“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?” (Daniel 4:35)
God is the supreme Cause and Author of all benefits bestowed on his creation. He is the perpetual Fountain of all goodness, the Giver of every good gift (James 1:17). As the psalmist declares, “The Lord is good to all, and his tender mercies are over all his works,” (Psa. 145:9, 16).
Benefits we receive throughout the course of our life may appear to come more immediately and directly through this or that channel. But we must recognize that all benefits originally flow from God, who is goodness itself. He is the infinite source of all blessings, for Scripture declares it is his own sovereign bounty and goodness that bestows them.
It was out of the depths of God’s sovereign goodness that he even purposed to make man, to give life and being to him, and to bestow benefits on him (Acts 17:26). He certainly did not make the world out of any need or deficit of his own, for he is infinitely, unchangeably self-sufficient and all-sufficient. Rather, the whole of creation was the result of his voluntary purpose to display his glorious perfections and communicate his goodness. “For his pleasure all things are and were created,” (Rev. 4:11).
Of course, the greatest gift God ever chose to bestow on humanity is the gift of his Son, Christ Jesus, whom he determined “before the foundation of the world” would die for the salvation of sinful men. After Adam’s choice to disobey God’s law in the Garden that introduced his wrath and the sentence of eternal death on mankind, God could have chosen to glorify himself and his righteousness by making all humanity inconceivably and eternally miserable from that moment forward.
But instead he chose to subject his Only Begotten Son to a shameful, accursed death to purchase pardon, grace and eternal blessedness for his elect. Only God’s most free, sovereign bounty and goodness could have put him on such a covenant promise as this. William Gouge said, “The sure prop that man has to rest on God for happiness is by reason of his covenant.”[1]
For nothing but his infinite, sovereign grace and goodness could move him to pay such an expensive price in order to allow sinners who rightly deserved endless torments in hell the opportunity to experience the inconceivable glories of heaven. God so loved the world, as to give his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have everlasting life, (John 3:16).
Contemplations:
- Lord, you are the Sovereign creator of all, the preserver of all life, and the sole source of all human strength and ability. So it follows that we, in turn, ought to gladly “spend and be spent” for you and the glory and advancement of your kingdom.
- Surely, Lord, it is a tribute to your free, sovereign grace and bounty that in and through the mediation of Jesus Christ I have opportunity to enjoy a bounty of spiritual blessing and benefit which are now mine through him.
- Lord, it is the sovereign goodness in Christ that, in spite of my deserved destruction, he promises to receive me to favor and make me eternally happy if I submit to the most reasonable and gracious terms which he offers me.
- Lord, I know that Christ is reconciling men to himself. He does not call men to seek him in vain but declares there is forgiveness with him that he may be feared (Psalm 130:4). I am both amazed and grateful that you are a rewarder of those that diligently seek you (Heb. 11:6).
Further References for Daniel 4:35:
Job 9:12; Psalm 135:6; Isa. 14:27; Rom. 9:20
[1] William Gouge, A Learned and Very Useful Commentary on the Whole Epistle to the Hebrews, (London: A.M., T.W. and S.G., 1655), 252.
