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Divine Sovereignty
A Sermon Delivered on Sabbath Morning, May 4, 1856, by the
REV. C.H. SPURGEON
At New Park Street Chapel, Southwark
"Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own?Matthew 20:15.
The householder says, "Is it not lawful for me to do
what I will with mine own?" and even so does the God of heaven and earth ask this
question of you this morning. "Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine
own?" 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 hath ordained their afflictions, that Sovereignty overrules
them, and that Sovereignty will sanctify them all. There is nothing for which the children
of God ought more earnestly to contend than the dominion of their Master over all
creationthe kingship of God over all the works of his own handsthe throne of
God, and his right to sit upon that throne. On the other hand, there is no doctrine more
hated by worldlings, no truth of which they have made such a foot-ball, 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 almonry to
dispense his alms and bestow his bounties. They will allow him to sustain the earth and
bear up the pillars thereof, 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 hissed and execrated, 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. But it is
God upon the throne that we love to preach. It is God upon his throne whom we trust. It is
God upon his throne of whom we have been singing this morning; and it is God upon his
throne of whom we shall speak in this discourse. I shall dwell only, however, upon one
portion of God's Sovereignty, and that is God's Sovereignty in the distribution of his
gifts. In this respect I believe he has a right to do as he wills with his own, and that
he exercises that right.
We must assume, before we commence our discourse, one thing certain, namely, that all
blessings are gifts and that we have no claim to them by our own merit. This I think every
considerate mind will grant. And this being admitted, we shall endeavour to show that he
has a right, seeing they are his own to do what he wills with themto withhold them
wholly is he pleasethto distribute them all if he choosethto give to some and
not to othersto give to none or to give to all, just as seemeth good in his sight.
"Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own?"
We shall divide God's gifts into five classes. First, we shall have gifts temporal;
second, gifts saving; third gifts honourable; fourth, gifts useful;
and fifth, gifts comfortable. Of all these we shall say, "Is it not lawful for
me to do what I will with mine own?"
I. In the first place then, we notice GIFTS TEMPORAL. It is an indisputable fact that God
hath not, in temporal matters, given to every man alike; that he hath not distributed to
all his creatures the same amount of happiness or the same standing in creation. There is
a difference. Mark what a difference there is in men personally (for we shall
consider men chiefly); one is born like Saul, a head and shoulders taller than the
restanother shall live all his life a Zaccheusa man short of stature. One has
a muscular frame and a share of beautyanother is weak, and far from having anything
styled, comeliness. How many do we find whose eyes have never rejoiced in the sunlight,
whose ears have never listened to the charms of music, and whose lips have never been
moved to sounds intelligible or harmonious. Walk through the earth and you will find men
superior to yourself in vigour, health, and fashion, and others who are your inferiors in
the very same respects. Some here are preferred far above their fellows in their outward
appearance, and some sink low in the scale and have nothing about them that can make them
glory in the flesh. Why hath God given to one man beauty and to another none? to one all
his senses, and to another but a portion? why, in some, hath he quickened the sense of
apprehension, while others are obliged to bear about them a dull and stubborn body? We
reply, let men say what they will, but no answer can be given except this, "Even so,
Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight." The old Pharisees asked, "Did this
man sin or his parents, that he was born blind?" We know that there was neither sin
in parents nor child, that he was born blind, or that others have suffered similar
distresses, but that God has done as it has pleased him in the distribution of his earthly
benefits, and thus hath said to the world, "Is it not lawful for me to do what I will
with mine own?"
Mark also, in the distribution of mental gifts, what a difference exists. All men
are not like Socrates; there are but few Platos; we can discover but here and there a
Bacon; we shall but every now and then converse with a Sir Isaac Newton. Some have
stupendous intellects wherewith they can unravel secretsfathom the depths of
oceansmeasure mountainsdissect the sunbeams, and weigh the stars. Other have
but shallow minds. You may educate and educate, but can never make them great. You cannot
improve what is not there. They have not genius, and you cannot impart it. Anybody may see
that there is an inherent difference in men from their very birth. Some, with a little
education do surpass those who have been elaborately trained. There are two boys, educated
it may be in the same school, by the same master, and they shall apply themselves to their
studies with the same diligence, but yet one shall far outstrip his fellow. Why is this?
