John Calvin:
Suffering
Chapter 2 - Treasuring up bright designs
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The second chapter, entitled "Treasuring up
bright designs", focused on God's sovereignty in all situations.
"If God is not in some sense
responsible for bad things, then he is not responsible for good things either.
If we do not "blame" God for death, we should not praise God for
life. We cannot have it both ways." Joseph Hill
1. God
governs all things at all times
Because of this.... the true believer has nothing
to fear....
- 3For it is He who delivers you from the snare of
the trapper And from the deadly pestilence. 4He will cover you with His
pinions, And under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield
and bulwark. 5You will not be afraid of the terror by night, Or of the arrow
that flies by day; 6Of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, Or of the
destruction that lays waste at noon. Psalm 91:3-6
- 6The LORD is for me; I will not fear; What can
man do to me? Psalm 118:6
- 3Though a host encamp against me, My heart will
not fear; Though war arise against me, In spite of this I shall be confident.
Psalm 27:3
- 4Even though I walk through the valley of the
shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff,
they comfort me. Psalm 23:4
- 30"But the very hairs of your head are all
numbered." Matt 10:30
- 1The LORD reigns, He is clothed with majesty;
The LORD has clothed and girded Himself with strength; Indeed, the world is
firmly established, it will not be moved. 2Your throne is established from of
old; You are from everlasting. Psalm 93:1-2
Other verses on God's sovereignty:
Over our lives:
- Psalm 139:16 - 16 your eyes saw my unformed
body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them
came to be.
- Psalm 139:13 - 13 For you created my inmost
being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.
- Psalm 139:4 - 4 Before a word is on my tongue
you know it completely, O LORD.
- Matthew 10:30 - 30And even the very hairs of
your head are all numbered.
Over our circumstances:
- Lamentations 3:34-38 - 34 To crush underfoot
all prisoners in the land, 35 to deny a man his rights before the Most High, 36
to deprive a man of justice would not the Lord see such things? 37 Who
can speak and have it happen if the Lord has not decreed it? 38 Is it not from
the mouth of the Most High that both calamities and good things come?
- Acts 2:23 - 23This man was handed over to you
by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men,
put him to death by nailing him to the cross.
- Exodus 4:11 - 11 The LORD said to him,
"Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight
or makes him blind? Is it not I, the LORD ?
- Amos 3:6 - 6 When a trumpet sounds in a city,
do not the people tremble? When disaster comes to a city, has not the LORD
caused it?
- Matthew 10:29 - 29Are not two sparrows sold for
a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of
your Father.
Over World Leaders:
- Proverbs 21 :1 - The king's heart is in the hand
of the LORD; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases.
- John 19:11 - 11Jesus answered, "You would
have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one
who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin."
His Purposes fulfilled:
- Proverbs 16:4 - 4 The LORD works out everything
for his own ends even the wicked for a day of disaster.
- Psalm 115:3 - 3 Our God is in heaven; he does
whatever pleases him.
2. God is exalted and glorious
but cares about his people
"The Calvinist is one who has seen God in
his glory, is filled, on the one hand, with a sense of his unworthiness to
stand in God's sight as a creature, much more as a sinner, and on the other
hand, with adoring wonder, that nevertheless, this God is a God who receives
sinners." Benjamin B. Warfield
- 4The LORD is high above all nations; His glory
is above the heavens. 5Who is like the LORD our God, Who is enthroned on high,
6Who humbles Himself to behold The things that are in heaven and in the earth?
7He raises the poor from the dust And lifts the needy from the ash heap, 8To
make them sit with princes, With the princes of His people. 9He makes the
barren woman abide in the house As a joyful mother of children. Praise the
LORD! Psalm 113:4-9
- 4The LORD is in His holy temple; the LORD'S
throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men. Psalm
11:4
3. God takes notice of his people in their times of
trouble
"Nothing is more profitable for us than to
have our eyes continually set upon the providence of God, which alone can best
provide for us everything we need". John Calvin
- 18The LORD knows the days of the blameless, And
their inheritance will be forever. 19They will not be ashamed in the time of
evil, And in the days of famine they will have abundance. Psalm 37:18-19
4. God is always the supreme cause of all that
happens
- 6Whatever the LORD pleases, He does, In heaven
and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps. Psalm 135:6
- "God is the primary cause of all that
happens, the bad as well as the good - though he is not the author of
sin."
- "We no doubt all agree that
the world is governed by the hand of God, but if this truth were deeply rooted
in our hearts, then our faith would be distinguished by far greater steadiness
and perseverance in overcoming the temptations with which we are assailed in
times of adversity. But when the smallest temptation which we meet dislodges
this doctrine from our minds, it is clear that we have not been truly and in
good earnest convinced of its truth."
