The Sovereignty of God
By Arthur W. Pink
Conclusion
"Alleluia:
for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth" (Rev. 19:6).
In our
Foreword to the Second Edition we acknowledge the need for preserving the
balance of Truth. Two things are beyond dispute: God is Sovereign, man is
responsible. In this book we have sought to expound the former; in our other
works we have frequently pressed the latter. That there is real danger of
over-emphasizing the one and ignoring the other, we readily admit; yea, history
furnishes numerous examples of cases of each. To emphasize the Sovereignty of
God without also maintaining the accountability of the creature tends to
fatalism; to be so concerned in maintaining the responsibility of man as to
lose sight of the Sovereignty of God is to exalt the creature and dishonor the
Creator.
Almost all
doctrinal error is really, Truth perverted, Truth wrongfully divided, Truth
disproportionately held and taught. The fairest face on earth, with the most
comely features, would soon become ugly and unsightly if one member continued
growing while the others remained undeveloped. Beauty is, primarily, a matter
of proportion. Thus it is with the Word of God: its beauty and blessedness are
best perceived when its manifold wisdom is exhibited in its true proportions.
Here is where so many have failed in the past. A single phase of God's Truth
has so impressed this man or that he has concentrated his attention upon it,
almost to the exclusion of everything else. Some portion of God's Word has been
made a "pet doctrine," and often this has become the distinctive
badge of some party. But it is the duty of each servant of God to "declare
all the counsel of God" (Acts 20:27).
It is true
that the degenerate days in which our lot is cast, when on every side man is
exalted and "superman" has become a common expression, there is real
need for a special emphasis upon the glorious fact of God's supremacy. The more
so where this is expressly denied. Yet even here much wisdom is required lest
our zeal should not be "according to knowledge." The words "meat
in due season" should ever be before the servant of God. What is needed,
primarily, by one congregation may not be specifically needed by another. If
called to labor where Arminian preachers have preceded, then the neglected
truth of God's Sovereignty should be expounded, though with caution and care
lest too much "strong meat" be given to "babes." The
example of Christ in John 16:12 "I have yet many things to say unto you,
but ye cannot bear them now," must be borne in mind. On the other hand, if
I am called to take charge of a distinctly Calvinistic pulpit, then the truth
of human responsibility (in its many aspects) may be profitably set forth. What
the preacher needs to give out is not what his people most like to hear, but
what they most need, i.e., those aspects of truth they are least familiar with,
or least exhibiting in their walk.
To carry
into actual practice what we have inculcated above will, most probably, lay the
preacher open to the charge of being a Turncoat. But what matters that if he
has his Master's approval? He is not called upon to be "consistent"
with himself nor with any rules drawn up by man; his business is to be
consistent with Holy Writ. And in Scripture each part or aspect of Truth is
balanced by another aspect of Truth. There are two sides to everything, even to
the character of God for He is "light" (1 John 1:5) as well as
"love" (1 John 4:8), and therefore are we called upon to "Behold
therefore the goodness and severity of God" (Rom. 11:22). To be all the
time preaching on the one to the exclusion of the other caricatures the Divine
character.
When the
Son of God became incarnate He came here in "the form of a servant"
(Phil. 2:7); nevertheless, in the manger He was "Christ the Lord"
(Luke 2:11)! All things are possible with God (Matt. 19:26) yet God
"cannot lie" (Titus 1:2). Scripture says "Bear ye one another's
burdens" (Gal. 6:2), yet the same chapter insists "every man shall
bear his own burden" (Gal. 6:5). We are enjoined to take "no thought
for the morrow" (Matt. 6:34), yet "if any provide not for his own,
and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is
worse than an infidel" (1 Tim. 5:8). No sheep of Christ's can perish (John
10:28, 29), yet the Christian is bidden to make his "calling and election
sure" (2 Peter 1:10). And so we might go on multiplying illustrations.
These things are not contradictions but complementaries: the one "balances
the other." Thus, the Scriptures set forth both the Sovereignty of God and
the responsibility of man. So, too, should every servant of God, and that, in
their proper proportion.
