Chapter 9 The Power of God We cannot have a right conception of God unless we think of Him as all-powerful, as well as all-wise. He who cannot do what He will and perform all His pleasure cannot be God. As God hath a will to resolve what He deems good, so hath He power to execute His will. Quoting Stephen Charnock, The power of God is that ability and strength whereby he can bring to pass whatsoever he pleases, whatsoever his infinite wisdom may direct, and whatsoever the infinite purity of his will may resolve. As holiness is the beauty of all God's attributes, so power is that which gives life and action to all the perfections of the divine nature. How vain would be the eternal counsels if power did not step in to execute them. Without power, his mercy would be but feeble pity. His promises an empty sound. His threatening is a mere scarecrow. God's power is like himself, infinite, eternal, incomprehensible. It can neither be checked, restrained, nor frustrated by the creature. " God hath spoken once, twice have I heard this, that power belongeth unto God. Psalm 62 verse 11. God hath spoken once. Nothing more is necessary. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but his word abideth forever. God hath spoken once. How befitting his divine majesty! We poor mortals may speak often, and yet fail to be heard. He speaks but once, and the thunder of his power is heard on a thousand hills. The Lord also thundered in the heavens, and the highest gave his voice, hailstones and coals of fire. Yea, he sent out his arrows and scattered them, and he shot out lightnings and discomforted them. Then the channels of water were seen, and the foundations of the world were discovered at thy rebuke, O Lord, at the blast of the breath of thy nostrils. Psalm 18 verses 13 to 15. God hath spoken once, behold his unchanging authority. For who in the heavens can be compared unto the Lord? Who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the Lord? Psalm 89 verse 6 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. This was openly displayed when God became incarnate and tabernacled among men. To the leper He said, I will be thou clean, and immediately his leprosy was cleaned. Matthew 8 verse 3. To one who had lain in the grave four days, He cried, Lazarus, come forth! And the dead came forth, The stormy wind and the angry wave were hushed at a single word from him. A legion of demons could not resist his authoritative command. Power belongeth unto God and to him alone. Not a creature in the entire universe has an atom of power save what God delegates. But God's power is not acquired, nor does it depend upon any recognition by any other authority. It belongs to him inherently. Quoting C.H. Spurgeon, quote, God's power is like himself, self-existent, self-sustained. The mightiest of men cannot add so much as a shadow of increased power to the omnipotent one. He sits on no buttress throne and leans on no assisting arm. His court is not maintained by his courtiers. nor does it borrow its splendor from his creatures. He is himself the great central source and originator of all power." Not only does all creation bear witness to the great power of God, but also to his entire independency of all created things. Listen to his own challenge. Where was thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if thou hast understanding, who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest, or who hath stretched the line upon it? Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened, or who will laid the cornerstone thereof? Job 38 verses 4 to 6 How completely is the pride of man laid in the dust? quoting Stephen Charnock, quote, Power is also used as a name of God, the Son of Man sitting in the right hand of power, Mark 14, 62. That is, at the right hand of God, God and power are so inseparable that they are reciprocated. As His essence is immense, not to be confined in place, as it is eternal, not to be measured in time, so it is almighty not to be limited in regard of action, end quote. Lo, these are parts of his ways, but how little a portion is heard of him! But the thunder of his power who can understand? Job 26.14 Who is able to count all the monuments of his power? Even that which is displayed of his might in the visible creation is utterly beyond our powers of comprehension. still less are we able to conceive of omnipotence itself. There is infinitely more power lodged in the nature of God than is expressed in all His works. Part of His ways we behold in creation, providence, redemption, but only a little part of His might is seen in them. Remarkably is this brought out in Habakkuk 3 verse 4, and there was the hiding of His power. It is scarcely possible to imagine anything more grandieloquent than the imagery of this whole chapter, yet nothing in it surpasses the nobility of this statement. The Prophet envisioned beheld the mighty God scattering the hills and overturning the mountains. Which one would think afforded an amazing demonstration of His power. Nay, says our verse, that it is rather the hiding than the displaying of His power. What is meant? This, so inconceivable, so immense, so uncontrollable, is the power of Deity that the fearful convulsions which He works in nature conceal more than they reveal of His infinite power and might. It is very beautiful to link together the following passages. He walketh upon the waves of the sea, Job 9.8, which expresses God's uncontrollable power. He walketh in the circuit of heaven, Job 22.14, which tells of the immensity of His presence. He walketh upon the wings of the wind, Psalm 104.3, which signifies the amazing swiftness of His operations. This last expression is very remarkable. It is not that he flyeth or runneth, but that he walketh, and that on the very wings of the wind, on the most impetuous of elements, tossed into utmost rage, and sweeping along with almost inconceivable rapidity, yet they are under his feet, beneath his perfect control. Let us now consider God's power in creation. The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine. As for the world and the fullness thereof, thou hast founded them. The north and the south thou hast created them. Psalm 89 verses 11 and 12. Before man can work he must have both tools and materials. But God began with nothing, and by his word alone out of nothing made all things. the intellect cannot grasp it God spake and it was done he commanded and it stood fast Psalm 33 verse 9 primeval matter heard his voice God said let there be and it was so Genesis 1 well may we exclaim thou hast a mighty arm strong is thy hand high is thy right hand Psalm 89 verse 13 quoting James Hervey 1789 quote Who that looks upward to the midnight