Tag Archives: divine sovereignty

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – Divine sovereignty

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“Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own?” Matthew 20:15

Suggested Further Reading: Luke 19:11-27

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 should more earnestly contend than the dominion of their Master over all creation—the Kingship of God over all the works of his own hands—the throne of God, and his right to sit upon that throne. On the other hand, there is no doctrine more hated by unbelievers, no truth which they have kicked about so much, as the great, stupendous, but yet most certain doctrine of the sovereignty of the infinite Jehovah. Men will allow God to be everywhere except on his throne. They will allow him to be in his workshop to fashion worlds and to make stars. They will allow him to be in his treasury to dispense his alms and bestow his bounties. They will allow him to sustain the earth and bear up its pillars, or light the lamps of heaven, or rule the waves of the ever-moving ocean; but when God ascends his throne, his creatures then 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 ridiculed, 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 sceptre in his hand and his crown upon his head.

For meditation: Do you have to think twice before addressing Jesus as Lord? Judas Iscariot could never bring himself to do it—the other disciples could say “Lord” (Matthew 26:22); Judas could only say “Rabbi/Master/Teacher” (Matthew 26:25,49).

Sermon no. 77
4 May (1856)

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – The Christian—a debtor

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CharlesSpurgeon

“Therefore, brethren, we are debtors.” Romans 8:12

Suggested Further Reading: Luke 7:36-50

Christian, stop and ponder for a moment! What a debtor thou art to divine sovereignty! Thou art not as some, who say, that thou didst choose thyself to be saved; but thou believest that God could have destroyed thee, if he had pleased, and that it is entirely of his own good pleasure that thou art made one of his, while others are suffered to perish. Consider, then, how much thou owest to his sovereignty! If he had willed it, thou wouldst have been among the damned; if he had not willed thy salvation, all thou couldst do would have been utterly powerless to deliver thee from perdition. Remember how much thou owest to his disinterested love, which rent his own Son from his bosom that he might die for thee! Let the cross and bloody sweat remind thee of thine obligation. Consider how much thou owest to his forgiving grace, that after ten thousand affronts he loves thee as infinitely as ever; and after a myriad sins, his Spirit still resides within thee. Consider what thou owest to his power; how he has raised thee from thy death in sin; how he has preserved thy spiritual life, how he has kept thee from falling, and how, though a thousand enemies have beset thy path, thou hast been able to hold on thy way! Consider what thou owest to his immutability. Though thou hast changed a thousand times, he has not changed once; though thou hast shifted thy intentions, and thy will, yet has he not once swerved from his eternal purpose, but still has held thee fast. Consider thou art as deep in debt as thou canst be to every attribute of God. To God thou owest thyself, and all thou hast. “Brethren, we are debtors.”

For meditation: The reasonable response to forgiven debt is love to God and to one another, but we will always be in debt (Romans 13:8).

Sermon no. 96

11 August (Preached 10 August 1856)

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – Divine sovereignty

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CharlesSpurgeon

“Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own?” Matthew 20:15

Suggested Further Reading: Luke 19:11-27

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 should more earnestly contend than the dominion of their Master over all creation—the Kingship of God over all the works of his own hands—the throne of God, and his right to sit upon that throne. On the other hand, there is no doctrine more hated by unbelievers, no truth which they have kicked about so much, as the great, stupendous, but yet most certain doctrine of the sovereignty of the infinite Jehovah. Men will allow God to be everywhere except on his throne. They will allow him to be in his workshop to fashion worlds and to make stars. They will allow him to be in his treasury to dispense his alms and bestow his bounties. They will allow him to sustain the earth and bear up its pillars, or light the lamps of heaven, or rule the waves of the ever-moving ocean; but when God ascends his throne, his creatures then 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 ridiculed, 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 sceptre in his hand and his crown upon his head.

For meditation: Do you have to think twice before addressing Jesus as Lord? Judas Iscariot could never bring himself to do it—the other disciples could say “Lord” (Matthew 26:22); Judas could only say “Rabbi/Master/Teacher” (Matthew 26:25,49).

