   "of Him, and through Him, and to Him are all things" (Rom. 11:36). Yet
   how little is this realised today even by the people of God! Many
   suppose that He is little more than a far-distant Spectator, taking no
   immediate hand in the affairs of earth. It is true that man is endowed
   with power, but God is all-powerful. It is true that, speaking
   generally, the material world is regulated by law, but behind that law
   is the law-Giver and law-Administrator. Man is but the creature. God is
   the Creator, and endless ages before man first saw the light "the
   mighty God" (Isa. 9:6) existed, and ere the world was founded, made His
   plans; and being infinite in power and man only finite, His purpose and
   plan cannot be withstood or thwarted by the creatures of His own hands.

   We readily acknowledge that life is a profound problem, and that we are
   surrounded by mystery on every side; but we are not like the beasts of
   the field-ignorant of their origin, and unconscious of what is before
   them. No: "We have also a more sure Word of Prophecy," of which it is
   said ye do well that ye "take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a
   dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts"
   (2 Peter 1:19). And it is to this Word of Prophecy we indeed do well to
   "take heed," to that Word which had not its origin in the mind of man
   but in the Mind of God, for, "the prophecy came not at any time by the
   will of man: but holy men of God spake moved by the Holy Spirit." We
   say again, it is to this "Word" we do well to take heed. As we turn to
   this Word and are instructed thereout, we discover a fundamental
   principle which must be applied to every problem: Instead of beginning
   with man and his world and working back to God, we must begin with God
   and work down to man-"In the beginning God!" Apply this principle to
   the present situation. Begin with the world as it is today and try and
   work back to God, and everything will seem to show that God has no
   connection with the world at all. But begin with God and work down to
   the world, and light, much light, is cast on the problem. Because God
   is holy His anger burns against sin; because God is righteous His
   judgements fall upon those who rebel against Him; because God is
   faithful the solemn threatenings of His Word are fulfilled; because God
   is omnipotent none can successfully resist Him, still less overthrow
   His counsel; and because God is omniscient no problem can master Him
   and no difficulty baffle His wisdom. It is just because God is who He
   is and what He is that we are now beholding on earth what we do-the
   beginning of His outpoured judgements: in view of His inflexible
   justice and immaculate holiness we could not expect anything other than
   what is now spread before our eyes.

   But let it be said very emphatically that the heart can only rest upon
   and enjoy the blessed truth of the absolute Sovereignty of God as faith
   is in exercise. Faith is ever occupied with God. That is the character
   of it; that is what differentiates it from intellectual theology. Faith
   endures "as seeing Him who is invisible" (Heb. 11:27): endures the
   disappointments, the hardships, and the heartaches of life by
   recognising that all comes from the hand of Him who is too wise to err
   and too loving to be unkind. But so long as we are occupied with any
   other object than God Himself there will be neither rest for the heart
   nor peace for the mind. But when we receive all that enters our lives
   as from His hand, then, no matter what may be our circumstances or
   surroundings-whether in a hovel, a prison-dungeon, or a martyr's
   stake-we shall be enabled to say, "The lines are fallen unto me in
   pleasant places" (Psa. 16:6). But that is the language of faith, not of
   sight or of sense.

   But if instead of bowing to the testimony of Holy Writ, if instead of
   walking by faith, we follow the evidence of our eyes, and reason
   therefrom, we shall fall into a quagmire of virtual atheism. Or, if we
   are regulated by the opinions and views of others, peace will be at an
   end. Granted that there is much in this world of sin and suffering
   which appals and saddens us; granted that there is much in the
   providential dealings of God which startle and stagger us; that is no
   reason why we should unite with the unbelieving worldling who says, "If
   I were God, I would not allow this or tolerate that," etc. Better far,
   in the presence of bewildering mystery, to say with one of old, "I was
   dumb, I opened not my mouth: because Thou didst it" (Psa. 39:9).
   Scripture tells us that God's judgements are "unsearchable," and His
   ways "past finding out" (Rom. 11:33). It must be so if faith is to be
   tested, confidence in His wisdom and righteousness strengthened, and
   submission to His holy will fostered.

   Here is the fundamental difference between the man of faith and the man
   of unbelief. The unbeliever is "of the world," judges everything by
   worldly standards, views life from the standpoint of time and sense,
   and weighs everything in the balances of his own carnal making. But the
   man of faith brings in God, looks at everything from His standpoint,
   estimates values by spiritual standards, and views life in the light of
   eternity. Doing this, he receives whatever comes as from the hand of
   God. Doing this, his heart is calm in the midst of the storm. Doing
   this, he "rejoices in hope of the glory of God."

   In these opening paragraphs we have indicated the lines of thought
   followed out in this book. Our first postulate is, that because God is
   God He does as He pleases, only as He pleases, always as He pleases;
   that His great concern is the accomplishment of His own pleasure and
   the promotion of His own glory; that He is the Supreme Being, and
   therefore Sovereign of the universe. Starting with this postulate we
   have contemplated the exercise of God's Sovereignty, first in Creation,
   second in Governmental Administration over the works of His hands,
   third in the Salvation of His own elect, fourth in the Reprobation of
   the wicked, and fifth in Operation upon and within men. Next we have
   viewed the Sovereignty of God as it relates to the human Will in
   particular and human Responsibility in general, and have sought to show
   what is the only becoming attitude for the creature to take in view of
   the majesty of the Creator. A separate chapter has been set apart for a
   consideration of some of the difficulties which are involved, and to
   answering the questions which are likely to be raised in the minds of
   our readers; while one chapter has been devoted to a more careful yet
   brief examination of God's Sovereignty in relation to prayer. Finally,
   we have sought to show that the Sovereignty of God is a truth revealed
   to us in Scripture for the comfort of our hearts, the strengthening of
   our souls, and the blessing of our lives. A due apprehension of God's
   Sovereignty promotes the spirit of worship, provides an incentive to
   practical godliness, and inspires zeal in service. It is deeply
   humbling to the human heart, but in proportion to the degree that it
   brings man into the dust before his Maker, to that extent is God
   glorified.

   We are well aware that what we have written is in open opposition to
   much of the teaching that is current both in religious literature and
   in the representative pulpits of the land. We freely grant that the
   postulate of God's Sovereignty with all its corollaries is at direct
   variance with the opinions and thoughts of the natural man, but the
   truth is, we are quite unable to think upon these matters: we are
   incompetent for forming a proper estimate of God's character and ways,
   and it is because of this that God has given us a revelation of His
   mind, and in that revelation He plainly declares, "My thoughts are not
   your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, saith the LORD. For as
   the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your
   ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts" (Isa. 55:8, 9). In view of
   this Scripture, it is only to be expected that much of the contents of
   the Bible conflicts with the sentiments of the carnal mind, which is
   enmity against God. Our appeal then is not to the popular beliefs of
   the day, nor to the creeds of the churches, but to the Law and
   Testimony of Jehovah. All that we ask for is an impartial and attentive
   examination of what we have written, and that made prayerfully in the
   light of the Lamp of Truth. May the reader heed the Divine admonition
   to "prove all things; hold fast that which is good" (1 Thess. 5:21).
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CHAPTER ONE
GOD'S SOVEREIGNTY DEFINED

   "Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the
   victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the
   earth is Thine; Thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and Thou art exalted as
   Head above all"
   (1 Chron. 29:11).

   The Sovereignty of God is an expression that once was generally
   understood. It was a phrase commonly used in religious literature. It
   was a theme frequently expounded in the pulpit. It was a truth which
   brought comfort to many hearts, and gave virility and stability to
   Christian character. But, today, to make mention of God's Sovereignty
   is, in many quarters, to speak in an unknown tongue. Were we to
   announce from the average pulpit that the subject of our discourse
   would be the Sovereignty of God, it would sound very much as though we
   had borrowed a phrase from one of the dead languages. Alas! that it
   should be so. Alas! that the doctrine which is the key to history, the
   interpreter of Providence, the warp and woof of Scripture, and the
   foundation of Christian theology should be so sadly neglected and so
   little understood.

   The Sovereignty of God. What do we mean by this expression? We mean the
   supremacy of God, the kingship of God, the god-hood of God. To say that
   God is Sovereign is to declare that God is God. To say that God is
   Sovereign is to declare that He is the Most High, doing according to
   His will in the army of Heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth,
   so that none can stay His hand or say unto Him what doest Thou? (Dan.
   4:35). To say that God is Sovereign is to declare that He is the
   Almighty, the Possessor of all power in Heaven and earth, so that none
   can defeat His counsels, thwart His purpose, or resist His will (Psa.
   115:3). To say that God is Sovereign is to declare that He is "The
   Governor among the nations" (Psa. 22:28), setting up kingdoms,
   overthrowing empires, and determining the course of dynasties as
   pleaseth Him best. To say that God is Sovereign is to declare that He
   is the "Only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords" (1 Tim.
   6:15). Such is the God of the Bible.

   How different is the God of the Bible from the God of modern
   Christendom! The conception of Deity which prevails most widely today,
   even among those who profess to give heed to the Scriptures, is a
   miserable caricature, a blasphemous travesty of the Truth. The God of
   the twentieth century is a helpless, effeminate being who commands the
   respect of no really thoughtful man. The God of the popular mind is the
   creation of maudlin sentimentality. The God of many a present-day
   pulpit is an object of pity rather than of awe-inspiring reverence. [2]
   To say that God the Father has purposed the salvation of all mankind,
   that God the Son died with the express intention of saving the whole
   human race, and that God the Holy Spirit is now seeking to win the
   world to Christ; when, as a matter of common observation, it is
   apparent that the great majority of our fellowmen are dying in sin, and
   passing into a hopeless eternity; is to say that God the Father is
   disappointed, that God the Son is dissatisfied, and that God the Holy
   Spirit is defeated. We have stated the issue baldly, but there is no
   escaping the conclusion. To argue that God is "trying His best" to save
   all mankind, but that the majority of men will not let Him save them,
   is to insist that the will of the Creator is impotent, and that the
   will of the creature is omnipotent. To throw the blame, as many do,
   upon the Devil, does not remove the difficulty, for if Satan is
   defeating the purpose of God, then, Satan is Almighty and God is no
   longer the Supreme Being.

   To declare that the Creator's original plan has been frustrated by sin,
   is to dethrone God. To suggest that God was taken by surprise in Eden
   and that He is now attempting to remedy an unforeseen calamity, is to
   degrade the Most High to the level of a finite, erring mortal. To argue
   that man is a free moral agent and the determiner of his own destiny,
   and that therefore he has the power to checkmate his Maker, is to strip
   God of the attribute of Omnipotence. To say that the creature has burst
   the bounds assigned by his Creator, and that God is now practically a
   helpless Spectator before the sin and suffering entailed by Adam's
   fall, is to repudiate the express declaration of Holy Writ, namely,
   "Surely the wrath of man shall praise Thee: the remainder of wrath
   shalt Thou restrain" (Psa. 76:10). In a word, to deny the Sovereignty
   of God is to enter upon a path which, if followed to its logical
   terminus, is to arrive at blank atheism.

   The Sovereignty of the God of Scripture is absolute, irresistible,
   infinite. When we say that God is Sovereign we affirm His right to
   govern the universe which He has made for His own glory, just as He
   pleases. We affirm that His right is the right of the Potter over the
   clay, i. e., that He may mold that clay into whatsoever form He
   chooses, fashioning out of the same lump one vessel unto honour and
   another unto dishonour. We affirm that He is under no rule or law
   outside of His own will and nature, that God is a law unto Himself, and
   that He is under no obligation to give an account of His matters to
   any.

   Sovereignty characterises the whole Being of God. He is Sovereign in
   all His attributes. He is Sovereign in the exercise of His power. His
   power is exercised as He wills, when He wills, where He wills. This
   fact is evidenced on every page of Scripture. For a long season that
   power appears to be dormant, and then it is put forth in irresistible
   might. Pharaoh dared to hinder Israel from going forth to worship
   Jehovah in the wilderness-what happened? God exercised His power, His
   people were delivered and their cruel task-masters slain. But a little
   later, the Amalekites dared to attack these same Israelites in the
   wilderness, and what happened? Did God put forth His power on this
   occasion and display His hand as He did at the Red Sea? Were these
   enemies of His people promptly overthrown and destroyed? No, on the
   contrary, the Lord swore that He would "have war with Amalek from
   generation to generation" (Exo. 17:16). Again, when Israel entered the
   land of Canaan, God's power was signally displayed. The city of Jericho
   barred their progress-what happened? Israel did not draw a bow nor
   strike a blow: the Lord stretched forth His hand and the walls fell
   down flat. But the miracle was never repeated! No other city fell after
   this manner. Every other city had to be captured by the sword!

   Many other instances might be adduced illustrating the Sovereign
   exercise of God's power. Take one other example. God put forth His
   power and David was delivered from Goliath, the giant; the mouths of
   the lions were closed and Daniel escaped unhurt; the three Hebrew
   children were cast into the burning fiery furnace and came forth
   unharmed and unscorched. But God's power did not always interpose for
   the deliverance of His people, for we read: "And others had trial of
   cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:
   they were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with
   the sword; they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being
   destitute, afflicted, tormented" (Heb. 11:36, 37). But why? Why were
   not these men of faith delivered like the others? Or, why were not the
   others suffered to be killed like these? Why should God's power
   interpose and rescue some and not the others? Why allow Stephen to be
   stoned to death, and then deliver Peter from prison?

   God is Sovereign in the delegation of His power to others. Why did God
   endow Methuselah with a vitality which enabled him to outlive all his
   contemporaries? Why did God impart to Samson a physical strength which
   no other human has ever possessed? Again; it is written, "But thou
   shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is He that giveth thee power to
   get wealth" (Deut. 8:18), but God does not bestow this power on all
   alike. Why not? Why has He given such power to men like Morgan,
   Carnegie, Rockefeller? The answer to all of these questions is, Because
   God is Sovereign, and being Sovereign He does as He pleases.

   God is Sovereign in the exercise of His mercy. Necessarily so, for
   mercy is directed by the will of Him that showeth mercy. Mercy is not a
   right to which man is entitled. Mercy is that adorable attribute of God
   by which He pities and relieves the wretched. But under the righteous
   government of God no one is wretched who does not deserve to be so. The
   objects of mercy, then, are those who are miserable, and all misery is
   the result of sin, hence the miserable are deserving of punishment not
   mercy. To speak of deserving mercy is a contradiction of terms.

   God bestows His mercies on whom He pleases and withholds them as
   seemeth good unto Himself. A remarkable illustration of this fact is
   seen in the manner that God responded to the prayers of two men offered
   under very similar circumstances. Sentence of death was passed upon
   Moses for one act of disobedience, and he besought the Lord for a
   reprieve. But was his desire gratified? No; he told Israel, "The LORD
   was wroth with me for your sakes, and would not hear me: and the LORD
   said unto me, Let it suffice thee" (Deut. 3:26). Now mark the second
   case: "In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet
   Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the
   LORD, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live. Then
   he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the LORD, saying, I
   beseech Thee, O LORD, remember now how I have walked before Thee in
   truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in Thy
   sight. And Hezekiah wept sore. And it came to pass, afore Isaiah was
   gone out into the middle court, that the word of the LORD came to him,
   saying, Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, Thus
   saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I
   have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou
   shalt go unto the house of the LORD. And I will add unto thy days
   fifteen years" (2 Kings 20:1-6). Both of these men had the sentence of
   death in themselves, and both prayed earnestly unto the Lord for a
   reprieve: the one wrote: "The Lord would not hear me," and died; but to
   the other it was said, "I have heard thy prayer," and his life was
   spared. What an illustration and exemplification of the truth expressed
   in Romans 9:15!-"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."

   The Sovereign exercise of God's mercy-pity shown to the wretched-was
   displayed when Jehovah became flesh and tabernacled among men. Take one
   illustration. During one of the Feasts of the Jews, the Lord Jesus went
   up to Jerusalem. He came to the Pool of Bethesda where lay "a great
   multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the
   moving of the water." Among this "great multitude" there was "a certain
   man which had an infirmity thirty and eight years." What happened?
   "When Jesus saw him He, and knew that he had been now a long time in
   that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole? The impotent man
   answer Him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me
   into the pool: but when I am coming, another steppeth down before me.
   Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk. And immediately
   the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked" (John 5:3-9).
   Why was this one man singled out from all the others? We are not told
   that he cried "Lord, have mercy on me." There is not a word in the
   narrative which intimates that this man possessed any qualifications
   which entitled him to receive special favour. Here then was a case of
   the Sovereign exercise of Divine mercy, for it was just as easy for
   Christ to heal the whole of that "great multitude" as this one "certain
   man." But He did not. He put forth His power and relieved the
   wretchedness of this one particular sufferer, and for some reason known
   only to Himself, He declined to do the same for the others. Again, we
   say, what an illustration and exemplification of Romans 9:15!-"I will
   have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on
   whom I will have compassion."

   God is Sovereign in the exercise of His love. Ah! that is a hard
   saying, who then can receive it? It is written, "A man can receive
   nothing, except it be given him from Heaven" (John 3:27). When we say
   that God is Sovereign in the exercise of His love, we mean that He
   loves whom He chooses. God does not love everybody; [3] if He did, He
   would love the Devil. Why does not God love the Devil? Because there is
   nothing in him to love; because there is nothing in him to attract the
   heart of God. Nor is there anything to attract God's love in any of the
   fallen sons of Adam, for all of them are, by nature, "children of
   wrath" (Eph. 2:3). If then there is nothing in any member of the human
   race to attract God's love, and if, notwithstanding, He does love some,
   then it necessarily follows that the cause of His love must be found in
   Himself, which is only another way of saying that the exercise of God's
   love towards the fallen sons of men is according to His own good
   pleasure. [4]

   In the final analysis, the exercise of God's love must be traced back
   to His Sovereignty or, otherwise, He would love by rule; and if He
   loved by rule, then is He under a law of love, and if He is under a law
   of love then is He not supreme, but is Himself ruled by law. "But," it
   may be asked, "Surely you do not deny that God loves the entire human
   family?" We reply, it is written, "Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I
   hated" (Rom. 9:13). If then God loved Jacob and hated Esau, and that
   before they were born or had done either good or evil, then the reason
   for His love was not in them, but in Himself.

   That the exercise of God's love is according to His own Sovereign
   pleasure is also clear from the language of Ephesians 1:3-5, where we
   read, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath
   blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
   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." It was "in
   love" that God the Father predestined His chosen ones unto the adoption
   of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, "according"-according to what?
   According to some excellency He discovered in them? No. What then?
   According to what He foresaw they would become? No; mark carefully the
   inspired answer-"According to the good pleasure of His will."

   God is Sovereign in the exercise of His grace. This of necessity, for
   grace is favour shown to the undeserving, yea, to the Hell-deserving.
   Grace is the antithesis of justice. Justice demands the impartial
   enforcement of law. Justice requires that each shall receive his
   legitimate due, neither more nor less. Justice bestows no favours and
   is no respecter of persons. Justice, as such, shows no pity and knows
   no mercy. But after justice has been fully satisfied, grace flows
   forth. Divine grace is not exercised at the expense of justice, but
   "grace reigns through righteousness" (Rom. 5:21), and if grace
   "reigns," then is grace Sovereign.

   Grace has been defined as the unmerited favour of God; [5] and if
   unmerited, then none can claim it as their inalienable right. If grace
   is unearned and undeserved, then none are entitled to it. If grace is a
   gift, then none can demand it. Therefore, as salvation is by grace, the
   free gift of God, then He bestows it on whom He pleases. Because
   salvation is by grace, the very chief of sinners is not beyond the
   reach of Divine mercy. Because salvation is by grace, boasting is
   excluded and God gets all the glory.

   The Sovereign exercise of grace is illustrated on nearly every page of
   Scripture. The Gentiles are left to walk in their own ways while Israel
   becomes the covenant people of Jehovah. Ishmael the firstborn is cast
   out comparatively unblest, while Isaac the son of his parents' old age
   is made the child of promise. Esau the generous-hearted and
   forgiving-spirited is denied the blessing, though he sought it
   carefully with tears, while the worm Jacob receives the inheritance and
   is fashioned into a vessel of honour. So in the New Testament. Divine
   Truth is hidden from the wise and prudent, but is revealed to babes.
   The Pharisees and Sadducees are left to go their own way, while
   publicans and harlots are drawn by the cords of love.

   In a remarkable manner Divine grace was exercised at the time of the
   Saviour's birth. The incarnation of God's Son was one of the greatest
   events in the history of the universe, and yet its actual occurrence
   was not made known to all mankind; instead, it was specially revealed
   to the Bethlehem shepherds and wise men of the East. And this was
   prophetic and indicative of the entire course of this dispensation, for
   even today Christ is not made known to all. It would have been an easy
   matter for God to have sent a company of angels to every nation and to
   have announced the birth of His Son. But He did not. God could have
   readily attracted the attention of all mankind to the "star"; but He
   did not. Why? Because God is Sovereign and dispenses His favours as He
   pleases. Note particularly the two classes to whom the birth of the
   Saviour was made known, namely, the most unlikely classes-illiterate
   shepherds and heathen from a far country. No angel stood before the
   Sanhedrin and announced the advent of Israel's Messiah! No "star"
   appeared unto the scribes and lawyers as they, in their pride and
   self-righteousness, searched the Scriptures! They searched diligently
   to find out where He should be born, and yet it was not made known to
   them when He was actually come. What a display of Divine
   Sovereignty-the illiterate shepherds singled out for peculiar honour,
   and the learned and eminent passed by! And why was the birth of the
   Saviour revealed to these foreigners, and not to those in whose midst
   He was born? See in this a wonderful foreshadowing of God's dealings
   with our race throughout the entire Christian dispensation-Sovereign in
   the exercise of His grace, bestowing His favours on whom He pleases,
   often on the most unlikely and unworthy. [6]
     __________________________________________________________________

   [2] Some years ago an evangelical (?) preacher of nation-wide
   reputation visited the town in which we then were, and during the
   course of his address kept repeating, "Poor God! Poor God!" Surely it
   is this "preacher" who needs to be pitied.

   [3] John 3:16 will be examined later.

   [4] We are not unmindful of the fact that men have invented the
   distinction between God's love of complacency and His love of
   compassion, but this is an invention pure and simple. Scripture terms
   the latter God's "pity" (see Matt. 18:33), and "He is kind unto the
   unthankful and the evil" (Luke 6:35)!

   [5] An esteemed friend who kindly read through this book in its
   manuscript form, and to whom we are indebted for a number of excellent
   suggestions, has pointed out that grace is something more than
   "unmerited favour." To feed a tramp who calls on me is "unmerited
   favour," but it is scarcely grace. But suppose that after robbing me I
   should feed this starving tramp-that would be "grace." Grace, then, is
   favour shown where there is positive de-merit in the one receiving it.

   [6] It has been pointed out to us that God's Sovereignty was signally
   displayed in His choice of the place where His Son was born. Not to
   Greece or Italy did the Lord of Glory come, but to the insignificant
   land of Palestine! Not in Jerusalem-the royal city-was Immanuel born,
   but in Bethlehem, which was "little among the thousands (of towns and
   villages) in Judah" (Micah 5:2)! And it was in despised Nazareth that
   He grew up!! Truly, God's ways are not ours.
     __________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER TWO
THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD IN CREATION

   "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, and honour, and power: for
   Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were
   created"
   (Rev. 4:11).

   Having shown that Sovereignty characterises the whole Being of God, let
   us now observe how it marks all His ways and dealings.

   In the great expanse of eternity which stretches behind Genesis 1:1,
   the universe was unborn and creation existed only in the mind of the
   great Creator. In His Sovereign majesty God dwelt all alone. We refer
   to that far distant period before the heavens and the earth were
   created. There were then no angels to hymn God's praises, no creatures
   to occupy His notice, no rebels to be brought into subjection. The
   great God was all alone amid the awful Silence of His own vast
   universe. But even at that time, if time it could be called, God was
   Sovereign. He might create or not create according to His own good
   pleasure. He might create this way or that way; He might create one
   world or one million worlds, and who was there to resist His will? He
   might call into existence a million different creatures and place them
   on absolute equality, endowing them with the same faculties and placing
   them in the same environment; or, He might create a million creatures
   each differing from the others, and possessing nothing in common save
   their creaturehood, and who was there to challenge His right? If He so
   pleased, He might call into existence a world so immense that its
   dimensions were utterly beyond finite computation; and were He so
   disposed, He might create an organism so small that nothing but the
   most powerful microscope could reveal its existence to human eyes. It
   was His Sovereign right to create, on the one hand, the exalted
   seraphim to burn around His throne, and on the other hand, the tiny
   insect which dies the same hour that it is born. If the mighty God
   chose to have one vast gradation in His universe, from loftiest seraph
   to creeping reptile, from revolving worlds to floating atoms, from
   macrocosm to microcosm, instead of making everything uniform, who was
   there to question His Sovereign pleasure?

   Behold then the exercise of Divine Sovereignty long before man ever saw
   the light. With whom took God counsel in the creation and disposition
   of His creatures? See the birds as they fly through the air, the beasts
   as they roam the earth, the fishes as they swim in the sea, and then
   ask, Who was it that made them to differ? Was it not their Creator who
   Sovereignly assigned their various locations and adaptations to them!

   Turn your eye to the heavens and observe the mysteries of Divine
   Sovereignty which there confront the thoughtful beholder: "There is one
   glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of
   the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory" (1 Cor.
   15:41). But why should they? Why should the sun be more glorious than
   all the other planets? Why should there be stars of the first magnitude
   and others of the tenth? Why such amazing inequalities? Why should some
   of the heavenly bodies be more favourably placed than others in their
   relation to the sun? And why should there be "shooting stars," falling
   stars, "wandering stars" (Jude 13), in a word, ruined stars? And the
   only possible answer is, "For Thy pleasure they are and were created"
   (Rev. 4:11).

   Come now to our own planet. Why should two thirds of its surface be
   covered with water, and why should so much of its remaining third be
   unfit for human cultivation or habitation? Why should there be vast
   stretches of marshes, deserts and ice-fields? Why should one country be
   so inferior, topographically, from another? Why should one be fertile,
   and another almost barren? Why should one be rich in minerals and
   another own none? Why should the climate of one be congenial and
   healthy, and another uncongenial and unhealthy? Why should one abound
   in rivers and lakes, and another be almost devoid of them? Why should
   one be constantly troubled with earthquakes, and another be almost
   entirely free from then? Why? Because thus it pleased the Creator and
   Upholder of all things.

   Look at the animal kingdom and note the wondrous variety. What
   comparison is possible between the lion and the lamb, the bear and the
   kid, the elephant and the mouse? Some, like the horse and the dog, are
   gifted with great intelligence; while others, like sheep and swine, are
   almost devoid of it. Why? Some are designed to be beasts of burden,
   while others enjoy a life of freedom. But why should the mule and the
   donkey be shackled to a life of drudgery while the lion and tiger are
   allowed to roam the jungle at their pleasure? Some are fit for food,
   others unfit; some are beautiful, others ugly; some are endowed with
   great strength, others are quite helpless; some are fleet of foot,
   others can scarcely crawl-contrast the hare and the tortoise; some are
   of use to man, others appear to be quite valueless; some live for
   centuries, others a few months at most; some are tame, others fierce.
   But why all these variations and differences? What is true of the
   animals is equally true of the birds and fishes.

   But consider now the vegetable kingdom. Why should roses have thorns,
   and lilies grow without them? Why should one flower emit a fragrant
   aroma and another have none? Why should one tree bear fruit which is
   wholesome and another that which is poisonous? Why should one vegetable
   be capable of enduring frost and another wither under it? Why should
   one apple tree be loaded with fruit, and another tree of the same age
   and in the same orchard be almost barren? Why should one plant flower a
   dozen times in a year and another bear blossoms but once a century?
   Truly, "whatsoever the LORD pleased, that did He in Heaven, and in the
   earth, in the seas, and all deep places" (Psa. 135:6).

   Consider the angelic hosts. Surely we shall find uniformity here. But
   no; there, as elsewhere, the same Sovereign pleasure of the Creator is
   displayed. Some are higher in rank than others; some are more powerful
   than others; some are nearer to God than others. Scripture reveals a
   definite and well-defined gradation in the angelic orders. From
   arch-angel, past seraphim and cherubim, we come to "principalities and
   powers" (Eph. 3:10), and from principalities and powers to "rulers"
   (Eph. 6:12), and then to the angels themselves, and even among them we
   read of "the elect angels" (1 Tim. 5:21). Again we ask, Why this
   inequality, this difference in rank and order? And all we can say is
   "Our God is in the heavens, He hath done whatsoever He hath pleased"
   (Psa. 115:3).

   If then we see the Sovereignty of God displayed throughout all
   creation, why should it be thought a strange thing if we behold it
   operating in the midst of the human family? Why should it be thought
   strange if to one God is pleased to give five talents and to another
   only one? Why should it be thought strange if one is born with a robust
   constitution and another of the same parents is frail and sickly? Why
   should it be thought strange if Abel is cut off in his prime, while
   Cain is suffered to live on for many years? Why should it be thought
   strange that some should be born black and others white; some be born
   idiots and others with high intellectual endowments; some be born
   constitutionally lethargic and others full of energy; some be born with
   a temperament that is selfish, fiery, egotistical, others who are
   naturally self-sacrificing, submissive and meek? Why should it be
   thought strange if some are qualified by nature to lead and rule, while
   others are only fitted to follow and serve? Heredity and environment
   cannot account for all these variations and inequalities. No; it is God
   who maketh one to differ from another. Why should He? "Even so, Father,
   for so it seemed good in Thy sight" must be our reply.

   Learn then this basic truth, that the Creator is absolute Sovereign,
   executing His own will, performing His own pleasure, and considering
   nought but His own glory. "The LORD hath made all things FOR HIMSELF"
   (Prov. 16:4). And had He not a perfect right to? Since God is God, who
   dare challenge His prerogative? To murmur against Him is rank
   rebellion. To question His ways is to impugn His wisdom. To criticise
   Him is sin of the deepest dye. Have we forgotten who He is? Behold,
   "All nations before Him as are nothing; and they are counted to Him
   less than nothing, and vanity. To whom then will ye liken God?" (Isa.
   40:17, 18).
     __________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER THREE
SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD IN ADMINISTRATION

   "The LORD hath prepared His Throne In the heavens; and His Kingdom
   ruleth over all"
   (Psa. 103:19).

   First, a word concerning the need for God to govern the material world.
   Suppose the opposite for a moment. For the sake of argument, let us say
   that God created the world, designed and fixed certain laws (which men
   term "the laws of Nature"), and that He then withdrew, leaving the
   world to its fortune and the out-working of these laws. In such a case,
   we should have a world over which there was no intelligent, presiding
   Governor, a world controlled by nothing more than impersonal laws-a
   concept worthy of gross Materialism and blank Atheism. But, I say,
   suppose it for a moment; and in the light of such a supposition weigh
   well the following question: What guaranty have we that some day ere
   long the world will not be destroyed? A very superficial observation of
   'the laws of Nature' reveals the fact that they are not uniform in
   their working. The proof of this is seen in the fact that no two
   seasons are alike. If then Nature's laws are irregular in their
   operations, what guaranty have we against some dreadful catastrophe
   striking our earth? "The wind bloweth where it listeth" (pleaseth),
   which means that man can neither harness nor hinder it. Sometimes the
   wind blows with great fury, and it might be that it should suddenly
   gather in volume and velocity until it became a hurricane earth-wide in
   its range. If there is nothing more than the laws of Nature regulating
   the wind, then, perhaps tomorrow, there may come a terrific tornado and
   sweep everything from the surface of the earth! What assurance have we
   against such a calamity? Again; of late years we have heard and read
   much about clouds bursting and flooding whole districts, working
   fearful havoc in the destruction of both property and life. Man is
   helpless before them, for science can devise no means to prevent clouds
   bursting. Then how do we know that these bursting clouds will not be
   multiplied indefinitely and the whole earth be deluged by their
   downpour? This would be nothing new: why should not the Flood of Noah's
   day be repeated? And what of earthquakes? Every few years some island
   or some great city is swept out of existence by one of them-and what
   can man do? Where is the guaranty that ere long a mammoth earthquake
   will not destroy the whole world. Science tells us of great
   subterranean fires burning beneath the comparatively thin crust of our
   earth. How do we know but what these fires will not suddenly burst
   forth and consume our entire globe? Surely every reader now sees the
   point we are seeking to make: Deny that God is governing matter, deny
   that He is "upholding all things by the word of His power" (Heb. 1:3),
   and all sense of security is gone!

   Let us pursue a similar course of reasoning in connection with the
   human race. Is God governing this world of ours? Is He shaping the
   destinies of nations, controlling the course of empires, determining
   the limits of dynasties? Has He prescribed the limits of evil-doers,
   saying, Thus far shalt thou go and no further? Let us suppose the
   opposite for a moment. Let us assume that God has delivered over the
   helm into the hand of His creatures and see where such a supposition
   leads us. For the sake of argument we will say that every man enters
   this world endowed with a will that is absolutely free, and that it is
   impossible to compel or even coerce him without destroying his freedom.
   Let us say that every man possesses a knowledge of right and wrong,
   that he has the power to choose between them, and that he is left
   entirely free to make his own choice and go his own way. Then what?
   Then it follows that man is Sovereign, for he does as he pleases and is
   the architect of his own fortune. But in such a case we can have no
   assurance that ere long every man will reject the good and choose the
   evil. In such a case we have no guaranty against the entire human race
   committing moral suicide. Let all Divine restraints be removed and man
   be left absolutely free, and all ethical distinctions would immediately
   disappear, the spirit of barbarism would prevail universally, and
   pandemonium would reign supreme. Why not? If one nation deposes its
   rulers and repudiates its constitution, what is there to prevent all
   nations from doing the same?

   If little more than a century ago the streets of Paris ran with the
   blood of rioters, what assurance have we that before the present
   century closes every city throughout the world will not witness a
   similar sight? What is there to hinder earth-wide lawlessness and
   universal anarchy? Thus we have sought to show the need, the imperative
   need, for God to occupy the Throne, take the government upon His
   shoulder, and control the activities and destinies of His creatures.

   But has the man of faith any difficulty in perceiving the government of
   God over this world? Does not the anointed eye discern, even amid much
   seeming confusion and chaos, the hand of the Most High controlling and
   shaping the affairs of men, even in the common concerns of every day
   life? Take for example farmers and their crops. Suppose God left them
   to themselves: what would prevent them, one and all, from grassing
   their arable lands and devoting themselves exclusively to rearing of
   cattle and dairying? In such a case there would be a world-famine of
   wheat and corn! Take the work of the post office. Suppose that
   everybody decided to write letters on Mondays only, could the
   authorities cope with the mail on Tuesdays? and how would they occupy
   their time the balance of the week? So again with storekeepers. What
   would happen if every housewife did her shopping on Wednesday, and
   stayed at home the rest of the week? But instead of such things
   happening, farmers in different countries both raise sufficient cattle
   and grow enough grain of various kinds to supply the almost
   incalculable needs of the human race; the mails are almost evenly
   distributed over the six days of the week; and some women shop on
   Monday, some on Tuesday, and so on. Do not these things clearly
   evidence the overruling and controlling hand of God!

   Having shown, in brief, the imperative need for God to reign over our
   world, let us now observe still further the fact that God does rule,
   actually rule, and that His government extends to and is exercised over
   all things and all creatures.

   1. GOD GOVERNS INANIMATE MATTER.

   That God governs inanimate matter, that inanimate matter performs His
   bidding and fulfils His decrees, is clearly shown on the very
   frontispiece of Divine revelation. God said, "Let there be light," and
   we read, "There was light." God said, "Let the waters under the heavens
   be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear," and
   "it was so." And again, "God said, Let the earth bring forth grass the
   herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind,
   whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so." And the
   Psalmist declares, "He spake and it was done; He commanded, and it
   stood fast."

   What is stated in Genesis One is afterwards illustrated all through the
   Bible. After the creation of Adam, sixteen centuries went by before
   ever a shower of rain fell upon the earth, for before Noah "there went
   up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground"
   (Gen. 2:6). But, when the iniquities of the antediluvians had come to
   the full, then God said, "And, behold, I even I, do bring a flood of
   waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of
   life, from under Heaven; and everything that is in the earth shall
   die"; and in fulfilment of this we read, "In the six hundredth year of
   Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the
   same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the
   windows of Heaven were opened. And the rain was upon the earth forty
   days and forty nights" (Gen. 6:17 and 7:11, 12).

   Witness God's absolute (and Sovereign) control of inanimate matter in
   connection with the plagues of Egypt. At His bidding the light was
   turned into darkness and rivers into blood; hail fell, and death came
   down upon the godless land of the Nile, until even its haughty monarch
   was compelled to cry out for deliverance. Note particularly how the
   inspired record here emphasises God's absolute control over the
   elements-"And Moses stretched forth his rod toward Heaven: and the LORD
   sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground; and the
   LORD rained hail upon the land of Egypt. So there was hail, and fire
   mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as there was none like it in
   all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. And the hail smote
   throughout all the land of Egypt all that was in the field, both man
   and beast; and the hail smote every herb of the field, and brake every
   tree of the field. Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of
   Israel were, was there no hail" (Exo. 9:23-26). The same distinction
   was observed in connection with the ninth plague: "And the LORD said
   unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand toward Heaven, that there may be
   darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt. And
   Moses stretched forth his hand toward Heaven; and there was a thick
   darkness in all the land of Egypt three days: They saw not one another,
   neither rose any from his place for three days: but all the children of
   Israel had light in their dwellings" (Exo. 10:21-23).

   The above examples are by no means isolated cases. At God's decree fire
   and brimstone descended from Heaven and the cities of the Plain were
   destroyed, and a fertile valley was converted into a loathsome sea of
   death. At His bidding the waters of the Red Sea parted asunder so that
   the Israelites passed over dry shod, and at His word they rolled back
   again and destroyed the Egyptians who were pursuing them. A word from
   Him, and the earth opened her mouth and Korah and his rebellious
   company were swallowed up. The furnace of Nebuchadnezzar was heated
   seven times beyond its normal temperature, and into it three of God's
   children were cast, but the fire did not so much as scorch their
   clothes, though it slew the men who cast them into it.

   What a demonstration of the Creator's governmental control over the
   elements was furnished when He became flesh and tabernacled among men!
   Behold Him asleep in the boat. A storm arises. The winds roar and the
   waves are lashed into fury. The disciples who are with Him, fearful
   lest their little craft should founder, awake their Master, saying,
   "Carest Thou not that we perish?" And then we read, "And He arose, and
   rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind
   ceased, and there was a great calm" (Mark 4:39). Mark again, the sea,
   at the will of its Creator, bore Him up upon its waves. At a word from
   Him, the fig-tree withered; at His touch disease fled instantly.

   The heavenly bodies are also ruled by their Maker and perform His
   Sovereign pleasure. Take two illustrations. At God's bidding the sun
   went back ten degrees on the dial of Ahaz to help the weak faith of
   Hezekiah. In New Testament times, God caused a star to herald the
   incarnation of His Son-the star which appeared unto the wise men of the
   East. This star, we are told, "went before them till it came and stood
   over where the young Child was" (Matt. 2:9).

   What a declaration is this: "He sendeth forth His commandment upon
   earth: His word runneth very swiftly. He giveth snow like wool: He
   scattereth the hoar frost like ashes. He casteth forth His ice like
   morsels: who can stand before His cold? He sendeth out His word, and
   melteth them: He causeth His wind to blow, and the waters flow" (Psa.
   147:15-18). The mutations of the elements are beneath God's Sovereign
   control. It is God who withholds the rain, and it is God who gives the
   rain when He wills, where He wills, as He wills, and on whom He wills.
   Weather Bureaux may attempt to give forecasts of the weather, but how
   frequently God mocks their calculations! Sun 'spots,' the varying
   activities of the planets, the appearing and disappearing of comets (to
   which abnormal weather is sometimes attributed), atmospheric
   disturbances, are merely secondary causes, for behind them all is God
   Himself. Let His Word speak once more: "And also I have withholden the
   rain from you, when there were yet three months to the harvest: and I
   caused it to rain upon one city, and caused it not to rain upon another
   city: one piece was rained upon, and the piece whereon it rain not
   withered. So two or three cities wandered unto one city, to drink
   water; but they were not satisfied: yet have ye not returned unto Me,
   saith the LORD. I have smitten you with blasting and mildew: when your
   gardens and your vineyards and your fig trees and your olive trees
   increased, the palmerworm devoured them: yet have ye not returned unto
   Me, saith the LORD. I have sent among you the pestilence after the
   manner of Egypt: your young men have I slain with the sword, and have
   taken away your horses; and I have made the stink of your camps to come
   up into your nostrils: yet have ye not returned unto Me, saith the
   LORD" (Amos 4:7-10).

   Truly, then, God governs inanimate matter. Earth and air, fire and
   water, hail and snow, stormy winds and angry seas, all perform the word
   of His power and fulfil His Sovereign pleasure. Therefore, when we
   complain about the weather we are, in reality, murmuring against God.

   2. GOD GOVERNS IRRATIONAL CREATURES.

   What a striking illustration of God's government over the animal
   kingdom is found in Genesis 2:19! "And out of the ground the LORD God
   formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air: and brought
   them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam
   called every living creature, that was the name thereof." Should it be
   said that this occurred in Eden, and took place before the fall of Adam
   and the consequent curse which was inflicted on every creature, then
   our next reference fully meets the objection: God's control of the
   beasts was again openly displayed at the Flood. Mark how God caused to
   "come unto" Noah every specie of living creature "of every living thing
   of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep
   them alive with thee; they shall be male and female. Of fowls after
   their kind, of every creeping thing after his kind: two of every sort
   shall come unto thee" (Gen. 6:19, 20)-all were beneath God's Sovereign
   control. The lion of the jungle, the elephant of the forest, the bear
   of the polar regions; the ferocious panther, the untameable wolf, the
   fierce tiger; the high-soaring eagle and the creeping crocodile-see
   them all in their native fierceness, and yet, quietly submitting to the
   will of their Creator, and coming two by two into the ark!

   We referred to the plagues sent upon Egypt as illustrating God's
   control of inanimate matter, let us now turn to them again to see how
   they demonstrate His perfect rulership over irrational creatures. At
   His Word the river brought forth frogs abundantly, and these frogs
   entered the palace of Pharaoh and the houses of his servants and,
   contrary to their natural instincts, they entered the beds, the ovens
   and the kneadingtroughs (Exo. 8:13). Swarms of flies invaded the land
   of Egypt, but there were no flies in the land of Goshen! (Exo. 8:22).
   Next, the cattle were stricken, and we read, "Behold, the hand of the
   LORD is upon the asses, upon the camels, upon the oxen, and upon the
   sheep: there shall be a very grievous murrain. And the LORD shall sever
   between the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt: and there shall
   nothing die of all that is the children's of Israel. And the LORD
   appointed a set time, saying, Tomorrow the LORD shall do this thing in
   the land. And the LORD did that thing on the morrow, and all the cattle
   of Egypt died: but of the cattle of the children of Israel died not
   one" (Exo. 9:3-6). In like manner God sent clouds of locusts to plague
   Pharaoh and his land, appointing the time of their visitation,
   determining the course and assigning the limits of their depredations.

   Angels are not the only ones who do God's bidding. The brute beasts
   equally perform His pleasure. The sacred ark, the ark of the covenant,
   is in the country of the Philistines. How is it to be brought back to
   its home land? Mark the servants of God's choice, and how completely
   they were beneath His control: "And the Philistines called for the
   priests and the diviners saying, What shall we do to the ark of the
   Lord? tell us wherewith we shall send it to his place. And they said...
   Now therefore make a new cart, and take two milch kine, on which there
   hath come no yoke, and tie the kine to the cart, and bring their calves
   home from them: And take the ark of the Lord, and lay it upon the cart;
   and put the jewels of gold, which ye return Him for a trespass
   offering, in a coffer by the side thereof, and send it away that it may
   go. And see, if it goeth up by the way of his own coast to Bethshemesh,
   then He hath done us this great evil: but if not, then we shall know
   that it is not His hand that smote us; it was a chance that happened to
   us." And what happened? How striking the sequel! "And the kine took the
   straight way to the way of Bethshemesh, and went along the highway,
   lowing as they went, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the
   left" (1 Sam. 6:12). Equally striking is the case of Elijah: "And the
   word of the LORD came unto him, saying, Get thee hence, and hide
   thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And it shall be,
   that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to
   feed thee there" (1 Kings 17:2-4). The natural instinct of these birds
   of prey was held in subjection, and instead of consuming the food
   themselves, they carried it to Jehovah's servant in his solitary
   retreat.

   Is further proof required? then it is ready at hand. God makes a dumb
   ass to rebuke the prophet's madness. He sends forth two she-bears from
   the woods to devour forty and two of Elijah's tormentors. In fulfilment
   of His word, He causes the dogs to lick up the blood of the wicked
   Jezebel. He seals the mouths of Babylon's lions when Daniel is cast
   into the den, though, later, He causes them to devour the prophet's
   accusers. He prepares a great fish to swallow the disobedient Jonah and
   then, when His ordained hour struck, compelled it to vomit him forth on
   dry land. At His biding a fish carries a coin to Peter for tribute
   money, and in order to fulfil His word He makes the cock crow twice
   after Peter's denial. Thus we see that God reigns over irrational
   creatures: beasts of the field, birds of the air, fishes of the sea,
   all perform His Sovereign bidding.

   3. GOD GOVERNS THE CHILDREN OF MEN.

   We fully appreciate the fact that this is the most difficult part of
   our subject, and, accordingly, it will be dealt with at greater length
   in the pages that follow; but at present we consider the fact of God's
   government over men in general, before we attempt to deal with the
   problem in detail.

   Two alternatives confront us, and between them we are obliged to
   choose: either God governs, or He is governed; either God rules, or He
   is ruled; either God has His way, or men have theirs.

   And is our choice between these alternatives hard to make? Shall we say
   that in man we behold a creature so unruly that he is beyond God's
   control? Shall we say that sin has alienated the sinner so far from the
   thrice Holy One that he is outside the pale of His jurisdiction? Or,
   shall we say that man has been endowed with moral responsibility, and
   therefore God must leave him entirely free, at least during the period
   of his probation? Does it necessarily follow because the natural man is
   an outlaw against Heaven, a rebel against the Divine government, that
   God is unable to fulfil His purpose through him? We mean, not merely
   that He may overrule the effects of the actions of evil-doers, nor that
   He will yet bring the wicked to stand before His judgement-bar so that
   sentence of punishment may be passed upon them-multitudes of
   non-Christians believe these things-but, we mean, that every action of
   the most lawless of His subjects is entirely beneath His control, yea
   that the actor is, though unknown to himself, carrying out the secret
   decrees of the Most High. Was it not thus with Judas? and is it
   possible to select a more extreme case? If then the arch-rebel was
   performing the counsel of God is it any greater tax upon our faith to
   believe the same of all rebels?

   Our present object is no philosophic inquiry nor metaphysical
   casuistry, but to ascertain the teaching of Scripture upon this
   profound theme. To the Law and the Testimony, for there only can we
   learn of the Divine government-its character, its design, its modus
   operandi, its scope. What then has it pleased God to reveal to us in
   His blessed Word concerning His rule over the works of His hands, and
   particularly, over the one who originally was made in His own image and
   likeness?

   "In Him we live, and move, and have our being" (Acts 17:28). What a
   sweeping assertion is this! These words, be it noted, were addressed,
   not to one of the churches of God, not to a company of saints who had
   reached an exalted plane of spirituality, but to a heathen audience, to
   those who worshipped "the unknown God" and who "mocked" when they heard
   of the resurrection of the dead. And yet, to the Athenian philosophers,
   to the Epicureans and Stoics, the Apostle Paul did not hesitate to
   affirm that they lived and moved and had their being in God, which
   signified not only that they owed their existence and preservation to
   the One who made the world and all things therein, but also that their
   very actions were encompassed and therefore controlled by the Lord of
   Heaven and earth. Compare Daniel 5:23, last clause!

   "The disposings (margin) of the heart, and the answer of the tongue is
   from the LORD" (Prov. 16:1). Mark that the above declaration is of
   general application-it is of "man," not simply of believers, that this
   is predicated. "A man's heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth
   his steps" (Prov. 16:9). If the Lord directs the steps of a man, is it
   not proof that he is being controlled or governed by God? Again: "There
   are many devices in a man's heart; nevertheless the counsel of the
   LORD, that shall stand" (Prov. 19:21). Can this mean anything less
   than, that no matter what man may desire and plan, it is the will of
   his Maker which is executed? As an illustration take the "Rich Fool."
   The "devices" of his heart are made known to us-"And he thought within
   himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to
   bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my
   barns, and build greater; and there I will bestow all my fruits and my
   goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up
   for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry." Such were
   the "devices" of his heart, nevertheless it was "the counsel of the
   Lord" that stood. The "I will's" of the rich man came to nought, for
   "God said unto him, Thou fool, this night shall thy soul be required of
   thee" (Luke 12:17-20).

   "The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water:
   He turneth it whithersoever He will (Prov. 21:1). What could be more
   explicit? Out of the heart are "the issues of life" (Prov. 4:23), for
   as a man "thinketh in his heart, so is he" (Prov. 23:7). If then the
   heart is in the hand of the Lord, and if "He turneth it whithersoever
   He will," then is it not clear that men, yea, governors and rulers, and
   so all men, are completely beneath the governmental control of the
   Almighty!

   No limitations must be placed upon the above declarations. To insist
   that some men, at least, do thwart God's will and overturn His
   counsels, is to repudiate other Scriptures equally explicit. Weigh well
   the following: "But He is one mind, and who can turn Him? and what His
   soul desireth, even that He doeth" (Job 23:13). "The counsel of the
   LORD standeth for ever, the thoughts of His heart to all generations"
   (Psa. 33:11). "There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against
   the LORD" (Prov. 21:30). "For the LORD of hosts hath purposed, and who
   shall disannul it? And His hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it
   back?" (Isa. 14:27). "Remember the former things of old: for I am God,
   and there is none else! I am God, and there is none like Me, 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" (Isa. 46:9, 10). There is no ambiguity in these passages.
   They affirm in the most unequivocal and unqualified terms that it is
   impossible to bring to naught the purpose of Jehovah.

   We read the Scriptures in vain if we fail to discover that the actions
   of men, evil men as well as good, are governed by the Lord God. Nimrod
   and his fellows determined to erect the tower of Babel, but ere their
   task was accomplished God frustrated their plans. God called Abraham
   "alone" (Isa. 51:2), but his kinsfolk accompanied him as he left Ur of
   the Chaldees. Was then the will of the Lord defeated? Nay, verily. Mark
   the sequel. Terah died before Canaan was reached (Gen. 11:32), and
   though Lot accompanied his uncle into the land of promise, he soon
   separated from him and settled down in Sodom. Jacob was the child to
   whom the inheritance was promised, and though Isaac sought to reverse
   Jehovah's decree and bestow the blessing upon Esau, his efforts came to
   naught. Esau again swore vengeance upon Jacob, but when next they met
   they wept for joy instead of fighting in hate. The brethren of Joseph
   determined his destruction but their evil counsels were overthrown.
   Pharaoh refused to let Israel carry out the instructions of Jehovah and
   perished in the Red Sea for his pains. Balak hired Balaam to curse the
   Israelites but God compelled him to bless them. Haman erected a gallows
   for Mordecai but was hanged upon it himself. Jonah resisted the
   revealed will of God but what became of his efforts?

   Ah, the heathen may "rage" and the people imagine a "vain thing"; the
   kings of earth may "set themselves," and the rulers take counsel
   together against the Lord and against His Christ, saying, "Let us break
   Their bands asunder, and cast away Their cords from us (Psa. 2:1-3).
   But is the great God perturbed or disturbed by the rebellion of his
   puny creatures? No, indeed: "He that sitteth in the heavens shall
   laugh: the LORD shall have them in derision" (v. 4). He is infinitely
   exalted above all, and the greatest confederacies or earth's pawns, and
   their most extensive and vigorous preparations to defeat His purpose
   are, in His sight, altogether puerile. He looks upon their puny
   efforts, not only without any alarm, but He "laughs" at their folly; He
   treats their impotency with "derision." He knows that He can crush them
   like moths when He pleases, or consume them in a moment with the breath
   of His mouth. Ah, it is but "a vain thing" for the potsherds of the
   earth to strive with the glorious Majesty of Heaven. Such is our God;
   worship ye Him.

   Mark, too, the Sovereignty which God displayed in His dealings with
   men! Moses who was slow of speech, and not Aaron his elder brother who
   was not slow of speech, was the one chosen to be His ambassador in
   demanding from Egypt's monarch the release of His oppressed people.
   Moses again, though greatly beloved, utters one hasty word and was
   excluded from Canaan; whereas Elijah, passionately murmurs and suffers
   but a mild rebuke, and was afterwards taken to Heaven without seeing
   death! Uzzah merely touched the ark and was instantly slain, whereas
   the Philistines carried it off in insulting triumph and suffered no
   immediate harm. Displays of grace which would have brought a doomed
   Sodom to repentance failed to move an highly privileged Capernaum.
   Mighty works which would have subdued Tyre and Sidon left the upbraided
   cities of Galilee under the curse of a rejected Gospel. If they would
   have prevailed over the former, why were they not wrought there? If
   they proved ineffectual to deliver the latter then why perform them?
   What exhibitions are these of the Sovereign will of the Most High!

