Influences of the Life of Grace, Part 1 · Chapter 8
CHAP. VIII.
Divers Particulars in which Soveraignty appears.
1. SOveraignty and the glorious liberty of God appears in 1. His Decrees.
2. The Works of God, eſpecially 1. Of Creation. 2. Of common Providence.
3. Works of more ſpecial Providence.
1. Works of Juſtice.
2. Works of Free-grace.
The Soveraignty of his Decrees, is 1. In theſe two ſolemn and celebrious Decrees of Election and Reprobation. He loved Jacob and hated Eſau before ever the children had done good or evil, Rom. 9. this is a humbling thought to clay graciouſly diſpoſed which dare not contradict the Soveraign potter. The Lord might have appointed my chair before the Throne, and my eternal crown to Judas and to Pharaoh; and the ſame Lord might ſo have ordered as the furnace of the traitor Judas in Hell ſhould have been my furnace in Hell.We are not to ſtruggle with permiſſive providence, its not our Rule, but to be low, becauſe of the deep reſults of that providence, our own permitted ſins. 2. O what depth of love, did the King chuſe me, or did he once name my name, and write me for life eternal?
This is a hardning thought in the fallen Angels and reprobate men, that they ſtrive againſt and hate the providence permitting their fall and ſin; but doe neither ſtrive againſt, nor hate their permitted fall and ſin foreign why doth he yet, (notwithſtanding of his irreſiſtible Decree, find fault with our ſin? why doth he not blame his own Decree?) who hath reſiſted his will? a graceleſs ſoul will flee upon eternal Decrees and Events that belong to God, but is never humbled for ſin and remiſſion of duties;The ſoul-humbling thoughts that ſhould flow from holy Soveraignty. The gracious ſoul is much upon theſe thoughts, O the freedome of the eternal emanations of free grace, and the depth of the outgoings of Soveraign juſtice, and does mournfully complain of its own ſinful actings, Pſal. 51. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. we are to ſay Amen to his way. Soveraignty is not our Rule, clay is not to watch over the Lord's acts of holy Soveraignty, but in point of ſubmitting to the opened and revealed Decrees, but is to eye the rule, watch over the heart in point of duties.
2. All things to be, and never to be, are written in his book, Pſal. 139. 16. the number of David's members; all the hairs of the head are numbred,The number of things poſſible, and impoſſible, that are to fall out, or exiſt, is under holy Soveraignty. Matth. 10. 30. all the piles of duſt and ſand, all the drops of dew, rain, hail, ſnow, all the drops of the ſea, rivers, lakes, fountains of the Earth, Iſa. 40. 12. Pro. 30. 4. all the ounces and dram weights of the hills and mountains are exactly weighed as in ballances, and numbred by holy Soveraignty, all the blaſts of wind gathered in his fiſts, Prov. 30. 4. he knows how many inches and ſpans are in the Earth from Eaſt to Weſt, and in the compaſs and circle of the body of the World or great All and the higheſt Heaven round about, Iſa. 40. 12, 17. the number of Angels good and evil, of men, of beaſts, birds, fiſhes, creeping things, he tells the number of the Stars (whether odd or even) and calleth them by their names, Pſal. 147. 4. and Soveraignty could have made their number greater by ſeventy ſeven Millions; ſo he knows the number of trees, herbs, flowers, leaves of trees, piles or threds of graſs, the number of actions, motions, intentions, purpoſes of Men and Angels, actual and only poſſible and impoſſible, but never to fall out; all the ſtirrings in Heaven and Earth, Great is our Lord, and of great power: his underſtanding is infinite, Pſal. 147. 5.
2. He decreed twelve thouſand of every Tribe to be ſealed, a certain number for an uncertain; he wrote ſo many, not one more nor fewer; Why are many called and few choſen? the bleſſed number of Perſons, by Country, Houſe, Head, Name to be bought by the ranſome of Chriſt's bloud is agreed upon between the Father and the Son not one more paid for and ranſomed, not one fewer, the number of the Citizens were agreed upon; they are not moveable Tenants, the Lord loves not to put out, or to put in, none can take your chair and Crown in Heaven; its a deep to conſider how millions of millions of influences and ſtirrings the Soveraign Lord laid up beſide himſelf from eternity to let out upon his hoſts of Creatures, and eſpecially Men and Angels, and a treaſure of influences of grace are with him; would we bring our witheredneſſe under theſe eternal dewings, we ſhould have more of the anointing.
3. The Lord's Soveraignty decreed not things only,The connection of things of which the extremes never ſhall come to paſs, as alſo the exiſtence and co-exiſtence of things muſt be under the holy Soveraignty of God. but the connexion of things, as between Bread and Wine uſed according to the Lord's Inſtitution, and the broken Body and ſhed bloud of Chriſt: they ſuit not together of their own Nature and Eſſentially; therefore by the intervening will of God.
