A Look at Lamentation 3:37 - 38 (Pt. 5)

Lamentations 3:37-38

Who is there who speaks and it comes to pass, unless the Lord has commanded it? Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both good and ill go forth?

In the first post on this passage, we saw how extensive the word “who” is. In the second post we saw what it means to “speak” and have it “come to pass.” In the previous post we inquired how God’s primary agency affects the good deeds of men. And in this fourth post, we will attempt to address how God’s primary agency affects the evil deeds of men.

Before anything else, I wish to say that this is a most difficult subject to handle and fools rush in where angels fear to tread. I do not make any statements here lightly. Nor do I wish to say anything unadvisedly. We want to stick to what God Himself through Scripture tells us.

How does God’s primary agency affect the evil deeds of men?

A. God ordains their free evil deeds.

B. God hardens their hearts or inclines their minds to will these acts.

C. God hardens their hearts or inclines their minds to do these acts.

D. Yet God does not coerce them so as to exempt them of true and meaningful responsibility and genuine guilt for these acts. Though foreordained, they are nevertheless free.

E. God is not the Author of Sin.

Here are a number of Bible passages that speak to this subject: Gen. 50:20; 1 Sam. 2:25; Joshua 11:20; Acts 2:23 comp Luke 22:3; Luke 22:11, 24, 21 & 36 comp. Acts 4:27-28. Rev. 16:16-17; Ex. 4:21 (10:17); Deut. 2:30; Rom 11:7-9. See also the Geneva Bible notes on 1 Sam. 2:25 – “So that to obey good admonition is God's mercy, and to disobey them is his just judgment for sin.”

In his Systematic Theology, Charles Hodge deals with this subject through a doctrine called the concursus. : He says: “(1.) That God gives to second causes the power of acting. (2.) That He preserves them in being and vigour. (3.) That He excites and determines second causes to act. (4.) That He directs and governs them to the predetermined end.”

Hodge then enumerates several things that must be understood having granted the previous four points. Then he concludes by referring to the concursus in its relation to sin. He writes: “All the advocates of the doctrine of concursus admit that the great difficulty attending it is in reference to sin… We can easily see how God can cooperate in good acts, and rejoice in the goodness which is his gift; but how can He so concur in sinful acts as not only to preserve the sinner in the exercise of his ability to act, but also to excite to action, and determine his act to be what it is, and not otherwise? This difficulty was, as has been remarked, freely acknowledged. It was met by defining sin as mere defect. It is a want of conformity to the moral law. As such it requires not an efficient, but only a deficient cause. God is the source immediately or remotely of all efficiency, but is not the source of mere deficiency. In every sinful act, therefore, there was distinguished the act as an act requiring an efficient cause; and the moral quality of that act, or its want of conformity to law, a mere relation, which is not an ens, and therefore is in no way to be referred to God. This is the answer to this objection given by Augustine, and repeated from his day to this. As the same solar influence quickens into life all kinds of plants, whether nutritious or poisonous; as the same current of water may be guided in one channel or another; as the same vital force animates the limbs of the sound man and of the cripple; as the same hand may sweep the keys of an instrument when in tune and when out of tune: so it is urged that the same divine efficiency sustains and animates all free agents. That they act at all is due to the divine efficiency, but the particular nature of their acts (at least when evil) is to be referred, not to that all-pervading efficiency of God, but to the nature or character of each particular agent. That God controls and governs wicked men, determines their wickedness to take one form, and not another, and guides it to manifestations which will promote good rather than evil, is not inconsistent with the holiness of God. He did not infuse envy and hatred into the hearts of Joseph’s brethren, but He guided the exercise of those evil passions, so as to secure the preservation of Jacob and the chosen seed from destruction.”

God’s sovereignty over men is such that their acts are still free, yet it appears from Scripture that their acts are pre-ordained by God in such a way that they cannot not do what is ordained. God’s decree does not violate their responsibility for their actions. We do not say that it violates their “free will” because we do not believe that the will is, in fact, free.

