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CHAPTER TWELVE

"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 Tim. 3:16

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 int

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

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

It exhibits the inscrutableness 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 D

It makes known the irreversibleness 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, wor

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 sin

2. IT IS THE SOLID FOUNDATION OF ALL TRUE RELIGION.

This naturally follows from what we have said above under the first head. If the doctrine of Divine Sovereignty alone gives God His rightful place, then it is also true that it alone can supply a firm base for practical religion to build u

3. IT REPUDIATES THE HERESY OF SALVATION BY WORKS.

"There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death" (Prov. 14:12). The way which "seemeth right" and which ends in "death," death eternal, is salvation by human effort and merit. The bel

4. IT IS DEEPLY HUMBLING TO THE CREATURE.

This doctrine of the absolute Sovereignty of God is a great battering-ram against human pride, and in this it is in sharp contrast from the "doctrines of men." The spirit of our age is essentially that of boasting and glorying in the flesh

But if this doctrine humbles us it results in praise to God. If, in the light of God's Sovereignty, we have seen our own worthlessness and helplessness we shall indeed cry with the Psalmist "All my springs are in Thee" (Ps

"Why was I made to hear His voice,

And enter while there's room,
When thousands make a wretched choice,
And rather starve than come?
'Twas the same love that spread the feast,
That sweetly forced us in;
Else we had still refused to taste
And perished in our sin."

5. IT AFFORDS A SENSE OF ABSOLUTE SECURITY.

God is infinite in power and therefore it is impossible to withstand His will or resist the outworking of His decrees. Such a statement as that is well calculated to fill the sinner with alarm, but from the saint it evokes naught but prais

"Death and plagues around me fly,

Till He bid, I cannot die;
Not a single shaft can hit,
Till the God of love sees fit."

Oh the preciousness of this truth! Here am I, a poor, helpless, senseless "sheep," yet am I secure in the hand of Christ. And why am I secure there? None can pluck me thence because the hand that holds me is that of the Son of

6. IT SUPPLIES COMFORT IN SORROW.

The doctrine of God's Sovereignty is one that is full of consolation and imparts great peace to the Christian. The Sovereignty of God is a foundation that nothing can shake and is more firm than the heavens and earth. How blessed to know t

How blessed to know that our very afflictions come not by chance, nor from the Devil, but are ordained and ordered by God: "That no man should be moved by these afflictions: for yourselves know that we are appoin

But our God is not only infinite in power. He is infinite in wisdom and goodness too. And herein is the preciousness of this truth. God wills only that which is good and His will is irreversible and irresistible! God is too wise to err and too

7. IT BEGETS A SPIRIT OF SWEET RESIGNATION.

To bow before the Sovereign will of God is one of the great secrets of peace and happiness. There can be no real submission with contentment until we are broken in spirit, that is, until we are willing and glad for the Lord to have

We touched upon this subject of resignation to God's will in the chapter upon our Attitude toward God's Sovereignty, and there, in addition to the supreme Pattern, we cited the examples of Eli and Job: we would now supplement their cases with

Consider now an utterance which fell from the lips of David: "And the king said unto Zadok, Carry back the ark of God into the city: if I shall find favor in the eyes of the Lord, He will bring me again, and shew me both it, and His habitation

There is no need to multiply examples, but a reflection upon the last case will be in place. If amid the shadows of the Old Testament dispensation David was content for the Lord to have His way, now that the heart of God has been

"Ill that He blesses is our good,

And unblest good is ill,
And all is right that seems most wrong,
If it be His sweet will."

8. IT EVOKES A SONG OF PRAISE.

It could not be otherwise. Why should I, who am by nature no different from the careless and godless throngs all around, have been chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world and now blest with all spiritual blessings in the

"Ye fearful saints fresh courage take

The clouds ye so much dread,
Are big with mercy and shall break
In blessings o'er your head."

9. IT GUARANTEES THE FINAL TRIUMPH OF GOOD OVER EVIL.

Ever since the day that Cain slew Abel, the conflict on earth between good and evil has been a sore problem to the saints. In every age the righteous have appeared to defy God with impugnity. The Lord's people, for the most part, have been

"There can be no failure with God. 'God is not a man, that He should lie; neither the Son of man, that He should repent: hath He said and shall He not do it? or hath He spoken, and shall He not make it good?" (Num. 23:19). All will be accompli

"In these dark and trying times how well it is to remember that He is on the throne, the throne which cannot be shaken, and that He will not fail in doing all He has spoken and promised. 'Seek ye out of the book of the LORD, and read: No one o

10. IT PROVIDES A RESTING-PLACE FOR THE HEART.

Much that might have been said here has already been anticipated under previous heads. The One seated upon the Throne of Heaven, the One who is Governor over the nations and who has ordained and now regulates all events, is infinite not on

Here then is the refutation of the wicked charge that this doctrine is a horrible calumny upon God and dangerous to expound to His people. Can a doctrine be "horrible" and "dangerous" that gives God His true place, that maintains His ri

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