The Sovereignty of God

Ah, dear reader, there is no real rest for your poor heart until you learn to see the hand of God in everything. But for that, faith must be in constant exercise. And what is faith? A blind credulity? A fatalistic acquiescence? No, far from it. Faith is a resting on the sure word of the living God, and therefore says, we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose, Romans 8, 28. And therefore faith will give thanks always for all things. Operative faith will rejoice in the Lord always, Philippians 4, 4. We turn now to Mark, how this recognition of God's sovereignty, which is expressed in godly fear, implicit obedience, entire resignation, and deep thankfulness and joy, was supremely and perfectly exemplified by the Lord Jesus Christ. In all things, the Lord Jesus has left us an example that we should follow His steps. But is this true in connection with the first point made above? Are the words godly fear ever linked with His peerless name? Remembering that godly fear signifies not a servile terror, but rather a filial subjection and reverence, and remembering too that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Would it not rather be strange if no mention at all were made of godly fear in connection with the One who was wisdom incarnate? What a wonderful and precious word is that of Hebrews 5, 7. Who in the days of His flesh, having offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto Him, that was able to save Him from death, and having been heard for His godly fear, revised version. What was it but godly fear which caused the Lord Jesus to be subject unto Mary and Joseph in the days of His childhood? Was it godly fear, a filial subjection to and reverence for God, that we see displayed when we read, And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up, and as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day? Luke 4, 16. Was it not godly fear which caused the incarnate Son to say, when tempted by Satan, to fall down and worship Him? It is written, thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve. Was it not godly fear which moved Him to say to the cleansed leper, Go thy way, show thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded? Matthew 8, 4. But why multiply illustrations? Note how Old Testament prophecy also declared that, The spirit of the Lord should rest upon Him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and might, The spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. Isaiah 11, 2. How perfect was the obedience that the Lord Jesus offered to God the Father, And in reflecting upon this, let us not lose sight of that wondrous grace which caused Him, Who was in the very form of God, to stoop so low, As to take upon Him the form of a servant, And thus be brought into the place where obedience was becoming. As the perfect servant, He yielded complete obedience to His Father. How absolute and entire that obedience was, We may learn from the words, He became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Philippians 2, 8. That this was a conscious and intelligent obedience, Is clear from His own language. Therefore doth my Father love me, Because I laid down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received from my Father. John 10, 17 and 18. And what shall we say of the absolute resignation of the Son to the Father's will? What, but between them there was entire oneness of accord, said He. For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, But the will of Him that sent me. John 6, 38. And how fully He substantiated that claim, All know who have attentively followed His path, As marked out in the Scriptures. Behold Him in Gethsemane, The bitter cup held in the Father's hand is presented to His view. Mark well His attitude. Learn of Him who was meek and lowly in heart. Remember that there in the garden we see the Word become flesh, a perfect man. His body is quivering at every nerve in contemplation of the physical sufferings which await Him. His holy and sensitive nature is shrinking from the horrible indignities which shall be heaped upon Him. His heart is breaking at the awful reproach which is before Him. His spirit is greatly troubled as He foresees the terrible conflict with the power of darkness. And above all and supremely, His soul is filled with horror at the thought of being separated from God Himself. Thus and there He pours out His soul to the Father, And with strong crying and tears He sheds, as it were, great drops of blood. And now observe and listen, still the beating of thy heart, And hearken to the words which fall from His blessed lips. Father, if Thou be willing, remove this cup from me, Nevertheless, not my will, but Thine, be done. Luke 22, 42 Here is submission personified. Here is resignation to the pleasure of a sovereign God superlatively exemplified. And He has left us an example that we should follow His steps. He who was God became man and was tempted in all points like as we are sin apart to show us how to wear our creature nature. Above we ask, what shall we say of Christ's absolute resignation to the Father's will? We answer further this, that here as everywhere He was unique, peerless. In all things He has the preeminence. In the Lord Jesus there was no rebellious will to be broken. In His heart there was nothing to be subdued. Was not this one reason why in the language of prophecy He said, I am a worm and no man? Psalm 22, 6 A worm has no power of resistance. It was because in Him there was no resistance that He could say, My meat is to do the will of Him that sent me. John 4, 34 Yea, it was because He was in perfect accord with the Father in all things that He said, I delight to do Thy will, O God. Yea, Thy law is within my heart. Psalm 40, 8 Note the last clause here, and behold His matchless excellency. God has to put His laws into our minds and write them in our hearts. See Hebrews 8, 10 But His law was already in Christ's heart. What a beautiful and striking illustration of Christ's thankfulness and joy as found in Matthew 11. There we behold first the failure of the faith of His forerunner. Verses 22 and 23 Next, we learn of the discontent of the people, satisfied neither with Christ's joyous message nor with John's solemn one. Verses 16 through 20 Third, we have the non-repentance of those favored cities in which our Lord's mightiest works were done. Verses 21 through 24 And when we read, At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. Verse 25 Note the parallel passage in Luke 10, 21 opens by saying, In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit and said, I thank Thee, etc. Ah, here was submission in its purest form, here was one by whom the worlds were made, yet in the days of His humiliation and in the face of His rejection, thankfully and joyfully bowing to the will of the Lord of heaven and earth. What ought to be our attitude toward God's sovereignty? Finally, five. One of adoring worship. It has been well said that true worship is based upon recognized greatness, and greatness is superlatively seen in sovereignty, and at no other footstool will men really worship J.B. Moody. In the presence of the divine King upon His throne, even the seraphims veil their faces. Divine sovereignty is not the sovereignty of a tyrannical despot, but the exercise to pleasure of one who is infinitely wise and good. Because God is infinitely wise, He cannot err, and because He is infinitely righteous, He will not do wrong. Here then is the preciousness of this truth. The mere fact itself that God's will is irresistible and irreversible fills me with fear, but once I realize that God wills only that which