02.06B. CHRISTIAN SUBMISSION TO GOD'S SOVEREIGNTY
CHRISTIAN SUBMISSION TO GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY "Submit yourselves therefore to God" James 4:7
Submission is, on the part of man, the proper counterpart and the due acknowledgment of God’s sovereignty. His sovereignty is alike supreme and universal — and is included in the simplest idea which we can form of God as God. He is self-existent and almighty, and alike independent — therefore, of all his creatures, and able to control them. As their Creator and Preserver, he has a right of property in them. As their Governor and Judge, he has a supreme jurisdiction over them. This supreme and unlimited sovereignty is, accordingly, ascribed to God in every part of Scripture. We read "That he is God, and there is none besides him!" "The most high God, possessor of Heaven and earth." "Of whom, and through whom, and to whom are all things." "For whose pleasure they are and were created." "The Lord has made all things for himself." "In his hand is the soul of every living thing." "We are the clay — and he is the potter." "The God of the spirits of all flesh." "His counsel shall stand, and who will do all his pleasure." "He works all things after the counsel of his own will." "He gives not account of any of his matters." "The Most High does 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 are you doing?" Such are the strong testimonies of Scripture, and, coincident as these testimonies are with the dictates of enlightened reason — they cannot be disputed or denied without virtually abandoning the idea of God altogether. For what is God, if he is not sovereign and supreme? Can we conceive of him as subordinate — or as limited either in his power, or in his authority — or as controlled and regulated by any other consideration than the counsel of his own will? As it is impossible to conceive of a Supreme Being who is not possessed of universal sovereignty and almighty power — so these infinite perfections must be ascribed to God. And I see not why we who know God’s character should be so averse, as many are, to acknowledge this in its full extent, and are so anxious to limit the Holy One of Israel.
Such sovereignty, indeed, as the Bible ascribes to him, and as is necessarily involved in any idea that we can form of a Supreme Being, could not be contemplated apart from the moral perfections of his nature — without apprehension and fear. And even when these perfections are taken into view, it is not astonishing that lost sinners, who have so much reason to fear that they are the objects of his displeasure, should still be unwilling to think of God’s sovereignty in connection with his inflexible justice and his almighty power. As sinners, they must have many a misgiving of heart, when the idea of God’s sovereignty is vividly presented to them, so long as they are ignorant of the way in which all his attributes may be glorified in their salvation. But surely Christian believers who know the character of God, as a being possessed of every moral perfection, and who know, furthermore, that in Christ, he can be "the just God, and yet the Savior of sinners" — should have the less reluctance to admit, in the most unqualified sense, the doctrine of his sovereignty, in proportion as they feel assured that such a sovereignty may be safely exercised by such a good and gracious Being. And if, notwithstanding, they shrink from acknowledging it, and are conscious of a disposition to evade the evidence by which it is confirmed, they have reason to fear, that they have not as yet acquired such confidence in God’s moral perfections, as would enable them to feel that they are safe in his hands.
It should be matter of serious inquiry, whether their repugnance to God’s sovereignty arises out of a mere reluctance to admit that one prerogative of the divine nature — or whether it does not rather indicate a distrust of those moral perfections which, whenever they are duly apprehended, should banish all unworthy misgivings, whatever may be the extent of God’s power. For why should Christian men mistrust God, or apprehend any evil from his supremacy? Is he not . . .
omniscient in knowledge,
and unerring in wisdom,
and unchangeable in justice, and goodness, and truth?
Supreme as he is, is he not fit to be "the confidence of all the ends of the earth" — and is it not still true of him, that "the judge of all the earth will do right?" Are we apprehensive of any undue exercise of power, or of any capricious use of prerogative on the part of Him, whose nature is holy, and whose name is love? Or can we really imagine that we would be in a safer or better state — were God’s sovereignty less absolute or less universal than it is? Do we not know that the order of the whole universe depends on its being under the government of one God, and under the control of his sovereign will — and that were his supremacy over it supposed to be abandoned, we would have no security for our happiness, and no stay for our hopes, other than what might be furnished by the vicissitudes of chance, or the operation of a blind fate?
I have thus adverted to the sovereignty of God, as the ground and reason of the submission which is here enjoined, partly because that duty cannot be fulfilled without reference to this divine prerogative, and partly also because there is a spurious submission, which has in it nothing of the nature of the Christian grace — but which is not infrequently mistaken for it.
