the grace of our sovereign god - chapter 10 - our sovereign god

7/29/2019 The Grace of Our Sovereign God - Chapter 10 - Our Sovereign God

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CHAPTER TEN

OUR SOVEREIGNGOD

Two portions of Scripture will serve as a background for this chapter. The first isPsalm 115:1-3.

Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, But to Your name give glory, Because of Your mercy, Because

of Your truth. Why should the Gentiles say, “So where is their God?” But our God is in heaven; He

does whatever He pleases.

As we look at the second passage―Daniel 4:30-37―I want to give you a sermon

outline on these verses. I could easily use this section as the basis for this entire chapter,

but I feel constrained to take another direction. However, we will get a clear view of

“our Sovereign God” in these verses. I am indebted to Pastor John Weaver of Jessup,

Georgia, for this outline. This could be entitled “The Testimony of a Pagan King to theAbsolute Sovereignty of God.”

Sermon outline of Daniel 4:30-37:

I. v. 30―God’s Sovereignty Ignored and Rejected

The king spoke, saying, “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my

mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?” One can feel the pride and arrogance of this

pagan king. He has no thought of God but only his own self-appointed importance.

II. vv. 31–33―God’s Sovereignty Experienced

While the word was still in the king’s mouth, a voice fell from heaven: “King Nebuchadnezzar, to

you it is spoken: the kingdom has departed from you! And they shall drive you from men, and yourdwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. They shall make you eat grass like oxen; and seven times

shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to

whomever He chooses.” That very hour the word was fulfilled concerning Nebuchadnezzar; he was

driven from men and ate grass like oxen; his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair had

grown like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws. Today people say, “Oh, God would

never do anything so cruel as that.” If such treatment was the essential means necessary to

bring this proud king to knowledge of God, then it was a very gracious act.

III. v. 34a-God’s Sovereignty Gladly Acknowledged

And at the end of the time I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my understanding

returned to me; and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever.…

There are three things in this verse that always go together, and they always follow

the same order:

1. I…lifted up my eyes―A right view of God.

2. My understanding returned―A right understanding of reality.

3. I blessed…praised…honored―A right attitude of worship.



One may immediately think of Romans chapter 1 as showing how the exact opposite

is true.

1. Instead of looking up to God, Paul says that men have deliberately turned their

eyes away from God and rejected his revelation (cf. Romans 1:18-20).

2. Their foolish hearts were darkened because their mind had become vain and, likeNebuchadnezzar, they were given over to senseless insanity in morality and life

style (cf. Romans 1:21-32).

3. They refused to “glorify God” and “thank him,” but instead they exalted the

creature and boasted about themselves and their own power (cf. Romans 1:21,

22).

Either the three things in Nebuchadnezzar’s experience or the three things in Romans

will always occur. Every person fits one of these two descriptions. There is no

neutrality.

IV. vv. 34b–37―God’s Sovereignty Described 1. v. 34b―The Superiority of His Kingdom. ...for His dominion is an everlasting

dominion, and His kingdom is from generation to generation.

2. v. 35a―The Insignificance of His Creatures. All the inhabitants of the earth are

reputed as nothing.

3. v. 35b―The Sovereignty of His Will. He does according to His will in the army of

heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can restrain His hand or say to

Him, “What have You done?”

4. v. 36―The Sureness of His Purposes. At the same time my reason returned to me,

and for the glory of my kingdom, my honor and splendor returned to me. My counselors

and nobles resorted to me, I was restored to my kingdom, and excellent majesty was

added to me.

5. v. 37a―The Supremacy of His Person. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and

honor the King of heaven.…

6. v. 37b―The Singleness of His Character. ...all of whose works are truth, and His

ways justice.

7. v. 37c―The Strength of His Position. And those who walk in pride He is able to put

down.

That, my dear friend, is the God of the Bible! That is the God that you and I must face

in eternity! That is our Sovereign Holy God!