is good, my heart is made to rejoice. Here then is the final answer to the question of this chapter. What ought to be our attitude toward the sovereignty of God? The becoming attitude for us to take is that of godly fear, implicit obedience, and unreserved resignation and submission. But not only so, the recognition of the sovereignty of God, and the realization that the Sovereign Himself is my Father, ought to overwhelm the heart and cause me to bow before Him in adoring worship. At all times, I must say, Even so, Father, for so it seemeth good in Thy sight. We conclude with an example which well illustrates our meaning. Some two hundred years ago, the saintly Madame Gaillon, after ten years spent in a dungeon lying far below the surface of the ground, lit only by a candle at mealtimes, wrote these words, A little bird I am, shut from the fields of air, yet in my cage I sit and sing to Him who placed me there, well pleased a prisoner to be, because, my God, it pleases Thee. Not have I else to do, I sing the whole day long, and He whom most I love to please doth listen to my song. He caught and bound my wandering wing, but still He bends to hear me sing. My cage confines me round, abroad I cannot fly, but though my wing is closely bound, my heart's at liberty. My prison walls cannot control the flight, the freedom of the soul. Ah, it is good to soar these bolts and bar above, to Him whose purpose I adore, whose providence I love, and in my mighty will to find the joy, the freedom of the mind. Chapter 11. Difficulties and Objections Yet ye say, the way of the Lord is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel, is not my way equal, are not your ways unequal? Ezekiel 18.25 A convenient point has been reached when we may now examine, more definitely, some of the difficulties encountered and the objections which might be advanced against what we have written in previous pages. The author deemed it better to reserve these for a separate consideration rather than deal with them as he went along, requiring as that would have done the breaking of the course of thought and destroying the strict unity of each chapter, or else cumbering our pages with numerous and lengthy footnotes. That there are difficulties involved in an attempt to set forth the truth of God's sovereignty is readily acknowledged. The hardest thing of all, perhaps, is to maintain the balance of truth. It is largely a matter of perspective. That God is sovereign is explicitly declared in Scripture. That man is a responsible creature is also expressly affirmed in Holy Writ to define the relationship of these two truths, to fix the dividing line betwixt them, to show exactly where they meet, to exhibit the perfect consistency of the one with the other, is the weightiest task of all. Many have openly declared that it is impossible for the finite mind to harmonize them. Others tell us it is not necessary or even wise to attempt it, but as we have remarked in an earlier chapter, it seems to us more honoring to God to seek in His Word the solution to every problem. What is impossible to man is possible with God, and while we grant that the finite mind is limited in its reach, yet we remember that the Scriptures are given to us that the man of God may be thoroughly furnished. And if we approach their study in the spirit of humility and of expectancy, then according unto our faith will it be unto us. As remarked above, the hardest task in this connection is to preserve the balance of truth while insisting on both the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of the creature. To some of our readers it may appear that in pressing the sovereignty of God to the length we have, man is reduced to a mere puppet. Hence, to guard against this, they would modify their definitions and statements relating to God's sovereignty and thus seek to blunt the keen edge of what is so offensive to the carnal mind. Others, while refusing to weigh the evidence that we have adduced in support of our assertions, may raise objections which to their minds are sufficient to dispose of the whole subject. We would not waste time in the effort to refute objections made in a carping and contentious spirit, but we are desirous of meeting fairly the difficulties experienced by those who are anxious to obtain a fuller knowledge of the truth. Not that we deem ourselves able to give a satisfactory and final answer to every question that might be asked. Like the reader, the writer knows but in part and sees through a glass darkly. All that we can do is to examine these difficulties in the light we now have, in dependence upon the Spirit of God, that we may follow on to know the Lord better. We propose now to retrace our steps and pursue the same order of thought as that followed up to this point. As a part of our definition of God's sovereignty, we affirmed to say that God is sovereign is to declare that He is the Almighty, the Possessor of all power in heaven and earth, so that none can defeat His counsels, thwart His purpose, or resist His will. The sovereignty of the God of Scripture is absolute, irresistible, infinite. To put it now in its strongest form, we insist that God does as He pleases, only as He pleases, always as He pleases. That whatever takes place in time is but the outworking of that which He decreed in eternity. In proof of this assertion, we appeal to the following Scripture. But our God is in the heavens. He hath done whatsoever He hath pleased. Psalm 115.3 For the Lord of hosts hath purposed, and who shall this annul it? And His hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back? Isaiah 14.27 And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing, and He doeth according to His will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth. And none can stay His hand, or say unto Him, What doest Thou? Daniel 4.35 For of Him, and through Him, and to Him are all things, to whom be glory for ever. Amen. Romans 11.36 The above declarations are so plain and positive that any comments of ours upon them would simply be darkening counsel by words without knowledge. Such express statements as those just quoted are so sweeping and so dogmatic that all controversy concerning the subject of which they treat ought forever to be at an end. Yet rather than receive them at their face value, every device of carnal ingenuity is resorted to so as to neutralize their force. For example, it has been asked, If what we see in the world today is but the outworking of God's eternal purpose, if God's counsel is now being accomplished, then why did our Lord teach His disciples to pray, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven? Is it not a clear implication from these words that God's will is not now being done on earth? The answer is very simple. The emphatic word in the above clause is, As God's will is being done on earth today, if it is not, then our earth is not subjected to God's rule. And if it is not subjected to His rule, then He is not, as Scripture proclaims Him to be, the Lord of all the earth. Joshua 3.13 But God's will is not being done on earth as it is in heaven. How is God's will done in heaven? Consciously and joyfully. How is it done on earth? For the most part, unconsciously and sullenly. In heaven the angels perform the bidding of their Creator intelligently and gladly, but on earth the unsaved among men accomplish His will blindly and in ignorance. As we have said in earlier pages, when Judas betrayed the Lord Jesus and when Pilate sentenced him to be crucified, they had no conscious intentions of fulfilling God's decrees, yet nevertheless, unknown to themselves, they did. So do. But again, it