Because God hath asserted his sovereignty over the intellect as well as the body. God hath
not made us all alike, but diversified his gifts. One man is as eloquent as Whitfield;
another stammers if he but speaks three words of his mother tongue. What makes these
various differences between man and man? We answer, we must refer it all to the
Sovereignty of God, who does as he wills with his own.
Note, again, what are the differences of men's conditions in this world. Mighty
minds are from time to time discovered in men whose limbs are wearing the chains of
slavery, and whose backs are laid bare to the whipthey have black skins, but are in
mind vastly superior to their brutal masters. So, too, in England; we find wise men often
poor, and rich men not seldom ignorant and vain. One comes into the world to be arrayed at
once in the imperial purpleanother shall never wear aught but the humble garb of a
peasant. One has a palace to dwell in and a bed of down for his repose, while another
finds but a hard resting-place, and shall never have a more sumptuous covering than the
thatch of his own cottage. If we ask the reason for this, the reply still is, "Even
so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight." So, in other ways you will observe
in passing through life how sovereignty displays itself. To one man God giveth a long life
and uniform health, so that he scarcely knows what it is to have day's sickness, while
another totters through the world and finds a grave at almost every step, feeling a
thousand deaths in fearing one. One man, even in extreme old age, like Moses, has his eye
undimmed; and though his hair is grey, he stands as firmly on his feet as when a young man
in his father's house. Whence, again, we ask is the difference? And the only adequate
answer is, it is the effect of Jehovah's Sovereignty. You find, too, that some men are cut
off in the prime of their lifethe very midst of their dayswhile others live
beyond their threescore years and ten. One departs before he has reached the first stage
of existence, and another has his life lengthened out until it becomes quite a burden; we
must, I conceive, necessarily trace the cause of all these differences in life to the fact
of God's Sovereignty. He is Rule and King, and shall he not do as he wills with his own.
We pass from this pointbut before we do so we must stop to improve it just a moment.
O thou who art gifted with a noble frame, a comely body, boast not thyself therein, for
thy gifts come from God. O glory not, for if thou gloriest thou becomest uncomely in a
moment. The flowers boast not of their beauty; be exalted ye sons of comeliness; and O ye
men of might and intellect, remember, that all you have is bestowed by a Sovereign Lord;
he did create; he can destroy. There are not many steps between the mightiest intellect
and the helpless idiotdeep though verges on insanity. Thy brain may at any moment,
be smitten, and thou be doomed henceforth to live a madman. Boast not thyself of all that
thou knowest, for even the little knowledge thou hast has been given thee. Therefore, I
say, exalt not thyself above measure, but use for God what God has given thee, for it is a
royal gift, and thou shouldst not lay it aside. But if the Sovereign Lord has given thee
one talent, and no more, lay it not up in a napkin, but use it well, and then it may be
that he will give thee more. Bless God that thou hast more than others, and thank
him also that he has given thee less than others, for thou hast less to carry on
thy shoulders; and the lighter thy burden the less cause wilt thou have to groan as thou
travellest on towards the better land. Bless God then if thou possessest less than thy
fellows, and see his goodness in withholding as well as in giving.