   4. GOD GOVERNS ANGELS: BOTH GOOD AND EVIL ANGELS.

   The angels are God's servants, His messengers, His chariots. They ever
   hearken to the word of His mouth and do His commands. "And God sent an
   angel unto Jerusalem to destroy it: and as he was destroying, the LORD
   beheld, and He repented Him of the evil, and said to the angel that
   destroyed. It is enough, stay now thine hand... And the LORD commanded
   the angel; and he put his sword again into the sheath thereof" (1
   Chron. 21:15, 27). Many other Scriptures might be cited to show that
   the angels are in subjection to the will of their Creator and perform
   His bidding -"And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know
   of a surety, that the Lord hath sent His angel, and hath delivered me
   out of the hand of Herod" (Acts 12:11). "And the Lord God of the holy
   prophets sent His angel to shew unto His servants the things which must
   shortly be done" (Rev. 22:6). So it will be when our Lord returns: "The
   Son of Man shall send forth His angels and they shall gather out of His
   kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity" (Matt.
   13:41). Again, we read, "He shall send His angels with a great sound of
   a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four
   winds, from one end of Heaven to the other" (Matt. 24:31).

   The same is true of evil spirits: they, too, fulfil God's Sovereign
   decrees. An evil spirit is sent by God to stir up rebellion in the camp
   of Abimelech: "Then God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the
   men of Shechem," which aided him in the killing of his brethren (Judges
   9:23). Another evil spirit He sent to be a lying spirit in the mouth of
   Ahab's prophets-"Now therefore, behold, the LORD hath put a lying
   spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the LORD hath spoken
   evil concerning thee" (1 Kings 22:23). And yet another was sent by the
   Lord to trouble Saul-"But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul,
   and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him" (1 Sam. 16:14). So, too,
   in the New Testament: a whole legion of the demons go not out of their
   victim until the Lord gave them permission to enter the herd of swine.

   It is clear from Scripture, then, that the angels, good and evil, are
   under God's control, and willingly or unwillingly carry out God's
   purpose. Yea, SATAN himself is absolutely subject to God's control.
   When arraigned in Eden, he listened to the awful sentence but answered
   not a word. He was unable to touch Job until God granted him leave. So,
   too, he had to gain our Lord's consent before he could "sift" Peter.
   When Christ commanded him to depart-"Get thee hence, Satan"-we read,
   "Then the Devil leaveth Him" (Matt. 4:11). And, in the end, he will be
   cast into the Lake of Fire which has been prepared for him and his
   angels.

   The Lord God omnipotent reigneth. His government is exercised over
   inanimate matter, over the brute beasts, over the children of men, over
   angels good and evil, and over Satan himself. No revolving world, no
   shining of star, no storm, no creature moves, no actions of men, no
   errands of angels, no deeds of Devil-nothing in all the vast universe
   can come to pass otherwise than God has eternally purposed. Here is a
   foundation of faith. Here is a resting place for the intellect. Here is
   an anchor for the soul, both sure and steadfast. It is not blind fate,
   unbridled evil, man or Devil, but the Lord Almighty who is ruling the
   world, ruling it according to His own good pleasure and for His own
   eternal glory.

   "Ten thousand ages ere the skies
   Were into motion brought;
   All the long years and worlds to come,
   Stood present to His thought:
   There's not a sparrow nor a worm,
   But's found in His decrees,
   He raises monarchs to their thrones
   And sings as He may please."
     __________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER FOUR
THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD IN SALVATION

   "O the depths of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
   how unsearchable are His judgements, and His ways past finding out"
   (Rom. 11:33).

   "Salvation is of the LORD" (Jonah 2:9); but the Lord does not save all.
   Why not? He does save some; then if He saves some, why not others? Is
   it because they are too sinful and depraved? No; for the Apostle wrote,
   "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ
   Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief" (1 Tim.
   1:15). Therefore, if God saved the "chief" of sinners, none are
   excluded because of their depravity. Why then does not God save all? Is
   it because some are too stony-hearted to be won? No; because it is
   written, that God will "take the stony heart out of their flesh, and
   will give them a heart of flesh" (Ezek. 11:19). Then is it because some
   are so stubborn, so intractable, so defiant that God is unable to woo
   them to Himself? Before we answer this question let us ask another; let
   us appeal to the experience of the Christian reader.

   Friend, was there not a time when you walked in the counsel of the
   ungodly, stood in the way of sinners, sat in the seat of the scorners,
   and with them said, "We will not have this Man to reign over us" (Luke
   19:14)? Was there not a time when you "would not come to Christ that
   you might have life" (John 5:40)? Yea, was there not a time when you
   mingled your voice with those who said unto God, "Depart from us; for
   we desire not the knowledge of Thy ways. What is the Almighty, that we
   should serve Him? and what profit should we have, if we pray unto Him?"
   (Job 21:14, 15)? With shamed face you have to acknowledge there was.
   But how is it that all is now changed? What was it that brought you
   from haughty self-sufficiency to a humble suppliant; from one that was
   at enmity with God to one that is at peace with Him; from lawlessness
   to subjection; from hate to love? And as one 'born of the Spirit' you
   will readily reply, "By the grace of God I am what I am" (1 Cor.
   15:10). Then do you not see that it is due to no lack of power in God,
   nor to His refusal to coerce man, that other rebels are not saved too?
   If God was able to subdue your will and win your heart, and that
   without interfering with your moral responsibility, then is He not able
   to do the same for others? Assuredly He is. Then how inconsistent, how
   illogical, how foolish of you, in seeking to account for the present
   course of the wicked and their ultimate fate, to argue that God is
   unable to save them, that they will not let Him. Do you say, "But the
   time came when I was willing, willing to receive Christ as my Saviour"?
   True, but it was the Lord who made you willing (Psa. 110:3; Phil.
   2:13); why then does He not make all sinners willing? Why, but for the
   fact that He is Sovereign and does as He pleases! But to return to our
   opening inquiry.

   Why is it that all are not saved, particularly all who hear the Gospel?
   Do you still answer, Because the majority refuse to believe? Well, that
   is true, but it is only a part of the truth. It is the truth from the
   human side. But there is a Divine side too, and this side of the truth
   needs to be stressed or God will be robbed of His glory. The unsaved
   are lost because they refuse to believe; the others are saved because
   they believe. But why do these others believe? What is it that causes
   them to put their trust in Christ? Is it because they are more
   intelligent than their fellows, and quicker to discern their need of
   salvation? Perish the thought-"Who maketh thee to differ from another?
   And what hast thou that thou didst not receive? Now if thou didst
   receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?" (1
   Cor. 4:7). It is God Himself who maketh the difference between the
   elect and the non-elect, for of His own it is written, "And we know
   that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that
   we may know Him that is true" (1 John 5:20).

   Faith is God's gift, and "all men have not faith" (2 Thess. 3:2);
   therefore, we see that God does not bestow this gift upon all. Upon
   whom then does He bestow this saving favour? And we answer, upon His
   own elect-"As many as were ordained to eternal life believed" (Acts
   13:48). Hence it is that we read of "the faith of God's elect" (Titus
   1:1). But is God partial in the distribution of His favours? Has He not
   the right to be? Are there still some who murmur against the Goodman of
   the house'? Then His own words are sufficient reply-"Is it not lawful
   for Me to do what I will with Mine own?" (Matt. 20:15). God is
   Sovereign in the bestowment of His gifts, both in the natural and in
   the spiritual realms. So much then for a general statement, and now to
   particularise.

   1. THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD THE FATHER IN SALVATION.

   Perhaps the one Scripture which most emphatically of all asserts the
   absolute Sovereignty of God in connection with His determining the
   destiny of His creatures, is the Ninth of Romans. We shall not attempt
   to review here the entire chapter, but will confine ourselves to verses
   21-23- "Hath not the potter power over the clay of the same lump, to
   make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? What if God,
   willing to show His wrath, and to make His power known, endured with
   much longsuffering 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?" These verses represent fallen
   mankind as inert and as impotent as a lump of lifeless clay. This
   Scripture evidences that there is "no difference," in themselves,
   between the elect and the non-elect; they are clay of "the same lump,"
   which agrees with Ephesians 2:3, where we are told that all are by
   nature "children of wrath." It teaches us that the ultimate destiny of
   every individual is decided by the will of God, and blessed it is that
   such be the case; if it were left to our wills, the ultimate
   destination of us all would be the Lake of Fire. It declares that God
   Himself does make a difference in the respective destinations to which
   He assigns His creatures, for one vessel is made "unto honour and
   another unto dishonour"; some are "vessels of wrath fitted to
   destruction," others are "vessels of mercy, which He had afore prepared
   unto glory."

   We readily acknowledge that it is very humbling to the proud heart of
   the creature to behold all mankind in the hand of God as the clay in
   the potter's hand, yet this is precisely how the Scriptures of Truth
   represent the case. In this day of human boasting, intellectual pride,
   and deification of man, it needs to be insisted upon that the potter
   forms his vessels for himself. Let man strive with his Maker as he
   will, the fact remains that he is nothing more than clay in the
   Heavenly Potter's hands, and while we know that God will deal justly
   with His creatures, that the Judge of all the earth will do right,
   nevertheless, He shapes His vessels for His own purpose and according
   to His own pleasure. God claims the indisputable right to do as He
   wills with His own.

   Not only has God the right to do as He wills with the creatures of His
   own hands, but He exercises this right, and nowhere is that seen more
   plainly than in His predestinating grace. Before the foundation of the
   world God made a choice, a selection, an election. Before His
   omniscient eye stood the whole of Adam's race, and from it He singled
   out a people and predestinated them "to be conformed to the image of
   His Son," "ordained" them unto eternal life. Many are the Scriptures
   which set forth this blessed truth, seven of which will now engage our
   attention.

   "As many as were ordained to eternal life, believed" (Acts 13:48).
   Every artifice of human ingenuity has been employed to blunt the sharp
   edge of this Scripture and to explain away the obvious meaning of these
   words, but it has been employed in vain, though nothing will ever be
   able to reconcile this and similar passages to the mind of the natural
   man. "As many as were ordained to eternal life, believed." Here we
   learn four things: First, that believing is the consequence and not the
   cause of God's decree. Second, that a limited number only are "ordained
   to eternal life," for if all men without exception were thus ordained
   by God, then the words "as many as" are a meaningless qualification.
   Third, that this "ordination" of God is not to mere external privileges
   but to "eternal life," not to service but to salvation itself. Fourth,
   that all-"as many as," not one less-who are thus ordained by God to
   eternal life will most certainly believe.

   The comments of the beloved Spurgeon on the above passage are well
   worthy of our notice. Said he, "Attempts have been made to prove that
   these words do not teach predestination, but these attempts so clearly
   do violence to language that I shall not waste time in answering them.
   I read: 'As many as were ordained to eternal life believed,' and I
   shall not twist the text but shall glorify the grace of God by
   ascribing to that grace the faith of every man. Is it not God who gives
   the disposition to believe? If men are disposed to have eternal life,
   does not He-in every case-dispose them? Is it wrong for God to give
   grace? If it be right for Him to give it, is it wrong for Him to
   purpose to give it? Would you have Him give it by accident? If it is
   right for Him to purpose to give grace today, it was right for Him to
   purpose it before today-and, since He changes not-from eternity."

   "Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to
   the election of grace. And if by grace, then it is no more of works:
   otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no
   more grace: otherwise work is no more work" (Rom. 11:5, 6). The words
   "Even so" at the beginning of this quotation refer us to the previous
   verse where we are told, "I have reserved to Myself seven thousand men
   who have not bowed the knee to Baal." Note particularly the word
   "reserved." In the days of Elijah there were seven thousand-a small
   minority-who were Divinely preserved from idolatry and brought to the
   knowledge of the true God. This preservation and illumination was not
   from anything in themselves, but solely by God's special influence and
   agency. How highly favoured such individuals were to be thus "reserved"
   by God! Now says the Apostle, Just as there was a "remnant" in Elijah's
   days "reserved by God," even so there is in this present dispensation.

   "A remnant according to the election of grace." Here the cause of
   election is traced back to its source. The basis upon which God elected
   this "remnant" was not faith foreseen in them, because a choice founded
   upon the foresight of good works is just as truly made on the ground of
   works as any choice can be, and in such a case it would not be "of
   grace"; for, says the Apostle, "if by grace, then it is no more of
   works: otherwise grace is no more grace"; which means that grace and
   works are opposites, they have nothing in common, and will no more
   mingle than oil and water. Thus the idea of inherent good foreseen in
   those chosen, or of anything meritorious performed by them, is rigidly
   excluded. "A remnant according to the election of grace" signifies an
   unconditional choice resulting from the Sovereign favour of God; in a
   word, it is absolutely a gratuitous election.

   "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" (1
   Cor. 1:26-29). Three times over in this passage reference is made to
   God's choice, and choice necessarily supposes a selection, the taking
   of some and the leaving of others. The Chooser here is God Himself, as
   said the Lord Jesus to the Apostles, "Ye have not chosen Me, but I have
   chosen you" (John 15:16). The number chosen is strictly defined-"not
   many wise men after the flesh, not many noble," etc., which agree with
   Matthew 20:16, "So the last shall be first, and the first last; for
   many be called, but few chosen." So much then for the fact of God's
   choice; now mark the objects of His choice.

   The ones spoken of above as chosen of God are "the weak things of the
   world, base things of the world, and things which are despised." But
   why? To demonstrate and magnify His grace. God's ways as well as His
   thoughts are utterly at variance with man's. The carnal mind would have
   supposed that a selection had been made from the ranks of the opulent
   and influential, the amiable and cultured, so that Christianity might
   have won the approval and applause of the world by its pageantry and
   fleshly glory. Ah, but "that which is highly esteemed among men is
   abomination in the sight of God" (Luke 16:15). God chooses the "base
   things." He did so in Old Testament times. The nation which He singled
   out to be the depository of His holy oracles and the channel through
   which the promised Seed should come was not the ancient Egyptians, the
   imposing Babylonians, nor the highly civilised and cultured Greeks. No;
   that people upon whom Jehovah set His love and regarded as 'the apple
   of His eye' were the despised, nomadic Hebrews. So it was when our Lord
   tabernacled among men. The ones whom He took into favoured intimacy
   with Himself and commissioned to go forth as His ambassadors were, for
   the most part, unlettered fishermen. And so it has been ever since. So
   it is today: at the present rates of increase, it will not be long
   before it is manifested that the Lord has more in despised China who
   are really His, than He has in the highly favoured U.S.A.; more among
   the uncivilised blacks of Africa, than He has in cultured (?) Germany!
   And the purpose of God's choice, the raison d' etre of the selection He
   has made is, "that no flesh should glory in His presence"-there being
   nothing whatever in the objects of His choice which should entitle them
   to His special favours, then, all the praise will be freely ascribed to
   the exceeding riches of His manifold grace.

   "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath
   blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
   According as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the
   world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him; having
   predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to
   Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will... 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" (Eph. 1:3-5, 11). Here again we are told at what point in time-if
   time it could be called-when God made choice of those who were to be
   His children by Jesus Christ. It was not after Adam had fallen and
   plunged his race into sin and wretchedness, but long ere Adam saw the
   light, even before the world itself was founded, that God chose us in
   Christ. Here also we learn the purpose which God had before Him in
   connection with His own elect: it was that they "should be holy and
   without blame before Him"; it was "unto the adoption of children"; it
   was that they should "obtain an inheritance." Here also we discover the
   motive which prompted Him. It was "in love that He predestinated us
   unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself"-a statement
   which refutes the oft made and wicked charge that, for God to decide
   the eternal destiny of His creatures before they are born, is
   tyrannical and unjust. Finally, we are informed here, that in this
   matter He took counsel with none, but that we are "predestinated
   according to the good pleasure of His will."

   "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"
   (2 Thess. 2:13). There are three things here which deserve special
   attention. First, the fact that we are expressly told that God's elect
   are "chosen to salvation." Language could not be more explicit. How
   summarily do these words dispose of the sophistries and equivocations
   of all who would make election refer to nothing but external privileges
   or rank in service! It is to "salvation" itself that God hath chosen
   us. Second, we are warned here that election unto salvation does not
   disregard the use of appropriate means: salvation is reached through
   "sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth." It is not true
   that because God has chosen a certain one to salvation that he will be
   saved willy-nilly, whether he believes or not: nowhere do the
   Scriptures so represent it. The same God who predestined the end also
   appointed the means; the same God who "chose unto salvation" decreed
   that His purpose should be realised through the work of the Spirit and
   belief of the truth. Third, that God has chosen us unto salvation is a
   profound cause for fervent praise. Note how strongly the Apostle
   expresses this-"we are bound to give thanks always to God for you,
   brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning
   chosen you to salvation," etc. Instead of shrinking hack in horror from
   the doctrine of predestination, the believer, when he sees this blessed
   truth as it is unfolded in the Word, discovers a ground for gratitude
   and thanksgiving such as nothing else affords, save the unspeakable
   gift of the Redeemer Himself.

   "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" (2 Tim. 1:9). How
   plain and pointed is the language of Holy Writ! It is man who, by his
   words, darkeneth counsel. It is impossible to state the case more
   clearly, or strongly, than it is stated here. Our salvation is not
   "according to our works"; that is to say, it is not due to anything in
   us, nor the rewarding of anything from us; instead, it is the result of
   God's own "purpose and grace"; and this grace was given us in Christ
   Jesus before the world began. It is by grace we are saved, and in the
   purpose of God this grace was bestowed upon us not only before we saw
   the light, not only before Adam's fall, but even before that far
   distant "beginning" of Genesis 1:1. And herein lies the unassailable
   comfort of God's people. If His choice has been from eternity it will
   last to eternity! "Nothing can survive to eternity but what came from
   eternity, and what has so come, will" (George S. Bishop).

   "Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through
   sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the
   blood of Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 1:2). Here again election by the Father
   precedes the work of the Holy Spirit in, and the obedience of faith by,
   those who are saved; thus taking it entirely off creature ground, and
   resting it in the Sovereign pleasure of the Almighty. The
   "foreknowledge of God the Father" does not here refer to His prescience
   of all things, but signifies that the saints were all eternally present
   in Christ before the mind of God. God did not "foreknow" that certain
   ones who heard the Gospel would believe it apart from the fact that He
   had "ordained" these certain ones to eternal life. What God's
   prescience saw in all men was, love of sin and hatred of Himself. The
   "foreknowledge" of God is based upon His own decrees as is clear from
   Acts 2:23-"Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and
   foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified
   and slain"-note the order here: first God's "determinate counsel" (His
   decree), and second His "foreknowledge." So it is again in Romans 8:28,
   29, "For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed
   to the image of His Son," but the first word here, "for," looks back to
   the preceding verse and the last clause of its reads, "to them who are
   the called according to His purpose"-these are the ones whom He did
   "foreknow and predestinate." Finally, it needs to be pointed out that
   when we read in Scripture of God "knowing" certain people the word is
   used in the sense of knowing with approbation and love: "But if any man
   love God, the same is known of Him" (1 Cor. 8:3). To the hypocrites
   Christ will yet say "I never knew you"-He never loved them. "Elect
   according to the foreknowledge of God the Father" signifies, then,
   chosen by Him as the special objects of His approbation and love.

   Summarising the teaching of these seven passages we learn that, God has
   "ordained to eternal life" certain ones, and that in consequence of His
   ordination they, in due time, "believe"; that God's ordination to
   salvation of His own elect is not due to any good thing in them nor to
   anything meritorious from them, but solely of "His grace"; that God has
   designedly selected the most unlikely objects to be the recipients of
   His special favours in order that "no flesh should glory in His
   presence"; that God chose His people in Christ before the foundation of
   the world, not because they were so, but in order that they "should be
   holy and without blame before Him"; that having selected certain ones
   to salvation. He also decreed the means by which His eternal counsel
   should be made good; that the very "grace" by which we are saved was,
   in God's purpose, "given us in Christ Jesus before the world began";
   that long before they were actually created God's elect stood present
   before His mind, were "foreknown" by Him, i.e., were the definite
   objects of His eternal love.

   Before turning to the next division of this chapter, a further word
   concerning the subjects of God's predestinating grace. We go over this
   ground again because it is at this point that the doctrine of God's
   Sovereignty in predestining certain ones to salvation is most
   frequently assaulted. Perverters of this truth invariably seek to find
   some cause outside God's own will which moves Him to bestow salvation
   on sinners; something or other is attributed to the creature which
   entitles him to receive mercy at the hands of the Creator. We return
   then to the question, Why did God choose the ones He did?

   What was there in the elect themselves which attracted God's heart to
   them? Was it because of certain virtues they possessed? because they
   were generous-hearted, sweet-tempered, truth-speaking? in a word,
   because they were "good," that God chose them? No; for our Lord said,
   "There is none good but one, that is God" (Matt. 19:17). Was it because
   of any good works they had performed? No; for it is written, "There is
   none that doeth good, no, not one" (Rom. 3:12). Was it because they
   evidenced an earnestness and zeal in inquiring after God? No; for it is
   written again, "There is none that seeketh after God" (Rom. 3:11). Was
   it because God foresaw they would believe? No; for how can those who
   are "dead in trespasses and sins" believe in Christ? How could God
   foreknow some men as believers when belief was impossible to them?
   Scripture declares that we "believe through grace" (Acts 18:27). Faith
   is God's gift, and apart from this gift none would believe. The cause
   of His choice then lies within Himself and not in the objects of His
   choice. He chose the ones He did simply because He chose to choose
   them.

   "Sons we are by God's election
   Who on Jesus Christ believe,
   By eternal destination,
   Sovereign grace we now receive,
   Lord Thy mercy,
   Doth both grace and glory give!"

   2. THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD THE SON IN SALVATION.

   For whom did Christ die? It surely does not need arguing that the
   Father had an express purpose in giving Him to die, or that God the Son
   had a definite design before Him in laying down His life-"Known unto
   God are all His works from the beginning of the world" (Acts 15:18).
   What then was the purpose of the Father and the design of the Son. We
   answer, Christ died for "God's elect."

   We are not unmindful of the fact that the limited design in the death
   of Christ has been the subject of much controversy-what great truth
   revealed in Scripture has not? Nor do we forget that anything which has
   to do with the Person and work of our blessed Lord requires to be
   handled with the utmost reverence, and that a "Thus saith the Lord"
   must be given in support of every assertion we make. Our appeal shall
   be to the Law and to the Testimony.

   For whom did Christ die? Who were the ones He intended to redeem by His
   blood-shedding? Surely the Lord Jesus had some absolute determination
   before Him when He went to the Cross. If He had, then it necessarily
   follows that the extent of that purpose was limited, because an
   absolute determination of purpose must be effected. If the absolute
   determination of Christ included all mankind, then all mankind would
   most certainly be saved. To escape this inevitable conclusion many have
   affirmed that there was not such absolute determination before Christ,
   that in His death a merely conditional provision of salvation has been
   made for all mankind. The refutation of this assertion is found in the
   promises made by the Father to His Son before He went to the Cross,
   yea, before He became incarnate. The Old Testament Scriptures represent
   the Father as promising the Son a certain reward for His sufferings on
   behalf of sinners. At this stage we shall confine ourselves to one or
   two statements recorded in the well known Fifty-third of Isaiah. There
   we find God saying, "When Thou shalt make His soul an offering for sin,
   He shall see His seed," that "He shall see of the travail of His soul,
   and shall be satisfied," and that God's righteous Servant "should
   justify many" (vv. 10 and 11). But here we would pause and ask, How
   could it be certain that Christ should "see His seed," and "see of the
   travail of His soul and be satisfied," unless the salvation of certain
   members of the human race had been Divinely decreed, and therefore was
   sure? How could it be certain that Christ should "justify many," if no
   effectual provision was made that any should receive Him as their Lord
   and Saviour? On the other hand, to insist that the Lord Jesus did
   expressly purpose the salvation of all mankind is to charge Him with
   that which no intelligent being should be guilty of, namely, to design
   that which by virtue of His omniscience He knew would never come to
   pass. Hence, the only alternative left us is that, so far as the
   pre-determined purpose of His death is concerned Christ died for the
   elect only. Summing up in a sentence, which we trust will be
   intelligible to every reader, we would say, Christ died not merely to
   make possible the salvation of all mankind, but to make certain the
   salvation of all that the Father had given to Him. Christ died not
   simply to render sins pardonable, but "to put away sin by the sacrifice
   of Himself" (Heb. 9:26). As to whose "sin" (i.e., guilt, as in 1 John
   1:7, etc.) has been "put away," Scripture leaves us in no doubt-it was
   that of the elect, the "world" (John 1:29) of God's people!

   (1) The limited design in the Atonement follows, necessarily, from the
   eternal choice of the Father of certain ones unto salvation. The
   Scriptures inform us that before the Lord became incarnate He said,
   "Lo, I come, to do Thy will O God" (Heb. 10:7), and after He had become
   incarnate He declared, "For I came down from Heaven, not to do Mine own
   will, but the will of Him that sent Me" (John 6:38). If then God had
   from the beginning chosen certain ones to salvation, then, because the
   will of Christ was in perfect accord with the will of the Father, He
   would not seek to enlarge upon His election. What we have just said is
   not merely a plausible deduction of our own, but is in strict harmony
   with the express teaching of the Word. Again and again our Lord
   referred to those whom the Father had "given" Him, and concerning whom
   He was particularly exercised. Said He, "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" (John 6:37, 39). And again, "These words spake
   Jesus, and lifted up His eyes to Heaven, and said, Father, the hour is
   come; glorify Thy Son, that Thy Son also may glorify Thee; 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...
   Father, I will that they also, whom Thou hast given Me, be with Me
   where I am; that they may behold My glory, which Thou hast given Me:
   for Thou lovedst Me before the foundation of the world" (John 17:1, 2,
   6, 9, 24). Before the foundation of the world the Father predestinated
   a people to be conformed to the image of His Son, and the death and
   resurrection of the Lord Jesus was in order to the carrying out of the
   Divine purpose.

   (2) The very nature of the Atonement evidences that, in its application
   to sinners, it was limited in the purpose of God. The Atonement of
   Christ may be considered from two chief viewpoints-Godward and manward.
   Godward, the Cross-work of Christ was a propitiation, an appeasing of
   Divine wrath, a satisfaction rendered to Divine justice and holiness;
   manward, it was a substitution, the Innocent taking the place of the
   guilty, the Just dying for the unjust. But a strict substitution of a
   Person for persons, and the infliction upon Him of voluntary
   sufferings, involve the definite recognition on the part of the
   Substitute and of the One He is to propitiate of the persons for whom
   He acts, whose sins He bears, whose legal obligations He discharges.
   Furthermore, if the Lawgiver accepts the satisfaction which is made by
   the Substitute, then those for whom the Substitute acts, whose place He
   takes, must necessarily be acquitted. If I am in debt and unable to
   discharge it and another comes forward and pays my creditor in full and
   receives a receipt in acknowledgement, then, in the sight of the law,
   my creditor no longer has any claim upon me. On the Cross the Lord
   Jesus gave Himself a ransom, and that it was accepted by God was
   attested by the open grave three days later; the question we would here
   raise is, For whom was this ransom offered? If it was offered for all
   mankind then the debt incurred by every man has been cancelled. If
   Christ bore in His own body on the tree the sins of all men without
   exception, then none will perish. If Christ was "made a curse" for all
   of Adam's race then none are now "under condemnation." "Payment God
   cannot twice demand, first at my bleeding Surety's hand and then again
   at mine." But Christ did not discharge the debts of all men without
   exception, for some there are who will be '"cast into prison" (cf. 1
   Peter 3:19 where the same Greek word for "prison" occurs), and they
   shall "by no means come out thence, till they have paid the uttermost
   farthing" (Matt. 5:26), which, of course, will never be. Christ did not
   bear the sins of all mankind, for some there are who "die in their
   sins" (John 8:21), and whose "sin remaineth" (John 9:41). Christ was
   not "made a curse" for all of Adam's race, for some there are to whom
   He will yet say, "Depart from Me ye cursed" (Matt. 25:41). To say that
   Christ died for all alike, to say that He became the Substitute and
   Surety of the whole human race, to say that He suffered on behalf of
   and in the stead of all mankind, is to say that He "bore the curse for
   many who are now bearing the curse for themselves; that He suffered
   punishment for many who are now lifting up their own eyes in Hell,
   being in torments; that He paid the redemption price for many who shall
   yet pay in their own eternal anguish the wages of sin, which is death"
   (George S. Bishop). But, on the other hand, to say as Scripture says,
   that Christ was stricken for the transgressions of God's people, to say
   that He gave His life "for the sheep," to say He gave His life a ransom
   "for many," is to say that He made an atonement which fully atones; it
   is to say He paid a price which actually ransoms; it is to say He was
   set forth a propitiation which really propitiates; it is to say He is a
   Saviour who truly saves.

   (3) Closely connected with, and confirmatory of what we have said
   above, is the teaching of Scripture concerning our Lord's priesthood.
   It is as the great High Priest that Christ now makes intercession. But
   for whom does He intercede? for the whole human race, or only for His
   own people? The answer furnished by the New Testament to this question
   is clear as a sunbeam. Our Saviour has entered into Heaven itself "now
   to appear in the presence of God for us" (Heb. 9:24), that is, for
   those who are "partakers of the heavenly calling" (Heb. 3:1). And again
   it is written, "Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost
   that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession
   for them" (Heb. 7:25). This is in strict accord with the Old Testament
   type. After slaying the sacrificial animal, Aaron went into the holy of
   holies as the representative and on behalf of the people of God: it was
   the names of Israel's tribes which were engraven on his breastplate,
   and it was in their interests he appeared before God. Agreeable to this
   are our Lord's words in John 17:9-"I pray for them: I pray not for the
   world, but for them which Thou hast given Me; for they are Thine."
   Another Scripture which deserves careful attention in this connection
   is found in Romans 8. In verse 33 the question is asked, "Who shall lay
   anything to the charge of God's elect?" and then follows the inspired
   answer-"It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is
   Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the
   right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us." Note
   particularly that the death and intercession of Christ have one and the
   same objects! As it was in the type so it is with the
   antitype-expiation and supplication are co-extensive. If then Christ
   intercedes for the elect only, and "not for the world," then He died
   for them only. And observe further, that the death, resurrection,
   exaltation and intercession of the Lord Jesus are here assigned as the
   reason why none can lay any "charge" against God's elect. Let those who
   would still take issue with what we are advancing weigh carefully the
   following question-If the death of Christ extends equally to all, how
   does it become security against a "charge," seeing that all who believe
   not are "under condemnation"? (John 3:18).

   (4) The number of those who share the benefits of Christ's death is
   determined not only by the nature of the Atonement and the priesthood
   of Christ but also by His power. Grant that the One who died upon the
   Cross was God manifest in the flesh and it follows inevitably that what
   Christ has purposed that will He perform; that what He has purchased
   that will He possess; that what He has set His heart upon that will He
   secure. If the Lord Jesus possesses all power in Heaven and earth then
   none can successfully resist His will. But it may be said, This is true
   in the abstract, nevertheless, Christ refuses to exercise this power,
   inasmuch as He will never force anyone to receive Him as their Lord and
   Saviour. In one sense that is true, but in another sense it is
   positively untrue. The salvation of any sinner is a matter of Divine
   power. By nature the sinner is at enmity with God, and naught but
   Divine power operating within him can overcome this enmity; hence it is
   written, "No man can come unto Me, except the Father which hath sent Me
   draw him" (John 6:44). It is the Divine power overcoming the sinner's
   innate enmity which makes him willing to come to Christ that he might
   have life. But this "enmity" is not overcome in all-why? Is it because
   the enmity is too strong to be overcome? Are there some hearts so
   steeled against Him that Christ is unable to gain entrance? To answer
   in the affirmative is to deny His omnipotence. In the final analysis it
   is not a question of the sinner's willingness or unwillingness, for by
   nature all are unwilling. Willingness to come to Christ is the finished
   product of Divine power operating in the human heart and will in
   overcoming man's inherent and chronic "enmity," as it is written, "Thy
   people shall be willing in the day of Thy power" (Psa. 110:3). To say
   that Christ is unable to win to Himself those who are unwilling is to
   deny that all power in Heaven and earth is His. To say that Christ
   cannot put forth His power without destroying man's responsibility is a
   begging of the question here raised, for He has put forth His power and
   made willing those who have come to Him, and if He did this without
   destroying their responsibility, why "cannot" He do so with others? If
   He is able to win the heart of one sinner to Himself why not that of
   another? To say, as is usually said, the others will not let Him is to
   impeach His sufficiency. It is a question of His will. If the Lord
   Jesus has decreed, desired, purposed the salvation of all mankind, then
   the entire human race will be saved, or, otherwise, He lacks the power
   to make good His intentions; and in such a case it could never be said,
   "He shall see of the travail of His soul and be satisfied." The issue
   raised involves the deity of the Saviour, for a defeated Saviour cannot
   be God.

   Having reviewed some of the general principles which require us to
   believe that the death of Christ was limited in its design, we turn now
   to consider some of the explicit statements of Scripture which
   expressly affirm it. In that wondrous and matchless Fifty-third of
   Isaiah God tells us concerning His Son, "He was taken from prison and
   from judgement: and who shall declare His generation? for He was cut
   off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of My people
   was He stricken" (v. 8). In perfect harmony with this was the word of
   the angel to Joseph, "Thou shalt call His name JESUS, for He shall save
   His people from their sins" (Matt. 1:21) i.e., not merely Israel, but
   all whom the Father had "given" Him. Our Lord Himself declared, "The
   Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give
   His life a ransom for many" (Matt. 20:28), but why have said "for many"
   if all without exception were included? It was "His people" whom He
   "redeemed" (Luke 1:68). It was for "the sheep," and not the "goats,"
   that the Good Shepherd gave His life (John 10:11). It was the "Church
   of God" which He purchased with His own blood" (Acts 20:28).

   If there is one Scripture more than any other upon which we should be
   willing to rest our case it is John 11:49-52. Here we are told, "And
   one of them, named Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said
   unto them, Ye know nothing at all, nor consider that it is expedient
   for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole
   nation perish not. And this spake he not of himself: but being high
   priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation;
   And not for that nation only, but that also He should gather together
   in one the children of God that were scattered abroad." Here we are
   told that Caiaphas "prophesied not of himself," that is, like those
   employed by God in Old Testament times (see 2 Peter 1:21), his prophecy
   originated not with himself, but he spake as he was moved by the Holy
   Spirit; thus is the value of his utterance carefully guarded, and the
   Divine source of this revelation expressly vouched for. Here, too, we
   are definitely informed that Christ died for "that nation," i.e.,
   Israel, and also for the One Body, His Church, for it is into the
   Church that the children of God-"scattered" among the nations-are now
   being "gathered together in one." And is it not remarkable that the
   members of the Church are here called "children of God" even before
   Christ died, and therefore before He commenced to build His Church! The
   vast majority of them had not then been born, yet they were regarded as
   "children of God"; children of God because they had been chosen in
   Christ before the foundation of the world, and therefore "predestinated
   unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself" (Eph. 1:4,
   5). In like manner, Christ said, "Other sheep I have (not "shall have")
   which are not of this fold" (John 10:16).

   If ever the real design of the Cross was uppermost in the heart and
   speech of our blessed Saviour it was during the last week of His
   earthly ministry. What then do the Scriptures which treat of this
   portion of His ministry record in connection with our present inquiry?
   They say, "When Jesus knew that His hour was come that He should depart
   out of this world unto the Father, having loved His own which were in
   the world, He loved them unto the end" (John 13:1). They tell us how He
   said, "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down His life
   for His friends" (John 15:13). They record His word, "For their sakes I
   sanctify Myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth"
   (John 17:19); which means, that for the sake of His own, those "given"
   to Him by the Father, He separated Himself unto the death of the Cross.
   One may well ask, Why such discrimination of terms if Christ died for
   all men indiscriminately?

   Ere closing this section of the chapter we shall consider briefly a few
   of those passages which seem to teach most strongly an unlimited design
   in the death of Christ. In 2 Corinthians 5:14 we read, "One died for
   all." But that is not all this Scripture affirms. If the entire verse
   and passage from which these words are quoted be carefully examined, it
   will be found that instead of teaching an unlimited atonement, it
   emphatically argues a limited design in the death of Christ. The whole
   verse reads, "For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus
   judge, that if One died for all, then were all dead." It should be
   pointed out that in the Greek there is the definite article before the
   last "all," and that the verb here is in the aorist tense, and
   therefore should read, "We thus judge: that if One died for all, then
   the all died." The Apostle is here drawing a conclusion as is clear
   from the words "we thus judge, that if... then were." His meaning is,
   that those for whom the One died are regarded, judicially, as having
   died too. The next verse goes on to say, "And He died for all, that
   they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto
   Him which died for them, and rose again." The One not only died but
   "rose again," and so, too, did the "all" for whom He died, for it is
   here said they "live." Those for whom a substitute acts are legally
   regarded as having acted themselves. In the sight of the law the
   substitute and those whom he represents are one. So it is in the sight
   of God. Christ was identified with His people and His people were
   identified with Him, hence when He died they died (judicially) and when
   He rose they rose also. But further we are told in this passage (v.
   17), that if any man be in Christ he is a new creation; he has received
   a new life in fact as well as in the sight of the law, hence the "all"
   for whom Christ died are here bidden to live henceforth no more unto
   themselves, "but unto Him which died for them, and rose again." In
   other words, those who belonged to this "all" for whom Christ died, are
   here exhorted to manifest practically in their daily lives what is true
   of them judicially: they are to "live unto Christ who died for them."
   Thus the "One died for all" is defined for us. The "all" for which
   Christ died are they which "live," and which are here bidden to live
   "unto Him." This passage then teaches three important truths, and the
   better to show its scope we mention them in their inverse order:
   certain ones are here bidden to live no more unto themselves but unto
   Christ; the ones thus admonished are "they which live," that is live
   spiritually, hence, the children of God, for they alone of mankind
   possess spiritual life, all others being dead in trespasses and sins;
   those who do thus live are the ones, the "all," the "them," for whom
   Christ died and rose again. This passage therefore teaches that Christ
   died for all His people, the elect, those given to Him by the Father;
   that as the result of His death (and rising again "for them") they
   "live"-and the elect are the only ones who do thus "live"; and this
   life which is theirs through Christ must be lived "unto Him," Christ's
   love must now "constrain" them.

   "For there is one God, and one Mediator, between God and men (not
   "man," for this would have been a generic term and signified mankind. O
   the accuracy of Holy Writ!), the Man Christ Jesus; who gave Himself a
   ransom for all, to be testified in due time" (1 Tim. 2:5, 6). It is
   upon the words "who gave Himself a ransom for all" we would now
   comment. In Scripture the word "all" (as applied to humankind) is used
   in two senses-absolutely and relatively. In some passages it means all
   without exception; in others it signifies all without distinction. As
   to which of these meanings it bears in any particular passage, must be
   determined by the context and decided by a comparison of parallel
   Scriptures. That the word "all" is used in a relative and restricted
   sense, and in such case means all without distinction and not all
   without exception, is clear from a number of Scriptures, from which we
   select two or three as samples. "And there went out unto him all the
   land of Judea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptised of him in
   the river of Jordan, confessing their sins" (Mark 1:5). Does this mean
   that every man, woman and child from "all the land of Judea and they of
   Jerusalem" were baptised of John in Jordan? Surely not. Luke 7:30
   distinctly says, "But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of
   God against themselves, being not baptised of him." Then what does "all
   baptised of him" mean? We answer it does not mean all without
   exception, but all without distinction, that is, all classes and
   conditions of men. The same explanation applies to Luke 3:21. Again we
   read, "And early in the morning He came again into the Temple, and all
   the people came unto Him; and He sat down, and taught them" (John 8:2);
   are we to understand this expression absolutely or relatively? Does
   "all the people" mean all without exception or all without distinction,
   that is, all classes and conditions of people? Manifestly the latter;
   for the Temple was not able to accommodate everybody that was in
   Jerusalem at this time, namely, the Feast of Tabernacles. Again, we
   read in Acts 22:15, "For thou (Paul) shalt be His witness unto all men
   of what thou hast seen and heard." Surely "all men" here does not mean
   every member of the human race. Now we submit that the words "who gave
   Himself a ransom for all" in 1 Timothy 2:6 mean all without
   distinction, and not all without exception. He gave Himself a ransom
   for men of all nationalities, of all generations, of all classes; in a
   word, for all the elect, as we read in Revelation 5:9, "For Thou wast
   slain, and hast redeemed us to God by Thy blood out of every kindred,
   and tongue, and people, and nation." That this is not an arbitrary
   definition of the "all" in our passage is clear from Matthew 20:28
   where we read, "The Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to
   minister, and to give His life a ransom for many," which limitation
   would be quite meaningless if He gave Himself a ransom for all without
   exception. Furthermore, the qualifying words here, "to be testified in
   due time" must be taken into consideration. If Christ gave Himself a
   ransom for the whole human race, in what sense will this be "testified
   in due time"? seeing that multitudes of men will certainly be eternally
   lost. But if our text means that Christ gave Himself a ransom for God's
   elect, for all without distinction, without distinction of nationality,
   social prestige, moral character, age or sex, then the meaning of these
   qualifying words is quite intelligible, for in "due time" this will be
   "testified" in the actual and accomplished salvation of every one of
   them.

   "But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the
   suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that He by the grace
   of God should taste death for every man" (Heb. 2:9). This passage need
   not detain us long. A false doctrine has been erected here on a false
   translation. There is no word whatever in the Greek corresponding to
   "man" in our English version. In the Greek it is left in the
   abstract-"He tasted death for every." The Revised Version has correctly
   omitted "man" from the text, but has wrongly inserted it in italics.
   Others suppose the word "thing" should be supplied-"He tasted death for
   every thing"-but this, too, we deem a mistake. It seems to us that the
   words which immediately follow explain our text: "For it became Him,
   for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many
   sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through
   sufferings." It is of "sons" the Apostle is here writing, and we
   suggest an ellipsis of "son"-thus: "He tasted death for every"-and
   supply son in italics. Thus instead of teaching the unlimited design of
   Christ's death, Hebrews 2:9, 10 is in perfect accord with the other
   Scriptures we have quoted which set for the restricted purpose in the
   Atonement: it was for the "sons" and not the human race our Lord
   "tasted death." [7]

   In closing this section of the chapter let us say that the only
   limitation in the Atonement we have contended for arises from pure
   Sovereignty; it is a limitation not of value and virtue, but of design
   and application. We turn now to consider -

   3. THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT IN SALVATION.

   Since the Holy Spirit is one of the three Persons in the blessed
   Trinity, it necessarily follows that He is in full sympathy with the
   will and design of the other Persons of the Godhead. The eternal
   purpose of the Father in election, the limited design in the death of
   the Son, and the restricted scope of the Holy Spirit's operations are
   in perfect accord. If the Father chose certain ones before the
   foundation of the world and gave them to His Son, and if it was for
   them that Christ gave Himself a ransom, then the Holy Spirit is not now
   working to "bring the world to Christ." The mission of the Holy Spirit
   in the world today is to apply the benefits of Christ's redemptive
   sacrifice. The question which is now to engage us is not the extent of
   the Holy Spirit's power-on that point there can he no doubt, it is
   infinite-but what we shall seek to show is that His power and
   operations are directed by Divine wisdom and Sovereignty.

   We have just said that the power and operations of the Holy Spirit are
   directed by Divine wisdom and indisputable Sovereignty. In proof of
   this assertion we appeal first to our Lord's words to Nicodemus in John
   3: 8- "The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound
   thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth; so
   is every one that is born of the Spirit." A comparison is here drawn
   between the wind and the Spirit. The comparison is a double one: first,
   both are Sovereign in their actions, and second, both are mysterious in
   their operations. The comparison is pointed out in the word "so." The
   first point of analogy is seen in the words, "where it listeth" or
   "pleaseth"; the second is found in the words "canst not tell." With the
   second point of analogy we are not now concerned, but upon the first we
   would comment further.

   "The wind bloweth where it pleaseth... so is every one that is born of
   the Spirit."The wind is an element which man can neither harness nor
   hinder. The wind neither consults man's pleasure nor can it be
   regulated by his devices. So it is with the Spirit. The wind blows when
   it pleases, where it pleases, as it pleases. So it is with the Spirit.
   The wind is regulated by Divine wisdom, yet, so far as man is
   concerned, it is absolutely Sovereign in its operations. So it is with
   the Spirit. Sometimes the wind blows so softly it scarcely rustles a
   leaf; at other times it blows so loudly that its roar can be heard for
   miles. So it is in the matter of the new birth; with some the Holy
   Spirit deals so gently that His work is imperceptible to human
   onlookers; with others His action is so powerful, radical,
   revolutionary, that His operations are patent to many. Sometimes the
   wind is purely local in its reach, at other times widespread in its
   scope. So it is with the Spirit: today He acts on one or two souls,
   tomorrow He may, as at Pentecost, "prick in the heart" a whole
   multitude. But whether He works on few or many He consults not man. He
   acts as He pleases. The new birth is due to the Sovereign will of the
   Spirit

   Each of the three Persons in the blessed Trinity is concerned with our
   salvation: with the Father it is predestination; with the Son
   propitiation; with the Spirit regeneration. The Father chose us; the
   Son died for us; the Spirit quickens us. The Father was concerned about
   us; the Son shed His blood for us, the Spirit performs His work within
   us. What the One did was eternal, what the Other did was external, what
   the Spirit does is internal. It is with the work of the Spirit we are
   now concerned, with His work in the new birth, and particularly His
   Sovereign operations in the new birth. The Father purposed our new
   birth; the Son has made possible (by His "travail") the new birth; but
   it is the Spirit who effects the new birth-"Born of the Spirit" (John
   3:6).

   The new birth is solely the work of God the Spirit and man has no part
   or lot in it. This from the very nature of the case. Birth altogether
   excludes the idea of any effort or work on the part of the one who is
   born. Personally we have no more to do with our spiritual birth than we
   had with our natural birth. The new birth is a spiritual resurrection,
   a "passing from death unto life" (John 5:24) and, clearly, resurrection
   is altogether outside of man's province. No corpse can re-animate
   itself. Hence it is written, "It is the Spirit that quickeneth; the
   flesh profiteth nothing" (John 6:63). But the Spirit does not "quicken"
   everybody-why? The usual answer returned to this question is, Because
   everybody does not trust in Christ. It is supposed that the Holy Spirit
   quickens only those who believe. But this is to put the cart before the
   horse. Faith is not the cause of the new birth, but the consequence of
   it. This ought not to need arguing. Faith (in God) is an exotic,
   something that is not native to the human heart. If faith were a
   natural product of the human heart, the exercise of a principle common
   to human nature, it would never have been written, "All men have not
   faith" (2 Thess. 3:2). Faith is a spiritual grace, the fruit of the
   spiritual nature, and because the unregenerate are spiritually
   dead-"dead in trespasses and sins"-then it follows that faith from them
   is impossible, for a dead man cannot believe anything. "So then they
   that are in the flesh cannot please God" (Rom. 8:8)-but they could if
   it were possible for the flesh to believe. Compare with this
   last-quoted Scripture Hebrews 11:6-"But without faith it is impossible
   to please Him." Can God be "pleased" or satisfied with any thing which
   does not have its origin in Himself?

   That the work of the Holy Spirit precedes our believing is
   unequivocally established by 2 Thessalonians 2:13-"God hath from the
   beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit
   and belief of the truth." Note that "sanctification of the Spirit"
   comes before and makes possible "belief of the truth." What then is the
   "sanctification of the Spirit?" We answer, the new birth. In Scripture
   "sanctification" always means "separation," separation for something
   and unto something or someone. Let us now amplify our assertion that
   the "sanctification of the Spirit" corresponds to the new birth and
   points to the positional effect of it.

   Here is a servant of God who preaches the Gospel to a congregation in
   which are an hundred unsaved people. He brings before them the teaching
   of Scripture concerning their ruined and lost condition: he speaks of
   God, His character and righteous demands; he tells of Christ meeting
   God's demands, and dying the Just for the unjust, and declares that
   through "this Man" is now preached the forgiveness of sins; he closes
   by urging the lost to believe what God has said in His Word and receive
   His Son as their Lord and Saviour. The meeting is over; the
   congregation disperses; ninety-nine of the unsaved have refused to come
   to Christ that they might have life, and go out into the night having
   no hope, and without God in the world. But the hundredth heard the Word
   of life; the Seed sown fell into ground which had been prepared by God;
   he believed the Good News, and goes home rejoicing that his name is
   written in Heaven. He has been "born again," and just as a newly-born
   babe in the natural world begins life by clinging instinctively, in its
   helplessness, to its mother, so this new-born soul has clung to Christ.
   Just as we read, "The Lord opened" the heart of Lydia "that she
   attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul" (Acts 16:14), so in
   the case supposed above, the Holy Spirit quickened that one before he
   believed the Gospel message. Here then is the "sanctification of the
   Spirit": this one soul who has been born again has, by virtue of his
   new birth, been separated from the other ninety-nine. Those born again
   are, by the Spirit, set apart from those who are dead in trespasses and
   sins.

   A beautiful type of the operations of the Holy Spirit antecedent to the
   sinner's "belief of the truth," is found in the first chapter of
   Genesis. We read in verse 2, "And the earth was without form, and void;
   and darkness was upon the face of the deep." The original Hebrew here
   might be literally rendered thus: "And the earth had become a desolate
   ruin, and darkness was upon the face of the deep." In "the beginning"
   the earth was not created in the condition described in verse 2.
   Between the first two verses of Genesis 1 some awful catastrophe had
   occurred-possibly the fall of Satan--and, as the consequence, the earth
   had been blasted and blighted, and had become a "desolate ruin," lying
   beneath a pall of "darkness." Such also is the history of man. Today,
   man is not in the condition in which he left the hands of his Creator:
   an awful catastrophe has happened, and now man is a "desolate ruin" and
   in total "darkness" concerning spiritual things. Next we read in
   Genesis 1 how God refashioned the ruined earth and created new beings
   to inhabit it. First we read, "And the Spirit of God moved upon the
   face of the water." Next we are told, "And God said, Let there be
   light; and there was light." The order is the same in the new creation:
   there is the first the action of the Spirit, and then the Word of God
   giving light. Before the Word found entrance into the scene of
   desolation and darkness, bringing with it the light, the Spirit of God
   "moved." So it is in the new creation. "The entrance of Thy word giveth
   light" (Psa. 119:130), but before it can enter the darkened human heart
   the Spirit of God must operate upon it. [8]

   To return to 2 Thessalonians 2:13: "But we are bound to give thanks
   always 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." The order of thought here is most
   important and instructive. First, God's eternal choice; second, the
   sanctification of the Spirit; third, belief of the truth. Precisely the
   same order is found in 1 Peter 1:2-"Elect according to the
   foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit,
   unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ." We take it
   that the "obedience" here is the "obedience to the faith" (Rom. 1:5),
   which appropriates the virtues of the sprinkled blood of the Lord
   Jesus. So then before the "obedience" (of faith, cf. Heb. 5:9), there
   is the work of the Spirit setting us apart, and behind that is the
   election of God the Father. The ones "sanctified of the Spirit" then,
   are they whom "God hath from the beginning chosen to salvation" (2
   Thess. 2:13), those who are "elect according to the foreknowledge of
   God the Father" (1 Peter 1:2).

   But, it may be said, is not the present mission of the Holy Spirit to
   "convict the world of sin"? And we answer, it is not. The mission of
   the Spirit is threefold; to glorify Christ, to vivify the elect, to
   edify the saints. John 16:8-11 does not describe the "mission" of the
   Spirit, but sets forth the significance of His presence here in the
   world. It treats not of His subjective work in sinners, showing them
   their need of Christ, by searching their consciences and striking
   terror to their hearts; what we have there is entirely objective. To
   illustrate. Suppose I saw a man hanging on the gallows, of what would
   that "convince" me? Why, that he was a murderer. How would I thus be
   convinced? By reading the record of his trial? by hearing a confession
   from his own lips? No; but by the fact that he was hanging there. So
   the fact that the Holy Spirit is here furnishes proof of the world's
   guilt, of God's righteousness, and of the Devil's judgement.

   The Holy Spirit ought not to be here at all. That is a startling
   statement, but we make it deliberately. Christ is the One who ought to
   be here. He was sent here by the Father, but the world did not want
   Him, would not have Him, hated Him, and cast Him out. And the presence
   of the Spirit here instead evidences its guilt. The coming of the
   Spirit was a proof to demonstration of the resurrection, ascension, and
   glory of the Lord Jesus. His presence on earth reverses the world's
   verdict, showing that God has set aside the blasphemous judgement in
   the palace of Israel's high priest and in the hall of the Roman
   governor. The "reproof" of the Spirit abides, and abides altogether
   irrespective of the world's reception or rejection of His testimony.

   Had our Lord been referring here to the gracious work which the Spirit
   would perform in those who should be brought to feel their need of Him,
   He had said that the Spirit would convict men of their unrighteousness,
   their lack of righteousness. But this is not the thought here at all.
   The descent of the Spirit from Heaven establishes God's righteousness,
   Christ's righteousness. The proof of that is, Christ has gone to the
   Father. Had Christ been an Impostor, as the religious world insisted
   when they cast Him out, the Father had not received Him. The fact that
   the Father did exalt Him to His own right hand, demonstrates that He
   was innocent of the charges laid against Him; and the proof that the
   Father has received Him, is the presence now of the Holy Spirit on
   earth, for Christ has sent Him from the Father (John 16:7)! The world
   was unrighteous in casting Him out, the Father righteous in glorifying
   Him; and this is what the Spirit's presence here establishes.

   "Of judgement, because the Prince of this world is judged" (v. 11).
   This is the logical and inevitable climax. The world is brought in
   guilty for their rejection of, for their refusal to receive, Christ.
   Its condemnation is exhibited by the Father's exaltation of the spurned
   One. Therefore nothing awaits the world, and its Prince, but judgement.
   The "judgement" of Satan is already established by the Spirit's
   presence here, for Christ, through death, set at nought him who had the
   power of death, that is, the Devil (Heb. 2:14). When God's time comes
   for the Spirit to depart from the earth then His sentence will be
   executed, both on the world and its Prince. In the light of this
   unspeakably solemn passage we need not be surprised to find Christ
   saying, "The Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it
   seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him." No, the world wants Him not; He
   condemns the world.