2. In things of remote nature, this is ſeen, 2 Kings 13. 19. If thou had ſmitten the ground five or ſix times, then hadſt thou ſmitten Syria, till thou had conſumed it: whereas now thou ſhalt ſmite Syria but thrice. The connexion of the Kings ſmiting of the ground and of ſmiting of the Syrians, is not from the nature of the things themſelves, but from the free appointment of God: if Chriſt talk with the woman of Samaria and ask of her a Drink of water, he ſhall convert her, and the Samaritans before he leave her. If Job be ſpoiled, he ſhall humbly ſubmit himſelf to God, and bleſs him. There may be more or leſs conveniency between the things, but all the connection of things in this kind might in their contraries have been as true, if ſo holy Soveraignty had appointed.
3. He who decrees the exiſtence of things in time and place, he decrees the co-exiſtence of the ſame things. Now that Joſeph ſhould be the ſubject matter of killing or ſelling when the Iſhmalites came by, and that Ahaſuerus cannot ſleep in the night, when that very paſſage of the Perſian Chronicle muſt be read in the which is the ſtory of Mordecai's loyal revealing the treaſon was from him, and they were tied together by no nature of things, by no influences of Planets and Stars, but by the Soveraign will of God: now the co-exiſtence of things is a real event of providence as is clear. Its from the Lord that Peter and Paul lived together in the ſame age and time, and Abraham and David lived not together, and from the holy decree of God that Jezebels body be caſt out, when there is none willing to bury her; and from the holy decree of God, that the Souldiers came with Spears to break the Legs of Chriſt, and that they find him dead and ſo break not one bone of him: yea the exiſtence and living and acting of all things, and the co-exiſtence, living and working together of them are from the ſame providence of God, or then from nature, or from the blind fortune, neither of which we can ſay; and who appoints the meeting of two Seas, or the meeting of two Rivers, or of two Men at the ſame place? or that the new Star ſhould be in Caſſiopeia rather then in another part of the Firmament? doth not David bleſs the Lord who ſent Abigail to meet him with a counſel of peace? then muſt theſe confluences and co-exiſtences of things be written in the Lord's book, and ſo decreed, Pſal. 139. 16. and from the Creator God, as the efficient, and for God and his glory, as the end, Rom. 11. 36. Rev. 4. 11. Prov. 16. 4.
5. The wiſedom of God ſo appoints, as means for his end, that black and white ſhould be in the ſame body, for beauty, the poor and the rich, the full and the hungry to try the charity of the rich and patience of the poor; that ſome ſhould weep, ſome ſing and rejoyce at the laying of the foundation of the ſecond Temple, Ezra 3, 6. Some of theſe are acts of mercy,Soveraignty ſhines in means and end, things of rare providence and juſtice, in adminiſtration of means of ſalvation to ſome, not to others. Jeſus cometh by the way and two blind men ſit by the way; Matthew, Zacheus are in ſuch places and Chriſt comes by and ſaves both the one, and the other.
7. Some are acts of juſtice, as the falling of a piece of a milſtone by a womans hand, and Abimelech's near approaching to the Tower, that a woman might kill him, who might, twenty other ways have died, if the Lord did not rule all the going of Achab to the war.
2. The arrow at a venture ſhot at Achab and paſſing by hundreds.
3. The arrow directed to the one only naked part of his body.
4 The waſhing of the wounds in ſuch a Pool in the field of Jezreel.
5. The Dogs licking of the bloud of Achab are all ſo linked together, by the Lord's holy and juſt Decree, as this is clear, if Achab go to the War againſt the Syrians, the Dogs ſhall lick his bloud, and he ſhall die in the battel.
8. The adminiſtration of the means of ſalvation to Capernaum, not to Tyrus and Sidon which would rather have repented then Capernaum, does prove this is from the Lord; if Peter hear, the Lord ſhall effectually perſwade him to believe; if Cain, Pharaoh, Judas, hear, the Lord ſhall not effectually perſwade them to believe. The Lord commands reprobates to repent and believe, if they would be ſaved; yet did he never decree the belief, repentance or ſalvation of any of them: does not Soveraignty here ſhine? who decrees the non-ſalvation of Judas, and the non-effectual drawing of Judas to Chriſt? which ſaith there be no property ſo called, and bands of conditions lying upon the Lord; if Judas repent he ſhall be ſaved, as if a father promiſe to his ſon an hundreth Acres of land upon condition that the ſon pay him one hundreth ſhillings; if the father only can and muſt furniſh to the ſon the hundreth ſhillings, and in the mean time deny the purpoſe in his heart, to deny to furniſh the hundreth ſhillings; it cannot be ſo ſtrictly ſaid that there is the tie and band of a proper condition lying upon the father, though it doth lie upon the ſon. And however the ways of the holy Lord be equal, yet are they far above our ways, and we are to be ſilenced at the bottomleſs depth of holy Soveraignty; he lays obligations to duties upon us, and is free from the debt of paying or beſtowing the ſum of gracious influences (without which we willingly cannot perform theſe duties) upon us: and he may juſtly crave what we cannot pay, when our impotency to pay is both our own, and alſo goes along with our elective, free chuſing and hearty willingneſs, and rejoycing not to pay, and to want the ſum, which only the Lord can of free grace give us: O the depth of the riches both of the wiſedome and knowledge of God, how unſearchable are his judgements, and his ways paſt finding out, Rom. 11. 33. To this head alſo I refer.
