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CHAPTER TEN

In the present chapter we shall consider, somewhat briefly, the practical application to ourselves of the great truth which we have pondered in its various ramifications in earlier pages. In chapter twelve we shall deal more in detail with

Every truth that is revealed to us in God's Word is there not only for our information but also for our inspiration. The Bible has been given to us not to gratify an idle curiosity but to edify the souls of its readers. The Sovereignty of God

When we speak of the Sovereignty of God we mean very much more than the exercise of God's governmental power, though, of course, that is included in the expression. As we have remarked in an earlier chapter, the Sovereignty of God means

Mark the experience of Job-the one of whom the Lord Himself said "There is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil" (Job 1:8). At the close of the book which bears his name we are show

Take note of Isaiah. In the sixth chapter of his prophecy a scene is brought before us which has few equals even in Scripture. The prophet beholds the Lord upon the Throne, a Throne "high and lifted up." Above this Throne stood the seraphims w

One more. Look at the prophet Daniel. Toward the close of his life this man of God beheld the Lord in theophanic manifestation. He appeared to His servant in human form "clothed in linen" and with loins "girded with fine gold," symbolic of hol

1. ONE OF GODLY FEAR.

Why is it that, today, the masses are so utterly unconcerned about spiritual and eternal things, and that they are lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God? Why is it that even on the battlefields multitudes were so indifferent to their

"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge" (Prov. 1:7). Happy the soul that has been awed by a view of God's majesty, that has had a vision of God's awful greatness, His ineffable holiness, His perfect righteousness, His i

When we speak of godly fear, of course, we do not mean a servile fear, such as prevails among the heathen in connection with their gods. No; we mean that spirit which Jehovah is pledged to bless, that spirit to which the prophet referred when

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

2. ONE OF IMPLICIT OBEDIENCE.

A sight of God leads to a realization of our littleness and nothingness and issues in a sense of dependency and of casting ourselves upon God. Or, again; a view of the Divine Majesty promotes the spirit of godly fear and this, in turn, beg

Irreverence begets disobedience. Said the haughty monarch of Egypt "Who is the LORD that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I know not the LORD; neither will I let Israel go" (Exo. 5:2). To Pharaoh, the God of the Hebrews

Now if irreverence begets disobedience, true reverence will produce and promote obedience. To realize that the Holy Scriptures are a revelation from the Most High, communicating to us His mind and defining for us His will, is the first step to

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

3. ONE OF ENTIRE RESIGNATION.

A true recognition of God's Sovereignty will exclude all murmuring. This is self-evident, yet the thought deserves to be dwelt upon. It is natural to murmur against afflictions and losses. It is natural to complain when we are depri

A true recognition of God's Sovereignty will avow God's perfect right to do with us as He wills. The one who bows to the pleasure of the Almighty will acknowledge His absolute right to do with us as seemeth Him good. If He chooses to send

A striking illustration of a soul bowing to the Sovereign will of God is furnished by the history of Eli the high priest of Israel. In 1 Samuel 3 we learn how God revealed to the young child Samuel that He was about to slay Eli's two so

Another example, equally striking, is seen in the life of Job. As is well known, Job was one that feared God and eschewed evil. If ever there was one who might reasonably expect Divine providence to smile upon him-we speak as a man-it was Job.

A true recognition of God's Sovereignty causes us to hold our every plan in abeyance to God's will. The writer well recalls an incident which occurred in England over twenty years ago. Queen Victoria was dead, and the date for the coronation o

As remarked, a true recognition of God's Sovereignty causes us to hold our plan in abeyance to God's will. It makes us recognize that the Divine Potter has absolute power over the clay and molds it according to his own imperial pleasure

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

4. ONE OF DEEP THANKFULNESS AND JOY.

The heart's apprehension of this most blessed truth of the Sovereignty of God produces something far different than a sullen bowing to the inevitable. The philosophy of this perishing world knows nothing better than to "make the bes

We take it for granted when the real Christian takes a train-journey that, upon reaching his destination, he devoutly returns thanks unto God-which, of course, argues that He controls everything; otherwise, we ought to thank the engine-

Take the case of Job once more. When loss after loss came his way what did he do? Bemoan his "bad luck"? Curse the robbers? Murmur against God? No; he bowed before Him in worship. Ah! dear reader, there is no real rest for your poor heart unti

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

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 fo

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

death of the Cross" (Phil. 2:8). That this was a conscious and intelligent obedience is clear from His own language: "Therefore doth My Father love Me, because I lay down My life, that I might take it again. No man taketh if from Me, but I lay

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

Above we asked, What shall we say of Christ's absolute resignation to the Father's will? We answer further, This, that here, as everywhere, He was unique, peerless. In all things He has the preeminence. In the Lord Jesus there was no rebelliou

What a beautiful and striking illustration of Christ's thankfulness and joy is found in Matthew 11. There we behold, first, the failure of the faith of His forerunner (vv. 22, 23). Next, we learn of the discontent of the people: satisfied neit

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

5. ONE OF ADORING WORSHIP.

It has been well said that "true worship is based upon 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

Divine Sovereignty is not the Sovereignty of a tyrannical Despot, but the exercised pleasure of One who is infinitely wise and good! Because God is infinitely wise He cannot err, and because He is infinitely righteous He will not 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 submissi

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

"A little bird I am,

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