by Arthur W. Pink
by Arthur W. Pink
Philologos Religious Online Books
Philologos.org
by Arthur W. Pink
October, 1941
THE DIVINE AGENCY IN WAR.
(Jeremiah 51:20)
George Lawson
Before passing on to the next branch of our subject, let us offer some practical reflections on what has been before us last month. 1. We ought to form just notions of the universal extent of the Divine Providence, particularly remembering that the actions of men are as truly and fully under the control of the Divine government as the motions of the heavenly bodies. Think not that the Divine power rules only those creatures which lack life and reason: His kingdom rules over men and devils as well as over fire and wing and stormy vapours. Job lost as much by Sabean and Chaldean spoilers as he did by “the fire of God” and the “great wind,” yet he perceived the hand of God in the one as much as in the other, saying, “The LORD gave and the LORD (not the Sabeans) hath taken away: blessed be the name of the LORD” (Job 1:21).
2. We must give unto God the glory of His works, even of those which he performs by the hands of His creatures. He is to be revered and adored in all the works of His hands. He is glorious in His works of Providence as well as in His works of creation. He made all things “good” when he made the world, and He does all things “well” in the government of it. He is glorious in what He does by the hands of wicked men as well as what He does by the hands of His saints. In His acts of vengeance as well as in His works of grace He is glorious. The work of the Lord is always glorious and honourable, even when He makes use of instruments for accomplishing them that are vile and accursed. “O LORD, Thou art my God; I will exalt Thee, I will praise Thy name; for Thou hast done wonderful things; Thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth. For Thou hast made of a city an heap; of a defenced city a ruin: a palace of strangers to be no city; it shall never be built. Therefore shall the strong people glorify Thee, the city of the terrible nations shall fear Thee” (Isa. 25:1-3).
How glorious is that power which keeps the devils of Hell, and those fierce tyrants who are their visible images on earth, under such powerful restraint that they can do nothing less or more that He pleases, and are still accomplishing His holy purpose when they think they are only performing what they please and what appears to them most conducive to the fulfillment of their own ambitions! How wonderful is that God in counsels who makes the wrath of men to praise Him: who brings glory to His name and happiness to them that love Him out of those evils which threatened destruction to His kingdom on earth—who combines events of the mot contrary tendency as means for effectuating the same gracious end! When God's people were carried to Babylon, they were commanded to pray for the peace of that city, for in her peace they were to have peace: yet when that city was destroyed, they found peace and joy in her ruins.
The people of God are often unable to see the glory of that work which He performs by the hands of those men whom He employs as instruments of His wrath. They are tempted to think that the Lord has utterly forgotten Zion, or that He has forsaken the earth, and leaves it to be turned upside down by the caprice of those mighty oppressors whom He suffers to do according to their will. But let it not be forgotten we must walk by faith and not by sight. It is but a little portion of the ways of God that we can understand. Those events which appear to us most dark and gloomy are essential parts of a plan of conduct which will appear glorious and excellent when it is developed in its full extent. Let us also remember that when clouds and darkness are about the Lord God, righteousness and judgment are still the habitation of His throne.
3. Herein we see in what estimation those heroes are to be held who have triumphed by the use of force and been accorded the chief places of honour in history. They are furnished with brilliant talents by the great Dispenser of gifts to men. They have nothing but what they have received, and nothing but what is always under the control of the Giver. Their knowledge, their valour, their enterprising spirit, their presence of mind in danger and death, their dexterity in finding resources in emergencies, which have sunk other men into despondency, may deserve high admiration. Let their endowments and exploits have their share of praise, but let us not lose sight of the Giver and Director of those endowments. It was justly observed even by a heathen philosopher that such men as Alexander the Great deserve only such admiration as we would bestow on a destructive tempest or earthquake.
We are too ready to give some portion of that honour and fear to great men which ought to be reserved sacred to the Most High. Give fear to whom fear, honour to whom honour is due—but give them not that honour and fear which belongs only to the King of kings. Nebuchadnezzar once thought that there was not a God that could deliver out of his hand: that he could kill or save alive whom he pleased, without control from any higher power. But bitter experience forced him to confess that every man at his best estate was altogether vanity, and that all the inhabitants of the earth were but like grasshoppers before Him who does according to His will in the armies of Heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth.
Shall we say, then, that the actions of men are not their own, that they are no more than machines in the hands of a superior agent? Far be it from us to deny that men are rational agents, and that they are entitled to praise or blame for what they do. God has given different natures to different creatures, but He has not put it into the power of any of them to do any thing without Himself. Consider what God said to the proud Assyrian monarch who boasted of his uncontrollable power over the nations to rob and plunder and destroy at his pleasure. God heard with indignation and contempt his insolent boasts, and let him know that he was no more in the hands of his Maker than an axe or saw was in the hand of a carpenter. See Isaiah 10:13-15.
