The Only Adorable
God
FOREWORD
"The Only Adorable God" was part of a series of sermons preached
by Rev. Herman Hoeksema on Romans 9-11. Young ladies in his church at that time
took shorthand notes of those sermons, typed them out in full, and gave them to
Rev. Hoeksema for editing. Each of the sermons in that series was then
published in pamphlet form by First Church's English Men's Society.
This publication is a reprint of one of the pamphlets in that long-out-of-print
series. May the reading of it still today kindle within us, as Rev. Hoeksema
put it to his readers long ago, a "profound sense of wonder and
adoration" that causes us to cry out, with the apostle Paul, "0 the
depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!" And then to
take on our lips the doxology, "... to Him be glory forever, Amen!"
The Evangelism Committee of Southwest Protestant Reformed Church
The Only Adorable God
0 the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how
unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! For who hath
known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor? Or who hath first
given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of him, and
through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen. Romans 11:33-36.
With these verses we come to the close of our discussion of the truth
concerning God's predestinating purposes with respect to Jew and Gentile, as it
is revealed in chapters nine to eleven of the epistle to the Romans. How
fitting and worthy a close it is! Throughout these chapters the basic truth, as
we had occasion to point out repeatedly, is that God is sovereign in the matter
of salvation, and always the keynote was heard: Let him that glorieth glory in
the Lord! And the conclusion is a doxology, a hymn of praise and adoration
dedicated to the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God, of whom, through whom,
and unto whom are all things, and whose alone is the glory for ever! It is a
doxology which is indeed caused by what we might behold of the wonderful riches
of the Most High because it pleased Him to reveal them unto us, but which at
the same time is a confession that we have seen only a little of those riches,
and that the glimpse we had of them suggested to us an infinite depth, which,
while we cannot fathom it, we can only adore in worshiping wonder.
As to the connection of this doxology with the preceding part of the epistle, I
am inclined to take a broad view. It is true that the connection might be found
in the immediate context, where the apostle had spoken of the salvation of the
fullness of the Gentiles and of the Jews, more particularly in verse thirty- two,
where the marvelous wisdom of God was suggested in that He concluded them all
in unbelief, in order that He might have mercy upon all. Or we might consider
this doxology as being the conclusion of the whole eleventh chapter, which is
an elaboration on the theme expressed in the question and answer of the first
verse: "I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid!" But
we may very well broaden the scope of our conception of the context. There is
nothing in this hymn of praise that would forbid us to consider the doxology as
concluding this entire section of the epistle to the Romans, chapters nine to
eleven. It may even be conceived as looking back over the whole plan of
salvation as revealed in this epistle thus far.
We must understand that with the end of the eleventh chapter the apostle has
come to the close of what might be called the doctrinal part of the epistle. In
the next chapter he begins the applicatory section. The doxology contained in
these closing verses may very well be intended as the grand finale of all that
precedes. The apostle, in this letter to the Romans, developed the theme of the
gospel of God concerning His Son, the righteousness of God which is by faith.
From the dark depths of misery and corruption pictured in the first chapter, he
gradually ascended into the glorious light of everlasting mercy. Gradually the
Spirit introduced him into the mysteries of salvation, and, as he advanced, his
soul began to sing in adoration of the riches of God revealed in Christ —
until, after the contemplation of God's adorable predestinating purposes with
regard to Jew and Gentile, his soul is wholly captivated by the revelation of
God's glorious virtues, and he exclaims in the words of our text: "0 the
depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable
are his judgments and his ways past finding out!"
It is, of course, impossible in one sermon to explain all the doctrinal
contents of the words of our text. Neither is this the purpose of a passage of
this nature. Rather must we remember that it is a hymn of praise, and that the
contemplation of it should bring us to our knees in grateful adoration and
worship. But we must say a few words about it, nevertheless. We will speak
therefore on the theme:
The Only Adorable God
I. The Inexhaustible Fountain
II. The Infallible Artificer
III. The Sole End of All Things
The Inexhaustible
Fountain
The threefold division of my theme is derived from the text itself. If you
look closely at the words of our text, you will notice that in their
arrangement the number three prevails. There are three series of three
conceptions that are interrelated, the individual terms of which correspond to
one another. There is, first of all, the series: riches, wisdom, knowledge of
God. Thus, at least, I like to translate the thirty-third verse. There is no
reason at all in the original for the translation found in our English Bible:
"0 the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God,"
according to which the text speaks of the riches of God's wisdom and of the
riches of His knowledge. Literally rendered, the original runs simply as
follows: "0 the depth of riches and of wisdom and knowledge of God."