has been objected. If everything that happens on earth is the fulfilling of the Almighty's pleasure, if God has foreordained before the foundation of the world everything which comes to pass in human history, then why do we read in Genesis 6, 6, It repented the Lord that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him at His heart. Does not this language intimate that the antediluvians had followed a course which their Maker had not marked out for them, and that in view of the fact they had corrupted their way upon the earth, the Lord regretted that He had ever brought such a creature into existence? Eredrawing such a conclusion, let us note what is involved in such an inference. If the words, It repented the Lord that He had made man, are regarded in an absolute sense, then God's omniscience would be denied. For in such a case, the course followed by man must have been unforeseen by God in the day that He created him. Therefore it must be evident to every reverent soul that this language bears some other meaning. We submit that the words, It repented the Lord, is an accommodation to our finite intelligence. And in saying this, we are not seeking to escape a difficulty or cut a knot, but are advancing an interpretation which we shall seek to show is in perfect accord with the general trend of Scripture. The Word of God is addressed to men, and therefore it speaks the language of men. Because we cannot rise to God's level, He, in grace, comes down to ours, and converses with us in our own speech. The Apostle Paul tells us of how he was caught up into paradise and heard unspeakable words which it is not possible margin to utter. 2 Corinthians 12, 4 Those on earth could not understand the vernacular of heaven. The finite cannot comprehend the infinite. Hence the Almighty deigns to couch His revelation in terms we may understand. It is for this reason the Bible contains many anthropomorphisms, that is, representations of God in the form of man. God is a spirit, yet the Scriptures speak of Him as having eyes, ears, nostrils, breath, hands, etc., which is surely an accommodation of terms brought down to the level of human comprehension. Again, we read in Genesis 18, 20 and 21, And the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous, I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come up unto me, and if not, I will know. Now, manifestly, this is an anthropologism, God speaking in human language. God knew the conditions which prevailed in Sodom, and His eyes had witnessed its fearful sins, yet He is pleased to use terms here that are taken from our own vocabulary. Again, in Genesis 22, 12, we read, And He, God, said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything unto him. For now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, from me. Here again, God is speaking in the language of man, for He knew before He tested Abram exactly how the patriarch would act. So, too, the expression of God, so often in Jeremiah 7, 13, etc., of Him rising up early, is manifestly an accommodation of terms. Once more, in the parable of the vineyard, Christ Himself represents its owner as saying, Then said the Lord of the vineyard, What shall I do? I will send my beloved son. It may be they will reverence Him when they see Him. Luke 20, 13, And yet it is certain that God knew perfectly well that the husbandman of the vineyard, the Jews, would not reverence his son, but instead would despise and reject him as his own word had declared. In the same way we understand the words of Genesis 6, 6, It repented the Lord that He had made man on the earth as an accommodation of terms to human comprehension. This verse does not teach that God was confronted with an unforeseen contingency, and therefore regretted that He had made man, but yet expresses the abhorrence of the Holy God at the awful wickedness and corruption into which man had fallen. Should there be any doubt remaining in the minds of our readers as to the legitimacy and soundness of our interpretation, a direct appeal to Scripture should instantly and entirely remove it. The strength of this thrill, a divine title, Will not he not repent? For he is not a man that he should repent. 1 Samuel 15, 29 Every good and perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of light, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. James 1, 17 Careful attention to what we have said above will throw light on numerous other passages, which, if we ignore their figurative character and fail to note that God applies to Himself, human modes of expression will be obscure and perplexing. Having commented at such length upon Genesis 6-6, there will be no need to give such a detailed exposition of other passages which belong to the same class. Yet, for the benefit of those of our readers who may be anxious for us to examine several other Scriptures, we turn to one or two more. One Scripture which we often find cited in order to overthrow the teaching advanced in this book is our Lord's lament over Jerusalem. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem! Thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not. Matthew 23, 37 The question is asked, Do not these words show that the Savior acknowledged the defeat of His mission, that as a people the Jews resisted all His gracious overtures toward them? In replying to this question, it should first be pointed out that our Lord is here referring not so much to His own mission as He is upbraiding the Jews for having in all ages rejected His grace. This is clear from His reference to the prophets. The Old Testament bears a full witness of how graciously and patiently Jehovah dealt with His people and with what extreme obstinacy from first to last they refused to be gathered unto Him and how in the end He abandoned them to follow their own devices. Yet, as the same scriptures declare, the counsel of God was not frustrated by their wickedness, for it had been foretold and therefore decreed by Him. See, for example, 1 Kings 8, 33 Matthew 23, 37 may well be compared with Isaiah 65, 2 where the Lord says, I have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people which walketh in a way that was not good, after their own thoughts. But it may be asked, did God seek to do that which was in opposition to His own eternal purpose? In words borrowed from Calvin, we reply, Though to our apprehension the will of God is manifold and various, yet He does not in Himself will things at variance with each other, but astonishes our faculties with His various and manifold wisdom, according to the expression of Paul, till we shall be enabled to understand that He mysteriously wills what now seems contrary to His will. As a further illustration of the same principle, we would refer the reader to Isaiah 5, 1-4 Now will I sing to my well-beloved a song of my beloved, touching his vineyard? My well-beloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill, and he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein, and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes. And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard, what could have been done more to my vineyard that I have not done in it? Wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, it brought forth wild grapes. Is it not plain from this language that God reckoned Himself to have done enough for Israel to warrant an expectation, speaking after the manner of men, of better returns? Yet is it not equally evident that Jehovah says here, He looked that it should bring forth grapes, that He is accommodating Himself to a form of finite expression? And so also when He says, What could have been done more