II. So far most men probably have gone with us; but when we come to the second point,
GIFTS SAVING, there will a large number who will go from us because they cannot receive
our doctrine. When we apply this truth regarding the Divine Sovereignty to man's
salvation, then we find men standing up to defend their poor fellow creatures whom they
conceive to be injured by God's predestination. But I never heard of men standing up for
the devil; and yet I think if any of God's creature have a right to complain of his
dealings it is the fallen angels. For their sin they were hurled from heaven at
once, and we read not that any message of mercy was ever sent to them. Once cast out,
their doom was sealed; while men were respited, redemption sent into their world, and a
large number of them chosen to eternal life. Why not quarrel with Sovereignty in the one
case as well as the other. We say that God has elected a people out of the human race, and
his right to do this is denied. But I ask, why not equally dispute the fact that God has
chosen men and not fallen angels, or his justice in such a choice. If salvation be a
matter of right, surely the angels had as much claim to mercy as men. Were they not seated
in more than equal dignity? Did they sin more? We think not. Adam's sin was so wilful and
complete, that we cannot suppose a greater sin than that which he committed. Would not the
angels who were thrust out of heaven have been of greater service to their Maker if
restored, than we can ever be? Had we been the judges in this matter we might have given
deliverance to angels but not to men. Admire then, Divine Sovereignty and love, that
whereas the angels were broken into shivers, God hath raised an elect number of the race
of men to set them among princes, through the merits of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Note again, the Divine Sovereignty, in what God chose the Israelitish race and left the
Gentiles for years in darkness. Why was Israel instructed and saved, while Syria was
left to perish in idolatry? Was the once race purer in its origin and better in its
character than the other? Did not the Israelites take unto themselves false gods a
thousand times, and provoke the true God to anger and loathing? Why then, should they be
favoured above their fellows? Why did the sun of heaven shine upon them while all around
the nations were left in darkness, and were sinking into hell by myriads? Why? The only
answer that can be given is this, that God is a Sovereign, and "will have mercy upon
whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth."
So, now, also, why is it that God hath sent his word to us while a multitude of people
are still without his word? Why do we each come up to God's tabernacle, Sabbath after
Sabbath, privileged to listen to the voice of the minister of Jesus, while other nations
have not been visited thereby? Could not God have caused the light to shine in the
darkness there as well as here? Could not he, if he had pleased, have sent forth
messengers swift as the light to proclaim his gospel over the whole earth? He could have
done it if he would. Since we know that he has not done it, we bow in meekness, confessing
his right to do as he wills with his own.
But let me drive the doctrine home once more. Behold how God displays his Sovereignty in
this fact, that out of the same congregation, those who hear the same minister, and
listen to the same truth, the one is taken and the other left. Why is it that one of
my hearers shall sit in yonder pew, and her sister by her side, and yet that the effect of
the preaching shall be different upon each? They have been nursed on the same knee, rocked
in the same cradle, educated under the same auspices, they hear the same minister, with
the same attentionwhy is it that the one shall be saved and the other left? Far be
it from us to weave any excuse for the man who is damned: we know of none: but also, far
be it from us to take glory from God. We assert that God makes the differencethat
the saved sister will not have to thank herself but her God. There shall even be two men
given to drunkenness. Some word spoken shall pierce one of them through, but the other
shall sit unmoved, although they shall, in all respects, be equally the same both in
constitution and education. What is the reason? You will reply, perhaps, because the one
accepts and the other rejects the message of the gospel. But must you not come back to the
questions, who made the one accept it, and who made the other reject it? I dare you
to say that the man made himself to differ. You must admit in your conscience that
it is God alone to whom this power belongs. But those who dislike this doctrine are
nevertheless up in arms against us; and they say, how can God justly make such a
difference between the members of his family? Suppose a father should have a certain
number of children, and he should give to one all his favors, and consign the others to
miseryshould we not say that he was a very unkind and cruel father? I answer, yes.
But the cases are not the same. You have not a father to death with, but a judge.
You say all men are God's children; I demand of you to prove that. I never read it in my
Bible. I dare not say, "Our father which art in heaven," till I am regenerated.