Several years ago, I spoke at a conference where the sermon titles given to the

evening messages were stated in terms of God himself. My topic was “Our Sovereign

God.” We are on solid biblical ground when we talk about God himself instead of

speaking only of doctrines about him. I agree with A.W. Pink when he said, “To speak



about the ‘sovereignty of God’ is to be theological, but to speak of a ‘God who is

sovereign’ is to be biblical.” The goal of our study is not to know things about God; it is

to know God himself.

We must not get “lopsided” and think of God in terms of only one attribute. Our

Sovereign God is also a most gracious God. His grace sweetens his sovereignty, and hissovereignty makes certain that his grace will accomplish its intended purpose.

Our study is not going to cover the ground so familiar to those who glory in the truth

known as Calvinism. I do not hesitate to call myself a Calvinist because I believe the

great truths set forth under that name. However, I have often found that many men and

women, who rejected the sovereignty of God when it was set forth in theological terms,

would bow in worship and praise to a sovereign heavenly Father when they were

undergoing affliction. I hate to admit it, but my pastoral experience has convinced me

that godly Arminians often exhibit more practical submission to our Sovereign God

than the Calvinist who can win all of the theological arguments about the sovereignty of

God versus free will. Calvinists have a tendency to have a better grasp of the “logic” of

theology than they have of the grace and love of God himself!

I assume that you have read Pink’s book, The Sovereignty of God. If you have not, then

I urge you to do so as soon as possible. I hope that you are familiar with the ninth

chapter of Romans and that you know that it clearly teaches that our God is indeed a

most sovereign God. I am assuming that you accept without question that God has

“mercy upon whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to

harden” (Romans 9:18).

My goal is more pastoral and is aimed at encouraging the heart. I have a sermon on

Romans 8:28 entitled “A Soft Pillow for a Weary Head and a Sorry Heart” (see chapter

9). God has used this particular message to bring help and hope to many suffering

sheep. There is no sweeter balm in Gilead to a true sheep of Christ than the knowledge

that his God is the Sovereign God who controls the whole universe. This is especially

true when God’s providence turns our personal world upside down. It is then that we

must be able to say with David, “My times are in thy hands” (Psalm 31:15). The hymn

writer has caught the truth we long to experience:

My times are in thy hand; my God, I wish them there;

my life, my friends, my soul, I leave entirely to thy care.

My times are in thy hand, whatever they may be; pleasing or painful, dark or bright, as best may seem to thee.

My times are in thy hand; why should I doubt or fear?

My Father’s hand will never cause His child a needless tear.

My times are in thy hand, Jesus the Crucified;

those hands my cruel sins have pierced are now my guard and guide.



Daniel 4:34 expresses what I pray might happen to all of us. Notice again the three

specific things that happened to Nebuchadnezzar, and be sure to notice the sequence in

which they occur.

1. I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes to heaven.… When he did that, he saw a

sovereign God sitting on a throne. Nebuchadnezzar describes what happened inhis heart at this sight.

2. ...and my sanity was restored. The most insane thing a man can do is look toward

himself instead of up to God. Just as Nebuchadnezzar’s insanity was directly

related to his pride and exalting himself, so the return of his sanity was related to

his humility and repentance in “raising his eyes to heaven.” What a lesson for the

egotistical “me first” society in which we live.

3. Then (note well the connection) I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified Him

who lives forever. You cannot see God as he is and not want to honor and praise

Him, and you cannot turn away from him without seeking to honor and praiseyourself. A right sight of God will always give you a right sight of yourself.

I trust we are beginning to see how firmly these three things are tied together and

cannot be separated. You will notice, of course, the similarity of this passage with the

words of Stephen, the first martyr:

Stephen...looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God.... “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and

the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” (Acts 7:56)

Whenever you see “heaven open,” you will always see a sovereign Savior at the

“right hand of God,” and when you see the exalted Savior, you will always see the

“glory of God.” When we really get that into our heart with a living faith, then we will be enabled to fall on our knees and pray for the people throwing the stones. That is the

kind of power we need to experience in our personal lives as we think about “our

Sovereign God.” We need to know experientially in daily life what we can argue so

effectively in debate.