to my vineyard that I have not done in it? We need to take note that in the previous enumeration of what He had done, the fencing, etc., He refers only to external privileges, means, and opportunities, which had been bestowed upon Israel, for, of course, He could even then have taken away from them their stony heart and given them a new heart, even a heart of flesh, had He so pleased. Perhaps we should link up with Christ's lament over Jerusalem in Matthew 23, 37, His tears over the city recorded in Luke 19, 41. He beheld the city and wept over it. In the verses which immediately follow, we learn what it was that occasioned His tears, saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy teeth, but now they are hid from thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side. It was the prospect of the fearful judgment which Christ knew was impending. But did those tears make manifest a disappointed God? Nay, verily. Instead, they displayed a perfect man. The man Christ Jesus was no emotion less stoic, but one filled with compassion. Those tears expressed the sinless sympathies of His real and pure humanity. Had He not wept, He had been less than human. Those tears were one of many proofs that, in all things, it behooved Him to be made like unto His brethren. Hebrews 2.17 In chapter 1, we have affirmed that God is sovereign in His exercise of His love. And in saying this, we are fully aware that many will strongly resent the statement, and that, furthermore, what we have now to say will probably meet with more criticism than anything else advanced in this book. Nevertheless, we must be true to our convictions of what we believe to be the teaching of Holy Scripture, and we can only ask our readers to examine diligently, in the light of God's Word, what we here submit to their attention. One of the most popular beliefs of the day is that God loves everybody, and the very fact that it is so popular with all classes ought to be enough to arouse the suspicions of those who are subject to the Word of Truth. God's love toward all His creatures is the fundamental and favorite tenet of Universalists, Unitarians, Theosophists, Christian Scientists, Spiritualists, Russellites, etc. No matter how a man may live in open defiance of Heaven, with no concern whatever for his soul's eternal interests, still less for God's glory, dying, perhaps, with an oath on his lips, notwithstanding, God loves him, we are told. So widely has this dogma been proclaimed, and so comforting is it to the heart which is at enmity with God, we have little hope of convincing many of their error. That God loves everybody is, we may say, quite a modern belief. The writings of the Church of Fathers, the Reformers, or the Puritans will, we believe, be searched in vain for any such concept. Perhaps the late D.L. Moody, captivated by Dromund's The Greatest Thing in the World, did more than anyone else in the last century to popularize this concept. It has been customary to say God loves the sinner, though He hates his sin. Romans 5a is addressed to saints, and the we are the same ones as those spoken of in Romans 8, 29 and 30. But that is a meaningless distinction. What is there in a sinner but sin? Is it not true that his whole head is sick, and his whole heart faint, and that from the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in him? Isaiah 1, 5 and 6. Is it true that God loves the one who is despising and rejecting His blessed Son? God is light as well as love, and therefore His love must be a holy love. To tell the Christ-rejector that God loves him is to cauterize his conscience, as well as to afford him a sense of security in his sins. The fact is, the love of God is a truth for the saints only, and to present it to the enemies of God is to take the children's bread and cast it to the dogs. With the exception of John 3, 16, not once in the four gospels do we read of the Lord Jesus, the perfect teacher, telling sinners that God loved them. In the book of Acts, which records the evangelistic labors and messages of the apostles, God's love is never referred to at all. But when we come to the epistles, which are addressed to the saints, we have a full presentation of this precious truth, God's love for His own. Let us seek to rightly divide the word of God, and then we shall not be found taking truths which are addressed to believers and misapplying them to unbelievers. That which sinners need to have brought before them is the ineffable holiness, the exacting righteousness, the inflexible justice, and the terrible wrath of God. Risking the danger of being misunderstood, let us say, and we wish we could say it to every evangelist and preacher in the country, there is far too much presenting of Christ to sinners today by those sound in the faith, and far too little showing sinners their need of Christ. That is their absolutely ruined and lost condition, their imminent and awful danger of suffering the wrath to come, the fearful guilt resting upon them in the sight of God. To present Christ to those who have never been shown their need of Him seems to us to be guilty of casting pearls before swine. Concerning the rich young ruler of whom it is said Christ loved him, Mark 10, 21, we fully believe that he was one of God's elect and was saved sometime after his interview with our Lord. Should it be said this is an arbitrary assumption and assertion which lacks anything in the gospel record to substantiate it, we reply, it is written, Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. And this man certainly did come to Him. Compare the case of Nicodemus. He too came to Christ, yet there is nothing in John 3 which intimates he was a saved man when the interview closed. Nevertheless, we know from his later life that he was not cast out. If it be true that God loves every member of the human family, then why did our Lord tell His disciples, He that hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me, and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father. If a man love me, he will keep my words, and my Father will love him. John 14, 21 and 23. Why say, he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, if the Father loves everybody. The same limitation is found in Proverbs 8, 17. I love them that love me. Again, we read, Thou hatest all workers of iniquity. Not merely the works of iniquity. Here then is a flat repudiation of present teaching, that God hates sin, but loves the sinner. Scripture says, Thou hatest all workers of iniquity. Psalm 5, 5. God is angry with the wicked every day. Psalm 7, 11. He that believeth not on the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. Not shall abide, but even now abideth on him. John 3, 36. Can God love the one on whom His wrath abides? Again, is it not evident that the words, The love of God which is in Christ Jesus. Romans 8, 39. Marks a limitation both in the sphere and objects of His love. Again, is it not plain from the words, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. Romans 9, 13. That God does not love everybody. Again, it is written, For whom the Lord loveth, He chasteneth and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth. Hebrews 12, 6. Does not this verse teach that God's love is restricted to the members of His own family? If He loves all men without exception, then the distinction and limitation here mentioned is quite meaningless. Finally, we would ask, Is it conceivable that God will love the damned in the lake of fire? Yet, if He loves them now, He will do so then, seeing that His love knows no change. He is without variableness or shadow of turning. Turning now to John 3, 16. It should be evident