Thus the text speaks of the depth of God's riches, the depth of His wisdom, and
the depth of His knowledge.
We have here, therefore, a series of three concepts. And corresponding to these
are the three statements made in question form in verses thirty-four and
thirty-five: no one ever gave anything to God, so that he might expect a
just recompense; no one ever counseled Him; and no one has ever known
the mind of the Lord. For, who would ever presume to give anything to Him,
the depth of whose riches is unfathomable? Who would be so presumptuous as to
propose to be counselor to Him whose wisdom is unsearchable? And who could
possibly comprehend the mind of the Lord, whose knowledge is infinite and whose
ways are past finding out?
And again, corresponding to the former two series of three is the one that is
found in the last verse of our text: of him, and through Him, and to Him
are all things. Because there is an inexhaustible depth of riches in God, so that
no one could possibly give Him anything, all things are out of Him.
Because He is infinite in knowledge and understanding, so that no one can ever
comprehend the mind of the Lord, all things are through Him. And because
He is infinite in wisdom, so that all things are perfectly adapted to the end
He has in view, and no one was His counselor, all things are unto Him.
The underlying idea of the entire doxology is, evidently, that He is God, that
He is God alone, that there is no God beside Him, and that all glory
must therefore be ascribed to Him only forever!
The text speaks of God as the inexhaustible Fountain. For it speaks of the
depth of His riches, it emphasizes that no one ever gave Him anything, and it
declares that all things are out of Him. Let us briefly consider each of these
statements.
There is an amazing depth of riches in God: "0 the depth of the
riches!" If we would understand these words at all, we must certainly
change our human notions about riches. When we speak of the riches there are in
God, our earthly and carnal conceptions of riches are not at all applicable.
For we have become accustomed to look upon material things as riches, but the
riches in God are, of course, purely spiritual. According to our human notion,
riches are things we possess. But the riches in God consist in what He is.
God's riches are, indeed, reflected in the things that are made, in all the
works of His hands. These are the revelation of His riches, but they are not
the divine riches themselves. God is rich in Himself. He is absolutely rich.
His riches are His adorable virtues, the glorious and infinite perfections of
His being, His praises and wonders, His unfathomable goodness. He is a light
and there is no darkness in Him at all. His omnipotence and omniscience and
infinite wisdom, His glorious holiness and absolute righteousness and truth,
His unchangeable love and abundant mercy and beauteous grace, His eternal life
of divine friendship, the treasures and pleasures there are at His right hand —
these are the riches of God.
And because God is infinitely good, rich and divine in virtues and praises,
because He is the light and there is no darkness in Him at all, therefore He is
also infinitely blessed. He is the overflowing Fount of all good. Because of
this, let it be clearly understood, there are no riches and there is no
blessedness apart from Him. He who would seek riches and bliss in the abundance
of earthly goods that he possesses and in the carnal enjoyment of them, who is
not rich in God, and who knows nothing of the pure blessedness of His
fellowship and friendship, that man is a fool. To live apart from God is death.
It is good His face to see!
"0 the depth of the riches!" There is amazement in the exclamation.
The expression denotes more than the mere statement would convey: God is
infinitely rich. For always we can have but a creaturely knowledge of the
riches of God. God is infinite and we are finite. The finite can never
comprehend the infinite. Our understanding of the riches of God, therefore, is
limited by the measure of our creaturely capacity. Besides, we are earthy. And
all the knowledge of God's riches we now possess assumes an earthly form. In
glory we shall, no doubt, behold and experience far more of these riches of God
than we do in our present state. For then we shall see face to face, we shall
know as we are known, while now we can only see an enigma in a mirror.
