The Doctrine of God's Sovereignty

My rough translation of a Russian poem

The Doctrine of God's Sovereignty
Both creates and destroys...
What preparation toward eternity
For an unbridled soul.

When her wants screams,
And the "I" out of pain cries,
The Doctrine of God's Sovereignty
So unpleasantly chafes her neck.

But when the flesh, having confess in frailty,
Having accepted pain submissively, is silent,
The Doctrine of God's Sovereignty
So benevolently targets her.

~ Margarita Kolomiytseva


------------- The Original ----------------

Доктрина Божьей суверенности
И созидает, и крушит...
Какая подготовка к вечности
Для необузданной души!

Когда вопят её потребности,
И «Я» от боли вопиёт,
Доктрина Божьей суверенности
Так неприятно шею трёт.

Когда же плоть, признавшись в бренности,
Приняв покорно боль, молчит,
Доктрина Божьей суверенности
Её так благостно целит.

~ Маргарита Коломийцева

I Am Weary

I am weary, I am very tired;
   I find it draining just to hear the news—
   The constant jousting of opposing views—
The bickers of the petulant inspired
To banish truth and censure undesired.
   Embittered parties spurned and disabused,
   In turn ignore and seek to find excuse
For failings in the cause that they admired.

But to His Temple, O my soul, draw near,
   And see the King upon His Stately Throne!
     See Heaven's calm expanse and measured pose.
Disheartened saints draw close and feel His cheer
   The King does reign; He rules o'er all alone—
     And soon shall overthrow all rebel foes!

- D. Benning

Based on a Petrarchan sonnet.

The Lord of Time and Space

The Reigning King, the God of Time and Space,
Who sees beginning from the end: all now!
And knows completely each within its place—

For all shall come before You low to bow;
There is no time nor place nor storied tribe
Where You are not revered—Eternal Thou!

See Time and Place as Hist'ry's willing Scribe
To tell Your exploits, wonders, deeds and pow'r.
Each nation rises up as You prescribe;

Each action, thought—each fleeting, passing hour—
Redounds unto Your praise, O You Adored!
Your favor shines on us as Eden's bow'r

To point us, draw us, woo and bring us toward
Eternity's one Goal: the Sovereign Lord.

- D. Benning

Seasons of My Time

There is a time for every lot,
  a season for each purpose beneath heaven wrought.
Each season tempered with His grace,
  encased in Love's steadfast embrace,
Though dark my sight and blind my ways,
  My God in Love traced out my days.
Foresaw, foreloved, foreknew and drew,
  and guided ways before I knew;
Ordained and marked with loving care,
  each step I took,
                    each breath of air:
From puerile child, to callow youth,
  to measured man, He led in truth.

But how was it He came to me?
  How was it that my life was freed?
Midst time and space with infinite Grace,
  He entered time and space—and human race—
To rescue helpless sinners steeped in need.

In history stepped while our kind slept,
  He came with promises He kept—
  Frail tent of clay He did accept,
  With blood and sweat and tears He wept,
But perfectly He kept each law and precept!

This is Christmas that we celebrate!
  Not lights, though bright,
  Nor presents given,
  It is the Gift of Heaven
For which we decorate.

His transcendent Life in earthly frame then tented,
Frailty cloaked His power—with lack and weakness scented—
Christmas came to earth with humbled glory rented.

It's not the lights, though bright,
It's not the gifts, though given,
It is the God of Right who gave that night
A gift of Love inestimable from Heaven.

 

Thus I'm equipped my way to wend,

Since God has placed me here with friends;

Friends who walk this path to Heav'n,

Inspire and love—with sins forgiven—

And all according to God's gracious plan:

We're pastored by a pious, learnèd man.

We then midst trial, down aisle, o'er mile and pile,
  midst smile then guile, and all the while,
      the traces of His love upon our dial.
Through confusion, exclusion, and occlusion,
  with effusion* as prolusion**—
      Divine intrusion as conclusion.

The inexorable hand of special grace
   defined my steps, kept safe my space,
      and led me safe to Him—
   And will bring me safe to heaven.
 
- D. Benning
 
*  effusion— an act of talking or writing in an unrestrained or heartfelt way.
 
** prolusion— a preliminary action or event; a prelude.

All Things Work Your Will

All things work your will, oh God,
   for You control all things;
the smallest flower obeys your call
   and glory to You brings.
  
All things do your will, oh Lord;
   creation works Your law—
all things bend to do as you deign
   and glory in Your awe!
  
All things are Your creation, Lord,
   all things Your will obey,
Your summons comes, Your will be done—
   creation then does Your way!

 - D. Benning

God Moves

God moves.
    The Sovereign Lord of Time and Space
    Enacts His will with measured pace;
Yet scoffers think Him slow.

God acts.
    The Creator of earth's furthest bound,
    Sits patiently in Heaven crowned
With every wreath of empires.

