The Foundations of Submission (2)

(2 Kings 4:26).

3. The wisdom of God as exercising itself in all that befalls the Christian is a further ground of submission. To this holy Job has recourse, “He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength: who hath hardened himself against Him, and hath prospered?” (Job 9:4). The expression imports, says Caryl, “that He has infinite wisdom. His is not wisdom only in the tongue, or some flashes of wit; but deep, solid, rooted wisdom.” He is God only wise. From eternity He saw what we should need in time, and our supplies were all wisely adjusted, settled, and proportioned in the everlasting covenant. Therefore nothing can be wrong which we meet with in time; it is all the way to rest.

The way lies through thorns, and briers, and crosses, and snares. The wisdom of God has so ordered it for the best; there is no getting any other way to glory. What was said of Israel of old is true of us now: “And He led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation” (Psalm 107:7). We know it was not the shortest way, nor was it the smoothest; but it was the right way. It was the way which God's wisdom had appointed as best suiting their froward tempers and the ends of His own glory. Alas! till we get to see this, we shall never speak the words of my text from the heart. If we do not see God's wisdom in our trials, we shall never be thoroughly brought to submission under them.

Look at them afresh; see, inquire; it may be you have passed over some circumstances attending them too lightly. Whatever your burden be, it is suited to your back, it is the proper trial of your faith. “By these things,” said Hezekiah, “men live, and in all these things is the life of my spirit” (Isaiah 38:16). Every single circumstance attending your trials has its use and makes most surely for your advantage.

Perhaps you have a stout spirit. God sees it proper to break your heart with reproaches, to lash you with the scourge of tongues. Or, it may be, your credit sinks, your reputation wastes away; or else it may be strong pain upon your bed pulls you down till you look no higher than just yourself. This was the very trial you needed, for by it the end for which it was sent is attained.

Or it may be you are of a tender spirit. Your heart has been wrapped in the creature. Here you have settled, fixed, and nothing could move you from it. Well, God will deal with that, to kill your creature-love and delight. Your all is taken away with a stroke. He rends the creature from you—husband, wife, children, friends; God removes them to bring your heart nearer to Himself.

Or it may be you are of an ambitious, aspiring temper. But as you climb, so you fall. God unravels your schemes, breaks your plots, advances you to poverty; and a blessed advancement that is in your case. It is what best suits you; you could not bear to be rich, to be used tenderly, to be indulged.

Again, others there be who are cross, rugged, who value no man. The world smiles, the creature they have—wife, children, lands, etc, all are with them; and they are of that unhappy temper, they think all no more than they deserve. But infinite Wisdom has provided for them, too; God will bring down their high looks. They shall be afflicted in the creature; their sorrows shall grow out of the root, in the fruit of which they expected comfort; no stroke so heavy, no rod so smarting as this. Moses had his Zipporah; Abigail, a Nabal; David, an Absalom, Ammon, Adonijah. Yet here is wisdom in all this; because no other medicine will reach the case, no other affliction will do so much good, therefore God applies this.

And then, as to the time of an affliction, God's wisdom shines in that. When you began to grow weary of Him, heartless in duty, proud of gifts, or fixed in some evil course, then was the time that the hand of God was lifted up. He would bear no longer.

And is there not also wisdom seen in making contraries work together for your good? That which is now your burden might have been your ruin. “Out of the eater came forth meat.” Joseph's seeming death was the way to save his father and his family alive; our sorest crosses are often made the way to our sweetest comforts.

Thus a believer cannot reason always, but finds it hard to believe it shall be so when the trial is upon him. But he rests here: “Thy way is in the sea, and Thy path in the great waters, and Thy footsteps are not known” (Psalm 77:19). “Oh!” says the Christian, “my God is here; the dispensation is not so dark, but I see God in it. He works deep; tracé Him I cannot, but follow Him I will. It is my duty and my delight to resign to Him; I cannot wade in the sea, it is out of my depth; but God can walk there. The reasons of His dealings with me I see not, but they are laid in infinite Wisdom. I may believe Him, trust in Him, hope in Him, though I cannot see Him. He knows His own way, let that be sufficient.”