Sermon no. 77

4 May (1856)

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – The Christian—a debtor

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CharlesSpurgeon

“Therefore, brethren, we are debtors.” Romans 8:12

Suggested Further Reading: Luke 7:36-50

Christian, stop and ponder for a moment! What a debtor thou art to divine sovereignty! Thou art not as some, who say, that thou didst choose thyself to be saved; but thou believest that God could have destroyed thee, if he had pleased, and that it is entirely of his own good pleasure that thou art made one of his, while others are suffered to perish. Consider, then, how much thou owest to his sovereignty! If he had willed it, thou wouldst have been among the damned; if he had not willed thy salvation, all thou couldst do would have been utterly powerless to deliver thee from perdition. Remember how much thou owest to his disinterested love, which rent his own Son from his bosom that he might die for thee! Let the cross and bloody sweat remind thee of thine obligation. Consider how much thou owest to his forgiving grace, that after ten thousand affronts he loves thee as infinitely as ever; and after a myriad sins, his Spirit still resides within thee. Consider what thou owest to his power; how he has raised thee from thy death in sin; how he has preserved thy spiritual life, how he has kept thee from falling, and how, though a thousand enemies have beset thy path, thou hast been able to hold on thy way! Consider what thou owest to his immutability. Though thou hast changed a thousand times, he has not changed once; though thou hast shifted thy intentions, and thy will, yet has he not once swerved from his eternal purpose, but still has held thee fast. Consider thou art as deep in debt as thou canst be to every attribute of God. To God thou owest thyself, and all thou hast. “Brethren, we are debtors.”

For meditation: The reasonable response to forgiven debt is love to God and to one another, but we will always be in debt (Romans 13:8).

Sermon no. 96

11 August (Preached 10 August 1856)

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Smoke Signals

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And those who heard it said, “Who then can be saved?” But He said, “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.” —Luke 18:26–27

I once heard a story about a man who was shipwrecked on an uninhabited island. Seeing that rescue might not happen for a long time, he painstakingly built a little hut to provide himself protection from the elements and a place to store the few items he had managed to salvage from the wreck. Every day he would prayerfully scan the horizon, hoping for the approach of a ship. But he saw nothing.

Then one evening, after he had been out and about on the island, searching for food, he came back to see that his little hut was in flames. He tried to put out the fire, but it was too late. Everything he owned in this world had gone up in smoke. He went to sleep that night listening to the pounding of the surf, stunned by his own misfortune.

The next morning he awoke to find a ship anchored off the island—the first ship he had seen since he had been marooned. Still trying to believe his eyes, he heard footsteps, and then a human voice, saying, “We saw your smoke signal and we came to rescue you.”

That’s how it happens sometimes. In divine sovereignty and grace, the worst-case scenario somehow becomes the best-case scenario.

Disasters can turn out to be great opportunities for God to work in your life. The Lord is always present with us, always intimately acquainted with our circumstances, and He specializes in taking “impossible” situations and turning them around, for His glory and our benefit.

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – Men chosen—fallen angels rejected

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“Verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham.” Hebrews 2:16

Suggested Further Reading: 2 Peter 2:4-9

Adam broke the covenant of works; he touched the accursed fruit, and in that day he fell. Ah! What a fall was there! Then you, and I, and all of us fell down, while cursed sin triumphed over us; there were no men that stood; there were some angels that stood, but no men, for the fall of Adam was the fall of our entire race. After one portion of the angels had fallen, it pleased God to stamp their doom, and make it fast and firm; but when man fell, it did not so please God; he had threatened to punish him, but in his infinite mercy he made some the object of his special affection, for whom he provided a precious remedy, and secured it by the blood of his everlasting Son. These are the persons whom we call the elect; and those whom he has left to perish, perish on account of their own sins, most justly, to the praise of his glorious justice. Now, here you notice divine sovereignty; sovereignty, that God chose to put both men and angels on the footing of their free-will, sovereignty, in that he chose to punish all the fallen angels with utter destruction; sovereignty, in that he chose to reprieve, and grant an eternal pardon to a number, whom no man can number, selected out of men, who shall infallibly be found before his right hand above. My text mentions this great fact, for when properly translated it reads thus:- “He took not up angels, but he took on him the seed of Abraham.”

For meditation: The Lord Jesus Christ witnessed Satan’s expulsion from Heaven, and as surely guarantees the believer’s entrance into Heaven (Luke 10:18,20).

Sermon no. 90

30 June (Preached 29 June 1856)

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Charles Spurgeon – Divine sovereignty

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“Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own?” Matthew 20:15

Suggested Further Reading: Luke 19:11-27

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 should more earnestly contend than the dominion of their Master over all creation—the Kingship of God over all the works of his own hands—the throne of God, and his right to sit upon that throne. On the other hand, there is no doctrine more hated by unbelievers, no truth which they have kicked about so much, as the great, stupendous, but yet most certain doctrine of the sovereignty of the infinite Jehovah. Men will allow God to be everywhere except on his throne. They will allow him to be in his workshop to fashion worlds and to make stars. They will allow him to be in his treasury to dispense his alms and bestow his bounties. They will allow him to sustain the earth and bear up its pillars, or light the lamps of heaven, or rule the waves of the ever-moving ocean; but when God ascends his throne, his creatures then 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 ridiculed, 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 sceptre in his hand and his crown upon his head.