But even in eternal glory we shall be finite. Never shall we comprehend the
infinite God. Yet, such is the wonder of revelation that, while our knowledge
of the riches of God is limited, we know at the same time that the riches
themselves are infinite. Contemplating that which it pleased God to make known
unto us of His riches, we realize that we are but gazing at the surface of a
great deep, the mysteries of which we shall never be able to fathom, but the
glories of which are suggested by what we behold on the surface. Thus the
revelation of the riches of God kindles within the God-fearing heart a profound
sense of wonder and adoration that causes him to cry out: "0 the depth of
the riches!"
These riches are, indeed, revealed. If it were not so, we could have no idea of
them. God is the invisible One. We cannot find Him out. If we are to know Him,
He must reveal Himself to us. In a sense you can also express this same truth concretely
by saying: we can know God and His riches only through that which is of Him.
Just as you can know a deep fountain only by the silvery sparkle of the
crystal water springing forth above its surface, so you can receive an
impression and knowledge of the unsearchable riches of God only through that
which is displayed of these riches on the stage of our creaturely perception
and understanding by those things that are of Him, out of God. That is why the
apostle says in the last verse of our text, "For of him ... are all
things." All things are out of Him. The contemplation of them, therefore,
leads us to adore the depth of His riches.
Let us beware that we do not limit this expression. All things are out
of Him. The things in heaven and the things on the earth; the things that were
made in the beginning and the things that develop and become in the history of
the world; the work of redemption and all that pertains to that work — all
things, nothing excluded, are of God. The earth and its fullness, the heavens
and their glory, the day that uttereth speech, the night that pours forth
knowledge, and all that ever becomes of them in their progress through the
history of this present time, from the "alpha" even unto the
"omega," they are all out of Him. All things in their relation to one
another, inorganic creatures and living creatures, brute creatures and rational
creatures, angels and men, Adam and Christ, creation and redemption, the Jews
and the Gentiles, the incarnation, the cross, and the resurrection the promise
and the gospel, the calling and faith, the inheritance and eternal glory; yea,
grace but also sin, Michael and Gabriel but also Satan, life but also death,
heaven but hell too, each in his proper place in time and space, each serving
his proper purpose and accomplishing the work assigned to him, all things are
out of Him!
Do you hesitate to follow me in this exposition of "all things"? Or
do you object strenuously to the statement that even sin and Satan and death
and hell are included in the things that are out of God? On the basis of this
statement do you conclude that we make God the author of sin? I am well aware
that in our humanistic age, when many would rather listen to a sentimental love
story than to the truth of the whole counsel of God, this will seem a hard
doctrine. My answer to those who object to this basic truth of the Word of God
is, first of all, that their own view of the matter, their own doctrine
concerning sin and death and the devil is infinitely more cruel. For to them
they are "accidents," evil powers that somehow were and are beyond
the control of God, that are caused by the creature; they are evil powers which
God will finally overcome, but not until they have wrought havoc with His creation!
That, forsooth, is a hard doctrine indeed! But to turn with all things, good
and evil, to a sovereign God, who with infinite wisdom and knowledge has
determined all things that are and become and shall be, that is a truth so
perfect in comfort and hope that I would never exchange it for the shallow
sentimental love song of the modern gospel of man: Never do our hearts find
rest, until they find rest in God, and only through the assurance that all
things are of God can they find rest in Him indeed!
Secondly, I appeal to the text: It says: all things are of Him, and
through Him, and unto Him: Surely, we may at least turn to the context of this
statement to determine its implication. Well, in chapters nine to eleven the
apostle had written of God's sovereign predestinating purpose, of the seed of
the promise and the carnal seed, of election and reprobation, of showing mercy
and hardening, of vessels of mercy and vessels of wrath fitted unto
destruction, of the fall of the Jews that stumbled at the Stone and the reconciliation
of the world, of salvation for the Gentiles and salvation for the Jews that
fell, of God's concluding them all in unbelief, that He might have mercy on
them all. All these things are surely of Him, it must be admitted. But
how can all these things be of Him if not all the rest is also out of Him? Just
try to exclude one thing from God's sovereign dominion, and the inevitable end
will be that you leave nothing in His almighty hands! And, besides, how could
anything be unto Him, if it were not of Him?
