Dated
June, 1735.
"Be still, and know that I am God."
-- Psalm
46:10
This psalm seems to
be a song of the church in a time of great revolutions and desolations in the
world. Therefore the church glories in God as her refuge, and strength, and
present help, even in times of the greatest troubles and overturnings, verses
1-3, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Therefore will we not fear, though the earth be removed, and though the
mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though the waters thereof roar
and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof.” The
church makes her boast of God, not only as being her help, by defending her from
the desolations and calamities in which the rest of the world were involved, but
also by supplying her, as a never-failing river, with refreshment, comfort, and
joy, in the times of public calamities. See verse 4, 5, “There is a river, the
streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the
tabernacles of the Most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be
moved: God shall help her, and that right early.”
In the 6th and
8th verses are set forth the terrible changes and calamities which were in the
world: “The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: he uttered his voice, the
earth melted. Come, behold the works of God, what desolations he hath made in
the earth.” In the verse preceding the text is elegantly set forth the manner
in which God delivers the church from these calamities, and especially from the
desolations of war, and the rage of their enemies: “He maketh wars to cease
unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder;
he burneth the chariot in the fire;” i.e. he maketh wars to cease when
they are against his people; he breaketh the bow when bent against his saints.
Then follow the
words of the text: “Be still, and know that I am God.” The great works of
God, wherein his sovereignty appeared, had been described in the foregoing
verses. In the awful desolations that he made, and by delivering his people by
terrible things, he showed his greatness and dominion. Herein he manifested his
power and sovereignty, and so commands all to be still, and know that he is
God. For, says he, “I will be exalted among the heathen; I will be exalted
in the earth.”
In the words
may be observed:
1. A duty
described, to be still before God, and under the dispensations of his
providence; which implies that we must be still as to words; not speaking
against the sovereign dispensations of Providence, or complaining of them; not
darkening counsel by words without knowledge, or justifying ourselves, and
speaking great swelling words of vanity. We must be still as to actions
and outward behavior, so as not to oppose God in his dispensations; and as to the
inward frame of our hearts, cultivating a calm and quiet submission of soul
to the sovereign pleasure of God, whatever it be.
2. We may
observe the ground of this duty, viz. the divinity of God. His being God
is a sufficient reason why we should be still before him, in no wise murmuring,
or objecting, or opposing, but calmly and humbly submitting to him.
3. How we must
fulfill this duty, of being still before God, viz. with a sense of his
divinity, as seeing the ground of this duty, in that we know him to be God. Our
submission is to be such as becomes rational creatures. God doth not require us
to submit contrary to reason, but to submit as seeing the reason and ground of
submission. — Hence, the bare consideration that God is God, may well
be sufficient to still all objections and opposition against the divine
sovereign dispensations.
This may appear
by the following things:
1. In that he
is God, he is an absolutely and infinitely perfect being; and it is
impossible that he should do amiss. As he is eternal, and receives not his
existence from any other, he cannot be limited in his being, or any attribute,
to any certain determinate quantity. If anything have bounds fixed to it, there
must be some cause or reason why those bounds are fixed just where they are.
Whence it will follow, that every limited thing must have some cause. And
therefore that being which has no cause must be unlimited.
It is most
evident by the works of God, that his understanding and power are infinite. For
he that hath made all things out of nothing, and upholds, and governs, and
manages all things every moment, in all ages, without growing weary, must be of
infinite power. He must also be of infinite knowledge; for if he made all
things, and upholds and governs all things continually, it will follow, that he
knows and perfectly sees all things, great and small, in heaven and earth,
continually at one view; which cannot be without infinite understanding.
Being thus
infinite in understanding and power, he must also be perfectly holy; for
unholiness always argues some defect, some blindness. Where there is no darkness
or delusion, there can be no unholiness. It is impossible that wickedness should
consist with infinite light. God being infinite in power and knowledge, he must
be self-sufficient and all-sufficient. Therefore it is impossible that he should
be under any temptation to do anything amiss; for he can have no end in doing
it. When any are tempted to do amiss, it is for selfish ends. But how can an
all-sufficient Being, who wants nothing, be tempted to do evil for selfish ends?
So that God is essentially holy, and nothing is more impossible than that God
should do amiss.
2. As he is
God, he is so great, that he is infinitely above all comprehension. And
therefore it is unreasonable in us to quarrel with his dispensations, because
they are mysterious. If he were a being that we could comprehend, he would not
be God. It would be unreasonable to suppose any other, than that there should be
many things in the nature of God, and in his works and government, to us
mysterious, and which we never can fully find out.