It may help us to distinguish or discriminate between the false and the true, between the spurious and the genuine — if we bear in mind that the submission here enjoined is submission to God — not a sullen and reluctant succumbing to blind fate — but an intelligent and cheerful resignation to the divine will. In order to this, nothing can be either more necessary or more effectual than that we should, in the first instance, have a clear apprehension of God’s supremacy, and submit our understandings to the full impression of his rights as a sovereign.
Without this we may submit to circumstances which we cannot alter, or to events which we cannot control — but we cannot be said to submit to God. His hand may not be acknowledged, in the dispensations of providence, nor any homage paid to his sovereign will, as the disposer of all events. And, if this is the case, we may rather be said to submit to fate or to fortune — than to submit ourselves to him, "who works all things after the counsel of his own will." But if we have once acquired a clear apprehension of God’s prerogative as a sovereign, and surrendered our understandings to the full impression of his supremacy — we shall be prepared to see how reasonable a thing it is, in all circumstances, and at all times — to submit ourselves to God; the very fact of his sovereignty being a sufficient reason for submission, whatever may be the occasion on which we are called to exercise it.
Indeed, the duty of submission is so inseparable from the fact of God’s supremacy, that whenever the latter is duly considered, the former will be regarded as a most reasonable service, and everything like murmuring or complaining will assume the appearance of resisting the will, and questioning the authority of God himself.
Trusting that you will bear in mind the great principle which we have stated, and a right apprehension of which is the source and spring of all genuine submission — I proceed to illustrate some of the leading subjects and occasions, with reference to which you are called to the exercise of this duty:
1. We are called to submit ourselves to God in respect to the various allotments and dispensations of his providence. By the allotments of providence — we mean the situations in which we are individually placed. By the dispensations of providence — we mean the events which, in our several conditions, befall us. The former has reference to our general circumstances in the world — the latter has reference to peculiar and occasional occurrences. The allotments of providence are very various; as is evident when we reflect on the different lots of different men.
Some are born, as it were, to affluence and prosperity — others to poverty and hard toil.
Some are, from their very infancy, surrounded with every advantage that can tend to promote either their physical comfort, or their mental culture — others grow up without any of these advantages, and in a state of constant exposure to every evil influence.
Some are destined to pass through the world, almost unnoticed and unknown — while others occupy a prominent place in society, and are the objects of general observation.
Some are called to stations of influence and authority — while many are subjected to the control of a master’s will, and bound over to servile obedience.
Such and so various are the lots of different men. And to one who sees no unseen power at work in the world, and who speculates on the present aspect of its affairs, without reference to the divine will, as if the throne of Heaven were vacant — there is much, unquestionably, in its present condition, which might awaken in his mind a feeling of regret, and even provoke a bitter sense of wrong. For he cannot fail to discover that men are not here dealt with according to the moral merit of their conduct; that among the most indigent and forlorn, there are many of the best specimens of mankind — and among the prosperous, many of the worst. And it is apt to excite a feeling of indignation when he observes that, sometimes by the very indulgence of vice one man prospers, while by the very exercise of virtue, another is impoverished.
It cannot be surprising that, on contemplating such a state of things, the man who omits all reference to God’s will in the matter, should be disposed to murmur and complain — or that he should even become dissatisfied with the present order of things, especially if, in the absence of a higher cause, he should ascribe the evils which exist solely to the agency of human power, to the machinations or the policy of particular orders of men.
It cannot, I say, be astonishing, that this should be the result, when we find the Psalmist himself bewildered and perplexed for a season, by these apparent disorders: "As for me, my feet were almost gone, my steps had well-near slipped; for I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. Behold, these are the ungodly, who prosper in the world; they increase in riches. Truly I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocency. For all day long have I been plagued, and chastened every morning!" (Psalms 73:2-3; Psalms 73:12-14.) Such were the views and feelings which the aspect of society awakened in the mind of a devout man under the old dispensation — and, as matters now stand, the same views and feelings may be awakened in our own, if we do not recognize God’s hand in the disposal of our several lots, and bear in mind the great purposes of his present government. But the idea of a presiding providence, ordering all things according to the counsels of unerring wisdom, and with a view to the ultimate manifestation of his own glory, and the permanent, nay, the everlasting good of his redeemed people — that one idea harmonizes all apparent irregularities, and teaches us to regard them as parts of a vast system, whose glorious outcomes will be unfolded in eternity. And it was by recurring to this elevating consideration, that the Psalmist’s mind was released from all its perplexities: "When I thought to know this," says he, "it was too painful for me, until I went into the sanctuary of God, then understood I their end!" "Nevertheless, I am continually with you — you have held me by my right hand. You shall guide me with your counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. My flesh and my heart may fail — but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."
