Terrible Majesty

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JM

Puritan Board Doctor
This is an intro to a meditation By Gerrit Vos I found in Rock of Grace Exalter, May 2001 #3.

Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth. Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Romans 9:18-20

There is more and more religion in this world, but less of the fear of God.

There are more and more churches built and congregations organized, but less true calling on the name of Jehovah.

God is becoming more and more the Great Stranger among men.

Millions of Bibles are printed and distributed, but few of them are read.

Many read the Bible, but few believe.

Many believe the Bible, but very few believe all of Scripture. They conveniently omit parts, because they hate them.

My text is one of those parts of Holy Scripture that are hated, hated very cordially.

There are some in this God-forsaken age who know that no man can be saved except he believe the whole Bible, and so they set themselves to corrupt portions such as this one. They then believe their corruptions, thinking they believe the Bible.

But it is not true.

As a child I heard men say that ministers should preach the whole counsel of God! Well, portions such as this belong to the whole counsel of God. Men should believe them, and worship. Portions such as these teach a God that is God indeed. There can be no other God. It belongs to the Godhead to be this terrible.

Elihu sensed this, and cried out, "With God is terrible majesty" (Job 37:22).

Yes, it is so: with Him is a terrible majesty. He is the only One who is majestic. He is the only Sovereign. He doeth all His good-pleasure.

God grant that we choose not pretty speeches when talking about this terrible text. In short, our Maker would destroy us.

We must, we shall, let God be God.

[THE CLOSE OF THE MEDITATION]

God is sovereign, absolutely sovereign.

What is man? A speck of dust. A filthy speck at that. It is his filth that makes him take God to task. We shudder when we say it. God is God.

Yet there is argument in the clause: Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? There is a beautiful argument in it. It is this: God is above all reproach. God is above all evil. God is wholly and exclusively beautiful and lovely, attractive and comely. He cannot do anything that is wrong!

Do you not see that the question of the reprobate casts a slur on the beautiful Godhead? Do you not see that, if it were true what this man said, there would not be a God?

Attend to this; it is the most important sentence in this whole meditation: It is impossible for God to be anything but good; it is impossible for God to do anything but good!

What has the wicked rejoinder proven?

This: the reprobate has shown in his wicked question that he has a reprobate mind.

If holy angels in heaven cover their faces because of so much beauty in the Godhead, what shall we then do?

Let us worship. Oh, let us worship!
 
The God Of Imagination

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How different is the God of the Bible from the God of modern Christendom! The conception of Deity which prevails most widely today, even among those who profess to give heed to the Scriptures, is a miserable caricature, a blasphemous travesty of the Truth. The God of the twentieth century is a helpless, effeminate being who commands the respect of no really thoughtful man. The God of the popular mind is the creation of a maudlin sentimentality. The God of many a present-day pulpit is an object of pity rather than of awe-inspiring reverence.[1] To say that God the Father has purposed the salvation of all mankind, that God the Son died with the express intention of saving the whole human race, and that God the Holy Spirit is now seeking to win the world to Christ; when, as a matter of common observation, it is apparent that the great majority of our fellow-men are dying in sin, and passing into a hopeless eternity: is to say that God the Father is disappointed, that God the Son is dissatisfied, and that God the Holy Spirit is defeated. We have stated the issue baldly, but there is no escaping the conclusion. To argue that God is "trying His best" to save all mankind, but that the majority of men will not let Him save them, is to insist that the will of the Creator is impotent, and that the will of the creature is omnipotent. To throw the blame, as many do, upon the Devil, does not remove the difficulty, for if Satan is defeating the purpose of God, then, Satan is Almighty and God is no longer the Supreme Being.

A.W. PINK
 
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