Finally, as to the objection that we make God the author of sin and evil, an
Evil Source, if we include sin and the devil, death and hell in the things that
are of Him, let us not forget that things do not emanate from God, but
are freely determined by Him in His sovereign counsel: "All things"
do not issue forth from God as water issues from a fountain. They do not
radiate from Him as the light radiates from the sun. But they are sovereignly
determined by His eternal will and counsel. There is no sin and evil in God. He
is a light, and there is no darkness in Him at all. But, in order that He might
make known His power and glory, He has certainly determined the vessels of
wrath fitted unto destruction as the sovereign Potter. And, in order that He
might lead all things to greater, to the greatest possible glory in Christ, He
has holily willed that even Satan and sin should do their work: We must
therefore insist that "all things," in this comprehensive sense of
the word, are of Him!
This implies that we must humble ourselves very deeply, and that we must empty
ourselves of all our conceit, even of our religious, our pious conceit. For,
from the truth that God is inexhaustibly rich, and that "all things"
are of Him, it follows that you and I can never give Him anything so that He
becomes obliged to us. For "who hath first given Him and it shall be
recompensed unto him again?" God is God. He is always the Fountain,
the overflowing Fountain: He is the ever-giving God. He never receives but what
He first gave. You cannot make Him richer than He is. You cannot bring ought to
Him that is not already His. You cannot oblige Him to yourself, so that He must
recompense you.
What would you think of a foolish beggar, who, when a millionaire gives him a
hundred dollars, would say, "And now I would like to do something for you
in return," and so saying would give him a penny? Would not the rich
benefactor consider such would-be gratitude an abominable foolishness? Yet,
this is but a very weak illustration of the religious foolishness that speaks
of giving something or doing something for God as a recompense for the riches
of His benevolence. He is infinitely rich. Shall we, then, bring a speck of
dust, which, besides, is His already, to Him to increase His riches? He is the
ever flowing Fountain. Shall we turn to an ever sparkling fountain and pour a
cupful of water into it? Or shall we say that we did something first in the
matter of our salvation, be it ever so small, and that now we expect a
recompense of Him? Shall we say that we showed our willingness to "accept
Christ," and that therefore He gave us the living faith and saved us?
God forbid! All things are of Him! Never shall we take our little cups and try
to pour a tiny drop into the beautiful and ever sparkling Fountain of God's
riches. On the contrary, always we shall turn to that Fountain to fill our cups
and drink, and having drunk we shall glorify Him with thanksgiving by falling
prostrate before Him in worship and saying, "0 the depth of the
riches!" That is religion!
The Infallible
Artificer
But there is more. All things are not only out of God according to His
everlasting good pleasure, but they are also through Him. He is not only
the ultimate Source of all things, He is also the almighty Executive. He is not
only the ever flowing Fountain, He is also the infallible Artificer of all
things. For: "0 the depth of knowledge! Who hath known the mind of the
Lord? How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out! For
all things are through Him!"
God does a perfect work. Of this the text speaks here. It speaks of His
unsearchable judgments in, and of His inscrutable ways through the
"history" of this world, and of the knowledge and mind of the Lord
revealed in these judgments and ways. All things are through Him. We do not
have to repeat here what we said about the implication of "all
things." Just as all things in creation and redemption, in heaven and on
earth, are out of God, so that He is their eternal Planner, so all things, in
the same comprehensive sense of the word, are through Him, so that He is
their Artificer.
When the text says that all things are of God, it refers to Him as the eternal
Counselor. All things are eternally in His mind and will. In Him they have
their conception. But when it declares that they are also through Him, it
refers to the truth that He is also the sole and almighty Executor of His own
eternal counsel. With man this is different. One is the architect, another is
the builder. The architect can make the plans, but he cannot erect the edifice.
This he must leave to others. For the realization of his plans he is dependent
both on men and means. And while he, perhaps, can vouchsafe the flawlessness of
his plans, he cannot guarantee the perfection of the building. But with God is
absolute sovereignty and perfect control of all His work from its conception to
its consummation. For He is not only the Source, but also the Executor of all
things. Through Him are all things. He works through Himself alone. He is not
dependent upon means. Through Him is creation, and through Him is redemption.
Through Him is Christ. For He is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Through Him is the incarnation, the cross, and the resurrection. Through Him
Christ now sitteth at His right hand and has all power in heaven and on earth.