But we
return now to a few closing reflections upon our present theme, "And
Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of
the LORD, before the new court, and said, 0 LORD God of our fathers, art not
Thou God in Heaven? and rulest not Thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen?
and in Thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to
withstand Thee?" (2 Chron. 20:5, 6). Yes, the Lord is God, ruling in
supreme majesty and might. Yet in our day, a day of boasted enlightenment and
progress, this is denied on every hand. A materialistic science and atheistic
philosophy have bowed God out of His own world, and everything is regulated,
forsooth, by (impersonal) laws of Nature. So in human affairs: at best God is a
far-distant spectator, and a helpless one at that. God could not help the
launching of the dreadful war, and though He longed to put a stop to it He was
unable to do so-and this in the face of 1 Chronicles 5:22; 2 Chronicles 24:24!
Having endowed man with "free agency" God is obliged to let man make
his own choice and go his own way, and He cannot interfere with him, or
otherwise his moral responsibility would be destroyed! Such are the popular beliefs
of the day. One is not surprised to find these sentiments emanating from German
theologians, but how sad that they should be taught in many of our Seminaries,
echoed from many of our pulpits, and accepted by many of the rank and file of
professing Christians.
One of the
most flagrant sins of our age is that of irreverence-the failure to ascribe the
glory which is due the august majesty of God. Men limit the power and
activities of the Lord in their degrading concepts of His being and character.
Originally, man was made in the image and likeness of God, but today we are
asked to believe in a god made in the image and likeness of man. The Creator is
reduced to the level of the creature: His omniscience is called into question,
His omnipotencey is no longer believed in, and His absolute Sovereignty is
flatly denied. Men claim to be the architects of their own fortunes and the
determiners of their own destiny. They know not that their lives are at the
disposal of the Divine Despot. They know not they have no more power to thwart
His secret decrees than a worm has to resist the tread of an elephant. They
know not that "The LORD hath prepared His throne in the heavens; and His
kingdom ruleth over all" (Psa. 103:19).
In the
foregoing pages we have sought to repudiate such paganistic views as the
above-mentioned, and have endeavored to show from Scripture that God is God, on
the Throne, and that so far from the recent war being an evidence that the helm
had slipped out of His hand it was a sure proof that He still lives and reigns,
and is now bringing to pass that which He had fore-determined and foreannounced
(Matt. 24:6-8 etc.). That the carnal mind is enmity against God, that the
unregenerate man is a rebel against the Divine government, that the sinner has
no concern for the glory of his Maker, and little or no respect for His
revealed will, is freely granted. But, nevertheless, behind the scenes God is
ruling and over-ruling, fulfilling His eternal purpose, not only in spite of
but also by means of those who are His enemies.
How
earnestly are the claims of man contended for against the claims of God! Has
not man power and knowledge, but what of it? Has God no will, or power, or
knowledge? Suppose man's will conflicts with God's, then what? Turn to the
Scripture of Truth for answer. Men had a will on the plains of Shinar and
determined to build a tower whose top should reach unto Heaven, but what came
of their purpose? Pharaoh had a will when He hardened his heart and Pharaoh
refused to allow Jehovah's people to go and worship Him in the wilderness, but
what came of his rebellion? Balak had a will when he hired Balaam to come and
curse the Hebrews, but of what avail was it? The Canaanites had a will when
they determined to prevent Israel occupying the land of Canaan, but how far did
they succeed? Saul had a will when he hurled his javelin at David, but it
entered the wall instead! Jonah had a will when he refused to go and preach to
the Ninevites, but what came of it? Nebuchadnezzar had a will when he thought
to destroy the three Hebrew children, but God had a will too, and the fire did
not harm them. Herod had a will when he sought to slay the Child Jesus, and had
there been no living, reigning God, his evil desire would have been effected:
but in daring to pit his puny will against the irresistible will of the
Almighty his efforts came to nought. Yes, my reader, and you, too, had a will
when you formed your plans without first seeking counsel of the Lord, therefore
did He overturn them! "There are many devices in a man's heart;
nevertheless the counsel of LORD, that shall stand" (Prov. 19:21).