Several years ago, I preached in a large church in Detroit. After the service, a young

couple came up to me and showed me a copy of an old Sword and Trowel , the magazine

which I edited for several years. The young lady, Peg Rankin, gave me an autographed

copy of a book she had written. She said, “You will recognize some of your own

material in this book.” The title of the book was Yet Will I Trust Him, and her purpose in

writing the book is the same as mine in this chapter. The back cover says: “Yet Will I

Trust Him is a practical, provocative guide showing how to yield to God’s control and

experience his peace and victory, no matter what!”

That is the kind of attitude we need as we study together. We cannot afford to come

together just to confirm our theological convictions. We do not want to “hold fast our

theology”―we want our theology to hold us fast in real life. I fear that too often we



pass the test in the classroom of theology and then flunk the test in the classroom of life.

It is a hollow victory for us as Calvinists if we can write better books and preach better

sermons than Arminians but cannot live more contented and joyful lives than they.

Peg Rankin had just been witnessing to a girlfriend involved in divorce proceedings.

The girl was bitter, frustrated, and left in anger. Yet Will I Trust Him was probablyconceived in Peg’s mind in the next few moments:

As I walked back into the kitchen, l answered the jangling phone. It was a friend. “Did

you hear about Bob?” she queried.

“No, what?” I asked. I had seen Bob in the hall at the church on Sunday. We had chatted

awhile about a mutual friend who was giving up a lucrative job to become a missionary.

“That’s what I’d like to do someday,” Bob had said, “become a missionary. I guess one of

these days I’ll just have to take the bull by the horns and do it. I’m not getting any younger,

you know. Just turned forty last week.”

With the conversation only a couple of days old, I expected my friend to announce that

Bob had come to a decision to give his life to Christ in a full -time missionary effort. But it

was not to be. The voice on the phone shattered my thoughts.

“Bob was struck by a car and killed on his way to work this morning,” it said, hesitating

between the phrases. “His wife is stunned. And the kids―they’re so young to be without a

daddy. What will they do?”

“They will have to cope with the crisis,” I philosophized, startling myself with the

starkness of what I was saying, “and go on from there. What else is there to do?”

As I hung up the phone, I had the same helpless feeling that I had experienced when

dealing with the family whose rebellious daughter had just run away from home. Then I

thought of Shirley and her divorce. Problems seemed to be multiplying everywhere. Someone has said, “When your world is badly shaken, start with what you know you

believe and build upward from there.” I decided to put the advice into practice.

I thought, “I know that God is in control of all things. I believe that his plan for our lives is

perfect. At least that is what the Bible says. But how can I toss such a platitude to someone

caught in the maelstrom of a crisis? Especially when I’m not even sure that I have hold of it

myself?”

I was confronted with what I felt has to be accomplished in my own life and in the lives of

many others. Somehow we Christians have to get the sovereignty of God out of the closet

and into the mainstream of living. But how do we go about doing it? Victory on the

mountain peaks is easy. It is a natural result of success. But if Christianity doesn’t work inthe valleys, it isn’t worth having at all, is it?

(From: Yet Will I Trust Him , by Peg Rankin, Gospel Light, pages 12, 13)

Shortly after this, Mr. and Mrs. Rankin were asked to teach an adult class in Vacation

Bible School on the subject “The Sovereignty of God in Family Crises.” Their first

preparation consisted in listing all of the crises that their family, and all the families



they knew, had faced or were facing. Their first reaction was, “All of life seems to be a

crisis.” They began to study and prepare for the course with deadly earnestness:

With anticipation, we tossed out the questions that would be covered during the course of

study:

1.