Through Him is the church and though Him is all the salvation of every individual
believer in his particular position in the body of Christ. Through Him is our
rebirth, our calling and our faith, our sonship and our righteousness, our
eternal life and glory. All things are through Him!
Do not misunderstand this. The meaning is not that He accomplishes His work and
that after it is accomplished it exists independently from Him. On the
contrary, it means that nothing in all the wide creation, whatever power it be,
of life or of death, of light or of darkness, can exist or operate but by His
continuous influx into all things. All that is in heaven and all that is on
earth in the sphere of creation exists only through Him from moment to moment.
The moment He would cease to work, all things would sink back in the darkness
of Nothing. All things in the realm of redemption depend continuously upon His
operation.
Christ, the church, salvation, the life of your rebirth, your faith, your hope,
your love, He holds them all in the hollow of His hand. From moment to moment
they are and operate only through His divine operation. All through
"history" He controls and directs and sovereignly governs all things,
so that they do His will, so that His counsel is realized, so that they proceed
from the "alpha" to the "omega" along the way which He has
determined for them all!
O the depth of knowledge! Who hath known the mind of the Lord? It is especially
when we contemplate the marvelous truth that all things are through God,
contemplate it in the light of the revelation in Christ it has pleased Him to
give unto us, that we adore the infinite knowledge of God. For, indeed, we see
a little of this glorious knowledge, and the glimpse we obtain of it is
sufficient to cause us to fall down in worship. Yet, we realize that it is only
a glimpse into the surface of this knowledge, and we are pressed to cry out,
"0 the depth!" His judgments are unsearchable, yet as unsearchable we
contemplate them. His ways are past finding out, yet we know the perfection of
His inscrutable ways!
When the apostle here speaks of God's judgments we must take the word, not in
the narrower sense of judicial verdicts and their execution, but in the wider
denotation of decisions. As always, all things are through God. As He is the
sole Executor of all things throughout history, this history of the world is
full of divine decisions. He always decides about all things. And He never
fails. Always He judges what must be done next, and always His judgment is
perfect. Never does He make a mistake. Never does He have to retrace His steps
because of a faulty judgment or mistaken judgment. When it seems to us that
things go wrong, His judgment is still perfect.
His ways are His advances and their direction through history, the direction He
takes and the means He employs to reach the end He has in view. They are His
ways with creation, His ways with the church, His ways with the individual
believer. These ways are inscrutable, they are "past finding out."
They are higher than our ways. We cannot fathom them. Often appear to us as
leading in the wrong direction, to the victory of the powers of darkness, to
the defeat of the cause of God, to the destruction of the church of Christ.
They are deep. They lead through sin and death into righteousness and life,
through the cross into the resurrection, through the suffering of this present
time into the glory that shall be revealed in us. They lead through the
stumbling of the Jews to the reconciliation of the world, through the unbelief
of all to mercy upon all! But however dark and deep they may be, they are
always right. All things work together for good to them that love God, to them
who are called according to His purpose!
And so these unsearchable decisions and inscrutable ways, of which we obtain a
glimpse as we contemplate the truth that all things are through Him, testify of
the depth of God's knowledge. For known unto God are all His works from the
beginning. To know is to penetrate into the being, the nature, the relation,
and the purpose of anything. But let us not forget that we are speaking here of
the knowledge of God, of divine, of eternal, of infinitely perfect, of
sovereign knowledge. God does not know things because He takes cognizance of
them, because He perceives and investigates them. He knows all things in and
through Himself. Things are because He knows them. His knowledge is first and
things are a copy, a revelation of them. And, therefore, God's knowledge is not
in part and momentary, but complete and eternal. All that is, all that ever
was, all that ever shall be, He has eternally in mind. Clearly they stand
before His divine consciousness.
We have only a little, momentary snapshot of the works of God, very much
limited by space and time, as well as by the capacity of our knowledge. But God
knows the whole and every part of it in its proper place and purpose and
significance. He knows creation in its relation to and significance for
redemption; He knows sin in its relation to the manifestation of grace; He
knows Adam as the figure of Him that was to come; He knows death as a means
unto the more abundant life; He knows the suffering of this present time in its
significance for the exceeding weight of glory; He knows the "alpha"
in its relation to theThe Only Adorable God 13
"omega," the beginning and the end, and all that must lead from the beginning to the end. All this knowledge is eternally before God's consciousness. We are, at any one moment, conscious of only a small part of our actual store of knowledge. The rest does not cross the threshold of our consciousness. But in God there is no sub-consciousness. He knows all things that are and were and shall be eternally with a perfectly conscious knowledge. Always they are before His divine mind.