God works.
    His Sovereign glory brought to light
    His children's good enforced by Might,
All to His praise forever!

- D. Benning

A Prayer

"You are the great sovereign King. There is none like you, majestic in holiness, perfect in knowledge and power, awesome in glorious splendor. There be nothin' outside of your knowledge or control. There be nothin' that causes you surprise or alarm. We, however, are surprised by things and alarmed by events. We are tossed to and fro on the winds of circumstance. We are tossed until we find our rest in you. We are blown about until you shelter us in the hollow of your hand. There and there alone we find the sweet peace and rest. There and there alone we find that nothin' may move us, nothin' will alarm us, and nothin' can pry us from your grasp.  Bring about great glory for your Name. And give us wisdom to know how to carry on.  This I pray in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen."

Shadows from Before, © 2014,  p. 128

And I pray that we all may understand how loving and majestic and sovereign and mighty and completely in control this God is. As C. H. Spurgeon said:

Remember this, had any other condition been better for you than the one in which you are, divine love would have put you there. You are placed by God in the most suitable circumstances, and if you had the choosing of your lot, you would soon cry, "Lord, choose my inheritance for me, for by my self-will I am pierced through with many sorrows."

Spurgeon, Morning and Evening, Nov 11, pm

The Lord Reigns

The Lord reigns, he is clothed with majesty; the Lord is clothed with strength, wherewith he has girded himself: the world also is established, so that it cannot be moved.

Your throne is established of old: You are from everlasting.

The floods have lifted up, O Lord, the floods have lifted up their voice; 

the floods lift up their waves.

The Lord on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, 

yea, than the mighty waves of the sea.

Your testimonies are very sure: 

holiness adorns for Your house, 

O Lord, for ever.

Psalm 93, modified KJV

This psalm starts with the Lord.  That should be the starting point of all our discussions, our focus, our logic and our action.  Start with the Lord.  See Him high and lifted up.  His train fills the temple. (Isa. 6:1)  

See the Lord.  This is the Covenant Lord, the One who of His own volition bound Himself to His people by oath and covenant.  This great power of the Lord is for us and is "to us-ward" Eph 1:19 KJV) and is available so that we may say that we can do all things through Him who strengthens us.

See the Lord clothed with majesty.  Not with something that is majestic.  No, He puts on Majesty!  He is arrayed in the essence of all that is Majestic and Brilliant and Resplendent.  "Not with emblems of majesty, but with majesty itself: everything which surrounds him is majestic."  (Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Ps. 93)

But see also that the Lord is higher than all.  The nation rage and the people image things in vain, plotting how to overthrow God's authority (Ps. 2).  But He is above all that.  The Lord sits in the heavens and laughs, scoffs, at such puny attempts.  His throne is from ancient—it is eternal because the Lord Himself is from everlasting.

Spurgeon writes upon verse 4:

"Loud the stormy billows spoke,
Loud the billows raised their cry;
Fierce the stormy billows broke,
Sounding to the echoing sky.
Strong the breakers tossing high,
Stronger is Jehovah's might.
True thy words; and sanctity
Well becomes thy temple bright."

 And that brings us to the last verse.

This Psalm starts with the Lord reigning in Sovereignty.  This Psalm ends with holiness adorning His house.  Isaiah saw the Lord in unimaginable Glory and Splendor and heard the angels cry out "Holy, holy, holy!"  If we are properly contemplating the reigning Lord our response will be to adorn our house with holiness.  The Lord will have a pure and spotless Bride.  He is making His Church clean.  And we must do our part to cooperate with Him to become more and more sanctified because holines is fitting of all God's people.

 

A Psalm of Adoration

O my Lord and my God,
   Thou who inhabitest the Heavens,
   Thou who spoke and the earth became
         Thy footstool,
   Thou who wast from Time Eternal Past,
         and Is, and shall Be Forever,
In humble awe I approach Thy overwhelming Might,
         and Power and Grace and Love.

For Thou at the Power of Thy Word giveth unto us:
   Breath and Life;
   Mercy and Forgiveness;
   Help and Strength.
Who is there like the Lord God Almighty?
   Even the Heavens above cannot contain Him;
   There is no searching out all His wonders;
   Yet He is a pardoning God!

All that exists, exists because He spoke—
   And the stars sang in unsung paths;
   The Heavens resounded with the Chords of Praise;
   And the Lord said unto the Lord: "It is Good!"

All that have new life, have new life because He worked salvation—
   He saw that there wast no one who could save, so He acted;
   He saw the sons of Adam were lost and undone, so He became man;
   He saw their sin was infinite against infinite God, so He took their punishment
         and died in their place
              —but rose for their justification!

Rejoice, all ye dwellers of earth!
   Sing praises in psalms of Thanksgiving.
For the Lord Sabaoth reigneth sure
         upon His Throne—
   Laud and Honor to the King of Kings
         who cometh for His own!

- D. Benning

Salvation is of the Lord!