Proverbs 1:17 says, “Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird.” We take this to mean that if a man sets a trap for his fellow man right in front of the man he intends to trap, then his trap is set in vain. No one is so foolish as to walk into a trap he has seen set for himself. But if God sets the trap (even through the secondary agency of men) it is not set in vain, even when the man watches it being set to catch him.

Ahab’s demise at Ramoth-Gilead demonstrates this fact (1 Kings 22:1-23). All of his false prophets had given him the green light to go up against Ramoth-Gilead. When the prophet Micaiah comes, he speaks the same words as Ahab’s crony prophets, perhaps to spite Ahab or by way of rebuke. Ahab then demands Micaiah to give him the true message from God. This means that Ahab is 100% consciously aware that his prophets’ message is false and that whatever Micaiah says is truly God’s word. In other words, he recognized Micaiah’s prophecy as authentic. Micaiah’s message told Ahab how God had sent a lying spirit into the mouths of his crony prophets to deceive him into going up to Ramoth-Gilead, where he would be killed. In other words, God “spread the net” in the sight of Ahab. God told Ahab that He intended to kill him; God told Ahab that He would lure him into battle at Ramoth-Gilead through his own prophets. Surely no trap was ever set in clearer view of its prey! Yet Ahab still went up to Ramoth-Gilead! If this does not demonstrate God’s absolute control over all things, including men’s minds and wills, nothing does!

Samson’s fall with Delilah is an example of God’s primary agency over the evil deeds of otherwise good men. She spread the net before him repeatedly, yet he kept playing games with her until he actually gave his guarded secret away, knowing full well that he was being ambushed. Why else would he do something so stupid – unless we suppose that he was unwittingly walking in ordained works?

I do not assume to have dealt with this thorny issue in any comprehensive fashion. But I do believe we have been faithful to the Scriptural testimony.

A Look at Lamentation 3:37 - 38 (Pt. 4)

Lamentations 3:37-38

Who is there who speaks and it comes to pass, unless the Lord has commanded it? Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both good and ill go forth?

In the previous post we addressed what it is to “speak” and it “come to pass.” In this sermon we will inquire how God’s primary agency affects the good deeds of men.

How does God’s primary agency affect the good deeds of men?

After Paul exhorts us to, “work out our salvation with fear and trembling, he then tells us in Philippians 2:13 that both our “willing” and our “doing” are God working in us. The most profound, and blunt, statement of God’s active sovereignty on man’s actions is Isaiah 26:12 which says, “LORD, thou wilt ordain peace for us: for thou also hast wrought all our works in us.” The gist of which is that we have confidence in God ordaining peace for us precisely because He has done everything else we have done anyway.

The order, as Scripture indicates would seem to be as follows:

A. God ordains our good deeds (Eph 2:10).

1. Before creation God ordained all the details of our lives. (Psalm 139:1-4, 16; Acts 17:26)

2. All of our steps are ordained by the Lord (Psalm 37:23)

B. God ordains that we should will to do them (Phil 2:13).

C. God ordains that we should then do them (Phil 2:13).

D. God ordains them in such a way that He can meaningfully reward us for them. (Heb 6:10; 11:6; Mat 16:27).

This is the order of all our actions: God ordained them; God ordains that we will them; we then will them; God ordains that we do them; we then do them. God has arranged and ordered all things so that He can reward us.