What a
demonstration of the irresistible Sovereignty of God is furnished by that
wonderful statement found in Revelation 17:17: "For God hath put in their
hearts to fulfill His will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the
Beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled." The fulfillment of any
single prophecy is but the Sovereignty of God in operation. It is the
demonstration that what He has decreed He is able also to perform. It is proof
that none can withstand the execution of His counsel or prevent the
accomplishment of His pleasure. It is evidence that God inclines men to fulfill
that which He has ordained and perform that which He has foredetermined. If God
were not absolute Sovereign then Divine prophecy would be valueless, for in
such case no guarantee would be left that what He had predicted would surely
come to pass.
"For
God hath put in their hearts to fulfill His will, and to agree, and give their
kingdom unto the Beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled" (Rev.
17:17). We can not do better than quote here the excellent comments of our
esteemed friend, Mr. Walter Scott, upon this verse-"God works unseen, but
not the less truly, in all the political changes of the day. The astute
statesman, the clever diplomatist, is simply an agent in the Lord's hands. He
knows it not. Self-will and motives of policy may influence to action, but God
is steadily working toward an end-to exhibit the heavenly and earthly glories
of His Son. Thus, instead of kings and statesmen thwarting God's purpose, they
unconsciously forward it. God is not indifferent, but is behind the scenes of
human action. The doings of the future ten kings in relation to Babylon and the
Beast-the ecclesiastical and secular powers-are not only under the direct
control of God, but all is done in fulfillment of His words."
Closely
connected with Revelation 17:17 is that which is brought before us in Micah
4:11, 12: "Now also many nations are gathered against thee, that say, Let
her be defiled, and let our eye look upon Zion. But they know not the thoughts
of the LORD, neither understand they His counsel: for He shall gather them as
sheaves into the floor." This is another remarkable statement, inspired of
God, and three things in it deserve special notice. First, a day is coming when
"many nations" shall "gather against" Israel with the
express purpose of humiliating her. Second, quite unconsciously to
themselves-for they "understand not" His counsel-they are
"gathered" together by God, for "He shall gather them."
Third, God gathers these "many nations" against Israel in order that
the daughter of Zion may "beat them in pieces" (v. 13). Here then is
another instance which demonstrates God's absolute control of the nations, of
His power to fulfill His secret counsel or decrees through and by them, and of
His inclining men to perform His pleasure though it be performed blindly and
unwittingly by them.
Once more.
What a word was that of the Lord Jesus as He stood before Pilate! Who can
depict the scene! There was the Roman official, and there also was the Servant
of Jehovah standing before him. Said Pilate, "Whence art Thou?" And
we read "Jesus gave him no answer." Then said Pilate unto Him "Speakest
Thou not unto me? Knowest Thou not that I have power to crucify Thee, and have
power to release Thee?" (John 19:10). Ah! that is what Pilate thought.
That is what many another has thought. He was merely voicing the common
conviction of the human heart, the heart which leaves God out of its reckoning.
But hear the Lord Jesus as He corrects Pilate, and at the same time repudiates
the proud boasting of men in general: "thou couldest have no power against
Me, except it were given thee from above" (John 19:11). How sweeping is
this assertion! Man-even though he be a prominent official in the most
influential empire of his day-has no power except that which is given him from
above, no power, even, to do that which is evil, i.e., carry out his own evil designs
unless God empowers him so that His purpose may be forwarded. It was God who
gave Pilate the power to sentence to death His well-beloved Son! And how this
rebukes the sophistries and reasonings of men who argue that God does nothing
more than permit evil! Why, go right back to the very first words spoken by the
Lord God to man after the Fall and hear Him saying "I will put ENMITY
between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed" (Gen.
3:15)! Bare permission of sin does not cover all the facts which are revealed
in Scripture touching this mystery. As Calvin succinctly remarked "But
what reason shall we assign for His permitting it but because it is His
will?"
At the
close of Chapter Eleven we promised to give attention to one or two other
difficulties which were not examined at that time. To them we now turn. If God
has not only predetermined the salvation of His own but has also foreordained
the good works which they are to walk in (Eph. 2:10), then what incentive
remains for us to strive after practical godliness? If God has fixed the number
of those who are to be saved, and the others are vessels of wrath fitted to
destruction, then what encouragement have we to preach the Gospel to the lost?
Let us take up these questions in the order of mention.
1. GOD'S
SOVEREIGNTY AND THE BELIEVER'S GROWTH IN GRACE.