What are we?
and what do we make of ourselves, when we expect that God and his ways should be
upon a level with our understandings? We are infinitely unequal to any such
thing, as comprehending God. We may less unreasonably expect that a nutshell
should contain the ocean: Job 11:7, etc. “Canst thou by searching find out
God? Canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection? It is as high as heaven,
what canst thou do? deeper than hell, what canst thou know? The measure thereof
is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea.” If we were sensible of
the distance which there is between God and us, we should see the reasonableness
of that interrogation of the apostle, Rom. 9:20, “Who art thou, O man, that
repliest against God?”
If we find
fault with God’s government, we virtually suppose ourselves fit to be God’s
counselors; whereas it becomes us rather, with great humility and adoration, to
cry out with the apostle, Rom. 11:33, etc. “O the depth of the riches, both of
the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his
ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? Or who hath been
his counselor? Or who hath first given to him and it shall be recompensed unto
him again? For of him, and through him, and to him are all things: to whom be
glory for ever.” If little children should rise up and find fault with the
supreme legislature of a nation, or quarrel with the mysterious administrations
of the sovereign, would it not be looked upon that they meddled with things too
high for them? And what are we but babes? Our understandings are infinitely less
than those of babes, in comparison with the wisdom of God. It becomes us
therefore to be sensible of it, and to behave ourselves accordingly. Psa. 131:1,
2, “Lord, my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty; neither do I exercise
myself in great matters, or in things too high for me. Surely I have behaved and
quieted myself as a child.” This consideration alone of the infinite distance
between God and us, and between God’s understanding and ours, should be enough
to still and quiet us concerning all that God does, however mysterious and
unintelligible to us. — Nor have we any right to expect, that God should
particularly explain to us the reason of his dispensations. It is fit that God
should not give any account of his matters to us, worms of the dust, that we may
be sensible of our distance from him, and adore and submit to him in humble
reverence.
Therefore we
find, that when Job was so full of difficulty about the divine dispensations,
God did not answer him by particularly explaining the reasons of his mysterious
providence; but by showing him what a poor worm, what a nothing he was, and how
much he himself was above him. This more became God than it would have done, to
enter into a particular debate with him, or to unfold the mysterious
difficulties. It became Job to submit to God in those things that he could not
understand, and to this the reply tended to bring him. It is fit that God should
dwell in thick darkness, or in light to which no man can approach, which no man
hath seen nor can see. No wonder that a God of infinite glory shines with a
brightness too strong and mighty for mortal eyes. For the angels themselves,
those mighty spirits, are represented as covering their faces in this light;
Isa. 6.
3. As he is
God, all things are his own, and he hath a right to dispose of them
according to his own pleasure. All things in this lower world are his; Job
41:11, “Whatsoever is under the whole heaven is mine.” Yea, the whole
universe is God’s; Deu. 10:14, “Behold the heaven, and the heaven of heavens
is the Lord’s; the earth also with all that is therein.” All things are his,
because all things are from him; they are wholly from him, and from him alone.
Those things which are made by men, are not wholly from them. When a man builds
a house, it is not wholly from him. Nothing of which the house is made has its
being from him. But all creatures are wholly and entirely the fruits of God’s
power, and therefore it is fit that they should be subject to, and for, his
pleasure. Pro. 16:4 — And as all things are from God, so they are
upheld in being by him, and would sink into nothing in a moment, if he
did not uphold them. And all things are to him. Rom. 11:36, “For by
him, and through him, and to him are all things.” Col. 1:16, 17, “For
by him were all things created that are in heaven, and that are in earth,
visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions, principalities or
powers: all things were created by him and for him: and he is
before all things, and by him all things consist.” All mankind are his; their
lives, and breath, and being; “for in him we live, and move, and have our
being.” Our souls and capacities are from him. Eze. 18:4, “All souls are
mine: as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son, is mine.”
4. In that he
is God, he is worthy to be sovereign over all things. Sometimes men are
the owners of more than they are worthy of. But God is not only the owner of the
whole world, as all is from and dependent on him; but such is his perfection,
the excellency and dignity of his nature, that he is worthy of sovereignty over
all. No man ought in the temper of his mind to be opposite to God’s exercising
the sovereignty of the universe, as if he were not worthy of it; for to be the
absolute sovereign of the universe is not a glory or dignity too great for him.