Hence we are not, as the Arminians accuse us of believing, mindless robots. God’s sovereignty and human responsibility are not incompatible. It is an insult to God to insist that they are – as if He couldn’t create creature He could control without violating them. Human responsibility is based on God’s sovereignty. We chafe at this idea simply because we wish to believe that we are our own masters. Self-determination is the pillar of ungodly religion. This is why Whitefield says, “We are all Papists, at least, I am sure, we are all Arminians by nature; and therefore no wonder so many natural men embrace that scheme… We are ashamed directly to say we deserve any good at the hands of God; therefore, as the Apostle excellently well observes, ‘we go about’ we fetch a circuit, ‘to establish a righteousness of our own,’ and, like the Pharisees of old, ‘will not wholly submit to that righteousness which is of God through Jesus Christ our Lord.’ ”

Let me just insert a much needed reminder after that last paragraph. I said that we are not mindless robots. Let me hasten to say this though: If God had made us mindless automatons, He would still be within His rights as Sovereign of the universe. He would still be just to dispose of us in any fashion He pleased. Scripture indeed says, “Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? (Romans 9:21)

A Look at Lamentation 3:37 - 38 (Pt. 3)

Lamentations 3:37-38

Who is there who speaks and it comes to pass, unless the Lord has commanded it? Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both good and ill go forth?

In the previous post, we answered the question of how extensive the word “who” is. In this post we will address what it is to “speak” and it “come to pass.”

What is it to “speak,” and it “come to pass?”

An example would be Genesis 1 where we are told that God said, “Let there be…” which is followed immediately by, “and there was.” No one else can do this.

What does this sovereign “Speaking and it comes to pass” entail?

Firstly, it is to be able to foresee all possible events. Secondly, it is to be able to control all related factors. Thirdly, it is to both know and control the future. And lastly, it is to foreordain all events. God foreknows because He foreordained.

The pride James rebukes in 4:13-16 comes from the fact that men, when they see their plans regularly come to fruition, mistakenly believe that there is no higher power than their own plans and wills. It is an arrogant ignoring of God’s sovereign disposal of men and their lives. The universe is built on certain “Laws” which make it behave regularly. But this is because “God said.” It is a grave mistake to arrogate that same power to ourselves.

In short, to “speak” and it “come to pass” is nothing less than absolute sovereignty over all things. This is seen to be so from the next verse.

I. It is to be able to foresee all possible events.

Only God knows the end from the beginning. (Isaiah 46:10) Furthermore, only God lives in an eternal present – all times are present to Him. (Eph 1:4 – God was involved in ‘cause-and-effect’ action before He created time itself.) Moreover, His foreknowledge is dependant upon His decree, i.e., He knows the future because He decreed it all. (Acts 2:23 – predetermined counsel and foreknowledge – in that order.)

II. It is to be able to control all related factors.

Control of all factors is a natural part of creating. But God alone lives with no limitations on His sovereignty. It is a slight to God’s intelligence to insist that He cannot control men’s wills, i.e., reconcile Divine sovereignty and Human freedom. Many people have made shipwreck of the faith trying to reconcile two things which Scripture never portrays as in conflict with each other.

III. It is both to know and control the future.

It should go without saying that God knows all because He created all. God controls everything He created. He is accountable to no one for His disposing of His creatures. (Jeremiah 18:4-6; Daniel 4:35; Romans 9:21) I am a song writer. I have written many lyrics and melodies that I have consigned to the trash heap. Other I have recorded. The choice was mine because the creations were mine. As Creator God has such power in an infinitely higher degree.

IV. God has ordained, or decreed all events.

God’s foreknowledge is based upon His decree. He knows because He ordained. Here is where Arminian concepts of Divine foreknowledge crash upon the rocks. Here is where Open Theism makes shipwreck of the faith. God does not have to calculate the future based on what He foresees each creature will do. Rather, He foresees what each creature will do precisely because He has already ordained these things. Our task is never to try and decipher what may be God’s secret intent behind all the events which take place in the world around us. We merely need to concern ourselves with obeying what He has revealed as His will (Deut. 29:29).

A Look at Lamentation 3:37 - 38 (Pt. 2)

Lamentations 3:37-38

Who is there who speaks and it comes to pass, unless the Lord has commanded it? Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both good and ill go forth?