If God has
foreordained everything that comes to pass, of what avail is it for us to
"exercise" ourselves "unto godliness" (1 Tim. 4:7)? If God
has before ordained the good works in which we are to walk (Eph. 2:10) then why
should we be "careful to maintain good works" (Titus 3:8)? This only
raises once more the problem of human responsibility. Really, it should be
enough for us to reply, God has bidden us do so. Nowhere does Scripture
inculcate or encourage a spirit of fatalistic indifference. Contentment with
our present attainments is expressly disallowed. The word to every believer is
"Press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ
Jesus" (Phil. 3:14). This was the Apostle's aim, and it should be ours.
Instead of hindering the development of Christian character, a proper
apprehension and appreciation of God's Sovereignty will forward it. Just as the
sinner's despair of any help from himself is the first prerequisite of a sound
conversion, so the loss of all confidence in himself is the first essential in
the believer's growth in grace; and just as the sinner despairing of help from
himself will cast him into the arms of Sovereign mercy so the Christian, conscious
of his own frailty, will turn unto the Lord for power. It is when we are weak
we are strong (2 Cor. 12:10): that is to say, there must be consciousness of
our weakness before we shall turn to the Lord for help. While the Christian
allows the thought that he is sufficient in himself, while he imagines that by
mere force of will he shall resist temptation, while he has any confidence in
the flesh then, like Peter who boasted that though all forsook the Lord yet
should not he, so we shall certainly fail and fall. Apart from Christ we can do
nothing (John 15:5). The promise of God is "He giveth power to the faint;
and to them that have no might (of their own) He increaseth strength"
(Isa. 40:29).
The
question now before us is of great practical importance, and we are deeply
anxious to express ourselves clearly and simply. The secret of development of
Christian character is the realization of our own powerlessness, acknowledged
powerlessness, and the consequent turning unto the Lord for help. The plain fact
is that of ourselves we cannot do this, or make ourselves do it. "In
nothing be anxious"-but who can avoid and prevent anxiety when things go
wrong? "Awake to righteousness and sin not"-but who can help sinning?
These are merely examples selected at random from scores of others. Does then
God mock us by biding us do what He knows we are unable to do? The answer of
Augustine to this question is the best we have met with-"God gives
commands we cannot perform, that we may know what we ought to request from
Him." A consciousness of our powerlessness should cast us upon Him who has
all power. Here then is where a vision and view of God's Sovereignty helps, for
it reveals His sufficiency and shows us our insufficiency.
2. GOD'S
SOVEREIGNTY AND CHRISTIAN SERVICE.
If God has
determined before the foundation of the world the precise number of those who
shall be saved then why should we concern ourselves about the eternal destiny
of those with whom we come into contact? What place is left for zeal in
Christian service? Will not the doctrine of God's Sovereignty, and its
corollary of predestination, discourage the Lord's servants from faithfulness
in evangelism? No; instead of discouraging His servants a recognition of God's
Sovereignty is most encouraging to them. Here is one, for example, who is
called upon to do the work of an evangelist, and he goes forth believing in the
freedom of the will and in the sinner's own ability to come to Christ. He
preaches the Gospel as faithfully and zealously as he knows how; but he finds
the vast majority of his hearers are utterly indifferent and have no heart at
all for Christ. He discovers that men are, for the most part, thoroughly wrapt
up in the things of the world, and that few have any concern about the world to
come. He beseeches men to be reconciled to God and pleads with them over their
soul's salvation. But it is of no avail. He becomes thoroughly disheartened and
asks himself, What is the use of it all? Shall he quit, or had he better change
his mission and message? If men will not respond to the Gospel, had he not
better engage in that which is more popular and acceptable to the world? Why
not occupy himself with humanitarian efforts, with social uplift work, with the
purity campaign? Alas! that so many men who once preached the Gospel are now
engaged in these activities instead.