   "And when He is come, He will reprove (or, better, "convict"-bring in
   guilty) the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgement: Of
   sin, because they believe not on Me; of righteousness, because I go to
   My Father, and ye see Me no more; Of judgement, because the prince of
   this world is judged" (John 16:8-11). Three things, then, the presence
   of the Holy Spirit on earth demonstrates to the world: first, its sin,
   because the world refused to believe on Christ; second, God's
   righteousness in exalting to His own right hand the One cast out, and
   now no more seen by the world; third, judgement, because Satan the
   world's prince is already judged, though execution of his judgement is
   yet future. Thus the Holy Spirit's presence here displays things as
   they really are. We repeat, John 16:8-11 makes no reference to the
   mission of the Spirit of God in the world, for during this
   dispensation, the Spirit has no mission and ministry worldward.

   The Holy Spirit is Sovereign in His operations and His mission is
   confined to God's elect: they are the ones He "comforts," "seals,"
   guides into all truth, shows things to come, etc. The work of the
   Spirit is necessary in order to the complete accomplishment of the
   Father's eternal purpose. Speaking hypothetically, but reverently, be
   it said, that if God had done nothing more than given Christ to die for
   sinners, not a single sinner would ever have been saved. In order for
   any sinner to see his need of a Saviour and be willing to receive the
   Saviour he needs the work of the Holy Spirit upon and within him as
   imperatively required. Had God done nothing more than given Christ to
   die for sinners and then sent forth His servants to proclaim salvation
   through Jesus Christ, thus leaving sinners entirely to themselves to
   accept or reject as they pleased, then every sinner would have
   rejected, because at heart every man hates God and is at enmity with
   Him. Therefore the work of the Holy Spirit was needed to bring the
   sinner to Christ, to overcome his innate opposition, and compel him to
   accept the provision God has made. We say "compel" the sinner, for this
   is precisely what the Holy Spirit does, has to do, and this leads us to
   consider at some length, though as briefly as possible, the parable of
   the "Marriage Supper."

   In Luke 14:16 we read, "A certain man made a great supper, and bade
   many." By comparing carefully what follows here with Matthew 22:2-10
   several important distinctions will be observed. We take it that these
   passages are two independent accounts of the same parable, differing in
   detail according to the distinctive purpose and design of the Holy
   Spirit in each Gospel. Matthew's account-in harmony with the Spirit's
   presentation there of Christ as the King says, "A certain king made a
   marriage for his son." Luke's account-where the Spirit presents Christ
   as the Son of Man-says "A certain man made a great supper and bade
   many." Matthew 22:3 says, "And sent forth His servants"; Luke 14:17
   says, "And sent His servant." Now what we wish particularly to call
   attention to is, that all through Matthew's account it is "servants,"
   whereas in Luke it is always "servant." The class of readers for whom
   we are writing are those that believe, unreservedly, in the verbal
   inspiration of the Scriptures, and such will readily acknowledge there
   must be some reason for this change from the plural number in Matthew
   to the singular number in Luke. We believe the reason is a weighty one
   and that attention to this variation reveals an important truth. We
   believe that the "servants" in Matthew, speaking generally, are all who
   go forth preaching the Gospel, but that the "Servant" in Luke 14 is the
   Holy Spirit, for God the Son, in the days of His earthly ministry, was
   the Servant of Jehovah (Isa. 42:1). It will be observed that in Matthew
   22 the "servants" are sent forth to do three things: first, to "call"
   to the wedding (v. 3); second, to "tell those which are bidden.. all
   things are ready: come unto the marriage" (v. 4); third, to "bid to the
   marriage" (v. 9); and these three are the things which those who
   minister the Gospel today are now doing. In Luke 14 the Servant is also
   sent forth to do three things: first, He is to say to them that were
   bidden, Come: for all things are now ready" (v. 17); second, He is to
   "bring in the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind" (v.
   21); third, He is to "compel them to come in" (v. 23), and the last two
   of these the Holy Spirit alone can do!

   In the above Scripture we see that "the Servant," the Holy Spirit,
   compels certain ones to come in to the "supper" and herein is seen His
   Sovereignty, His omnipotency, His Divine sufficiency. The clear
   implication from this word "compel" is, that those whom the Holy Spirit
   does "bring in" are not willing of themselves to come. This is exactly
   what we have sought to show in previous paragraphs. By nature, God's
   elect are children of wrath even as others (Eph. 2:3), and as such
   their hearts are at enmity with God. But this "enmity" of theirs is
   overcome by the Spirit and He "compels" them to come in. Is it not
   clear then that the reason why others are left outside, is not only
   because they are unwilling to go in, but also because the Holy Spirit
   does not "compel" them to come in? Is it not manifest that the Holy
   Spirit is Sovereign in the exercise of His power, that as the wind
   "bloweth where it pleaseth" sothe Holy Spirit operates where He
   pleases?

   And now to sum up. We have sought to show the perfect consistency of
   God's ways: that each Person in the Godhead acts in sympathy and
   harmony with the Others. God the Father elected certain ones to
   salvation, God the Son died for the elect, and God the Spirit quickens
   the elect. Well may we sing,


   Praise God from whom all blessings flow,

   Praise Him all creatures here below,

   Praise Him above ye heavenly host,

   Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
     __________________________________________________________________

   [7] 1 John 2:2 will be examined in detail in Appendix 4.

   [8] The priority contended for above is rather in order of nature than
   of time, just as the effect must ever be preceded by the cause. A blind
   man must have his eyes opened before he can see, and yet there is no
   interval of time between the one and the other. As soon as his eyes are
   opened, he sees. So a man must be born again before he can "see the
   kingdom of God" (John 3:3). Seeing the Son is necessary to believing in
   Him. Unbelief is attributed to spiritual blindness-those who believed
   not the "report" of the Gospel "saw no beauty" in Christ that they
   should desire Him. The work of the Spirit in "quickening" the one dead
   in sins, precedes faith in Christ, just as cause ever precedes effect.
   But no sooner is the heart turned toward Christ by the Spirit, than the
   Saviour is embraced by the sinner.
     __________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER FIVE
THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD IN REPROBATION

   "Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God"
   (Rom. 11:22).

   In the last chapter when treating of the Sovereignty of God the Father
   in Salvation, we examined seven passages which represent Him as making
   a choice from among the children of men, and predestinating certain
   ones to be conformed to the image of His Son. The thoughtful reader
   will naturally ask, And what of those who were not "ordained to eternal
   life?" The answer which is usually returned to this question, even by
   those who profess to believe what the Scriptures teach concerning God's
   Sovereignty, is, that God passes by the non-elect, leaves them alone to
   go their own way, and in the end casts them into the Lake of Fire
   because they refused His way, and rejected the Saviour of His
   providing. But this is only a part of the truth; the other part-that
   which is most offensive to the carnal mind-is either ignored or denied.

   In view of the awful solemnity of the subject here before us, in view
   of the fact that today almost all-even those who profess to be
   Calvinists-reject and repudiate this doctrine, and in view of the fact
   that this is one of the points in our book which is likely to raise the
   most controversy, we feel that an extended inquiry into this aspect of
   God's Truth is demanded. That this branch of the subject of God's
   Sovereignty is profoundly mysterious we freely allow, yet, that is no
   reason why we should reject it. The trouble is that, nowadays, there
   are so many who receive the testimony of God only so far as they can
   satisfactorily account for all the reasons and grounds of His conduct,
   which means they will accept nothing but that which can be measured in
   the petty scales of their own limited capacities.

   Stating it in its baldest form the point now to be considered is, Has
   God foreordained certain ones to damnation? That many will be eternally
   damned is clear from Scripture, that each one will be judged according
   to his works and reap as he has sown, and that in consequence his
   "damnation is just" (Rom. 3:8), is equally sure, and that God decreed
   that the non-elect should choose the course they follow we now
   undertake to prove.

   From what has been before us in the previous chapter concerning the
   election of some to salvation, it would unavoidably follow, even if
   Scripture had been silent upon it, that there must be a rejection of
   others. Every choice evidently and necessarily implies a refusal, for
   where there is no leaving out there can be no choice. If there be some
   whom God has elected unto salvation (2 Thess. 2:13), there must be
   others who are not elected unto salvation. If there are some that the
   Father gave to Christ (John 6:37), there must be others whom He did not
   give unto Christ. If there be some whose names are written in the
   Lamb's Book of Life (Rev. 21:27), there must be others whose names are
   not written there. That this is the case we shall fully prove below.

   Now all will acknowledge that from the foundation of the world God
   certainly foreknew and foresaw who would and who would not receive
   Christ as their Saviour, therefore in giving being and birth to those
   He knew would reject Christ, He necessarily created them unto
   damnation. All that can be said in reply to this is, No, while God did
   foreknow these would reject Christ, yet He did not decree that they
   should. But this is a begging of the real question at issue. God had a
   definite reason why He created men, a specific purpose why He created
   this and that individual, and in view of the eternal destination of His
   creatures, He purposed either that this one should spend eternity in
   Heaven or that this one should spend eternity in the Lake of Fire. If
   then He foresaw that in creating a certain person that that person
   would despise and reject the Saviour, yet knowing this beforehand He,
   nevertheless, brought that person into existence, then it is clear He
   designed and ordained that that person should be eternally lost. Again;
   faith is God's gift, and the purpose to give it only to some, involves
   the purpose not to give it to others. Without faith there is no
   salvation--"He that believeth not shall be damned"-hence if there were
   some of Adam's descendants to whom He purposed not to give faith, it
   must be because He ordained that they should be damned.

   Not only is there no escape from these conclusions, but history
   confirms them. Before the Divine Incarnation, for almost two thousand
   years, the vast majority of mankind were left destitute of even the
   external means of grace, being favoured with no preaching of God's Word
   and with no written revelation of His will. For many long centuries
   Israel was the only nation to whom the Deity vouchsafed any special
   discovery of Himself- "Who in times past suffered all nations to walk
   in their own ways" (Acts 14:16)--"You only (Israel) have I known of all
   the families of the earth" (Amos 3:2). Consequently, as all other
   nations were deprived of the preaching of God's Word, they were
   strangers to the faith that cometh thereby (Rom. 10:17). These nations
   were not only ignorant of God Himself, but of the way to please Him, of
   the true manner of acceptance with Him, and the means of arriving at
   the everlasting enjoyment of Himself.

   Now if God had willed their salvation, would He not have vouchsafed
   them the means of salvation? Would He not have given them all things
   necessary to that end? But it is an undeniable matter of fact that He
   did not. If, then, Deity can, consistently, with His justice, mercy,
   and benevolence, deny to some the means of grace, and shut them up in
   gross darkness and unbelief (because of the sins of their forefathers,
   generations before), why should it be deemed incompatible with His
   perfections to exclude some persons, many, from grace itself, and from
   that eternal life which is connected with it? seeing that He is Lord
   and Sovereign Disposer both of the end to which the means lead, and the
   means which lead to that end?

   Coming down to our own day, and to those in our own country-leaving out
   the almost innumerable crowds of unevangelised heathen-is it not
   evident that there are many living in lands where the Gospel is
   preached, lands which are full of churches, who die strangers to God
   and His holiness? True, the means of grace were close to their hand,
   but many of them knew it not. Thousands are born into homes where they
   are taught from infancy to regard all Christians as hypocrites and
   preachers as arch-humbugs. Others, are instructed from the cradle in
   Roman Catholicism, and are trained to regard Evangelical Christianity
   as deadly heresy, and the Bible as a book highly dangerous for them to
   read. Others, reared in "Christian Science" families, know no more of
   the true Gospel of Christ than do the unevangelised heathen. The great
   majority of these die in utter ignorance of the Way of Peace. Now are
   we not obliged to conclude that it was not God's will to communicate
   grace to them? Had His will been otherwise, would He not have actually
   communicated His grace to them? If, then, it was the will of God, in
   time, to refuse to them his grace, it must have been His will from all
   eternity, since His will is, as Himself, the same yesterday, and today
   and forever. Let it not be forgotten that God's providences are but the
   manifestations of His decrees: what God does in time is only what He
   purposed in eternity-His own will being the alone cause of all His acts
   and works. Therefore from His actually leaving some men in final
   impenitency and unbelief we assuredly gather it was His everlasting
   determination so to do; and consequently that He reprobated some from
   before the foundation of the world.

   In the Westminster Confession it is said, "God from all eternity did by
   the most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely and unchangeably
   foreordain whatsoever comes to pass." The late Mr. F. W. Grant-a most
   careful and cautious student and writer-commenting on these words said:
   "It is perfectly, divinely true, that God hath ordained for His own
   glory whatsoever comes to pass." Now if these statements are true, is
   not the doctrine of Reprobation established by them? What, in human
   history, is the one thing which does come to pass every day? What, but
   that men and women die, pass out of this world into a hopeless
   eternity, an eternity of suffering and woe. If then God has
   foreordained whatsoever comes to pass then He must have decreed that
   vast numbers of human beings should pass out of this world unsaved to
   suffer eternally in the Lake of Fire. Admitting the general premise, is
   not the specific conclusion inevitable?

   In reply to the preceding paragraphs the reader may say, All this is
   simply reasoning, logical no doubt, but yet mere inferences. Very well,
   we will now point out that in addition to the above conclusions there
   are many passages in Holy Writ which are most clear and definite in
   their teaching on this solemn subject; passages which are too plain to
   be misunderstood and too strong to be evaded. The marvel is that so
   many good men have denied their undeniable affirmations.

   "Joshua made war a long time with all those kings. There was not a city
   that made peace with the children of Israel, save the Hivites the
   inhabitants of Gibeon: all other they took in battle. 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"
   (Josh. 11:18-20). What could be plainer than this? Here was a large
   number of Canaanites whose hearts the Lord hardened, whom He had
   purposed to utterly destroy, to whom He showed "no favour." Granted
   that they were wicked, immoral, idolatrous; were they any worse than
   the immoral, idolatrous cannibals of the South Sea Islands (and many
   other places), to whom God gave the Gospel through John G. Paton!
   Assuredly not. Then why did not Jehovah command Israel to teach the
   Canaanites His laws and instruct them concerning sacrifices to the true
   God? Plainly, because He had marked them out for destruction, and if
   so, that from all eternity.

   "The LORD hath made all things for Himself: yea, even the wicked for
   the day of evil" (Prov. 16:4). That the Lord made all, perhaps every
   reader of this book will allow: that He made all for Himself is not so
   widely believed. That God made us, not for our own sakes, but for
   Himself; not for our own happiness, but for His glory, is,
   nevertheless, repeatedly affirmed in Scripture-Revelation 4:11. But
   Proverbs 16:4 goes even farther: it expressly declares that the Lord
   made the wicked for the Day of Evil: that was His design in giving them
   being. But why? Does not Romans 9:17 tell us, "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"! God has made the wicked that, at the end, He
   may demonstrate His power"-demonstrate it by showing what an easy
   matter it is for Him to subdue the stoutest rebel and to overthrow His
   mightiest enemy.

   "And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from Me,
   ye that work iniquity" (Matt. 7:23). In the previous chapter it has
   been shown that the words "know" and "foreknowledge" when applied to
   God in the Scriptures, have reference not simply to His prescience
   (i.e., His bare knowledge beforehand), but to His knowledge of
   approbation. When God said to Israel, "You only have I known of all the
   families of the earth" (Amos 3:2), it is evident that He meant, "You
   only had I any favourable regard to." When we read in Romans 11:2 "God
   hath not cast away His people (Israel) which He foreknew," it is
   obvious that what was signified is, "God has not finally rejected that
   people whom He has chosen as the objects of His love"-cf. Deuteronomy
   7:8. In the same way (and it is the only possible way) are we to
   understand Matthew 7:23. In the Day of Judgement the Lord will say unto
   many, "I never knew you." Note, it is more than simply "I know you
   not." His solemn declaration will be, "I never knew you"-you were never
   the objects of My approbation. Contrast this with "I know (love) My
   sheep, and am known (loved) of Mine" (John 10:14). The "sheep," His
   elect, the "few" He does "know"; but the reprobate, the non-elect, the
   "many" He knows not-no, not even before the foundation of the world did
   He know them-He "NEVER" knew them!

   In Romans 9 the doctrine of God's Sovereignty in its application to
   both the elect and the reprobate is treated of at length. A detailed
   exposition of this important chapter would be beyond our present scope;
   all that we can essay is to dwell upon the part of it which most
   clearly bears upon the aspect of the subject which we are now
   considering.

   Verse 17. "For the Scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same
   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." These words
   refer us back to verses 13 and 14. In verse 13 God's love to Jacob and
   His hatred to Esau are declared. In verse 14 it is asked "Is there
   unrighteousness with God?" and here in verse 17 the Apostle continues
   his reply to the objection. We cannot do better now than quote from
   Calvin's comments upon this verse. "There are here two things to be
   considered-the predestination of Pharaoh to ruin, which is to be
   referred to the past and yet the hidden counsel of God-and then, the
   design of this, which was to make known the name of God. As many
   interpreters, striving to modify this passage, pervert it, we must
   observe, that for the word 'I have raised thee up,' or stirred up, in
   the Hebrew is, 'I have appointed,' by which it appears, that God,
   designing to show that the contumacy of Pharaoh would not prevent Him
   to deliver His people, not only affirms that his fury had been foreseen
   by Him, and that He had prepared means for restraining it, but that He
   had also thus designedly ordained it and indeed for this end,-that He
   might exhibit a more illustrious evidence of His own power." It will be
   observed that Calvin gives as the force of the Hebrew word which Paul
   renders "For this cause have I raised thee up,"-"I have appointed." As
   this is the word on which the doctrine and argument of the verse turns
   we would further point out that in making this quotation from Exodus
   9:16 the Apostle significantly departs from the Septuagint-the version
   then in common use, and from which he most frequently quotes-and
   substitutes a clause for the first that is given by the Septuagint:
   instead of "On this account thou hast been preserved," he gives "For
   this very end have I raised thee up!"

   But we must now consider in more detail the case of Pharaoh which sums
   up in concrete example the great controversy between man and his Maker.
   "For now I will stretch out My hand, that I may smite thee and thy
   people with pestilence; and thou shalt be cut off from the earth. And
   in every deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to show in thee
   My power; and that My name may be declared throughout all the earth"
   (Exo. 9:15, 16). Upon these words we offer the following comments:

   First, we know from Exodus 14 and 15 that Pharaoh was "cut off," that
   he was cut off by God, that he was cut off in the very midst of his
   wickedness, that he was cut off not by sickness nor by the infirmities
   which are incident to old age, nor by what men term an accident, but
   cut off by the immediate hand of God in judgement.

   Second, it is clear that God raised up Pharaoh for this very end-to
   "cut him off," which in the language of the New Testament means
   "destroyed." God never does anything without a previous design. In
   giving him being, in preserving him through infancy and childhood, in
   raising him to the throne of Egypt, God had one end in view. That such
   was God's purpose is clear from His words to Moses before he went down
   to Egypt to demand of Pharaoh that Jehovah's people should be allowed
   to go a three days' journey into the wilderness to worship Him-"And the
   Lord said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that
   thou do all these wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine
   hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go"
   (Exo. 4:21). But not only so, God's design and purpose was declared
   long before this. Four hundred years previously God had said to
   Abraham, "Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land
   that is not theirs, and shall serve them: and they shall afflict them
   four hundred years; and also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I
   judge" (Gen. 15:13, 14). From these words it is evident (a nation and
   its king being looked at as one in the Old Testament) that God's
   purpose was formed long before He gave Pharaoh being.

   Third, an examination of God's dealings with Pharaoh makes it clear
   that Egypt's king was indeed a "vessel of wrath fitted to destruction."
   Placed on Egypt's throne, with the reins of government in his hands, he
   sat as head of the nation which occupied the first rank among the
   peoples of the world. There was no other monarch on earth able to
   control or dictate to Pharaoh. To such a dizzy height did God raise
   this reprobate, and such a course was a natural and necessary step to
   prepare him for his final fate, for it is a Divine axiom that "pride
   goeth before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall."
   Further-and this is deeply important to note and highly significant-God
   removed from Pharaoh the one outward restraint which was calculated to
   act as a check upon him. The bestowing upon Pharaoh of the unlimited
   powers of a king was setting him above all legal influence and control.
   But besides this, God removed Moses from his presence and kingdom. Had
   Moses, who not only was skilled in all the wisdom of the Egyptians but
   also had been reared in Pharaoh's household, been suffered to remain in
   close proximity to the throne, there can be no doubt but that his
   example and influence had been a powerful check upon the king's
   wickedness and tyranny. This, though not the only cause, was plainly
   one reason why God sent Moses into Midian, for it was during his
   absence that Egypt's inhuman king framed his most cruel edicts. God
   designed, by removing this restraint, to give Pharaoh full opportunity
   to fill up the full measure of his sins, and ripen himself for his
   fully-deserved but predestined ruin.

   Fourth, God "hardened" his heart as He declared He would (Exo. 4:21).
   This is in full accord with the declarations of Holy Scripture-"The
   preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from
   the LORD" (Prov. 16:1); "The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD,
   as the rivers of water, He turneth it withersoever He will" (Prov.
   21:1). Like all other kings, Pharaoh's heart was in the hand of the
   Lord; and God had both the right and the power to turn it whithersoever
   He pleased. And it pleased Him to turn it against all good. God
   determined to hinder Pharaoh from granting his request through Moses to
   let Israel go until He had fully prepared him for his final overthrow,
   and because nothing short of this would fully fit him, God hardened his
   heart.

   Finally, it is worthy of careful consideration to note how the
   vindication of God in His dealings with Pharaoh has been fully
   attested. Most remarkable it is to discover that we havePharaoh's own
   testimony in favour of God and against himself! In Exodus 9:15 and 16
   we learn how God had told Pharaoh for what purpose He had raised him
   up, and in verse 27 of the same chapter we are told that Pharaoh said,
   "I have sinned this time: the LORD is righteous, and I and my people
   are wicked." Mark that this was said by Pharaoh after he knew that God
   had raised him up in order to "cut him off," after his severe
   judgements had been sent upon him, after he had hardened his own heart.
   By this time Pharaoh was fairly ripened for judgement, and fully
   prepared to decide whether God had injured him, or whether he had
   sought to injure God; and he fully acknowledged that he had "sinned"
   and that God was "righteous." Again; we have the witness of Moses who
   was fully acquainted with God's conduct toward Pharaoh. He had heard at
   the beginning what was God's design in connection with Pharaoh; he had
   witnessed God's dealings with him; he had observed his
   "long-sufferance" toward this vessel of wrath fitted to destruction;
   and at last he had beheld him cut off in Divine judgement at the Red
   Sea. How then was Moses impressed? Does he raise the cry of injustice?
   Does he dare to charge God with unrighteousness? Far from it. Instead,
   he says, "Who is like unto Thee, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like
   Thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders!" (Exo.
   15: 11).

   Was Moses moved by a vindictive spirit as he saw Israel's archenemy
   "cut off" by the waters of the Red Sea? Surely not. But to remove
   forever all doubt upon this score it remains to be pointed out how that
   saints in Heaven, after they have witnessed the sore judgements of God,
   join in singing "the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of
   the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are Thy works, Lord God
   Almighty; just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of saints" (Rev. 15:3).
   Here then is the climax, and the full and final vindication of God's
   dealings with Pharaoh. Saints in Heaven join in singing the Song of
   Moses, in which the servant of God celebrated Jehovah's praise in
   overthrowing Pharaoh and his hosts, declaring that in so acting God was
   not unrighteous but just and true. We must believe, therefore, that the
   Judge of all the earth did right in creating and destroying this vessel
   of wrath, Pharaoh.

   The case of Pharaoh establishes the principle and illustrates the
   doctrine of Reprobation. If God actually reprobated Pharaoh, we may
   justly conclude that He reprobates all others whom He did not
   predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son. This inference
   the Apostle Paul manifestly draws from the fate of Pharaoh, for in
   Romans 9, after referring to God's purpose in raising up Pharaoh, he
   continues, "therefore." The case of Pharaoh is introduced to prove the
   doctrine of Reprobation as the counterpart of the doctrine of Election.

   In conclusion, we would say that in forming Pharaoh God displayed
   neither justice nor injustice, but only His bare Sovereignty. As the
   potter is Sovereign in forming vessels, so God is Sovereign in forming
   moral agents.

   Verse 18. "Therefore hath He mercy on whom He will have mercy, and whom
   He will He hardeneth." The "therefore" announces the general conclusion
   which the Apostle draws from all he had said in the three preceding
   verses in denying that God was unrighteous in loving Jacob and hating
   Esau, and specifically it applies the principle exemplified in God's
   dealings with Pharaoh. It traces everything back to the Sovereign will
   of the Creator. He loves one and hates another. He exercises mercy
   toward some and hardens others, without reference to anything save His
   own Sovereign will.

   That which is most repulsive to the carnal mind in the above verse is
   the reference to hardening-"Whom He will He hardeneth"-and it is just
   here that so many commentators and expositors have adulterated the
   truth. The most common view is that the Apostle is speaking of nothing
   more than judicial hardening, i.e., a forsaking by God because these
   subjects of His displeasure had first rejected His truth and forsaken
   Him. Those who contend for this interpretation appeal to such
   Scriptures as Romans 1: 19-26-"God gave them up," that is (see context)
   those who "knew God" yet glorified Him not as God (v. 21). Appeal is
   also made to 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12. But it is to be noted that the
   word "harden" does not occur in either of these passages. But further.
   We submit that Romans 9:18 has no reference whatever to judicial
   "hardening." The Apostle is not there speaking of those who had already
   turned their back on God's truth, but instead, he is dealing with God's
   Sovereignty, God's Sovereignty as seen not only in showing mercy to
   whom He wills, but also in hardening whom He pleases. The exact words
   are "Whom He will"-not, "all who have rejected His truth"-"He
   hardeneth," and this, coming immediately after the mention of Pharaoh,
   clearly fixes their meaning. The case of Pharaoh is plain enough,
   though man by his glosses has done his best to hide the truth.

   Verse 18. "Therefore hath He mercy on whom He will have mercy, and whom
   He will He hardeneth." This affirmation of God's Sovereign "hardening"
   of sinners' hearts-in contradistinction from judicial hardening-is not
   alone. Mark the language of John 12:37-40, "But though He had done so
   many miracles before them, yet they believed not on Him: that the
   saying of Esaias (Isaiah) the prophet might be fulfilled, which he
   spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of
   the Lord been revealed? Therefore they could not believe (why?),
   because that Esaias said again, He hath blinded their eyes, and
   hardened their hearts (why? Because they had refused to believe on
   Christ? This is the popular belief, but mark the answer of Scripture)
   that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their
   heart, and be converted, and I should heal them." Now, reader, it is
   just a question as to whether or not you will believe what God has
   revealed in His Word. It is not a matter of prolonged searching or
   profound study, but a childlike spirit which is needed in order to
   understand this doctrine.

   Verse 19. "Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth He yet find fault? For
   who hath resisted His will?" Is not this the very objection which is
   urged today? The force of the Apostle's questions here seem to be this:
   Since everything is dependent on God's will, which is irreversible, and
   since this will of God, according to which He can do everything as
   Sovereign-since He can have mercy on whom He wills to have mercy, and
   can refuse mercy and inflict punishment on whom He chooses to do so-why
   does He not will to have mercy on all, so as to make them obedient, and
   thus put finding of fault out of court? Now it should be particularly
   noted that the Apostle does not repudiate the ground on which the
   objection rests. He does not say God does not find fault. Nor does he
   say, Men may resist His will. Furthermore; he does not explain away the
   objection by saying: You have altogether misapprehended my meaning when
   I said 'Whom He will He treats kindly, and whom He wills He treats
   severely.' But he says, "first, this is an objection you have no right
   to make; and then, This is an objection you have no reason to make"
   (vide Dr. Brown). The objection was utterly inadmissible, for it was a
   replying against God. It was to complain about, argue against, what God
   had done!

   Verse 19. "Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth He yet find fault? For
   who hath resisted His will?" The language which the Apostle here puts
   into the mouth of the objector is so plain and pointed, that
   misunderstanding ought to be impossible. Why doth He yet find fault?
   Now, reader, what can these words mean? Formulate your own reply before
   considering ours. Can the force of the Apostle's question be any other
   than this: If it is true that God has "mercy" on whom He wills, and
   also "hardens" whom He wills, then what becomes of human
   responsibility? In such a case men are nothing better than puppets, and
   if this be true then it would be unjust for God to "find fault" with
   His helpless creatures. Mark the word "then"-Thou wilt say then unto
   me-he states the (false) inference or conclusion which the objector
   draws from what the Apostle had been saying. And mark, my reader, the
   Apostle readily saw the doctrine he had formulated would raise this
   very objection, and unless what we have written throughout this book
   provokes, in some at least, (all whose carnal minds are not subdued by
   Divine grace) the same objection, then it must be either because we
   have not presented the doctrine which is set forth in Romans 9, or else
   because human nature has changed since the Apostle's day. Consider now
   the remainder of the verse (19). The Apostle repeats the same objection
   in a slightly different form-repeats it so that this meaning may not be
   misunderstood-namely, "For who hath resisted His will?" It is clear
   then that the subject under immediate discussion relates to God's
   "will," i.e., His Sovereign ways, which confirms what we have said
   above upon verses 17 and 18 where we contended that it is not judicial
   hardening which is in view (that is, hardening because of previous
   rejection of the truth), but Sovereign "hardening," that is, the
   "hardening" of a fallen and sinful creature for no other reason than
   that which inheres in the Sovereign will of God. And hence the
   question, "Who hath resisted His will?" What then does the Apostle say
   inreply to these objections?

   Verse 20. "Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God?
   Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me
   thus?" The Apostle, then, did not say the objection was pointless and
   groundless, instead, he rebukes the objector for his impiety. He
   reminds him that he is merely a "man," a creature, and that as such it
   is most unseemly and impertinent for him to "reply (argue, or reason)
   against God." Furthermore, he reminds him that he is nothing more than
   a "thing formed" and, therefore, it is madness and blasphemy to rise up
   against the Former Himself. Ere leaving this verse it should be pointed
   out that its closing words, "Why hast thou made me thus," help us to
   determine, unmistakably, the precise subject under discussion. In the
   light of the immediate context what can be the force of the "thus"?
   What, but as in the case of Esau, why hast thou made me an object of
   "hatred"? What, but as in the case of Pharaoh, Why hast thou made me
   simply to "harden" me? What other meaning can, fairly, be assigned to
   it?

   It is highly important to keep clearly before us that the Apostle's
   object throughout this passage is to treat of God's Sovereignty in
   dealing with, on the one hand, those whom He loves-vessels unto honour
   and vessels of mercy; and also, on the other hand, with those whom He
   "hates" and "hardens"-vessels unto dishonour and vessels of wrath.

   Verses 21-23. "Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same
   lump, to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? What
   if God, willing to shew His wrath, and to make His power known, endured
   with much longsuffering 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." In these verses the
   Apostle furnishes a full and final reply to the objections raised in
   verse 19. First, he asks, "Hath not the potter power over the clay?"
   etc. It is to be noted the word here translated "power" is a different
   one in the Greek from the one rendered "power" in verse 22 where it can
   only signify His might; but here in verse 21, the "power" spoken of
   must refer to the Creator's rights or Sovereign prerogatives; that this
   is so, appears from the fact that the same Greek word is employed in
   John 1: 12-"As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become
   the sons of God"-which, as is well known, means the right or privilege
   to become the sons of God. The R. V. employs "right" both in John 1:12
   and Romans 9:21.

   Verse 21. "Hath not the potter power over the clay of the same lump, to
   make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?" That the
   "potter" here is God Himself is certain from the previous verse, where
   the Apostle asks, "Who art thou that repliest against God?" and then,
   speaking in the terms of the figure he was about to use, continues,
   "Shall the thing formed say to Him that formed it," etc. Some there are
   who would rob these words of their force by arguing that while the
   human potter makes certain vessels to be used for less honourable
   purposes than others, nevertheless, they are designed to fill some
   useful place. But the Apostle does not here say, Hath not the Potter
   power over the clay of the same lump, to make one vessel unto an
   honourable use and another to a less honourable use, but he speaks of
   some "vessels" being made unto "dishonour." It is true, of course, that
   God's wisdom will yet be fully vindicated, inasmuch as the destruction
   of the reprobate will promote His glory-in what way the next verse
   tells us.

   Ere passing to the next verse let us summarise the teaching of this and
   the two previous ones. In verse 19 two questions are asked, "Thou wilt
   say then unto me, Why doth He yet find fault? For who hath resisted His
   will?" To those questions a threefold answer is returned. First, in
   verse 20 the Apostle denies the creature the right to sit in judgement
   upon the ways of the Creator-"Nay but, O man who art thou that repliest
   against God? Shall the thing formed say to Him that formed it, Why hast
   Thou made me thus?" The Apostle insists that the rectitude of God's
   will must not be questioned. Whatever He does must be right. Second, in
   verse 21 the Apostle declares that the Creator has the right to dispose
   of His creatures as He sees fit-"Hath not the Potter power over the
   clay, of the same lump, to make one vessel unto honour, and another
   unto dishonour?" It should be carefully noted that the word for "power"
   here is exousia-an entirely different word from the one translated
   "power" in the following verse ("to make known His power"), where it is
   duaton. In the words "Hath not the Potter power over the clay?" it must
   be God's power justly exercised which is in view-the exercise of God's
   rights consistently with His justice-because the mere assertion of His
   omnipotency would be no such answer as God would return to the
   questions asked in verse 19. Third, in verses 22, 23 the Apostle gives
   the reasons why God proceeds differently with one of His creatures from
   another: on the one hand, it is to "shew His wrath" and to "make His
   power known"; on the other hand, it is to "make known the riches of His
   glory."

   "Hath not the Potter power over the clay of the same lump, to make one
   vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?" Certainly God has the
   right to do this because He is the Creator. Does He exercise this
   right? Yes, as verses 13 and 17 clearly show us-"For this same purpose
   have I raised thee (Pharaoh) up."

   Verse 22. "What if God, willing to shew His wrath, and to make His
   power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath
   fitted to destruction." Here the Apostle tells us in the second place
   why God acts thus, i.e., differently with different ones-having mercy
   on some and hardening others, making one vessel "unto honour" and
   another "unto dishonour." Observe that here in verse 22 the Apostle
   first mentions "vessels of wrath" before he refers in verse 23 to the
   "vessels of mercy." Why is this? The answer to this question is of
   first importance: we reply, Because it is the "vessels of wrath" who
   are the subjects in view before the objector in verse 19. Two reasons
   are given why God makes some "vessels unto dishonour"; first, to "shew
   His wrath," and secondly "to make His power known"-both of which were
   exemplified in the case of Pharaoh.

   One point in the above verse requires separate consideration-"Vessels
   of wrath fitted to destruction." The usual explanation which is given
   of these words is that the vessels of wrath fit themselves to
   destruction, that is, fit themselves by virtue of their wickedness; and
   it is argued that there is no need for God to "fit them to
   destruction," because they are already fitted by their own depravity,
   and that this must be the real meaning of this expression. Now if by
   "destruction" we understand punishment, it is perfectly true that the
   non-elect do "fit themselves," for every one will be judged "according
   to his works"; and further, we freely grant that subjectively the
   non-elect do fit themselves for destruction. But the point to be
   decided is, Is this what the Apostle is here referring to? And, without
   hesitation, we reply it is not. Go back to verses 11-13: did Esau fit
   himself to be an object of God's hatred, or was he not such before he
   was born? Again; did Pharaoh fit himself for destruction, or did not
   God harden his heart before the plagues were sent upon Egypt?-see
   Exodus 4:21!

   Romans 9:22 is clearly a continuation in thought of verse 21, and verse
   21 is part of the Apostle's reply to the question raised in verse 20:
   therefore, to fairly follow out the figure, it must be God Himself who
   "fits" unto destruction the vessels of wrath. Should it be asked how
   God does this, the answer, necessarily, is, objectively,-He fits the
   non-elect unto destruction by His fore-ordinating decrees. Should it be
   asked why God does this, the answer must be, To promote His own glory,
   i.e., the glory of His justice, power and wrath. "The sum of the
   Apostle's answer here is, that the grand object of God, both in the
   election and the reprobation of men, is that which is paramount to all
   things else in the creation of men, namely, His own glory" (Robert
   Haldane).

   Verse 23. "And that He might make known the riches of His glory on the
   vessels of mercy, which He had afore prepared unto glory." The only
   point in this verse which demands attention is the fact that the
   "vessels of mercy" are here said to be "afore prepared unto glory."
   Many have pointed out that the previous verse does not say the vessels
   of wrath were afore prepared unto destruction, and from this omission
   they have concluded that we must understand the reference there to the
   non-elect fitting themselves in time, rather than God ordaining them
   for destruction from all eternity. But this conclusion by no means
   follows. We need to look back to verse 21 and note the figure which is
   there employed. "Clay" is inanimate matter, corrupt, decomposed, and
   therefore a fit substance to represent fallen humanity. As then the
   Apostle is contemplating God's Sovereign dealings with humanity in view
   of the Fall, He does not say the vessels of wrath were "afore" prepared
   unto destruction, for the obvious and sufficient reason that it was not
   until after the Fall that they became (in themselves) what is here
   symbolised by the "clay." All that is necessary to refute the erroneous
   conclusion referred to above is to point out that what is said of the
   vessels of wrath is not that they are fit for destruction (which is the
   word that would have been used if the reference had been to them
   fitting themselves by their own wickedness), but fitted to destruction;
   which, in the light of the whole context, must mean a Sovereign
   ordination to destruction by the Creator. We quote here the pointed
   words of Calvin on this passage: "There are vessels prepared for
   destruction, that is, given up and appointed to destruction; they are
   also vessels of wrath, that is, made and formed for this end, that they
   may be examples of God's vengeance and displeasure. Though in the
   second clause the Apostle asserts more expressly, that it is God who
   prepared the elect for glory, as he had simply said before that the
   reprobate are vessels prepared for destruction, there is yet no doubt
   but that the preparation of both is connected with the secret counsel
   of God. Paul might have otherwise said, that the reprobate gave up or
   cast themselves into destruction, but he intimates here, that before
   they are born they are destined to their lot." With this we are in
   hearty accord. Romans 9:22 does not say the vessels of wrath fitted
   themselves, nor does it say they are fit for destruction, instead, it
   declares they are "fitted to destruction," and the context shows
   plainly it is God who thus "fits" them-objectively by His eternal
   decrees.

   Though Romans 9 contains the fullest setting forth of the doctrine of
   Reprobation, there are still other passages which refer to it, one or
   two more of which we will now briefly notice:

   "What then? That which Israel seeketh for, that he obtained not, but
   the election obtained it, and the rest were hardened" (Rom. 11:7 R.
   V.). Here we have two distinct and clearly defined classes which are
   set in sharp antithesis: the "election" and "the rest"; the one
   "obtained," the other is "hardened." On this verse we quote from the
   comments of John Bunyan of immortal memory: "These are solemn words:
   they sever between men and men-the election and the rest, the chosen
   and the left, the embraced and the refused. By 'rest' here must needs
   be understood those not elect, because set the one in opposition to the
   other, and if not elect, whom then but reprobate?"

   Writing to the saints at Thessalonica the Apostle declared, "For God
   hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord
   Jesus Christ" (1 Thess. 5:9). Now surely it is patent to any impartial
   mind that this statement is quite pointless if God has not "appointed"
   any to wrath. To say that God "hath not appointed us to wrath" clearly
   implies that there are some whom He has "appointed to wrath," and were
   it not that the minds of so many professing Christians are so blinded
   by prejudice, they could not fail to clearly see this.

   "A Stone of stumbling, and a Rock of offence, even to them who stumble
   at the Word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed" (1
   Peter 2:8). The "whereunto" manifestly points back to the stumbling at
   the Word, and their disobedience. Here, then, God expressly affirms
   that there are some who have been "appointed" (it is the same Greek
   word as in 1 Thess. 5:9) unto disobedience. Our business is not to
   reason about it, but to bow to Holy Scripture. Our first duty is not to
   understand, but to believe what God has said.

   "But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed,
   speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly
   perish in their own corruption" (2 Peter 2:12). Here again every effort
   is made to escape the plain teaching of this solemn passage. We are
   told that it is the "brute beasts" who are "made to be taken and
   destroyed," and not the persons here likened to them. All that is
   needed to refute such sophistry is to inquire wherein lies the point of
   analogy between the "these" (men) and the "brute beasts"? What is the
   force of the "as"-but "these as brute beasts'? Clearly, it is that
   "these" men as brute beasts, are the ones who, like animals, are "made
   to be taken and destroyed": the closing words confirming this by
   reiterating the same sentiment-"and shall utterly perish in their own
   corruption."

   "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" (Jude 4). Attempts have been made to escape the obvious
   force of this verse by substituting a different translation. The R. V.
   gives: "But there are certain men crept in privily, even they who were
   of old written of beforehand unto this condemnation." But this altered
   rendering by no means gets rid of that which is so distasteful to our
   sensibilities. The question arises, Where were these "of old written of
   beforehand"? Certainly not in the Old Testament, for nowhere is there
   any reference there to wicked men creeping into Christian assemblies.
   If "written of" be the best translation of "prographo," the reference
   can only be to the book of the Divine decrees. So whichever alternative
   be selected there can be no evading the fact that certain men are
   "before of old" marked out by God "unto condemnation."

   "And all that dwell on the earth shall worship him, every one whose
   name hath not been written from the foundation of the world in the Book
   of Life of the Lamb that hath been slain" (Rev. 13:8, R. V. compare
   Rev. 17:8). Here, then, is a positive statement affirming that there
   are those whose names were not written in the Book of Life.

   Here, then, are no less than ten passages which most plainly imply or
   expressly teach the fact of reprobation. They affirm that the wicked
   are made for the Day of Evil; that God fashions some vessels unto
   dishonour; and by His eternal decree (objectively) fits them unto
   destruction; that they are like brute beasts, made to be taken and
   destroyed, being of old ordained unto this condemnation. Therefore in
   the face of these Scriptures we unhesitatingly affirm (after nearly
   twenty years careful and prayerful study of the subject) that the Word
   of God unquestionably teaches both Predestination and Reprobation, or
   to use the words of Calvin, "Eternal Election is God's predestination
   of some to salvation, and others to destruction."

   Having thus stated the doctrine of Reprobation, as it is presented in
   Holy Writ, let us now mention one or two important considerations to
   guard it against abuse and prevent the reader from making any
   unwarranted deductions:

   First, the doctrine of Reprobation does not mean that God purposed to
   take innocent creatures, make them wicked, and then damn them.
   Scripture says, "God hath made man upright: but they have sought out
   many inventions" (Eccl. 7:29). God has not created sinful creatures in
   order to destroy them, for God is not to be charged with the sin of His
   creatures. The responsibility and criminality is man's.

   God's decree of Reprobation contemplated Adam's race as fallen, sinful,
   corrupt, guilty. From it God purposed to save a few as the monuments of
   His Sovereign grace; the others He determined to destroy as the
   exemplification of His justice and severity. In determining to destroy
   these others, God did them no wrong. They had already fallen in Adam,
   their legal representative; they are therefore born with a sinful
   nature, and in their sins He leaves them. Nor can they complain. This
   is as they wish; they have no desire for holiness; they love darkness
   rather than light. Where, then, is there any injustice if God "gives
   them up to their own heart's lusts" (Psa. 81:12).

   Second, the doctrine of Reprobation does not mean that God refuses to
   save those who earnestly seek salvation. The fact is that the reprobate
   have no longing for the Saviour: they see in Him no beauty that they
   should desire Him. They will not come to Christ-why then should God
   force them to? He turns away none who do come-where then is the
   injustice of God fore-determining their just doom? None will be
   punished but for their iniquities; where then is the supposed
   tyrannical cruelty of the Divine procedure? Remember that God is the
   Creator of the wicked, not of their wickedness; He is the Author of
   their being, but not the Infuser of their sin.

   God does not (as we have been slanderously reported to affirm) compel
   the wicked to sin, as the rider spurs on an unwilling horse. God only
   says in effect that awful word, "Let them alone" (Matt. 15:14). He
   needs only to slacken the reins of providential restraint, and withhold
   the influence of saving grace, and apostate man will only too soon and
   too surely, of his own accord, fall by his iniquities. Thus the decree
   of reprobation neither interferes with the bent of man's own fallen
   nature, nor serves to render him the less inexcusable.

   Third, the decree of Reprobation in nowise conflicts with God's
   goodness. Though the non-elect are not the objects of His goodness in
   the same way or to the same extent as the elect are, yet are they not
   wholly excluded from a participation of it. They enjoy the good things
   of Providence (temporal blessings) in common with God's own children,
   and very often to a higher degree. But how do they improve them? Does
   the (temporal) goodness of God lead them to repent? Nay, verily, they
   do but despise "His goodness, and forbearance, and longsuffering," and
   "after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself
   wrath against the day of wrath" (Rom. 2:4, 5). On what righteous
   ground, then, can they murmur against not being the objects of His
   benevolence in the endless ages yet to come? Moreover, if it did not
   clash with God's mercy and kindness to leave the entire body of the
   fallen angels (2 Peter 2:4) under the guilt of their apostasy still
   less can it clash with the Divine perfections to leave some of fallen
   mankind in their sins and punish them for them.

   Finally, let us interpose this necessary caution: It is utterly
   impossible for any of us, during the present life, to ascertain who are
   among the reprobate. We must not now so judge any man, no matter how
   wicked he may be. The vilest sinner, may, for all we know, be included
   in the election of grace and be one day quickened by the Spirit of
   grace. Our marching orders are plain, and woe unto us if we disregard
   them-"Preach the Gospel to every creature." When we have done so our
   skirts are clear. If men refuse to heed, their blood is on their own
   heads; nevertheless "we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them
   that are saved, and in them that perish. To the one we are a savour of
   death unto death; and to the other we are a savour of life unto life"
   (2 Cor. 2:15, 16).

   We must now consider a number of passages which are often quoted with
   the purpose of showing that God has not fitted certain vessels to
   destruction or ordained certain ones to condemnation. First, we cite
   Ezekiel 18:31-"Why will ye die, O house of Israel?" On this passage we
   cannot do better than quote from the comments of Augustus
   Toplady:-"This is a passage very frequently, but very idly, insisted
   upon by Arminians, as if it were a hammer which would at one stroke
   crush the whole fabric to powder. But it so happens that the 'death'
   here alluded to is neither spiritual nor eternal death: as is
   abundantly evident from the whole tenor of the chapter. The death
   intended by the prophet is a political death; a death of national
   prosperity, tranquillity, and security. The sense of the question is
   precisely this: What is it that makes you in love with captivity,
   banishment, and civil ruin. Abstinence from the worship of images
   might, as a people, exempt you from these calamities, and once more
   render you a respectable nation. Are the miseries of public devastation
   so alluring as to attract your determined pursuit? Why will ye die? die
   as the house of Israel, and considered as a political body? Thus did
   the prophet argue the case, at the same time adding-'For I have no
   pleasure in the death of him that dieth saith the Lord God, wherefore,
   turn yourselves, and live ye.' This imports: First, the national
   captivity of the Jews added nothing to the happiness of God. Second, if
   the Jews turned from idolatry, and flung away their images, they should
   not die in a foreign, hostile country, but live peaceably in their own
   land and enjoy their liberties as an independent people." To the above
   we may add: political death must be what is in view in Ezekiel 18:31,
   32 for the simple but sufficient reason that they were already
   spiritually dead!

   Matthew 25:41 is often quoted to show that God has not fitted certain
   vessels to destruction- "Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting
   fire, prepared for the Devil and his angels." This is, in fact, one of
   the principal verses relied upon to disprove the doctrine of
   Reprobation. But we submit that the emphatic word here is not "for" but
   "Devil." This verse (see context) sets forth the severity of the
   judgement which awaits the lost. In other words, the above Scripture
   expresses the awfulness of the everlasting fire rather than the
   subjects of it-if the fire be "prepared for the Devil and his angels"
   then how intolerable it will be! If the place of eternal torment into
   which the damned shall be cast is the same as that in which God's
   arch-enemy will suffer, how dreadful must that place be!

   Again: if God has chosen only certain ones to salvation, why are we
   told that God "now commandeth all men everywhere to repent" (Acts
   17:30)? That God commandeth "all men" to repent is but the enforcing of
   His righteous claims as the moral Governor of the world. How could He
   do less, seeing that all men everywhere have sinned against Him?
   Furthermore, that God commandeth all men everywhere to repent argues
   the universality of creature responsibility. But this Scripture does
   not declare that it is God's pleasure to "give repentance" (Acts 5:31)
   everywhere. That the Apostle Paul did not believe God gave repentance
   to every soul is clear from his words in 2 Timothy 2:25--"In meekness
   instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give
   them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth."

   Again, we are asked, if God has "ordained" only certain ones unto
   eternal life then why do we read that He "will have all men to be
   saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth" (1 Tim. 2:4)? The reply
   is, that the words "all" and "all men," like the term "world," are
   often used in a general and relative sense. Let the reader carefully
   examine the following passages: Mark 1:5; John 6:45; 8:2; Acts 21:28;
   22:15; 2 Corinthians 3:2, etc., and he will find full proof of our
   assertion. 1 Timothy 2:4 cannot teach that God wills the salvation of
   all mankind or otherwise all mankind would be saved-"What His soul
   desireth even that He doeth" (Job 23:13)!

   Again; we are asked, Does not Scripture declare, again and again, that
   God is no "respecter of persons"? We answer, it certainly does, and
   God's electing grace proves it. The seven sons of Jesse, though older
   and physically superior to David, are passed by, while the young
   shepherd-boy is exalted to Israel's throne. The scribes and lawyers
   pass unnoticed, and ignorant fishermen are chosen to be the Apostles of
   the Lamb. Divine truth is hidden from the wise and prudent and is
   revealed to babes instead. The great majority of the wise and noble are
   ignored, while the weak, the base, the despised, are called and saved.
   Harlots and publicans are sweetly compelled to come in to the Gospel
   feast while self-righteous Pharisees are suffered to perish in their
   immaculate morality. Truly, God is "no respecter" of persons or He
   would not have saved me.

   That the Doctrine of Reprobation is a "hard saying" to the carnal mind
   is readily acknowledged-yet, is it any "harder" than that of eternal
   punishment? That it is clearly taught in Scripture we have sought to
   demonstrate, and it is not for us to pick and choose from the truths
   revealed in God's Word. Let those who are inclined to receive those
   doctrines which commend themselves to their judgement, and who reject
   those which they cannot fully understand, remember those scathing words
   of our Lord's, "O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the
   prophets have spoken" (Luke 24:25): fools because slow of heart; slow
   of heart, not dull of head!

   Once more we would avail ourselves of the language of Calvin:

   "But, as I have hitherto only recited such things as are delivered
   without any obscurity or ambiguity in the Scriptures, let persons who
   hesitate not to brand with ignominy those Oracles of Heaven, beware of
   what kind of opposition they make. For, if they pretend ignorance, with
   a desire to be commended for their modesty, what greater instance of
   pride can be conceived, than to oppose one little word to the authority
   of God! as, 'It appears otherwise to me,' or 'I would rather not meddle
   with this subject.' But if they openly censure, what will they gain by
   their puny attempts against Heaven? Their petulance, indeed, is no
   novelty; for in all ages there have been impious and profane men, who
   have virulently opposed this doctrine. But they shall feel the truth of
   what the Spirit long ago declared by the mouth of David, that God 'is
   clear when He judgest' (Psa. 51:4). David obliquely hints at the
   madness of men who display such excessive presumption amidst their
   insignificance, as not only to dispute against God, but to arrogate to
   themselves the power of condemning Him. In the meantime, he briefly
   suggests, that God is unaffected by all the blasphemies which they
   discharge against Heaven, but that He dissipates the mists of calumny,
   and illustriously displays His righteousness; our faith, also, being
   founded on the Divine Word, and therefore, superior to all the world,
   from its exaltation looks down with contempt upon those mists" (John
   Calvin).

   In closing this chapter we propose to quote from the writings of some
   of the standard theologians since the days of the Reformation, not that
   we would buttress our own statements by an appeal to human authority,
   however venerable or ancient, but in order to show that what we have
   advanced in these pages is no novelty of the twentieth century, no
   heresy of the "latter days" but, instead, a doctrine which has been
   definitely formulated and commonly taught by many of the most pious and
   scholarly students of Holy Writ.

   "Predestination we call the decree of God, by which He has determined
   in Himself, what He would have to become of every individual of
   mankind. For they are not all created with a similar destiny: but
   eternal life is foreordained for some, and eternal damnation for
   others. Every man, therefore, being created for one or the other of
   these ends, we say, he is predestinated either to life or to
   death"-from John Calvin's "Institutes" (1536 A. D.) Book III, Chapter
   XXI entitled "Eternal Election, or God's Predestination of Some to
   Salvation and of Others to Destruction."

   We ask our readers to mark well the above language. A perusal of it
   should show that what the present writer has advanced in this chapter
   is not "hyper-Calvinism" but real Calvinism, pure and simple. Our
   purpose in making this remark is to show that those who, not acquainted
   with Calvin's writings, in their ignorance condemn as ultra-Calvinism
   that which is simply a reiteration of what Calvin himself taught-a
   reiteration because that prince of theologians as well as his humble
   debtor have both found this doctrine in the Word of God itself.

   Martin Luther in his most excellent work "De Servo Arbitrio" (Free Will
   a Slave), wrote: "All things whatsoever arise from, and depend upon,
   the Divine appointments, whereby it was preordained who should receive
   the Word of Life, and who should disbelieve it, who should be delivered
   from their sins, and who should be hardened in them, who should be
   justified and who should be condemned. This is the very truth which
   razes the doctrine of freewill from its foundations, to wit, that God's
   eternal love of some men and hatred of others is immutable and cannot
   be reversed."