For meditation: Do you have to think twice before addressing Jesus as Lord? Judas Iscariot could never bring himself to do it—the other disciples could say “Lord” (Matthew 26:22); Judas could only say “Rabbi/Master/Teacher” (Matthew 26:25,49).

Sermon no. 77

4 May (1856)

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Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Ways That Are Right and Best

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“He will teach the ways that are right and best to those who humbly turn to Him” (Psalm 25:9).

A guide, taking some tourists through Mammoth Cave, reached a place called “The Cathedral.”

Mounting a rock called “The Pulpit,” he said he wanted to preach a sermon, and it would be short.

“Keep close to your guide,” he said.

The tourists soon found it was a good sermon. If they did not keep close to the guide, they would be lost in the midst of pits, precipices and caverns.

It is hard to find one’s way through Mammoth Cave without a guide. It is harder to find one’s way through the world without the lamp of God’s Word.

“Keep your eye on the Light of the World (Jesus) and use the Lamp of God’s Word” is a good motto for the Christian to follow.

Humbly turning to God is one of the most meaningful exercises a person can take. We come in touch with divine sovereignty, and we become instant candidates to discern God’s will for our lives.

Humbling ourselves is clearly in line with God’s formula for revival:

“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14, KJV).

Bible Reading: Psalm 25:1-8

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: With the enabling of the Holy Spirit, I will fix my heart and mind on Jesus first and others second, which is true humility.

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Charles Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

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Morning  “Therefore, brethren, we are debtors.” / Romans 8:12

As God’s creatures, we are all debtors to him: to obey him with all our body,  and soul, and strength. Having broken his commandments, as we all have, we are  debtors to his justice, and we owe to him a vast amount which we are not able  to pay. But of the Christian it can be said that he does not owe God’s justice  anything, for Christ has paid the debt his people owed; for this reason the  believer owes the more to love. I am a debtor to God’s grace and forgiving  mercy; but I am no debtor to his justice, for he will never accuse me of a  debt already paid. Christ said, “It is finished!” and by that he meant, that  whatever his people owed was wiped away forever from the book of remembrance.  Christ, to the uttermost, has satisfied divine justice; the account is  settled; the handwriting is nailed to the cross; the receipt is given, and we  are debtors to God’s justice no longer. But then, because we are not debtors  to our Lord in that sense, we become ten times more debtors to God than we  should have been otherwise. Christian, pause and ponder for a moment. What a  debtor thou art to divine sovereignty! How much thou owest to his  disinterested love, for he gave his own Son that he might die for thee.  Consider how much you owe to his forgiving grace, that after ten thousand  affronts he loves you as infinitely as ever. Consider what you owe to his  power; how he has raised you from your death in sin; how he has preserved your  spiritual life; how he has kept you from falling; and how, though a thousand  enemies have beset your path, you have been able to hold on your way. Consider  what you owe to his immutability. Though you have changed a thousand times, he  has not changed once. Thou art as deep in debt as thou canst be to every  attribute of God. To God thou owest thyself, and all thou hast–yield thyself  as a living sacrifice, it is but thy reasonable service.

 

Evening  “Tell me … where thou feedest, where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon.”

/ Song of Solomon 1:7

These words express the desire of the believer after Christ, and his longing  for present communion with him. Where doest thou feed thy flock? In thy house?  I will go, if I may find thee there. In private prayer? Then I will pray  without ceasing. In the Word? Then I will read it diligently. In thine  ordinances? Then I will walk in them with all my heart. Tell me where thou  feedest, for wherever thou standest as the Shepherd, there will I lie down as  a sheep; for none but thyself can supply my need. I cannot be satisfied to be  apart from thee. My soul hungers and thirsts for the refreshment of thy  presence. “Where dost thou make thy flock to rest at noon?” for whether at  dawn or at noon, my only rest must be where thou art and thy beloved flock. My  soul’s rest must be a grace-given rest, and can only be found in thee. Where  is the shadow of that rock? Why should I not repose beneath it? “Why should I  be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions?” Thou hast  companions–why should I not be one? Satan tells me I am unworthy; but I  always was unworthy, and yet thou hast long loved me; and therefore my  unworthiness cannot be a bar to my having fellowship with thee now. It is true  I am weak in faith, and prone to fall, but my very feebleness is the reason  why I should always be where thou feedest thy flock, that I may be  strengthened, and preserved in safety beside the still waters. Why should I  turn aside? There is no reason why I should, but there are a thousand reasons  why I should not, for Jesus beckons me to come. If he withdrew himself a  little, it is but to make me prize his presence more. Now that I am grieved  and distressed at being away from him, he will lead me yet again to that  sheltered nook where the lambs of his fold are sheltered from the burning sun.