All things in heaven and earth, angels and men, are nothing in comparison with
him. All are as the drop of the bucket, and as the light dust of the balance. It
is therefore fit that everything should be in his hands, to be disposed of
according to his pleasure. — His will and pleasure are of infinitely greater
importance than the will of creatures. It is fit that his will should take
place, though contrary to the will of all other beings; that he should make
himself his own end; and order all things for himself. — God is possessed of
such perfections and excellencies as to qualify him to be the absolute sovereign
of the world. — Certainly it is more fit that all things be under the guidance
of a perfect unerring wisdom, than that they should be left to themselves to
fall in confusion, or be brought to pass by blind causes. Yea, it is not fit
that any affairs within the government of God should be left without the
direction of his wise providence; least of all, things of the greatest
importance.
It is absurd to
suppose, that God is obliged to keep every creature from sinning and
exposing himself to an adequate punishment. For if so, then it will follow, that
there can be no such thing as a moral government of God over reasonable
creatures. And it would be an absurdity for God to give commands; for he himself
would be the party bound to see to the performance, and there could be no use of
promises or threatenings. But if God may leave a creature to sin, and to expose
himself to punishment, then it is much fitter and better that the matter should
be ordered by wisdom, who should justly lie exposed by sin to punishment, and
who not; than that it be left to come to pass by confused chance. It is unworthy
of the Governor of the world to leave things to chance; it belongs to him to
govern all things by wisdom. — And as God has wisdom to qualify him to
be sovereign, so he has power also to enable him to execute the
determinations of wisdom. And he is essentially and invariably holy and righteous,
and infinitely good; whereby he is qualified to govern the world in the
best manner. — Therefore, when he acts as sovereign of the world, it is fit
that we should be still and willingly submit, and in no wise oppose his having
the glory of his sovereignty; but should in a sense of his worthiness,
cheerfully ascribe it to him, and say, “Thine is the kingdom and the power and
the glory for ever;” and say with those in Rev. 5:13, “Blessing, and honor,
and glory, and power, be to him that sitteth upon the throne.”
5. In that he
is God, he will be sovereign, and will act as such. He sits on the
throne of his sovereignty, and his kingdom ruleth over all. He will be exalted
in his sovereign power and dominion, as he himself declares; “I will be
exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.” He will have all
men to know, that he is most high over all the earth. He doth according to his
will in the armies of heaven and amongst the inhabitants of the earth, and none
can stay his hand. — There is no such thing as frustrating, or baffling, or
undermining his designs; for he is great in counsel, and wonderful in working.
His counsel shall stand, and he will do all his pleasure. There is no wisdom,
nor understanding, nor counsel against the Lord. Whatsoever God doth, it shall
be forever. Nothing shall be put to it, nor anything taken from it. He will
work, and who shall let it? He is able to dash in pieces the enemy. If men join
hand in hand against him, to hinder or oppose his designs, he breaks the bow, he
cuts the spear in sunder, he burneth the chariot in the fire. — He kills and
he makes alive, he brings down and raises up just as he pleases. Isa. 45:6, 7,
“That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there
is none besides me. I am the Lord, and there is none else; I form the light and
create darkness; I make peace and create evil; I the Lord do all these
things.”
Great men, and
rich men, and wise men cannot hinder God from doing his pleasure. He leadeth
counselors away spoiled, he accepteth not the persons of princes, nor regardeth
the rich more than the poor. There are many devices in a man’s heart, but the
counsel of the Lord that shall stand, and the thoughts of his heart to all
generations. — When he gives quietness, who can make trouble? When he hides
his face, who can behold him? He breaketh down, and it cannot be built up again:
he shutteth up a man, and there can be no opening. When he purposeth, who shall
disannul it? And when his hand is stretched out, who shall turn it back? — So
there is no hindering God from being sovereign, and acting as such. “He hath
mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.” He hath the
keys of hell and of death. He openeth, and no man shutteth: he shutteth, and no
man openeth. This may show us the folly of opposing ourselves against the
sovereign dispensations of God; and how much more wisely they act who quietly
and sweetly submit to his sovereign will.
6. In that he
is God, he is able to avenge himself on those who oppose his sovereignty.
He is wise of heart, and mighty in strength. Who hath hardened himself against
God and prospered? He that will contend with God must answer it. And what a poor
creature is man to fight against God! Is he able to make his part good with him?