   John Fox, whose Book of Martyrs was once the best known work in the
   English language (alas that is not so today, when Roman Catholicism is
   sweeping upon us like a great destructive tidal wave!), wrote:
   "Predestination is the eternal decreement of God, purposed before in
   Himself, what should befall all men, either to salvation, or
   damnation."

   The "Larger Westminster Catechism" (1688)-adopted by the General
   Assembly of the Presbyterian Church-declares, "God, by an eternal and
   immutable decree, out of His mere love, for the praise of His glorious
   grace, to be manifested in due time, hath elected some angels to glory,
   and in Christ hath chosen some men to eternal life, and the means
   thereof; and also, according to His own will (whereby He extendeth or
   withholdeth favour as He pleases), hath passed by, and foreordained the
   rest to dishonour and wrath, to be for their sin inflicted, to the
   praise of the glory of His justice."

   John Bunyan, author of "The Pilgrim's Progress," wrote a whole volume
   on "Reprobation." From it we make one brief extract:

   "Reprobation is before the person cometh into the world, or hath done
   good or evil. This is evidenced by Romans 9:11. Here you find twain in
   their mother's womb, and both receiving their destiny, not only before
   they had-done good or evil, but before they were in a capacity to do
   it, they being yet unborn-their destiny, I say, the one unto, the other
   not unto the blessing of eternal life; the one elect, the other
   reprobate; the one chosen, the other refused." In his "Sighs from
   Hell," John Bunyan also wrote: "They that do continue to reject and
   slight the Word of God are such, for the most part, as are ordained to
   be damned."

   Commenting upon Romans 9:22, "What is God willing to shew His wrath,
   and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the
   vessels of wrath fitted to destruction," Jonathan Edwards (Vol. 4, p.
   306 - 1743 A.D.) says, "How awful doth the majesty of God appear in the
   dreadfulness of His anger! This we may learn to be one end of the
   damnation of the wicked."

   Augustus Toplady, author of "Rock of Ages" and other sublime hymns,
   wrote: "God, from all eternity decreed to leave some of Adam's fallen
   posterity in their sins, and to exclude them from the participation of
   Christ and His benefits." And again, "We, with the Scriptures, assert:
   That there is apredestination of some particular persons to life, for
   the praise of the glory of Divine grace; and also a predestination of
   other particular persons to death for the glory of Divine justice-which
   death of punishment they shall inevitably undergo, and that justly, on
   account of their sins."

   George Whitefield, that stalwart of the eighteenth century, used by God
   in blessing to so many, wrote: "'Without doubt, the doctrine of
   election and reprobation must stand or fall together... I frankly
   acknowledge I believe the doctrine of Reprobation, that God intends to
   give saving grace, through Jesus Christ, only to a certain number; and
   that the rest of mankind, after the fall of Adam, being justly left to
   God to continue in sin, will at last suffer that eternal death which is
   its proper wages."

   "Fitted to destruction" (Rom. 9:22). After declaring this phrase admits
   of two interpretations, Dr. Hodge-perhaps the best known and most
   widely read commentator on Romans-says, "The other interpretation
   assumes that the reference is to God and that the Greek word for
   'fitted' has its full participle force; prepared (by God) for
   destruction." This, says Dr. Hodge, "Is adopted not only by the
   majority of Augustinians, but also by many Lutherans."

   Were it necessary we are prepared to give quotations from the writings
   of Wycliffe, Huss, Ridley, Hooper, Cranmer, Ussher, John Trapp, Thomas
   Goodwin, Thomas Manton (Chaplain to Cromwell), John Owen, Witsius, John
   Gill (predecessor of Spurgeon), and a host of others. We mention this
   simply to show that many of the most eminent saints in bye-gone days,
   the men most widely used of God, held and taught this doctrine which is
   so bitterly hated in these last days, when men will no longer "endure
   sound doctrine"; hated by men of lofty pretensions, but who,
   notwithstanding their boasted orthodoxy and much advertised piety, are
   not worthy to unfasten the shoes of the faithful and fearless servants
   of God of other days.

   "O the depth of the riches both of wisdom and knowledge of God! how
   unsearchable are His judgements and His ways past finding out! For what
   hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been His counsellor? or
   who hath first given to Him, and it shall be recompensed unto him
   again? For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things: to whom
   be glory forever, Amen" (Rom. 11:33-36). [9]
     __________________________________________________________________

   [9] "Of Him"-His will is the origin of all existence; "through" or "by
   Him"-He is the Creator and Controller of all; "to Him"-all things
   promote His glory in their final end.
     __________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER SIX
THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD IN OPERATION

   "For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things: to whom be
   the glory for ever. Amen"
   (Romans 11:36).

   Has God foreordained everything that comes to pass? Has He decreed that
   what is, was to have been? In the final analysis this is only another
   way of asking, Is God now governing the world and everyone and
   everything in it? If God is governing the world then is He governing it
   according to a definite purpose, or aimlessly and at random? If He is
   governing it according to some purpose, then when was that purpose
   made? Is God continually changing His purpose and making a new one
   every day, or was His purpose formed from the beginning? Are God's
   actions, like ours, regulated by the change of circumstances, or are
   they the outcome of His eternal purpose? If God formed a purpose before
   man was created then is that purpose going to be executed according to
   His original designs and is He now working toward that end? What saith
   the Scriptures? They declare God is One "who worketh all things after
   the counsel of His own will" (Eph. 1:11).

   Few who read this book are likely to call into question the statement
   that God knows and foreknows all things, but perhaps many would
   hesitate to go further than this. Yet is it not self-evident that if
   God foreknows all things, He has also foreordained all things? Is it
   not clear that God foreknows what will be because He has decreed what
   shall be? God's foreknowledge is not the cause of events, rather are
   events the effects of His eternal purpose. when God has decreed a thing
   shall be He knows it will! be. In the nature of things there cannot be
   anything known as what shall be unless it is certain to be, and there
   is nothing certain to be unless God has ordained it shall be. Take the
   Crucifixion as an illustration. On this point the teaching of Scripture
   is as clear as a sunbeam. Christ as the Lamb whose blood was to be shed
   was "foreordained before the foundation of the world" (1 Peter 1:20).
   Having then "ordained" the slaying of the Lamb, God knew He would be
   "led to the slaughter," and therefore made it known accordingly through
   Isaiah the prophet. The Lord Jesus was not "delivered" up by God
   foreknowing it before it took place, but by His fixed counsel and
   fore-ordination (Acts 2:23). Foreknowledge of future events then is
   founded upon God's decrees, hence if God foreknows everything that is
   to be, it is because He has determined in Himself from all eternity
   everything which will be-"Known unto God are all His works from the
   beginning of the world" (Acts 15:18), which shows that God has a plan,
   that God did not begin His work at random or without a knowledge of how
   His plan would succeed.

   God created all things. This truth no one, who bows to the testimony of
   Holy Writ, will question; nor would any such be prepared to argue that
   the work of creation was an accidental work. God first formed the
   purpose to create, and then put forth the creative act in fulfilment of
   that purpose. All real Christians will readily adopt the words of the
   Psalmist and say, "O Lord, how manifold are Thy works! in wisdom hast
   Thou made them all." Will any who endorse what we have just said, deny
   that God purposed to govern the world which He created? Surely the
   creation of the world was not the end of God's purpose concerning it.
   Surely He did not determine simply to create the world and place man in
   it, and then leave both to their fortunes. It must be apparent that God
   has some great end or ends in view worthy of His infinite perfections,
   and that He is now governing the world so as to accomplish these
   ends-"The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever, the thoughts of His
   heart to all generations" (Psa. 33:11).

   "Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none
   else; I am God, and there is none like Me, 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" (Isa.
   46:9, 10). Many other passages might be adduced to show that God has
   many counsels concerning this world and concerning man, and that all
   these counsels will most surely be realised. It is only when they are
   thus regarded that we can intelligently appreciate the prophecies of
   Scripture. In prophecy the mighty God has condescended to take us into
   the secret chamber of His eternal counsels and make known to us what He
   has purposed to do in the future. The hundreds of prophecies which are
   found in the Old and New Testaments are not so much predictions of what
   will come to pass, as they are revelations to us of what God has
   purposed SHALL come to pass.

   What then was the great purpose for which this world and the human race
   were created? The answer of Scripture is, "The LORD hath made all
   things for Himself" (Prov. 16:4). And again, "Thou hast created all
   things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created" (Rev. 4:11).
   The great end of creation was the manifestation of God's glory. "The
   heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament sheweth His
   handiwork" (Psa. 19:1); but it was by man, originally made in His own
   image and likeness, that God designed chiefly to manifest His glory.
   But how was the great Creator to be glorified by man? Before his
   creation, God foresaw the fall of Adam and the consequent ruin of his
   race, therefore He could not have designed that man should glorify Him
   by continuing in a state of innocency. Accordingly we are taught that
   Christ was "foreordained before the foundation of the world" to be the
   Saviour of fallen men. The redemption of sinners by Christ was no mere
   after-thought of God: it was no expediency to meet an un-looked-for
   calamity. No; it was a Divine provision, and therefore when man fell he
   found mercy walking hand in hand with justice.

   From all eternity God designed that our world should be the stage on
   which He would display His manifold grace and wisdom in the redemption
   of lost sinners: "To the intent that now unto the principalities and
   powers in heavenly places might be known by the Church the manifold
   wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose which He purposed in
   Christ Jesus our Lord" (Eph. 3:10-11.) For the accomplishment of this
   glorious design God has governed the world from the beginning, and will
   continue it to the end. It has been well said, "We can never understand
   the providence of God over our world, unless we regard it as a
   complicated machine having ten thousand parts, directed in all its
   operations to one glorious end-the display of the manifold wisdom of
   God in the salvation of the Church," i.e., the "called out" ones.
   Everything else down here is subordinated to this central purpose. It
   was the apprehension of this basic truth that the Apostle, moved by the
   Holy Spirit, was led to write, "Therefore I endure all things for the
   elect's sake, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in
   Christ Jesus with eternal glory" (2 Tim. 2:10). What we would now
   contemplate is the operation of God's Sovereignty in the government of
   this world.

   In regard to the operation of God's government over the material world
   little needs now be said. In previous chapters we have shown that
   inanimate matter and all irrational creatures are absolutely subject to
   their Creator's pleasure. While we freely admit that the material world
   appears to be governed by laws that are stable and more or less uniform
   in their operations, yet Scripture, history, and observation, compel us
   to recognise the fact that God suspends these laws and acts apart from
   them whenever it pleaseth Him to do so. In sending His blessings or
   judgements upon His creatures He may cause the sun itself to stand
   still, and the stars in their courses to fight for His people (Judges
   5:20); He may send or withhold "the early and the latter rains"
   according to the dictates of His own infinite wisdom; He may smite with
   plague or bless with health; in short, being God, being absolute
   Sovereign, He is bound and tied by no laws of Nature, but governs the
   material world as seemeth Him best.

   But what of God's government of the human family? What does Scripture
   reveal in regard to the modus operandi of the operations of His
   governmental administration over mankind? To what extent and by what
   influence does God control the sons of men? We shall divide our answer
   to this question into two parts and consider first God's method of
   dealing with the righteous, His elect; and then His method of dealing
   with the wicked.

   GOD'S METHOD OF DEALING WITH THE RIGHTEOUS:

   1. God exerts upon His own elect a quickening influence or power.

   By nature they are spiritually dead, dead in trespasses and sins, and
   their first need is spiritual life, for "Except a man be born again, he
   cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3). In the new birth God brings
   us from death unto life (John 5:24). He imparts to us His own nature (2
   Peter 1:4). He delivers us from the power of darkness and translates us
   into the kingdom of His dear Son (Col. 1:13). Now, manifestly, we could
   not do this ourselves for we were "without strength" (Rom. 5:6), hence
   it is written, "we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus" (Eph.
   2:10).

   In the new birth we are made partakers of the Divine nature: a
   principle, a "seed," a life, is communicated to us which is "'born of
   the Spirit," and therefore "is spirit"; is born of the Holy Spirit and
   therefore is holy. Apart from this Divine and holy nature which is
   imparted to us at the new birth it is utterly impossible for any man to
   generate a spiritual impulse, form a spiritual concept, think a
   spiritual thought, understand spiritual things, still less engage in
   spiritual works. "Without holiness no man shall see the Lord," but the
   natural man has no desire for holiness, and the provision that God has
   made he does not want. Will then a man pray for, seek for, strive
   after, that which he dislikes? Surely not. If then a man does "follow
   after" that which by nature he cordially dislikes, if he does now love
   the One he once hated, it is because a miraculous change has taken
   place within him; a power outside of himself has operated upon him, a
   nature entirely different from his old one has been imparted to him,
   and hence it is written, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a
   new creation: old things are passed away; behold all things are become
   new" (2 Cor. 5:17). Such an one as we have just described has passed
   from death unto life, has been turned from darkness to light, and from
   the power of Satan unto God (Acts 26:18). In no other way can the great
   change be accounted for.

   The new birth is very, very much more than simply shedding a few tears
   due to a temporary remorse over sin. It is far more than changing our
   course of life, the leaving off of bad habits and the substituting of
   good ones. It is something different from the mere cherishing and
   practising of noble ideals. It goes infinitely deeper than coming
   forward to take some popular evangelist by the hand, signing a
   pledge-card, or "joining the church." The new birth is no mere turning
   over a new leaf but is the inception and reception of a new life. It is
   no mere reformation but a complete transformation. In short, the new
   birth is a miracle, the result of the supernatural operation of God. It
   is radical, revolutionary, lasting.

   Here then is the first thing, in time, which God does in His own elect.
   He lays hold of those who are spiritually dead and quickens them into
   newness of life. He takes up one who was shapen in iniquity and
   conceived in sin, and conforms him to the image of His Son. He seizes a
   captive of the Devil and makes him a member of the household of faith.
   He picks up a beggar and makes him joint-heir with Christ. He comes to
   one who is full of enmity against Him and gives him a new heart that is
   full of love for Him. He stoops to one who by nature is a rebel and
   works in him both to will and to do of His own good pleasure. By His
   irresistible power He transforms a sinner into a saint, an enemy into a
   friend, a slave of the Devil into a child of God. Surely then we are
   moved to say,


   "When all Thy mercies O my God

   My wondering soul surveys,

   Transported with the view I'm lost

   In wonder, love and praise."

   2. God exerts upon His own elect an energising influence or power.

   The Apostle prayed to God for the Ephesian saints that the eyes of
   their understanding might be enlightened in order that, among other
   things, they might know "what is the exceeding greatness of His power
   to us-ward who believe" (Eph. 1:19), and that they might be
   "strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man" (3:16). It is
   thus that the children of God are enabled to fight the good fight of
   faith and battle with the adverse forces which constantly war against
   them. In themselves they have no strength: they are but "sheep," and
   sheep are one of the most defenceless animals there is; but the promise
   is sure-"He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might
   He increaseth strength" (Isa. 40:29).

   It is this energising power that God exerts upon and within the
   righteous which enables them to serve Him acceptably. Said the prophet
   of old, "But truly I am full of power by the Spirit of the Lord" (Micah
   3:8). And said our Lord to His Apostles, "Ye shall receive power, after
   that the Holy Spirit is come upon you" (Acts 1:8), and thus it proved,
   for of these same men we read subsequently, "And with great power gave
   the Apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great
   grace was upon them all" (Acts 4:33). So it was, too, with the Apostle
   Paul, "and my speech and my preaching was not with enticing word of
   man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power" (1 Cor.
   2:4). But the scope of this power is not confined to service, for we
   read in 2 Peter 1:3, "According as His Divine power hath given unto us
   all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge
   of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue." Hence it is that the
   various graces of the Christian character, "love, joy, peace,
   long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance," are
   ascribed directly to God Himself, being denominated "the fruit of the
   Spirit" (Gal. 5:22-23). Compare Ephesians 5:9.

   3. God exerts upon His own elect a directing influence or power.

   Of old He led His people across the wilderness, directing their steps
   by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night; and today He
   still directs His saints, though now from within rather from without.
   "For this God is our God for ever and ever: He will be our Guide even
   unto death" (Psa. 48:14), but He "guides" us by working in us both to
   will and to do His good pleasure. That He does so guide us is clear
   from the words of the Apostle in Ephesians 2: 10-"For we are His
   workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath
   before ordained that we should walk in them." Thus all ground for
   boasting is removed and God gets all the glory, for with the prophet we
   have to say, "LORD, Thou wilt ordain peace for us: for Thou also hast
   wrought all our works in us" (Isa. 26:12). How true then that "A man's
   heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps" (Prov.
   16:29)! Compare Psalm 65:4; Ezekiel 36:27.

   4. God exerts upon His own elect a preserving influence or power.

   Many are the Scriptures which set forth this blessed truth. "He
   preserveth the souls of His saints; He delivereth them out of the hand
   of the wicked" (Psa. 97:10). "For the LORD loveth judgement, and
   forsaketh not His saints; they are preserved for ever: but the seed of
   the wicked shall be cut off" (Psa. 37:28). "The LORD preserveth all
   them that love Him: but all the wicked will He destroy" (Psa. 145:20).
   It is needless to multiply texts or to raise an argument at this point
   respecting the believer's responsibility and faithfulness-we can no
   more "persevere" without God preserving us than we can breathe when God
   ceases to give us breath; we are "kept by the power of God through
   faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time" (1 Peter
   1:5). Compare 1 Chronicles 18:6. It remains for us now to consider,

   GOD'S METHOD OF DEALING WITH THE WICKED:

   In contemplating God's governmental dealings with the non-elect we find
   that He exerts upon them a fourfold influence or power. We adopt the
   clear-cut divisions suggested by Dr. Rice:

   1. God exerts upon the wicked a restraining influence by which they are
   prevented from doing what they are naturally inclined to do.

   A striking example of this is seen in Abimelech, king of Gerar. Abraham
   came down to Gerar and fearful lest he might be slain on account of his
   wife he instructed her to pose as his sister. Regarding her as an
   unmarried woman, Abimelech sent and took Sarah unto himself; and then
   we learn how God put forth His power to protect her honour-"And God
   said unto him in a dream, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the
   integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against
   Me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her"(Gen. 20:6). Had not God
   interposed, Abimelech would have grievously wronged Sarah, but the Lord
   restrained him and allowed him not to carry out the intentions of his
   heart.

   A similar instance is found in connection with Joseph and his
   brethren's treatment of him. Owing to Jacob's partiality for Joseph his
   brethren "hated him," and when they thought they had him in their power
   "they conspired against him to slay him" (Gen. 37:18). But God did not
   allow them to carry out their evil designs. First He moved Reuben to
   deliver him out of their hands, and next he caused Judah to suggest
   that Joseph should be sold to the passing Ishmaelites, who carried him
   down into Egypt. That it was God who thus restrained them is clear; he
   made known himself to his brethren; said he, "So now it was not you
   that sent me hither, but God" (Gen. 45:8)!

   The restraining influence which God exerts upon the wicked was
   strikingly exemplified in the person of Balaam, the prophet hired by
   Balak to curse the Israelites. One cannot read the inspired narrative
   without discovering that, left to himself, Balaam had readily and
   certainly accepted the offer of Balak. How evidently God restrained the
   impulses of his heart is seen from his own acknowledgement-"How shall I
   curse, whom God hath not cursed? or how shall I defy, whom the LORD
   hath not defied? Behold I have received commandment to bless: and He
   hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it" (Num. 23:8, 20).

   Not only does God exert a restraining influence upon wicked individuals
   but He does so upon whole peoples as well. A remarkable illustration of
   this is found in Exodus 34:24-"For I will cast out the nations before
   thee, and enlarge thy borders: neither shall any man desire thy land,
   when thou shalt go up to appear before the LORD thy God thrice in the
   year." Three times every male Israelite, at the command of God, left
   his home and inheritance and journeyed to Jerusalem to keep the Feasts
   of the Lord; and in the above Scriptures we learn He promised them that
   while they were at Jerusalem He would guard their unprotected homes by
   restraining the covetous designs and desires of their heathen
   neighbours.

   2. God exerts upon the wicked a softening influence disposing them
   contrary to their natural inclinations to do that which will promote
   His cause.

   Above, we referred to Joseph's history as an illustration of God
   exerting a restraining influence upon the wicked, let us note now his
   experiences in Egypt as exemplifying our assertion that God also exerts
   a softening influence upon the unrighteous. We are told that while he
   was in the house of Potiphar "The LORD was with Joseph, and his master
   saw the LORD was with him," and in consequence, "Joseph found favour in
   his sight and he made him overseer over his house" (Gen. 39:2, 3, 4).
   Later, when Joseph was unjustly cast into prison, we are told "But the
   LORD was with Joseph, and showed him mercy, and gave him favour in the
   sight of the keeper of the prison" (Gen. 39:21), and in consequence the
   prison-keeper showed him much kindness and honour. Finally, after his
   release from prison, we learn from Acts 7:10 that the Lord "gave him
   favour and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and he made
   him governor over Egypt and all his house."

   An equally striking evidence of God's power to melt the hearts of his
   enemies, was seen in Pharaoh's daughter's treatment of the infant
   Moses. The incident is well known. Pharaoh had issued an edict
   commanding the destruction of every male child of the Israelites. A
   certain Levite had a son born to him who for three months was kept
   hidden by his mother. No longer able to conceal the infant Moses she
   placed him in an ark of bulrushes and laid him by the river's brink.
   The ark was discovered by none less than the king's daughter who had
   come down to the river to bathe, but instead of heeding her father's
   wicked decree and casting the child into the river we are told that
   "she had compassion on him" (Exo. 2:6)! Accordingly, the young life was
   spared and later Moses became the adopted son of this princess!

   God has access to the hearts of all men and He softens or hardens them
   according to His Sovereign purpose. The profane Esau swore vengeance
   upon his brother for the deception which he had practised upon his
   father, yet when next he met Jacob, instead of slaying him we are told
   that Esau "fell on his neck and kissed him" (Gen. 33:4)! Ahab, the weak
   and wicked consort of Jezebel, was highly enraged against Elijah the
   prophet, at whose word the heavens had been shut up for three years and
   a half: so angry was he against the one whom he regarded as his enemy
   that we are told he searched for him in every nation and kingdom and
   when he could not be found "he took an oath" (1 Kings 18:10). Yet, when
   they met, instead of killing the prophet, Ahab meekly obeyed Elijah's
   behest and "sent unto all the children of Israel and gathered the
   prophets together unto Mount Carmel" (v. 20). Again; Esther the poor
   Jewess is about to enter the presence-chamber of the august
   Medo-Persian monarch which, said she, "is not according to the law"
   (Esth. 4:16). She went in expecting to "perish," but we are told "She
   obtained favour in his sight, and the king held out to Esther the
   golden sceptre" (5:2). Yet again; the boy Daniel is a captive in a
   foreign court. The king "appointed" a daily provision of meat and drink
   for Daniel and his fellows. But Daniel purposed in his heart that he
   would not defile himself with the allotted portion, and accordingly
   made known his purpose to his master, the prince of the eunuchs. What
   happened? His master was a heathen and "feared" the king. Did he turn
   then upon Daniel and angrily demand that his orders be promptly carried
   out? No; for we read, "Now God had brought Daniel into favour and
   tender love with the prince of the eunuchs" (Dan. 1:9)!

   "The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water:
   He turneth it whithersoever He will" (Prov. 21:1). A remarkable
   illustration of this is seen in Cyrus, the heathen king of Persia.
   God's people were in captivity, but the predicted end of their
   captivity was almost reached. Meanwhile the Temple at Jerusalem lay in
   ruins, and, as we have said, the Jews were in bondage in a distant
   land. What hope was there then that the Lord's house would be re-built?
   Mark now what God did, "Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia,
   that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled,
   the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a
   proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it in writing, saying,
   Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The LORD God of Heaven hath given me
   all the kingdoms of the earth; and He hath charged me to build Him a
   house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah" (Ezra 1:1, 2). Cyrus, be it
   remembered, was a pagan, and as secular history bears witness, a very
   wicked man, yet the Lord moved him to issue this edict that His Word
   through Jeremiah seventy years before might be fulfilled. A similar and
   further illustration is found in Ezra 7:27, where we find Ezra
   returning thanks for what God had caused King Artaxerxes to do in
   completing and beautifying the house which Cyrus had commanded to be
   erected-"Blessed be the LORD God of our fathers which hath put such a
   thing as this in the king's heart, to beautify the house of the Lord
   which is in Jerusalem" (Ezra 7:27).

   3. God exerts upon the wicked a directing influence so that good is
   made to result from their intended evil.

   Once more we revert to the history of Joseph as a case in point. In
   selling Joseph to the Ishmaelites his brethren were actuated by cruel
   and heartless motives. Their object was to make away with him, and the
   passing of these travelling traders furnished an easy way out for them.
   To them the act was nothing more than the enslaving of a noble youth
   for the sake of gain. But now observe how God was secretly working and
   over-ruling their wicked actions. Providence so ordered it that these
   Ishmaelites passed by just in time to prevent Joseph being murdered,
   for his brethren had already taken counsel together to put him to
   death. Further; these Ishmaelites were journeying to Egypt, which was
   the very country to which God had purposed to send Joseph, and He
   ordained they should purchase Joseph just when they did. That the hand
   of God was in this incident, that it was something more than a
   fortunate coincidence, is clear from the words of Joseph to his
   brethren at a later date, "God sent me before you to preserve you a
   posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance"
   (Gen. 45:7).

   Another equally striking illustration of God directing the wicked is
   found in Isaiah 10:5-7: "O Assyrian, the rod of Mine anger, and the
   staff in their hand is Mine indignation. I will send him against an
   hypocritical nation, and against the people of My wrath will I give him
   a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them
   down like the mire of the streets. Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither
   doth his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy and cut off
   nations not a few." Assyria's king had determined to be a
   world-conqueror, to "cut off nations not a few." But God directed and
   controlled his military lust and ambition, and caused him to confine
   his attention to the conquering of the insignificant nation of Israel.
   Such a task was not in the proud king's heart-"he meant it not so"-but
   God gave him this charge and he could do nothing but fulfil it. Compare
   also Judges 7:22.

   The supreme example of the controlling, directing influence which God
   exerts upon the wicked, is the Cross of Christ with all its attending
   circumstances. If ever the superintending providence of God was
   witnessed it was there. From all eternity God had predestined every
   detail of that event of all events. Nothing was left to chance or the
   caprice of man. God had decreed when and where and how His blessed Son
   was to die. Much of what He had purposed concerning the Crucifixion had
   been made known through the Old Testament prophets, and in the accurate
   and literal fulfilment of these prophecies we have clear proof, full
   demonstration, of the controlling and directing influence which God
   exerts upon the wicked. Not a thing occurred except as God had
   ordained, and all that He had ordained took place exactly as He
   purposed. Had it been decreed (and made known in Scripture) that the
   Saviour should be betrayed by one of His own disciples-by His "familiar
   friend"-see Psalm 41:9 and compare Matthew 26:50-then the Apostle Judas
   is the one who sold Him. Had it been decreed that the betrayer should
   receive for his awful perfidy thirty pieces of silver, then are the
   chief priests moved to offer him this very sum. Had it been decreed
   that this betrayal sum should be put to a particular use, namely,
   purchase of the potter's field, then the hand of God directs Judas to
   return the money to the chief priests and so guided their "counsel"
   (Matt. 27:7) that they did this very thing. Had it been decreed that
   there should be those who bore "false witness" against our Lord (Psa.
   35:11), then accordingly such were raised up. Had it been decreed that
   the Lord of Glory should be spat upon and "scourged" (Isa. 50:6), then
   there were not found wanting those who were vile enough to do so. Had
   it been decreed that the Saviour should be "numbered with the
   transgressors," then unknown to himself, Pilate, directed by God, gave
   orders for His crucifixion along with two thieves. Had it been decreed
   that vinegar and gall should be given Him to drink while He hung upon
   the Cross, then this decree of God was executed to the very letter. Had
   it been decreed that the heartless should gamble for His garments, then
   sure enough they did this very thing. Had it been decreed that not a
   bone of Him should be broken (Psa. 34:20), then the controlling hand of
   God which suffered the Roman soldier to break the legs of the thieves,
   prevented him from doing the same with our Lord. Ah! there were not
   enough soldiers in all the Roman legions, there were not sufficient
   demons in all the hierarchies of Satan, to break one bone in the body
   of Christ. And why? Because the Almighty Sovereign had decreed that not
   a bone should be broken. Do we need to extend this paragraph any
   farther? Does not the accurate and literal fulfilment of all that
   Scripture had predicted in connection with the Crucifixion, demonstrate
   beyond all controversy that an Almighty power was directing and
   superintending everything that was done on that Day of days?

   4. God also hardens the hearts of wicked men and blinds their minds.

   "God hardens men's hearts! God blinds men's minds!" Yes, so Scripture
   represents Him. In developing this theme of the Sovereignty of God in
   Operation we recognise that we have now reached its most solemn aspect
   of all, and that here especially, we need to keep very close indeed to
   the words of Holy Writ. God forbid that we should go one fraction
   further than His Word goes; but may He give us grace to go as far as
   His Word goes. It is true that secret things belong unto the Lord, but
   it is also true that those things which are revealed in Scripture
   belong unto us and to our children.

   "He turned their heart to hate His people, to deal subtly with His
   servants" (Psa. 105:25). The reference here is to the sojourn of the
   descendants of Jacob in the land of Egypt when, after the death of the
   Pharaoh who had welcomed the old patriarch and his family, there "arose
   up a new king who knew not Joseph"; and in his days the children of
   Israel had "increased greatly" so that they outnumbered the Egyptians;
   then it was that God "turned their heart to hate His people."

   The consequence of the Egyptians' "hatred" is well known: they brought
   them into cruel bondage and placed them under merciless taskmasters
   until their lot became unendurable. Helpless and wretched the
   Israelites cried unto Jehovah, and in response He appointed Moses to be
   their deliverer. God revealed Himself unto His chosen servant, gave him
   a number of miraculous signs which he was to exhibit at the Egyptian
   court, and then bade him to go to Pharaoh and demand that the
   Israelites should be allowed to go to a three days' journey into the
   wilderness, that they might worship the Lord. But before Moses started
   out on his journey God warned him concerning Pharaoh, "I will harden
   his heart that he shall not let the people go" (Exo. 4:21). If it be
   asked, Why did God harden Pharaoh's heart? the answer furnished by
   Scripture itself is, In order that God might show forth His power in
   him (Rom. 9:17); in other words, it was so that the Lord might
   demonstrate that it was just as easy for Him to overthrow this haughty
   and powerful monarch as it was for Him to crush a worm. If it should be
   pressed further, Why did God select such a method of displaying His
   power? then the answer must be that being Sovereign God reserves to
   Himself the right to act as He pleases.

   Not only are we told that God hardened the heart of Pharaoh so that he
   would not let the Israelites go, but after God had plagued his land so
   severely that he reluctantly gave a qualified permission, and after
   that the first-born of all the Egyptians had been slain, and Israel had
   actually left the land of bondage, God told Moses, "And I, behold, I
   will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them:
   and I will get Me honour upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, upon his
   chariots, and upon his horsemen. And the Egyptians shall know that I am
   the LORD, when I have gotten Me honour upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots,
   and upon his horsemen" (Exo. 14:17, 18).

   The same thing happened subsequently in connection with Sihon, king of
   Heshbon, through whose territory Israel had to pass on their way to the
   promised land. When reviewing their history Moses told the people, "But
   Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass by him: for the LORD thy
   God hardened his spirit, and made his heart obstinate, that He might
   deliver him into thy hand" (Deut. 2:30)!

   So it was also after that Israel had entered Canaan. We read, "There
   was not a city that made peace with the children of Israel, save the
   Hivites the inhabitants of Gibeon: all other they took in battle. For
   it was of the LORD to harden their hearts, that they should come
   against Israel in battle, that He might destroy them, as the Lord
   commanded Moses" (Josh. 11:19, 20). From other Scriptures we learn why
   God purposed to "destroy utterly" the Canaanites-it was because of
   their awful wickedness and corruption.

   Nor is the revelation of this solemn truth confined to the Old
   Testament. In John 12:37-40 we read, "But though He had done so many
   miracles before them, yet they believed not on Him: that (in order
   that) the saying of Esaias (Isaiah) the prophet might be fulfilled,
   which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath
   the arm of the Lord been revealed? Therefore they could not believe,
   because that Esaias said again, HE hath blinded their eyes, and
   hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor
   understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them."
   It needs to be carefully noted here that these whose eyes God "blinded"
   and whose heart He "hardened" were men who had deliberately scorned the
   Light and rejected the testimony of God's own Son.

   Similarly we read in 2 Thessalonians 2:11, 12, "And for this cause God
   shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: that
   they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure
   in unrighteousness." What God did unto the Jews of old He is yet going
   to do unto Christendom. Just as the Jews of Christ's day despised His
   testimony, and in consequence were "blinded," so a guilty Christendom
   which has rejected the Truth shall yet have sent them from God a
   "strong delusion" that they may believe a lie.

   Is God really governing the world? Is He exercising rule over the human
   family? What is the modus operandi of His governmental administration
   over mankind? To what extent and by what means does He control the sons
   of men? How does God exercise an influence upon the wicked, seeing
   their hearts are at enmity against Him? These are some of the questions
   we have sought to answer from Scripture in the previous sections of
   this chapter. Upon His own elect God exerts a quickening, an
   energising, a directing, and a preserving power. Upon the wicked God
   exerts a restraining, softening, directing, and hardening and blinding
   power, according to the dictates of His own infinite wisdom and unto
   the outworking of His own eternal purpose. God's decrees are being
   executed. What He has ordained is being accomplished. Man's wickedness
   is bounded. The limits of evil-doing and of evildoers has been Divinely
   defined and cannot be exceeded. Though many are in ignorance of it, all
   men, good and bad, are under the jurisdiction of and are absolutely
   subject to the administration of the Supreme Sovereign-"Alleluia: for
   the Lord God omnipotent reigneth" (Rev. 19:6)-reigneth over all.
     __________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER SEVEN
GOD'S SOVEREIGNTY AND THE HUMAN WILL

   "It is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good
   pleasure"
   (Phil. 2: 13).

   Concerning the nature and the power of fallen man's will, the greatest
   confusion prevails today, and the most erroneous views are held, even
   by many of God's children. The popular idea now prevailing, and which
   is taught from the great majority of pulpits, is that man has a "free
   will," and that salvation comes to the sinner through his will
   co-operating with the Holy Spirit. To deny the "free will" of man,
   i.e., his power to choose that which is good, his native ability to
   accept Christ, is to bring one into disfavour at once, even before most
   of those who profess to be orthodox. And yet Scripture emphatically
   says, "It is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of
   God that showeth mercy" (Rom. 9:16). Which shall we believe: God, or
   the preachers?

   But some one may reply, Did not Joshua say to Israel, "Choose you this
   day whom ye will serve"? Yes, he did; but why not complete his
   sentence-"whether the gods which your fathers served which were on the
   other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye
   dwell" (Josh. 24:15)! But why attempt to pit Scripture against
   Scripture? The Word of God never contradicts itself, and the Word
   expressly declares, "There is none that seeketh after God" (Rom. 3:11).
   Did not Christ say to the men of His day "Ye will not come to Me, that
   ye might have life" (John 5:40)? Yes, but some did "come" to Him, some
   did receive Him. True and who were they? John 1:12, 13 tells us: "But
   as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of
   God, to them that believe on His name: which were born, not of blood,
   nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God"!

   But does not Scripture say, "Whosoever will may come"? It does, but
   does this signify that everybody has the will to come? What of those
   who won't come? "Whosoever will may come" no more implies that fallen
   man has the power (in himself) to come, than "Stretch forth thine hand"
   implied that the man with the withered arm had ability (in himself) to
   comply. In and of himself the natural man has power to reject Christ;
   but in and of himself he has not the power to receive Christ. And why?
   Because he has a mind that is "enmity against" Him (Rom. 8:7); because
   he has a heart that hates Him (John 15:18). Man chooses that which is
   according to his nature, and therefore before he will ever choose or
   prefer that which is Divine and spiritual a new nature must be imparted
   to him; in other words, he must be born again.

   Should it be asked, But does not the Holy Spirit overcome a man's
   enmity and hatred when He convicts the sinner of his sins and his need
   of Christ; and does not the Spirit of God produce such conviction in
   many that perish? Such language betrays confusion of thought: were such
   a man's enmity really "overcome," then he would readily turn to Christ;
   that he does not come to the Saviour demonstrates that his enmity is
   not overcome. But that many are, through the preaching of the Word,
   convicted by the Holy Spirit, who nevertheless die in unbelief, is
   solemnly true. Yet, it is a fact which must not be lost sight of that
   the Holy Spirit does something more in each of God's elect than He does
   in the non-elect: He works in them "both to will and to do of His good
   pleasure" (Phil. 2:13).

   In reply to what we have said above, Arminians would answer, No; the
   Spirit's work of conviction is the same both in the converted and in
   unconverted, that which distinguishes the one class from the other is
   that the former yielded to His strivings whereas the latter resist
   them. But if this were the case then the Christian would have ground
   for boasting and self-glorying over his co-operation with the Spirit;
   but this would flatly contradict Ephesians 2:8, "For by grace are ye
   saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of
   God."

   Let us appeal to the actual experience of the Christian reader. Was
   there not a time (may the remembrance of it bow each of us into the
   dust) when you were unwilling to come to Christ? There was. Since then
   you have come to Him. Are you now prepared to give Him all the glory
   for that (Psa. 115:1)? Do you not acknowledge you came to Christ
   because the Holy Spirit brought you from unwillingness to willingness?
   You do. Then is it not also a patent fact that the Holy Spirit has not
   done in many others what He has in you! Granting that many others have
   heard the Gospel, been shown their need of Christ, yet, they are still
   unwilling to come to Him. Thus He has wrought more in you than in them.
   Do you answer, Yet I remember well the time when the Great Issue was
   presented to me, and my consciousness testifies that my will acted and
   that I yielded to the claims of Christ upon me. Quite true. But before
   you "yielded" the Holy Spirit overcame the native enmity of your mind
   against God, and this "enmity" He does not overcome in all. Should it
   be said, That is because they are unwilling for their enmity to be
   overcome. Ah! none are thus "'willing" till He has put forth His
   all-mighty power and wrought a miracle of grace in the heart.

   But let us now inquire, What is the human Will? Is it a
   self-determining agent, or is it, in turn, determined by something
   else? Is it Sovereign or servant? Is the will superior to every other
   faculty of our being so that it governs them, or is it moved by their
   impulses and subject to their pleasure? Does the will rule the mind, or
   does the mind control the will? Is the will free to do as it pleases,
   or is it under the necessity of rendering obedience to something
   outside of itself? "Does the will stand apart from the other great
   faculties or powers of the soul, a man within a man, who can reverse
   the man and fly against the man and split him into segments, as a glass
   snake breaks in pieces? Or, is the will connected with the other
   faculties, as the tail of the serpent is with his body, and that again
   with his head, so that where the head goes, the whole creature goes,
   and, as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he? First thought, then
   heart (desire or aversion), and then act. Is it this way, the dog wags
   the tail? Or, is it the will, the tail, wags the dog? Is the will the
   first and chief thing in man, or is it the last thing-to be kept
   subordinate, and in its place beneath the other faculties? and, is the
   true philosophy of moral action and its process that of Genesis 3:6:
   'And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food'
   (sense-perception, intelligence), 'and a tree to be desired'
   (affections), 'she took and ate thereof' (the will)." (George S.
   Bishop). These are questions of more than academical interest. They are
   of practical importance. We believe that we do not go too far when we
   affirm that the answer returned to these questions is a fundamental
   test of doctrinal soundness. [10]

   1. THE NATURE OF THE HUMAN WILL.

   What is the Will? We answer, the will is the faculty of choice, the
   immediate cause of all action. Choice necessarily implies the refusal
   of one thing and the acceptance of another. The positive and the
   negative must both be present to the mind before there can be any
   choice. In every act of the will there is a preference-the desiring one
   thing rather than another. Where there is no preference, but complete
   indifference, there is no volition. To will is to choose, and to choose
   is to decide between two or more alternatives. But there is something
   which influences the choice; something which determines the decision.
   Hence the will cannot be Sovereign because it is the servant of that
   something. The will cannot be both Sovereign and servant. It cannot be
   both cause and effect. The will is not causative, because, as we have
   said, something causes it to choose, therefore that something must be
   the causative agent. Choice itself is affected by certain
   considerations, is determined by various influences brought to bear
   upon the individual himself, hence, volition is the effect of these
   considerations and influences, and if the effect, it must be their
   servant; and if the will is their servant then it is not Sovereign, and
   if the will is not Sovereign, we certainly cannot predicate absolute
   "freedom" of it. Acts of the will cannot come to pass of themselves -
   to say they can, is to postulate an uncaused effect. Ex nihilo nihil
   fit-nothing cannot produce something.

   In all ages, however, there have been those who contended for the
   absolute freedom or Sovereignty of the human will. Men will argue that
   the will possesses a self-determining power. They say, for example, I
   can turn my eyes up or down, the mind is quite indifferent which I do,
   the will must decide. But this is a contradiction in terms. This case
   supposes that I choose one thing in preference to another while I am in
   a state of complete indifference. Manifestly, both cannot be true. But
   it may be replied, The mind was quite indifferent until it came to have
   a preference. Exactly; and at that time the will was quiescent too! But
   the moment indifference vanished, choice was made, and the fact that
   indifference gave place to preference, overthrows the argument that the
   will is capable of choosing between two equal things. As we have said,
   choice implies the acceptance of one alternative and the rejection of
   the other or others.

   That which determines the will is that which causes it to choose. If
   the will is determined then there must be a determiner. What is it that
   determines the will? We reply, The strongest motive power which is
   brought to bear upon it. What this motive power is varies in different
   cases. With one it may be the logic of reason, with another the voice
   of conscience, with another the impulse of the emotions, with another
   the whisper of the Tempter, with another the power of the Holy Spirit;
   whichever of these presents the strongest motive power and exerts the
   greatest influence upon the individual himself is that which impels the
   will to act. In other words, the action of the will is determined by
   that condition of mind (which in turn is influenced by the world, the
   flesh, and the Devil, as well as by God)which has the greatest degree
   of tendency to excite volition. To illustrate what we have just said
   let us analyse a simple example-On a certain Lord's day afternoon a
   friend of ours was suffering from a severe headache. He was anxious to
   visit the sick but feared that if he did so his own condition would
   grow worse, and as a consequence, be unable to attend the preaching of
   the Gospel that evening. Two alternatives confronted him: to visit the
   sick that afternoon and risk being sick himself, or, to take a rest
   that afternoon (and visit the sick the next day) and probably arise
   refreshed and fit for the evening service. Now what was it that decided
   our friend in choosing between these two alternatives? The will? Not at
   all. True, that in the end, the will made a choice, but the will itself
   was moved to make the choice. In the above case certain considerations
   presented strong motives for selecting either alternative; these
   motives were balanced the one against the other by the individual
   himself, i.e., his heart and mind, and the one alternative being
   supported by stronger motives than the other, decision was formed
   accordingly, and then the will acted. On the one side, our friend felt
   impelled by a sense of duty to visit the sick; he was moved with
   compassion to do so, and thus a strong motive was presented to his
   mind. On the other hand, his judgement reminded him that he was feeling
   far from well himself, that he badly needed a rest, that if he visited
   the sick his own condition would probably be made worse, and in such
   case he would be prevented from attending the preaching of the Gospel
   that night; furthermore, he knew that on the morrow, the Lord willing,
   he could visit the sick, and this being so, he concluded he ought to
   rest that afternoon. Here then were two sets of alternatives presented
   to our Christian brother: on the one side was a sense of duty plus his
   own sympathy, on the other side was a sense of his own need plus a real
   concern for God's glory, for he felt that he ought to attend the
   preaching of the Gospel that night. The latter prevailed. Spiritual
   considerations outweighed his sense of duty. Having formed his decision
   the will acted accordingly and he retired to rest. An analysis of the
   above case shows that the mind or reasoning faculty was directed by
   spiritual considerations, and the mind regulated and controlled the
   will. Hence we say that, if the will is controlled, it is neither
   Sovereign nor free, but is the servant of the mind.

   It is only as we see the real nature of freedom and mark that the will
   is subject to the motives brought to bear upon it that we are able to
   discern there is no conflict between two statements of Holy Writ which
   concern our blessed Lord. In Matthew 4:1 we read, "Then was Jesus led
   up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the Devil"; but
   in Mark 1:12, 13 we are told, "And immediately the Spirit drift Him
   into the wilderness. And He was there in the wilderness forty days,
   tempted of Satan." It is utterly impossible to harmonise these two
   statements by the Armenian conception of the will. But really there is
   no difficulty. That Christ was "driven" implies it was by a forcible
   motive or powerful impulse, such as was not to be resisted or refused;
   that He was "led" denotes His freedom in going. Putting the two
   together we learn that He was driven, with a voluntary condescension
   thereto. So, there is the liberty of man's will and the victorious
   efficacy of God's grace united together: a sinner may be "drawn" and
   yet "come" to Christ-the "drawing" presenting to him the irresistible
   motive, the "coming" signifying the response of his will-as Christ was
   "driven" and "led" by the Spirit into the wilderness.

   Human philosophy insists that it is the will which governs the man, but
   the Word of God teaches that it is the heart which is the dominating
   centre of our being. Many Scriptures might be quoted in substantiation
   of this. "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the
   issues of life" (Prov. 4:23). "For from within, out of the heart of
   men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders," etc.
   (Mark 7:21). Here our Lord traces these sinful acts back to their
   source and declares that their fountain is the "heart" and not the
   will! Again: "This people draweth nigh unto Me with their mouth, but
   their heart is far from Me" (Matt. 15:8). If further proof were
   required we might call attention to the fact that the word "heart" is
   found in the Bible more than three times oftener than is the word
   "will," even though nearly half of the references to the latter refer
   to God's will!

   When we affirm that it is the heart and not the will which governs the
   man, we are not merely striving about words, but insisting on a
   distinction that is of vital importance. Here is an individual before
   whom two alternatives are placed; which will he choose? We answer, the
   one which is most agreeable to himself, i.e., his "heart"-the innermost
   core of his being? Before the sinner is set a life of virtue and piety,
   and a life of sinful indulgence; which will he follow? The latter. Why?
   Because that is his choice. But does that prove the will is Sovereign?
   Not at all. Go back from effect to cause. Why does the sinner choose a
   life of sinful indulgence? Because he prefers it-and he does prefer it,
   all arguments to the contrary notwithstanding, though of course he does
   not enjoy the effects of such a course. And why does he prefer it?
   Because his heart is sinful. The same alternatives, in like manner,
   confront the Christian, and he chooses and strives after a life of
   piety and virtue. Why? Because God has given him a new heart or nature.
   Hence we say it is not the will which makes the sinner impervious to
   all appeals to "forsake his way," but his corrupt and evil heart. He
   will not come to Christ because he does not want to, and he does not
   want to because his heart hates Him and loves sin: see Jeremiah 17:9!

   In defining the will we have said above, that "the will is the faculty
   of choice, the immediate cause of all action." We say the immediate
   cause, for the will is not "the primary cause of any action." We say
   the immediate cause, for the will is not the primary cause of any
   action any more than the hand is. Just as the hand is controlled by the
   muscles and nerves of the arm, and the arm by the brain; so the will is
   the servant of the mind, and the mind, in turn, is affected by various
   influences and motives which are brought to bear upon it. But, it may
   be asked, Does not Scripture make its appeal to man's will? Is it not
   written, "And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely"
   (Rev. 22:17)? And did not our Lord say, "ye will not come to Me that ye
   might have life" (John 5:40)? We answer; the appeal of Scripture is not
   always made to man's "will"; other of his faculties are also addressed.
   For example: "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear." "Hear and your
   soul shall live." "Look unto Me and be ye saved." "Believe on the Lord
   Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved." "Come now and let us reason
   together," "with the heart man believeth unto righteousness," etc.,
   etc.

   2. THE BONDAGE OF THE HUMAN WILL.

   In any treatise that proposes to deal with the human will, its nature
   and functions, respect should be had to the will in three different
   men, namely, unfallen Adam, the sinner, and the Lord Jesus Christ. In
   unfallen Adam the will was free, free in both directions, free toward
   good and free toward evil. Adam was created in a state of innocency but
   not in a state of holiness, as is so often assumed and asserted. Adam's
   will was therefore in a condition of moral equipoise: that is to say,
   in Adam there was no constraining bias in him toward good or evil, and
   as such Adam differed radically from all his descendants, as well as
   from "the Man Christ Jesus." But with the sinner it is far otherwise.
   The sinner is born with a will that is not in a condition of moral
   equipoise, because in him there is a heart that is "deceitful above all
   things and desperately wicked," and this gives him a bias toward evil.
   So, too, with the Lord Jesus it was far otherwise: He also differed
   radically from unfallen Adam. The Lord Jesus Christ could not sin
   because He was the "Holy One of God." Before He was born into this
   world it was said to Mary, "The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and
   the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that
   Holy Thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God"
   (Luke 1:35). Speaking reverently then we say, that the will of the Son
   of Man was not in a condition of moral equipoise, that is, capable of
   turning toward either good or evil. The will of the Lord Jesus was
   biased toward that which is good because, side by side with His
   sinless, holy, perfect humanity, was His eternal Deity. Now in
   contradistinction from the will of the Lord Jesus which was biased
   toward good, and Adam's will which, before his fall, was in a condition
   of moral equipoise-capable of turning toward either good or evil-the
   sinner's will is biased toward evil, and therefore is free in one
   direction only, namely, in the direction of evil. The sinner's will is
   enslaved because it is in bondage to and is the servant of a depraved
   heart.

   In what does the sinner's freedom consist? This question is naturally
   suggested by what we have just said above. The sinner is "free" in the
   sense of being unforced from without. God never forces the sinner to
   sin. But the sinner is not free to do either good or evil because an
   evil heart within is ever inclining him toward sin. Let us illustrate
   what we have in mind. I hold in my hand a book. I release it; what
   happens? It falls. In which direction? Downwards; always downwards.
   Why? Because, answering the law of gravity, its own weight sinks it.
   Suppose I desire that book to occupy a position three feet higher; then
   what? I must lift it; a power outside of that book must raise it. Such
   is the relationship which fallen man sustains toward God. Whilst Divine
   power up-holds him he is preserved from plunging still deeper into sin;
   let that power be withdrawn and he falls-his own weight (of sin) drags
   him down. God does not push him down anymore than I did that book. Let
   all Divine restraint be removed and every man is capable of becoming,
   would become, a Cain, a Pharaoh, a Judas. How then is the sinner to
   move heavenward? By an act of his own will? Not so. A power outside of
   himself must grasp hold of him and lift him every inch of the way. The
   sinner is free, but free in one direction only-free to fall, free to
   sin. As the Word expresses it: "For when ye were the servants of sin,
   ye were free from righteousness" (Rom. 6:20). The sinner is free to do
   as he pleases, always as he pleases (except as he is restrained by
   God), but his pleasure is to sin.

   In the opening paragraph of this chapter we insisted that a proper
   conception of the nature and function of the will is of practical
   importance, nay, that it constitutes a fundamental test of theological
   orthodoxy or doctrinal soundness. We wish to amplify this statement and
   attempt to demonstrate its accuracy. The freedom or bondage of the will
   was the dividing line between Augustinianism and Pelagianism, and in
   more recent times between Calvinism and Arminianism. Reduced to simple
   terms this means that the difference involved was the affirmation or
   denial of the total depravity of man. In taking the affirmative we
   shall now consider,

   3. THE IMPOTENCY OF THE HUMAN WILL.

   Does it lie within the province of man's will to accept or reject the
   Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour? Granted that the Gospel is preached to
   the sinner, that the Holy Spirit convicts him of his lost condition,
   does it, in the final analysis, He within the power of his own will to
   resist or to yield himself up to God? The answer to this question
   defines our conception of human depravity. That man is a fallen
   creature all professing Christians will allow, but what many of them
   mean by "fallen" is often difficult to determine. The general
   impression seems to be that man is now mortal, that he is no longer in
   the condition in which he left the hands of his Creator, that he is
   liable to disease, that he inherits evil tendencies; but, that if he
   employs his powers to the best of his ability somehow he will be happy
   at last. O, how far short of the sad truth! Infirmities, sickness, even
   corporeal death, are but trifles in comparison with the moral and
   spiritual effects of the Fall! It is only by consulting the Holy
   Scriptures that we are able to obtain some conception of the extent of
   that terrible calamity.

   When we say that man is totally depraved we mean that the entrance of
   sin into the human constitution has affected every part and faculty of
   man's being. Total depravity means that man is, in spirit and soul and
   body, the slave of sin and the captive of the Devil-walking "according
   to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in
   the children of disobedience" (Eph. 2:2). This statement ought not to
   need arguing: it is a common fact of human experience. Man is unable to
   realise his own aspirations and materialise his own ideals. He cannot
   do the things that he would. There is a moral inability which paralyses
   him. This is proof positive that he is no free man, but instead, the
   slave of sin and Satan. "Ye are of your father the Devil, and the lusts
   (desires) of your father ye will do" (John 8:44). Sin is more than an
   act or a series of acts; it is a state or condition. It is that which
   lies behind and produces the acts. Sin has penetrated and permeated the
   whole of man's make-up. It has blinded the understanding, corrupted the
   heart, and alienated the mind from God. And the will has not escaped.
   The will is under the dominion of sin and Satan. Therefore, the will is
   not free. In short, the affections love as they do and the will chooses
   as it does because of the state of the heart, and because the heart is
   deceitful above all things and desperately wicked "There is none that
   seeketh after God" (Rom. 3:11).