from the passages just quoted that this verse will not bear the construction usually put upon it. God so loved the world. Many suppose that this means the entire human race. But the entire human race includes all mankind from Adam till the close of earth's history. It reaches backward as well as forward. Consider then, the history of mankind before Christ was born. Unnumbered millions lived and died before the Savior came to the earth, living here, having no hope, and without God in the world, and therefore passed out into an eternity of woe. If God loved them, where is the slightest proof thereof? Scripture declares, Who? God. In times past, from the tower of Babel till after Pentecost, suffered all nations to walk in their own ways. Acts 14, 16. Scripture declares that, and even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient. Romans 1, 28. To Israel, God said, You only have I known of all the families of the earth. Amos 3, 2. In view of these plain passages, who will be so foolish as to insist that God in the past loved all mankind? The same applies with equal force to the future. Read through the book of Revelation, noting especially chapters 8 to 19, where we have described the judgments which will be poured out from heaven on this earth. Read of the fearful woes, the frightful plagues, the vials of God's wrath, which shall be emptied on the wicked. Finally, read the 20th chapter of the Revelation, the great white throne judgment, and see if you can discover there, the slightest trace of love. But the objector comes back to John 3, 16 and says, world means world. True, that we have shown that the world does not mean the whole human family. The fact is that the world is used in a general way. When the brethren of Christ said, Show thyself to the world. John 7, 4. Did they mean show thyself to all mankind? When the Pharisees said, Behold, the world is gone after him. John 12, 19. Did they mean that all the human family were flocking after him? When the apostle wrote, Your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. Romans 1, 8. Did he mean that the faith of the saints at Rome was the subject of conversation by every man, woman and child on earth? When Revelation 13, 3 informs us that all the world wandered after the beast. Are we to understand that there will be no exceptions? These and other passages which might be quoted show that the term the world often has a relative rather than an absolute force. Now the first thing to note in connection with John 3, 16 is that our Lord was there speaking to Nicodemus, a man who believed that God's mercies were confined to his own nation. Christ there announced that God's love in giving his son had a larger object in view, that it flowed beyond the boundary of Palestine, reaching out to regions beyond. In other words, this was Christ's announcement that God had a purpose of grace toward Gentiles as well as Jews. God so loved the world, then, signifies God's love is international in its scope. But does this mean that God loves every individual among the Gentiles? Not necessarily, for as we have seen, the term world is general rather than specific, relative rather than absolute. The term world in itself is not conclusive. To ascertain who are the objects of God's love, other passages where his love is mentioned must be consulted. In 2 Peter 2, 5 we read of the world of the ungodly. If then there is a world of the ungodly, there must also be a world of the godly. It is the latter who are in view in the passages we shall now briefly consider. For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven and giveth life unto the world. John 6, 33. Now mark it well, Christ did not say offereth life unto the world, but giveth. What is the difference between the two terms? This, a thing which is offered may be refused, but a thing given necessarily implies its acceptance. If it is not accepted, it is not given. It is simply proffered. Here then is the scripture that positively states Christ giveth life, spiritual eternal life, unto the world. Now he does not give eternal life to the world of the ungodly, for they will not have it. They do not want it. Hence we are obliged to understand the reference in John 6, 33 as being to the world of the godly, that is, God's own people. One more. In 2 Corinthians 5, 19 we read, to wit that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself. What is meant by this is clearly defined in the words immediately following. Not imputing their trespasses unto them. Here again the world cannot mean the world of the ungodly, for their trespasses are imputed to them, as the judgment of the great white throne will yet show. But 2 Corinthians 5, 19 plainly teaches because there is a world which are reconciled, reconciled unto God, because their trespasses are not reckoned to their account, having been born by their substitute. Who then are they? Only one answer is fairly possible. The world of God's people. In like manner, the world in John 3, 16 must in the final analysis refer to the world of God's people. Must, we say, for there is no other alternative solution. It cannot mean the whole human race, for one half of the race was already in hell when Christ came to earth. It is unfair to insist that it means every human being now living, for every other passage in the New Testament where God's love is mentioned, limits it to his own people. Search and see. The objects of God's love in John 3, 16 are precisely the same as the objects of Christ's love in John 13, 1. Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come, that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own, which were in the world. He loved them unto the end. We may admit that our interpretation of John 3, 16 is no novel one invented by us, but one almost uniformly given by the reformers and Puritans and many others since then. Coming now to chapter 3, the sovereignty of God in salvation, innumerable are the questions which might be raised here. It is strange, yet it is true, that many who acknowledge the sovereign rule of God over material things will cavil and quibble when we insist that God is also sovereign in the spiritual realm. But their quarrel is with God and not with us. We have given Scripture in support of everything advanced in these pages, and if that will not satisfy our readers, it is idle for us to seek to convince them. What we write now is designed for those who do bow to the authority of Holy Writ, and for their benefit we propose to examine several other Scriptures which have purposely been held for this chapter. Perhaps the one passage which has presented the greatest difficulty to those who have seen that passage after passage in Holy Writ plainly teaches the election of a limited number unto salvation, is 2 Peter 3, 9. Not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. The first thing to be said upon the above passage is that, like all other Scripture, it must be understood and interpreted in the light of its context. What we have quoted in the preceding paragraph is only part of the verse, and the last part of it at that. Surely it must be allowed by all that the first half of the verse needs to be taken into consideration. In order to establish what these words are supposed by many to mean, that the words any and all are to be received without any qualification, it must be shown that the context is referring to the whole human race. If this cannot be shown, if there is no premise to justify this, then the conclusion also must be unwarranted. Let us then ponder the first part of the verse. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise. Note promise in the singular number, not promise says. What promise is in view? The promise of salvation? Where in all Scripture has God ever promised to save the whole human race? Where indeed? No, the promise here referred to is not about salvation. What then is it? The context tells us. Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers walking after their own lusts and saying, where is the promise of His coming? Verses 3 and 4. The context then refers to God's promise to send back His beloved Son. But many long centuries have passed, and this promise has not yet been fulfilled. True, but long as the delay may seem to us, the interval is short in the reckoning of God. As the proof of this we are reminded, but beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. Verse 8. In God's reckoning of time, less than two days have yet passed since He promised to send back Christ. But more, the delay in the Father sending back His beloved Son is not only due to no slackness on His part, but it is also occasioned by His longsuffering. His longsuffering to whom? The verse we are now considering tells us. But His longsuffering to usward. And whom are the usward? The human race, or God's own people? In the light of the context, this is not an open question upon which each of us is free to form an opinion. The Holy Spirit has defined it. The opening verse of the chapter says, this second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you. And again, the verse immediately preceding declares, But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, etc. Verse 8. The usward, then, are the beloved of God. They to whom this epistle is addressed are them that have obtained, not exercised, but obtained as God's sovereign gift, like precious faith with us, through the righteousness of God and our Savior, Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 1.1. Therefore we say there is no room for a doubt, a quibble, or an argument. The usward are the elect of God. Let us now quote the verse as a whole. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness. But His longsuffering to usward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Could anything be clearer? Be any that God is not willing should perish, are the usward, to whom God is longsuffering, the beloved of the previous verses. 2 Peter 3.9 means, then, that God will not send back His Son until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in. Romans 11.25. God will not send back Christ till that people whom He is now taking out of the Gentiles, Acts 15.14, are gathered in. God will not send back His Son till the body of Christ is complete, and that will not be till the ones whom He has elected to be saved in this generation shall have been brought to Him. Thank God for His longsuffering to usward. Had Christ come back twenty years ago, the writer had been left behind to perish in his sins. But that could not be so. God graciously delayed the second coming. For the same reason He is still delaying His advent. His decreed purpose is that all His elect will come to repentance, and repent they shall. The present interval of grace will not end until the last of the other sheep of John 10.16 are safely folded. Then will Christ return. In expounding the sovereignty of God the Spirit in salvation, we have shown that His power is irresistible, that by His gracious operations upon and within them, He compels God's elect to come to Christ. The sovereignty of the Holy Spirit is set forth not only in John 3.8, where we are told, The wind bloweth where it pleaseth, so is every one that is born of the Spirit, but is affirmed in other passages as well. In 1 Corinthians 12.11 we read, But all these worketh that one and the self-assaimed Spirit, dividing to every man severally, as He will. And again we read in Acts 16.6 and 7, Now that they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia, after they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit suffered them not. Thus we see how the Holy Spirit interposed His imperial will in opposition to the determination of the apostles. But it is objected against the assertion that the will and power of the Holy Spirit are irresistible, that here are two passages, one in the Old Testament and the other in the New, which appear to militate against such a conclusion. God said of old, My spirit shall not always strive with man. Genesis 6.3 And to the Jews Stephen declared, Ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do ye, which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted. Acts 7.51-52 If then the Jews resisted the Holy Spirit, how can we say His power is irresistible? The answer is found in Nehemiah 9.30 Many years didst thou forbear them, and testifiest against them by thy spirit in thy prophets, yet would they not give ear. It was the external operations of the Spirit which Israel resisted. It was the Spirit speaking by and through the prophets to which they would not give ear. It was not anything which the Holy Spirit wrought in them that they resisted, but the motives presented to them by the inspired messages of the prophets. Perhaps it will help the reader to catch our thought better if we compare Matthew 11.20-24 Then began He to upbraid the cities wherein most of His mighty works were done, because they repented not. Woe unto thee, Chorazin, etc. Our Lord here pronounces woe upon these cities for their failure to repent because of the mighty works, miracles, which He had done in their sight, and not because of any internal operations of His grace. The same is true of Genesis 6.3 By comparing 1 Peter 3.18-20 it will be seen that it was by and through Noah that God's Spirit strove with the antediluvians. The distinction noted above was ably summarized by Andrew Fuller, another writer long deceased, from whom our moderns might learn much thus. There are two kinds of influences by which God works on the minds of men. First, that which is common and which is effected by the ordinary use of motives presented to the mind for consideration. Secondly, that which is special and supernatural. The one contains nothing mysterious any more than the influence of our words and actions on each other. The other is such a mystery that we know nothing of it but by its effects. The former ought to be effectual, the latter is so. The work of the Holy Spirit upon or towards men is always resisted by them. His work within is always successful. What saith the Scriptures? This. He which hath begun a good work in you will finish it. Philippians 1.6 The next question to be considered is Why preach the gospel to every creature if God the Father has predestined only a limited number to be saved? If God the Son died to effect the salvation of only those given to Him by the Father and if God the Spirit is seeking to quicken none save God's elect then what is the use of giving the gospel to the world at large and where is the propriety of telling sinners that whosoever believeth in Christ shall not perish but have everlasting life? First, it is of great importance that we should be clear upon the nature of the gospel itself. The gospel of God's good news concerning Christ and not concerning sinners. Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle separated unto the gospel of God concerning His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 1.1 and 3 God would have proclaimed far and wide the amazing fact that His own blessed Son became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Philippians 2.8 A universal testimony must be borne to the matchless worth of the person and work of Christ. Note the word witness in Matthew 24.14 The gospel of God's witness unto the perfections of His Son. Mark the words of the apostle For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ in them that are saved and in them that perish. 