What then
is God's corrective for His discouraged servant? First, he needs to learn from
Scripture that God is not now seeking to convert the world, but that in this
Age He is "taking out of the Gentiles" a people for His name (Acts
15:14). What then is God's corrective for His discouraged servant? This: a
proper apprehension of God's plan for this Dispensation. Again: what is God's
remedy for dejection at apparent failure in our labors? This: the assurance
that God's purpose cannot fail, that God's plans cannot miscarry, that God's
will must be done. Our labors are not intended to bring about that which God
has not decreed. Once more: what is God's word of cheer for the one who is thoroughly
disheartened at the lack of response to his appeals and the absence of fruit,
for his labors? This: that we are not responsible for results: that is God's
side, and God's business. Paul may "plant," and Apollos may
"water," but it is God who "gave the increase" (1 Cor.
3:6). Our business is to obey Christ and preach the Gospel to every creature,
to emphasize the "Whosoever believeth" and then to leave the
Sovereign operations of the Holy Spirit to apply the Word in quickening power
to whom He wills, resting on the sure promise of Jehovah: "For as the rain
cometh down, and the snow from Heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth
the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the
sower, and bread to the eater: So shall My Word be that goeth forth out of My
mouth: it shall not return unto Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I
please (it may not that which we please), and it shall prosper in the thing
whereto I sent it" (Isa. 55:10, 11). Was it not this assurance that sustained
the beloved Apostle when he declared "Therefore (see context) I endure all
things for the elect's sake" (2 Tim. 2:10)! Yea, is not this same lesson
to be learned from the blessed example of the Lord Jesus! When we read that He
said to the people "Ye also have seen Me, and believe not," He fell
back upon the Sovereign pleasure of the One who sent Him, saying "All that
the Father giveth Me shall come to Me, and him that cometh to Me I will in no
wise cast out" (John 6:37). He knew that His labor would not be in vain.
He knew God's Word would not return unto Him "void." He knew that
"God's elect" would come to Him and believe on Him. And this same
assurance fills the soul of every servant who intelligently rests upon the
blessed truth of God's Sovereignty.
Ah,
fellow-Christian-worker, God has not sent us forth to "draw a bow at a
venture." The success of the ministry which He has committed into our
hands is not left contingent on the fickleness of the wills in those to whom we
preach. How gloriously encouraging, how soul-sustaining the assurance are those
words of our Lord's if we rest on them in simple faith: "And other sheep I
have ("have" mark you, not "will have"; "have"
because given to Him by the Father before the foundation of the world), which are
not of this fold (i.e. the Jewish fold then existing): them also I must bring,
and they shall hear My voice" (John 10:16). Not simply, "they ought
to hear My voice," not simply "they may hear My voice," not
"they will if they are willing." There is no "if," no
uncertainty about it. "They shall hear My voice" is His own positive,
unqualified, absolute promise. Here then is where faith is to rest! Continue
your quest, dear friend, after the "other sheep" of Christ's. Be not
discouraged because the "goats" heed not His voice as you preach the
Gospel. Be faithful, be scriptural, be persevering, and Christ may use even you
to be His mouthpiece in calling some of His lost sheep unto Himself.
"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding
in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in
the Lord" (1 Cor. 15:58).
It now
remains for us to offer a few closing reflections and our happy task is
finished.
God's
Sovereign election of certain ones to salvation is a MERCIFUL provision. The
sufficient answer to all the wicked accusations that the doctrine of
Predestination is cruel, horrible, and unjust, is that unless God had chosen
certain ones to salvation none would have been saved, for "there is none that
seeketh after God" (Rom. 3:11). This is no mere inference of ours but the
definite teaching of Holy Scripture. Attend closely to the words of the Apostle
in Romans 9 where this theme is fully discussed: "Though the number of the
children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved... And
as Esaias (Isaiah) said before, Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed,
we had been as Sodoma, and been made like unto Gomorrah" (Rom. 9:27, 29).
The teaching of this passage is unmistakable: but for Divine interference
Israel would have become as Sodom and Gomorrah. Had God left Israel alone human
depravity would have run its course to its own tragic end. But God left Israel
a "remnant" or "seed." Of old the cities of the plain had
been obliterated for their sin and none was left to survive them; and so it
would have been in Israel's case had not God "left" or spared a
remnant. Thus it is with the human race: but for God's Sovereign grace in
sparing a remnant all of Adam's descendants had perished in their sins.
Therefore, we say that God's Sovereign election of certain ones to salvation is
a merciful provision. And, be it noted, in choosing the ones He did God did no
injustice to the others who were passed by, for none had any right to salvation.