Who is this God I’m trying to serve? 2. Where is he when I need him most?

3. Why are there crises in my life?

4. What do life’s crises accomplish?

5. How can I have victory in the midst of crises?

We know teachers cannot integrate truth without spending hours in disciplined study. So

before we laid our heads on our pillows that night, we pledged ourselves to God afresh to be

diligent in our searching of his Word. Then we reaffirmed our faith in a God who controls all

things, working them for his glory and to his children’s good. (Ibid. , page 15)

One of the things I enjoyed most about Yet Will I Trust Him was the author’sdefinition of the sovereignty of God. In fact, I quoted all of the preceding just to get to

this definition:

Several years ago, Lee and I taught a class of very sharp young married couples. We

imparted to them the same truth that we impart to every class we teach: God is sovereign in

the lives of men. We examined his sovereignty in creation, proceeded with his sovereignty in

history, and looked with detail at his sovereignty in salvation. The entire course took a year

to cover. We ended with a challenge to the students that if they would surrender their lives

daily to the will of the King of Kings, no limit could be placed upon their spiritual victory.

Then we said to them, “OK, you’ve sat for a year in a course entitled ‘The Sovereignty of

God,’ now you define God’s sovereignty.” I will never forget the statement that came fromTom, a doctoral candidate in the field of physics. Although he had not anticipated the

question, he was thoroughly prepared for the answer. He said, “The sovereignty of God

means that God can do anything he wants to do, any time he wants to do it, any way he

wants to do it, for any purpose he wants to accomplish.” (Ibid., page 23)

Wow! What an answer!

Now you and I must realize that “anything, any time, any way” includes any and

every person as well as all events. More specifically, it actually means you and me and

all of my loved ones and everything that pertains to them. Normally, this truth would

be learned at conversion. However, with the current distortion of the gospel of grace in

modern evangelism, many sincere Christians are ignorant of this awesome fact.

The heart of a sinner’s rebellion to God is the sinner’s implacable hatred of God’s

sovereign authority, and the essence of true repentance and faith is confident

submission to God himself as absolutely sovereign. The Psalmist put it beautifully

when he said, “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:46). Moffitt translated it,

“Give up, and admit that I am God.” The contest since the garden of Eden has been,



“Who is really God?” Are we the master of our fate, our own god? Or is the God who

“made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them” (cf. Acts 4:2a) really the

Sovereign Ruler of everything including you and me?

I remember buying a book of poems compiled by a famous preacher. The poems

were supposed to be “great aids in getting decisions.” One of the preacher’s favoritepoems that he urged his readers to use when the altar call was being given was entitled,

“The Invictus.” Because of his theology, this man used the poem as if it were solid truth.

He saw it as embodying the “right way to appeal to the free will of man.” Apparently

the man never checked up on either the origin of the poem or the author’s intention in

writing it.

The author of “The Invictus,” W.E. Henley, was a militant humanist who hated the

Christian faith. The word invictus means unconquered in Latin, and the author’s

intention in the poem was to shake his fist in defiance at the very thought of a sovereign

God ruling over him. We could well entitle the poem, “The Rebel Sinner’s Banner.” The

use of this particular poem during an altar call was actually reinforcing in a sinner’s

mind the very thought that must be destroyed before he can ever truly be saved.

Henley’s poem is pure blasphemy. The evangelist who advocated using it in altar calls

may be excused for not knowing who Mr. Henley was, but he cannot be excused for not

recognizing blasphemy when he hears it stated so blatantly.

The Invictus, by W.E. Henley

Out of the night that covers me,

Black as the Pit from pole to pole,

I thank whatever gods may be

For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance

I have not winced nor cried aloud.

Under the bludgeonings of chance

My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears

Looms but the horror of the shade,

And yet the menace of the years

Finds, and shall find me, unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishments the scroll,

I am the master of my fate;

I am the captain of my soul.