4. That Soveraignty which hath place in chuſing and calling Nations, as Iſrael becauſe he freely loves, Deut 7. 7. Iſrael, and their ſeed, not other Nations, Deut. 10. 7. he ſaith, preach to Macedonia, not to Bithynia, and though afterward the Goſpel came to Bithynia, many deſervedly periſhed, old and young, ere it came.
5.Soveraignty is eminent in holding of poſſible evils, and in determining the meaſure of ſufferings. It is admirable Soveraignty, how many thouſand poſſible plagues and evils he holds off, ſuch as millions of peſts, and diſeaſes of Egypt and evil beaſts, Deut. 7. 15. Lev. 26. 6. why the Bones of Chriſt are not broken; why a Dog ſtirs not a tongue againſt Iſrael; why one only World, not athouſand worlds were created: he appoints how long, what number of minuts, hours, or years, his own ſhall be in the Furnace; the Lord ſtands beſide as Maſter of the work, & eyes the melting, what quantity of Hony, or of Gall ſhal be in the Cup, how many hours ye ſhall weep, how many days or hours the Candle of the Almighty ſhall ſhine on your Tabernacle. Then be humble, when he ſhines, and ſubmiſſive at the time and meaſure of ſufferings; the evils that are holden off us before in their cauſes they be prepared, when we know not, ſhould teach us to adore Soveraignty. A friend that takes our defence when we are abſent, and an Advocate who anſwers for the ſick and far diſtant client, and not knowing that his cauſe is called and debated; yea for an heir ſucking the Breaſts, does call for much love and eſteem. Chriſt's care ſhines for Peter and the winnowed believers, when he prays and intercedes that their faith fail not, when they know not any ſuch thing; for a hid love moves much. The Lord fences us, we not knowing any ſuch thing, from drowning and our children in floods, deep wells, from burning quick, from a Hell of torment in every tooth, finger, bone, ſinew, artery, lith, member of the body, of our ſelves, of father, mother, ſon, daughter; and from ſpoyling, captivity, impriſonment, gravels, guts, botches, convulſions palſies, poſſeſſions by Divels, madneſs, terror, and agony of mind, as many children drowned, be not quick, killed in the womb, and periſhed in the firſt world, and hundreds and millions of the like poſſible deſtructions, are decreed to paſs by me and you, and do fall upon others by holy Soveraignties appointment.
6. The due timing of the worlds Creation,The due timeing of things is from Soveraignty. and of all things of time is from admirable Soveraignty, why the world had not being, ten thouſand millions of imaginary ages ſooner, or ſo many ages later; and from whence came this, In the beginning God created the Heaven and the Earth, is a depth of Soveraignty; its wonderful, Angels and ſouls of Men are created eternal, time cannot waſt them: the body of man, though a creature drawn out of the ſame nothing, is not ſo. There is a Plant that grows a year only, there is a Flower that ſmiles a monethmonth, another three moneths, ſome Roſes are green in March, ſome in May, ſome in June only, and there is a Tree that grows an hundred years; The like diſparity there is of the life of Beaſts and Birds; He hath appointed a time for every purpoſe under Heaven, a time to be born, a time to die; and accordingly are there ſeveral outgoings and influences of the Lord.
As 1. He will not have all the four Monarchies flouriſh at once in there roſe and bloom, but one to be greater, another leſſer, as all Rivers are not alike, nor can all Conquerors be victors at one time.
2. The Lord lands ſome children after three moneths, ſucking, laughing, weeping; others live ſome days in the Womb, and the Womb is their grave; yet often eternity is a recompence for want of time, and that is Gold for Iron and Copper; others ſail fourſcore and a hundred years, and never find a gracious harbour: We fret, becauſe the wicked live long and proſper; becauſe we forget that Soveraignty hath determined how many hours wicked men ſhall laugh, how many talents or ſtone weights of the Earth they ſhall have; and becauſe the Bride weeps, when ſhall the night be gone? and the day dawn? and the King come? there is a ſort of account rendred of this by John, who had been prophecying of all the Vials of wrath to be poured on the Earth, eſpecially under the Anti-Chriſts reign, Behold he comes quickly, Rev. 1. 7. foreign.
3. We complain of circumſtances which are well timed by infinite wiſedone: ſhould ſickneſs and botches come upon Job, when poverty had gone before? Doth the Lord give an account of the ſubſtance, or of the circumſtances of his actions? Job 33. 11. this ounce of Gall muſt be in, or nothing, the Child muſt be drowned in a Fountain and River, when there are none to help. Job was abſent when God laid the corner ſtone of the Earth.
4. The Lord times his actions of deliverance well, when our ſtrength is gone, Deut. 32. 36. Gal. 4. 4. Exod. 12. 42. Jer. 29. 10. but we do badly time our ſins. They tempted him, and provoked him; but, when? at the red Sea, and in the Wilderneſs, Pſal. 78. 17. Exod. 14. Pſal. 106. 7. It was untimous ſinning in ſuch ſtraits, when their very monethmonth was come, ſo as they could not fly from his hand.