Salvation is by grace, and the exercise of grace is a matter of pure
Sovereignty-God might save all or none, many or few, one or ten thousand, just
as He saw best. Should it be replied, But surely it were "best" to
save all, the answer would be: We are not capable of judging. We might have
thought it "best" never to have created Satan, never to have allowed
sin to enter the world, or having entered to have brought the conflict between
good and evil to an end long before now. Ah! God's ways are not ours, and His
ways are "past finding out."
God
foreordains everything which comes to pass. His Sovereign rule extends
throughout the entire Universe and is over every creature. "For of Him,
and through Him, and to Him, are all things" (Rom. 11:36). God initiates
all things, regulates all things, and all things are working unto His eternal
glory. "There is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we
in Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by Him"
(1 Cor. 8:6). And again, "According to the purpose of Him who worketh all
things after the counsel of His own will" (Eph. 1:11). Surely if anything
could be ascribed to chance it is the drawing of lots, and yet the Word of God
expressly declares "The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing
thereof is of the LORD" (Prov. 16:33)!
God's
wisdom in the government of our world shall yet be completely vindicated before
all created intelligences. God is no idle Spectator, looking on from a distant
world at the happenings, on our earth, but is Himself shaping everything to the
ultimate promotion of His own glory. Even now He is working out His eternal
purpose, not only in spite of human and Satanic opposition but by means of
them. How wicked and futile have been all efforts to resist His will shall one
day be as fully evident as when of old He overthrew the rebellious Pharaoh and
his hosts at the Red Sea.
It has
been well said "The end and object of all is the glory of God. It is
perfectly, divinely true, that 'God hath ordained for His own glory whatsoever
comes to pass.' In order to guard this from all possibility of mistake, we have
only to remember who is this God, and what the glory that He seeks. It is He
who is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ-of Him in whom divine love
came seeking not her own, among us as 'One that serveth.' It is He who,
sufficient in Himself, can receive no real accession of glory from His
creatures, but from whom-'Love,' as He is 'Light'-cometh down every good and
every perfect gift, in whom is no variableness nor shadow of turning. Of His
own alone can His creatures give to Him."
"The
glory of such an one is found in the display of His own goodness,
righteousness, holiness, truth; in manifesting Himself as in Christ He has
manifested Himself and will forever. The glory of this God is what of necessity
all things must serve-adversaries and evil as well as all else. He has ordained
it; His power will insure it; and when all apparent clouds and obstructions are
removed, then shall He rest-'rest in His love' forever, although eternity only
will suffice for the apprehension of the revelation. 'God shall be all in all'
(italics ours throughout this paragraph) gives in six words the ineffable
result" (F. W. Grant on "Atonement").
That what
we have written gives but an incomplete and imperfect presentation of this most
important subject we must sorrowfully confess. Nevertheless, if it results in a
clearer apprehension of the majesty of God and His Sovereign mercy we shall be
amply repaid for our labors. If the reader has received blessing from the
perusal of these pages let him not fail to return thanks to the Giver of every
good and every perfect gift, ascribing all praise to His inimitable and
Sovereign grace.
"The
Lord, our God, is clothed with might,
The winds
and waves obey His will;
He speaks,
and in the shining height
The sun
and rolling worlds stand still.
Rebel ye
waves, and o'er the land
With
threatening aspect foam and roar,
The Lord
hath spoken His command
That
breaks your rage upon the shore.
Ye winds
of night, your force combine-
Without
His holy high behest
You shall
not in a mountain pine
Disturb
the little swallow's nest.
His voice
sublime is heard afar;
In distant
peals it fades and dies;
He binds
the cyclone to His car
And sweeps
the howling murky skies.
Great God!
how infinite art Thou,
What weak
and worthless worms are we,
Let all
the race of creatures bow
And seek
salvation now from Thee.
Eternity,
with all its years
Stands
ever-present to Thy view,
To Thee
there's nothing old appears
Great God!
There can be nothing new.
Our lives
through varied scenes are drawn,
And vexed
with mean and trifling cares;
While
Thine eternal thought moves on
Thy fixed
and undisturbed affairs."
"Alleluia:
for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth" (Rev. 19:6).