2 Corinthians 2.15 Concerning the character and contents of the gospel the utmost confusion prevails today. The gospel is not an offer to be bandied around by evangelical peddlers. The gospel is no mere invitation, but a proclamation. A proclamation concerning Christ. True whether men believe it or not. No man is asked to believe that Christ died for him in particular. The gospel in brief is this. Christ died for sinners. You are a sinner. Believe in Christ and you shall be saved. In the gospel God simply announces the terms upon which men may be saved namely repentance and faith and indiscriminately all are commanded to fulfill them. Second, repentance and remission of sins are to be preached in the name of the Lord Jesus among all the nations. Luke 24.47 Because God's elect are scattered abroad. John 11.52 Among all nations. And it is by the preaching and hearing of the gospel that they are called out of the world. The gospel is the means which God uses in the saving of his own chosen ones. By nature God's elect are children of wrath even as others. They are lost sinners needing a savior and apart from Christ there is no salvation for them. Hence the gospel must be believed by them before they can rejoice in the knowledge of sins forgiven. The gospel of God's winnowing fan it separates the chaff from the wheat and gathers the latter into his garner. Third, it is to be noted that God has other purposes in the preaching of the gospel than the salvation of his own elect. The world exists for the elect's sake yet others have the benefit of it. So the word is preached for the elect's sake yet others have the benefit of an external call. The sun shines though blind men see it not. The rain falls upon rocky mountains and wasted deserts as well as on the fruitful valleys. So also God suffers the gospel to fall on the ears of the non-elect. The power of the gospel is one of God's agencies for holding in check the wickedness of the world. Many who are never saved by it are reformed. Their lusts are bridled and they are restrained from becoming worse. Moreover, the preaching of the gospel to the non-elect is made an admirable test of their characters. It exhibits the inveteracy of their sin. It demonstrates that their hearts are at enmity against God. It justifies the declaration of Christ that men love to darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. John 3, 19 Finally, it is sufficient for us to know that we are bidden to preach the gospel to every creature. It is not for us to reason about the consistency between this and the fact that few are chosen. It is for us to obey. It is a simple matter to ask questions relating to the ways of God which no finite mind can fully fathom. We too might turn and remind the objector that our Lord declared, Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men and blasphemies wherewithsoever they shall blaspheme. But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Spirit hath never forgiven it. Mark 3, 28 and 29 And there can be no doubt whatever but that certain of the Jews were guilty of this very sin. See Matthew 12, 24, etc. And hence their destruction was inevitable. Yet notwithstanding, scarcely two months later he commanded his disciples to preach the gospel to every creature. When the objector can show us the consistency of these two things, the fact that certain of the Jews had committed the sin for which there is never forgiveness, and the fact that to them the gospel was to be preached, we will undertake to furnish a more satisfactory solution than the one given above to the harmony between a universal proclamation of the gospel and a limitation of its saving power to those only that God has predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son. Once more we say it is not for us to reason about the gospel. It is our business to preach it. When God ordered Abraham to offer up his son as a burnt offering, he might have objected that this command was inconsistent with his promise in Isaac shall thy seed be called. But instead of arguing, he obeyed and left God to harmonize his promise and his precept. Jeremiah might have argued that God had bade him to do that which was altogether unreasonable when he said, Therefore thou shalt speak all these words unto them, but they will not hearken to thee. Thou shalt also call unto them, but they will not answer thee. Jeremiah 7, 27 But instead the prophet obeyed. Ezekiel 2 might have complained that the Lord was asking of him a hard thing when he said, Son of man, go, get thee into the house of Israel and speak with my words unto them. For thou art not sent to a people of a strange speech and of a hard language, but to the house of Israel. Not to many people of a strange speech and of a hard language those words thou canst not understand. Surely had I sent thee to them, they would have hearkened unto thee. But the house of Israel will not hearken unto thee, for they will not hearken unto me. For all the house of Israel are impudent and hard-hearted. Ezekiel 3, 4-7 But, O my soul, if truth so bright should dazzle and confound thy sight, yet still his written word obey and wait the great decisive day. Watts It has been well said. The gospel has lost none of its ancient power. It is as much today as when it was first to preach the power of God unto salvation. It needs no pity, no help, and no hand made. It can overcome all obstacles and break down all barriers. No human device need be tried to prepare the sinner to receive it, for if God has sent it, no power can hinder it. And if he has not sent it, no power can make it effectual. Dr. Bollinger This chapter might be extended indefinitely, but it is already too long, so a word or two more must suffice. A number of other questions will be dealt with in the pages yet to follow, and those that we fail to touch upon, the reader must take to the Lord Himself, who has said, If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all liberally, and upbraideth not. James 1, 5 Chapter 12 The Value of this Doctrine All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. 2 Timothy 3, 16 and 17 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. 2 Timothy 3, 16 and 17 Doctrine means teaching. And it is by doctrine or teaching that the great realities of God and of our relation to Him, of Christ, the Spirit, salvation, grace, glory, are made known to us. It is by doctrine, through the power of the Spirit, that believers are nourished and edified. And where doctrine is neglected, growth in grace and effective witnessing for Christ does not necessarily cease. How sad, then, that doctrine is now decried as unpractical, when, in fact, doctrine is the very base of the practical life. There is an inseparable connection between belief and practice. As he thinketh in his heart, so is he. Proverbs 23, 7 The relation between divine truth and Christian character is that of cause to effect. And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. John 8, 32 Free from ignorance, free from prejudice, free from error, free from the wiles of Satan, free from the power of evil. And if the truth is not known, then such freedom will not be enjoyed. Observe the order of mention in the passage with which we have opened. All Scripture is profitable, first, for doctrine. The same order is observed throughout the epistles, particularly in the great doctrinal treatises of the Apostle Paul. Read the epistle of Romans, and it will be found that there is not a single admonition in the first five chapters. In the epistle of