I cannot rejoice in the fatherhood of God towards me till I know that I am one with him,
and a joint heir with Christ. I dare not claim the fatherhood of God as an unregenerated
man. It is not father and childfor the child has a claim upon its fatherbut it
is King and subject; and not even so high a relation as that, for there is a claim between
subject and King. A creaturea sinful creature, can have no claim upon God; for that
would be to make salvation of works and not of grace. If men can merit salvation, then to
save them is only the payment of a debt, and he gives them nothing more than he ought to
give them. But we assert that grace must be distinguishing if it be grace at all. O, but
some say is it not written that "He giveth to every man a measure of grace to
profit withal?" If you like to repeat that wonderful quotation so often hurled at
my head, you are very welcome, for it is no quotation from Scripture, unless it be an
Arminian edition. The only passage at all like it refers to the spiritual gifts of the
saints and the saints only. But I say, granted your supposition, that a measure of grace
is given to every man to profit withal, yet he hath given to some a measure of particular
grace to make that profit. For what do you mean by grace, which I put out, to profit? I
can understand a man's improvement in the use of grace, but grace improved and made use of
by the power of man I cannot comprehend. Grace is not a thing which I use; grace is
something which uses me. But people talk of grace sometimes as if it was something they
could use, and not as influence having power over them. Grace is something not which I
improve, but which improves, employs me, works on me; and let people talk as they will
about universal grace, it is all nonsense, there is no such thing, nor can there be. They
may talk correctly of universal blessings, because we see that the natural gifts of God
are scattered everywhere, more or less, and men may receive or reject them. It is not so,
however, with grace. Men cannot take the grace of God and employ it in turning themselves
from darkness to light. The light does not come to the darkness and say, use me; but the
light comes and drives the darkness away. Life does not come to the dead man and say, use
me, and be restored to life; but it comes with a power of its own and restores to life.
The spiritual influence does not come to the dry bones and say, use this power and clothe
yourselves with flesh; but it comes and clothes them with flesh, and the work is done.
Grace is a thing which comes and exercises an influence on us.
"The sovereign will of God alone
Creates us heirs of grace;
Born in the image of his Son,
A new-created race."
And we say to all of you who gnash your
teeth at this doctrine, whether you know it or not, you have a vast deal of enmity towards
God in your hearts; for until you can be brought to know this doctrine, there is something
which you have not yet discovered, which makes you opposed to the idea of God absolute,
God unbounded, God unfettered, God unchanging, and God having a free will, which you are
so fond of proving that the creature possesses. I am persuaded that the Sovereignty of God
must be held by us if we would be in a healthy state of mind. "Salvation is of the
Lord alone." Then give all the glory to his holy name, to whom all glory belongs.
III. We now come, in the third place, to notice the differences which God often makes in
his Church in HONOURABLE GIFTS. There is a difference made between God's own
childrenwhen they are his children. Note what I mean: One hath the honourable gift
of knowledge, another knows but little. I meet, every now and then, with a dear
Christian brother with whom I could talk for a month, and learn something from him every
day. He has had deep experiencehe has seen into the deep things of Godhis
whole life has been a perpetual study wherever he has been. He seems to have gathered
thoughts, not from books merely, but from men, from God, from his own heart. He knows all
the intricacies and windings of Christian experience: he understands the heights, the
depths, the lengths, and the breadths of the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge. He
has gained a grand idea, an intimate knowledge of the system of grace, and can vindicate
the dealings of the Lord with his people.
Then you must meet with another who has passed through many troubles, but he has no deep
acquaintance with Christian experience. He never learned a single secret by all his
troubles. He just floundered out of one trouble into another, but never stopped to pick up
any of the jewels that lay in the mirenever tried to discover the precious jewels
that lay in his afflictions. He knows very little more of the heights and depths of the
Saviour's love than when he first came into the world. You may converse with such a man as
long as you like, but you will get nothing from him. If you ask why is it, I answer, there
is a Sovereignty of God in giving knowledge to some and not to others. I was walking the
other day with an aged Christian, who told me how he had profited by my ministry. There is
nothing humbles me like that thought of yon old man deriving experience in the things of
God, receiving instruction in the ways of the Lord from a mere babe in grace. But I expect
that when I am an old man, if I should live to be such, that some babe in grace will
instruct me. God sometimes shutteth the mouth of the old man and openeth the mouth of the
child. Why should we be a teacher to hundreds who are, in some respects, far more able to
teach us? The only answer we can find is in the Divine Sovereignty, and we must bow before
it, for has he not a right to do as he wills with his own? Instead of being envious of
those who have the gift of knowledge, we should seek to gain the same, if possible.
