{"id":24030,"date":"2025-01-20T23:13:02","date_gmt":"2025-01-20T23:13:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/?p=24030"},"modified":"2025-01-20T23:13:02","modified_gmt":"2025-01-20T23:13:02","slug":"opposed-to-gods-sovereign-determinations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/2025\/01\/opposed-to-gods-sovereign-determinations\/","title":{"rendered":"Opposed To God\u2019s Sovereign Determinations"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cAnd all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath.\u201d\u2014Luke 4:28<\/strong><\/p>\n

Human nature, how low fallen in misery and wretchedness; yet how high doth it rise in pride! Though the meek Lamb of God is the preacher of sovereign grace and distinguishing love, yet the wrath of man dares to exalt itself against his doctrine. Fury bursts forth like fire, vengeance and resentment break the bounds of the law of God and man, and would instantly have put Jesus to death.<\/p>\n

Pride is the firstborn of Lucifer. \u2018Ye shall be as gods,\u2019 hath tainted our whole nature with the cursed leaven, and will be the last enemy that is destroyed in us. Out of the abundance of pride in the heart, the mouth is opened against God\u2019s sovereign grace, discriminating love, and divine dispensations. \u2018Be still, and know that I am God,\u2019 is a lesson the proud nature of man is averse to. \u2018I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy,\u2019 though spoken from the mouth of the Lord, yet the hearts of sinners rise in wrath against it. They look with an evil eye upon the good pleasure of the Lord: dare challenge and call in question his truths, and his dealings with the children of men.<\/p>\n

Disciple, this day, a real likeness, a true picture of thy proud nature is presented to thy view. Behold thyself in thy proud brethren. See thy natural aversion to the sovereignty of God\u2019s truths, and thy Saviour\u2019s doctrines. All these worshipping Jews, priests as well as people, conceived wrath even in God\u2019s house: yea, their teeming hearts were filled with it against Jesus, a man who told them the truth. The histories of the Sareptan widow and Naaman the Assyrian, they were well acquainted with, but could not bear the doctrine contained in them. Good Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart: do we not feel the stirrings of it also? Oh what cause, what daily cause for his practice. Stout words proceed from unhumbled hearts. When our voices are heard on high against God\u2019s sovereign determinations, it is a sad proof that our hearts are not laid low with a sight and sense of being guilty before God. Those who challenge God\u2019s purposes, have some plea founded upon their own imaginary goodness. \u2018Be clothed with humility; for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.\u2019 1 Pet. 5:5<\/p>\n

Shall man reply against the Lord,<\/p>\n

And call his Maker\u2019s ways unjust?<\/p>\n

The thunder of his dreadful word<\/p>\n

Can crush a thousand worlds to dust.<\/p>\n

But, oh my soul, if truth so bright\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Should dazzle and confound thy sight,<\/p>\n

Yet still his written will obey,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And wait the great decisive day.<\/p>\n

<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Human nature, how low fallen in misery and wretchedness; yet how high doth it rise in pride! Though the meek Lamb of God is the preacher of sovereign grace and distinguishing love, yet the wrath of man dares to exalt itself against his doctrine. Fury bursts forth like fire, vengeance and resentment break the bounds of the law of God and man, and would instantly have put Jesus to death.<\/p>\n

Pride is the firstborn of Lucifer. \u2018Ye shall be as gods,\u2019 hath tainted our whole nature with the cursed leaven, and will be the last enemy that is destroyed in us. Out of the abundance of pride in the heart, the mouth is opened against God\u2019s sovereign grace, discriminating love, and divine dispensations. \u2018Be still, and know that I am God,\u2019 is a lesson the proud nature of man is averse to. \u2018I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy,\u2019 though spoken from the mouth of the Lord, yet the hearts of sinners rise in wrath against it. They look with an evil eye upon the good pleasure of the Lord: dare challenge and call in question his truths, and his dealings with the children of men.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":325,"featured_media":20656,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[1571],"tags":[1197],"class_list":["post-24030","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-william-mason","tag-spiritual-growth"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24030","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/325"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24030"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24030\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24031,"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24030\/revisions\/24031"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20656"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24030"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24030"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24030"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}