Daniel 4:35 And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he does according to his will in the army of heaven… In times of discouragement and trial, the church itself is not free from distressing doubts and anxieties respecting the overruling hand of God. The Psalmist could say, under the impulse of bewildering temptations, "Hath God forgotten to be gracious?" and Zion, in the hour of calamity, could pour forth the doubting and the doleful waft, "Surely God hath forsaken me, and my God hath forgotten me!" The mind, buried in the depths of its present cares, and bowed down by the burden of oppressive and painful thoughts, is unfitted for taking those large views of the Divine character and works, which are alone just in themselves, and able to give calm and quiet to the soul. Who is there among the sons of the mighty, angel or archangel, cherubim or seraphim, that can understand the mind of the Lord? They see His works, they wonder, they adore, but they confess that He is "past finding out." And "canst thou," a creature lower than angels, lower by creation, lower still by the fall, "canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty to perfection?" No. Show thyself a man, and acknowledge, with one whom you need not be ashamed to follow, "when I thought to know this, it was too hard for me." I. THE DOCTRINE OF THE TEXT. It embraces the Divine sovereignty and the Divine working. Much as men dislike the sovereignty of God, it may be argued from His very existence. Is He a self-existent, omnipotent, eternal Being, then absolute sovereignty is His essential and inalienable right We see this in the work of nature. Who created the earth? who preserves it and all that it contains? Do we not in Him live and move and have our being? Are we not dependent upon Him every day and at every moment? And is He not, then, the Supreme Governor? We see His sovereignty in the kingdom of grace. If we are now His people, what was there in any of us to merit His esteem? But the words also set forth the Divine working. Yet it is a doctrine which not a few have openly denied and many secretly disbelieve. That God has been at work in the world of which we are inhabitants, and in the mighty fields of space which spread around us, is too evident for most men to deny. And I must pass on to say that he who would exclude God from the world of providence might as well exclude Him from the world of nature. He who can attribute the events which are continually coming to pass to human agent, is not less an unbeliever than the man who ascribes the birth and being of the universe to the dance of atoms or an unknown chance. The Divine attributes of truth, righteousness, and holiness are just as clear in the arrangements of the moral world as the characters of His eternal power and Godhead are graven in strong and striking lines upon the natural world. The path of Divine Providence may be often trackless, yet here and there justice or mercy has raised a monument to mark its course. From a humble consideration of the mysterious method in which God is pleased to carry out His vast designs, we may learn many a valuable lesson; it may deepen our humility, it may call faith into more vigorous play, it may increase our admiration of a Being who, whilst wonderful in counsel, is excellent in working. Are we willing to stand by and see our hopes frustrated, our notions contradicted, and our views thwarted? Then have we learned what human wisdom could not teach, and what human pride would never stoop to learn. He works by means of His own choosing, and yet He works effectually. The process may be so slow that unbelievers shall take occasion to triumph, the means be so weak that the world shall laugh them to scorn; the mode in which He works shall be so His own that no ingenuity of man can comprehend it, and yet the issue of the whole is errs, "I will perform all My pleasure." II. Let us now consider the declaration of the text. "None can stay His hand or say, what doest Thou?" The declaration supposes opposition, and we ought to be prepared to witness a conflict. Doubtless, so far as power is concerned, this opposition might have been crushed in the bud by the omnipotence of Him against whom it is arrayed. But omnipotence has no need thus to anticipate the designs of its enemies. The throne and authority of God are not to be endangered by the collective force of all created beings, and, therefore, He can afford, shall I say, to let wickedness run its course, exert all its violence, to rise and swell to the utmost limits of its strength, to proceed for ages in its bold and impious career, and then with a word or with a look rebuke its arrogance, expose its native weakness, and lay its power in the dust "none can stay His hand." The very opposition of men and devils shall but serve more abundantly to illustrate His omnipotence and wisdom. "Let Satan tear up the whole fabric of human happiness and virtue to its foundation; let man become the foolish ally of this his bitterest foe; let all nature be moved from its course; still I will counteract the mischief, will repair the ruin, will restore all things, will gain to Myself a glorious name, and 'who shall hinder it?'" It is not to be denied that the whole history of the world, to the present time, is but the history of one continued effort to resist and thwart the purpose of the Most High. But this resistance, fierce as it has proved, has only served to unfold more clearly the nature of that purpose against which it has been turned. Truly, God foresaw how dreadfully the children of men would set themselves against Him when He sent forth His Son, His only Son, to seek and to save the long (S. Bridge, M.A.) Parallel Verses KJV: And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou? |
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