Salvation is of the Lord in glory!
We His saints on earth may loudly proclaim.

The Most Great and Almighty God on High
Does His chosen sheep draw near unto Him
By His Spirit He sends unto lost sheep,
Making them aware of their wretched sin;
They then through His grace are
                      thirsting for Him,
Like the woman of Samaria who came
To the well, where Jesus sat, to draw some
Water for her physical existence.
The Spirit of God caused her thirstiness
To grow unquenchable through worldly means—
Her soul was parched, unquenchably dry.
But Jesus in His mercy gave to her
A fountain of Living Water which would
Never allow her to thirst anymore.

The true repentance is shown through good works,
For faith without works of virtue is dead.
Each and every true believer in Christ
Will, through the manifest grace of our Lord,
Show by his works the Fruit of the Spirit:
Love joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness,
Goodness, faith, meekness and temperance; which
Have no law in this world or that 'gainst them.
Each sinner, after God graciously works
In their heart, body soul and mind, becomes
Like the Samaritan Leper after
Jesus had cleansed him from his leprosy:
He, beholding his now healed skin, turned back
and with a loud voice did glorify God.
Thus running back to Jesus his Savior,
He at the Son of Man's feet, worshiped Him.
Repentance then is the first work of grace,
Then followed closely by confessing, praise
And humble worship of this loving Lord.

After thus giving glory unto God
Almighty, All-powerful and Righteous,
A rightful heir to his Father's kingdom
Will go out with a burden for lost souls
To hear the wonderful Good News of God.
He will, like the good Samaritan go
And have compassion on all he sees;
He will witness and testify so that they hear
More of God's matchless grace
             for wretched men.
Thus each member of the Church's Body,
Through everyone's own Spirit-given gift,
Hastens the Coming of the Son of Man
To earth to set up His Holy Kingdom—
Not a sheep of His shall ever be lost.
They are His—He shall help them overcome!

- D. Benning

All Things Means All Things!

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."
                          Rom. 8:28

Most of us know that verse and even pull it out from time to time either to comfort someone who is going through a trial or to find comfort in the midst of our own personal trial.  But how many of us stop and think about this verse—this all-encompassing verse—as applicable in every area of our life?

(I should include the disclaimer here that I am not nor have I been suffering from worry over things that happened to me as a child.  I merely happened to remember a specific occasion where my parents had said "No" and I had no understanding of why.)

Nevertheless I was recently reflecting on how I was raised.  There are things that my parents decided—for one reason or another—that we children should not do.  Why?  Some I don't know.  Others I have a small understanding why.  But what about the result?  Am I deprived because I didn't go to a certain party with friends? or didn't get to go to a certain amusement park? or a whole host of other "what-ifs"?

No, I had to come to the conclusion that God is sovereign and that He orchestrates all things for my good.  If this verse is true (with many others throughout Scriptures that teach the same thing) then even my parents' choices for me that I didn't like still worked out for my good—if I really love God and am one of His children.

This really is a freeing thought.  No more angst over why I didn't get to go to the amusement park.  No more anger over a confrontation where my parents exerted their prerogative and mine was defeated.  No!  It has all worked and is working for my good.

How?  I don't know all the ways.  But here are at least two:

1) I learned to obey and to submit to authorities.  That's good.  That is exactly what the Bible tells children to do.  (Eph. 6:1 - 3)  And God's command includes a promise that it will go well with the child that obeys.

2) I Cor. 6:12  "All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any."  Just because something is technically not wrong doesn't mean that it's best.  Even things that are very good should sometimes be avoided.  (For example, exercise is good, but I shouldn't miss work to do it.)  I'm sure my parents had some over-arching ideal in their mind that saw what I was asking to do did not fit in with the way that my character needed to be developed.  Of course, it probably didn't parse out neatly like that, but God is behind it and still brings good out of it in my life.  (No, I'm not sanctioning blindly obeying even if it's a sin.)

This understanding should translate to all of our relationships where we are under some other authority: at work, in terms of being a citizen, relating with a pastor or elder.  Can we look at what our authority has said then, seeing it is not sin, trust God to work the situation out for His glory and our good if we but submit and obey?

But it also made me think of the incredible responsibility that is placed upon me as a husband and father.  I know that I've messed up many times.  I've made poor choices, reacted either passively or inappropriately.  I've sinned in thought, word and deed.  That is a heavy load to think about—especially in view how it can and does affect those around me and those under me.

Yet, God's promises, like his gifts and his calling, are irrevocable.  (Rom. 11:29)

This promise still stands.  If my family is called by His love according to His purpose and if they truly love Him, then all things (even my mistakes) are being used for their ultimate good and God's ultimate glory.

Someone once said: "You want to see all the good parenting that you can do by yourself?  Look at the character flaws and sins of your children.  You want to see what God can do through you and in spite of you?  Look at the good things that your children are doing."

To God alone be the glory!