Around 1900, a young lady who had been greatly enamored with Henley and his

humanism was graciously converted to Christ. She wrote a response to Henley’s



blasphemy and set forth the correct attitude of a child of God toward the sovereignty of

God. This is her poem:

Conquered, by Dorothea Day

Out of the light that dazzles me,

Bright as the sun from pole to pole, I thank the God I know to be,

For Christ―the Conqueror of my soul.

Since His the sway of circumstance,

I would not wince nor cry aloud.

Under the rule which men call chance,

My head, with joy, is humbly bowed.

Beyond this place of sin and tears,

That Life with Him and His the Aid,

That, spite the menace of the years,

Keeps, and will keep me unafraid.I have no fear though straight the gate:

He cleared from punishment the scroll.

Christ is the Master of my fate!

Christ is the Captain of my soul!

I trust we are beginning to see that the essence of true Christian faith involves

submission to God as sovereign, and the essence of unbelief is deliberate rebellion to

God as sovereign. It is essential we learn at conversion that a life of faith is nothing less

than joyfully “giving up, and admitting that God is God.” The word joyfully is very

important in that sentence. A believer does not grudgingly acknowledge that God is

sovereign; he does so with joy and confidence. The two parts of Romans 11:36 show this

fact:

For from him and through him and to him are all things: to him be glory forever! Amen. (Rom.

11:36 NIV)

There are three different Greek prepositions in this verse. They show the truth of

God’s absolute and total sovereignty. The verse states that all things, without any

exception, are:

1. from God (the Greek is ek and means “out of” or “out from”);

2.

through God (the Greek is dia and means “by means of” or “because of”); and 3. to God (the Greek is eis and means “into”).

In other words, all things have their source in God’s decrees or purposes; all things

that happen do so only because God’s power has brought them to pass; and finally,

everything that God plans and then brings to pass will ultimately bring glory to him

since they all move into him or unto him as their final end. Now that is the biblical truth

about our Sovereign God. That is acknowledging that “God can do anything he wants



to do, any time he wants to do it, any way he wants to do it, for any purpose he wants

to accomplish.” However, the response of faith is not to grit our teeth and submit to that

truth because God is stronger than us and we can do nothing about it (implying that we

would if we could). No, no, the child of God bows his head in worship and says, “To

him be glory forever.” We can do this because we know that Romans 8:28 is just as true

as God himself is true.

The unbeliever gnashes his teeth and cries, “I am the master of my fate, and I am the

captain of my soul.” The cry of the rebels in Luke 19:14 is the real heart attitude of every

lost person―”But his subjects hated him...(and said) ‘We will not have this man to reign

over us.’”

Brethren, it is the preaching of God as sovereign that brings man’s hatred of God to

the surface. C.H. Spurgeon was exactly right in stating the following:

The householder says, “Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own?” and

even so does the God of Heaven and earth ask this question of you this morning, “Is it not

lawful for me to do what I will with mine own?”

There is no attribute of God more comforting to His children than the doctrine of Divine

Sovereignty. Under the most adverse circumstances, in the most severe troubles, they believe

that Sovereignty has ordained their afflictions, that Sovereignty overrules them, and that

Sovereignty will sanctify them all. There is nothing for which the children of God ought

more earnestly to contend than the dominion of their Master over all creation―the throne of

God, and His right to sit upon that throne.

On the other hand, there is no doctrine more hated by worldlings, no truth of which they

have made such a football, as the great, stupendous, but yet most certain doctrine of the

Sovereignty of the infinite Jehovah. Men will allow God to be everywhere except upon Histhrone. They will allow Him to be in His workshop to fashion worlds and to make stars.

They will allow Him to be in His almonry to dispense His alms and bestow His bounties.