sky, and with an eye of reason beholds its rolling wonders? Who can forbear inquiring of what were their mighty orbs formed? Amazing to relate, they were produced without materials. They sprung from emptiness itself. The stately fabric of universal nature emerged out of nothing. What instruments were used by the supreme architect to fashion the parts with such exquisite niceness and give so beautifully polished to the whole? How was it all connected into one finely proportioned and nobly finished structure? A bare fiat accomplished all. Let them be, said God. He added no more, and at once the marvelous edifice arose, adorned with every beauty, displaying innumerable perfections, and declaring, amidst enraptured seraphs, its great Creator's praise. By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth. Psalm 33 verse 6, end quote. Consider God's power in preservation. No creature has power to preserve itself. Can the rush grow up without mire? Can the flag grow up without water? Job 8, 11. Both man and beast would perish if there were not herbs for food, and herbs would wither and die if the earth were not refreshed with fruitful showers. Therefore is God called the preserver of man and beast. Psalm 36 verse 6. He upholdeth all things by the word of his power. Hebrews 1 3. What a marvel of divine power is the prenatal life of every human being. that an infant can live at all and for so many months in such cramped and filthy quarters and that without breathing is unaccountable without the power of God. Truly He holdeth our soul in life. Psalm 66 verse 9. The preservation of the earth from the violence of the sea is another plain instance of God's might. How is it that raging elements kept pent within those limits wherein He first lodged it continuing its channel without overflowing the earth and dashing in pieces the lower part of the creation. The natural situation of the water is to be above the earth because it is lighter and to be immediately under the air because it is heavier. Who restrains the natural quality of it? Certainly man does not and cannot. It is the fiat of its creator which alone bridles it. Hitherto thou shalt come, but no further, and here shall thy proud ways be stayed. Job 38 11 What a standing monument of the power of God is the preservation of the world. Consider God's power in government. Take his restraining of the malice of Satan. The devil as a roaring lion walketh about seeking whom he may devour. 1 Peter 5 8 He is filled with hatred against God and with fiendishness fiendish enmity against men, particularly the saints. He that envied Adam in paradise envies us the pleasure of enjoying any of God's blessings. Could he have his will? He would treat us all the same way he treated Job. He would send fire from heaven on the fruits of the earth, destroy the cattle, cause a wind to overthrow our house, and cover our bodies with boils. But little as men may realize that God bridles him to a large extent prevents him from carrying out his evil designs and confines him within his ordinations. So too, God restrains the natural corruption of men. He suffers sufficient outbreakings of sin to show what fearful havoc has been wrought by man's apostasy from his Maker. But who can conceive the frightful length to which men would go were God to remove his curbing hand Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness, their feet are swift to shed blood." Romans 3, 14 and 15. This is the nature of every descendant of Adam. Then what unbridled licentiousness and headstrong folly would triumph in the world if the power of God did not interpose to lock down the floodgates of it. See Psalm 93 verses 3 and 4. Consider God's power and judgment. When He smites, none can resist Him. See Ezekiel 22, 14. How terribly this was exemplified at the flood. God opened the windows of heaven and broke up the great fountains of the deep and, accepting those in the ark, the entire human race, helpless before the storm of His wrath, was swept away. A shower of fire and brimstone from heaven and the cities of the plain were exterminated. Pharaoh and all his hosts were impotent when God blew upon them at the Red Sea. What a terrific word is that in Romans 9.22! What if God, willing to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction? God is going to display his mighty power upon the reprobate not merely by incarcerating them in Gehenna, but by supernaturally preserving their bodies as well as souls amidst the eternal burnings of the lake of fire. May well all tremble before such a God. to treat with impudence one who can crush us more easily than we can a moth is a suicidal policy to openly defy him who is clothed with omnipotence who can rend us in pieces or cast us into hell any moment he pleases is the very height of insanity to put it on its lowest ground It is but the part of wisdom to heed his command. Kiss the sun, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Psalm 212 Well may the enlightened soul adore such a God. The wondrous and infinite perfections of such a being call for fervent worship. If men of might and renown claim the admiration of the world, how much more should the power of the Almighty fill us with wonderment and homage? Who is like unto thee, O Lord, amongst the gods? Who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders? Well may the saint trust such a God. He is worthy of implicit confidence. Nothing is too hard for him. If God were stinted in might, and had a limit to his strength, we might well despair. But seeing that he is clothed with omnipotence, no prayer is too hard for him to answer, no need too great for him to supply, no passion too strong for him to subdue, no temptation too powerful for him to deliver, no misery too deep for him to relieve. The Lord is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid? Psalm 27 verse 1. now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen. Ephesians 3, 20 and 21. Still Waters Revival Books is now located at PuritanDownloads.com. It's your worldwide online Reformation home for the very best in free and discounted classic and contemporary Puritan and Reformed books, mp3s, and videos. For much more information on the Puritans and Reformers, including the best free and discounted classic and contemporary books, mp3s, digital downloads and videos, please visit Still Waters Revival Books at PuritanDownloads.com Stillwater's Revival Books also publishes The Puritan Hard Drive, the most powerful and practical Christian study tool ever produced. All thanks and glory be to the mercy, grace, and love of the Lord Jesus Christ for this remarkable and wonderful new Christian study tool. 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