   We repeat our question: Does it lie within the power of the sinner's
   will to yield himself up to God? Let us attempt an answer by asking
   several others: Can water (of itself) rise above its own level? Can a
   clean thing come out of an unclean? Can the will reverse the whole
   tendency and strain of human nature? Can that which is under the
   dominion of sin originate that which is pure and holy? Manifestly not.
   If ever the will of a fallen and depraved creature is to move Godward a
   Divine power must be brought to bear upon it which will overcome the
   influences of sin that pull in a counter direction. This is only
   another way of saying, "No man can come to Me, except the Father which
   hath sent Me, draw him (John 6:44). In other words, God's people must
   be made willing in the day of His power (Psa. 110:3). As said Mr.
   Darby, "If Christ came to save that which is lost, free will has no
   place. Not that God prevents men from receiving Christ-far from it. But
   even when God uses all possible inducements, all that is capable of
   exerting influence in the heart of man, it only serves to show that man
   will have none of it, that so corrupt is his heart, and so decided his
   will not to submit to God (however much it may be the devil who
   encourages him to sin) that nothing can induce him to receive the Lord,
   and to give up sin. If by the words, 'freedom of man,' they mean that
   no one forces him to reject the Lord, this liberty fully exists. But if
   it is said that, on account of the dominion of sin, of which he is the
   slave, and that voluntarily, he cannot escape from his condition, and
   make choice of the good-even while acknowledging it to be good, and
   approving of it-then he has no liberty whatever (italics ours). He is
   not subject to the law, neither indeed can be; hence, they that are in
   the flesh cannot please God."

   The will is not Sovereign; it is a servant because influenced and
   controlled by the other faculties of man's being. The sinner is not a
   free agent because he is a slave of sin-this was clearly implied in our
   Lord's words, "If the Son shall therefore make you free, ye shall be
   free indeed" (John 8:36). Man is a rational being and as such
   responsible and accountable to God, but to affirm that he is a free
   moral agent is to deny that he is totally depraved-i.e., depraved in
   will as in everything else. Because man's will is governed by his mind
   and heart, and because these have been vitiated and corrupted by sin,
   then it follows that if ever man is to turn or move in a Godward
   direction God Himself must work in him "both to will and to do of His
   good pleasure" (Phil. 2:13). Man's boasted freedom is in truth "the
   bondage of corruption"; he "serves divers lusts and pleasures." Said a
   deeply taught servant of God, "Man is impotent as to his will. He has
   no will favourable to God. I believe in free will; but then it is a
   will only free to act according to nature (italics ours). A dove has no
   will to eat carrion; a raven no will to eat the clean food of the dove.
   Put the nature of the dove into the raven and it will eat the food of
   the dove. Satan could have no will for holiness. We speak it with
   reverence, God could have no will for evil. The sinner in his sinful
   nature could never have a will according to God. For this he must be
   born again" (J. Denham Smith). This is just what we have contended for
   throughout this chapter-the will is regulated by the nature.

   Among the "decrees" of the Council of Trent (1563), which is the avowed
   standard of Popery, we find the following:

   "If any one shall affirm, that man's free-will, moved and excited by
   God, does not, by consenting, co-operate with God, the mover and
   exciter, so as to prepare and dispose itself for the attainment of
   justification; if moreover, anyone shall say that the human will cannot
   refuse complying, if it pleases; but that it is inactive, and merely
   passive; let such an one be accursed"!

   "If any one shall affirm, that since the fall of Adam, man's freewill
   is lost and extinguished; or, that it is a thing titular, yea a name,
   without a thing, and a fiction introduced by Satan into the Church; let
   such an one be accursed"!

   Thus, those who today insist on the free-will of the natural man
   believe precisely what Rome teaches on the subject! That Roman
   Catholics and Arminians walk hand in hand may be seen from others of
   the decrees issued by the Council of Trent: "If any one shall affirm
   that a regenerate and justified man is bound to believe that he is
   certainly in the number of the elect (which 1 Thess. 1:4, 5 plainly
   teaches.--A.W.P.) let such an one be accursed"! "If any one shall
   affirm with positive and absolute certainty, that he shall surely have
   the gift of perseverance to the end (which John 10:28-30 assuredly
   guarantees, A. W. P.); let him be accursed"!

   In order for any sinner to be saved three things were indispensable:
   God the Father had to purpose his salvation, God the Son had to
   purchase it, God the Spirit has to apply it. God does more than
   "propose" to us: were He only to "invite," every last one of us would
   be lost. This is strikingly illustrated in the Old Testament. In Ezra
   1:1-3 we read, "Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the
   word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD
   stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a
   proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing
   saying, Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, the LORD God of Heaven hath
   given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and He hath charged me to build
   Him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of
   all His people? his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem
   which is in Judah, and build the house of the LORD God of Israel." Here
   was an "offer" made, made to a people in captivity, affording them
   opportunity to leave and return to Jerusalem-God's dwelling-place. Did
   all Israel eagerly respond to this offer? No indeed. The vast majority
   were content to remain in the enemy's land. Only an insignificant
   "remnant" availed themselves of this overture of mercy! And why did
   they? Hear the answer of Scripture: "Then rose up the chief of the
   fathers of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests, and the Levites, with
   all whose spirit God had stirred up, to go up to build the house of the
   LORD which is in Jerusalem" (Ezra 1:5)! In like manner, God "stirs up"
   the spirits of His elect when the effectual call comes to them, and not
   till then do they have any willingness to respond to the Divine
   proclamation.

   The superficial work of many of the professional evangelists of the
   last fifty years is largely responsible for the erroneous views now
   current upon the bondage of the natural man, encouraged by the laziness
   of those in the pew in their failure to "prove all things" (1 Thess.
   5:21). The average evangelical pulpit conveys the impression that it
   lies wholly in the power of the sinner whether or not he shall be
   saved. It is said that "God has done His part, now man must do his."
   Alas, what can a lifeless man do, and man by nature is "dead in
   trespasses and sins" (Eph. 2:1)! If this were really believed there
   would be more dependence upon the Holy Spirit to come in with His
   miracle-working power and less confidence in our attempts to "win men
   for Christ."

   When addressing the unsaved, preachers often draw an analogy between
   God's sending of the Gospel to the sinner, and a sick man in bed with
   some healing medicine on a table by his side: all he needs to do is
   reach forth his hand and take it. But in order for this illustration to
   be in any wise true to the picture which Scripture gives us of the
   fallen and depraved sinner, the sick man in bed must be described as
   one who is blind (Eph. 4:18) so that he cannot see the medicine, his
   hand paralysed (Rom. 5:6) so that he is unable to reach forth for it,
   and his heart not only devoid of all confidence in the medicine but
   filled with hatred against the physician himself (John 15:18). O what
   superficial views of man's desperate plight are now entertained! Christ
   came here not to help those who were willing to help themselves, but to
   do for His people what they were incapable of doing for themselves: "To
   open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and
   them that sit in darkness out of the prison house" (Isa. 42:7).

   Now in conclusion let us anticipate and dispose of the usual and
   inevitable objection-Why preach the Gospel if man is powerless to
   respond? why did the sinner come to Christ if sin has so enslaved him
   that he has no power in himself to come? Reply: We do not preach the
   Gospel because we believe that men are free moral agents and therefore
   capable of receiving Christ, but we preach it because we are commanded
   to do so (Mark 16:15); and though to them that perish it is foolishness
   yet, "unto us which are saved it is the power of God" (1 Cor. 1:18).
   "The foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is
   stronger than men" (1 Cor. 1:25). The sinner is dead in trespasses and
   sins (Eph. 2:1), and a dead man is utterly incapable of willing
   anything, hence it is that "they that are in the flesh (the
   unregenerate) cannot please God" (Rom. 8:8).

   To fleshly wisdom it appears the height of folly to preach the Gospel
   to those that are dead, and therefore beyond the reach of doing
   anything themselves. Yes, but God's ways are different from ours. It
   pleases God "by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe"
   (1 Cor. 1:21). Man may deem it folly to prophesy to "dead bones" and to
   say unto them, "O ye dry bones, hear the Word of the Lord" (Ezek.
   37:4). Ah! but then it is the Word of the Lord, and the words He speaks
   "they are spirit, and they are life" (John 6:63). Wise men standing by
   the grave of Lazarus might pronounce it an evidence of insanity when
   the Lord addressed a dead man with the words, "Lazarus, Come forth."
   Ah! but He who thus spake was and is Himself the Resurrection and the
   Life, and at His word even the dead live! We go forth to preach the
   Gospel, then, not because we believe that sinners have within
   themselves the power to receive the Saviour it proclaims but because
   the Gospel itself is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that
   believeth, and because we know that "as many as were ordained to
   eternal life" (Acts 13:48) shall believe (John 6:37; 10:16-note the
   "shall's"!) in God's appointed time, for it is written "Thy people
   shall be willing in the day of Thy power" (Psa. 110:3)!

   What we have set forth in this chapter is not a product of "modern
   thought"; no indeed, it is at direct variance with it. It is those of
   the past few generations who have departed so far from the teachings of
   their scripturally-instructed fathers. In the thirty-nine Articles of
   the Church of England we read, "The condition of man after the fall of
   Adam is such, that he cannot turn and prepare himself by his own
   natural strength and good works to faith, and calling upon God:
   Wherefore we have no power to do good works, pleasant and acceptable to
   God, without the grace of God by Christ preventing us (being
   before-hand with us), that we may have a good will, and working with
   us, when we have that good will" (Article 10). In the Westminster
   Catechism of Faith (adopted by the Presbyterians) we read, "The
   sinfulness of that state whereinto man fell, consisteth in the guilt of
   Adam's first sin, the wont of that righteousness wherein he was
   created, and the corruption of his nature, whereby he is utterly
   indisposed, disabled, and made opposite unto all that is spiritually
   good, and wholly inclined to all evil, and that continually" (Answer to
   question 25). So in the Baptists' Philadelphian Confession of Faith,
   1742, we read, "Man, by his fall into a state of sin, hath wholly lost
   all ability of will to any spiritual good accompanying salvation; so as
   a natural man, being altogether averse from good, and dead in sin, is
   not able by his own strength to convert himself, or to prepare himself
   thereunto" (Chapter 9).
     __________________________________________________________________

   [10] Since writing the above we have read an article by the late J. N.
   Darby entitled, "Man's So-Called Freewill," that opens with these
   words: "This re-appearance of the doctrine of freewill serves to
   support that of the pretensions of the natural man to be not
   irremediably fallen, for this is what such doctrine tends to. All who
   have never been deeply convicted of sin, all persons in whom this
   conviction is based on gross external sins, believe more or less in
   freewill."
     __________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER EIGHT
SOVEREIGNTY AND HUMAN RESPONSIBILITY

   "So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God"
   (Rom. 14:12).

   In our last chapter we considered at some length the much debated and
   difficult question of the human will. We have shown that the will of
   the natural man is neither Sovereign nor free but, instead, a servant
   and slave. We have argued that a right conception of the sinner's
   will-its servitude-is essential to a just estimate of his depravity and
   ruin. The utter corruption and degradation of human nature is something
   which man hates to acknowledge, and which he will hotly and insistently
   deny until he is "taught of God." Much, very much, of the unsound
   doctrine which we now hear on every hand is the direct and logical
   outcome of man's repudiation of God's expressed estimate of human
   depravity. Men are claiming that they are "increased with goods, and
   have need of nothing," and know not that they are "wretched and
   miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked" (Rev. 3:17). They prate
   about the 'Ascent of Man,' and deny his Fall. They put darkness for
   light and light for darkness. They boast of the 'free moral agency' of
   man when, in fact, he is in bondage to sin and enslaved by Satan-"taken
   captive by him at his will" (2 Tim. 2:26). But if the natural man is
   not a 'free moral agent,' does it also follow that he is not
   accountable?

   'Free moral agency' is an expression of human invention and, as we have
   said before, to talk of the freedom of the natural man is flatly to
   repudiate his spiritual ruin. Nowhere does Scripture speak of the
   freedom or moral ability of the sinner, on the contrary, it insists on
   his moral and spiritual inability.

   This is, admittedly, the most difficult branch of our subject. Those
   who have ever devoted much study to this theme have uniformly
   recognised that the harmonising of God's Sovereignty with Man's
   Responsibility is the gordian knot of theology.

   The main difficulty encountered is to define the relationship between
   God's Sovereignty and man's responsibility. Many have summarily
   disposed of the difficulty by denying its existence. A certain class of
   theologians, in their anxiety to maintain man's responsibility, have
   magnified it beyond all due proportions until God's Sovereignty has
   been lost sight of, and in not a few instances flatly denied. Others
   have acknowledged that the Scriptures present both the Sovereignty of
   God and the responsibility of man but affirm that in our present finite
   condition and with our limited knowledge it is impossible to reconcile
   the two truths, though it is the bounden duty of the believer to
   receive both. The present writer believes that it has been too readily
   assumed that the Scriptures themselves do not reveal the several points
   which show the conciliation of God's Sovereignty and man's
   responsibility. While perhaps the Word of God does not clear up all the
   mystery (and this is said with reserve), it does throw much light upon
   the problem, and it seems to us more honouring to God and His Word to
   prayerfully search the Scriptures for the completer solution of the
   difficulty, and even though others have thus far searched in vain that
   ought only to drive us more and more to our knees. God has been pleased
   to reveal many things out of His Word during the last century which
   were hidden from earlier students. Who then dare affirm that there is
   not much to be learned yet respecting our inquiry!

   As we have said above, our chief difficulty is to determine the
   meeting-point of God's Sovereignty and man's responsibility. To many it
   has seemed that for God to assert His Sovereignty, for Him to put forth
   His power and exert a direct influence upon man, for Him to do anything
   more than warn or invite, would be to interfere with man's freedom,
   destroy his responsibility, and reduce him to a machine. It is sad
   indeed to find one like the late Dr. Pierson-whose writings are
   generally so scriptural and helpful-saying, "It is a tremendous thought
   that even God Himself cannot control my moral frame, or constrain my
   moral choice. He cannot prevent me defying and denying Him, and would
   not exercise His power in such directions if He could, and could not if
   He would" ("A Spiritual Clinique"). It is sadder still to discover that
   many other respected and loved brethren are giving expression to the
   same sentiments. Sad, because directly at variance with the Holy
   Scriptures.

   It is our desire to face honestly the difficulties involved, and to
   examine them carefully in what light God has been pleased to grant us.
   The chief difficulties might be expressed thus: first, How is it
   possible for God to so bring His power to bear upon men that they are
   prevented from doing what they desire to do, and impelled to do other
   things they do not desire to do, and yet to preserve their
   responsibility? Second, How can the sinner be held responsible for the
   doing of what he is unable to do? And how can he be justly condemned
   for not doing what he could not do? Third, How is it possible for God
   to decree that men shall commit certain sins, hold them responsible in
   the committal of them, and adjudge them guilty because they committed
   them? Fourth, How can the sinner be held responsible to receive Christ,
   and be damned for rejecting Him, when God had foreordained him to
   condemnation? We shall now deal with these several problems in the
   above order. May the Holy Spirit Himself be our Teacher so that in His
   light we may see light.

   1. How is it possible for God to so bring His power to bear upon men
   that they are PREVENTED from doing what they desire to do, and IMPELLED
   to do other things they do not desire to do, and yet to preserve their
   responsibility?

   It would seem that if God put forth His power and exerted a direct
   influence upon men their freedom would be interfered with. It would
   appear that if God did anything more than warn and invite men their
   responsibility would be infringed upon. We are told that God must not
   coerce man, still less compel him, or otherwise he would be reduced to
   a machine. This sounds very plausible; it appears to be good philosophy
   and based upon sound reasoning; it has been almost universally accepted
   as an axiom in ethics; nevertheless, it is refuted by Scripture!

   Let us turn first to Genesis 20:6: "And God said unto him in a dream,
   Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I
   also withheld thee from sinning against Me: therefore suffered I thee
   not to touch her." It is argued, almost universally, that God must not
   interfere with man's liberty, that he must not coerce or compel him,
   lest he be reduced to a machine. But the above Scripture proves,
   unmistakably proves, that it is not impossible for God to exert His
   power upon man without destroying his responsibility. Here is a case
   where God did exert His power, restrict man's freedom, and prevent him
   from doing that which he otherwise would have done.

   Ere turning from this Scripture let us note how it throws light upon
   the case of the first man. Would-be philosophers who sought to be wise
   above that which was written have argued that God could not have
   prevented Adam's fall without reducing him to a mere automaton. They
   tell us, constantly, that God must not coerce or compel His creatures
   otherwise He would destroy their accountability. But the answer to all
   such philosophisings is, that Scripture records a number of instances
   where we are expressly told God did prevent certain of His creatures
   from sinning both against Himself and against His people, in view of
   which all men's reasonings are utterly worthless. If God could
   "withhold" Abimelech from sinning against Him then why was He unable to
   do the same with Adam? Should someone ask, Then why did not God do so?
   we might return the question by asking, Why did not God "withhold"
   Satan from falling? or, Why did not God "withhold" the Kaiser from
   starting the War? The usual reply is, as we have said, God could not
   without interfering with man's "freedom" and reducing him to a machine.
   But the case of Abimelech proves conclusively that such a reply is
   untenable and erroneous-we might add wicked and blasphemous, for who
   are we to limit the Most High! How dare any finite creature take it
   upon him to say what the Almighty can and cannot do? Should we be
   pressed further as to why God refused to exercise His power and prevent
   Adam's fall, we should say, Because Adam's fall better served His own
   wise and blessed purpose-among other things, it provided an opportunity
   to demonstrate that where sin had abounded grace could much more
   abound. But we might ask further: Why did God place in the garden the
   tree of the knowledge of good and evil when He foresaw that man would
   disobey His prohibition and eat of it; for mark, it was God and not
   Satan who made that tree. Should someone respond, Then is God the
   Author of Sin? We would have to ask, in turn, What is meant by
   "Author"? Plainly it was God's will that sin should enter this world
   otherwise it would not have entered, for nothing happens save as God
   has eternally decreed. Moreover, there was more than a bare permission
   for God only permits that which He has purposed. But we leave now the
   origin of sin, insisting once more, however, that God could have
   "withheld" Adam from sinning without destroying his responsibility.

   The case of Abimelech does not stand alone. Another illustration of the
   same principle is seen in the history of Balaam, already noticed in the
   last chapter, but concerning which a further word is in place. Balak
   the Moabite sent for this heathen prophet to "curse" Israel. A handsome
   reward was offered for his services, and a careful reading of Numbers
   22-24 will show that Balaam was willing, yea, anxious, to accept
   Balak's offer and thus sin against God and His people. But Divine power
   "withheld" him. Mark his own admission, "And Balaam said unto Balak,
   Lo, I am come unto thee: have I now any power at all to say anything?
   the word that God putteth in my mouth, that shall I speak" (Num.
   22:38). Again, after Balak had remonstrated with Balaam, we read "He
   answered and said, Must I not take heed to speak that which the LORD
   hath put in my mouth?...Behold, I have received commandment to bless:
   and He hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it" (23:12, 20). Surely these
   verses show us God's power, and Balaam's powerlessness: man's will
   frustrated and God's will performed. But was Balaam's "freedom" or
   responsibility destroyed? Certainly not, as we shall yet seek to show.

   One more illustration: "And the fear of the LORD fell upon all the
   kingdoms of the lands that were round about Judah, so that they made no
   war against Jehoshaphat" (2 Chron. 17:10). The implication here is
   clear. Had not the "fear of the LORD" fallen upon these kingdoms they
   would have made war upon Judah. God's restraining power alone prevented
   them. Had their own will been allowed to act "war" would have been the
   consequence. Thus we see, that Scripture teaches that God "withholds"
   nations as well as individuals, and that when it pleaseth Him to do so
   He interposes and prevents war. Compare further Genesis 35:5.

   The question which now demands our consideration is, How is it possible
   for God to "withhold" men from sinning and yet not to interfere with
   their liberty and responsibility-a question which so many say is
   incapable of solution in our present finite condition. This question
   causes us to ask, In what does moral "freedom," real moral freedom,
   consist? We answer, it is the being delivered from the BONDAGE of sin.
   The more any soul is emancipated from the thraldom of sin the more does
   he enter into a state of freedom-"If the Son therefore shall make you
   free, ye shall be free indeed" (John 8:36). In the above instances God
   "withheld" Abimelech, Balaam, and the heathen kingdoms from sinning,
   and therefore we affirm that He did not in any wise interfere with
   their real freedom. The nearer a soul approximates to sinlessness the
   nearer does he approach to God's holiness. Scripture tells us that God
   "cannot lie," and that He "cannot be tempted," but is He any the less
   free because He cannot do that which is evil? Surely not. Then is it
   not evident that the more man is raised up to God, and the more he be
   "withheld" from sinning, the greater is his real freedom!

   A pertinent example setting forth the meeting-place of God's
   Sovereignty and man's responsibility, as it relates to the question of
   moral freedom, is found in connection with the giving to us of the Holy
   Scriptures. In the communication of His Word God was pleased to employ
   human instruments, and in the using of them He did not reduce them to
   mere mechanical amanuenses: "Knowing this first, that no prophecy of
   the Scripture is of any private interpretation (Greek: of its own
   origination). For the prophecy came not at any time by the will of man:
   but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit"
   (2Peter 1:20, 21). Here we have man's responsibility and God's
   Sovereignty placed in juxtaposition. These holy men were "moved"
   (Greek: "borne along") by the Holy Spirit, yet was not their moral
   responsibility disturbed nor their "freedom" impaired. God enlightened
   their minds, enkindled their hearts, revealed to them His truth, and so
   controlled them that error on their part was, by Him, made impossible,
   as they communicated His mind and will to men. But what was it that
   might have, would have, caused error, had not God controlled as He did
   the instruments which He employed? The answer is SIN, the sin which was
   in them. But as we have seen, the holding in check of sin, the
   preventing of the exercise of the carnal mind in these "holy men" was
   not a destroying of their "freedom," rather was it the inducting of
   them into real freedom.

   A final word should be added here concerning the nature of true
   liberty. There are three chief things concerning which men in general
   greatly err: misery and happiness, folly and wisdom, bondage and
   liberty. The world counts none miserable but the afflicted, and none
   happy but the prosperous, because they judge by the present ease of the
   flesh. Again; the world is pleased with a false show of wisdom (which
   is "foolishness" with God), neglecting that which makes wise unto
   salvation. As to liberty, men would be at their own disposal and live
   as they please. They suppose the only true liberty is to be at the
   command and under the control of none above themselves, and live
   according to their heart's desire. But this is a thraldom and bondage
   of the worst kind. True liberty is not the power to live as we please,
   but to live as we ought! Hence, the only One Who has ever trod this
   earth since Adam's fall that has enjoyed perfect freedom was the Man
   Christ Jesus, the Holy Servant of God, Whose meat it ever was to do the
   will of the Father.

   We now turn to consider the question.

   2. How can the sinner be held responsible FOR the doing of what he is
   UNABLE to do? And how can he be justly condemned for NOT DOING what he
   COULD NOT do?

   As a creature the natural man is responsible to love, obey, and serve
   God; as a sinner he is responsible to repent and believe the Gospel.
   But at the outset we are confronted with the fact that natural man is
   unable to love and serve God, and that the sinner, of himself, cannot
   repent and believe. First, let us prove what we have just said. We
   begin by quoting and considering John 6:44, "No man can come to Me,
   except the Father which hath sent Me draw him." The heart of the
   natural man (every man) is so "desperately wicked" that if he is left
   to himself he will never 'come to Christ.' This statement would not be
   questioned if the full force of the words "coming to Christ" were
   properly apprehended. We shall therefore digress a little at this point
   to define and consider what is implied and involved in the words "No
   man can come to Me"-cf.John 5:40, "Ye will not come to Me, that ye
   might have life."

   For the sinner to come to Christ that he might have life is for him to
   realise the awful danger of his situation; is for him to see that the
   sword of Divine justice is suspended over his head; is to awaken to the
   fact that there is but a step betwixt him and death, and that after
   death is the "judgement"; and in consequence of this discovery, is for
   him to be in real earnest to escape, and in such earnestness that he
   shall flee from the wrath to come, cry unto God for mercy, and agonise
   to enter in at the "strait gate."

   To come to Christ for life, is for the sinner to feel and acknowledge
   that he is utterly destitute of any claim upon God's favour; is to see
   himself as "without strength," lost and undone; is to admit that he is
   deserving of nothing but eternal death, thus taking side with God
   against himself; it is for him to cast himself into the dust before
   God, and humbly sue for Divine mercy.

   To come to Christ for life is for the sinner to abandon his own
   righteousness and be ready to be made the righteousness of God in
   Christ; it is to disown his own wisdom and be guided by His; it is to
   repudiate his own will and be ruled by His; it is to unreservedly
   receive the Lord Jesus as his Lord and Saviour, as his All in all.

   Such, in part and in brief, is what is implied and involved in "coming
   to Christ." But is the sinner willing to take such an attitude before
   God? No; for in the first place he does not realise the danger of his
   situation, and in consequence is not in real earnest after his escape;
   instead, men are for the most part at ease, and apart from the
   operations of the Holy Spirit whenever they are disturbed by the alarms
   of conscience or the dispensations of providence they flee to any other
   refuge but Christ. In the second place, they will not acknowledge that
   all their righteousnesses are as filthy rags but, like the Pharisee,
   will thank God they are not as the Publican. And in the third place,
   they are not ready to receive Christ as their Lord and Saviour for they
   are unwilling to part with their idols; they had rather hazard their
   soul's eternal welfare than give them up. Hence we say that, left to
   himself, the natural man is so depraved at heart that he cannot come to
   Christ.

   The words of our Lord quoted above by no means stand alone. Quite a
   number of Scriptures set forth the moral and spiritual inability of the
   natural man. In Joshua 24:19 we read, "And Joshua said unto the people,
   Ye cannot serve the Lord: for He is an holy God." To the Pharisees
   Christ said, "Why do ye not understand My speech? even because ye
   cannot hear My word" (John 8:43). And again: "The carnal mind is enmity
   against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed
   can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God" (Rom.
   8:7, 8).

   But now the question returns, How can God hold the sinner responsible
   for failing to do what he is unable to do? This necessitates a careful
   definition of terms. Just what is meant by "unable" and "cannot"?

   Now let it be clearly understood that when we speak of the sinner's
   inability, we do not mean that if men desired to come to Christ they
   lack the necessary power to carry out their desire. No; the fact is
   that the sinner's inability or absence of power is itself due to lack
   of willingness to come to Christ, and this lack of willingness is the
   fruit of a depraved heart. It is of first importance that we
   distinguish between natural inability and moral and spiritual
   inability. For example, we read, "But Ahijah could not see; for his
   eyes were set by reason of his age" (1 Kings 14:4); and again, "The men
   rowed hard to bring it to the land; but they could not: for the sea
   wrought, and was tempestuous against them" (Jonah 1:13). In both of
   these passages the words "could not" refer to natural inability. But
   when we read, "And when his brethren saw that their father loved him
   (Joseph) more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not
   speak peaceably unto him" (Gen. 37:4), it is clearly moral inability
   that is in view. They did not lack the natural ability to "speak
   peaceably unto him" for they were not dumb. Why then was it that they
   "could not speak peaceably unto him"? The answer is given in the same
   verse: it was because "they hated him." Again; in 2 Peter 2:14 we read
   of a certain class of wicked men "having eyes full of adultery, and
   that cannot cease from sin." Here again it is moral inability that is
   in view. Why is it that these men "cannot cease from sin"? The answer
   is, Because their eyes were full of adultery. So of Romans 8:8-"They
   that are in the flesh cannot please God": here is spiritual inability.
   Why is it that the natural man "cannot please God"? Because he is
   "alienated from the life of God" (Eph. 4:18). No man can choose that
   from which his heart is averse-"O generation of vipers, how can ye,
   being evil, speak good things?" (Matt. 12:34). "No man can come to Me,
   except the Father which hath sent Me draw him" (John 6:44). Here again
   it is moral and spiritual inability which is before us. Why is it the
   sinner cannot come to Christ unless he is "drawn"? The answer is,
   Because his wicked heart loves sin and hates Christ.

   We trust we have made it clear that the Scriptures distinguish sharply
   between natural ability and moral and spiritual inability. Surely all
   can see the difference between the blindness of Bartimaeus, who was
   ardently desirous of receiving his sight, and the Pharisees, whose eyes
   were closed "lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear
   with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be
   converted" (Matt. 13:15). But should it be said, "The natural man could
   come to Christ if he wished to do so," we answer, Ah! but in that IF
   lies the hinge of the whole matter. The inability of the sinner
   consists of the want of moral power to wish and will so as to actually
   perform.

   What we have contended for above is of first importance. Upon the
   distinction between the sinner's natural Ability, and his moral and
   spiritual Inability rests his Responsibility. The depravity of the
   human heart does not destroy man's accountability to God; so far from
   this being the case the very moral inability of the sinner only serves
   to increase his guilt. This is easily proven by a reference to the
   Scriptures cited above. We read that Joseph's brethren "could not speak
   peaceably unto him," and why? It was because they "hated" him. But was
   this moral inability of theirs any excuse? Surely not: in this very
   moral inability consisted the greatness of their sin. So of those
   concerning whom it is said, "They cannot cease from sin" (2 Peter
   2:14), and why? Because "their eyes were full of adultery," but that
   only made their case worse. It was a real fact that they could not
   cease from sin, yet this did not excuse them-it only made their sin the
   greater.

   Should some sinner here object, I cannot help being born into this
   world with a depraved heart and therefore I am not responsible for my
   moral and spiritual inability which accrue from it, the reply would be,
   Responsibility and Culpability He in the indulgence of the depraved
   propensities, the free indulgence, for God does not force any to sin.
   Men might pity me but they certainly would not excuse me if I gave vent
   to a fiery temper and then sought to extenuate myself on the ground of
   having inherited that temper from my parents. Their own common sense is
   sufficient to guide their judgement in such a case as this. They would
   argue I was responsible to restrain my temper. Why then cavil against
   this same principle in the case supposed above? "Out of thine own mouth
   will I judge thee thou wicked servant" surely applies here! What would
   the reader say to a man who had robbed him and who later argued in
   defence, "I cannot help being a thief, that is my nature"? Surely the
   reply would be, Then the penitentiary is the proper place for that man.
   What then shall be said to the one who argues that he cannot help
   following the bent of his sinful heart? Surely, that the Lake of Fire
   is where such an one must go. Did ever a murderer plead that he hated
   his victim so much that he could not go near him without slaying him.
   Would not that only magnify the enormity of his crime! Then what of the
   one who loves sin so much that he is at "enmity against God"!

   The fact of man's responsibility is almost universally acknowledged. It
   is inherent in man's moral nature. It is not only taught in Scripture
   but witnessed to by the natural conscience. The basis or ground of
   human responsibility is human ability. What is implied by this general
   term "ability" must now be defined. Perhaps a concrete example will be
   more easily grasped by the average reader than an abstract argument.

   Suppose a man owed me $100 and could find plenty of money for his own
   pleasures but none for me, yet pleaded that he was unable to pay me.
   What would I say? I would say that the only ability that was lacking
   was an honest heart. But would it not be an unfair construction of my
   words if a friend of my dishonest debtor should say I had stated that
   an honest heart was that which constituted the ability to pay the debt?
   No; I would reply: the ability of my debtor lies in the power of his
   hand to write me a check, and this he has, but what is lacking is an
   honest principle. It is his power to write me a check which makes him
   responsible to do so, and the fact that he lacks an honest heart does
   not destroy his accountability. [11]

   Now, in like manner, the sinner while altogether lacking in moral and
   spiritual ability does, nevertheless, possess natural ability, and this
   it is which renders him accountable unto God. Men have the same natural
   faculties to love God with as they have to hate Him with, the same
   hearts to believe with as to disbelieve, and it is their failure to
   love and believe which constitutes their guilt. An idiot or an infant
   is not personally responsible to God, because lacking in natural
   ability. But the normal man who is endowed with rationality, who is
   gifted with a conscience that is capable of distinguishing between
   right and wrong, who is able to weigh eternal issues IS a responsible
   being, and it is because he does possess these very faculties that he
   will yet have to "give an account of himself to God" (Rom. 14:12).

   We say again that the above distinction between the natural ability and
   the moral and spiritual inability of the sinner is of prime importance.
   By nature he possesses natural ability but lacks moral and spiritual
   ability. The fact that he does not possess the latter does not destroy
   his responsibility, because his responsibility rests upon the fact that
   he does possess the former. Let me illustrate again. Here are two men
   guilty of theft: the first is an idiot, the second perfectly sane but
   the offspring of criminal parents. No just judge would sentence the
   former; but every right-minded judge would the latter. Even though the
   second of these thieves possessed a vitiated moral nature inherited
   from criminal parents that would not excuse him, providing he was a
   normal rational being. Here then is the ground of human
   accountability-the possession of rationality plus the gift of
   conscience. It is because the sinner is endowed with these natural
   faculties that he is a responsible creature; because he does not use
   his natural powers for God's glory, constitutes his guilt.

   How can it remain consistent with His mercy that God should require the
   debt of obedience from him that is not able to pay? In addition to what
   has been said above it should be pointed out that God has not lost His
   right, even though man has lost his power. The creature's impotence
   does not cancel his obligation. A drunken servant is a servant still,
   and it is contrary to all sound reasoning to argue that his master
   loses his rights through his servant's default. Moreover, it is of
   first importance that we should ever bear in mind that God contracted
   with us in Adam, who was our federal head and representative, and in
   him God gave us a power which we lost through our first parent's fall;
   but though our power is gone, nevertheless, God may justly demand His
   due of obedience and of service.

   We turn now to ponder,

   3. How is it possible for God to DECREE that men SHOULD commit certain
   sins, hold them RESPONSIBLE in the committal of them, and adjudge them
   GUILTY because they committed them?

   Let us now consider the extreme case of Judas. We hold that it is clear
   from Scripture that God decreed from all eternity that Judas should
   betray the Lord Jesus. If anyone should challenge this statement we
   refer him to the prophecy of Zechariah through whom God declared that
   His Son should be sold for "thirty pieces of silver" (Zech. 11:12). As
   we have said in earlier pages, in prophecy God makes known what will
   be, and in making known what will be He is but revealing to us what He
   has ordained shall be. That Judas was the one through whom the prophecy
   of Zechariah was fulfilled needs not to be argued. But now the question
   we have to face is, Was Judas a responsible agent in fulfilling this
   decree of God? We reply that he was. Responsibility attaches mainly to
   the motive and intention of the one committing the act. This is
   recognised on every hand. Human law distinguishes between a blow
   inflicted by accident (without evil design) and a blow delivered with
   'malice aforethought.' Apply then this same principle to the case of
   Judas. What was the design of his heart when he bargained with the
   priests? Manifestly he had no conscious desire to fulfil any decree of
   God, though unknown to himself he was actually doing so. On the
   contrary, his intention was evil only, and therefore, though God had
   decreed and directed his act, nevertheless his own evil intention
   rendered him justly guilty as he afterwards acknowledged himself-"I
   have betrayed innocent blood." It was the same with the Crucifixion of
   Christ. Scripture plainly declares that He was "delivered by the
   determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God" (Acts 2:23), and that
   though "the kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered
   together against the Lord, and against His Christ" yet, notwithstanding
   it was but "for to do whatsoever Thy hand and Thy counsel determined
   before to be done" (Acts 4:26, 28); which verses teach very much more
   than a bare permission by God, declaring, as they do, that the
   Crucifixion and all its details had been decreed by God. Yet,
   nevertheless, it was by "wicked hands," not merely "human hands" that
   our Lord was "crucified and slain" (Acts 2:23). "Wicked" because the
   intention of His crucifiers was only evil.

   But it might be objected that if God decreed that Judas should betray
   Christ, and that the Jews and Gentiles should crucify Him they could
   not do otherwise, and therefore, they were not responsible for their
   intentions. The answer is, God had decreed that they should perform the
   acts they did, but in the actual perpetration of these deeds they were
   justly guilty because their own purposes in the doing of them was evil
   only. Let it be emphatically said that God does not produce the sinful
   dispositions of any of His creatures, though He does restrain and
   direct them to the accomplishing of His own purposes. Hence He is
   neither the Author nor the Approver of sin. This distinction was
   expressed thus by Augustine: "That men sin proceeds from themselves;
   that in sinning they perform this or that action, is from the power of
   God who divideth the darkness according to His pleasure." Thus it is
   written, "A man's heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his
   steps" (Prov. 16:9). What we would here insist upon is, that God's
   decrees are not the necessitating cause of the sins of men but the
   fore-determined and prescribed boundings and directings of men's sinful
   acts. In connection with the betrayal of Christ God did not decree that
   He should be sold by one of His creatures and then take up a good man,
   instil an evil desire into his heart and thus force him to perform the
   terrible deed in order to execute His decree. No; not so do the
   Scriptures represent it. Instead, God decreed the act and selected the
   one who was to perform the act, but He did not make him evil in order
   that he should perform the deed; on the contrary, the betrayer was a
   "devil" at the time the Lord Jesus chose him as one of the twelve (John
   6:70), and in the exercise and manifestation of his own deviltry God
   simply directed his actions, actions which were perfectly agreeable to
   his own vile heart, and performed with the most wicked intentions. Thus
   it was with the Crucifixion.

   4. How can the sinner be held responsible to receive Christ, and be
   damned for rejecting Him, when God FOREORDAINED him TO condemnation?

   Really, this question has been covered in what has been said under the
   other queries, but for the benefit of those who are exercised upon this
   point we give it a separate, though brief, examination. In considering
   the above difficulty the following points should be carefully weighed:

   In the first place, no sinner, while he is in this world, knows for
   certain, nor can he know, that he is a "vessel of wrath fitted to
   destruction." This belongs to the hidden counsels of God to which he
   has not access. God's secret will is no business of his; God's revealed
   will (in the Word) is the standard of human responsibility. And God's
   revealed will is plain. Each sinner is among those whom God now
   "commandeth to repent" (Acts 17:30). Each sinner who hears the Gospel
   is "commanded" to believe (1 John 3:23). And all who do truly repent
   and believe are saved. Therefore, is every sinner responsible to repent
   and believe.

   In the second place, it is the duty of every sinner to search the
   Scriptures which "are able to make thee wise unto salvation" (2 Tim.
   3:15). It is the sinner's "duty" because the Son of God has commanded
   him to search the Scriptures (John 5:39). If he searches them with a
   heart that is seeking after God then does he put himself in the way
   where God is accustomed to meet with sinners. Upon this point the
   Puritan Manton has written very helpfully.

   "I cannot say to every one that ploweth, infallibly, that he shall have
   a good crop; but this I can say to him, It is God's use to bless the
   diligent and provident. I cannot say to every one that desireth
   posterity, Marry, and you shall have children; I cannot say infallibly
   to him that goeth forth to battle for his country's good that he shall
   have victory and success; but I can say, as Joab (1 Chron. 19:13) 'Be
   of good courage, and let us behave ourselves valiantly for our people
   and the cities of our God: and let the LORD do that which is good in
   His sight.' I cannot say infallibly you shall have grace; but I can say
   to every one, Let him use the means, and leave the success of his
   labour and his own salvation to the will and good pleasure of God. I
   cannot say this infallibly, for there is no obligation upon God. And
   still this work is made the fruit of God's will and mere arbitrary
   dispensation-'Of His own will begat He us by the Word of Truth' (James
   1:18). Let us do what God hath commanded, and let God do what He will.
   And I need not say so; for the whole world in all their actings are and
   should be guided by this principle. Let us do our duty, and refer the
   success to God, Whose ordinary practice is to meet with the creature
   that seeketh after Him; yea, He is with us already; this earnest
   importunity in the use of means proceeding from the earnest impression
   of His grace. And therefore, since He is beforehand with us, and hath
   not showed any backwardness to our good, we have no reason to despair
   of His goodness and mercy, but rather to hope for the best" (Vol. XXI,
   page 312).

   God has been pleased to give to men the Holy Scriptures which "testify"
   of the Saviour, and make known the way of salvation. Every sinner has
   the same natural faculties for the reading of the Bible as he has for
   the reading of the newspaper; and if he is illiterate or blind so that
   he is unable to read he has the same mouth with which to ask a friend
   to read the Bible to him, as he has to enquire concerning other
   matters. If, then, God has given to men His Word, and in that Word has
   made known the way of salvation, and if men are commanded to search
   those Scriptures which are able to make them wise unto salvation, and
   they refuse to do so, then it is plain that they are justly censurable,
   that their blood lies on their own heads, and that God can righteously
   cast them into the Lake of Fire.

   In the third place, should it be objected, Admitting all you have said
   above, Is it not still a fact that each of the non-elect is unable to
   repent and believe? The reply is, Yes. Of every sinner it is a fact
   that, of himself, he cannot come to Christ. And from God's side the
   "cannot" is absolute. But we are now dealing with the responsibility of
   the sinner (the sinner foreordained to condemnation, though he knows it
   not), and from the human side the inability of the sinner is a moral
   one, as previously pointed out. Moreover, it needs to be borne in mind
   that in addition to the moral inability of the sinner there is a
   voluntary inability, too. The sinner must be regarded not only as
   impotent to do good but as delighting in evil. From the human side,
   then, the "cannot" is a will not; it is a voluntary impotence. Man's
   impotence lies in his obstinacy. Hence, is everyone left "without
   excuse," and hence, is God "clear" when He judgeth (Psa. 51:4), and
   righteous in damning all who "love darkness rather than light."

   That God does require what is beyond our own power to render is clear
   from many Scriptures. God gave the Law to Israel at Sinai and demanded
   a full compliance with it, and solemnly pointed out what would be the
   consequences of their disobedience (see Deut. 28). But will any readers
   be so foolish as to affirm that Israel were capable of fully obeying
   the Law! If they do, we would refer them to Romans 8:3 where we are
   expressly told, "For what the law could not do, in that it was weak
   through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful
   flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh."

   Come now to the New Testament. Take such passages as Matthew 5:48, "Be
   ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in Heaven is
   perfect." 1 Corinthians 15:34. "Awake to righteousness, and sin not." 1
   John 2:1, "My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye
   sin not." Will any reader say he is capable in himself of complying
   with these demands of God? If so, it is useless for us to argue with
   him.

   But now the question arises, Why has God demanded of man that which he
   is incapable of performing? The first answer is, Because God refuses to
   lower His standard to the level of our sinful infirmities. Being
   perfect, God must set a perfect standard before us. Still we must ask,
   If man is incapable of measuring up to God's standard, wherein lies his
   responsibility? Difficult as it seems the problem is nevertheless
   capable of simple and satisfactory solution.

   Man is responsible to (first) acknowledge before God his inability, and
   (second) to cry unto Him for enabling grace. Surely this will be
   admitted by every Christian reader. It is my bounden duty to own before
   God my ignorance, my weakness, my sinfulness, my impotence to comply
   with His holy and just requirements. It is also my bounden duty, as
   well as blessed privilege, to earnestly beseech God to give me the
   wisdom, strength, grace, which will enable me to do that which is
   pleasing in His sight; to ask Him to work in me "both to will and to do
   of His good pleasure" (Phil. 2:13).

   In like manner, the sinner, every sinner, is responsible to call upon
   the Lord. Of himself he can neither repent nor believe. He can neither
   come to Christ nor turn from his sins. God tells him so; and his first
   duty is to "set to his seal that God is true." His second duty is to
   cry unto God for His enabling power; to ask God in mercy to overcome
   his enmity and "draw" him to Christ; to bestow upon him the gifts of
   repentance and faith. If he will do so, sincerely from the heart, then
   most surely God will respond to his appeal, for it is written, "For
   whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Rom.
   10:13).

   Suppose I had slipped on the icy pavement late at night, and had broken
   my hip. I am unable to arise; if I remain on the ground I must freeze
   to death. What, then, ought I to do? If I am determined to perish I
   shall He there silent; but I shall be to blame for such a course. If I
   am anxious to be rescued I shall lift up my voice and cry for help. So
   the sinner, though unable of himself to rise and take the first step
   toward Christ, is responsible to cry to God, and if he does (from the
   heart) there is a Deliverer to hand. God is "not far from every one of
   us" (Acts 17:27); yea, He is "a very present help in trouble" (Psa.
   46:1). But if the sinner refuses to cry unto the Lord, if he is
   determined to perish, then his blood is on his own head, and his
   "damnation is just" (Rom. 3:8).

   A brief word now concerning the extent of human responsibility.

   It is obvious that the measure of human responsibility varies in
   different cases, and is greater or less with particular individuals.
   The standard of measurement was given in the Saviour's words, "For unto
   whomsoever much is given, of him shall much be required" (Luke 12:48).
   Surely God did not require as much from those living in Old Testament
   times as He does from those who have been born during the Christian
   dispensation. Surely God will not require as much from those who lived
   during the 'dark ages,' when the Scriptures were accessible to but a
   few, as He will from those of this generation when practically every
   family in the land owns a copy of His Word for themselves. In the same
   way, God will not demand from the heathen what He will from those in
   Christendom. The heathen will not perish because they have not believed
   in Christ, but because they failed to live up to the light which they
   did have-the testimony of God in nature and conscience.

   To sum up. The fact of man's responsibility rests upon his natural
   ability, is witnessed to by conscience, and is insisted on throughout
   the Scriptures. The ground of man's responsibility is that he is a
   rational creature capable of weighing eternal issues, and that he
   possesses a written Revelation from God in which his relationship with
   and duty toward his Creator is plainly defined. The measure of
   responsibility varies in different individuals, being determined by the
   degree of light each has enjoyed from God. The problem of human
   responsibility receives at least a partial solution in the Holy
   Scriptures, and it is our solemn obligation as well as privilege to
   search them prayerfully and carefully for further light, looking to the
   Holy Spirit to guide us "into all truth." It is written, "The meek will
   He guide in judgement: and the meek will He teach His way" (Psa. 25:9).

   In conclusion it remains to point out that it is the responsibility of
   every man to use the means which God has placed to his hand. An
   attitude of fatalistic inertia, because I know that God has irrevocably
   decreed whatsoever comes to pass, is to make a sinful and hurtful use
   of what God has revealed for the comfort of my heart. The same God who
   has decreed that a certain end shall be accomplished has also decreed
   that that end shall be attained through and as the result of His own
   appointed means. God does not disdain the use of means, nor must I. For
   example: God has decreed that "while the earth remaineth, seedtime and
   harvest... shall not cease" (Gen. 8:22); but that does not mean man's
   ploughing of the ground and sowing of the seed are needless. No; God
   moves men to do those very things, blesses their labours, and so
   fulfils His own ordination. In like manner, God has, from the
   beginning, chosen a people unto salvation; but that does not mean there
   is no need for evangelists to preach the Gospel, or for sinners to
   believe it; it is by such means that His eternal counsels are
   effectuated.

   To argue that because God has irrevocably determined the eternal
   destiny of every man, relieves us of all responsibility for any concern
   about our souls, or any diligent use of the means to salvation, would
   be on a par with refusing to perform my temporal duties because God has
   fixed my earthly lot. And that He has is clear from Acts 17:26; Job
   7:1; 14:15, etc. If then the foreordination of God may consist with the
   respective activities of man in present concerns, why not in the
   future? What God has joined together we must not cut asunder. Whether
   we can or cannot see the link which unites the one to the other our
   duty is plain: "The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but
   those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children
   forever, that we may do all the words of this law" (Deut. 29:29).

   In Acts 27:22 God made known that He had ordained the temporal
   preservation of all who accompanied Paul in the ship; yet the Apostle
   did not hesitate to say, "Except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be
   saved" (v. 31). God appointed that means for the execution of what He
   had decreed. From 2 Kings 20 we learn that God was absolutely resolved
   to add fifteen years to Hezekiah's life, yet he must take a lump of
   figs and lay it on his boil! Paul knew that he was eternally secure in
   the hand of Christ (John 10:28), yet he "kept under his body" (1 Cor.
   9:27). The Apostle John assured those to whom he wrote, "Ye shall abide
   in Him," yet in the very next verse he exhorted them, "And now, little
   children, abide in Him" (1 John 2:27, 28). It is only by taking heed to
   this vital principle, that we are responsible to use the means of God's
   appointing, that we shall be enabled to preserve the balance of Truth
   and be saved from a paralysing fatalism.
     __________________________________________________________________

   [11] The terms of this example are suggested by an illustration used by
   the late Andrew Fuller.
     __________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER NINE
GOD'S SOVEREIGNTY AND PRAYER

   "If we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us"
   (1 John 5:14).

   Throughout this book it has been our chief aim to exalt the Creator and
   abase the creature. The well-nigh universal tendency now, is to magnify
   man and dishonour and degrade God. On every hand it will be found that,
   when spiritual things are under discussion, the human side and element
   is pressed and stressed, and the Divine side, if not altogether
   ignored, is relegated to the background. This holds true of very much
   of the modern teaching about prayer. In the great majority of the books
   written and in the sermons preached upon prayer the human element fills
   the scene almost entirely: it is the conditions which we must meet, the
   promises we must "claim," the things we must do in order to get our
   requests granted; and God's claims, God's rights, God's glory are
   disregarded.

   As a fair example of what is being given out today we subjoin a brief
   editorial which appeared recently in one of the leading religious
   weeklies entitled "Prayer, or Fate?"

   "God in His Sovereignty has ordained that human destinies may be
   changed and moulded by the will of man. This is at the heart of the
   truth that prayer changes things, meaning that God changes things when
   men pray. Someone has strikingly expressed it this way: 'There are
   certain things that will happen in a man's life whether he prays or
   not. There are other things that will happen if he prays; and will not
   happen if he does not pray.' A Christian worker was impressed by these
   sentences as he entered a business office and he prayed that the Lord
   would open the way to speak to some one about Christ, reflecting that
   things would be changed because he prayed. Then his mind turned to
   other things and the prayer was forgotten. The opportunity came to
   speak to the business man upon whom he was calling, but he did not
   grasp it, and was on his way out when he remembered his prayer of a
   half hour before, and God's answer. He promptly returned and had a talk
   with the business man, who, though a church-member, had never in his
   life been asked whether he was saved. Let us give ourselves to prayer,
   and open the way for God to change things. Let us beware lest we become
   virtual fatalists by failing to exercise our God-given wills in
   praying."

   The above illustrates what is being taught on the subject of prayer,
   and the deplorable thing is that scarcely a voice is lifted in protest.
   To say that "human destinies may be changed and moulded by the will of
   man" is rank infidelity-that is the only proper term for it. Should any
   one challenge this classification, we would ask them whether they can
   find an infidel anywhere who would dissent from such a statement, and
   we are confident that such an one could not be found. To say that "God
   has ordained that human destinies may be changed and moulded by the
   will of man" is absolutely untrue. "Human destiny" is settled not by
   the will of man, but by the will of God. That which determines human
   destiny is whether or not a man has been born again, for it is written,
   "Except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." And as
   to whose will, whether God's or man's, is responsible for the new birth
   is settled, unequivocally, by John 1:13-"Which were born, not of blood,
   nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but OF GOD." To
   say that "human destiny" may be changed by the will of man is to make
   the creature's will supreme, and that is, virtually, to dethrone God.
   But what saith the Scriptures? Let the Book answer: "The LORD killeth,
   and maketh alive: He bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up. The
   Lord maketh poor, and maketh rich: He bringeth low, and lifteth up. He
   raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the
   dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the
   throne of glory" (1 Sam. 2:6-8).

   Turning back to the Editorial here under review, we are next told,
   "This is at the heart of the truth that prayer changes things, meaning
   that God changes things when men pray." Almost everywhere we go today
   one comes across a motto-card bearing the inscription "Prayer Changes
   Things." As to what these words are designed to signify is evident from
   the current literature on prayer-we are to persuade God to change His
   purpose. Concerning this we shall have more to say below.

   Again, the Editor tells us, "Some one has strikingly expressed it this
   way: 'There are certain things that will happen in a man's life whether
   he prays or not. There are other things that will happen if he prays,
   and will not happen if he does not pray.'" That things happen whether a
   man prays or not is exemplified daily in the lives of the unregenerate,
   most of whom never pray at all. That 'other things will happen if he
   prays' is in need of qualification. If a believer prays in faith and
   asks for those things which are according to God's will he will most
   certainly obtain that for which he has asked. Again, that other things
   will happen if he prays is also true in respect to the subjective
   benefits derived from prayer: God will become more real to him and His
   promises more precious. That other things 'will not happen if he does
   not pray' is true so far as his own life is concerned-a prayerless life
   means a life lived out of communion with God and all that is involved
   by this. But to affirm that God will not and cannot bring to pass His
   eternal purpose unless we pray is utterly erroneous, for the same God
   who has decreed the end has also decreed that His end shall be reached
   through His appointed means, and One of these is prayer. The God who
   has determined to grant a blessing also gives a spirit of supplication
   which first seeks the blessing.

   The example cited in the above Editorial of the Christian worker and
   the business man is a very unhappy one to say the least, for according
   to the terms of the illustration the Christian worker's prayer was not
   answered by God at all, inasmuch as, apparently, the way was not opened
   to speak to the business man about his soul. But on leaving the office
   and recalling his prayer the Christian worker (perhaps in the energy of
   the flesh) determined to answer the prayer for himself, and instead of
   leaving the Lord to "open the way" for him, took matters into his own
   hand.

   We quote next from one of the latest books issued on Prayer. In it the
   author says, "The possibilities and necessity of prayer, its power and
   results, are manifested in arresting and changing the purposes of God
   and in relieving the stroke of His power." Such an assertion as this is
   a horrible reflection upon the character of the Most High God, who
   "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?" (Dan. 4: 35). There is no need whatever for God to
   change His designs or alter His purpose for the all-sufficient reason
   that these were framed under the influence of perfect goodness and
   unerring wisdom. Men may have occasion to alter their purposes, for in
   their short-sightedness they are frequently unable to anticipate what
   may arise after their plans are formed. But not so with God, for He
   knows the end from the beginning. To affirm God changes His purpose is
   either to impugn His goodness or to deny His eternal wisdom.