Instead of sitting down and murmuring that we have not more knowledge, we should remember
that the foot cannot say to the head, nor the head to the foot, I have no need of thee,
for God hath given us talents as it hath pleased him.
Note, again, when speaking of honourable gifts. Not only knowledge, but office is
an honourable gift. There is nothing more honourable to a man than the office of a deacon
or a minister. We magnify our office, though we would not magnify ourselves. We hold there
is nothing can dignify a man more than being appointed to an office in a Christian church.
I would rather be a deacon of a church than Lord Mayor of London. To be a minister of
Christ is in my estimation an infinitely higher honour than the world can bestow. My
pulpit is to me more desirable than a throne, and my congregation is an empire more than
large enough; an empire before which the empires of the earth dwindle into nothing in
everlasting importance. Why does God give to one man a special call by the Holy Ghost, to
be a minister, and pass by another? There is another man more gifted, perhaps, but we dare
not put him in a pulpit, because he has not had a special call. So with the deaconship;
the man whom some would perhaps think most suitable for the office is passed by, and
another chosen. There is a manifestation of God's Sovereignty in the appointment to
officein putting David on a throne, in making Moses the leader of the children of
Israel through the wilderness, in choosing Daniel to stand among princes, in electing Paul
to be the minister to the Gentiles, and Peter to be the Apostle of the Circumcision. And
you who have not the gift of honourable office, must learn the great truth contained in
the question of the Master, "Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine
own?"
There is another honourable gift, the gift of utterance. Eloquence hath more power
over men than all else besides. If a man would have power over the multitude, he must seek
to touch their hearts, and chain their ears. There are some men who are like vessels full
of knowledge to the brim, but having no means of giving it forth to the world. They are
rich in all gems of learning but know not how to set them in the golden ring of eloquence.
They can collect the choicest of flowers, but know not how to tie them up in a sweet
garland to present them to the admirer's eye. How is this? We say again, the Sovereignty
of God is here displayed in the distribution of gifts honourable. Learn here, O Christian
man, if you have gifts, to cast the honour of them at the Saviour's feet, and if you
possess them not, learn not to murmur; remember that God is equally as kind when he
keepeth back as when he distributeth his favours. If any among you be exalted, let him not
be puffed up; if any be lowly, let him not be despised; for God giveth to every vessel his
measure of grace. Serve him after your measure, and adore the King of Heaven who doth as
he pleaseth.
IV. We notice in the fourth place, the gift of USEFULNESS. I have often done wrong in
finding fault with brother ministers for not being useful, I have said you might have been
as useful as I have been had you been in earnest. But surely there are others even more
earnest, and more efficient: others labouring as constantly, but with far less effect.
And, therefore, let me retract my accusation, and in lieu thereof assert that the gift of
usefulness is the result of God's Sovereignty. It is not in man to be useful, but in God
to make him useful. We may labour ourselves with all our might, but God alone can make us
useful. We can put every stitch of canvass on when the wind blows, but we cannot make the
wind blow.
