DIVINE SOVEREIGNTY

Elimelech—Signifies—My God Is King

My Dear Elimelech:

A CLEAR apprehension of the sovereignty of God, and an habitual submission to it, will lay a firm foundation for your peace of mind, and afford you satisfactory solutions of the most mysterious things.

I am aware that an aversion to this important doctrine is deeply rooted in our nature, and the very essence of the first transgression was a quarrel with Jehovah’s sovereignty; “Ye shall be as Gods,” was the bait with which the tempter ruined mankind.

This disposition to usurp Jehovah’s prerogative, discovers itself in every direction, and produces much of the distress, confusion, and guilt, which disgrace human nature, and agitate the whole creation of God: errors, doctrinal and practical, may be traced to this source, and even the children of God, who are brought under divine teaching, are slow to learn the absolute sovereignty of God, and still slower to submit to it, although their personal happiness is so closely connected with it.

In creation, providence, and grace, divine sovereignty is exercised and maintained. “Let there be light,” was the language of the Creator, “and there was light;” he consulted no will but his own, when he created all things by the word of his power.

It is his prerogative to order all things according to the counsel of his own will, “doing 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?” Dan. 4:35.

How striking is the view which the psalmist takes of this truth in the 33rd Psalm: “The Lord bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought, he maketh the devices of the people of none effect.” Here he asserts the Lord’s sovereign control over all human affairs, and then directs our attention to the stability of divine purposes, verse 11: “The counsel of the Lord standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.”

The rise and fall of nations—the prosperity and adversity of states—the bounds of our habitations—and the number of our days are all determined by him. But I wish more immediately to direct the attention of my dear young friend to the grand displays of DIVINE SOVEREIGNTY in the scheme of redemption, and in the work of grace, both of which are wrapt up in obscurity, and veiled in thick darkness, until this centre and source of gospel blessings is explored.

The great first cause, from whence man’s salvation proceeds, is sovereign grace, and all its blessings must be traced up to this source to be fully enjoyed; no other doctrine will sufficiently humble the pride of man, and render to Jehovah the glory due to his name. Hence Moses is directed to assure Israel that their distinction and privileges as a nation, and as the church of God, were not because they were more in number than any other people, but because the Lord loved them, and Jesus himself advanced the same sentiment, when he taught Nicodemus, “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16.

Still further to display the sovereignty of this love, we are informed, that it fixed upon its objects in the very foresight of their ruin and rebellion, and provided a full and complete salvation, without consulting the creature’s will, or requiring any merit at his hands; but in the face of all his perverseness, both before and after conversion. “I knew that thou wouldest deal very treacherously,” Isaiah 48:8; yet, “for mine own sake, even for mine own sake will I do it.” Verse 11.

See, also, my dear Elimelech, how divine sovereignty shines in the personal work of Christ, from his birth to his ascension: in the circumstances of his birth—in the obscurity in which he spent most of his days—in the privations to which he submitted—in the miracles which he wrought— and in the sufferings which he endured. In all these, sovereign love was carrying on the grand scheme, arranged in the council of peace. Nothing of human policy—human merit—or human influence appears in the whole of the sacred history.

The Father of mercies maintains his sovereignty, by demanding and receiving, at the hands of his Days-man, full satisfaction to his law and justice; laying on him the iniquities of the whole church, and accepting his righteousness on their behalf, yea, accepting their persons in the Beloved.

And, oh! how strikingly does our adorable Jesus exercise his sovereignty throughout his ministry on earth; see him, my dear young friend, going up into a mountain and calling unto him whom he would, hear him rebuking winds and seas, yea, devils also, and they obey him; pause, and admire that almighty touch, with which he heals diseases—opens the eyes of the blind—and raises the dead; then read his sermon on divine sovereignty, in the 4th chapter of Mark, together with his assumption of that sovereignty in the 17th of John. And, surely, you will perceive, that, “as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them, even so the Son quickeneth whom he will.”

Indeed, divine sovereignty was a prominent feature of his ministry of which you have a striking specimen in the gospel of Luke, 4th chapter, 25th to the 29th verse, and the effect of this doctrine upon the carnal mind, was the same then as it is now. “When they heard these things they were filled with wrath.”

Nor is it less conspicuous that the Holy Spirit exercises this sole prerogative of Deity, viz. absolute sovereignty. “As the wind bloweth where it listeth,” so are his mighty operations in the church. The prosperity of congregations—the conversion of sinners—the spiritual growth and happiness of saints, are all the effects of his holy unction and irresistible influence; and to manifest his sovereignty, that influence is often bestowed through channels the most unlikely—means the most unpromising—and by instruments the most insignificant in themselves; while shining talents, and extensive attainments are often left to exhibit their sparkling littleness without him: so that on Zion’s prosperity it may always be written, “Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit saith the Lord.”