It is by such considerations that the mind may be brought to a state of quiet and even cheerful submission, in whatever situation of life we may be placed.
We are too apt to overlook God’s sovereignty in this matter, and to ascribe existing evils to the operation of secondary causes. I shall not stop to inquire how far such causes do operate, under God’s government; nor enter at all on the perplexing question: How many of our present disorders arise from the errors of human policy, or the defects of human law? Doubtless there is much room for improvement in both; everything of human origin, or under human administration, being marked with the imperfection which cleaves to our fallen nature. But it is sufficient for us to know, that no evil of whatever kind could have befallen us — had we not sunk universally into a state of sin; and that even were all practicable ameliorations in the condition of society effected. These would not annihilate the differences which exist between man and man, nor supersede the necessity of still cherishing a meek and submissive spirit — for it is not a fortuitous accident — but a fixed part of the present system of things, that such differences in the lots of different men should exist, as the distinction between rich and poor, master and servant, appears to be a permanent one. And so long as there is any difference, there must be room for murmuring and complaining on the part of those who think themselves aggrieved — and for submission and resignation on the part of such as acknowledge the providence and sovereignty of God. But we shall err, if we imagine that those only are called to exercise submission to God’s will in this matter, who are tempted by reason of their indigence or obscurity to complain of the hardness of their lot. There is the same room, and the same reason too, for submission, although in a different way, in the case of those who are favored with worldly prosperity. It will require no argument, indeed, to persuade them that they should submit to the honor and the emoluments, which they enjoy; for, however defective they may be in contentment and thankfulness, and however ambitious to rival or surpass those that are still above them in the world — they are well enough pleased that their condition is better than that of many around them. But, they do not duly acknowledge God’s sovereignty, nor submit to his will, if, besides enjoying the gifts of his providence, they are not careful to apply them to the ends for which they were bestowed, and to use them after the method of his appointment. As God’s sovereignty bestows — so God’s will should regulate the application of the peculiar benefits which they enjoy. He has committed wealth, and honor, and power into the hands of some, as his stewards — not for their own personal aggrandizement, nor with a view to their selfish gratification — but in trust, for the benefit of others. And theirs will be a solemn reckoning at the last account, if they have hid their talents in a napkin, or refused to apply them to the ends which he has enjoined.
"Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain — but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share." (1 Timothy 6:17-18.) Such is the rule of God’s Word; and obedience to that rule constitutes one important branch of that submission to God, which should have reference not merely to the allotments of his providence — but to the declared purposes and ends for which they are designed. The same submission is called for in reference to the occasional occurrences or dispensations by which the general lots of men are diversified in the present state. While it is certain that the lots of men are widely different, it is equally certain that, in every man’s lot, there are seasons which call for the exercise of submission. We err if we imagine that the prosperous are uniformly happy: a crown is often lined with thorns; wealth is often embittered by sickness, by disease, by disappointment, or by family bereavement. And when such trials come, the possessors of worldly distinction are as much to be pitied as the poorest of their brethren.
Now in every dispensation we are called to "submit ourselves to God;" to recognize his hand in the event; to ascribe it, not to the caprice of fate or chance or fortune, nor to the mere operation of second causes — but to the sovereign will of him . . .
who rules over all,
who gives — and who takes away,
who lifts up — and who casts down, and
who works all things after the counsel of his own will. This intelligent and reverential submission to God’s will, is widely different from the feeling which is often expressed in seasons of trial, in such words as these: "We must submit." "It cannot be helped." "It is useless to complain." A Stoic might thus speak! But a Christian should speak better. He should not only see, that the event could neither be prevented by his power, nor guarded against by his wisdom — but he should see in it . . .
an effect of God’s power,
a manifestation of God’s will,
an expression of God’s supremacy. And then, he would feel not only the uselessness — but the sinfulness of complaining; and not only the hard necessity of submission — but the holy duty of submission. But there are dispensations of a very peculiar kind. Some of the sorest trials of God’s people arise out of the state and conduct of their relatives and friends. When one who is near and dear to them exhibits no evidence of his being the subject of divine grace; and still more, when he manifests by his conduct, the prevailing power of depravity — they cannot fail to be deeply concerned, and it is alike their duty and their privilege to make his conversion a subject of frequent and fervent prayer, and to hope even to the end. But should he be cut off without any apparent change — oh! then there arises a tumult of grief — it may be, a tempest of passion, which faith itself may find it difficult to subdue.