The question we wish to first ask is, “To whom do the words ‘who is this’ apply?”

We should note that the Hebrew wording is, “Who is this.” It is spoken in a belittling, slightly sarcastic, or even taunting way against mere ‘speakers’.

Who are the possible candidates?

A. Good Angels. Whenever angels speak in Scripture, they utter the words given them by the direct command of God. They do not expostulate or offer opinions; nor do they ever speak a word from their own minds. Hence, their words unfailingly come to pass. Therefore, the passage cannot be referring to them.

B. Evil Angels. Whenever demons (or Satan) speak in Scripture, they utter lies (John 8:44). Thus their words do NOT come to pass. Even Satan’s prediction regarding Job turned out wrong. If you remember the story of Job, you’ll recall that Satan predicted that Job would turn from God if he lost his temporal goods. Satan certainly can’t speak and have it come to pass. Any sensible gambling man would’ve put money on Job turning from God. Satan can neither predict the future nor affect the outcome of events. All things are ordained by God.

C. Men. The only men who have ever spoken with absolute certainty that their words would come to pass were the prophets and Apostles when they spoke under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and, like the angels, spoke only the words commanded by God.

This is a warning against presumptuous speech.

What about oaths, promises, vows and covenants?

Oaths are expressly forbidden by Christ. (Mat. 5: 34, 36; 23:16, 18, 20-22). They involve a certainty, indeed, a sovereignty, over the future that no creature can possess. James 4:13-16 even forbids self-confident speaking regarding the future.

Promises are different in principle from oaths. They contain allowance (though unspoken, perhaps) for unforeseeable events thwarting the fulfillment.

Vows are a special, religious kind of self-imposed promise. They bind the individual into a fulfillment of certain acts within a time period specified by the maker of the vow. Once the vow is fulfilled, the individual is released. Numbers 6:2-21

Covenants are like vows, with the exception that they are two-way and not one-way. A covenant binds two parties into an agreement which is valid so long as both parties live. Breaking the covenant does not release one from its power. It is only terminated at the death of one party (Rom. 7:1-3).

A Look at Lamentation 3:37 - 38 (Pt. 1)

Lamentations 3:37-38

Who is there who speaks and it comes to pass, unless the Lord has commanded it? Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both good and ill go forth?

This passage says so much is such few words that it boggles the mind. Over the next several posts, I hope to treat several aspects of it. The plan of explanation that I intend is as follows:

1: To whom do the words ‘who is this’ apply?

2: What is it to “speak,” and it “come to pass?”

3: How does God’s primary agency affect the good deeds of men?

4: How does God’s primary agency affect the evil deeds of men?

5: Contentment with Divine Providence

Part 1 will seek to demonstrate that the “who” of this passage is none other than God Almighty. By way of application, we are warned against presumption regarding the future and our plans for it.

Part 2 deals with what the passage means when it says “speaks” and it “comes to pass.” The meaning of these words can be none other than absolute Divine sovereignty.

Part 3 seeks to address the thorny issue of how God’s sovereignty over all things affects men’s good deeds, for this is no less thorny than the question of how God’s absolute sovereignty relates to men’s evil deeds. Scripture teaches both that God is the Prime Mover behind all our good and that our good deeds are genuinely rewardable.

Part 4 attempt to tackle the ever thornier question of how God’s sovereignty over all relates to the evil deeds men do. As with the previous post, Scripture teaches both that God is the Prime Mover behind all our deeds, but that we are morally responsible agents whose evil deeds are genuinely punishable. Several passages of Scripture are brought to bear on this difficult issue.

Part 5 brings the four previous posts to a close with a practical application. We are exhorted to live in peace and contentment with Divine Providence. God is sovereign over all things and He has ordered all things with a view to His own glory. We should seek our ultimate satisfaction by submission to whatever role He has created for us to play in His order.

I do not assume that this treatment will be comprehensive, but I am attempting to be Scriptural.