Moreover, the positive I will with which the word of God abounds, are so many direct assertions of Jehovah’s absolute sovereignty; and these are so conspicuous upon almost every page of the sacred volume, that nothing but the old deeply rooted enmity of human nature can reject the glorious doctrine they assert. But, let my dear Elimelech turn to his own experience, and there he will find the sweetest evidence of the absolute sovereignty of Jehovah.

“Who maketh thee to differ from another?” Why were you distinguished by converting grace from the rest of your family? Why were your eyes opened—your heart melted in contrition— and you transformed into the image of Christ, while the rest of your dear relatives are left in nature’s darkness, and in the bonds and chains of sin ? Were you better than they? No, in nowise. The only reason you can assign is that with which the Saviour has furnished you, “Even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight.”

All the comforts you enjoy—the promises you embrace—the victories you obtain—and the devotional exercises of your soul are experimental proofs of divine sovereignty; they are not at your command, or under your control, but of the operation of God the Spirit, according to the good pleasure of his own will.

Should unsanctified reason attempt to arraign the justice of God at its bar, it will be reproved by the very sovereignty it disputes, while the Judge of the whole earth exclaims, “Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own?” It would be easy to multiply portions of Scripture, in proof of this precious doctrine, but as I had rather invite your attention to the experimental advantages of it, I shall close this short epistle with a few observations on the influence of this fundamental truth, in the heart and life of a believer in Jesus.

Connect with the absolute sovereignty of God the sweet relations he sustains to his people, and then the most profound reverence will unite with the most implicit confidence—the most genuine humility with the most exalted assurance—yea, the most vigilant activity with the most passive resignation; so that however or wherever the believer is placed in providence, or whatever crosses, enemies, or trials he may be called to pass through, he will still feel a sacred satisfaction, that the Judge of all the earth, who ordereth all things according to the counsel of his own will, must do right.

Fear not, my dear young friend, it is thy Father who says “my counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure;” of his own will—he has begotten you by the word of truth; his own hand has fixed the bounds of your habitation, and numbered the hairs of your head; he has sovereign control over all your enemies, and all your sins, yea, it is his good pleasure to give you the kingdom; bow then to his sceptre, rejoice in his sovereignty, and pray to have your will conformed to his. Every murmur against the absolute sovereignty of God, is a particle of vile effluvia, from the lake of atheism; nor do I see any alternative between the acknowledgment of his sceptre, and the denial of his existence. Sovereign grace must take possession of the heart, before sovereign love can become a delightful theme. No wonder that men, whose hearts are enmity against God, should rage against the sovereignty of his will, but when those who have tasted that the Lord is gracious, rebel against the divine procedure, because it does not accord with their limited and depraved judgments, they disgrace the Christian name, grieve the Spirit of the Lord, and throw open the flood gates of unbelief, to admit a torrent of heresies. True happiness, and permanent peace, is the lot of those only, who have learned in all circumstances, and at all times to say from the heart, “THY WILL BE DONE.”

Here is the grand asylum of every tried Christian, the will of his heavenly Father. This is the firm foundation on which he places his comforts, and in God’s good pleasure every wish of his heart—every emotion of his soul—and every action of his life should find their centre.

To oppose this, is like attempting to hush the wind—extinguish the sun—or still the raging waves of the sea; while to know and bow to the absolute sovereignty of God, is the only safe way of crossing the boisterous ocean of time, the only infallible security amidst the stormy blasts of adversity, and the only state in which we can bask in the bright sunshine of gospel enjoyment.

That you, my dear Elimelech, may feel a sweet assurance, that the will of God toward you is governed by his love; and that all the provision of his grace, and wonders of his providence, are sweetly made to harmonize by his sovereignty in your present and eternal welfare, is the earnest desire and prayer of,

Yours, &c. affectionately,
In our dear Lord Jesus,

The daring worm, who lifts his puny arm
Against Jehovah’s sovereignty, attempts
No less, than that which hurl’d from heaven above,
Apostate angels to the lowest hell!
A king, and not to reign! preposterous thought!
A God! and not a king! strange Deity!
Such are the Pagan Gods! such is not mine.
I own, adore, and love the mighty God
Whose WILL controls all worlds, whose high decrees
Fix bounds to time, and destiny to souls.
He took my nature, guilt and shame; unask’d!
And gave me righteousness and life; unsought!
He bows, he melts, he hardens whom he will
Nor of his matters gives account to man.

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