Whoever of God’s enemies deal proudly, he will show that he is above them.
They will be but as the chaff before the whirlwind, and shall be as the fat of
lambs. They shall consume into smoke, they shall consume away. “Who would set
the briers and thorns against him in battle? He would go through them, he would
burn them together.” Isa. 27:4.
APPLICATION
A manifold
improvement might be made of this doctrine, which a little reflection may
suggest to each of us. But the improvement which I shall at this time make of
it, shall be only in a use of reproof to such under convictions of sin,
and fears of hell, as are not still, but oppose the sovereignty of God in the
disposals of his grace. This doctrine shows the unreasonableness, and dreadful
wickedness, of your refusing heartily to own the sovereignty of God in this
matter. It shows that you know not that God is God. If you knew this, you
would be inwardly still and quiet; you would humbly and calmly lie in the dust
before a sovereign God, and would see sufficient reason for it.
In objecting
and quarreling about the righteousness of God’s laws and threatenings, and his
sovereign dispensations towards you and others, you oppose his divinity,
you show your ignorance of his divine greatness and excellency, and that you
cannot bear that he should have divine honor. It is from low, mean thoughts of
God, that you do in your minds oppose his sovereignty, that you are not sensible
how dangerous your conduct is, and what an audacious thing it is for such a
creature as man to strive with his Maker.
What poor
creatures are you, that you should set up yourselves for judges over the Most
High; that you should take it upon [yourself] to call God to an account; that
you should say to the great Jehovah, what dost thou? and that you should pass
sentence against him! If you knew that he is God, you would not act in this
manner. But this knowledge would be sufficient to still and calm you concerning
all God’s dispensations, and you would say with Eli, in 1 Sam. 3:18, “It is
the Lord, let him do what seemeth good in his sight.” — But here I shall be
more particular in several things.
1. It is from mean
thoughts of God that you are not convinced that you have by your sins
deserved his eternal wrath and curse. If you had any proper sense of the
infinite majesty, greatness, and holiness of God, you would see, that to be cast
into the lake of fire and brimstone, and there to have no rest day nor night, is
not a punishment more than equal to the demerit of sin. — You would not have
so good a thought of yourselves; you would not be so clean and pure in your own
eyes; you would see that vile, unworthy, hell-deserving creatures you are. If
you had not little thoughts of God, and were to consider how you have set
yourselves against him — how you have slighted him, his commandments and
threatenings, and despised his goodness and mercy, how often you have disobeyed,
how obstinate you have been, how your whole lives have been filled up with sin
against God — you would not wonder that God threatens to destroy you forever,
but would wonder that he hath not actually done it before now.
If you had not
mean thoughts of God, you would not find fault with him for not setting his love
on you who never exercised any love to him. You would not think it unjust in God
not to seek your interest and eternal welfare, who never would be persuaded at
all to seek his glory. You would not think it unjust in him to slight and
disregard you, who have so often and so long made light of God. If you had not
mean thoughts of God, you never would think him obliged to bestow eternal
salvation upon you, who have never been truly thankful for one mercy which you
have already received of him. — What do you think of yourselves? What great
ideas have you of yourselves? And what thoughts have you of God, that you think
he is obliged to do so much for you though you treat him ever so ungratefully
for the kindness which he hath already bestowed upon you all the days of your
lives? It must be from little thoughts of God, that you think it unjust in him
not to regard you when you call upon him; when he hath earnestly called to you,
so long and so often, and you would not be persuaded to hearken to him. What
thoughts have you of God, that you think he is more obliged to hear what you say
to him, than you are to regard what he says to you?
It is from
diminutive thoughts of God, that you think he is obliged to show mercy to you
when you seek it, though you have been for a long time willfully sinning against
him, provoking him to anger, and presuming that he would show you mercy when you
should seek it. What kind of thoughts have you of God, that you think he is
obliged, as it were, to yield himself up to be abused by men, so that when they
have done, his mercy and pardoning grace shall not be in his own power, but he
must be obliged to dispense them at their call?