   In the same book we are told, "The prayers of God's saints are the
   capital stock in Heaven by which Christ carries on His great work upon
   earth. The great throes and mighty convulsions on earth are the results
   of these prayers. Earth is changed, revolutionised, angels move on more
   powerful, more rapid wing, and God's policy is shaped as the prayers
   are more numerous, more efficient." If possible, this is even worse,
   and we have no hesitation in denominating it as blasphemy. In the first
   place, it flatly denies Ephesians 3:11 which speaks of God's having an
   "eternal purpose." If God's purpose is an eternal one then His "policy"
   is not being "shaped" today. In the second place, it contradicts
   Ephesians 1:11 which expressly declares that God "worketh all things
   after the counsel of His own will," therefore it follows that, "God's
   policy" is not being "shaped" by man's prayers. In the third place,
   such a statement as the above makes the will of the creature supreme,
   for if our prayers shape God's policy then is the Most High subordinate
   to worms of the earth. Well might the Holy Spirit ask through the
   Apostle, "For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been His
   counsellor?" (Rom. 11:34).

   Such thoughts on prayer as we have been citing are due to low and
   inadequate conceptions of God Himself. It ought to be apparent that
   there could be little or no comfort in praying to a God that was like
   the chameleon, which changes its colour every day. What encouragement
   is there to lift up our hearts to One who is in one mind yesterday and
   another today? What would be the use of petitioning an earthly monarch
   if we knew he was so mutable as to grant a petition one day and deny it
   another? Is it not the very unchangeableness of God which is our
   greatest encouragement to pray? It is because He is "without
   variableness or shadow of turning" we are assured that if we ask
   anything according to His will we are most certain of being heard. Well
   did Luther remark, "Prayer is not overcoming God's reluctance, but
   laying hold of His willingness."

   And this leads us to offer a few remarks concerning the design of
   prayer. Why has God appointed that we should pray? The vast majority of
   people would reply, In order that we may obtain from God the things
   which we need. While this is one of the purposes of prayer it is by no
   means the chief one. Moreover, it considers prayer only from the human
   side, and prayer sadly needs to be viewed from the Divine side. Let us
   look, then, at some of the reasons why God has bidden us to pray.

   First and foremost, prayer has been appointed that the Lord God Himself
   should be honoured. God requires we should recognise that He is,
   indeed, "the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity" (Isa. 57:15).
   God requires that we shall own His universal dominion: in petitioning
   God for rain Elijah did but confess His control over the elements; in
   praying to God to deliver a poor sinner from the wrath to come we
   acknowledge that "salvation is of the LORD" (Jonah 2:9); in
   supplicating His blessing on the Gospel unto the uttermost parts of the
   earth we declare His rulership over the whole world.

   Again; God requires that we shall worship Him, and prayer, real prayer,
   is an act of worship. Prayer is an act of worship inasmuch as it is the
   prostrating of the soul before Him; inasmuch as it is a calling upon
   His great and holy name; inasmuch as it is the owning of His goodness,
   His power, His immutability, His grace, and inasmuch as it is the
   recognition of His Sovereignty, owned by a submission to His will. It
   is highly significant to notice in this connection that the Temple
   wasn't termed by Christ the House of Sacrifice, but instead, the House
   of Prayer.

   Again; prayer redounds to God's glory, for in prayer we do but
   acknowledge dependency upon Him. When we humbly supplicate the Divine
   Being we cast ourselves upon His power and mercy. In seeking blessings
   from God we own that He is the Author and Fountain of every good and
   perfect gift. That prayer brings glory to God is further seen from the
   fact that prayer calls faith into exercise, and nothing from us is so
   honouring and pleasing to Him as the confidence of our hearts.

   In the second place, prayer is appointed by God for our spiritual
   blessing, as a means for our growth in grace. When seeking to learn the
   design of prayer, this should ever occupy us before we regard prayer as
   a means for obtaining the supply of our need. Prayer is designed by God
   for our humbling. Prayer, real prayer, is a coming into the Presence of
   God, and a sense of His awful majesty produces a realisation of our
   nothingness and unworthiness. Again; prayer is designed by God for the
   exercise of our faith. Faith is begotten in the Word (Rom. 10:8), but
   it is exercised in prayer; hence, we read of "the prayer of faith."
   Again; prayer calls love into action. Concerning the hypocrite the
   question is asked, "Will he delight himself in the Almighty? Will he
   always call upon God?" (Job 27:10). But they that love the Lord cannot
   be long away from Him, for they delight in unburdening themselves to
   Him. Not only does prayer call love into action but through the direct
   answers vouchsafed to our prayers our love to God is increased-"I love
   the LORD, because He hath heard my voice and my supplications" (Psa.
   116:1). Again; prayer is designed by God to teach us the value of the
   blessings we have sought from Him, and it causes us to rejoice the more
   when He has bestowed upon us that for which we supplicate Him.

   Third, prayer is appointed by God for our seeking from Him the things
   which we are in need of. But here a difficulty may present itself to
   those who have read carefully the previous chapters of this book. If
   God has foreordained, before the foundation of the world, everything
   which happens in time, what is the use of prayer? If it is true that
   "of Him and through Him and to Him are all things" (Rom. 11:30), then
   why pray? Ere replying directly to these queries it should be pointed
   out how that there is just as much reason to ask, What is the use of me
   coming to God and telling Him what He already knows? Wherein is the use
   of me spreading before Him my need, seeing He is already acquainted
   with it? as there is to object, What is the use of praying for anything
   when everything has been ordained beforehand by God? Prayer is not for
   the purpose of informing God, as if He were ignorant (the Saviour
   expressly declared "for your Father knoweth what things ye have need
   of, before ye ask Him"-Matt. 6:8), but it is to acknowledge He does
   know what we are in need of. Prayer is not appointed for the furnishing
   of God with the knowledge of what we need, but is designed as a
   confession to Him of our sense of need. In this, as in everything,
   God's thoughts are not as ours. God requires that His gifts should be
   sought for. He designs to be honoured by our asking, just as He is to
   be thanked by us after He has bestowed His blessing.

   However, the question still returns on us, If God be the Predestinator
   of everything that comes to pass, and the Regulator of all events, then
   is not prayer a profitless exercise? A sufficient answer to these
   questions is that God bids us to pray, "Pray without ceasing" (1 Thess.
   5:17). And again, "men ought always to pray" (Luke 18:1). And further:
   Scripture declares that "the prayer of faith shall save the sick," and
   "the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much" (James
   5:15, 16); while the Lord Jesus Christ, our perfect Example in all
   things, was pre-eminently a Man of Prayer. Thus, it is evident, that
   prayer is neither meaningless nor valueless. But still this does not
   remove the difficulty nor answer the question with which we started
   out. What then is the relationship between God's Sovereignty and
   Christian prayer?

   First of all, we would say with emphasis, that prayer is not intended
   to change God's purpose, nor is it to move Him to form fresh purposes.
   God has decreed that certain events shall come to pass through the
   means He has appointed for their accomplishment. God has elected
   certain ones to be saved, but He has also decreed that these shall be
   saved through the preaching the Gospel. The Gospel, then, is one of the
   appointed means for the working out of the eternal counsel of the Lord;
   and prayer is another. God has decreed the means as well as the end,
   and among the means is prayer. Even the prayers of His people are
   included in His eternal decrees. Therefore, instead of prayers being in
   vain they are among the means through which God exercises His decrees.
   "If indeed all things happen by a blind chance, or a fatal necessity
   prayers in that case could be of no moral efficacy, and of no use; but
   since they are regulated by the direction of Divine wisdom, prayers
   have a place in the order of events" (Haldane).

   That prayers for the execution of the very things decreed by God are
   not meaningless is clearly taught in the Scriptures. Elijah knew that
   God was about to give rain, but that did not prevent him from at once
   betaking himself to prayer (James 5:17, 18). Daniel "understood" by the
   writings of the prophets that the captivity was to last but seventy
   years, yet when these seventy years were almost ended we are told that
   he set his face "unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and
   supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes" (Dan. 9:2, 3).
   God told the prophet Jeremiah "For I know the thoughts that I think
   toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give
   you an expected end"; but instead of adding, there is, therefore, no
   need for you to supplicate Me for these things, He said, "Then shall ye
   call upon Me, and ye shall go and pray unto Me, and I will hearken unto
   you" (Jer. 29:11, 12).

   Here then is the design of prayer: not that God's will may be altered,
   but that it may be accomplished in His own good time and way. It is
   because God has promised certain things that we can ask for them with
   the full assurance of faith. It is God's purpose that His will shall be
   brought about by His own appointed means, and that He may do His people
   good upon His own terms, and that is, by the 'means' and 'terms' of
   entreaty and supplication. Did not the Son of God know for certain that
   after His death and resurrection He would be exalted by the Father.
   Assuredly He did. Yet we find Him asking for this very thing: "O
   Father, glorify Thou Me with Thine Own Self with the glory which I had
   with Thee before the world was" (John 17:5)! Did not He know that none
   of His people could perish? yet He besought the Father to "keep" them
   (John 17:11)!

   Finally, it should be said that God's will is immutable, and cannot be
   altered by our cryings. When the mind of God is not toward a people to
   do them good, it cannot be turned to them by the most fervent and
   importunate prayer of those who have the greatest interest in Him:
   "Then said the LORD unto me, Though Moses and Samuel stood before Me,
   yet My mind could not be toward this people: cast them out of My sight,
   and let them go forth" (Jer. 15:1). The prayers of Moses to enter the
   promised land is a parallel case.

   Our views respecting prayer need to be revised and brought into harmony
   with the teaching of Scripture on the subject. The prevailing idea
   seems to be that I come to God and ask Him for something that I want,
   and that I expect Him to give me that which I have asked. But this is a
   most dishonouring and degrading conception. The popular belief reduces
   God to a servant, our servant: doing our bidding, performing our
   pleasure, granting our desires. No; prayer is a coming to God, telling
   Him my need, committing my way unto the Lord, and leaving Him to deal
   with it as seemeth Him best. This makes my will subject to His, instead
   of, as in the former case, seeking to bring His will into subjection to
   mine. No prayer is pleasing to God unless the spirit actuating it is
   "not my will, but Thine be done." "When God bestows blessings on a
   praying people, it is not for the sake of their prayers, as if He was
   inclined and turned by them; but it is for His own sake, and of His own
   Sovereign will and pleasure. Should it be said, to what purpose then is
   prayer? it is answered, This is the way and means God has appointed for
   the communication of the blessing of His goodness to His people. For
   though He has purposed, provided, and promised them, yet He will be
   sought unto, to give them, and it is a duty and privilege to ask. When
   they are blessed with a spirit of prayer it forebodes well, and looks
   as if God intended to bestow the good things asked, which should be
   asked always with submission to the will of God, saying, Not my will
   but Thine be done" (John Gill).

   The distinction just noted above is of great practical importance for
   our peace of heart. Perhaps the one thing that exercises Christians as
   much as anything else is that of unanswered prayers. They have asked
   God for something: so far as they are able to judge they have asked in
   faith believing they would receive that for which they had supplicated
   the Lord: and they have asked earnestly and repeatedly, but the answer
   has not come. The result is that, in many cases, faith in the efficacy
   of prayer becomes weakened, until hope gives way to despair and the
   closet is altogether neglected. Is it not so?

   Now will it surprise our readers when we say that every real prayer of
   faith that has ever been offered to God has been answered? Yet we
   unhesitatingly affirm it. But in saying this we must refer back to our
   definition of prayer. Let us repeat it. Prayer is a coming to God,
   telling Him my need (or the need of others), committing my way unto the
   Lord, and then leaving Him to deal with the case as seemeth Him best.
   This leaves God to answer the prayer in whatever way He sees fit, and
   often, His answer may be the very opposite of what would be most
   acceptable to the flesh; yet, if we have really LEFT our need in His
   hands it will be His answer, nevertheless. Let us look at two examples.

   In John 11 we read of the sickness of Lazarus. The Lord "loved" him,
   but He was absent from Bethany. The sisters sent a messenger unto the
   Lord acquainting Him of their brother's condition. And note
   particularly how their appeal was worded-"Lord, behold, he whom Thou
   lovest is sick." That was all. They did not ask Him to heal Lazarus.
   They did not request Him to hasten at once to Bethany. They simply
   spread their need before Him, committed the case into His hands, and
   left Him to act as He deemed best! And what was our Lord's reply? Did
   He respond to their appeal and answer their mute request? Certainly He
   did, though not, perhaps, in the way they had hoped. He answered by
   abiding "two days still in the same place where He was" (John 11:6),
   and allowing Lazarus to die! But in this instance that was not all.
   Later, He journeyed to Bethany and raised Lazarus from the dead. Our
   purpose in referring here to this case is to illustrate the proper
   attitude for the believer to take before God in the hour of need. The
   next example will emphasise rather, God's method of responding to His
   needy child.

   Turn to 2 Corinthians 12. The Apostle Paul had been accorded an
   unheard-of privilege. He had been transported into Paradise. His ears
   had listened to and his eyes had gazed upon that which no other mortal
   had heard or seen this side of death. The wondrous revelation was more
   than the Apostle could endure. He was in danger of becoming "puffed up"
   by his extraordinary experience. Therefore, a thorn in the flesh, the
   messenger of Satan, was sent to buffet him lest he be exalted above
   measure. And the Apostle spreads his need before the Lord; he thrice
   beseeches Him that this thorn in the flesh should be removed. Was his
   prayer answered? Assuredly, though not in the manner he had desired.
   The "thorn" was not removed but grace was given to bear it. The burden
   was not lifted but strength was vouchsafed to carry it.

   Does someone object that it is our privilege to do more than spread our
   need before God? Are we reminded that God has, as it were, given us a
   blank check and invited us to fill it in? Is it said that the promises
   of God are all-inclusive, and that we may ask God for what we will? If
   so, we must call attention to the fact that it is necessary to compare
   Scripture with Scripture if we are to learn the full mind of God on any
   subject, and that as this is done we discover God has qualified the
   promises given to praying souls by saying "If ye ask anything according
   to His will He heareth us" (1 John 5:14). Real prayer is communion with
   God so that there will be common thoughts between His mind and ours.
   What is needed is for Him to fill our hearts with His thoughts and then
   His desires will become our desires flowing back to Him. Here then is
   the meeting-place between God's Sovereignty and Christian prayer: If we
   ask anything according to His will He heareth us, and if we do not so
   ask He does not hear us; as saith the Apostle James, "Ye ask, and
   receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your
   lusts" or desires (4:3).

   But did not the Lord Jesus tell His disciples, "Verily, verily, I say
   unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in My name, He will give
   it you" (John 16:23)? He did; but this promise does not give praying
   souls carte blanche. These words of our Lord are in perfect accord with
   those of the Apostle John: "If ye ask anything according to His will He
   heareth us." What is it to ask "in the name of Christ"? Surely it is
   very much more than a prayer formula, the mere concluding of our
   supplications with the words "in the name of Christ." To apply to God
   for anything in the name of Christ, it must needs be in keeping with
   what Christ is! To ask God in the name of Christ is as though Christ
   Himself were the suppliant. We can only ask God for what Christ would
   ask. To ask in the name of Christ is therefore to set aside our own
   wills, accepting God's!

   Let us now amplify our definition of prayer. What is prayer? Prayer is
   not so much an act as it is an attitude-an attitude of dependency,
   dependency upon God. Prayer is a confession of creature weakness, yea,
   of helplessness. Prayer is the acknowledgement of our need and the
   spreading of it before God. We do not say that this is all there is in
   prayer, it is not: but it is the essential, the primary element in
   prayer. We freely admit that we are quite unable to give a complete
   definition of prayer within the compass of a brief sentence, or in any
   number of words. Prayer is both an attitude and an act, an human act,
   and yet there is the Divine element in it too, and it is this which
   makes an exhaustive analysis impossible as well as impious to attempt.
   But admitting this, we do insist again that prayer is fundamentally an
   attitude of dependency upon God. Therefore, prayer is the very opposite
   of dictating to God. Because prayer is an attitude of dependency, the
   one who really prays is submissive, submissive to the Divine will; and
   submission to the Divine will means that we are content for the Lord to
   supply our need according to the dictates of His own Sovereign
   pleasure. And hence it is that we say every prayer that is offered to
   God in this spirit is sure of meeting with an answer or response from
   Him.

   Here then is the reply to our opening question, and the scriptural
   solution to the seeming difficulty. Prayer is not the requesting of God
   to alter His purpose or for Him to form a new one. Prayer is the taking
   of an attitude of dependency upon God, the spreading of our need before
   Him, the asking for those things which are in accordance with His will,
   and therefore there is nothing whatever inconsistent between Divine
   Sovereignty and Christian prayer.

   In closing this chapter we would utter a word of caution to safeguard
   the reader against drawing a false conclusion from what has been said.
   We have not here sought to epitomise the whole teaching of Scripture on
   the subject of prayer, nor have we even attempted to discuss in general
   the problem of prayer; instead, we have confined ourselves, more or
   less, to a consideration of the relationship between God's Sovereignty
   and Christian prayer. What we have written is intended chiefly as a
   protest against much of the modern teaching, which so stresses the
   human element in prayer that the Divine side is almost entirely lost
   sight of.

   In Jeremiah 10:23 we are told "It is not in man that walketh to direct
   his steps" (cf. Prov. 16:9); and yet in many of his prayers man impulse
   presumes to direct the Lord as to His way, and as to what He ought to
   do: even implying that if only he had the direction of the affairs of
   the world and of the church he would soon have things very different
   from what they are. This cannot be denied: for anyone with any
   spiritual discernment at all could not fail to detect this spirit in
   many of our modern prayer-meetings where the flesh holds sway. How slow
   we all are to learn the lesson that the haughty creature needs to be
   brought down to his knees and humbled into the dust. And this is where
   the very act of prayer is intended to put us. But man (in his usual
   perversity) turns the footstool into a throne from whence he would fain
   direct the Almighty as to what He ought to do! giving the onlooker the
   impression that if God had half the compassion that those who pray (?)
   have, all would quickly be right! Such is the arrogance of the old
   nature even in a child of God.

   Our main purpose in this chapter has been to emphasise the need for
   submitting, in prayer, our wills to God's. But it must also be added
   that prayer is much more than a pious exercise, and far otherwise than
   a mechanical performance. Prayer is, indeed, a Divinely appointed means
   whereby we may obtain from God the things we ask, providing we ask for
   those things which are in accord with His will. These pages will have
   been penned in vain unless they lead both writer and reader to cry with
   a deeper earnestness than heretofore, "Lord, teach us to pray" (Luke
   11:1).
     __________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER TEN
OUR ATTITUDE TOWARD HIS SOVEREIGNTY

   "Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in Thy sight"
   (Matt. 11:26).

   In the present chapter we shall consider, somewhat briefly, the
   practical application to ourselves of the great truth which we have
   pondered in its various ramifications in earlier pages. In chapter
   twelve we shall deal more in detail with the value of this doctrine but
   here we would confine ourselves to a definition of what ought to be our
   attitude toward the Sovereignty of God.

   Every truth that is revealed to us in God's Word is there not only for
   our information but also for our inspiration. The Bible has been given
   to us not to gratify an idle curiosity but to edify the souls of its
   readers. The Sovereignty of God is something more than an abstract
   principle which explains the rationale of the Divine government: it is
   designed as a motive for godly fear, it is made known to us for the
   promotion of righteous living, it is revealed in order to bring into
   subjection our rebellious hearts. A true recognition of God's
   Sovereignty humbles as nothing else does or can humble, and brings the
   heart into lowly submission before God, causing us to relinquish our
   own self-will and making us delight in the perception and performance
   of the Divine will.

   When we speak of the Sovereignty of God we mean very much more than the
   exercise of God's governmental power, though, of course, that is
   included in the expression. As we have remarked in an earlier chapter,
   the Sovereignty of God means the Godhood of God. In its fullest and
   deepest meaning the title of this book signifies the Character and
   Being of the One whose pleasure is performed and whose will is
   executed. To truly recognise the Sovereignty of God is, therefore, to
   gaze upon the Sovereign Himself. It is to come into the presence of the
   august "Majesty on high." It is to have a sight of the thrice holy God
   in His excellent glory. The effects of such a sight may be learned from
   those Scriptures which describe the experience of different ones who
   obtained a view of the Lord God.

   Mark the experience of Job-the one of whom the Lord Himself said "There
   is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that
   feareth God, and escheweth evil" (Job 1:8). At the close of the book
   which bears his name we are shown Job in the Divine presence, and how
   does he carry himself when brought face to face with Jehovah? Hear what
   he says: "I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear; but now mine
   eye seeth Thee: Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes"
   (Job 42:5, 6). Thus, a sight of God, God revealed in awesome majesty,
   caused Job to abhor himself, and not only so, but to abase himself
   before the Almighty.

   Take note of Isaiah. In the sixth chapter of his prophecy a scene is
   brought before us which has few equals even in Scripture. The prophet
   beholds the Lord upon the Throne, a Throne "high and lifted up." Above
   this Throne stood the seraphims with veiled faces, crying, "Holy, holy,
   holy, is the Lord of hosts." What is the effect of this sight upon the
   prophet? We read "Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am
   a man of unclean lips:... for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of
   hosts" (Isa. 6:5). A sight of the Divine King humbled Isaiah into the
   dust, bringing him, as it did, to a realisation of his own nothingness.

   One more. Look at the prophet Daniel. Toward the close of his life this
   man of God beheld the Lord in theophanic manifestation. He appeared to
   His servant in human form "clothed in linen" and with loins "girded
   with fine gold," symbolic of holiness and Divine glory. We read that
   "His body also was like the beryl, and His face as the appearance of
   lightning, and His eyes as lamps of fire, and His arms and His feet
   like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of His words like the
   voice of a multitude." Daniel then tells the effect this vision had
   upon him and those who were with him: "And I Daniel alone saw the
   vision: for the men that were with me saw not the vision; but a great
   quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves. Therefore
   I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no
   strength in me:for my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and
   I retained no strength. Yet heard I the voice of His words: and when I
   heard the voice of His words, then was I in a deep sleep on my face,
   and my face toward the ground" (Dan. 10:6-9). Once more, then, we are
   shown that to obtain a sight of the Sovereign God is for creature
   strength to wither up, and results in man being humbled into the dust
   before his Maker. What then ought to be our attitude toward the Supreme
   Sovereign? We reply,

   1. ONE OF GODLY FEAR.

   Why is it that, today, the masses are so utterly unconcerned about
   spiritual and eternal things, and that they are lovers of pleasure more
   than lovers of God? Why is it that even on the battlefields multitudes
   were so indifferent to their soul's welfare? Why is it that defiance of
   Heaven is becoming more open, more blatant, more daring? The answer is,
   Because "There is no fear of God before their eyes" (Rom. 3:18). Again;
   why is it that the authority of the Scriptures has been lowered so
   sadly of late? Why is it that even among those who profess to be the
   Lord's people there is so little real subjection to His Word, and that
   its precepts are so lightly esteemed and so readily set aside? Ah! what
   needs to be stressed today is that God is a God to be feared.

   "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge" (Prov. 1:7). Happy
   the soul that has been awed by a view of God's majesty, that has had a
   vision of God's awful greatness, His ineffable holiness, His perfect
   righteousness, His irresistible power, His Sovereign grace. Does
   someone say, "But it is only the unsaved, those outside of Christ, who
   need to fear God"? Then the sufficient answer is that the saved, those
   who are in Christ, are admonished to work out their own salvation with
   "fear and trembling." Time was when it was the general custom to speak
   of a believer as a "God-fearing man"-that such an appellation has
   become nearly extinct only serves to show whither we have drifted.
   Nevertheless, it still stands written "Like as a father pitieth his
   children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear Him" (Psa. 103:13)!

   When we speak of godly fear, of course, we do not mean a servile fear,
   such as prevails among the heathen in connection with their gods. No;
   we mean that spirit which Jehovah is pledged to bless, that spirit to
   which the prophet referred when he said "To this man will I (the Lord)
   look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth
   at My Word" (Isa. 66:2). It was this the Apostle had in view when he
   wrote, "Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the
   king" (1 Peter 2:17). And nothing will foster this godly fear like a
   recognition of the Sovereign Majesty of God.

   What ought to be our attitude toward the Sovereignty of God? We answer
   again,

   2. ONE OF IMPLICIT OBEDIENCE.

   A sight of God leads to a realisation of our littleness and nothingness
   and issues in a sense of dependency and of casting ourselves upon God.
   Or, again; a view of the Divine Majesty promotes the spirit of godly
   fear and this, in turn, begets an obedient walk. Here then is the
   Divine antidote for the native evil of our hearts. Naturally, man is
   filled with a sense of his own importance, with his greatness and
   self-sufficiency; in a word, with pride and rebellion. But, as we
   remarked, the great corrective is to behold the Mighty God, for this
   alone will really humble him. Man will glory either in himself or in
   God. Man will live either to serve and please himself, or he will seek
   to serve and please the Lord. None can serve two masters.

   Irreverence begets disobedience. Said the haughty monarch of Egypt "Who
   is the LORD that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I know not
   the LORD; neither will I let Israel go" (Exo. 5:2). To Pharaoh, the God
   of the Hebrews was merely a god, one among many, a powerless entity who
   needed not to be feared or served. How sadly mistaken he was, and how
   bitterly he had to pay for his mistake he soon discovered; but what we
   are here seeking to emphasise is that Pharaoh's defiant spirit was the
   fruit of irreverence, and this irreverence was the consequence of his
   ignorance of the majesty and authority of the Divine Being.

   Now if irreverence begets disobedience, true reverence will produce and
   promote obedience. To realise that the Holy Scriptures are a revelation
   from the Most High, communicating to us His mind and defining for us
   His will, is the first step toward practical godliness. To recognise
   that the Bible is God's Word, and that its precepts are the precepts of
   the Almighty, will lead us to see what an awful thing it is to despise
   and ignore them. To receive the Bible as addressed to our own souls,
   given to us by the Creator Himself, will cause us to cry with the
   Psalmist, "Incline my heart unto Thy testimonies...Order my steps in
   Thy Word" (Psa. 119: 36, 133). Once the Sovereignty of the Author of
   the Word is apprehended it will not longer be a matter of picking and
   choosing from the precepts and statutes of that Word, selecting those
   which meet with our approval; but it will be seen that nothing less
   than an unqualified and whole-hearted submission becomes the creature.

   What ought to be our attitude toward the Sovereignty of God?

   3. ONE OF ENTIRE RESIGNATION.

   A true recognition of God's Sovereignty will exclude all murmuring.
   This is self-evident, yet the thought deserves to be dwelt upon. It is
   natural to murmur against afflictions and losses. It is natural to
   complain when we are deprived of those thing upon which we had set our
   hearts. We are apt to regard our possessions as ours unconditionally.
   We feel that when we have prosecuted our plans with prudence and
   diligence that we are entitled to success; that when by dint of hard
   work we have accumulated a 'competence' we deserve to keep and enjoy
   it; that when we are surrounded by a happy family no power may lawfully
   enter the charmed circle and strike down a loved one; and if in any of
   these cases disappointment, bankruptcy, death, actually comes, the
   perverted instinct of the human heart is to cry out against God. But in
   the one who, by grace, has recognised God's Sovereignty, such murmuring
   is silenced, and instead, there is a bowing to the Divine will and an
   acknowledgement that He has not afflicted us as sorely as we deserve.

   A true recognition of God's Sovereignty will avow God's perfect right
   to do with us as He wills. The one who bows to the pleasure of the
   Almighty will acknowledge His absolute right to do with us as seemeth
   Him good. If He chooses to send poverty, sickness, domestic
   bereavements, even while the heart is bleeding at every pore, it will
   say, Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right! Often there will be
   a struggle, for the carnal mind remains in the believer to the end of
   his earthly pilgrimage. But though there may be a conflict within his
   breast, nevertheless, to the one who has really yielded himself to this
   blessed truth there will presently be heard that Voice saying, as of
   old it said to the turbulent Gennesareth, "Peace be still"; and the
   tempestuous flood within will be quieted and the subdued soul will lift
   a tearful but confident eye to Heaven and say, "Thy will be done."

   A striking illustration of a soul bowing to the Sovereign will of God
   is furnished by the history of Eli the high priest of Israel. In 1
   Samuel 3 we learn how God revealed to the young child Samuel that He
   was about to slay Eli's two sons for their wickedness, and on the
   morrow Samuel communicates this message to the aged priest. It is
   difficult to conceive of more appalling intelligence for the heart of a
   pious parent. The announcement that his child is going to be stricken
   down by sudden death is, under any circumstances, a great trial to any
   father, but to learn that his two sons-in the prime of their manhood,
   and utterly unprepared to die-were to be cut off by a Divine judgement
   must have been overwhelming. Yet, what was the effect upon Eli when he
   learned from Samuel the tragic tidings? What reply did he make when he
   heard the awful news? "And he said, It is the LORD: let Him do what
   seemeth Him good" (1 Sam. 3:18). And not another word escaped him.
   Wonderful submission! Sublime resignation! Lovely exemplification of
   the power of Divine grace to control the strongest affections of the
   human heart and subdue the rebellious will, bringing it into unrepining
   acquiescence to the Sovereign pleasure of Jehovah.

   Another example, equally striking, is seen in the life of Job. As is
   well known, Job was one that feared God and eschewed evil. If ever
   there was one who might reasonably expect Divine providence to smile
   upon him-we speak as a man-it was Job. Yet, how fared it with him? For
   a time the lines fell unto him in pleasant places. The Lord filled his
   quiver by giving him seven sons and three daughters. He prospered him
   in his temporal affairs until he owned great possessions. But of a
   sudden the sun of life was hidden behind dark clouds. In a single day
   Job lost not only his flocks and herds but his sons and daughters as
   well. News arrived that his cattle had been carried off by robbers, and
   his children slain by a cyclone. And how did he receive this
   intelligence? Hearken to his sublime words: "The LORD gave, and the
   LORD hath taken away." He bowed to the Sovereign will of Jehovah. He
   traced his afflictions back to their First Cause. He looked behind the
   Sabeans who had stolen his cattle, and beyond the winds that had
   destroyed his children, and saw the hand of God. But not only did Job
   recognise God's Sovereignty, he rejoiced in it, too. To the words, "The
   LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away," he added, "blessed be the
   name of the LORD" (Job 1:21). Again we say, Sweet submission! Sublime
   resignation!

   A true recognition of God's Sovereignty causes us to hold our every
   plan in abeyance to God's will. The writer well recalls an incident
   which occurred in England over twenty years ago. Queen Victoria was
   dead, and the date for the coronation of her eldest son, Edward, had
   been set for April 1902. In all the announcements which were sent out,
   two little letters were omitted, D. V.-Deo Volente: God willing. Plans
   were made and all arrangements completed for the most imposing
   celebrations that England had ever witnessed. Kings and emperors from
   all parts of the earth had received invitations to attend the royal
   ceremony. The Prince's proclamations were printed and displayed, but,
   so far as the writer is aware, the letters D. V. were not found on a
   single one of them. A most imposing program had been arranged, and the
   late Queen's eldest son was to be crowned Edward the Seventh at
   Westminster Abbey at a certain hour on a fixed day. And then God
   intervened and all man's plans were frustrated. A still small voice was
   heard to say, "You have reckoned without Me," and Prince Edward was
   stricken down with appendicitis, and his coronation postponed for
   months!

   As remarked, a true recognition of God's Sovereignty causes us to hold
   our plan in abeyance to God's will. It makes us recognise that the
   Divine Potter has absolute power over the clay and moulds it according
   to his own imperial pleasure. It causes us to heed that admonition-now,
   alas! so generally disregarded-"Go to now, ye that say, Today or
   tomorrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and
   buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the
   morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for
   a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If
   the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that" (James 4:13-15).
   Yes, it is to the Lord's will we must bow. It is for Him to say where I
   shall live, whether in America or Africa. It is for Him to determine
   under what circumstances I shall live, whether amid wealth or poverty,
   whether in health or sickness. It is for Him to say how long I shall
   live, whether I shall be cut down in youth like the flower of the
   field, or whether I shall continue for three score and ten years. To
   really learn this lesson is, by grace, to attain unto a high form in
   the school of God, and even when we think we have learned it we
   discover, again and again, that we have to relearn it.

   What ought to be our attitude toward the Sovereignty of God?

   4. ONE OF DEEP THANKFULNESS AND JOY.

   The heart's apprehension of this most blessed truth of the Sovereignty
   of God produces something far different than a sullen bowing to the
   inevitable. The philosophy of this perishing world knows nothing better
   than to "make the best of a bad job." But with the Christian it should
   be far otherwise. Not only should the recognition of God's supremacy
   beget within us godly fear, implicit obedience, and entire resignation,
   but it should cause us to say with the Psalmist, "Bless the Lord, O my
   soul: and all that is within me, bless His holy name." Does not the
   Apostle say, "Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the
   Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Eph. 5:20)? Ah! it is at
   this point the state of our souls is so often put to the test. Alas,
   there is so much self-will in each of us. When things go as we wish
   them we appear to be very grateful to God; but what of those occasions
   when things go contrary to our plans and desires?

   We take it for granted when the real Christian takes a train-journey
   that, upon reaching his destination, he devoutly returns thanks unto
   God-which, of course, argues that He controls everything; otherwise, we
   ought to thank the engine-driver, the stoker, the signalmen, etc. Or,
   if in business, at the close of a good week, gratitude is expressed
   unto the Giver of every good (temporal) and every perfect (spiritual)
   gift-which again, argues that He directs all customers to your shop. So
   far, so good. Such examples occasion no difficulty. But imagine the
   opposites. Suppose my train was delayed for hours, did I fret and fume;
   suppose another train ran into it and I am injured! Or, suppose I have
   had a poor week in business, or that lightning struck my shop and set
   it on fire, or that burglars broke in and rifled it, then what: do I
   see the hand of God in these things?

   Take the case of Job once more. When loss after loss came his way what
   did he do? Bemoan his "bad luck"? Curse the robbers? Murmur against
   God? No; he bowed before Him in worship. Ah! dear reader, there is no
   real rest for your poor heart until you learn to see the hand of God in
   everything. But for that, faith must be in constant exercise. And what
   is faith? A blind credulity? A fatalistic acquiescence? No, far from
   it. Faith is a resting on the sure Word of the living God, and
   therefore says "We know that all things work together for good to them
   that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose"
   (Rom. 8:28); and therefore faith will give thanks "always for all
   things." Operative faith will "Rejoice in the Lord alway" (Phil. 4:4).

   We turn now to mark how this recognition of God's Sovereignty which is
   expressed in godly fear, implicit obedience, entire resignation, and
   deep thankfulness and joy was supremely and perfectly exemplified by
   the Lord Jesus Christ.

   In all things the Lord Jesus has left us an example that we should
   follow His steps. But is this true in connection with the first point
   made above? Are the words "godly fear" ever linked with His peerless
   name? Remembering that "godly fear" signifies not a servile terror, but
   rather a filial subjection and reverence, and remembering too that "the
   fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom," would it not rather be
   strange if no mention at all were made of "godly fear" in connection
   with the One who was wisdom incarnate! What a wonderful and precious
   word is that of Hebrews 5:7-"Who in the days of His flesh, having
   offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto
   Him that was able to save Him from death, and having been heard for His
   godly fear" (R. V.). What was it but "godly fear" which caused the Lord
   Jesus to be "subject" unto Mary and Joseph in the days of His
   childhood? Was it "godly fear"-a filial subjection to and reverence for
   God-that we see displayed when we read "And He came to Nazareth where
   He had been brought up: and, as His custom was, He went into the
   synagogue on the Sabbath day" (Luke 4:16)? Was it not "godly fear"
   which caused the incarnate Son to say, when tempted by Satan to fall
   down and worship him, "It is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy
   God, and Him only shalt thou serve"? Was it not "godly fear" which
   moved Him to say to the cleansed leper, "Go thy way, show thyself to
   the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded" (Matt. 8:4)? But
   why multiply illustrations? [12]

   How perfect was the obedience that the Lord Jesus offered to God the
   Father! And in reflecting upon this let us not lose sight of that
   wondrous grace which caused Him, who was in the very form of God, to
   stoop so low as to take upon Him the form of a Servant and thus be
   brought into the place where obedience was becoming. As the perfect
   Servant He yielded complete obedience to His Father. How absolute and
   entire that obedience was we may learn from the words He "became
   obedient unto death, even the death of the Cross" (Phil. 2:8). That
   this was a conscious and intelligent obedience is clear from His own
   language: "Therefore doth My Father love Me, because I lay down My
   life, that I might take it again. No man taketh if from Me, but I lay
   it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down and I have power to take
   it again. This commandment have I received from My Father" (John 10:17,
   18).

   And what shall we say of the absolute resignation of the Son to the
   Father's will? what, but, between Them there was entire oneness of
   accord. Said He, "For I came down from Heaven, not to do Mine own will,
   but the will of Him that sent Me" (John 6:38), and how fully He
   substantiated that claim all know who have attentively followed His
   path as marked out in the Scriptures. Behold Him in Gethsemane! The
   bitter 'cup,' held in the Father's hand, is presented to His view. Mark
   well His attitude. Learn of Him who was meek and lowly in heart.
   Remember that there in the Garden we see the Word become flesh, a
   perfect Man. His body is quivering at every nerve in contemplation of
   the physical sufferings which await Him; His holy and sensitive nature
   is shrinking from the horrible indignities which shall be heaped upon
   Him; His heart is breaking at the awful "reproach" which is before Him;
   His spirit is greatly troubled as He foresees the terrible conflict
   with the Power of Darkness; and above all, and supremely, His soul is
   filled with horror at the thought of being separated from God
   Himself-thus and there He pours out His soul to the Father, and with
   strong crying and tears He sheds, as it were, great drops of blood. And
   now observe and listen. Still the beating of thy heart and hearken to
   the words which fall from His blessed lips-"Father, if Thou be willing,
   remove this cup from Me: nevertheless, not My will, but Thine be done"
   (Luke 22:42). Here is submission personified. Here is resignation to
   the pleasure of a Sovereign God superlatively exemplified. And He has
   left us an example that we should follow His steps. He who was God
   became man, and was tempted in all points like as we are, sin apart, to
   show us how to wear our creature nature!

   Above we asked, What shall we say of Christ's absolute resignation to
   the Father's will? We answer further, This, that here, as everywhere,
   He was unique, peerless. In all things He has the pre-eminence. In the
   Lord Jesus there was no rebellious will to be broken. In His heart
   there was nothing to be subdued. Was not this one reason why, in the
   language of prophecy, He said, "I am a worm, and no man" (Psa. 22:6)-a
   worm has no power of resistance! It was because in Him there was no
   resistance that He could say, "My meat is to do the will of Him that
   sent Me" (John 4:34). Yea, it was because He was in perfect accord with
   the Father in all things that He said, "I delight to do Thy will, O
   God; yea, Thy law is within My heart" (Psa. 40:8). Note the last clause
   here and behold His matchless excellency. God has to put His laws into
   our minds, and write them in our hearts (see Heb. 8:10), but His law
   was already in Christ's heart!

   What a beautiful and striking illustration of Christ's thankfulness and
   joy is found in Matthew 11. There we behold, first, the failure of the
   faith of His forerunner (vv. 22, 23). Next, we learn of the discontent
   of the people: satisfied neither with Christ's joyous message, nor with
   John's solemn one (vv. 16-20). Third, we have the non-repentance of
   those favoured cities in which our Lord's mightiest works were done
   (vv. 21-24). And then we read, "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" (v. 25)! Note the parallel passage in Luke 10:21 opens by
   saying, "In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank
   Thee," etc. Ah! here was submission in its purest form. Here was One by
   whom the worlds were made, yet, in the days of His humiliation and in
   the face of His rejection, thankfully and joyously bowing to the will
   of the "Lord of Heaven and earth."

   What ought to be our attitude toward God's Sovereignty? Finally,

   5. ONE OF ADORING WORSHIP.

   It has been well said that "true worship is based upon recognised
   GREATNESS, and greatness is superlatively seen in Sovereignty, and at
   no other footstool will men really worship" (J. B. Moody). In the
   presence of the Divine King upon His throne even the seraphims 'veil
   their faces.'

   Divine Sovereignty is not the Sovereignty of a tyrannical Despot, but
   the exercised pleasure of One who is infinitely wise and good! Because
   God is infinitely wise He cannot err, and because He is infinitely
   righteous He will not do wrong. Here then is the preciousness of this
   truth. The mere fact itself that God's will is irresistible and
   irreversible fills me with fear, but once I realise that God wills only
   that which is good my heart is made to rejoice.

   Here then is the final answer to the question of this chapter, What
   ought to be our attitude toward the Sovereignty of God? The becoming
   attitude for us to take is that of godly fear, implicit obedience, and
   unreserved resignation and submission. But not only so: the recognition
   of the Sovereignty of God, and the realisation that the Sovereign
   Himself is my Father, ought to overwhelm the heart and cause me to bow
   before Him in adoring worship. At all times I must say "Even so,
   Father, for so it seemeth good in Thy sight." We conclude with an
   example which well illustrates our meaning.

   Some two hundred years ago the saintly Madam Guyon, after ten years
   spent in a dungeon lying far below the surface of the ground, lit only
   by a candle at meal-times, wrote these words:

   "A little bird I am,
   Shut from the fields of air;
   Yet in my cage I sit and sing
   To Him who placed me there;
   Well pleased a prisoner to be,
   Because, my God, it pleases Thee.
   Nought have I else to do
   I sing the whole day long;
   And He whom most I love to please,
   Doth listen to my song;
   He caught and bound my wandering wing
   But still He bends to hear me sing.
   My cage confines me round;
   Abroad I cannot fly;
   But though my wing is closely bound,
   My heart's at liberty,
   My prison walls cannot control
   The flight, the freedom of the soul.
   Ah! it is good to soar
   These bolts and bar above,
   To Him whose purpose I adore,
   Whose Providence I love;
   And in Thy mighty will to find
   The joy, the freedom of the mind."
     __________________________________________________________________

   [12] Note how Old Testament prophecy also declared that "the Spirit of
   the Lord" should "rest upon Him, the spirit of wisdom and
   understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge
   and of the fear of the Lord" (Isa.11:1,2).
     __________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER ELEVEN
DIFFICULTIES AND OBJECTIONS

   "Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. Hear now, O house of
   Israel;
   Is not My way equal? are not your ways unequal?"
   (Ezek. 18:25).

   A convenient point has been reached when we may now examine, more
   definitely, some of the difficulties encountered and the objections
   which might be advanced against what we have written in previous pages.
   The author deemed it better to reserve these for a separate
   consideration rather than deal with them as he went along, requiring as
   that would have done the breaking of the course of thought and
   destroying the strict unity of each chapter, or else cumbering our
   pages with numerous and lengthy footnotes.

   That there are difficulties involved in an attempt to set forth the
   truth of God's Sovereignty is readily acknowledged. The hardest thing
   of all, perhaps, is to maintain the balance of truth. It is largely a
   matter of perspective. That God is Sovereign is explicitly declared in
   Scripture: that man is a responsible creature is also expressly
   affirmed in Holy Writ. To define the relationship of these two truths,
   to fix the dividing line betwixt them, to show exactly where they meet,
   to exhibit the perfect consistency of the one with the other, is the
   weightiest task of all. Many have openly declared that it is impossible
   for the finite mind to harmonise them. Others tell us it is not
   necessary or even wise to attempt it. But, as we have remarked in an
   earlier chapter, it seems to us more honouring to God to seek in His
   Word the solution to every problem. What is impossible to man is
   possible with God, and while we grant that the finite mind is limited
   in its reach, yet, we remember that the Scriptures are given to us that
   the man of God may be "thoroughly furnished," and if we approach their
   study in the spirit of humility and of expectancy, then, according unto
   our faith will it be unto us.

   As remarked above, the hardest task in this connection is to preserve
   the balance of truth while insisting on both the Sovereignty of God and
   the responsibility of the creature. To some of our readers it may
   appear that in pressing the Sovereignty of God to the lengths we have
   man is reduced to a mere puppet. Hence, to guard against this, they
   would modify their definitions and statements relating to God's
   Sovereignty, and thus seek to blunt the keen edge of what is so
   offensive to the carnal mind. Others, while refusing to weigh the
   evidence that we have adduced in support of our assertions, may raise
   objections which to their minds are sufficient to dispose of the whole
   subject. We would not waste time in the effort to refute objections
   made in a carping and contentious spirit but we are desirous of meeting
   fairly the difficulties experienced by those who are anxious to obtain
   a fuller knowledge of the truth. Not that we deem ourselves able to
   give a satisfactory and final answer to every question that might be
   asked. Like the reader, the writer knows but in part and sees through a
   glass "darkly." All that we can do is to examine these difficulties in
   the light we now have, in dependence upon the Spirit of God that we may
   follow on to know the Lord better.

   We propose now to retrace our steps and pursue the same order of
   thought as that followed up to this point. As a part of our
   "definition" of God's Sovereignty we affirmed: "To say that God is
   Sovereign is to declare that He is the Almighty, the Possessor of all
   power in Heaven and earth, so that none can defeat His counsels, thwart
   His purpose, or resist His will... The Sovereignty of the God of
   Scripture is absolute, irresistible, infinite." To put it now in its
   strongest form, we insist that God does as He pleases, only as He
   pleases, always as He pleases; that whatever takes place in time is but
   the outworking of that which He decreed in eternity. In proof of this
   assertion we appeal to the following Scripture: "But our God is in the
   heavens: He hath done whatsoever He hath pleased" (Psa. 115:3). "For
   the LORD of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and His
   hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?" (Isa. 14:27). "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?" (Dan. 4:35). "For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all
   things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen" (Rom. 11:36).

   The above declarations are so plain and positive that any comments of
   ours upon them would simply be darkening counsel by words without
   knowledge. Such express statements as those just quoted are so sweeping
   and so dogmatic that all controversy concerning the subject of which
   they treat ought for ever to be at an end. Yet, rather than receive
   them at their face value, every device of carnal ingenuity is resorted
   to so as to neutralise their force. For example, it has been asked, If
   what we see in the world today is but the outworking of God's eternal
   purpose, if God's counsel is NOW being accomplished, then why did our
   Lord teach His disciples to pray, "Thy will be done on earth as it is
   in Heaven"? Is it not a clear implication from these words that God's
   will is not now being done on earth? The answer is very simple. The
   emphatic word in the above clause is "as." God's will is being done on
   earth today, if it is not, then our earth is not subject to God's rule,
   and if it is not subject to His rule then He is not, as Scripture
   proclaims Him to be, "The Lord of all the earth" (Josh. 3:13). But
   God's will is not being done on earth as it is in Heaven. How is God's
   will "done in Heaven"?-consciously and joyfully. How is it "done on
   earth"? for the most part, unconsciously and sullenly. In Heaven the
   angels perform the bidding of their Creator intelligently and gladly,
   but on earth the unsaved among men accomplish His will blindly and in
   ignorance. As we have said in earlier pages, when Judas betrayed the
   Lord Jesus and when Pilate sentenced Him to be crucified they had no
   conscious intentions of fulfilling God's decrees yet, nevertheless,
   unknown to themselves they did do so!

   But again. It has been objected: If everything that happens on earth is
   the fulfilling of the Almighty's pleasure, if God has
   foreordained-before the foundation of the world-everything which comes
   to pass in human history, then why do we read in Genesis 6:6 "It
   repented the LORD that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him
   at His heart"? Does not this language intimate that the antediluvians
   had followed a course which their Maker had not marked out for them,
   and that in view of the fact they had "corrupted" their way upon the
   earth the Lord regretted that He had ever brought such a creature into
   existence? Ere drawing such a conclusion let us note what is involved
   in such an inference. If the words "It repented the Lord that He had
   made man" are regarded in an absolute sense, then God's omniscience
   would be denied, for in such a case the course followed by man must
   have been unforeseen by God in the day that He created him. Therefore
   it must be evident to every reverent soul that this language bears some
   other meaning. We submit that the words "It repented the Lord" is an
   accommodation to our finite intelligence, and in saying this we are not
   seeking to escape a difficulty or cut a knot, but are advancing an
   interpretation which we shall seek to show is in perfect accord with
   the general trend of Scripture.

   The Word of God is addressed to men, and therefore it speaks the
   language of men. Because we cannot rise to God's level He, in grace,
   comes down to ours and converses with us in our own speech. The Apostle
   Paul tells us of how he was "caught up into Paradise and heard
   unspeakable words which it is not possible (margin) to utter" (2 Cor.
   12:4). Those on earth could not understand the vernacular of Heaven.
   The finite cannot comprehend the Infinite, hence the Almighty deigns to
   couch His revelation in terms we may understand. It is for this reason
   the Bible contains many anthropomorphisms-i.e., representations of God
   in the form of man. God is Spirit, yet the Scriptures speak of Him as
   having eyes, ears, nostrils, breath, hands, etc., which is surely an
   accommodation of terms brought down to the level of human
   comprehension.

   Again; we read in Genesis 18:20, 21 "And the LORD said, Because the cry
   of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous,
   I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according
   to the cry of it, which is come up unto Me; and if not, I will know."
   Now, manifestly, this is an anthropologism-God speaking in human
   language. God knew the conditions which prevailed in Sodom, and His
   eyes had witnessed its fearful sins, yet He is pleased to use terms
   here that are taken from our own vocabulary.

   Again; in Genesis 22:12 we read "And He (God) said, Lay not thine hand
   upon the lad, neither do thou anything unto him: for now I know that
   thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only
   son, from Me." Here again, God is speaking in the language of men for
   He "knew" before He tested Abram exactly how the patriarch would act.
   So too the expression of God so often in Jeremiah (7:13 etc.) of Him
   "rising up early" is manifestly an accommodation of terms.

   Once more: in the parable of the vineyard Christ Himself represents its
   Owner as saying, "Then said the Lord of the vineyard, What shall I do?
   I will send My beloved Son: it may be they will reverence Him when they
   see Him" (Luke 20:13); and yet, it is certain that God knew perfectly
   well that the "husbandman" of the vineyard (the Jews) would not
   "reverence His Son" but, instead, would "despise and reject" Him as His
   own Word had declared!

   In the same way we understand the words of Genesis 6:6-"It repented the
   LORD that He had made man on the earth"-as an accommodation of terms to
   human comprehension. This verse does not teach that God was confronted
   with an unforeseen contingency and therefore regretted that He had made
   man, but it expresses the abhorrence of a holy God at the awful
   wickedness and corruption into which man had fallen. Should there be
   any doubt remaining in the minds of our readers as to the legitimacy
   and soundness of our interpretation, a direct appeal to Scripture
   should instantly and entirely remove it-"The Strength of Israel (a
   Divine title) will not He nor repent: for He is not a man, that He
   should repent" (1 Sam. 15:29)! "Every good and perfect gift is from
   above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with Whom is no
   variableness, neither shadow of turning" (James 1:17)!

   Careful attention to what we have said above will throw light on
   numerous other passages which, if we ignore their figurative character
   and fail to note that God applies to Himself human modes of expression,
   will be obscure and perplexing. Having commented at such length upon
   Genesis 6:6 there will be no need to give such a detailed exposition of
   other passages which belong to the same class, yet, for the benefit of
   those of our readers who may be anxious for us to examine several other
   Scriptures, we turn to one or two more.

   One Scripture which we often find cited in order to overthrow the
   teaching advanced in this book is our Lord's lament over Jerusalem: "O
   Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them
   which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children
   together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye
   would not!" (Matt. 23:37). The question is asked, Do not these words
   show that the Saviour acknowledged the defeat of His mission, that as a
   people the Jews resisted all His gracious overtures toward them? In
   replying to this question, it should first be pointed out that our Lord
   is here referring not so much to His own mission as He is upbraiding
   the Jews for having in all ages rejected His grace-this is clear from
   His reference to the "prophets." The Old Testament bears full witness
   of how graciously and patiently Jehovah dealt with His people, and with
   what extreme obstinacy, from first to last, they refused to be
   "gathered" unto Him, and how in the end He abandoned them to follow
   their own devices, yet, as the same Scriptures declare, the counsel of
   God was not frustrated by their wickedness, for it had been foretold
   (and therefore, decreed) by Him: see, for example, 1 Kings 8:33.

   Matthew 23:37 may well be compared with Isaiah 65:2 where the Lord
   says, "I have spread out My hands all the day unto a rebellious people,
   which walketh in a way that was not good, after their own thoughts."
   But, it may be asked, Did God seek to do that which was in opposition
   to His own eternal purpose? In words borrowed from Calvin we reply,
   "Though to our apprehension the will of God is manifold and various,
   yet He does not in Himself will things at variance with each other, but
   astonishes our faculties with His various and 'manifold' wisdom,
   according to the expression of Paul, till we shall be enabled to
   understand that He mysteriously wills what now seems contrary to His
   will." As a further illustration of the same principle we would refer
   the reader to Isaiah 5:1-4: "Now will I sing to my well Beloved a song
   of my Beloved touching His vineyard. My well Beloved hath a vineyard in
   a very fruitful hill: And He fenced it, and gathered out the stones
   thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine and built a tower in the
   midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and He looked that it
   should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes. And now, O
   inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt
   Me and My vineyard. What could have been done more to My vineyard, that
   I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring
   forth grapes, it brought forth wild grapes?" Is it not plain from this
   language that God reckoned Himself to have done enough for Israel to
   warrant an expectation-speaking after the manner of men-of better
   returns? Yet, is it not equally evident when Jehovah says here "He
   looked that it should bring forth grapes" that He is accommodating
   Himself to a form of finite expression? And, so also when He says "What
   could have been done more to My vineyard, that I have not done in it?"
   we need to take note that in the previous enumeration of what He had
   done-the "fencing" etc.-He refers only to external privileges, means,
   and opportunities, which had been bestowed upon Israel, for, of course,
   He could even then have taken away from them their stony heart and
   given them a new heart, even a heart of flesh, had He so pleased.

