Chapter 6
THE
SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD IN OPERATION
"For of Him, and thro’
Him, and to Him, are all things: to whom be 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 fore-ordained 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 Pet.
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 fore-knowing it before it took place, but by His fixed counsel and fore-ordination (Acts 2:23).
Fore-knowledge 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 fulfillment 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" (Ps. 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 realized. 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. Do we know from prophecy that this present age, like all
preceding ones, is to end with a full demonstration of man’s failure; do we
know that there is to be a universal turning away from the truth, a general apostasy; do we know that the Antichrist is to be
manifested, and that he will succeed in deceiving the whole world; do we know
that Antichrist’s career will be cut short, and an end made of man’s miserable
attempts to govern himself, by the return of God’s Son; then it is all because
these and a hundred other things are included among God’s eternal decrees, now
made known to us in the sure Word of Prophecy, and because
it is infallibly certain that all God has purposed "must shortly come to
pass" (Rev. 1:1).
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; 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
"fore-ordained 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 unlooked-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.
3:11). 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,
"Wherefore 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 recognize the fact that God suspends these laws and
acts apart from them whenever it pleaseth Him to do so. In sending His
blessings or judgments 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 influences 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 Pet. 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 practicing 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 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
Transported with the view I’m
lost
In wonder, love and
praise."
2.
God exerts upon His own elect an energizing 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 usward who believe" (Eph. 1:18), 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 energizing 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 words 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 bath 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). 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, and 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 than from without. "For this God is
our God for ever and ever: He will be our Guide even unto death" (Ps.
48:14), but He "guides" us by working in us both to will and to do of
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: hut the Lord directeth his steps" (Prov. 16:9)! 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"
(Ps. 97:10). "For the Lord loveth judgment, and forsaketh not His saints;
they are preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off"
(Ps. 37:28). "The Lord preserveth all them that love Him: but all the
wicked will He destroy" (Ps. 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 Pet. 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 honor—"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 from the words of
Joseph himself, when some years later 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 acknowledgment—"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 bath 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
Ex. 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 scripture 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 neighbors.
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 favor in his sight and he made him overseer over his
house" (Gen. 39:3, 4). Later, when Joseph was unjustly cast into prison,
we are told, "But the Lord was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave
him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison"
(Gen. 39:21), and in consequence the prison-keeper shewed him much kindness and
honor. Finally, after his release from prison, we learn from Acts 7:10 that the
Lord "gave him favor 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 hod
compassion on him" (Ex. 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 practiced 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. 32:4)! 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" (Est. 4:16). She went in expecting to "perish," but we are
told "She obtained favor in his sight, and the king
held out to Esther the golden scepter" (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 favor 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 co-incidence, 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 a 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 fulfill 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 fulfillment 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 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 (Ps. 35:11), then
accordingly such were raised up. Had it been decreed that
the Lord of glory should be "spat upon and scourged" (Is. 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 soldiers 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 (Ps. 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 fulfillment 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 recognize 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" (Ps. 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 go to Pharaoh,
and demand that the Israelites should be allowed to go 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" (Ex. 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 honor upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and
upon his horsemen. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have
gotten Me honor upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and upon
his horsemen" (Ex. 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 utterly, and that they might have no favor, but 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 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 Isaiah
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". The
fulfillment of this scripture is yet future. 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 energizing, 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 evil-doers 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.