How difficult in such a case to acknowledge God’s sovereignty, and to acquiesce in his appointment! And how prone is the believer himself to question the truth or the rectitude of God’s electing grace! He may see that God’s sovereign election is clearly revealed; and that it is confirmed by the very different experience of individuals, all equally depraved, and exposed to the same temptations. Yet his mind recoils from it, when it is considered in connection with those who are his own beloved relatives and friends.
But, in the hour of calm reflection, he will pray, first that, even in this trying case, he may be enabled to "submit himself to God." Secondly, that he may be enabled to take a right and scriptural view of the subject; to remember that God’s will, although sovereign, is not capricious — but takes counsel, as it were, from all his attributes and perfections that, although it is expressly declared that personal merit is not the reason of his electing love — yet he is not in any unjust sense, "a respecter of persons;" that although no reason is assigned for his procedure, such a reason as satisfies omniscient wisdom and infinite justice and love — does unquestionably exist; and that, while it is not capable of being discovered or understood now — it will one day be declared, when all his people will be able to say, "You, O Lord, are righteous, because you have judged thus;" — that his repugnance to the Scriptural doctrine implies a lack, not only of due submission to God’s will — but a due confidence in his character, as if it were unsafe to ascribe sovereignty to him.
Every objection to God’s sovereignty is to be met by the Apostle’s answer, "Who are you, O man, that replies against God?" A disposition to quarrel with God’s sovereignty, when viewed in connection with our relatives and friends, implies that we presume to have more equity and more love than God, or that we are as yet little impressed with the supreme duty of adhering to God at all hazards, according to that saying, "Whoever loves father, or mother, or sister, or brother, more than me, is not worthy of me" "Be still and know that I am God." "Will not the judge of all the earth do right." "It is the Lord, let him do as seems him good."
Eli who spoke these last words, affords an example, in this respect, to all believers. His sons were wicked, "they made themselves vile;" and "they made the Lord’s people transgress;" and on account of their profligacy, God promised that he would "cut them off." Eli was himself blamed for "not restraining them;" although he had not failed at least to reprove them, and he was a large sharer in the bitterness of their punishment. Yet he received the sentence meekly; and, in the spirit of entire submission, he was enabled to say, even in that most bitter hour, "It is the Lord, let him do what seems good to him." (1 Samuel 12:18.)
2. We have seen that, in the season of affliction, we are specially called to the exercise of submission in reference to the dispensations of God’s providence. But we must not stop short at this point; nor is this the only application of the lesson which affliction is designed and fitted to teach. That lesson is a very general and comprehensive one, and extends to every other subject on which God’s will is made known. When God takes us into his own hand, and visits us with disease, or poverty, we feel how vain a thing it is to struggle against his almighty power, and how right a thing it is to submit to his sovereign will. But these dispensations of his providence are fitted and designed to produce a spirit of entire and unreserved submission — submission, not only to his providential dealings with us — but also to every other expression of his sovereign will. And thus we are furnished with a safe and sure test by which we may ascertain whether we are really resigned or not.
Many, yielding to the bare necessity of their condition, give themselves up as passive victims to suffering and death, and imagine that because they make no murmuring complaints, and offer no vain resistance — they are submitting themselves to God. But if they would test the genuineness of their resignation to his will — they should inquire whether they have been taught by means of their afflictions to recognize and rest in God’s supremacy, to submit themselves to God, in every relation which he bears to them, and in all the respects in which his will has been made known.
They may rest assured that they have not duly submitted to God in any one instance — if they are not thereby prepared to submit to him in every other. And perhaps the stunning stroke of affliction, which impresses us so deeply with a sense of our helplessness, and of our absolute dependence on God’s sovereign pleasure — may have been sent, for the purpose of leading to an entire surrender of ourselves into his hands. Yet certainly, it will be productive of no saving benefit, if it leave in our breasts one fragment of cherished repugnance or opposition to his will, to whatever subject his determinations may refer, and by whatever methods they may be disclosed to us. This view of the subject leads us to consider an important practical application of the general doctrine. Affliction is designed and fitted to teach the general and comprehensive lesson of submission to God, in every respect in which his will is made known. And if we would test the genuineness of our submission, we must consider how far it is co-extensive with that lesson.