The Sovereignty of God is seen also in the diversity of ministerial gifts. You go to one
minister and are fed with plenty of good food: another has not enough to feed a mouse; he
has plenty of reproof, but no food for the child of God. Another can comfort the child of
God, but he cannot reprove a backslider. He has not strength of mind enough to give those
earnest home strokes which are sometimes needed. And what is the reason! God's
Sovereignty. One can wield the sledge hammer but could not heal a broken heart. If he were
to attempt it, you would be reminded of an elephant trying to thread a needle. Such a man
can reprove, but he cannot apply oil and wine to a bruised conscience. Why? Because God
hath not given to him the gift. There is another one who always preaches experimental
divinity; and very rarely touches upon doctrine. Another is all doctrine, and cannot
preach much about Jesus Christ and him crucified. Why? God hath not given him the gift of
doctrine. Another always preaches Jesusblessed Jesus; men of the Hawker
schooland many say, oh! they do not give us experience enough; they do not go into
the deep experiences of the corruption which vexes the children of God. But we do not
blame them for this. You will notice that out of the same man will at one time flow
streams of living water, while at another time he will be as dry as possible. On one
Sabbath you go away refreshed by the preaching, and the next you get no good. There is
Divine Sovereignty in all this, and we must learn to recognize and admire it. I was
preaching on one occasion last week to a large crowd of people, and in one part of the
sermon the people were very much affected; I felt that the power of God was there; one
poor creature absolutely shrieked out because of the wrath of God against sin; but at
another time the same words might have been uttered and there might have been the same
desire in the minister's heart, and yet no effect produced. We must trace, I say, Divine
Sovereignty in all such cases. We ought to recognize God's hand in everything. But the
present is the most godless generation that ever trod this earth, I verily believe. In our
fathers' days there was hardly a shower but they declared that God caused it to fall; and
they had prayers for rain, prayers for sunshine, and prayers for harvest; as well when a
haystack was on fire, as when a famine desolated the land; our forefathers said, the Lord
hath done it. But now our philosophers try to explain everything, and trace all phenomena
to second causes. But brethren, let it be ours to ascribe the origin and direction of all
things to the Lord, and the Lord alone.
V. Lastly, GIFTS COMFORTABLE are of God. O, what comfortable gifts do some of us enjoy in
the ordinances of God's house, and in a ministry that is profitable. But how many churches
have not a ministry of that kind; and why then have we? Because God hath made a
difference. Some here have strong faith, and can laugh at impossibilities; we can sing a
song in all ill weathersin the tempest as well as in the calm. But there is another
with little faith who is in danger of tumbling down over every straw. We trace eminent
faith entirely to God. One is born with a melancholy temperament, and he sees a tempest
brewing even in the calm; while another is cheerful, and sees a silver lining to every
cloud, however black, and he is a happy man. But why is that? Comfortable gifts come of
God. And then observe that we ourselves, differ at times. For a season we may have blessed
intercourse with heaven, and be permitted to look within the veil? but anon, these
delightful enjoyments are gone. But do we murmur on that account? May he not do as he will
with his own? May he not take back what he has given? The comforts we possess were his
before they were ours.
"And shouldst thou take them all
away,
Yet would I not repine,
Before they were possessed by me
They were entirely thine."
There is no joy of the Spiritthere is
no exceeding blessed hopeno strong faithno burning desireno close
fellowship with Christ, which is not the gift of God, and which we must not trace to him.
When I am in darkness and suffer disappointment, I will look up and say, he giveth songs
in the night; and when I am made to rejoice, I will say, my mountain shall stand fast for
ever. The Lord is a Sovereign Jehovah; and, therefore, prostrate at his feet I lie, and if
I perish, I will perish there.
But let me say, brethren, that so far from this doctrine of Divine Sovereignty making you
to sit down in sloth, I hope in God it will have a tendency to humble you, and so to lead
you to say, "I am unworthy of the least of all thy mercies. I feel that thou hast a
right to do with me as thou wilt. If thou dost crush, a helpless worm, thou wilt not be
dishonoured; and I have no right to ask thee to have compassion upon me, save this, that I
want thy mercy. Lord, if thou wilt, thou art able to pardon, and thou never gavest grace
to one that wanted it more. Because I am empty, fill me with the bread of heaven; because
I am naked, clothe me with thy robe; because I am dead, give me life." If you press
that plea with all your soul and all your mind, though Jehovah is a Sovereign, he will
stretch out his sceptre and save, and thou shalt live to worship him in the beauty of
holiness, loving and adoring his gracious Sovereignty. "He that believeth" is
the declaration of Scripture "and is baptized, shall be saved; but he that believeth
not shall be damned." He that believeth in Christ alone, and is baptized with water
in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, shall be saved, but he who
rejecteth Christ and believeth not in him, shall be damned. That is the Sovereign decree
and proclamation of heavenbow to it, acknowledge it, obey it, and God bless you.
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