   Perhaps we should link up with Christ's lament over Jerusalem in
   Matthew 23:37, His tears over the City, recorded in Luke 19:41: "He
   beheld the city, and wept over it." In the verses which immediately
   follow we learn what it was that occasioned His tears: "Saying, if thou
   hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which
   belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. For the
   days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about
   thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side." It was
   the prospect of the fearful judgement which Christ knew was impending.
   But did those tears make manifest a disappointed God? Nay, verily.
   Instead, they displayed a perfect Man. The Man Christ Jesus was no
   emotionless stoic, but One "filled with compassion." Those tears
   expressed the sinless sympathies of His real and pure humanity. Had He
   not "wept" He had been less than human. Those "tears" were one of many
   proofs that "in all things it behoved Him to be made like unto His
   brethren" (Heb. 2:17).

   In Chapter One we have affirmed that God is Sovereign in the exercise
   of His love, and in saying this we are fully aware that many will
   strongly resent the statement and that, furthermore, what we have now
   to say will probably meet with more criticism than anything else
   advanced in this book. Nevertheless, we must be true to our convictions
   of what we believe to be the teaching of Holy Scripture, and we can
   only ask our readers to examine diligently in the light of God's Word
   what we here submit to their attention.

   One of the most popular beliefs of the day is that God loves everybody,
   and the very fact that it is so popular with all classes ought to be
   enough to arouse the suspicions of those who are subject to the Word of
   Truth. God's Love toward all His creatures is the fundamental and
   favourite tenet of Universalists, Unitarians, Theosophists, Christian
   Scientists, Spiritualists, Russellites, etc. No matter how a man may
   live-in open defiance of Heaven, with no concern whatever for his
   soul's eternal interests, still less for God's glory, dying, perhaps
   with an oath on his lips-notwithstanding, God loves him, we are told.
   So widely has this dogma been proclaimed, and so comforting is it to
   the heart which is at enmity with God we have little hope of convincing
   many of their error. That God loves everybody, is, we may say, quite a
   modern belief. The writings of the church fathers, the Reformers or the
   Puritans will (we believe) be searched in vain for any such concept.
   Perhaps the late D. L. Moody-captivated by Drummond's "The Greatest
   Thing in the World"-did more than anyone else in the last century to
   popularise this concept.

   It has been customary to say God loves the sinner though He hates his
   sin. [13] But that is a meaningless distinction. What is there in a
   sinner but sin? Is it not true that his "whole head is sick" and his
   "whole heart faint," and that "from the sole of the foot even unto the
   head there is no soundness" in him? (Isa. 1:5, 6). Is it true that God
   loves the one who is despising and rejecting His blessed Son? God is
   Light as well as Love, and therefore His love must be a holy love. To
   tell the Christ-rejecter that God loves him is to cauterise his
   conscience as well as to afford him a sense of security in his sins.
   The fact is, the love of God is a truth for the saints only, and to
   present it to the enemies of God is to take the children's bread and
   cast it to the dogs. With the exception of John 3:16, not once in the
   four Gospels do we read of the Lord Jesus, the perfect Teacher, telling
   sinners that God loved them! In the book of Acts, which records the
   evangelistic labours and messages of the Apostles, God's love is never
   referred to at all! But when we come to the Epistles, which are
   addressed to the saints, we have a full presentation of this precious
   truth-God's love for His own. Let us seek to rightly divide the Word of
   God and then we shall not be found taking truths which are addressed to
   believers and misapplying them to unbelievers. That which sinners need
   to have brought before them is the ineffable holiness, the exacting
   righteousness, the inflexible justice and the terrible wrath of God.
   Risking the danger of being misunderstood let us say-and we wish we
   could say it to every evangelist and preacher in the country-there is
   far too much presenting of Christ to sinners today (by those sound in
   the faith), and far too little showing sinners their need of Christ,
   i.e., their absolutely ruined and lost condition, their imminent and
   awful danger of suffering the wrath to come, the fearful guilt resting
   upon them in the sight of God: to present Christ to those who have
   never been shown their need of Him, seems to us to be guilty of casting
   pearls before swine. [14]

   If it be true that God loves every member of the human family then why
   did our Lord tell His disciples "He that hath My commandments, and
   keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me: and he that loveth Me shall be
   loved of My Father... If a man love Me, he will keep My words: and My
   Father will love him" (John 14:21, 23)? Why say "he that loveth Me
   shall be loved of My Father" if the Father loves everybody? The same
   limitation is found in Proverbs 8:17: "I love them that love Me."
   Again; we read, "Thou hatest all workers of iniquity"-not merely the
   works of iniquity. Here then is a flat repudiation of present teaching
   that, God hates sin but loves the sinner; Scripture says, "Thou hatest
   all workers of iniquity" (Psa. 5:5)! "God is angry with the wicked
   every day" (Psa. 7:11). "He that believeth not on the Son shall not see
   life, but the wrath of God abideth on him"-not "shall abide," but even
   now-"abideth on him" (John 3:36). Can God "love" the one on whom His
   "wrath" abides? Again; is it not evident that the words "The love of
   God which is in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 8:39) marks a limitation, both in
   the sphere and objects of His love? Again; is it not plain from the
   words "Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated" (Rom. 9:13) that God
   does not love everybody? Again; it is written, "For whom the Lord
   loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth" (Heb.
   12:6). Does not this verse teach that God's love is restricted to the
   members of His own family? If He loves all men without exception then
   the distinction and limitation here mentioned is quite meaningless.
   Finally, we would ask, Is it conceivable that God will love the damned
   in the Lake of Fire? Yet, if He loves them now He will do so then,
   seeing that His love knows no change-He is "without variableness or
   shadow of turning"!

   Turning now to John 3:16, it should be evident from the passages just
   quoted that this verse will not bear the construction usually put upon
   it. "God so loved the world." Many suppose that this means, The entire
   human race. But "the entire human race" includes all mankind from Adam
   till the close of earth's history: it reaches backward as well as
   forward! Consider, then, the history of mankind before Christ was born.
   Unnumbered millions lived and died before the Saviour came to the
   earth, lived here "having no hope and without God in the world," and
   therefore passed out into an eternity of woe. If God "loved" them,
   where is the slightest proof thereof? Scripture declares "Who (God) in
   times past (from the tower of Babel till after Pentecost) suffered all
   nations to walk in their own ways" (Acts 14:16). Scripture declares
   that "And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge,
   God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are
   not convenient" (Rom. 1:28). To Israel God said, "You only have I known
   of all the families of the earth" (Amos 3:2). In view of these plain
   passages who will be so foolish as to insist that God in the past loved
   all mankind! The same applies with equal force to the future. Read
   through the book of Revelation, noting especially chapters 8 to 19,
   where we have described the judgements which will be poured out from
   Heaven on this earth. Read of the fearful woes, the frightful plagues,
   the vials of God's wrath, which shall be emptied on the wicked.
   Finally, read the twentieth chapter of the Revelation, the great white
   throne judgement, and see if you can discover there the slightest trace
   of love.

   But the objector comes back to John 3:16 and says, "World means world."
   True, but we have shown that "the world" does not mean the whole human
   family. The fact is that "the world" is used in a general way. When the
   brethren of Christ said "Show Thyself to the world" (John 7:4), did
   they mean "shew Thyself to all mankind"? When the Pharisees said
   "Behold, the world is gone after Him" (John 12:19) did they mean that
   "all the human family" were flocking after Him? When the Apostle wrote
   "Your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world" (Rom. 1:8), did he
   mean that the faith of the saints at Rome was the subject of
   conversation by every man, woman, and child on earth? When Revelation
   13:3 informs us that "all the world wondered after the beast," are we
   to understand that there will be no exceptions? These, and other
   passages which might be quoted, show that the term "the world" often
   has a relative rather than an absolute force.

   Now the first thing to note in connection with John 3:16 is that our
   Lord was there speaking to Nicodemus, a man who believed that God's
   mercies were confined to his own nation. Christ there announced that
   God's love in giving His Son had a larger object in view, that it
   flowed beyond the boundary of Palestine, reaching out to "regions
   beyond." In other words, this was Christ's announcement that God had a
   purpose of grace toward Gentiles as well as Jews. "God so loved the
   world," then, signifies, God's love is international in its scope. But
   does this mean that God loves every individual among the Gentiles? Not
   necessarily, for as we have seen, the term "world" is general rather
   than specific, relative rather than absolute. The term "world" in
   itself is not conclusive. To ascertain who are the objects of God's
   love other passages where His love is mentioned must be consulted.

   In 2 Peter 2:5 we read of "the world of the ungodly." If then, there is
   a world of the ungodly there must also be a world of the godly. It is
   the latter who are in view in the passages we shall now briefly
   consider. "For the bread of God is He which cometh down from Heaven,
   and giveth life unto the world" (John 6:33). Now mark it well, Christ
   did not say, "offereth life unto the world," but "giveth." What is the
   difference between the two terms? This: a thing which is "offered" may
   be refused, but a thing "given," necessarily implies its acceptance. If
   it is not accepted it is not "given," it is simply proffered. Here,
   then, is a Scripture that positively states Christ giveth life
   (spiritual, eternal life) "unto the world." Now He does not give
   eternal life to the "world of the ungodly" for they will not have it,
   they do not want it. Hence, we are obliged to understand the reference
   in John 6:33 as being to "the world of the godly," i.e., God's own
   people.

   One more: in 2 Corinthians 5:19 we read "To wit that God was in Christ,
   reconciling the world unto Himself." What is meant by this is clearly
   defined in the words immediately following, "not imputing their
   trespasses unto them." Here again "the world" cannot mean "the world of
   the ungodly," for their "trespasses are imputed" to them, as the
   judgement of the Great White Throne will yet show. But 2 Corinthians
   5:19 plainly teaches there is a "world" which are "reconciled,"
   reconciled unto God because their trespasses are not reckoned to their
   account, having been borne by their Substitute. Who then are they? Only
   one answer is fairly possible-the world of God's people!

   In like manner, the "world" in John 3:16 must, in the final analysis,
   refer to the world of God's people. Must we say, for there is no other
   alternative solution. It cannot mean the whole human race, for one half
   of the race was already in hell when Christ came to earth. It is unfair
   to insist that it means every human being now living, for every other
   passage in the New Testament where God's love is mentioned limits it to
   His own people-search and see! The objects of God's love in John 3:16
   are precisely the same as the objects of Christ's love in John 13:1:
   "Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour
   was come, that He should depart out of this world unto the Father,
   having loved His own which were in the world, He loved them unto the
   end." We may admit that our interpretation of John 3:16 is no novel one
   invented by us, but one almost uniformly given by the Reformers and
   Puritans, and many others since then. [15]

   Coming now to Chapter Three, The Sovereignty of God in Salvation,
   innumerable are the questions which might be raised here. It is
   strange, yet it is true, that many who acknowledge the Sovereign rule
   of God over material things will cavil and quibble when we insist that
   God is also Sovereign in the spiritual realm. But their quarrel is with
   God and not with us. We have given Scripture in support of everything
   advanced in these pages, and if that will not satisfy our readers it is
   idle for us to seek to convince them. What we write now is designed for
   those who do bow to the authority of Holy Writ, and for their benefit
   we propose to examine several other Scriptures which have purposely
   been held for this chapter.

   Perhaps the one passage which has presented the greatest difficulty to
   those who have seen that passage after passage in Holy Writ plainly
   teaches the election of a limited number unto salvation is 2 Peter 3:9:
   "not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to
   repentance."

   The first thing to be said upon the above passage is that, like all
   other Scripture, it must be understood and interpreted in the light of
   its context. What we have quoted in the preceding paragraph is only
   part of the verse, and the last part if it at that! Surely it must be
   allowed by all that the first half of the verse needs to be taken into
   consideration. In order to establish what these words are supposed by
   many to mean, viz., that the words "any" and "all" are to be received
   without any qualification, it must be shown that the context is
   referring to the whole human race! If this cannot be shown, if there is
   no premise to justify this, then the conclusion also must be
   unwarranted. Let us then ponder the first part of the verse.

   "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise." Note "promise" in the
   singular number, not "promises." What promise is in view? The promise
   of salvation? Where, in all Scripture, has God ever promised to save
   the whole human race! Where indeed? No, the "promise" here referred to
   is not about salvation. What then is it? The context tells us.

   "Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers,
   walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of His
   coming?" (vv. 3, 4). The context then refers to God's promise to send
   back His beloved Son. But many long centuries have passed and this
   promise has not yet been fulfilled. True, but long as the delay may
   seem to us, the interval is short in the reckoning of God. As the proof
   of this we are reminded "But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one
   thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a
   thousand years as one day" (v. 8). In God's reckoning of time less than
   two days have yet passed since He promised to send back Christ.

   But more, the delay in the Father sending back His beloved Son is not
   only due to no "slackness" on His part, but it is also occasioned by
   His "longsuffering." His longsuffering to whom? The verse we are now
   considering tells us: "but His longsuffering to us-ward." And whom are
   the "us-ward"?-the human race, or God's own people? In the light of the
   context this is not an open question upon which each of us is free to
   form an opinion. The Holy Spirit has defined it. The opening verse of
   the chapter says, "This second Epistle, beloved, I now write unto you."
   And again, the verse immediately preceding declares, "But, beloved, be
   not ignorant of this one thing etc.," (v. 8). The "us-ward" then are
   the "beloved" of God. They to whom this Epistle is addressed are "them
   that have obtained (not "exercised," but "obtained" as God's Sovereign
   gift)like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and
   our Saviour Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 1:1). Therefore we say there is no
   room for a doubt, a quibble or an argument-the "us-ward" are the elect
   of God.

   Let us now quote the verse as a whole: "The Lord is not slack
   concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is
   longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that
   all should come to repentance." Could anything be clearer? The "any"
   that God is not willing should perish are the "us-ward" to whom God is
   "longsuffering," the "beloved" of the previous verses. 2 Peter 3:9
   means, then, that God will not send back His Son until "the fullness of
   the Gentiles be come in" (Rom. 11:25). God will not send hack Christ
   till that "people" whom He is now "taking out of the Gentiles" (Acts
   15:14) are gathered in. God will not send back His Son till the Body of
   Christ is complete, and that will not be till the ones whom He has
   elected to be saved in this dispensation shall have been brought to
   Him. Thank God for His "longsuffering to us-ward." Had Christ come back
   twenty years ago the writer had been left behind to perish in His sins.
   But that could not be so God graciously delayed the Second Coming. For
   the same reason He is still delaying His Advent. His decreed purpose is
   that all His elect will come to repentance, and repent they shall. The
   present interval of grace will not end until the last of the "other
   sheep" of John 10:16 are safely folded-then will Christ return.

   In expounding the Sovereignty of God the Spirit in Salvation we have
   shown that His power is irresistible, that, by His gracious operations
   upon and within them He "compels" God's elect to come to Christ. The
   Sovereignty of the Holy Spirit is set forth not only in John 3:8 where
   we are told "The wind bloweth where it pleaseth... so is every one that
   is born of the Spirit," but is affirmed in other passages as well. In 1
   Corinthians 12:11 we read "But all these worketh that one and the
   selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as He will." And
   again; we read in Acts 16:6, 7 "Now when they had gone throughout
   Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy
   Spirit to preach the Word in Asia. After they were come to Mysia, they
   assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not."Thus we
   see how the Holy Spirit interposed His imperial will in opposition to
   the determination of the Apostles.

   But, it is objected against the assertion that the will and power of
   the Holy Spirit are irresistible that here are two passages, one in the
   Old Testament and the other in the New, which appear to militate
   against such a conclusion. God said of old "My Spirit shall not always
   strive with man" (Gen. 6:3), and to the Jews Stephen declared "Ye
   stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist
   the Holy Spirit: as your fathers did, so do ye. Which of the prophets
   have not your fathers persecuted?" (Acts 7:51, 52). If then the Jews
   "resisted" the Holy Spirit how can we say His power is irresistible?
   The answer is found in Nehemiah 9:30 "Many years didst Thou forbear
   them, and testifiedest against them by Thy Spirit in Thy prophets:
   yetwould they not give ear." It was the external operations of the
   Spirit which Israel "resisted." It was the Spirit speaking by and
   through the prophets to which they "would not give ear." It was not
   anything which the Holy Spirit wrought in them that they "resisted" but
   the motives presented to them by the inspired messages of the prophets.
   Perhaps it will help the reader to catch our thought better if we
   compare Matthew 11:20-24 "Then began He to upbraid the cities wherein
   most of His mighty works were done, because they repented not. Woe unto
   thee Chorazin," etc. Our Lord here pronounces woe upon these cities for
   their failure to repent because of the "mighty works" (miracles) which
   He had done in their sight, and not because of any internal operations
   of His grace! The same is true of Genesis 6:3. By comparing 1 Peter
   3:18-20 it will be seen that it was by and through Noah that God's
   Spirit "strove" with the antediluvians. The distinction noted above was
   ably summarised by Andrew Fuller (another writer long deceased from
   whom our moderns might learn much) thus: "There are two kinds of
   influences by which God works on the minds of men. First, That which is
   common, and which is effected by the ordinary use of motives presented
   to the mind for consideration: Secondly, That which is special and
   supernatural. The one contains nothing mysterious, anymore than the
   influence of our words and actions on each other; the other is such a
   mystery that we know nothing of it but by its effects-The former ought
   to be effectual; the latter is so." The work of the Holy Spirit upon or
   towards men is always "resisted" by them; His work within is always
   successful. What saith the Scriptures? This: "He which hath begun a
   good work IN you," will finish it (Phil. 1:6).

   The next question to be considered is: Why preach the Gospel to every
   creature? If God the Father has predestined only a limited number to be
   saved, if God the Son died to effect the salvation of only those given
   to Him by the Father, and if God the Spirit is seeking to quicken none
   save God's elect, then what is the use of giving the Gospel to the
   world at large, and where is the propriety of telling sinners that
   "Whosoever believeth in Christ shall not perish but have everlasting
   life"?

   First; it is of great importance that we should be clear upon the
   nature of the Gospel itself. The Gospel is God's good news concerning
   Christ and not concerning sinners: "Paul a servant of Jesus Christ,
   called to be an Apostle, separated unto the Gospel of God... concerning
   His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord" (Rom. 1:1, 3).

   God would have proclaimed far and wide the amazing fact that His own
   blessed Son "became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross"
   (Phil. 2:8). A universal testimony must be borne to the matchless worth
   of the Person and work of Christ. Note the word witness in Matthew
   24:14. The Gospel is God's "witness" unto the perfections of His Son.
   Mark the words of the Apostle: "For we are unto God a sweet savour of
   Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish" (2 Cor. 2:15)!

   Concerning the character and contents of the Gospel the utmost
   confusion prevails today. The Gospel is not an "offer" to be bandied
   around by evangelical peddlers. The Gospel is no mere invitation but a
   proclamation, a proclamation concerning Christ; true whether men
   believe it or not. No man is asked to believe that Christ died for him
   in particular. The Gospel, in brief, is this: Christ died for sinners,
   you are a sinner, believe in Christ, and you shall be saved. In the
   Gospel God simply announces the terms upon which men may be saved
   (namely, repentance and faith) and, indiscriminately, all are commanded
   to fulfil them.

   Second, repentance and remission of sins are to be preached in the name
   of the Lord Jesus "among all the nations" (Luke 24:47), because God's
   elect are "scattered abroad" (John 11:52) among all nations, and it is
   by the preaching and hearing of the Gospel that they are called out of
   the world. The Gospel is the means which God uses in the saving of His
   own chosen ones. By nature God's elect are children of wrath "even as
   others"; they are lost sinners needing a Saviour, and apart from Christ
   there is no salvation for them. Hence, the Gospel must be believed by
   them before they can rejoice in the knowledge of sins forgiven. The
   Gospel is God's winnowing fan: it separates the chaff from the wheat,
   and gathers the latter into His garner.

   Third; it is to be noted that God has other purposes in the preaching
   of the Gospel than the salvation of His own elect. The world exists for
   the elect's sake yet others have the benefit of it. So the Word is
   preached for the elect's sake yet others have the benefit of an
   external call. The sun shines though blind men see it not. The rain
   falls upon rocky mountains and waste deserts as well as on the fruitful
   valleys; so also, God suffers the Gospel to fall on the ears of the
   non-elect. The power of the Gospel is one of God's agencies for holding
   in check the wickedness of the world. Many who are never saved by it
   are reformed, their lusts are bridled, and they are restrained from
   becoming worse. Moreover, the preaching of the Gospel to the non-elect
   is made an admirable test of their characters. It exhibits the
   inveteracy of their sin: it demonstrates that their hearts are at
   enmity against God: it justifies the declaration of Christ that "men
   loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil" (John
   3:19).

   Finally; it is sufficient for us to know that we are bidden to preach
   the Gospel to every creature. It is not for us to reason about the
   consistency between this and the fact that "few are chosen." It is for
   us to obey. It is a simple matter to ask questions relating to the ways
   of God which no finite mind can fully fathom. We, too, might turn and
   remind the objector that our Lord declared "Verily I say unto you, All
   sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith
   soever they shall blaspheme. But he that shall blaspheme against the
   Holy Spirit hath never forgiveness" (Mark 3:28, 29), and there can be
   no doubt whatever but that certain of the Jews were guilty of this very
   sin (see Matt. 12:24, etc.) and hence their destruction was inevitable.
   Yet, notwithstanding, scarcely two months later, He commanded His
   disciples to preach the Gospel to every creature. When the objector can
   show us the consistency of these two things-the fact that certain of
   the Jews had committed the sin for which there is never forgiveness,
   and the fact that to them the Gospel was to be preached-we will
   undertake to furnish a more satisfactory solution than the one given
   above to the harmony between an universal proclamation of the Gospel
   and a limitation of its saving power to those only that God has
   predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son.

   Once more, we say, it is not for us to reason about the Gospel; it is
   our business to preach it. When God ordered Abraham to offer up his son
   as a burnt-offering he might have objected that this command was
   inconsistent with His promise "In Isaac shall thy seed be called." But
   instead of arguing he obeyed, and left God to harmonise His promise and
   His precept. Jeremiah might have argued that God had bade him to do
   that which was altogether unreasonable when He said "Therefore thou
   shalt speak all these words unto them; but they will not hearken to
   thee; thou shalt also call unto them; but they will not answer thee"
   (Jer. 7:27), but instead, the prophet obeyed. Ezekiel, too, might have
   complained that the Lord was asking of him a hard thing when He said
   "Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with My
   words unto them. For thou art not sent to a people of a strange speech
   and of an hard language, but to the house of Israel; Not to many people
   of a strange speech and of a hard language, whose words thou canst not
   understand. Surely, had I sent thee to them, they would have hearkened
   unto thee. But the house of Israel will not hearken unto thee; for they
   will not hearken unto Me; for all the house of Israel are impudent and
   hard hearted" (Ezek. 3:4-7).


   "But, O my soul, if truth so bright

   Should dazzle and confound thy sight,

   Yet still His written Word obey,

   And wait the great decisive day."

   - Watts.

   It has been well said, "The Gospel has lost none of its ancient power.
   It is, as much today as when it was first preached, 'the power of God
   unto salvation.' It needs no pity, no help, and no handmaid. It can
   overcome all obstacles, and break down all barriers. No human device
   need be tried to prepare the sinner to receive it, for if God has sent
   it no power can hinder it; and if He has not sent it, no power can make
   it effectual" (Dr. Bullinger).

   This chapter might be extended indefinitely, but it is already too long
   so a word or two more must suffice. A number of other questions will be
   dealt with in the pages yet to follow, and those that we fail to touch
   upon the reader must take to the Lord Himself who has said "If any of
   you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all liberally, and
   upbraideth not" (James 1:5).
     __________________________________________________________________

   [13] Romans 5:8 is addressed to saints, and the "we" are the same ones
   as those spoken of in 8:29, 30.

   [14] Concerning the rich young ruler of whom it is said Christ "loved
   him" (Mark 10:21), we fully believe that he was one of God's elect, and
   was "saved" sometime after his interview with our Lord. Should it be
   said this is an arbitrary assumption and assertion which lacks anything
   in the Gospel record to substantiate it, we reply, It is written, "Him
   that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out," and this man certainly
   did "come" to Him. Compare the case of Nicodemus. He, too, came to
   Christ, yet there is nothing in John 3 which intimates he was a saved
   man when the interview closed; nevertheless, we know from his later
   life that he was not "cast out."

   [15] For a further discussion of John 3:16 see Appendix 3.
     __________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER TWELVE
THE VALUE OF THIS DOCTRINE

   "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for
   doctrine, for reproof,
   for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God
   may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works"
   (2 Tim. 3:16, 17).

   "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for
   doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
   righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished
   unto all good works" (2 Tim. 3:16, 17). "Doctrine" means "teaching,"
   and it is by doctrine or teaching that the great realities of God and
   of our relation to Him-of Christ, the Spirit, salvation, grace,
   glory-are made known to us. It is by doctrine (through the power of the
   Spirit) that believers are nourished and edified, and where doctrine is
   neglected growth in grace and effective witnessing for Christ
   necessarily cease. How sad then that doctrine is now decried as
   "unpractical" when, in fact, doctrine is the very base of the practical
   life. There is an inseparable connection between belief and practice:
   "As he thinketh in his heart, so is he" (Prov. 23:7). The relation
   between Divine truth and Christian character is that of cause to
   effect: "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you
   free" (John 8:32)-free from ignorance, free from prejudice, free from
   error, free from the wiles of Satan, free from the power of evil; and
   if the truth is not "known" then such freedom will not be enjoyed.
   Observe the order of mention in the passage with which we have opened.
   All Scripture is profitable first for "doctrine"! The same order is
   observed throughout the Epistles, particularly in the great doctrinal
   treatises of the Apostle Paul. Read the Epistle of "Romans" and it will
   be found that there is not a single admonition in the first five
   chapters. In the Epistle of "Ephesians" there are no exhortations till
   the fourth chapter is reached. The order is first doctrinal exposition
   and then admonition or exhortation for the regulation of the daily
   walk.

   The substitution of so-called "practical" preaching for the doctrinal
   exposition which it has supplanted is the root cause of many of the
   evil maladies which now afflict the Church of God. The reason why there
   is so little depth, so little intelligence, so little grasp of the
   fundamental verities of Christianity is because so few believers have
   been established in the faith through hearing expounded and through
   their own personal study of the doctrines of grace. While their soul is
   unestablished in the doctrine of the Divine Inspiration of the
   Scripture, their full and verbal inspiration, there can be no firm
   foundation for faith to rest upon. While the soul is ignorant of the
   doctrine of Justification there can be no real and intelligent
   assurance of its acceptance in the Beloved. While the soul is
   unacquainted with the teaching of the Word upon Sanctification it is
   open to receive all the crudities and errors of the Perfectionists or
   "Holiness" people. While the soul knows not what Scripture has to say
   upon the doctrine of the New Birth there can be no proper grasp of the
   two natures in the believer, and ignorance here inevitably results in
   the loss of peace and joy. And so we might go on right through the list
   of Christian doctrine. It is ignorance of doctrine that has rendered
   the professing church helpless to cope with the rising tide of
   infidelity. It is ignorance of doctrine which is mainly responsible for
   thousands of professing Christians being captivated by the numerous
   false isms of the day. It is because the time has now arrived when the
   bulk of our churches "will not endure sound doctrine" (2 Tim. 4:3) that
   they so readily receive false doctrines. Of course it is true that
   doctrine, like anything else in Scripture, may be studied from a merely
   cold intellectual viewpoint, and thus approached, doctrinal teaching
   and doctrinal study will leave the heart untouched, and will naturally
   be "dry" and profitless. But, doctrine properly received, doctrine
   studied with an exercised heart, will ever lead into a deeper knowledge
   of God and of the unsearchable riches of Christ.

   The doctrine of God's Sovereignty then is no mere metaphysical dogma
   which is devoid of practical value, but is one that is calculated to
   produce a powerful effect upon Christian character and the daily walk.
   The doctrine of God's Sovereignty lies at the foundation of Christian
   theology, and in importance is perhaps second only to the Divine
   Inspiration of the Scriptures. It is the centre of gravity in the
   system of Christian truth: the sun around which all the lesser orbs are
   grouped. It is the golden milestone to which every highway of knowledge
   leads and from which they all radiate. It is the cord upon which all
   other doctrines are strung like so many pearls, holding them in place
   and giving them unity. It is the plumbline by which every creed needs
   to be measured, the balance in which every human dogma must be weighed.
   It is designed as the sheet-anchor for our souls amid the storms of
   life. The doctrine of God's Sovereignty is a Divine cordial to refresh
   our spirits. It is designed and adapted to old the affections of the
   heart and to give a right direction to conduct. It produces gratitude
   in prosperity and patience in adversity. It affords comfort for the
   present and a sense of security respecting the unknown future. It is,
   and it does all, and much more than we have just said because it
   ascribes to God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the glory which is His
   due, and places the creature in his proper place before Him-in the
   dust.

   We shall now consider the Value of the doctrine in detail.

   1. IT DEEPENS OUR VENERATION OF THE DIVINE CHARACTER.

   The doctrine of God's Sovereignty as it is unfolded in the Scriptures
   affords an exalted view of the Divine perfections. It maintains His
   creatorial rights. It insists that "to us there is but one God, the
   Father, of whom are all things, and we in Him; and one Lord Jesus
   Christ, by whom are all things, and we by Him" (1 Cor. 8:6). It
   declares that His rights are those of the "potter" who forms and
   fashions the clay into vessels of whatever type and for whatever use He
   may please. Its testimony is "Thou hast created all things, and for Thy
   pleasure they are and were created" (Rev. 4:11). It argues that none
   has any right to "reply" against God, and that the only becoming
   attitude for the creature to take is one of reverent submission before
   Him. Thus the apprehension of the absolute supremacy of God is of great
   practical importance, for unless we have a proper regard to His high
   Sovereignty He will never be honoured in our thoughts of Him, nor will
   He have His proper place in our hearts and lives.

   It exhibits the inscrutableness of His wisdom. It shows that while God
   is immaculate in His holiness He has permitted evil to enter His fair
   creation; that while He is the Possessor of all power He has allowed
   the Devil to wage war against Him for six thousand years at least; that
   while He is the perfect embodiment of love He spared not His own Son;
   that while He is the God of all grace multitudes will be tormented for
   ever and ever in the Lake of Fire. High mysteries are these. Scripture
   does not deny them, but acknowledges their existence: "O the depth of
   the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable
   are His judgements, and His ways past finding out!" (Rom. 11:33).

   It makes known the irreversibleness of His will. "Known unto God are
   all His works from the beginning of the world" (Acts 15:18). From the
   beginning God purposed to glorify Himself "in the Church by Christ
   Jesus throughout all ages, world without end" (Eph. 3:21). To this end
   He created the world and formed man. His all-wise plan was not defeated
   when man fell, for in the Lamb "slain from the foundation of the world"
   (Rev. 13:8) we behold the Fall anticipated. Nor will God's purpose be
   thwarted by the wickedness of men since the Fall, as is clear from the
   words of the Psalmist "Surely the wrath of man shall praise Thee: the
   remainder of wrath shalt Thou restrain" (Psa. 76:10). Because God is
   the Almighty His will cannot be withstood. "His purposes originated in
   eternity, and are carried forward without change to eternity. They
   extend to all His works, and control all events. He 'worketh all things
   after the counsel of His own will'" (Dr. Rice). Neither man nor Devil
   can successfully resist Him, therefore is it written, "The Lord
   reigneth; let the people tremble" (Psa. 99:1).

   It magnifies His grace. Grace is unmerited favour, and because grace is
   shown to the undeserving and Hell-deserving, to those who have no claim
   upon God, therefore is grace free and can be manifested toward the
   chief of sinners. But because grace is exercised toward those who are
   destitute of worthiness or merit grace is Sovereign; that is to say,
   God bestows grace upon whom He pleases. Divine Sovereignty has ordained
   that some shall be cast into the Lake of Fire to show that all deserved
   such a doom. But grace comes in like a dragnet and draws out from a
   lost humanity a people for God's name, to be throughout all eternity
   the monuments of His inscrutable favour. Sovereign grace reveals God
   breaking down the opposition of the human heart, subduing the enmity of
   the carnal mind, and bringing us to love Him because He first loved us.

   2. IT IS THE SOLID FOUNDATION OF ALL TRUE RELIGION.

   This naturally follows from what we have said above under the first
   head. If the doctrine of Divine Sovereignty alone gives God His
   rightful place, then it is also true that it alone can supply a firm
   base for practical religion to build upon. There can be no progress in
   Divine things until there is the personal recognition that God is
   Supreme, that He is to be feared and revered and He is to be owned and
   served as Lord. We read the Scriptures in vain unless we come to them
   earnestly desiring a better knowledge of God's will for us: any other
   motive is selfish and utterly inadequate and unworthy. Every prayer we
   send up to God is but carnal presumption unless it be offered
   "according to His will": anything short of this is to ask 'amiss' that
   we might consume upon our own lusts the thing requested! Every service
   we engage in is but a "dead work" unless it be done for the glory of
   God. Experimental religion consists mainly in the perception and
   performance of the Divine will, performance both active and passive. We
   are predestinated to be "conformed to the image of God's Son" whose
   meat it ever was to do the will of the One that sent Him, and the
   measure in which each saint is becoming "conformed" practically, in his
   daily life, is largely determined by his response to our Lord's word
   "Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in
   heart."

   3. IT REPUDIATES THE HERESY OF SALVATION BY WORKS.

   "There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are
   the ways of death" (Prov. 14:12). The way which "seemeth right" and
   which ends in "death," death eternal, is salvation by human effort and
   merit. The belief in salvation by works is one that is common to human
   nature. It may not always assume the grosser form of Popish penances,
   or even of Protestant "repentance," i.e., sorrowing for sin, which is
   never the meaning of repentance in Scripture; anything which gives man
   a place at all is but a variety of the same evil genus. To say, as
   alas! many preachers, are saying, God is willing to do His part if you
   will do yours, is a wretched and excuseless denial of the Gospel of His
   grace. To declare that God helps those who help themselves is to
   repudiate one of the most precious truths taught in the Bible, and in
   the Bible alone; namely, that God helps those who are unable to help
   themselves, who have tried again and again only to fail. To say that
   the sinner's salvation turns upon the action of his own will is another
   form of the God-dishonouring dogma of salvation by human efforts. In
   the final analysis, any movement of the will is a work: it is something
   from me, something which I do. But the doctrine of God's Sovereignty
   lays the axe at the root of this evil by declaring "It is not of him
   that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy"
   (Rom. 9:16). Does some one say, Such a doctrine will drive sinners to
   despair. The reply is, Be it so; it is just such despair the writer
   longs to see prevail. It is not until the sinner despairs of any help
   from himself that he will ever fall into the arms of Sovereign mercy;
   but if once the Holy Spirit convicts him that there is no help in
   himself then he will recognise that he is lost, and will cry, "God be
   merciful to me a sinner," and such a cry will be heard. If the author
   may be allowed to bear personal witness, he has found during the course
   of his ministry that the sermons he has preached on human depravity,
   the sinner's helplessness to do anything himself, and the salvation of
   the soul turning upon the Sovereign mercy of God, have been those most
   owned and blessed in the salvation of the lost. We repeat, then, a
   sense of utter helplessness is the first prerequisite to any sound
   conversion. There is no salvation for any soul until it looks away from
   itself, looks to something, yea, to Someone, outside of itself.

   4. IT IS DEEPLY HUMBLING TO THE CREATURE.

   This doctrine of the absolute Sovereignty of God is a great
   battering-ram against human pride, and in this it is in sharp contrast
   from the "doctrines of men." The spirit of our age is essentially that
   of boasting and glorying in the flesh. The achievements of man, his
   development and progress, his greatness and self-sufficiency, are the
   shrine at which the world worships today. But the truth of God's
   Sovereignty, with all its corollaries, removes every ground for human
   boasting and instils the spirit of humility in its stead. It declares
   that salvation is of the Lord-of the Lord in its origination, in its
   operation, and in its consummation. It insists that the Lord has to
   apply as well as supply, that He has to complete as well as begin His
   saving work in our souls, that He has not only to reclaim but to
   maintain and sustain us to the end. It teaches that salvation is by
   grace through faith, and that all our works (before conversion), good
   as well as evil, count for nothing toward salvation. It tells us we are
   "born, not of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of
   God" (John 1:13). And all this is most humbling to the heart of man who
   wants to contribute something to the price of his redemption and do
   that which will afford ground for boasting and self-satisfaction.

   But if this doctrine humbles us it results in praise to God. If, in the
   light of God's Sovereignty, we have seen our own worthlessness and
   helplessness we shall indeed cry with the Psalmist "All my springs are
   in Thee" (Psa. 87:7). If by nature we were "children of wrath," and by
   practice rebels against the Divine government and justly exposed to the
   "curse" of the Law, and if God was under no obligation to rescue us
   from the fiery indignation and yet, notwithstanding, He delivered up
   His well-beloved Son for us all; then how such grace and love will melt
   our hearts, how the apprehension of it will cause us to say in adoring
   gratitude "Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto Thy name give
   glory, for Thy mercy, and for Thy truth's sake" (Psa. 115:1). How
   readily shall each of us acknowledge "By the grace of God I am what I
   am! With what wondering praise shall we exclaim-


   "Why was I made to hear His voice,

   And enter while there's room,

   When thousands make a wretched choice,

   And rather starve than come?

   'Twas the same love that spread the feast,

   That sweetly forced us in;

   Else we had still refused to taste

   And perished in our sin."

   5. IT AFFORDS A SENSE OF ABSOLUTE SECURITY.

   God is infinite in power and therefore it is impossible to withstand
   His will or resist the outworking of His decrees. Such a statement as
   that is well calculated to fill the sinner with alarm, but from the
   saint it evokes naught but praise. Let us add a word and see what a
   difference it makes: My God is infinite in power! then "I will not fear
   what man can do unto me." My God is infinite in power, then "what time
   I am afraid I will trust in Him." My God is infinite in power, then I
   will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: "for Thou, LORD, only makest
   me dwell in safety" (Psa. 4:8). Right down the ages this has been the
   source of the saints' confidence. Was not this the assurance of Moses
   when, in his parting words to Israel, he said "There is none like unto
   the God of Jeshurun (Israel), who rideth upon the Heaven in Thy help,
   and in His excellency on the sky. The eternal God is thy refuge, and
   underneath are the everlasting arms" (Deut. 33:26, 27)? Was it not this
   sense of security that caused the Psalmist, moved by the Holy Spirit to
   write "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall
   abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the LORD, He is
   my refuge and my fortress, my God: in Him will I trust. Surely He shall
   deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome
   pestilence. He shall cover thee with His feathers, and under His wings
   shalt thou trust: His truth shall be thy shield and buckler: Thou shalt
   not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by
   day; Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the
   destruction that wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side,
   and ten thousand at thy right band, but it shall not come nigh thee.
   Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the Most High
   thy Habitation; There shall no evil befall thee (instead, all things
   will work together for good), neither shall any plague come nigh thy
   dwelling" (Psa. 91:1-7, 9-10)?


   "Death and plagues around me fly,

   Till He bid, I cannot die;

   Not a single shaft can hit,

   Till the God of love sees fit."

   Oh the preciousness of this truth! Here am I, a poor, helpless,
   senseless "sheep," yet am I secure in the hand of Christ. And why am I
   secure there? None can pluck me thence because the hand that holds me
   is that of the Son of God, and all power in Heaven and earth is His!
   Again; I have no strength of my own: the world, the flesh, and the
   Devil, are arrayed against me so I commit myself into the care and
   keeping of the Lord and say with the Apostle "I know Whom I have
   believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have
   committed unto Him against that day" (2 Tim. 1:12). And what is the
   ground of my confidence? How do I know that He is able to keep that
   which I have committed unto Him? I know it because God is almighty, the
   King of kings and Lord of lords.

   6. IT SUPPLIES COMFORT IN SORROW.

   The doctrine of God's Sovereignty is one that is full of consolation
   and imparts great peace to the Christian. The Sovereignty of God is a
   foundation that nothing can shake and is more firm than the heavens and
   earth. How blessed to know there is no corner of the universe that is
   out of His reach! as said the Psalmist, "Whither shall I go from Thy
   Spirit? or whither shall I flee from Thy presence? If I ascend up into
   Heaven, Thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, Thou art
   there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost
   parts of the sea; even there shall Thy hand lead me, and Thy right hand
   shall hold me. If I say surely the darkness shall cover me; even the
   night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from Thee;
   but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both
   alike to Thee" (Psa. 139:7-12). How blessed it is to know that God's
   strong hand is upon every one and every thing! How blessed to know that
   not a sparrow falleth to the ground without His notice!

   How blessed to know that our very afflictions come not by chance, nor
   from the Devil, but are ordained and ordered by God: "That no man
   should be moved by these afflictions: for yourselves know that we are
   appointed thereunto" (1 Thess. 3:3)!

   But our God is not only infinite in power. He is infinite in wisdom and
   goodness too. And herein is the preciousness of this truth. God wills
   only that which is good and His will is irreversible and irresistible!
   God is too wise to err and too loving to cause His child a needless
   tear. Therefore if God be perfect wisdom and perfect goodness how
   blessed is the assurance that everything is in His hand and moulded by
   His will according to His eternal purpose! "Behold, He taketh away, who
   can hinder Him? who will say unto Him what doest Thou?" (Job 9:12).
   Yet, how comforting to learn that it is "He," and not the Devil, who
   "taketh away" our loved ones! Ah! what peace for our poor frail hearts
   to be told that the number of our days is with Him (Job 7:1; 14:5);
   that disease and death are His messengers and always march under His
   orders; that it is the Lord who gives and the Lord who takes away!

   7. IT BEGETS A SPIRIT OF SWEET RESIGNATION.

   To bow before the Sovereign will of God is one of the great secrets of
   peace and happiness. There can be no real submission with contentment
   until we are broken in spirit, that is, until we are willing and glad
   for the Lord to have His way with us. Not that we are insisting upon a
   spirit of fatalistic acquiescence: far from it. The saints are exhorted
   to "prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God"
   (Rom. 12:2).

   We touched upon this subject of resignation to God's will in the
   chapter upon our Attitude toward God's Sovereignty, and there, in
   addition to the supreme Pattern, we cited the examples of Eli and Job:
   we would now supplement their cases with further examples. What a word
   is that in Leviticus 10:3 "And Aaron held his peace." Look at the
   circumstances: "And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of
   them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and
   offered strange fire before the Lord, which He commanded them not. And
   there went out fire from the Lord, and devoured them, and they died
   before the Lord... And Aaron held his peace." Two of the high priests'
   sons were slain, slain by a visitation of Divine judgement, and they
   were probably intoxicated at the time; moreover, this trial came upon
   Aaron suddenly, without anything to prepare him for it; yet he "held
   his peace." Precious exemplification of the power of God's
   all-sufficient grace!

   Consider now an utterance which fell from the lips of David: "And the
   king said unto Zadok, Carry back the ark of God into the city: if I
   shall find favour in the eyes of the Lord, He will bring me again, and
   shew me both it, and His habitation. But if He thus say, I have no
   delight in thee; behold, here am I, let Him do to me as seemeth good
   unto Him" (2 Sam. 15:25, 26). Here, to, the circumstances which
   confronted the speaker were exceedingly trying to the human heart.
   David was sore pressed with sorrow. His own son was driving him from
   the throne and seeking his very life. Whether he would ever see
   Jerusalem and the Tabernacle again he knew not. But he was so yielded
   up to God, he was so fully assured that His will was best, that even
   though it meant the loss of the throne and the loss of his life he was
   content for Him to have His way-"let Him do to me as seemeth Him good."

   There is no need to multiply examples, but a reflection upon the last
   case will be in place. If amid the shadows of the Old Testament
   dispensation David was content for the Lord to have His way, now that
   the heart of God has been fully revealed at the Cross how much more
   ought we to delight in the execution of His will! Surely we shall have
   no hesitation in saying-

   "Ill that He blesses is our good,
   And unblest good is ill,
   And all is right that seems most wrong,
   If it be His sweet will."

   8. IT EVOKES A SONG OF PRAISE.

   It could not be otherwise. Why should I, who am by nature no different
   from the careless and godless throngs all around, have been chosen in
   Christ before the foundation of the world and now blest with all
   spiritual blessings in the heavenlies in Him! Why was I, that once was
   an alien and a rebel, singled out for such wondrous favours! Ah! that
   is something I cannot fathom. Such grace, such love, "passeth
   knowledge." But if my mind is unable to discern a reason my heart can
   express its gratitude in praise and adoration. But not only should I be
   grateful to God for His grace toward me in the past, His present
   dealings will fill me with thanksgiving. What is the force of that word
   "Rejoice in the Lord alway" (Phil. 4:4)? Mark it is not "Rejoice in the
   Saviour," but we are to "Rejoice in the Lord" as "Lord," as the Master
   of every circumstance. Need we remind the reader that when the Apostle
   penned these words he was himself a prisoner in the hands of the Roman
   government. A long course of affliction and suffering lay behind him.
   Perils on land and perils on sea, hunger and thirst, scourging and
   stoning, had all been experienced. He had been persecuted by those
   within the church as well as by those without: the very ones who ought
   to have stood by him had forsaken him. And still he writes, "Rejoice in
   the Lord alway"! What was the secret of his peace and happiness? Ah!
   had not this same Apostle written "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" (Rom. 8:28)? But how did he, and how do we,
   "know" that all things work together for good? The answer is, Because
   all things are under the control of and are being regulated by the
   Supreme Sovereign, and because He has naught but thoughts of love
   toward His own, then "all things" are so ordered by Him that they are
   made to minister to our ultimate good. It is for this cause we are to
   give "thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name
   of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Eph. 5:20). Yes, give thanks for "all
   things" for, as it has been well said "Our disappointments are but His
   appointments." To the one who delights in the Sovereignty of God the
   clouds not only have a 'silver lining' but they are silver all through,
   the darkness only serving to offset the light-

   "Ye fearful saints fresh courage take
   The clouds ye so much dread,
   Are big with mercy and shall break
   In blessings o'er your head."

   9. IT GUARANTEES THE FINAL TRIUMPH OF GOOD OVER EVIL.

   Ever since the day that Cain slew Abel, the conflict on earth between
   good and evil has been a sore problem to the saints. In every age the
   righteous have appeared to defy God with impunity. The Lord's people,
   for the most part, have been poor in this world's good whereas the
   wicked in their temporal prosperity have flourished like the green bay
   tree. As one looks around and beholds the oppression of believers and
   the earthly success of unbelievers, and notes how few are the former
   and how numerous the latter; as he sees the apparent defeat of the
   right and the triumphing of might and the wrong; as he hears the roar
   of battle, the cries of the wounded, and the lamentations of the
   bereaved; as he discovers that almost everything down here is in
   confusion, chaos, and ruins, it seems as though Satan were getting the
   better of the conflict. But as one looks above, instead of around,
   there is plainly visible to the eye of faith a Throne, a Throne
   unaffected by the storms of earth, a Throne that is "set," stable and
   secure; and upon it is seated One whose name is the Almighty, and who
   "worketh all things after the counsel of His own will" (Eph. 1:11).
   This then is our confidence-God is on the Throne. The helm is in His
   hand, and being Almighty His purpose cannot fail for "He is in one
   mind, and who can turn Him? and what His soul desireth, even that He
   doeth" (Job. 23:13). Though God's governing hand is invisible to the
   eye of sense it is real to faith, that faith which rests with sure
   confidence upon His Word, and therefore is assured He cannot fail. What
   follows below is from the pen of our brother, Mr. A. C. Gaebelein.

   "There can be no failure with God. '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?"
   (Num. 23:19). All will be accomplished. The promise made to His own
   beloved people to come for them and take them from hence to glory will
   not fail. He will surely come and gather them in His own presence. The
   solemn words spoken to the nations of the earth by the different
   prophets will also not fail. 'Come near, ye nations, to hear; and
   hearken, ye people: let the earth hear, and all that is therein; the
   world, and all things that come forth of it. For the indignation of the
   LORD is upon all nations, and His fury upon all their armies: He hath
   utterly destroyed them, He hath delivered them to the slaughter' (Isa.
   34:1, 2). Nor will that day fail in which 'the lofty looks of man shall
   be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the
   LORD alone shall be exalted' (Isa. 2:11). The day in which He is
   manifested, when His glory shall cover the heavens and His feet will
   stand again upon this earth, will surely come. His kingdom will not
   fail, nor all the promised events connected with the end of the age and
   the consummation.

   "In these dark and trying times how well it is to remember that He is
   on the throne, the throne which cannot be shaken, and that He will not
   fail in doing all He has spoken and promised. 'Seek ye out of the book
   of the LORD, and read: No one of these shall fail' (Isa. 34:16). In
   believing, blessed anticipation, we can look on to the glory-time when
   His Word and His Will is accomplished, when through the coming of the
   Prince of Peace, righteousness and peace comes at last. And while we
   wait for the supreme and blessed moment when His promise to us is
   accomplished, we trust Him, walking in His fellowship and daily find
   afresh, that He does not fail to sustain and keep us in all our ways."

   10. IT PROVIDES A RESTING-PLACE FOR THE HEART.

   Much that might have been said here has already been anticipated under
   previous heads. The One seated upon the Throne of Heaven, the One who
   is Governor over the nations and who has ordained and now regulates all
   events, is infinite not only in power but in wisdom and goodness as
   well. He who is Lord over all creation is the One that was "manifest in
   the flesh" (1 Tim. 3:16). Ah! here is a theme no human pen can do
   justice to. The glory of God consists not merely in that He is Highest,
   but in that being high He stooped in lowly love to bear the burden of
   His own sinful creatures, for it is written "God was in Christ,
   reconciling the world unto Himself" (2 Cor. 5:19). The Church of God
   was purchased "with His own Blood" (Acts 20:28). It is upon the
   gracious self-humiliation of the King Himself that His kingdom is
   established. O wondrous Cross! By it He who suffered upon it has become
   not the Lord of our destinies (He was that before), but the Lord of our
   hearts. Therefore, it is not in abject terror that we bow before the
   Supreme Sovereign, but in adoring worship we cry "Worthy is the Lamb
   that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength,
   and honour, and glory, and blessing" (Rev. 5:12).

   Here then is the refutation of the wicked charge that this doctrine is
   a horrible calumny upon God and dangerous to expound to His people. Can
   a doctrine be "horrible" and "dangerous" that gives God His true place,
   that maintains His rights, that magnifies His grace, that ascribes all
   glory to Him and removes every ground of boasting from the creature?
   Can a doctrine be "horrible" and "dangerous" which affords the saints a
   sense of security in danger, that supplies them comfort in sorrow, that
   begets patience within them in adversity, that evokes from them praise
   at all times? Can a doctrine be "horrible" and "dangerous" which
   assures us of the certain triumph of good over evil, and which provides
   a sure resting-place for our hearts, and that place, the perfections of
   the Sovereign Himself? No; a thousand times, no! Instead of being
   "horrible and dangerous" this doctrine of the Sovereignty of God is
   glorious and edifying, and a due apprehension of it will but serve to
   make us exclaim with Moses, "Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the
   gods? who is like Thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing
   wonders?" (Exo. 15:11).
     __________________________________________________________________

CONCLUSION

   "Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth"
   (Rev. 19:6).

   In our Foreword to the Second Edition we acknowledge the need for
   preserving the balance of Truth. Two things are beyond dispute: God is
   Sovereign, man is responsible. In this book we have sought to expound
   the former; in our other works we have frequently pressed the latter.
   That there is real danger of over-emphasising the one and ignoring the
   other, we readily admit; yea, history furnishes numerous examples of
   cases of each. To emphasise the Sovereignty of God without also
   maintaining the accountability of the creature tends to fatalism; to be
   so concerned in maintaining the responsibility of man as to lose sight
   of the Sovereignty of God is to exalt the creature and dishonour the
   Creator.

   Almost all doctrinal error is really, Truth perverted, Truth wrongfully
   divided, Truth disproportionately held and taught. The fairest face on
   earth, with the most comely features, would soon become ugly and
   unsightly if one member continued growing while the others remained
   undeveloped. Beauty is, primarily, a matter of proportion. Thus it is
   with the Word of God: its beauty and blessedness are best perceived
   when its manifold wisdom is exhibited in its true proportions. Here is
   where so many have failed in the past. A single phase of God's Truth
   has so impressed this man or that he has concentrated his attention
   upon it, almost to the exclusion of everything else. Some portion of
   God's Word has been made a "pet doctrine," and often this has become
   the distinctive badge of some party. But it is the duty of each servant
   of God to "declare all the counsel of God" (Acts 20:27).

   It is true that the degenerate days in which our lot is cast, when on
   every side man is exalted and "superman" has become a common
   expression, there is real need for a special emphasis upon the glorious
   fact of God's supremacy. The more so where this is expressly denied.
   Yet even here much wisdom is required lest our zeal should not be
   "according to knowledge." The words "meat in due season" should ever be
   before the servant of God. What is needed, primarily, by one
   congregation may not be specifically needed by another. If called to
   labour where Arminian preachers have preceded, then the neglected truth
   of God's Sovereignty should be expounded, though with caution and care
   lest too much "strong meat" be given to "babes." The example of Christ
   in John 16:12 "I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot
   bear them now," must be borne in mind. On the other hand, if I am
   called to take charge of a distinctly Calvinistic pulpit, then the
   truth of human responsibility (in its many aspects) may be profitably
   set forth. What the preacher needs to give out is not what his people
   most like to hear, but what they most need, i.e., those aspects of
   truth they are least familiar with, or least exhibiting in their walk.

   To carry into actual practice what we have inculcated above will, most
   probably, lay the preacher open to the charge of being a Turncoat. But
   what matters that if he has his Master's approval? He is not called
   upon to be "consistent" with himself nor with any rules drawn up by
   man; his business is to be consistent with Holy Writ. And in Scripture
   each part or aspect of Truth is balanced by another aspect of Truth.
   There are two sides to everything, even to the character of God for He
   is "light" (1 John 1:5) as well as "love" (1 John 4:8), and therefore
   are we called upon to "Behold therefore the goodness and severity of
   God" (Rom. 11:22). To be all the time preaching on the one to the
   exclusion of the other caricatures the Divine character.