The guilt of any sin is not in the least degree lessened by the agency of the Divine Providence in directing and overruling it to serve the purpose of the Divine wisdom. Those who crucified the Lord of Glory did nothing but what God had foretold by the mouth of His holy Prophets, nothing but what God saw expedient to be done for the accomplishment of our salvation. The murderers of Jesus Christ had no intention to execute the will of God; they rejected His counsel against themselves. They were under no compulsion but fulfilled the desires of their own hearts, Yet they did nothing but what God's hand and counsel determined before to be done: and by doing it, they justly brought upon themselves the most fearful curses denounced against the enemies of God in the volume of inspiration.
4. The consideration of this truth should teach us how to regulate our thoughts and affections under all the awful events that take place in the world. The men who bring them to pass are the instruments of that Providence to which all reverence and praise is ever due, and they have done nothing which will not be overruled by Him to the accomplishment of His own purposes. We repeat that it is indeed true that the guilt of wicked men is not in any degree lessened by the use which God makes of them, and therefore are they the just objects of abhorrence. It is likewise true that the changes wrought by them may be attended with great misery to nations, to our nation perhaps, and to ourselves, amongst others who are affected by them. But the Lord is righteous in all the evil things that come upon us and upon our fellow men. We are sinners, as well as those by whom God takes vengeance of our sins.
Why then should we indulge our angry passions without restraint? Ought we not rather to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God, to learn righteousness from the Divine judgments? Whatever loss we sustain in our accommodations and comforts, if we behave dutifully to God and with a right temper towards the men who are the instruments of our correction, the advantage derived from the most awful events will greatly counterbalance the loss. Give no place to desponding fears, either on your own account or on account of the interests of Christ's Church. Let the children of God remember that He is their heavenly Father who loves them, whose tender mercies infinitely exceed the compassions of any earthly parents toward their children, and that His power is equal to His grace. The mightiest of your enemies are in His hand, and they can do you no more harm than He sees necessary for your good. When God sent the Assyrians against the Jews, fearfulness justly surprised the hypocrites of Zion; but remember what He said to the faithful remnant of that day: see Isaiah 10:24, 25.
If bad men have all their power from God, and all their movements are directed and overruled to the accomplishment of His pleasure, they shall do no permanent injury to any who are under His protection. “Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work, and I have created the waster to destroy. No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper: and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of Me, saith the LORD” (Isa. 54:16, 17). He will not suffer any of those for whom Christ died to perish by the hand of those instruments whom He employs to execute His displeasure on a generation of His wrath. They may suffer a while, but their sufferings will be salutary to their souls. It may be they shall be hid in the day of the Lord's anger. Most certainly they shall be safe from the worst of evils: see Romans 8:28.
When a pestilence rages in a country, what value would be set on a medicine found to be an effectual antidote against infection! A still higher value would be put on a medicine which was found to be not only an effectual preservative of life, but also a sure means of rendering the distemper so beneficial to the body of the patient that he would never again be exposed to danger from any contagious disease. Vital godliness and personal piety is a medicine of such virtue to the soul. All evil things are turned by it into good by their consequences. Unto the upright there arises light out of darkness, and sorrow is turned into joy through their faith, and through the supplies of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.
Let us read with the text (Jer. 51:20) the words that go before it. “The portion of Jacob is not like them (the idols of the nations); for He is the Former of all things, and Israel is the rod of His inheritance: the LORD of hosts is His name.” He it is who says to the conqueror of our text, “thou art My battle-axe and My weapons of war.” Nor let it be forgotten by us that unto Him who loved us and gave Himself for us is “committed all judgment.” The keys of the invisible world and of death are in our Saviour's hands, and He will not suffer any of the enemies of mankind to live any longer than He pleases. They cannot move an arm without Him. They cannot, without Him, form a single thought, for “the government (of the universe) is upon His shoulder.” He is not only the Head of the body which is His church, but he is given to be the Head over all things to the Church.
Having spoken of conquerors in war as God's battle-axes, let us now consider the use which He makes of them. With them He “breaks in pieces the nations, and with them He destroys kingdoms.” In these words we are taught: 1. That nations and kingdoms are liable to destruction as well as individuals. We are, too, ready to think that the nations and kingdoms to which we belong must abide as long as the earth. But what has become of the most ancient kingdoms, which were once the terror of the mighty? The beginning of the kingdom of Nimrod, that mighty hunter before the Lord, was Babel; but not only was his kingdom more than once brought low, but it has since been utterly destroyed. “For I will rise up against them, saith the LORD of hosts, and cut off from Babylon the name and remnant, and son and nephew, saith the LORD. I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the LORD of hosts. The LORD of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass” (Isa. 14:22-24).