More particularly, we are called to submit to God as our lawgiver and judge. The law is an expression of God’s sovereignty; it derives its power of binding the conscience, not only from the reasonableness of its requirements — but from the authority by which it is enjoined. No one can dispute the obligation of any of its precepts, or refuse submission to them, without impeaching the sovereignty of God. And this holds true alike of the moral and the positive parts of his law. The moral precepts are so reasonable in themselves, and so consistent with the dictates of conscience, and so conducive to our own happiness — that, apart from the revealed sanction of God altogether, they might well commend themselves to our observance.
But, even when our conduct is outwardly conformable to the letter of the divine law — we do not submit ourselves to God, if we act under the influence of mere prudential consideration, and if we do not obey it from a regard to God’s sovereign authority. Thus we may have the form of submission, while we are destitute of the spirit of submission.
Further, this submission to God’s sovereignty, speaking in the law, must be universal, and have a reference to every intimation of the divine will. The man who really submits to God’s authority in one matter, must see it to be equally reasonable to submit to the same authority in every other matter. His obedience will not be regulated by his personal partialities or antipathies, nor confined to those duties which are most pleasing to his natural taste — but co-extensive with the law in all its length and breadth. For the radical principle of obedience, is submission to the supreme will, and in whatever matter, or on whatever occasion that will is made known — it will secure his cheerful compliance.
Whereas he who acts on a different principle, may render an outward and partial obedience — but cannot be said to "submit himself to God." This is frequently exemplified in the case of those who, professing great respect for the moral precepts of Christianity — refuse, nevertheless, to observe its positive institutions. They admire, and in part observe, the law, in so far as it enjoins honesty, and prohibits blasphemy, or lying, or impurity — but when it speaks of the holy sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Table, which depend for their obligation, on the sole authority of God, they do not submit themselves to his declared will — but act as if the sovereign of the world had no right to impose or to expect such observances.
God’s sovereignty, if it is owned at all, must be owned out and out. Whenever God speaks, he must, as a sovereign, be listened to and obeyed. God is not only the supreme lawgiver — but also the sovereign judge of all; and his sentence, once pronounced, must be reverently received. I speak not at present of that last, final, and irreversible sentence which he will pronounce on each of us on that day which is, by way of eminence, called the Day of Judgment; for, however lightly we may now deal with God, or think of him, there will be no room for levity, and no lack of awe-struck reverence, in the vast assembly, which shall hear that sentence pronounced at the judgment-seat. But I speak of a decision which the supreme judge has already pronounced, of a sentence which he has already passed, and which stands on record in the written Word. For, although we are not as yet in a state of retribution, God has been pleased, as it were, to anticipate the final reckoning, and to make known to us, for our warning in a state of trial, and for our benefit in a state of grace — the views and feelings with which, as our sovereign Lord and Judge, he regards our case. His sentence is a solemn one, and proceeding, as it does, from the Judge of all the earth, it may well impress us with awe. In reference to our natural condition, it is none other than this, "Cursed is every one that continues not in all things written in the Book of the Law to do them." This is God’s declared mind and will — and who shall question or gainsay it? Yet, so far from surrendering ourselves to the full impression of that sentence, or submitting with reverence to the decision of a Judge, who can neither err nor deceive — many spurn at it as a revolting falsehood, or cavil against its application to themselves. But what avails this opposition? We may rebel against God’s sentence — but that will not release us from it. We may argue ourselves into a disbelief of its truth — but that will not alter the word which has gone forth from his mouth.
Surely if this is the judgment of God on our present case, it is useful for us to know the real state of the fact — and as impious as it must be unavailing, to call in question the rectitude of his decision. But thus to yield to the solemn decision of God — to surrender our hearts to the full impression of that fearful sentence, and, above all, to acquiesce in the rectitude and propriety of its application to ourselves — this is one of the hardest parts of that submission which we owe to God. Rather than do so, we shall be glad to have recourse to many a refuge of lies, and we must be driven out of our last stronghold, before we will come to God, and acknowledge that his condemning sentence against us is a just one, and that we cast ourselves absolutely on his sovereign mercy.
Some may imagine that this part of duty, however reasonable in itself, has little connection with the exercises appropriate to a season of affliction. But it is not so. Unless we submit to God’s authority as a Lawgiver and Judge, we shall be but ill-prepared to acknowledge the equity and justice of his procedure towards us, and shall not be able to feel the full force of that question, "Why does a living man complain — a man for the punishment of his sins?" In like manner we are called by affliction to submit ourselves to God’s sovereignty, in the method of our SALVATION. In the dispensation of grace, not less than in the course of providence — God is Sovereign. It belongs to him to prescribe the method and terms of our salvation — and, indeed, to determine whether we are to be saved at all. This follows necessarily from the doctrine which we have already expounded respecting God’s judgment on our case; for if we were sinners, and as such, justly subjected to a sentence of condemnation — it is plain that it must be of God’s sovereign mercy alone, that any scheme of salvation has been provided, and that scheme must be, in all its parts, arranged and ordered according to the counsel of his own will.