   When the Son of God became incarnate He came here in "the form of a
   servant" (Phil. 2:7); nevertheless, in the manger He was "Christ the
   Lord" (Luke 2:11)! All things are possible with God (Matt. 19:26) yet
   God "cannot lie" (Titus 1:2). Scripture says "Bear ye one another's
   burdens" (Gal. 6:2), yet the same chapter insists "every man shall bear
   his own burden" (Gal. 6:5). We are enjoined to take "no thought for the
   morrow" (Matt. 6:34), yet "if any provide not for his own, and
   specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is
   worse than an infidel" (1 Tim. 5:8). No sheep of Christ's can perish
   (John 10:28, 29), yet the Christian is bidden to make his "calling and
   election sure" (2 Peter 1:10). And so we might go on multiplying
   illustrations. These things are not contradictions but complementaries:
   the one "balances the other." Thus, the Scriptures set forth both the
   Sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man. So, too, should every
   servant of God, and that, in their proper proportion.

   But we return now to a few closing reflections upon our present theme,
   "And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem, in
   the house of the LORD, before the new court, and said, ) 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?" (2 Chron. 20:5, 6).
   Yes, the Lord is God, ruling in supreme majesty and might. Yet in our
   day, a day of boasted enlightenment and progress, this is denied on
   every hand. A materialistic science and atheistic philosophy have bowed
   God out of His own world, and everything is regulated, forsooth, by
   (impersonal) laws of Nature. So in human affairs: at best God is a
   far-distant spectator, and a helpless one at that. God could not help
   the launching of the dreadful war, and though He longed to put a stop
   to it He was unable to do so-and this in the face of 1 Chronicles 5:22;
   2 Chronicles 24:24! Having endowed man with "free agency" God is
   obliged to let man make his own choice and go his own way, and He
   cannot interfere with him, or otherwise his moral responsibility would
   be destroyed! Such are the popular beliefs of the day. One is not
   surprised to find these sentiments emanating from German theologians,
   but how sad that they should be taught in many of our Seminaries,
   echoed from many of our pulpits, and accepted by many of the rank and
   file of professing Christians.

   One of the most flagrant sins of our age is that of irreverence-the
   failure to ascribe the glory which is due the august majesty of God.
   Men limit the power and activities of the Lord in their degrading
   concepts of His being and character. Originally, man was made in the
   image and likeness of God, but today we are asked to believe in a god
   made in the image and likeness of man. The Creator is reduced to the
   level of the creature: His omniscience is called into question, His
   omnipotency is no longer believed in, and His absolute Sovereignty is
   flatly denied. Men claim to be the architects of their own fortunes and
   the determiners of their own destiny. They know not that their lives
   are at the disposal of the Divine Despot. They know not they have no
   more power to thwart His secret decrees than a worm has to resist the
   tread of an elephant. They know not that "The LORD hath prepared His
   throne in the heavens; and His kingdom ruleth over all" (Psa. 103:19).

   In the foregoing pages we have sought to repudiate such paganistic
   views as the above-mentioned, and have endeavoured to show from
   Scripture that God is God, on the Throne, and that so far from the
   recent war being an evidence that the helm had slipped out of His hand
   it was a sure proof that He still lives and reigns, and is now bringing
   to pass that which He had fore-determined and fore-announced (Matt.
   24:6-8 etc.). That the carnal mind is enmity against God, that the
   unregenerate man is a rebel against the Divine government, that the
   sinner has no concern for the glory of his Maker, and little or no
   respect for His revealed will, is freely granted. But, nevertheless,
   behind the scenes God is ruling and over-ruling, fulfilling His eternal
   purpose, not only in spite of but also by means of those who are His
   enemies.

   How earnestly are the claims of man contended for against the claims of
   God! Has not man power and knowledge, but what of it? Has God no will,
   or power, or knowledge? Suppose man's will conflicts with God's, then
   what? Turn to the Scripture of Truth for answer. Men had a will on the
   plains of Shinar and determined to build a tower whose top should reach
   unto Heaven, but what came of their purpose? Pharaoh had a will when He
   hardened his heart and Pharaoh refused to allow Jehovah's people to go
   and worship Him in the wilderness, but what came of his rebellion?
   Balak had a will when he hired Balaam to come and curse the Hebrews,
   but of what avail was it? The Canaanites had a will when they
   determined to prevent Israel occupying the land of Canaan, but how far
   did they succeed? Saul had a will when he hurled his javelin at David,
   but it entered the wall instead! Jonah had a will when he refused to go
   and preach to the Ninevites, but what came of it? Nebuchadnezzar had a
   will when he thought to destroy the three Hebrew children, but God had
   a will too, and the fire did not harm them. Herod had a will when he
   sought to slay the Child Jesus, and had there been no living, reigning
   God, his evil desire would have been effected: but in daring to pit his
   puny will against the irresistible will of the Almighty his efforts
   came to nought. Yes, my reader, and you, too, had a will when you
   formed your plans without first seeking counsel of the Lord, therefore
   did He overturn them! "There are many devices in a man's heart;
   nevertheless the counsel of LORD, that shall stand" (Prov. 19:21).

   What a demonstration of the irresistible Sovereignty of God is
   furnished by that wonderful statement found in Revelation 17:17: "For
   God hath put in their hearts to fulfil His will, and to agree, and give
   their kingdom unto the Beast, until the words of God shall be
   fulfilled." The fulfilment of any single prophecy is but the
   Sovereignty of God in operation. It is the demonstration that what He
   has decreed He is able also to perform. It is proof that none can
   withstand the execution of His counsel or prevent the accomplishment of
   His pleasure. It is evidence that God inclines men to fulfil that which
   He has ordained and perform that which He has fore-determined. If God
   were not absolute Sovereign then Divine prophecy would be valueless,
   for in such case no guarantee would be left that what He had predicted
   would surely come to pass.

   "For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil His will, and to agree, and
   give their kingdom unto the Beast, until the words of God shall be
   fulfilled" (Rev. 17:17). We can not do better than quote here the
   excellent comments of our esteemed friend, Mr. Walter Scott, upon this
   verse-"God works unseen, but not the less truly, in all the political
   changes of the day. The astute statesman, the clever diplomatist, is
   simply an agent in the Lord's hands. He knows it not. Self-will and
   motives of policy may influence to action, but God is steadily working
   toward an end-to exhibit the heavenly and earthly glories of His Son.
   Thus, instead of kings and statesmen thwarting God's purpose, they
   unconsciously forward it. God is not indifferent, but is behind the
   scenes of human action. The doings of the future ten kings in relation
   to Babylon and the Beast-the ecclesiastical and secular powers-are not
   only under the direct control of God, but all is done in fulfilment of
   His words."

   Closely connected with Revelation 17:17 is that which is brought before
   us in Micah 4:11, 12: "Now also many nations are gathered against thee,
   that say, Let her be defiled, and let our eye look upon Zion. But they
   know not the thoughts of the LORD, neither understand they His counsel:
   for He shall gather them as sheaves into the floor." This is another
   remarkable statement, inspired of God, and three things in it deserve
   special notice. First, a day is coming when "many nations" shall
   "gather against" Israel with the express purpose of humiliating her.
   Second, quite unconsciously to themselves-for they "understand not" His
   counsel-they are "gathered" together by God, for "He shall gather
   them." Third, God gathers these "many nations" against Israel in order
   that the daughter of Zion may "beat them in pieces" (v. 13). Here then
   is another instance which demonstrates God's absolute control of the
   nations, of His power to fulfil His secret counsel or decrees through
   and by them, and of His inclining men to perform His pleasure though it
   be performed blindly and unwittingly by them.

   Once more. What a word was that of the Lord Jesus as He stood before
   Pilate! Who can depict the scene! There was the Roman official, and
   there also was the Servant of Jehovah standing before him. Said Pilate,
   "Whence art Thou?" And we read "Jesus gave him no answer." Then said
   Pilate unto Him "Speakest Thou not unto me? Knowest Thou not that I
   have power to crucify Thee, and have power to release Thee?" (John
   19:10). Ah! that is what Pilate thought. That is what many another has
   thought. He was merely voicing the common conviction of the human
   heart, the heart which leaves God out of its reckoning. But hear the
   Lord Jesus as He corrects Pilate, and at the same time repudiates the
   proud boasting of men in general: "thou couldest have no power against
   Me, except it were given thee from above" (John 19:11). How sweeping is
   this assertion! Man-even though he be a prominent official in the most
   influential empire of his day-has no power except that which is given
   him from above, no power, even, to do that which is evil, i.e., carry
   out his own evil designs unless God empowers him so that His purpose
   may be forwarded. It was God who gave Pilate the power to sentence to
   death His well-beloved Son! And how this rebukes the sophistries and
   reasonings of men who argue that God does nothing more than permit
   evil! Why, go right back to the very first words spoken by the Lord God
   to man after the Fall and hear Him saying "I will put ENMITY between
   thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed" (Gen. 3:15)!
   Bare permission of sin does not cover all the facts which are revealed
   in Scripture touching this mystery. As Calvin succinctly remarked "But
   what reason shall we assign for His permitting it but because it is His
   will?"

   At the close of Chapter Eleven we promised to give attention to one or
   two other difficulties which were not examined at that time. To them we
   now turn. If God has not only predetermined the salvation of His own
   but has also foreordained the good works which they are to walk in
   (Eph. 2:10), then what incentive remains for us to strive after
   practical godliness? If God has fixed the number of those who are to be
   saved, and the others are vessels of wrath fitted to destruction, then
   what encouragement have we to preach the Gospel to the lost? Let us
   take up these questions in the order of mention.

   1. GOD'S SOVEREIGNTY AND THE BELIEVER'S GROWTH IN GRACE.

   If God has foreordained everything that comes to pass, of what avail is
   it for us to "exercise" ourselves "unto godliness" (1 Tim. 4:7)? If God
   has before ordained the good works in which we are to walk (Eph. 2:10)
   then why should we be "careful to maintain good works" (Titus 3:8)?
   This only raises once more the problem of human responsibility. Really,
   it should be enough for us to reply, God has bidden us do so. Nowhere
   does Scripture inculcate or encourage a spirit of fatalistic
   indifference. Contentment with our present attainments is expressly
   disallowed. The word to every believer is "Press toward the mark for
   the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 3:14).
   This was the Apostle's aim, and it should be ours. Instead of hindering
   the development of Christian character, a proper apprehension and
   appreciation of God's Sovereignty will forward it. Just as the sinner's
   despair of any help from himself is the first prerequisite of a sound
   conversion, so the loss of all confidence in himself is the first
   essential in the believer's growth in grace; and just as the sinner
   despairing of help from himself will cast him into the arms of
   Sovereign mercy so the Christian, conscious of his own frailty, will
   turn unto the Lord for power. It is when we are weak we are strong (2
   Cor. 12:10): that is to say, there must be consciousness of our
   weakness before we shall turn to the Lord for help. While the Christian
   allows the thought that he is sufficient in himself, while he imagines
   that by mere force of will he shall resist temptation, while he has any
   confidence in the flesh then, like Peter who boasted that though all
   forsook the Lord yet should not he, so we shall certainly fail and
   fall. Apart from Christ we can do nothing (John 15:5). The promise of
   God is "He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might
   (of their own) He increaseth strength" (Isa. 40:29).

   The question now before us is of great practical importance, and we are
   deeply anxious to express ourselves clearly and simply. The secret of
   development of Christian character is the realisation of our own
   powerlessness, acknowledged powerlessness, and the consequent turning
   unto the Lord for help. The plain fact is that of ourselves we cannot
   do this, or make ourselves do it. "In nothing be anxious"-but who can
   avoid and prevent anxiety when things go wrong? "Awake to righteousness
   and sin not"-but who can help sinning? These are merely examples
   selected at random from scores of others. Does then God mock us by
   biding us do what He knows we are unable to do? The answer of Augustine
   to this question is the best we have met with-"God gives commands we
   cannot perform, that we may know what we ought to request from Him." A
   consciousness of our powerlessness should cast us upon Him who has all
   power. Here then is where a vision and view of God's Sovereignty helps,
   for it reveals His sufficiency and shows us our insufficiency.

   2. GOD'S SOVEREIGNTY AND CHRISTIAN SERVICE.

   If God has determined before the foundation of the world the precise
   number of those who shall be saved then why should we concern ourselves
   about the eternal destiny of those with whom we come into contact? What
   place is left for zeal in Christian service? Will not the doctrine of
   God's Sovereignty, and its corollary of predestination, discourage the
   Lord's servants from faithfulness in evangelism? No; instead of
   discouraging His servants a recognition of God's Sovereignty is most
   encouraging to them. Here is one, for example, who is called upon to do
   the work of an evangelist, and he goes forth believing in the freedom
   of the will and in the sinner's own ability to come to Christ. He
   preaches the Gospel as faithfully and zealously as he knows how; but he
   finds the vast majority of his hearers are utterly indifferent and have
   no heart at all for Christ. He discovers that men are, for the most
   part, thoroughly wrapped up in the things of the world, and that few
   have any concern about the world to come. He beseeches men to be
   reconciled to God and pleads with them over their soul's salvation. But
   it is of no avail. He becomes thoroughly disheartened and asks himself,
   What is the use of it all? Shall he quit, or had he better change his
   mission and message? If men will not respond to the Gospel, had he not
   better engage in that which is more popular and acceptable to the
   world? Why not occupy himself with humanitarian efforts, with social
   uplift work, with the purity campaign? Alas! that so many men who once
   preached the Gospel are now engaged in these activities instead.

   What then is God's corrective for His discouraged servant? First, he
   needs to learn from Scripture that God is not now seeking to convert
   the world, but that in this Age He is "taking out of the Gentiles" a
   people for His name (Acts 15:14). What then is God's corrective for His
   discouraged servant? This: a proper apprehension of God's plan for this
   Dispensation. Again: what is God's remedy for dejection at apparent
   failure in our labours? This: the assurance that God's purpose cannot
   fail, that God's plans cannot miscarry, that God's will must be done.
   Our labours are not intended to bring about that which God has not
   decreed. Once more: what is God's word of cheer for the one who is
   thoroughly disheartened at the lack of response to his appeals and the
   absence of fruit, for his labours? This: that we are not responsible
   for results: that is God's side, and God's business. Paul may "plant,"
   and Apollos may "water," but it is God who "gave the increase" (1 Cor.
   3:6). Our business is to obey Christ and preach the Gospel to every
   creature, to emphasise the "Whosoever believeth" and then to leave the
   Sovereign operations of the Holy Spirit to apply the Word in quickening
   power to whom He wills, resting on the sure promise of Jehovah: "For as
   the rain cometh down, and the snow from Heaven, and returneth not
   thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud,
   that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall My
   Word be that goeth forth out of My mouth: it shall not return unto Me
   void, but it shall accomplish that which I please (it may not be that
   which we please), and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it"
   (Isa. 55:10, 11). Was it not this assurance that sustained the beloved
   Apostle when he declared "Therefore (see context) I endure all things
   for the elect's sake" (2 Tim. 2:10)! Yea, is not this same lesson to be
   learned from the blessed example of the Lord Jesus! When we read that
   He said to the people "Ye also have seen Me, and believe not," He fell
   back upon the Sovereign pleasure of the One who sent Him, saying "All
   that the Father giveth Me shall come to Me, and him that cometh to Me I
   will in no wise cast out" (John 6:37). He knew that His labour would
   not be in vain. He knew God's Word would not return unto Him "void." He
   knew that "God's elect" would come to Him and believe on Him. And this
   same assurance fills the soul of every servant who intelligently rests
   upon the blessed truth of God's Sovereignty.

   Ah, fellow-Christian-worker, God has not sent us forth to "draw a bow
   at a venture." The success of the ministry which He has committed into
   our hands is not left contingent on the fickleness of the wills in
   those to whom we preach. How gloriously encouraging, how
   soul-sustaining the assurance are those words of our Lord's if we rest
   on them in simple faith: "And other sheep I have ("have" mark you, not
   "will have"; "have" because given to Him by the Father before the
   foundation of the world), which are not of this fold (i.e. the Jewish
   fold then existing): them also I must bring, and they shall hear My
   voice" (John 10:16). Not simply, "they ought to hear My voice," not
   simply "they may hear My voice," not "they will if they are willing."
   There is no "if," no uncertainty about it. "They shall hear My voice"
   is His own positive, unqualified, absolute promise. Here then is where
   faith is to rest! Continue your quest, dear friend, after the "other
   sheep" of Christ's. Be not discouraged because the "goats" heed not His
   voice as you preach the Gospel. Be faithful, be scriptural, be
   persevering, and Christ may use even you to be His mouthpiece in
   calling some of His lost sheep unto Himself. "Therefore, my beloved
   brethren, be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of
   the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the
   Lord" (1 Cor. 15:58).

   It now remains for us to offer a few closing reflections and our happy
   task is finished.

   God's Sovereign election of certain ones to salvation is a MERCIFUL
   provision. The sufficient answer to all the wicked accusations that the
   doctrine of Predestination is cruel, horrible, and unjust, is that
   unless God had chosen certain ones to salvation none would have been
   saved, for "there is none that seeketh after God" (Rom. 3:11). This is
   no mere inference of ours but the definite teaching of Holy Scripture.
   Attend closely to the words of the Apostle in Romans 9 where this theme
   is fully discussed: "Though the number of the children of Israel be as
   the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved... And as Esaias (Isaiah)
   said before, Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we had been
   as Sodom, and been made like unto Gomorrah" (Rom. 9:27, 29). The
   teaching of this passage is unmistakable: but for Divine interference
   Israel would have become as Sodom and Gomorrah. Had God left Israel
   alone human depravity would have run its course to its own tragic end.
   But God left Israel a "remnant" or "seed." Of old the cities of the
   plain had been obliterated for their sin and none was left to survive
   them; and so it would have been in Israel's case had not God "left" or
   spared a remnant. Thus it is with the human race: but for God's
   Sovereign grace in sparing a remnant all of Adam's descendants had
   perished in their sins. Therefore, we say that God's Sovereign election
   of certain ones to salvation is a merciful provision. And, be it noted,
   in choosing the ones He did God did no injustice to the others who were
   passed by, for none had any right to salvation. Salvation is by grace,
   and the exercise of grace is a matter of pure Sovereignty-God might
   save all or none, many or few, one or ten thousand, just as He saw
   best. Should it be replied, But surely it were "best" to save all, the
   answer would be: We are not capable of judging. We might have thought
   it "best" never to have created Satan, never to have allowed sin to
   enter the world, or having entered to have brought the conflict between
   good and evil to an end long before now. Ah! God's ways are not ours,
   and His ways are "past finding out."

   God foreordains everything which comes to pass. His Sovereign rule
   extends throughout the entire Universe and is over every creature. "For
   of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things" (Rom. 11:36). God
   initiates all things, regulates all things, and all things are working
   unto His eternal glory. "There is but one God, the Father, of whom are
   all things, and we in Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all
   things, and we by Him" (1 Cor. 8:6). And again, "According to the
   purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of His own
   will" (Eph. 1:11). Surely if anything could be ascribed to chance it is
   the drawing of lots, and yet the Word of God expressly declares "The
   lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the
   LORD" (Prov. 16:33)!

   God's wisdom in the government of our world shall yet be completely
   vindicated before all created intelligences. God is no idle Spectator,
   looking on from a distant world at the happenings, on our earth, but is
   Himself shaping everything to the ultimate promotion of His own glory.
   Even now He is working out His eternal purpose, not only in spite of
   human and Satanic opposition but by means of them. How wicked and
   futile have been all efforts to resist His will shall one day be as
   fully evident as when of old He overthrew the rebellious Pharaoh and
   his hosts at the Red Sea.

   It has been well said "The end and object of all is the glory of God.
   It is perfectly, divinely true, that 'God hath ordained for His own
   glory whatsoever comes to pass.' In order to guard this from all
   possibility of mistake, we have only to remember who is this God, and
   what the glory that He seeks. It is He who is the God and Father of our
   Lord Jesus Christ-of Him in whom divine love came seeking not her own,
   among us as 'One that serveth.' It is He who, sufficient in Himself,
   can receive no real accession of glory from His creatures, but from
   whom-'Love,' as He is 'Light'-cometh down every good and every perfect
   gift, in whom is no variableness nor shadow of turning. Of His own
   alone can His creatures give to Him."

   "The glory of such an one is found in the display of His own goodness,
   righteousness, holiness, truth; in manifesting Himself as in Christ He
   has manifested Himself and will forever. The glory of this God is what
   of necessity all things must serve-adversaries and evil as well as all
   else. He has ordained it; His power will insure it; and when all
   apparent clouds and obstructions are removed, then shall He rest-'rest
   in His love' forever, although eternity only will suffice for the
   apprehension of the revelation. 'God shall be all in all' (italics ours
   throughout this paragraph) gives in six words the ineffable result" (F.
   W. Grant on "Atonement").

   That what we have written gives but an incomplete and imperfect
   presentation of this most important subject we must sorrowfully
   confess. Nevertheless, if it results in a clearer apprehension of the
   majesty of God and His Sovereign mercy we shall be amply repaid for our
   labours. If the reader has received blessing from the perusal of these
   pages let him not fail to return thanks to the Giver of every good and
   every perfect gift, ascribing all praise to His inimitable and
   Sovereign grace.


   "The Lord, our God, is clothed with might,

   The winds and waves obey His will;

   He speaks, and in the shining height

   The sun and rolling worlds stand still.

   Rebel ye waves, and o'er the land

   With threatening aspect foam and roar,

   The Lord hath spoken His command

   That breaks your rage upon the shore.

   Ye winds of night, your force combine-

   Without His holy high behest

   You shall not in a mountain pine

   Disturb the little swallow's nest.

   His voice sublime is heard afar;

   In distant peals it fades and dies;

   He binds the cyclone to His car

   And sweeps the howling murky skies.

   Great God! how infinite art Thou,

   What weak and worthless worms are we,

   Let all the race of creatures bow

   And seek salvation now from Thee.

   Eternity, with all its years

   Stands ever-present to Thy view,

   To Thee there's nothing old appears

   Great God! There can be nothing new.

   Our lives through varied scenes are drawn,

   And vexed with mean and trifling cares;

   While Thine eternal thought moves on

   Thy fixed and undisturbed affairs."

   "Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth" (Rev. 19:6).
     __________________________________________________________________

APPENDIX 1
THE WILL OF GOD

   In treating of the Will of God some theologians have differentiated
   between His decretive will and His permissive will, insisting that
   there are certain things which God has positively fore-ordained, but
   other things which He merely suffers to exist or happen. But such a
   distinction is really no distinction at all, inasmuch as God only
   permits that which is according to His will. No such distinction would
   have been invented had these theologians discerned that God could have
   decreed the existence and activities of sin without Himself being the
   Author of sin. Personally, we much prefer to adopt the distinction made
   by the older Calvinists between God's secret and revealed will, or, to
   state it in another way, His disposing and His preceptive will.

   God's revealed will is made known in His Word, but His secret will is
   His own hidden counsels. God's revealed will is the definer of our duty
   and the standard of our responsibility. The primary and basic reason
   why I should follow a certain course or do a certain thing is because
   it is God's will that I should, His will being clearly defined for me
   in His Word. That I should not follow a certain course, that I must
   refrain from doing certain things, is because they are contrary to
   God's revealed will. But suppose I disobey God's Word, then do I not
   cross His will? And if so, how can it still be true that God's will is
   always done and His counsel accomplished at all times? Such questions
   should make evident the necessity for the distinction here advocated.
   God's revealed will is frequently crossed, but His secret will is never
   thwarted. That it is legitimate for us to make such a distinction
   concerning God's will is clear from Scripture. Take these two passages:
   "For this is the will of God, even your sanctification" (1 Thess. 4:3);
   "For who hath resisted His will?" (Rom. 9:19). Would any thoughtful
   reader declare that God's "will" has precisely the same meaning in both
   of these passages? We surely hope not. The first passage refers to
   God's revealed will, the latter to His secret will. The first passage
   concerns our duty, the latter declares that God's secret purpose is
   immutable and must come to pass notwithstanding the creature's
   insubordination. God's revealed will is never done perfectly or fully
   by any of us, but His secret will never fails of accomplishment even in
   the minutest particular. His secret will mainly concerns future events;
   His revealed will, our present duty: the one has to do with His
   irresistible purpose, the other with His manifested pleasure: the one
   is wrought upon us and accomplished through us, the other is to be done
   by us.

   The secret will of God is His eternal, unchanging purpose concerning
   all things which He bath made, to be brought about by certain means to
   their appointed ends: of this God expressly declares "My counsel shall
   stand, and I will do all My pleasure" (Isa. 46:10). This is the
   absolute, efficacious will of God, always effected, always fulfilled.
   The revealed will of God contains not His purpose and decree but our
   duty,--not what He will do according to His eternal counsel, but what
   we should do if we would please Him, and this is expressed in the
   precepts and promises of His Word. Whatever God has determined within
   Himself, whether to do Himself, or to do by others, or to suffer to be
   done, whilst it is in His own breast, and is not made known by any
   event in providence, or by precept, or by prophecy, is His secret will.
   Such are the deep things of God, the thoughts of His heart, the
   counsels of His mind, which are impenetrable to all creatures. But when
   these are made known they become His revealed will: such is almost the
   whole of the book of Revelation, wherein God has made known to us
   "things which must shortly come to pass (Rev. 1:1--"must" because He
   has eternally purposed that they should).

   It has been objected by Arminian theologians that the division of God's
   will into secret and revealed is untenable, because it makes God to
   have two different wills, the one opposed to the other. But this is a
   mistake, due to their failure to see that the secret and revealed will
   of God respect entirely different objects. If God should require and
   forbid the same thing, or if He should decree the same thing should and
   should not exist, then would His secret and revealed will be
   contradictory and purposeless. If those who object to the secret and
   revealed will of God being inconsistent would only make the same
   distinction in this case that they do in many other cases, the seeming
   inconsistency would at once disappear. How often do men draw a sharp
   distinction between what is desirable in its own nature. and what is
   not desirable all things considered. For example, the fond parent does
   not desire simply considered to punish his offending child, but, all
   things considered, he knows it is his bounden duty, and so corrects his
   child. And though he tells his child he does not desire to punish him,
   but that he is satisfied it is for the best all things considered to do
   so, then an intelligent child would see no inconsistency in what his
   father says and does. Just so the All-wise Creator may consistently
   decree to bring to pass things which He hates, forbids and condemns.
   God chooses that some things shall exist which He thoroughly hates (in
   their intrinsic nature), and He also chooses that some things shall not
   yet exist which He perfectly loves (in their intrinsic nature). For
   example: He commanded that Pharaoh should let His people go, because
   that was right in the nature of things, yet, He had secretly declared
   that Pharaoh should not let His people go, not because it was right in
   Pharaoh to refuse, but because it was best all things considered that
   he should not let them go--i.e. best because it subserved God's larger
   purpose.

   Again; God commands us to be perfectly holy in this life (Matt. 5:48),
   because this is right in the nature of things, but He has decreed that
   no man shall be perfectly holy in this life, because this is best all
   things considered that none shall be perfectly holy (experimentally)
   before they leave this world. Holiness is one thing, the taking place
   of holiness is another; so, sin is one thing, the taking place of sin
   is another. When God requires holiness His preceptive or revealed will
   respects the nature or moral excellence of holiness; but when He
   decrees that holiness shall not take place (fully and perfectly) His
   secret or decretive will respects only the event of it not taking
   place. So, again, when He forbids sin, His preceptive or revealed will
   respects only the nature or moral evil of sin; but when He decrees that
   sin shall take place, His secret will respects only its actual
   occurrence to serve His good purpose. Thus the secret and revealed will
   of God respect entirely different objects.

   God's will of decree is not His will in the same sense as His will of
   command is. Therefore, there is no difficulty in supposing that one may
   be contrary to the other. His will, in both senses, is His inclination.
   Everything that concerns His revealed will is perfectly agreeable to
   His nature, as when He commands love, obedience, and service from His
   creatures. But that which concerns His secret will has in view His
   ultimate end, that to which all things are now working. Thus, He
   decreed the entrance of sin into His universe, though His own holy
   nature hates all sin with infinite abhorrence, yet, because it is one
   of the means by which His appointed end is to be reached He suffered it
   to enter. God's revealed will is the measure of our responsibility and
   the determiner of our duty. With God's secret will we have nothing to
   do: that is His concern. But, God knowing that we should fail to
   perfectly do His revealed will ordered His eternal counsels
   accordingly, and these eternal counsels, which make up His secret will,
   though unknown to us are, though unconsciously, fulfilled in and
   through us.

   Whether the reader is prepared to accept the above distinction in the
   will of God or not he must acknowledge that the commands of Scripture
   declare God's revealed will, and he must also allow that sometimes God
   wills not to hinder a breach of those commands, because He does not as
   a fact so hinder it. God wills to permit sin as is evident, for He does
   permit it. Surely none will say that God Himself does what He does not
   will to do.

   Finally, let it be said again that, my responsibility with regard to
   the will of God is measured by what He has made known in His Word.
   There I learn that it is my duty to use the means of His providing, and
   to humbly pray that He may be pleased to bless them to me. To refuse so
   to do on the ground that I am ignorant of what may or may not be His
   secret counsels concerning me, is not only absurd, but the height of
   presumption. We repeat: the secret will of God is none of our business;
   it is His revealed will which measures our accountability. That there
   is no conflict whatever between the secret and the revealed will of God
   is made clear from the fact that, the former is accomplished by my use
   of the means laid down in the latter.
     __________________________________________________________________

APPENDIX 2
THE CASE OF ADAM

   In our chapter on God's Sovereignty and Human Responsibility we dealt
   only with the responsibility of man considered as a fallen creature,
   and at the close of the discussion it was pointed out how that the
   measure and extent of our responsibility varies in different
   individuals, according to the advantages they have received and the
   privileges they have enjoyed, which is a truth clearly established by
   the declaration of the Saviour recorded in Luke 12 :47, 48, "And that
   servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither
   did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he
   that knew not, and did not commit things worthy of stripes, shall be
   beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him
   shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him
   they will ask the more".

   Now, strictly speaking, there are only two men who have ever walked
   this earth which were endowed with full and unimpaired responsibility,
   and they were the first and last Adam's. The responsibility of each of
   the rational descendants of Adam, while real, and sufficient to
   establish them accountable to their Creator is, nevertheless, limited
   in degree, limited because impaired through the effects of the Fall.

   Not only is the responsibility of each descendant of Adam sufficient to
   constitute him, personally an accountable creature (that is, as one so
   constituted that he ought to do right and ought not to do wrong), but
   originally every one of us was also endowed, judicially, with full and
   unimpaired responsibility, not in ourselves, but, in Adam. It should
   ever be borne in mind that not only was Adam the father of the human
   race seminally, but he was also the head of the race legally. When Adam
   was placed in Eden he stood there as our representative, so that what
   he did is reckoned to the account of each for whom he acted.

   It is beside our present purpose to enter here into a lengthy
   discussion of the Federal Headship of Adam (Though there is deep and
   widespread need for this, and we hope ere long to write upon this
   subject in another book.), suffice it now to refer the reader to Romans
   5:12-19 where this truth is dealt with by the Holy Spirit. In the heart
   of this most important passage we are told that Adam was "the figure of
   Him that was to come" (v. 14), that is, of Christ. In what sense, then,
   was Adam "the figure" of Christ? The answer must be, In that he was a
   Federal Head; in that he acted on the behalf of a race of men; in that
   he was one who has legally, as well as vitally, affected all connected
   with him. It is for this reason that the Lord Jesus is in 1 Corinthians
   15:45 denominated "the last Adam", that is, the Head of the new
   creation, as the first Adam was the Head of the old creation.

   In Adam, then, each of us stood. As the representative of the human
   race the first man acted. As then Adam was created with full and
   unimpaired responsibility, unimpaired because there was no evil nature
   within him; and as we were all "in Adam", it necessarily follows that
   all of us, originally, were also endowed with full and unimpaired
   responsibility. Therefore, in Eden, it was not merely the
   responsibility of Adam as a single person that was tested, but it was
   Human Responsibility, the Responsibility of the Race, as a whole and in
   part, which was on trial.

   Webster defines responsibility first, as "liable to account"; second,
   as "able to discharge an obligation". Perhaps the meaning and scope of
   the term responsibility might be expressed and summed up in the one
   word oughtness. Godwards, responsibility respects that which is due the
   Creator from the creature, and which the creature is under moral
   obligations to render.

   In the light of the above definition it is at once apparent that
   responsibility is something that must be placed on trial. And as a
   fact, this is, as we learn from the Inspired Record, exactly what
   transpired in Eden. Adam was placed on probation. His obligations to
   God were put to the test. His loyalty to the Creator was tried out. The
   test consisted of obedience to his Maker's command. Of a certain tree
   he was forbidden to eat.

   But right here a very formidable difficulty confronts us. From God's
   standpoint the result of Adam's probation was not left in uncertainty.
   Before He formed him out of the dust of the ground and breathed into
   his nostrils the breath of life, God knew exactly how the appointed
   test would terminate. With this statement every Christian reader must
   be in accord, for, to deny God's foreknowledge is to deny His
   omniscience, and this is to repudiate one of the fundamental attributes
   of Deity. But we must go further: not only had God a perfect
   foreknowledge of the outcome of Adam's trial, not only did His
   omniscient eye see Adam eating of the forbidden fruit, but He decreed
   beforehand that he should do so. This is evident not only from the
   general fact that nothing happens save that which the Creator and
   Governor of the universe has eternally purposed, but also from the
   express declaration of Scripture that Christ as a Lamb "verily was
   foreordained before the foundation of the world" (1 Pet. 1:20). If,
   then, God had foreordained before the foundation of the world that
   Christ should, in due time, be offered as a Sacrifice for sin, then it
   is unmistakably evident that God had also foreordained sin should enter
   the world, and if so, that Adam should transgress and fall. In full
   harmony with this, God Himself placed in Eden the tree of the knowledge
   of good and evil, and also allowed the Serpent to enter and deceive
   Eve.

   Here then is the difficulty: If God has eternally decreed that Adam
   should eat of the tree, how could he be held responsible not to eat of
   it? Formidable as the problem appears, nevertheless, it is capable of a
   solution, a solution, moreover, which can be grasped even by the finite
   mind. The solution is to be found in the distinction between God's
   secret will and His revealed will. As stated in Appendix I, human
   responsibility is measured by our knowledge of God's revealed will;
   what God has told us, not what He has not told us, is the definer of
   our duty. So it was with Adam.

   That God had decreed sin should enter this world through the
   disobedience of our first parents was a secret hid in His own breast.
   Of this Adam knew nothing, and that made all the difference so far as
   his responsibility was concerned. Adam was quite unacquainted with the
   Creator's hidden counsels. What concerned him was God's revealed will.
   And that was plain! God had forbidden him to eat of the tree, and that
   was enough. But God went further: He even warned Adam of the dire
   consequences which would follow should he disobey--death would be the
   penalty. Transgression, then, on the part of Adam was entirely
   excuseless. Created with no evil nature in him, with a will in perfect
   equipoise, placed in the fairest environment, given dominion over all
   the lower creation, allowed full liberty with only a single restriction
   upon him, plainly warned of what would follow an act of insubordination
   to God, there was every possible inducement for Adam to preserve his
   innocence; and, should he fail and fall, then by every principle of
   righteousness his blood must lie upon his own head, and his guilt be
   imputed to all in whose behalf he acted.

   Had God disclosed to Adam His purpose that sin would enter this world,
   and that He had decreed Adam should eat of the forbidden fruit, it is
   obvious that Adam could not have been held responsible for the eating
   of it. But in that God withheld the knowledge of His counsels from
   Adam, his accountability was not interfered with.

   Again; had God created Adam with a bias toward evil, then human
   responsibility had been impaired and man's probation merely one in
   name. But inasmuch as Adam was included among that which God, at the
   end of the sixth day, pronounced "Very good", and, inasmuch as man was
   made "upright" (Eccl. 7:29), then every mouth must be "stopped" and
   "the whole world" must acknowledge itself "guilty before God" (Rom.
   3:19).

   Once more, it needs to be carefully borne in mind that God did not
   decree that Adam should sin and then inject into Adam an inclination to
   evil, in order that His decree might be carried out. No; "God cannot be
   tempted, neither tempteth He any man" (James 1:13). Instead, when the
   Serpent came to tempt Eve, God caused her to remember His command
   forbidding to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and of
   the penalty attached to disobedience! Thus, though God had decreed the
   Fall, in no sense was He the Author of Adam's sin, and at no point was
   Adam's responsibility impaired. Thus may we admire and adore the
   "manifold wisdom of God", in devising a way whereby His eternal decree
   should be accomplished, and yet the responsibility of His creatures be
   preserved intact.

   Perhaps a further word should be added concerning the decretive will of
   God, particularly in its relation to evil. First of all we take the
   high ground that, whatever things God does or permits, are right, just,
   and good, simply because God does or permits them. When Luther gave
   answer to the question, "Whence it was that Adam was permitted to fall,
   and corrupt his whole posterity; when God could have prevented him from
   falling, etc", he said, "God is a Being whose will acknowledges no
   cause: neither is it for us to prescribe rules to His sovereign
   pleasure, or call Him to account for what He does. He has neither
   superior nor equal; and His will is the rule of all things. He did not
   thus will such and such things because they were right, and He was
   bound to will them; but they are therefore equitable and right because
   He wills them. The will of man, indeed, may be influenced and moved;
   but God's will never can. To assert the contrary is to undeify Him" (De
   Servo, Arb. c/ 153).

   To affirm that God decreed the entrance of sin into His universe, and
   that He foreordained all its fruits and activities, is to say that
   which, at first may shock the reader; but reflection should show that
   it is far more shocking to insist that sin has invaded His dominions
   against His will, and that its exercise is outside His jurisdiction:
   for in such a case where would be His omnipotency? No; to recognise
   that God has foreordained all the activities of evil, is to see that He
   is the Governor of sin: His will determines its exercise, His power
   regulates its bounds (Ps. 76:10). He is neither the Inspirer nor the
   Infuser of sin in any of His creatures, but He is its Master, by which
   we mean God's management of the wicked is so entire that, they can do
   nothing save that which His hand and counsel, from everlasting,
   determined should be done.

   Though nothing contrary to holiness and righteousness can ever emanate
   from God, yet He has, for His own wise ends, ordained His creatures to
   fall into sin. Had sin never been permitted, how could the justice of
   God have been displayed in punishing it? How could the wisdom of God
   have been manifested in so wondrously over-ruling it? How could the
   grace of God have been exhibited in pardoning it? How could the power
   of God have been exercised in subduing it? A very solemn and striking
   proof of Christ's acknowledgement of God's decretal of sin is seen in
   His treatment of Judas. The Saviour knew full well that Judas would
   betray Him, yet we never read that He expostulated with him! Instead,
   He said to him, "That thou doest, do quickly" (John 13:27)! Yet, mark
   this was said after he had received the sop and Satan had taken
   possession of his heart. Judas was already prepared for and determined
   on his traitorous work, therefore did Christ permissively (bowing to
   His Father's ordination) bid him go forth to his awful work.

   Thus, though God is not the Author of sin, and though sin is contrary
   to His holy nature, yet the existence and operations of it are not
   contrary to His will, but subservient to it. God never tempts man to
   sin, but He has, by His eternal counsels (which He is now executing),
   determined its course. Moreover, as we have shown in chapter 8, though
   God has decreed man's sins, yet is man responsible not to commit them,
   and blameable because he does. Strikingly were these two sides of this
   awful subject brought together by Christ in that statement of His: "Woe
   unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences
   come (because God has foreordained them); but woe to that man by whom
   the offence cometh" (Matt. 18:7). So, too, though all which took place
   at Calvary was by the "determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God"
   (Acts 2:23), nevertheless, "wicked hands" crucified the Lord of glory,
   and, in consequence, His blood has righteously rested upon them and on
   their children. High mysteries are these, yet it is both our happy
   privilege and bounden duty to humbly receive whatsoever God has been
   pleased to reveal concerning them in His Word of Truth.
     __________________________________________________________________

APPENDIX 3
THE MEANING OF "KOSMOS" IN JOHN 3:16

   It may appear to some of our readers that the exposition we have given
   of John 3:16 in the chapter on "Difficulties and Objections" is a
   forced and unnatural one, inasmuch as our definition of the term
   "world" seems to be out of harmony with the meaning and scope of this
   word in other passages, where, to supply the world of believers (God's
   elect) as a definition of "world" would make no sense. Many have said
   to us, "Surely, 'world' means world, that is, you, me, and everybody."
   In reply we would say: We know from experience how difficult it is to
   set aside the "traditions of men" and come to a passage which we have
   heard explained in a certain way scores of times, and study it
   carefully for ourselves without bias Nevertheless, this is essential if
   we would learn the mind of God.

   Many people suppose they already know the simple meaning of John 3:16,
   and therefore they conclude that no diligent study is required of them
   to discover the precise teaching of this verse. Needless to say, such
   an attitude shuts out any further light which they otherwise might
   obtain on the passage. Yet, if anyone will take a Concordance and read
   carefully the various passages in which the term "world" (as a
   translation of "kosmos") occurs, he will quickly perceive that to
   ascertain the precise meaning of, the word "world" in any given passage
   is not nearly so easy as is popularly supposed. The word "kosmos," and
   its English equivalent "world," is not used with a uniform significance
   in the New Testament. Very far from it. It is used in quite a number of
   different ways. Below we will refer to a few passages where this term
   occurs, suggesting a tentative definition in each case:

   "Kosmos" is used of the Universe as a whole: Acts 17:24 - "God that
   made the world and all things therein seeing that He is Lord of heaven
   and earth."

   "Kosmos" is used of the earth: John 13:1; Ephesians 1:4, etc., etc.-
   "When Jesus knew that his hour was come that He should depart out of
   this world unto the Father, having loved His own which were in the
   world He loved them unto the end." "Depart out of this world"
   signifies, leave this earth. "According as He hath chosen us in Him
   before the foundation of the world." This expression signifies, before
   the earth was founded--compare Job 38:4 etc.

   "Kosmos" is used of the world-system: John 12:31 etc. "Now is the
   judgement of this world: now shall the Prince of this world be cast
   out"-- compare Matthew 4:8 and 1 John 5:19, R. V.

   "Kosmos" is used of the whole human race: Romans 3:19, etc.--"Now we
   know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are
   under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may
   become guilty before God."

   "Kosmos" is used of humanity minus believers: John 15:18; Romans 3:6
   "If the world hate you, ye know that it hated Me before it hated you."
   Believers do not "hate" Christ, so that "the world" here must signify
   the world of unbelievers in contrast from believers who love Christ.
   "God forbid: for then how shall God judge the world." Here is another
   passage where "the world" cannot mean "you, me, and everybody," for
   believers will not be "judged" by God, see John 5:24. So that here,
   too, it must be the world of unbelievers which is in view.

   "Kosmos" is used of Gentiles in contrast from Jews: Romans 11:12 etc.
   "Now if the fall of them (Israel) be the riches of the world, and the
   diminishing of them (Israel) the riches of the Gentiles; how much more
   their (Israel's) fullness." Note how the first clause in italics is
   defined by the latter clause placed in italics. Here, again, "the
   world" cannot signify all humanity for it excludes Israel!

   "Kosmos" is used of believers only: John 1:29; 3:16, 17; 6:33; 12:47; 1
   Corinthians 4:9; 2 Corinthians 5:19. We leave our readers to turn to
   these passages, asking them to note, carefully, exactly what is said
   and predicated of "the world" in each place.

   Thus it will be seen that "kosmos" has at least seven clearly defined
   different meanings in the New Testament. It may be asked, Has then God
   used a word thus to confuse and confound those who read the Scriptures?
   We answer, No! nor has He written His Word for lazy people who are too
   dilatory, or too busy with the things of this world, or, like Martha,
   so much occupied with "serving," they have no time and no heart to
   "search" and "study" Holy Writ! Should it be asked further, But how is
   a searcher of the Scriptures to know which of the above meanings the
   term "world" has in any given passage? The answer is: This may be
   ascertained by a careful study of the context, by diligently noting
   what is predicated of "the world" in each passage, and by prayer fully
   consulting other parallel passages to the one being studied. The
   principal subject of John 3:16 is Christ as the Gift of God. The first
   clause tells us what moved God to "give" His only begotten Son, and
   that was His great "love;" the second clause informs us for whom God
   "gave" His Son, and that is for, "whosoever (or, better, 'every one')
   believeth;" while the last clause makes known why God "gave" His Son
   (His purpose), and that is, that everyone that believeth "should not
   perish but have everlasting life." That "the world" in John 3:16 refers
   to the world of believers (God's elect), in contradistinction from "the
   world of the ungodly" (2 Pet. 2:5), is established, unequivocally
   established, by a comparison of the other passages which speak of God's
   "love." "God commendeth His love toward US"--the saints, Romans 5:8.
   "Whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth"--every son, Hebrews 12:6. "We love
   Him, because He first loved US"--believers, 1 John 4:19. The wicked God
   "pities" (see Matt. 18:33). Unto the unthankful and evil God is "kind"
   (see Luke 6:35). The vessels of wrath He endures "with much
   long-suffering" (see Rom. 9:22). But "His own" God "loves"!!
     __________________________________________________________________

APPENDIX 4
1 JOHN 2:2

   There is one passage more than any other which is appealed to by those
   who believe in universal redemption, and which at first sight appears
   to teach that Christ died for the whole human race. We have therefore
   decided to give it a detailed examination and exposition.

   "And He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but
   also for the sins of the whole world" (1 John 2:2). This is the passage
   which, apparently, most favours the Arminian view of the Atonement, yet
   if it be considered attentively it will be seen that it does so only in
   appearance, and not in reality. Below we offer a number of conclusive
   proofs to show that this verse does not teach that Christ has
   propitiated God on behalf of all the sins of all men.

   In the first place, the fact that this verse opens with "and"
   necessarily links it with what has gone before. We, therefore, give a
   literal word for word translation of 1 John 2 :1 from Bagster's
   Interlinear: "Little children my, these things I write to you, that ye
   may not sin; and if any one should sin, a Paraclete we have with the
   Father, Jesus Christ (the) righteous". It will thus be seen that the
   apostle John is here writing to and about the saints of God. His
   immediate purpose was two-fold: first, to communicate a message that
   would keep God's children from sinning; second, to supply comfort and
   assurance to those who might sin, and, in consequence, be cast down and
   fearful that the issue would prove fatal. He, therefore, makes known to
   them the provision which God has made for just such an emergency. This
   we find at the end of verse 1 and throughout verse 2. The ground of
   comfort is twofold: let the downcast and repentant believer (1 John
   1:9) be assured that, first, he has an "Advocate with the Father";
   second, that this Advocate is "the propitiation for our sins". Now
   believers only may take comfort from this, for they alone have an
   "Advocate", for them alone is Christ the propitiation, as is proven by
   linking the Propitiation ("and") with "the Advocate"!

   In the second place, if other passages in the New Testament which speak
   of "propitiation," be compared with 1 John 2:2, it will be found that
   it is strictly limited in its scope. For example, in Romans 3 :25 we
   read that God set forth Christ "a propitiation through faith in His
   blood". If Christ is a propitiation "through faith", then He is not a
   "propitiation" to those who have no faith! Again, in Hebrews 2:17 we
   read, "To make propitiation for the sins of the people" (Heb. 2:17, R.
   V.).

   In the third place, who are meant when John says, "He is the
   propitiation for our sins"? We answer, Jewish believers. And a part of
   the proof on which we base this assertion we now submit to the careful
   attention of the reader.

   In Galatians 2 :9 we are told that John, together with James and
   Cephas, were apostles "unto the circumcision" (i.e. Israel). In keeping
   with this, the Epistle of James is addressed to "the twelve tribes,
   which are scattered abroad" (1:1). So, the first Epistle of Peter is
   addressed to "the elect who are sojourners of the Dispersion" (1
   Pet.1:1, R. V.). And John also is writing to saved Israelites, but for
   saved Jews and saved Gentiles.

   Some of the evidences that John is writing to saved Jews are as
   follows.

   (a) In the opening verse he says of Christ, "Which we have seen with
   our eyes . . . . and our hands have handled". How impossible it would
   have been for the Apostle Paul to have commenced any of his epistles to
   Gentile saints with such language!

   (b) "Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old
   commandment which ye had from the beginning" (1 John 2 :7). The
   "beginning" here referred to is the beginning of the public
   manifestation of Christ--in proof compare 1:1; 2:13, etc. Now these
   believers the apostle tells us, had the "old commandment" from the
   beginning. This was true of Jewish believers, but it was not true of
   Gentile believers.

   (c) "I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known Him from the
   beginning" (2:13). Here, again, it is evident that it is Jewish
   believers that are in view.

   (d) "Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that
   Antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we
   know that it is the last time. They went out from us, but they were not
   of us" (2:18, 19).

   These brethren to whom John wrote had "heard" from Christ Himself that
   Antichrist should come (see Matt. 24). The "many antichrists" whom John
   declares "went out from us" were all Jews, for during the first century
   none but a Jew posed as the Messiah. Therefore, when John says "He is
   the propitiation for our sins" he can only mean for the sins of Jewish
   believers. [16]

   In the fourth place, when John added, "And not for ours only, but also
   for the whole world", he signified that Christ was the propitiation for
   the sins of Gentile believers too, for, as previously shown, "the
   world" is a term contrasted from Israel. This interpretation is
   unequivocally established by a careful comparison of 1 John 2:2 with
   John 11:51,52, which is a strictly parallel passage: "And this spake he
   not of himself: but being high priest that year, he prophesied that
   Jesus should die for that nation; And not for that nation only, but
   that also He should gather together in one the children of God that
   were scattered abroad". Here Caiaphas, under inspiration, made known
   for whom Jesus should "die". Notice now the correspondency of his
   prophecy with this declaration of John's:

   1 John 2:2

   John 11:51, 52

   "He is the propitiation for our (believing Israelites) sins".

   "He prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation".

   "And not for ours only".

   "And not for that nation only".

   "But also for the whole world"-- That is, Gentile believers scattered
   throughout the earth.

   "He should gather together in one the children of God that were
   scattered abroad".

   In the fifth place, the above interpretation is confirmed by the fact
   that no other is consistent or intelligible. If the "whole world"
   signifies the whole human race, then the first clause and the "also" in
   the second clause are absolutely meaningless. If Christ is the
   propitiation for everybody, it would be idle tautology to say, first,
   "He is the propitiation for our sins and also for everybody". There
   could be no "also" if He is the propitiation for the entire human
   family. Had the apostle meant to affirm that Christ is a universal
   propitiation he had omitted the first clause of verse 2, and simply
   said, "He is the propitiation for the sins of the whole world."
   Confirmatory of "not for ours (Jewish believers) only, but also for the
   whole world"--Gentile believers, too; compare John 10:16; 17:20.

   In the sixth place, our definition of "the whole world" is in perfect
   accord with other passages in the New Testament. For example: "Whereof
   ye heard before in the word of the truth of the Gospel; which is come
   unto you, as it is in all the world"(Col. 1:5, 6). Does "all the world"
   here mean, absolutely and unqualifiedly, all mankind? Had all the human
   family heard the Gospel? No; the apostle's obvious meaning is that, the
   Gospel, instead of being confined to the land of Judea, had gone
   abroad, without restraint, into Gentile lands. So in Romans 1:8:
   "First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your
   faith is spoken of throughout the whole world". The apostle is here
   referring to the faith of these Roman saints being spoken of in a way
   of commendation. But certainly all mankind did not so speak of their
   faith! It was the whole world of believers that he was referring to! In
   Revelation 12:9 we read of Satan "which deceiveth the whole world". But
   again this expression cannot be understood as a universal one, for
   Matthew 24:24 tells us that Satan does not and cannot "deceive" God's
   elect. Here it is "the whole world" of unbelievers.

   In the seventh place, to insist that "the whole world" in 1 John 2:2
   signifies the entire human race is to undermine the very foundations of
   our faith. If Christ is the propitiation for those that are lost
   equally as much as for those that are saved, then what assurance have
   we that believers too may not be lost? If Christ is the propitiation
   for those now in hell, what guarantee have I that I may not end in
   hell? The blood-shedding of the incarnate Son of God is the only thing
   which can keep any one out of hell, and if many for whom that precious
   blood made propitiation are now in the awful place of the damned, then
   may not that blood prove inefficacious for me! Away with such a
   God-dishonouring thought.

   However men may quibble and wrest the Scriptures, one thing is certain:
   The Atonement is no failure. God will not allow that precious and
   costly sacrifice to fail in accomplishing, completely, that which it
   was designed to effect. Not a drop of that holy blood was shed in vain.
   In the last great Day there shall stand forth no disappointed and
   defeated Saviour, but One who "shall see of the travail of His soul and
   be satisfied" (Isa. 53:11). These are not our words, but the infallible
   assertion of Him who declares, "My counsel shall stand, and I will do
   all My pleasure" (Isa. 64:10). Upon this impregnable rock we take our
   stand. Let others rest on the sands of human speculation and
   twentieth-century theorising if they wish. That is their business. But
   to God they will yet have to render an account. For our part we had
   rather be railed at as a narrow-minded, out-of-date, hyper-Calvinist,
   than be found repudiating God's truth by reducing the
   Divinely-efficacious atonement to a mere fiction.
     __________________________________________________________________

   [16] It is true that many things in John's Epistle apply equally to
   believing Jews and believing Gentiles. Christ is the Advocate of the
   one, as much as of the other. The same may be said of many things in
   the Epistle of James which is also a catholic, or general epistle,
   though expressly addressed to the twelve tribes scattered abroad.
     __________________________________________________________________

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