We are disposed to think if a kingdom has long continued in its strength, that it must be eternal in its duration. Egypt was a famous kingdom in ancient times, but it is now one of the least of kingdoms. Ezekiel puts them in mind (chap. 32) of many famous nations who had once been the terror of the mighty, but had gone down to the sides of the pit, with all their multitudes. And what reason have we to think that kingdoms and nations are now more secure? Great discoveries have indeed been made in modern times for the benefit of mankind, but not until physicians find an antidote against death that men may never see corruption, shall we have any hope that politicians (the physicians of the State) will discover some preventative of that perpetual tendency to dissolution, by which empires like individuals are brought to their final period.
It is melancholy to consider that not only our own bodies are mortal, but the nation to which we belong is liable to destruction. But melancholy considerations are often useful. When we consider the frailty of our own bodies, we see the necessity of avoiding everything that may hasten an event which we wish to have retarded. And when we consider the vicissitudes incident to nations, we see powerful reasons to avoid everything that may bring upon us the guilt of hastening the ruin of our country. Righteousness exalts a nation but sin is the reproach of any people. The righteous therefore are the strength and glory of a land. Sinners, especially those who will not be reclaimed by the admonitions of the Word and Providence of God, and most of all those who by their example and influence make many others to sin with them, are its worst enemies.
2. Whatever be the means of the destruction of a nation, God is fit Author of it. Since no man can die till the day appointed by the counsels of God, no nation can be destroyed or revolutionized without Him. However mighty our enemies may be, however well laid their plans for our ruin, and however ably those plans are executed, we are safe IF our ways please the Lord. But we entertain false notions of God if we think that because He delights in mercy He will not punish guilty nations as well as sinning individuals. It is the height of absurdity to suppose that any kingdom can perish or meet with any calamity in opposition to the Divine counsels concerning them. It would be the destruction of all our comfort, of all our hope in God, if there could be evil in a city which the Lord has not done. If any creature has power to act independently of God, we are not safe under His protection.
But can a merciful and gracious God take pleasure in pulling down, in plucking up and destroying? Is it good to Him that He should oppress, that He should destroy nations at once, that He should give success to the counsels of those savages who delight in slaughter? It is vain for us to shut our eyes against plain facts. It is certain that many kingdoms have been overthrown; and it is equally certain that such tremendous events could not take place in the world without the agency of Divine Providence—unless that blasphemous doctrine were true that the Lord has forsaken the earth, that He sits on His throne a careless spectator of the miseries of His poor creatures—and that he will suffer His well-laid plans for the welfare of mankind to be frustrated by the fury of destroyers.
Dreadful as the convulsions of nations and the overturning of thrones are, God knows how to make them subservient to His purpose. The Lord is the King of nations, and He governs in wisdom and righteousness. The supreme magistrate of a nation would but ill perform his duty if he did not cause his laws to be respected by the punishment of evil-doers, and it well becomes Him who reigns over all kings and their kingdoms to show forth His displeasure against guilty nations, especially when they refuse to be reclaimed, by inflicting deserved punishment upon them. There are some who will not allow that God punishes nations in any other way than by leaving them to suffer the natural and unavoidable consequences of their own behaviour. But have not the natural consequences of virtue and vice been annexed to them by the same Providence that has established the ordinances of Heaven and earth? The wrath of God is seen in those who indulge licentious passions when their flesh is consumed and their names abhorred.
Yet it is plain that the vices of a nation are not the sole cause of its ruin. It may long exist in an enfeebled state under the universal prevalence of vice, although its glory is departed, if no foreign enemies precipitate its destruction—but when one nation brings misery and ruin upon another, the righteousness of God is to be acknowledged in the awful event. We ought indeed to be very cautious in assigning reasons why God brings destruction either upon individuals or nations. We must not be wise above what is written; but it is plainly revealed in Scripture that God inflicts His judgments upon nations on account of their sins. Read through Ezekiel 23, where the people of Judah are viewed under the emblem of the harlot Aholibah, and note especially verses 30, 31. Note, too, how in Jeremiah 18:7, 8 sentence of destruction may be averted by true national repentance: as was the case with Nineveh.—George Lawson.
N.B. The careful reader will observe how wisely and well Mr. Lawson preserved the balance between God's sovereignty and God's righteousness. The Most High does as He pleases, always as He pleases, and gives no account of His matters unto us. Nevertheless, He does not act capriciously, without good reason. While He goes not outside of Himself for the motives of His actions, working all things after the pleasure of His own imperial will, yet this does not mean He takes no knowledge of human actions or does not justly apportion both rewards and punishments to individuals and nations alike. When His judgments fall upon us, whatever form they take, it is because our sins have called loudly for Him to vindicate His honour and enforce the penalty of His Law. Had we heeded His warnings, responded to His exhortations, and altered our evil ways, His wrath had been averted—“O that thou hadst hearkened to My commandments, then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea” (Isa. 48:18). Even when God's judgments are upon us, it is not too late to seek a moderation of them. See Psalm 81:13, 14. But if His people refuse, then the nation must drain the cup of His anger.—A.W.P.
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