The Sovereignty of God

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 by hand and by counsel determined before to be done. Acts 4.26 and 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 man's 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 diviseth his way, but the Lord directeth his steps. 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, instill 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, 17. 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 councils of God, to which he has no 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 Timothy 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 it to meet with sinners. Upon this point, the Puritan Manton has written very helpfully. I cannot say to everyone 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 everyone that desireth posterity, Mary, 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 Chronicles 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 everyone, let him use the means and leave the success of his labor 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 began he us by the word of truth. 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. Volume 21, page 312 God has been pleased to give to men the Holy Scriptures which testify of the Savior 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 inquire concerning other matters. If then God has given to men his word, and in that word is 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 ordained 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, Psalm 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 Deuteronomy 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 to 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. Philippians 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. Romans 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 be 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. Psalm 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. Romans 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 Savior'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 judgment, and the meek will he teach his way. Psalm 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 into 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 the end shall be obtained through, and as a 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, seed time and harvest shall not cease. Genesis 8 22 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 what God has decreed. My temporal duties, because God has fixed my earthly lot, and that He has, is clear from Acts 17 26, Job 7 1, Job 14 15, etc. If then the foreordination of God may consist with the respective activities of a 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 to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law. Deuteronomy 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. Verse 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 15 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 Corinthians 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 paralyzing fatalism. Chapter 9 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 dishonor 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 distressed, 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 sub-join 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 molded 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 someone 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 businessman 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 businessman 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 molded by the will of man is rank infidelity. That is the only proper term for it. Should anyone challenge this classification, we would ask of 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 molded 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 Samuel 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. 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 promise is 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 businessman 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 businessman 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, Daniel 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 result of these prayers. Earth is changed, revolutionized, angels move on more powerful, more rapid weighing, 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 counselor? Romans 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 color 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 that 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 honored. God requires we should recognize that He is indeed the High and Lofty One that inhabiteth eternity. Isaiah 57 15 God requires that we shall own His universal dominion. In petitioning God for rain, Elijah did not 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 honoring 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 realization of our nothingness and unworthiness. Again, prayer is designed by God for the exercise of our faith. Faith is begotten in the Word, Romans 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, Psalm 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, Romans 11, 30, then why pray? Error 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 Savior expressly declared, For your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask Him. 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 honored 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 Thessalonians 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 and 16 While the Lord Jesus Christ, our perfect example in all things, was preeminently 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 of 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 reign, but that did not prevent him from at once betaking himself to prayer. James 5, 17 and 18 Daniel understood by the writings of the prophets that the captivity was to last but 70 years, yet when these 70 years were almost ended, we are told that he set his faith unto the Lord God to seek by prayer and supplications with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. Daniel 9, 2 and 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. Jeremiah 29, 11 and 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 crying. 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. Jeremiah 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 dishonoring and degrading conception. A 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 subjected 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 me in 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 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 emphasize rather God's method of responding to his needy child. Turn to 2 Corinthians 12. Was his prayer answered? Assuredly, though not in the manner he had desired. 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 he 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. 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, we 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 epitomize 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. Compare Proverbs 16.9 And yet in many of his prayers man in pulse 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 low 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 emphasize the need for submitting in prayer our wills to God. 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 10 Our Attitude Toward His Sovereignty Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight. Matthew 11, 26. 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 recognize 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 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. Isaiah 6.5. A sight of the divine King humbled Isaiah into the dust, bringing him, as it did, to a realization 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 barrel, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and feet like in color to polish the 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 calmliness 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. Daniel 10, 6 through 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 dusk before his Maker. What then ought to be our attitude toward the Supreme Sovereign? We reply, one, one of godly fear. The answer is, because there is no fear of God before their eyes. Romans 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. Proverbs 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. Psalm 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. Isaiah 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 realization 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. Exodus 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 emphasize 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 realize 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 recognize 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, Psalm 119.36 and 133. Once the sovereignty of the author of the Word is apprehended, it will no 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 wholehearted 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 things upon which we have 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 recognized God's sovereignty, such murmuring is silenced, and instead there is a bowing to the divine will and an acknowledgment that He has not afflicted us as sorely as we deserve. A true recognition of God's sovereignty will avail 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 a poverty, sickness, domestic bereavement, 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 Genesareth, 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 judgment 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 Samuel 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 all of a sudden the son 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 recognize 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. Dale Valenti. 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 VII 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 four 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 recognize that the divine potter has absolute power over the clay and molds 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 vapor 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 through 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? Four. 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 solemn 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, give thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ? Ephesians 5, 20. 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, then 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 the 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 signal man, 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 four 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? Demone his bad luck? Curse the robbers? Murmur against God? No, he bowed before him in worship. This Reformation audio track is a production of Stillwater's Revival Books. SWRB makes thousands of classic Reformation resources available, free and for sale, in audio, video, and printed formats. It is likely that the sermon or book that you just listened to is also available on cassette or video or as a printed book or booklet. Our many free resources, as well as our complete mail-order catalog, containing thousands of classic and contemporary Puritan and Reformed books, tapes, and videos at great discounts, is on the web at www.swrb.com. We can also be reached by email at swrb.com, by phone at 780-450-3730, by fax at 780-468-1096, or by mail at 4710-37A, Edmonton, Alberta, abbreviated capital A, capital B, Canada, T6L3T5. You may also request a free printed catalog. And remember that John Calvin, in defending the Reformation's regulative principle of worship, or what is sometimes called the scriptural law of worship, commenting on the words of God, which I commanded them not, neither came into my heart. From his commentary on Jeremiah 731, writes, God here cuts off from men every occasion for making evasions, since he condemns by this one phrase, I have not commanded them, whatever the Jews devised. There is then no other argument needed to condemn superstitions than that they are not commanded by God. For when men allow themselves to worship God according to their own fancies, and attend not to His commands, they pervert true religion. And if this principle was adopted by the Papists, all those fictitious modes of worship in which they absurdly exercise themselves would fall to the ground. It is indeed a horrible thing for the Papists to seek to discharge their duties towards God by performing their own superstitions. There is an immense number of them, as it is well known, and as it manifestly appears. Were they to admit this principle, that we cannot rightly worship God except by obeying His word, they would be delivered from their deep abyss of error. The prophet's words, then, are very important, when he says that God had commanded no such thing, and that it never came to his mind. As though he had said that men assume too much wisdom when they devise what he never required, nay, what he never knew.