Nothing could be more self-evident than this, were it not that we are, through natural pride and perverseness, unwilling to acknowledge God’s sovereignty in the matter. We are desirous of finding some ground of right in ourselves, some distinctive peculiarity of character which may put a difference between us and other sinners, and which we may plead as a reason for our acceptance with God. And hence, we do not willingly submit to that scheme of grace which God has revealed, and which addresses itself to us only as sinners, and calls upon us to place ourselves absolutely at God’s mercy. But God’s sovereignty demands submission; for "many as are the devices of man’s heart, the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand." And what is the counsel of the Lord in this matter? He has devised, and is now carrying into effect a method of salvation, which provides for the pardon of sin, only through the mediation of Jesus Christ. He declares, that "There is no other name given under Heaven among men whereby we can be saved." And furthermore, he has been pleased to connect the enjoyment of their salvation with the exercise of a simple faith. This is the sovereign determination of Almighty God, and we are required to submit ourselves to it, acknowledging . . .
his right to prescribe the way,
his wisdom in devising, and
his mercy in accomplishing our salvation.
Again, God has a method of SANCTIFICATION as well as of pardon. He has declared that we must be sanctified by the agency of the Holy Spirit — by the instrumentality of the truth contained in the Bible — by the diligent use of appointed means, such as Scripture and prayer, and by the patient endurance and due improvement of affliction and trial. These are the means which God has selected for that end, and we are called to submit ourselves to his sovereign pleasure, and to attempt no other way.
It is the lack of a due regard to God’s supremacy which leads us so often to tamper with his appointments, and to forsake the way which he has marked out for us. But if we are once fully impressed with the necessity and the duty of submitting ourselves, in all respects, to God — we will at once comply with his methods, and acquiesce in his arrangements for our good.
I am aware, indeed, that the doctrine of God’s sovereignty has sometimes the effect of awakening doubts and apprehensions, such as prevent the sinner from freely embracing the Gospel call. For when that doctrine is viewed in reference to the subjects of salvation, as well as in reference to the method of salvation — the sinner is apt to argue that he has no warrant to expect salvation, since some only are to be saved. And, in this state of mind, he is sensible of little comfort, even from the glad tidings of great joy.
Yet so far from ascribing these effects to a right apprehension of God’s sovereignty in this matter, I am disposed to regard them as a proof that their apprehension of it, or at least their submission to it, is as yet imperfect; and to believe that did they really and cordially own and yield to it, they would be just so much the nearer to a settled ground of peace and hope. For then they would see that they have no refuge anywhere else than in the sovereign mercy of God. They would be led to cast themselves absolutely into his hands, and in the spirit of entire self-resignation, to submit themselves to him. The most unreserved and unqualified admission of the divine sovereignty does not remove the ground of a sinner’s hope, nor can it destroy the warrant of faith. On the contrary, it prepares the mind for receiving salvation, in the only shape in which it is offered — as a free gift. And surely, that can neither be a secure nor a safe ground of hope which depends for its stability, on the limiting of God’s prerogative, or the denial of his supremacy. And, in no situation, can a believer find a securer hope, or a sweeter peace, than when he is conscious, that, in all respects, and without any reserve, he "is submitting himself to God."
These views, important at all times, are peculiarly impressive, in the season of affliction. We then feel that, in one respect at least, we must submit to God’s will — that we have no means of controlling or counteracting it — that we cannot escape from the disease, or the poverty, or death which he has appointed for us. If we are thus taught, not only the hard necessity — but the holy duty of resignation — we shall see the reasonableness of submission to the same divine will, in every other matter in respect to which it may be disclosed. And without this, we may rest assured, that we have not learned the lesson which affliction was designed to teach.
It may be imagined, indeed, that the duty of submitting to God’s will in the matter of our salvation, has little connection with the exercises that are appropriate to a season of affliction. But we may well believe that it is God’s design, in many of his afflictive dispensations — to lead us to this entire surrender of ourselves into his hands, and that we never can obtain a well-founded and genuine consolation under them, until we yield to that method of salvation which he has revealed in the Gospel.