282 CHAPTER XIII. THE DOMINION AND SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD. THE perfections which we have endeavoured to prove must essentially belong to God, render it evident that his dominion over all things is supreme and unalienable. To whom can the sovereignty of all things belong, but to him who has given being to all things, and who alone is capable of upholding and of governing the universe over which he presides? Ought not he to bear the supremacy, both because his wisdom, goodness, and power, are infinite, and because he is the creator of all things, and the final end for which all things exist? The Scriptures accordingly abound with statements concerning the sovereign dominion of God, founded on the perfection of his nature, and on the relation which he bears to all things as creator, preserver, and benefactor. "The Lord hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all. Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations. The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine; as for the world and the fulness thereof, thou hast founded them." The term sovereignty, when applied to God, is not to be understood as signifying any thing arbitrary, any thing capricious, or that he ever does any thing without a reason founded in infinite wisdom and goodness, for its accomplishment. But God is sovereign, inasmuch as he is Lord of all, and acts according to his will, independently and irresistibly, without giving any further account of his matters than seems good unto him. His government, while it is conducted with justice and with judgment, is at the same time conducted with the high authority which it becomes him to exercise, whose right and dominion are as universal as they are uncontrollable, who is the only Potentate, the King of kings, and the Lord of lords. We may find in the blindness and corruption of man, a reason why a doctrine in itself so unquestionable as that of the Divine Sovereignty should be so frequently disputed, so generally resisted and denied. Even those who believe it, seem, in some instances, ashamed to acknowledge it, and shew the difficulty which is felt to act fully and practically on the admission of its truth. That all things, both beings and events, exist in exact accordance with the divine purpose, is a conclusion which necessarily follows from the scriptural representation of the dominion and sovereignty of God. Yet the doctrine involved in this conclusion is strenuously denied by some professing christians, as injurious to the divine character, and as incompatible with moral agency. Before attempting to give any explanation of this, let us consider more fully, in the first place, the nature and properties of the divine dominion and sovereignty; and, secondly, the manner in which they are shewn in the government of the world. SECTION I. ON THE NATURE AND PROPERTIES OF GOD'S DOMINION AND SOVEREIGNTY. Let us consider the nature and properties of the divine dominion and sovereignty. These terms are nearly synonymous, and, therefore, I shall often use only one of them as sufficiently denoting all that is included in both. The sovereignty of God is, in its nature, independent and absolute. He is God himself alone, and beside him there is none else. He possesses the most perfect freedom either of acting or of refraining from action, -of creating in the manner and at the time in which it is his pleasure to create,of preserving the world and its inhabitants in being, or of allowing all things to return unto nothing, of extending mercy to the fallen angels, and of leaving mankind for ever in a state of sin and misery; or of reversing this order, and passing by the angels that sinned, while grace is proclaimed to the human race. He may simply prescribe laws to his rational creatures, without any promise of reward to obedience, or he may prescribe laws accompanied with the most powerful motives to their observance. He may remove whatever good he bestows when it pleases him, without doing us any injustice. The reason, the life, the friends, the honour, and the happiness which he gives, he has an unquestionable right in a moment to withdraw. In judgment he may cause the clouds of heaven to refuse their rain, or in mercy he may command them to drop in fertilizing showers, and produce abundance. To his own children he may allot poverty and affliction, while in the exercise of his patience as well as of his sovereignty he may give to wicked men riches and honours. To one nation he may communicate literature and arts, and all the institutions of a free and civilized people, while another nation may be suffering from ignorance, from barbarous institutions, from the misrule of its governors. In one family there may be a series of afflictions which no foresight nor prudence on the part of men can prevent, while the neighbouring family is generally prosperous, and exempted from the same visitations, "Cannot I do with you as this potter, saith the Lord? Behold as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel. I know, saith Job, that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee." The sovereignty of God being independent and absolute, cannot be limited, controlled, nor resisted, by any other being. He acts according to the plan of his own infinite wisdom, and worketh after the counsel of his own will. He will have mercy on whom he will have mercy, and compassion on whom he will have compassion. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom from generation to generation: "And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?" Unlike to all who rule by a mere delegated authority, God possesses an infinite right to act according to the purpose of his will, and infinite strength to accomplish all his pleasure. All power is feebleness opposed to omnipotence, and all the contrivances of created intelligence are folly when running counter to the decrees of infinite wisdom. He who fills heaven and earth with his presence, may, for reasons unfathomable by us, allow his creatures to violate his laws; but where can there be any thing to check that will which is in itself the source of all power, and which can remove into a state of nothingness that universe to which it has given being? "Thou wilt say, then, unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? Nay, but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?" We must beware of imagining that, because the dominion of God is independent and absolute, it is in any way arbitrary or tyrannical. It is conducted according to the infinite perfection and excellency of his own nature; and is founded on righteousness, and wisdom, and goodness. Possessing these attributes to an infinite extent, it is impossible that any law or act of his government should not be holy, and just, and good. If he had conducted his government by absolute power only, then might he have removed the guilt and the impurity of his creatures without an atonement; but his justice required a satisfaction, and therefore he could not. If power alone were the rule of his conduct, might he not reject the innocent and favour the guilty; but the righteous Lord loveth |