They will allow Him to sustain the earth and bear up the pillars thereof, or light the lamps of

Heaven, or rule the waves of the ever-moving ocean; but when God ascends His throne, His

creatures gnash their teeth; and when we proclaim an enthroned God, and His right to do as

He wills with His own, to dispose of His creatures as He thinks well, without consulting

them in the matter, then it is that we are hissed and reviled, and then it is that men turn a

deaf ear to us, for God on His throne is not the God they love. They love Him anywhere

better than they do when He sits with His scepter in His hand and His crown upon His head.

But it is God upon the throne that we love to preach. It is God upon His throne whom we

trust. It is God upon His throne of whom we have been singing this morning; and it is God

upon His throne of whom we shall speak in this discourse.

(From: “Is It Not Lawful For Me To Do What I Will With Mine Own?” a sermon by

Charles H. Spurgeon on Matthew 20:15)

The last vestige of old Adam that we are willing to give up is our fancied “free will.”

The last truth that we will submit to in heartfelt worship is God’s absolute sovereignty



over us. The greatest obstacle in man’s conversion is his conviction that his free will

alone is “master of his fate.” Is it not tragic that so many sincere but misguided

preachers confirm and harden that folly in the sinner’s heart? To tell a lost man that

“God has done all he can do, and it is now totally up to you” is to poin t the poor sinner

to his own dead heart as the only ground of hope. It is telling the sinner that his power

of will is stronger and more powerful than God.

There has probably never been a more classic illustration of the foregoing truth than

the conviction and conversion of David Brainerd. The one exception could be the great

apostle Paul; especially if we understand the words concerning “kicking against the

goads” (cf. Acts 26:14) to mean that he really knew in his heart that Jesus was the true

Messiah. David Brainerd’s biography is one of those books that it would be good to

read once a year. Here are his own words describing the rebellion that went on in his

mind and heart when he was under real conviction of his lost estate:

The many disappointments, great distress, and perplexity I met with, put me into a most

horrible frame of contesting with the Almighty; with an inward vehemence and virulence

finding fault with his ways of dealing with mankind. I found great fault with the imputation

of Adam’s sin to his posterity; and my wicked heart often wished for some other way of

salvation, than by Jesus Christ. Being like the troubled sea, my thoughts confused, I used to

contrive to escape the wrath of God by some other means. I had strange projects, full of

atheism, contriving to disappoint God’s designs and decrees concerning me, or to escape his

notice, and hide myself from him. But when, upon reflection, I saw these projects were vain,

and would not serve me, and that I could contrive nothing for my own relief; this would

throw my mind into the most horrid frame, to wish there was no God, or to wish there were

some other god that could control Him, etc. These thoughts and desires were the secret

inclinations of my heart, frequently acting before I was aware; but, alas! they were mine,although I was affrighted when I came to reflect on them. When I considered, it distressed

me to think, that my heart was so full of enmity against God; and it made me tremble, lest his

vengeance should suddenly fall upon me. I used before to imagine, that my heart was not so

bad as the Scriptures and some other books represented it. Sometimes I used to take much

pains to work it up into a good frame, an humble submissive disposition; and hoped there

was then some goodness in me. But, on a sudden, the thoughts of the strictness of the law, or

the sovereignty of God, would so irritate the corruption of my heart, that I had so watched

over, and hoped I had brought to a good frame, that it would break over all bounds, and

burst forth on all sides, like floods of water when they break down their dam. (The Works of

Jonathan Edwards, Banner of Truth Trust, Vol. II, pp. 317–318) Brainerd graphically describes four specific truths that made him exceedingly angry

while he was under conviction of sin. Men today hate the same truths, but these very

truths are the only hope that poor sinners have. This is why a necessity is laid on us to

preach these specific truths. Unless we preach God on a throne of holiness and

sovereignty, we will only be stirring up the dust and not really helping poor sinners at



all. We will never see men on their knees seeking mercy until they see God on his

throne of sovereignty and holiness.

And while I was in this distressed, bewildered, and tumultuous state of mind, the

corruption of my heart was especially irritated with the following things.