“Why art thou cast down, O my soul?” Be still, say no more. God, a God of counsel and wisdom, has thee by the hand, and He will not fail thee. “Thou leddest Thy people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron” (Psalm 77:20). God's infinite wisdom is a ground of submission to the darkest steps of His providence.

4. The love and mercy of God is a further ground of submission; these are always at the bottom of the sorest trials; and when the believer sees this, he says of whatever God does, “It is well done.” If He chastens, He sustains and refines when He tries: “He knoweth the way that I take: when He hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold” (Job 23:10). Gold loses nothing by the furnace but its dross; it is not consumed in the fire, but only made more pure.

There is a sparing justice and a punishing mercy. Thus says God of the wicked, “So will I make My fury toward thee to rest, and My jealousy shall depart from thee, and I will be quiet, and will be no more angry” (Ezekiel 16:42); enough to make one tremble at the hearing of it. If God corrects no more, He will destroy next; here is a sparing justice. To the godly there is also a punishing mercy: “But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world” (1 Corinthians 11:32).

There is a blessing hid in the worst of things; better to be punished now, than to perish for ever. It is kindness in using the rod to prevent the child's ruin. “You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities” (Amos 3:2). Above all others, says God, I will see to you; and it is condescending love in Him thus to punish. Why should He not give us up? He might say, as in Isaiah 1:5, “Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more,” but His love, His mercy holds out still.

The believer, in the most dark and cloudy day, has light enough to read so far in the name of the Lord, as that He is Jehovah, merciful and gracious. Two things, when faith is ever so little helped, it will discern and rejoice in, namely, sparing mercy in this life, and saving mercy in that which is to come. It was a melancholy time with the church in Lamentations 3. God had brought her into darkness, enclosed her ways, filled her soul with gall and wormwood; yet, when she bethinks herself, she says, 'Tt is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not” (verse 22). We are yet on this side of hell; it is not so bad with us, but it might have been worse. God still lives, and His compassions are as full, as free, as ever: in these is continuance, and we shall be saved. A full end is not made of us, be our trials what they will: “In measure, when it shooteth forth, thou wilt debate with it” (Isaiah 27:8). Sparing mercy we see here; and saving mercy will follow after.

Now, whatever comfort God removes, He does not take away His Christ, His sweet gift. Our pains may be great, but His comforts are sweet and infinitely outweigh them. Though our bodies may be covered over with sores, our souls, our consciences are sprinkled with blood. “Ye are comc.to the blood of sprinkling” (Hebrews 12:22-24). Blessed trial that brings us there. To be sure, love is in it, or else Christ would never have been rendered precious by it. And then the rest remaineth for us, and it is well kept, for Christ has possession of it. Thither, as our forerunner, He is for us entered (Hebrews 6:20); not gone as a private person into the rest, but gone thither as our representing Head, to occupy our place until we come there.

It is a comfort to the saints that in this world they have the worst place they ever shall have; things grow better with us every day, as every day brings us nearer to our Father's house. A traveler has but little concern that his money is all spent when he has got within sight of home. What though there be no candles in the house when we are sure break of day is near? The believer is looking for the mercy of Christ unto eternal life; and there is much mercy amidst all the trials which he meets with in his way to it. Every cross is sweetened with some mercy.

This is another argument for submission. Observe providence if you would profit by it. Experiments are reckoned choice things; they are to be laid by, and kept safe against a time of need. “Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even they shall understand the lovingkindness of the LORD“ (Psalm 107:43).

(1711-1746)

Deze tekst is geautomatiseerd gemaakt en kan nog fouten bevatten. Digibron werkt voortdurend aan correctie. Klik voor het origineel door naar de pdf. Voor opmerkingen, vragen, informatie: contact.

Op Digibron -en alle daarin opgenomen content- is het databankrecht van toepassing. Gebruiksvoorwaarden. Data protection law applies to Digibron and the content of this database. Terms of use.

Printen