2. It is from
little thoughts of God, that you quarrel against his justice in the condemnation
of sinners, from the doctrine of original sin. It must be because you do not
know him to be God, and will not allow him to be sovereign. It is for want of a
sense how much God is above you, that those things in him which are above your
comprehension, are such difficulties and stumbling-blocks to you. It is for want
of a sense how much the wisdom and understanding of God are above yours, and
what poor, short-sighted, blind creatures you are, in comparison with him. If
you were sensible what God is, you would see it most reasonable to expect that
his ways should be far above the reason of man, and that he dwells in light
which no man can approach unto, which no man hath seen, nor can see. — If men
were sensible how excellent and perfect a Being he is, they would not be so apt
to be jealous of him and to suspect him in things which lie beyond their
understandings. It would be no difficulty with them to trust God out of sight.
What horrid arrogance in worms of the dust, that they should think they have
wisdom enough to examine and determine concerning what God doth, and to pass
sentence on it as unjust! If you were sensible how great and glorious a being
God is, it would not be such a difficulty with you to allow him the dignity of
such absolute sovereignty, as that he should order as he pleases, whether every
single man should stand for himself, or whether a common father should stand for
all.
3. It is from
mean thoughts of God, that you trust in your own righteousness, and think
that God ought to respect you for it. If you knew how great a Being he is, if
you saw that he is God indeed, you would see how unworthy, how miserable a
present it is to be offered to such a Being. It is because you are blind, and
know not what a Being he is with whom you have to do, that you make so much of
your own righteousness. If you had your eyes open to see that he is God indeed,
you would wonder how you could think to commend yourselves to so great a Being
by your gifts, by such poor affections, such broken prayers, wherein is so much
hypocrisy, and so much selfishness. — If you had not very mean thoughts of
God, you would wonder that ever you could think of purchasing the favor and love
of so great a God by your services. You would see that it would be unworthy of
God to bestow such a mercy upon you, and peace with him, and his everlasting
love, and the enjoyment of himself, for such a price as you have to offer; and
that he would exceedingly dishonor himself in so doing. — If you saw what God
is, you would exclaim, as Job did, Job 42:5, 6, “Now mine eye seeth thee;
wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” And as Isaiah did,
Isa. 6:5, “Woe is me, for I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips; for
mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.”
4. It is from
mean thoughts of God, that you contend with him, because he bestows grace on
some, and not on others. Thus God does. He hath mercy on whom he will have
mercy; he takes one, and leaves another, of those who are in like circumstances;
as it is said of Jacob and Esau, while they were not yet born, and had done
neither good nor evil, Rom. 9:10-13. With this sinners often quarrel. But they
who upon this ground quarrel with God, suppose him to be bound to bestow
his grace on sinners. For if he be bound to none, then he may take his choice,
and bestow it on whom he pleases. And his bestowing it on some brings no
obligation on him to bestow it on others. Has God no right to his own grace? Is
it not at his own disposal? And is God incapable of making a gift or present of
it to any man? For a person cannot make a present of that which is not his own,
or in his own right. It is impossible to give a debt.
But what a low
thought of God does this argue! Consider what it is you would make of God. Must
he be so tied up, that he cannot use his own pleasure in bestowing his own
gifts? Is he obliged to bestow them on one, because it is his pleasure to bestow
them on another? Is not God worthy to have the same right to dispose of his
gifts, as a man has of his money? Or is it because God is not so great, and
therefore should be more subject, more under bounds, than men? Is not God worthy
to have as absolute a propriety in his goods as man has in his? At this rate,
God cannot make a present of anything; he has nothing of his own to bestow. If
he have a mind to show a peculiar favor to some, to lay some under special
obligations, he cannot do it, on the supposition, because his favor is not at
his own disposal! The truth is, men have low thoughts of God, or else they would
willingly ascribe sovereignty to him in this matter. Mat. 20:15, “Is it not
lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am
good?”
God is pleased to show mercy to his enemies, according to his own sovereign pleasure. And surely it is fit he should. How unreasonable is it to think that God stands bound to his enemies! Therefore consider what you do in quarreling with God, and opposing his sovereignty. Consider with whom it is you contend. Let all who are sensible of their misery, and afraid of the wrath of God, consider these things. Those of you who have been long seeking salvation, but are in great terrors through fear that God will destroy you, consider what you have heard, be still, and know that he is God. When God seems to turn a deaf ear to your cries; when he seems to frown upon you; when he shows mercy to others, your equals, or those who are worse, and who have been seeking a less time than you; — be still. Consider who he is that disposes and orders these things. You shall consider it. You shall know it. He will make all men to know that he is God. You shall either know it for your good here, by submission, or to your cost hereafter.
Added to Bible Bulletin Board's Jonathan Edwards Collection by:
Tony Capoccia
Bible Bulletin Board
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