1. The strictness of the divine law. For I found it impossible for me, after my utmost pains,to answer its demands. I often made new resolutions, and as often broke them… I was

extremely loath to own my utter helplessness in this matter: but after repeated

disappointments, thought that, rather than perish, I could do a little more still; especially if

such and such circumstances might but attend my endeavors and strivings… This hope of

future more favorable circumstances, and of doing something great hereafter, kept me from

utter despair in myself, and from seeing myself fallen into the hands of a sovereign God, and

dependent on nothing but free and boundless grace.

As you can see, at the bottom of every objection and problem in Brainerd’s mind, the

sovereignty of God was always the center. He could not bear the thought of putting

himself solely into the hands of a sovereign God and trusting in nothing but “free and boundless grace.” Herein lies the heart of every sinner’s problem, and most modern-

day preachers compound that problem instead of helping it.

2. Another thing was, that faith alone was the condition of salvation; that God would not

come down to lower terms, and that he would not promise life and salvation upon my

sincere and hearty prayers and endeavors. That word, Mark 16:16, “He that believeth not,

shall be damned,” cut off all hope there: and I found, faith was the sovereign gift of God; that

I could not get it as of myself, and could not oblige God to bestow it upon me, by any of my

performances, (Eph. 2:1, 8.) This, I was ready to say, is a hard saying, who can bear it? I could

not bear, that all I had done should stand for mere nothing, who had been very conscientious

in duty, had been exceeding religious a great while, and had, as I thought, done much morethan many others who had obtained mercy.

3. Another thing was, that I could not find out what faith was; or what it was to believe,

and come to Christ...

4. Another thing to which I found a great inward opposition was the sovereignty of God. I

could not bear that it should be wholly at God’s pleasure to save or damn me, just as he

would.

That passage, Romans 9:11-23, was a constant vexation to me, especially verse 21. Reading

or meditating on this, always destroyed my seeming good frames: for when I thought I was

almost humbled, and almost resigned, this passage would make my enmity against the

sovereignty of God appear. When I came to reflect on my inward enmity and blasphemy,

which arose on this occasion, I was the more afraid of God, and driven further from any

hopes of reconciliation with Him. It gave me such a dreadful view of myself, that I dreaded

more than ever to see myself in God’s hands, at His sovereign disposal, and it made me more

opposed than ever to submit to his sovereignty; for I thought God designed my damnation.

It was the sight of the truth concerning myself, truth respecting my state, as a creature

fallen and alienated from God, and that consequently could make no demands on God for



mercy, but must subscribe to the absolute sovereignty of the Divine Being; the sight of the

truth, I say, my soul shrank away from, and trembled to think of beholding. (Ibid., p. 318)

How can sinners be humbled under the mighty hand of God when preachers are

telling them that their “free will” is more powerful than God? Why should men bow

and seek grace from a God who “has done all he can do” and whose “hands are tied”until sinful man decides to “give him a chance?” It is little wonder that we see so few

believers today like David Brainerd. The God before whom Brainerd bowed in saving

repentance and faith is almost unknown in our land. We must declare Romans 9 to

proud, self-sufficient sinners, but we must be certain that we do it in the spirit of

Romans 10:1, 2. The God who is sovereign is also most gracious. We must seek to drive

men to despair in their own efforts only as a means of bringing them to hope in the

gospel of God’s sovereign mercy.

Strange as it may seem, some of the people that appear to be the most humble and

earnest about their soul are really the most self-sufficient. David Brainerd is a classic

example of this fact. He would have been looked upon as an “earnest and most sincere

man seeking after God.” However, his own testimony reveals his deep-seated hatred of

God.

What should we say to the sinner who weeps and says, “I am too wicked to be

saved”? We must tell them that they are deceived and are being deceitful! If they really

believed they were helpless, they would fall at the feet of sovereign mercy. They are still

trying to change and save themselves on their own terms. Their tears of “hopelessness”

are really an expression of their unwillingness to put themselves entirely into God’s

hands. Their vaunted humility is like Brainerd’s before he was ready to admit to the

awful truth that he was both hopeless and helpless in himself and his own strength.False humility is backhanded self-righteousness.