- "The forces of evil can neither conceive
any mischief, nor plan what the have conceived, nor, however much they have
planned, move a single finger to perpetrate, except so far as God permits; no,
except so far as He commands. They are not only bound by fetters, but also are
even forced to do God service."
- "Pay attention to God's
control, even of the ungodly, and you will at once perceive that ignorance of
divine providence is the greatest of all miseries, and the knowledge of it the
greatest happiness."
- "Certainty about God's providence helps us
in all adversities. Since God is the supreme cause of all that happens to us,
we should rest content, knowing that God wills all things for our
advantage."
- "There is no more effective
remedy for anger and impatience than meditation on divine
providence."
- "When we are unjustly assailed by men, we
must overlook their malice and remember to ascend to God and hold firmly to the
knowledge that whatever an enemy has wickedly committed against us was
permitted and send by God's righteous indignation."
5. Good people suffer, too
- 6Whatever the LORD pleases, He does, In heaven
and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps. Psalm 135:6
- The prosperity of the wicked, in which they
greatly rejoice, should by no means trouble the children of God, because it
will soon fade away. On the other hand, although the people of God may be
afflicted for a time, they still will have every reason to be contented with
their lot. All this depends on the providence of God, for unless we are
convinced that he governs the world in righteousness and truth, our minds will
soon stagger and at length completely fail us.
- See Psalm 37.....
6. Does God inflict suffering on his people?
- Nothing, including human suffering, happens by
chance......
- In Psalm 88, the psalmist acknowledges that
whatever adversities he endured proceeded from the divine hand: Psalm 88:6-9 -
6 You have put me in the lowest pit, in the darkest depths. 7 Your wrath lies
heavily upon me; you have overwhelmed me with all your waves. Selah 8 You have
taken from me my closest friends and have made me repulsive to them. I am
confined and cannot escape; 9 my eyes are dim with grief. I call to you, O
LORD, every day; I spread out my hands to you.
- Psalm 37:23-24 - 23 If the LORD delights in a
man's way, he makes his steps firm; 24 though he stumble, he will not fall, for
the LORD upholds him with his hand.
- Proverbs 24:16 - 16 for though a righteous man
falls seven times, he rises again, but the wicked are brought down by
calamity.
- Psalm 39:9 - 9 I was silent; I would not open my
mouth, for you are the one who has done this.
- Scarcely one in a hundred
recognizes in his troubles the hand of God. So men allow themselves to indulge
in bitter complaints without ever thinking they offend God in doing so....
David keeps silent because he knows the affliction he is suffering is from the
hand of God.
- See Psalm 71 - the author attributes his
troubles to God's providential dealings, but also acknowledges God's gracious
deliverance in vv20-21: Psalm 71:20-21 - 20 Though you have made me see
troubles, many and bitter, you will restore my life again; from the depths of
the earth you will again bring me up. 21 You will increase my honor and comfort
me once again.
- Consider the Book of Job - For all the
afflictions that come to Job were not simply by the permission of God; but God
willed them to test the patience of his servant. It is therefore God who
afflicted Job. Now, by whose hand was Job afflicted? We see that the devil was
the agent of all this, and still he can do nothing except in so far as God
commands him. And Job, when he was thus beaten down, know well that it was with
God that he had a dispute.
- 1st Century Christians who suffered persecution
relied on 1 Peter 3:17 - "17It is better, if it is God's will, to suffer
for doing good than for doing evil." Calvin comments that if we suffer
justly, it is not by chance, but by divine will. So the faithful always have
this comfort in their miseries, they know they have God as their witness, and
they know also that they are led by him to the conflict in order that they may,
under his protection, give proof of their faith.
7. God's providence cannot be fully grasped
- 1 Corinthians 3:12 - "12Now we see but a
poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in
part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. "
- Calvin makes much of the mystery of God's will,
which is ultimately incomprehensible.
- When it appears God has "left me",
like the Psalmist (Psalm 88:5 - 5 I am set apart with the dead, like the slain
who lie in the grave, whom you remember no more, who are cut off from your
care.)
- Although we cannot fully comprehend God's
providence in our lives, especially in our personal adversities, sorrow and
distress, we can take courage that God is not only sovereign over all things
and events, but also infinitely gracious, and that in due tine "He will
make it plain".
- When sorrow or distress or pain press hard upon
us, we can take comfort in the Lord's promise to Joshua (Joshua 1:5 - 5 No one
will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with
Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. ) and in
the assurance that God not only regards our sorrows but keeps them in
remembrance.
- Psalm 56:8 - 8 Record my lament; list my tears
on your scroll are they not in your record?
- Matt 10:30 - 30And even the very hairs of your
head are all numbered.
- Consider Paul's' "hymn to God's
providence" - Romans 8
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