So we can understand that God's ways are perfect and infallible, and that He never retraces His steps. We often do. We try to make something, and in the process of making it we discover something too late, something that we should have taken into consideration in the construction of what we are attempting to make. The result is that we make mistakes, that we have to retrace our steps and do things over. With God this is never the case. All things are known to Him from the beginning. His decisions are infallible. His ways are perfect. His mind is His alone. No one ever knew it. It is sovereign. All things are through Him only. He is the infallible Artificer!
Let us not forget that we have only tried to stammer a little about the infinite knowledge of God. As we discussed the glorious contents of these three chapters of the book of Romans, we saw a little of it, and that little was even glorious and adorable. But at the same time we realize that behind and beyond that little which we see and attempt to understand of the knowledge of God there is an infinite mystery, there are unfathomable depths, so that the end of our contemplation is pure adoration of the Most High: "0 the depth of knowledge! Who hath known the mind of the Lord? How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out! To Him be glory for ever!"
The Sole End of All Things
Thus we understand, too, that
all things must needs be unto Him. He is the sole End of all things.
That is, their only purpose is that they shall show forth His praises and
manifest and sing His glory. I would emphasize this. He is the only End
of all things, not merely the highest, but the sole purpose. Not
the happiness of the creature is the end of all things, even though the
creature is supremely blessed when it may willingly serve this purpose, the
glory of God. Not even our salvation is the end, although it is salvation,
indeed, that we may sing of, to the glory of the Most High. No, God, and He
alone, is the End.
Who or what else could be? Is not He the only Good and the overflowing Fountain
of all good? Is not He the only One who is absolutely desirable, at whose right
hand alone there are pleasures forevermore? Is not He the implication of all
infinite perfections, the only Light, in whom there is no darkness at all? Is
there, then, any God or Good above Him or next to Him or under Him, that could
be called an end of all things? And is He not the Beginning of all things, and
therefore also the End? Is there, then, in all the wide creation, or will there
be in the new heavens and the new earth, any goodness, any perfection, any
beauty, or any glory that is not a reflection of His glory, and that,
therefore, must point to Him as its eternal Source?
So it is: "all things are unto Him." They all return to Him, even as
they are out of Him and through Him. They all point to Him as God, as the
eternal and only Good. Just as all the rays of the sun, if you but trace them,
point to the sun, so all things in their purpose and end point to God. That is
really the meaning of the expression "all things are unto Him." They
all speak of Him. They all declare His glory. If you but look at them rightly,
contemplate them in the right light, you will find that they all point to Him
and say, "There He is, the inexhaustible Fountain, infinite in riches, of
whom are all things; the infallible Artificer, through whom are all things; the
only God, adorable for ever!"
And again, this is true of all things. Do not mistake the meaning of
these words. They do not say that all things will be unto Him, when once
they are finished in the new heavens and the new earth. Oh, it is true that
then we shall behold the reality of this truth as now we can only embrace it by
faith. Then the present darkness shall be dissipated and we shall walk in the
light of His countenance in perfection and we shall see face to face, and in
seeing we shall be blessed forevermore. But the text does not refer to this
only. It declares that all things are unto Him. The statement is true
now. They are, they always were, and they always shall be unto Him. There never
was a moment in history when all things were not unto Him, and unto Him alone.
There never was, nor is, nor shall be a creature that is not unto Him, whether
it is such consciously or unconsciously, willingly or in spite of its own
intentions. All things in heaven and on earth, in all their history and
development, things in creation and things in redemption, good things and evil
things, angels and devils, righteous and wicked, grace and sin, life and death,
heaven and hell — all things were and are and forever shall be unto Him! Such
is the scheme of things in time and in eternity. They must all be subservient
to the manifestation and glorification of His infinite riches!
This can never fail. For even as God is infinite in knowledge, so there is no end to His wisdom. 0 the depth of wisdom! And, mark you well, it is His wisdom alone that is the cause of the scheme of all things. For "who hath been His counselor?"