If we really want to see sinners converted and saints edified, we must confront them

with the truth of God’s awesome sovereignty. We must tell them, as Rolfe Barnard did,

“Son, all you need to do to be saved is bow to Jesus the Lord.” We must assure people

that no sinner who ever bowed to Christ in repentance and faith was ever turned away.

He was welcomed into the arms of grace. However, we must also tell them that the only

way they can come to Christ is with a heart that is ready to submit to him as the only

Lord. The sovereignty of God and the lordship of Christ is not only the one safe and

sure place for a saint to rest; it is also the one and only safe and sure place for a poorlost sinner to rest.

Let me close with a quotation from a great preacher blessed by God in bringing

many souls to a living faith in Christ:

The fact, that conversion and salvation are all of God, is an humbling truth. It is because

of its humbling character that men do not like it. To be told that God alone must save me if I

am to be saved, and that I am in his hand, as clay is in the hands of the potter, “I do not like



it,” saith one. Well, I thought you would not; whoever dreamed you would? If you had liked

it, perhaps it had not been true; your not liking it is an indirect evidence of its truthfulness.

To be told that “he must work all my works in me,” who can bring me so low as that? Where

is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? The law of works? No, but the law of grace.

Grace puts its hand on their boasting mouth, and shuts it once and for all; and then it takes

its hand off from the mouth, and that mouth now does not fear to speak to man, though ittrembles at the very thought of taking any honour and glory from God. I must say―I am

compelled to say―that the doctrine which leaves salvation to the creature, and tells him that

it depends upon himself, is the exaltation of the flesh, and a dishonouring of God. But that

which puts in God’s hand man, fallen man, and tells man that though he has destroyed

himself, yet his salvation must be of God, that doctrine humbles man in the very dust, and

then he is just in the right place to receive the grace and mercy of God. It is a humbling

doctrine.

Again, this doctrine gives the death blow to all self-sufficiency. What the Arminian wants

to do is to arouse man’s activity; what we want to do is kill it once and for all, to show him

that he is lost and ruined, and his activities are not now at all equal to the work ofconversion; that he must look upward. They seek to make the man stand up; we seek to

bring him down, and make him feel that there he lies in the hand of God, and that his

business is to submit himself to God, and cry aloud, “Lord, save, or I perish.” We hold that

the man is never so near grace as when he begins to feel that he can do nothing at all. When

he says, “I can pray, I can believe, I can do this, and I can do the other,” marks of self-

sufficiency and arrogance are on his brow. But when he comes to his knees and cries, “Oh,

for this no strength I find, my strength is at thy feet to lie,” then we think that God has

blessed him, and that the work of grace is in his soul. O sinner! Think not that thy own

unaided arm can get the victory. Cry unto God, and beg him to take your soul in hand, for

you cannot be saved unless He doeth it for you. Bless Him for the promise that says, “Himthat cometh unto me, I will not cast out.” Oh! Cry to Him, “Lord, draw me by thy grace, that

I may run after thee; work all my works in me, and bring me to thyself and save me!” Not to

yourself do we bid thee look, nor to your prayers, nor to your faith, but to Christ and to his

cross, and to that God who is “able to save to the uttermost them that come unto God by

him.” (C.H. Spurgeon, New Park Street Pulpit, Vol. 6, p. 257)

Maybe, just maybe, if we understood and preached the gospel as Spurgeon did , God

would be blessed to convict and convert sinners under our ministry as he did under

Spurgeon’s ministry. Maybe, just maybe, if believers today really understood just how

sovereign and gracious God is, the counseling couches would be empty, and the prayer

and worship meetings would be full.

the grace of our sovereign god - chapter 10 - our sovereign god

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