Ephesians, there are no exhortations till the fourth chapter is reached. The order is first doctrinal exposition, and then admonition or exhortation for the regulation of the daily walk. The substitution of so-called practical preaching for the doctrinal exposition which it has supplanted is the root cause of many of the evil maladies which now afflict the Church of God. The reason why there is so little depth, so little intelligence, so little grasp of the fundamental verities of Christianity is because so few believers have been established in the faith through hearing expounded and through their own personal study of the doctrines of grace. While their soul is unestablished in the doctrine of the divine inspiration of the Scripture, their full and verbal inspiration, there can be no firm foundation for faith to rest upon. While the soul is ignorant of the doctrine of justification, there can be no real and intelligent assurance of its acceptance in the Beloved. While the soul is unacquainted with the teaching of the Word upon sanctification, it is open to receive all the crudities and errors of the perfectionists or holiness people. While the soul knows not what Scripture has to say upon the doctrine of the new birth, there can be no proper grasp of the two natures in the believer, and ignorance here inevitably results in the loss of peace and joy. And so, we might go on right through the list of Christian doctrines. It is ignorance of doctrine that has rendered the professing Church helpless to cope with the rising tide of infidelity. It is ignorance of doctrine which is mainly responsible for thousands of professing Christians being captivated by the numerous false isms of the day. It is because the time has now arrived when the bulk of our churches will not endure sound doctrine, 2 Timothy 4.3, that they so readily receive false doctrines. Of course, it is true that doctrine, like anything else in Scripture, may be studied from a merely cold intellectual viewpoint, and thus approached, doctrinal teaching and doctrinal study will leave the heart untouched and will naturally be dry and profitless. But doctrine properly received, a doctrine studied with an exercised heart, will ever lead into a deeper knowledge of God and of the unsearchable riches of Christ. The doctrine of God's sovereignty, then, is no mere metaphysical dogma which is devoid of practical value, but is one that is calculated to produce a powerful effect upon Christian character and the daily walk. The doctrine of God's sovereignty lies at the foundation of Christian theology and, in importance, is perhaps the second only to the divine inspiration of the Scriptures. It is the center of gravity in the system of Christian truth, the sun around which all the lesser orbs are grouped. It is the golden milestone to which every highway of knowledge leads and from which they all radiate. It is the cord upon which all other doctrines are strung like so many pearls, holding them in place and giving them unity. It is the plumb line by which every creed needs to be measured, the balance in which every human dogma must be weighed. It is designed as the sheet anchor for our souls amid the storms of life. The doctrine of God's sovereignty is a divine cordial to refresh our spirits. It is designed and adapted to mold the affections of the heart and to give a right direction to conduct. It produces gratitude in prosperity and patience in adversity. It affords comfort for the present and a sense of security respecting the unknown future. It is and it does all and much more than we have just said because it ascribes to God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit the glory which is His due and places the creature in His proper place before Him in the dust. We shall now consider the value of the doctrine in detail. 1. It deepens our veneration of the divine character. The doctrine of God's sovereignty as it is unfolded in the scriptures affords an exalted view of the divine perfections. It maintains His creatorial rights. It insists that to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things and we in Him and one Lord Jesus Christ by whom are all things and we by Him. It declares that His rights are those of the potter who forms and fashions the clay into vessels of whatever type and for whatever use He may please. Its testimony is Thou hast created all things and for Thy pleasure they are and were created. Revelation 4.11 It argues that none has any right to reply against God and that the only becoming attitude for the creature to take is one of reverent submission before Him. Thus the apprehension of the absolute supremacy of God is of great practical importance for unless we have a proper regard to His high sovereignty He will never be honored in our thoughts of Him nor will He have His proper place in our hearts and lives. It exhibits the inscrutable-ness of His wisdom. It shows that while God is immaculate in His holiness He has permitted evil to enter His fair creation. That while He is the possessor of all power He has allowed the devil to wage war against Him for six thousand years at least. That while He is the perfect embodiment of love He spared not His own son. That while He is the God of all grace multitudes will be tormented forever and ever in the lake of fire. High mysteries are these. Scripture does not deny them but acknowledges their existence. Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God. How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out. Romans 11, 33 It makes known the irreversible-ness of His will. Known unto God are all His works from the beginning of the world. Acts 15, 18 From the beginning God purposed to glorify Himself in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages world without end. Ephesians 3, 21 To this end He created the world and formed man. His all-wise plan was not defeated when man fell for in the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world Revelation 13, 8 we behold the fall anticipated. Nor will God's purpose be thwarted by the wickedness of man since the fall as is clear from the words of the psalmist Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee. The remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain. Psalm 76, 10 Because God is the almighty His will cannot be withstood. His purposes originated in eternity and are carried forward without change to eternity. They extend to all His works and control all events. He worketh all things after the counsel of His own will. Dr. Rice Neither man nor devil can successfully resist Him. Therefore it is written, The Lord reigneth. Let the people tremble. Psalm 99, 1 It magnifies His grace Grace is unmerited favor. And because grace is shown to the undeserving and hell-deserving, to those who have no claim upon God, therefore is grace free and can be manifested toward the chief of sinners. But because grace is exercised toward those who are destitute of worthiness or merit, grace is sovereign. That is to say, God bestows grace upon whom He pleases. Divine sovereignty has ordained that song shall be cast into the lake of fire to show that all deserved such a doom. But grace comes in like a dragnet and draws out from a lost humanity a people for God's name to be throughout all eternity the monument of His unscrutable favor. Sovereign grace reveals God breaking down the opposition of the human heart, subduing the enmity of the carnal mind, and bringing us to love Him because He first loved us. 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 Reform books, tapes, and videos at great discounts is on the web 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.