Wisdom differs from knowledge. It is that virtue of God according to which He devised and works out all things according to a scheme in which all things are perfectly adapted to one another, and according to which they are together adapted to the highest manifestation of the glory of the Most High. That, the highest possible revelation of His goodness, the highest possible creaturely realization of His own covenant-life of divine friendship in His eternal tabernacle, is His purpose. And unto the realization of that purpose, His own glory, all things are adapted. Christ, the elect church, reprobation, angels and devils, creation and the Fall, sin and death, grace and redemption, the incarnation and the cross, the resurrection and the exaltation, the final catastrophe and the creation of the new heavens and the new earth — all things are given their own place in God's eternal counsel, and are worked out accordingly, so that they all tend harmoniously to that one end: God Himself! For all things are yours, and ye are Christ's, and Christ is God's! Oh, the depth of wisdom! All things are unto Him!
And, beloved, because that is
God's scheme of things, because no one ever gave Him counsel, and because in
His infinite wisdom He arranged all things in such a way that He is the End of
them all, therefore there is but one proper position for us to take in the
midst of all things, and that is the position in which we gladly and willingly
and adoringly take upon our lips the final doxology, which constitutes the
close of our text and of the whole of this section of the epistle to the
Romans: "to whom be glory for ever, Amen!"
You see, this is, indeed, the basic note of all things, now and forever. It
does not make any difference, as to the fact, whether you and I confess this or
deny it. Such is surely God's plan for things. All things are surely unto Him.
That is true of sin and death. That is true of the devil and his demons. That
is true of "the world" and all the powers of darkness. That shall be
eternally true of hell and the damned. All things shall forever declare that He
is God, and that He is Good, the Light in whom there is no darkness at all. All
things are unto Him, whether you shall sing it out in eternal joy, or witness
of it by your wailing and the gnashing of your teeth.
But there is a difference. It is the awful audacity and shame, but also the
unspeakable folly of sin, that it makes us stand in the midst of this divine
scheme of all things and say, "I deny it." That is, indeed, sin! That
is the pride and conceit of the devil, that it imagines and acts and speaks as
if it could twist and distort and change this divine scheme in such a way that
all things are unto the creature. That is the lie! "Ye shall be like
God!" It is the pride of the devil, and of all that are in alliance with
him, that they declare: "We will make all things end in us, point to us, glorify
us, and we will stand in the midst of God's plan for things and deny that all
things are unto Him!" But that is, at the same time, the inexpressible
folly of sin. For God's plan is unalterable. He does not change. He will
declare His power and glory in realizing forever His own scheme of all things.
He always reaches His purpose, in time and in eternity. And the only result for
the wicked, who stands awry in the midst of the divine scheme of all things, is
that all things work against him, work to his eternal destruction, crush him
into everlasting desolation and outer darkness!
The fundamental question, therefore, as far as your and my eternal salvation and blessedness are concerned, is whether our position, our spiritual ethical attitude, is in accord with this divine plan and end of all things, the only end we must surely serve. God's counsel you can never change. Glorify Him you shall, whether willingly and in eternal bliss, or in spite of yourselves and in eternal desolation. Another purpose than the glory of God there is not, in heaven or in earth or in hell, and there never will be. All things are unto Him!
Blessed, therefore, is the man who has his delight in that only scheme of all things, and who joins in with the doxology of the close of our text: "to whom be glory for ever, Amen!" That is life from death. That is light from darkness. That is resurrection. That is eternal life. That is heavenly bliss. And that is the marvelous fruit of the grace of the Lord Jesus! Grace it is that makes us worthy of this blessed life, that expresses itself forever in adoration of God. Grace it is that so changes our inmost heart and our whole life, that instead of denying we confess, instead of cursing we bless, instead of raising our rebellious fists in the face of the Almighty we fall prostrate before Him in the dust and cry out: "God, be merciful to me, a sinner." That outcry is the principal indication that our position has been changed from one of opposition into one of harmony with God's own scheme of all things. In that position we are ready to take this doxology upon our lips: "to Him be glory for ever, Amen!" And in thus declaring the praises of the Most High we shall forever be blessed!
Amen.