Walkington's Works

Gleanings In The Godhead

The Sovereignty Of God [ Not to be confused with his book of the same title --Rip ]

The sovereignty of God may be defined as the exercise of His supremacy . Infinitely elevated above the highest creature , He is the Most High , Lord of heaven and earth ; subject to none , influenced by none , absolutely independent . God does as He pleases , only as He pleases , always as He pleases . None can thwart Him ; none can hinder Him . So His own Word expressly declares : " My counsel shall stand , and I will do all my pleasure " ( Isaiah 46:10 ) ; " he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven , and among the inhabitants of the earth : and none can stay his hand " ( Daniel 4:35 ). Divine sovereignty means that God is God in fact as well as in name : that He is on the throne of the universe , directing all things , working all things " after the counsel of his own will " ( Ephesians 1:11 ) .

 

Gleanings In The Godhead

The Sovereignty Of God

It was God in the exercise of His sovereignty who placed Satan and his angels , Adam , and Israel in their respective responsible positions . But so far from His sovereignty taking away responsbility from the creature , it was by the exercise of it that He placed them on this conditional footing , under such responsibilities as He thought proper . By virtue of this sovereignty , He is seen to be God over all . Thus , there is perfect harmony between the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of the creature . Many have more foolishly said that it is quite impossible to show where divine sovereignty ends and creature accountability begins . Here is where creature responsibility begins : in the sovereign ordination of the Creator . As to His sovereignty , there is not , and never will be , any end to it !

 

Gleanings In The Godhead

The Immutability Of God

First , God is immutable in His essence . His nature and being are infinite , and so , subject to no mutations . There never was a time when He was not ; there never will come a time when He shall cease to be . God has neither evolved , grown , nor improved . All that He is today , He has ever been , and ever will be ... He cannot change for the better , for He is already perfect , He cannot change for the worse . Altogether unaffected by anything outside Himself , improvement or deterioration is impossible . He is perpetually the same ... He is altogether uninfluenced by the flight of time . There is no wrinkle upon the brow of eternity . Therefore His power can never diminish , nor His glory ever fade .
Second , God is immutable in His attributes . Whatever the attributes of God were before the universe was called into existence , they are precisely the same now , and will remain so forever . Necessarily so ; for they are the very perfections , the essential qualities of His being . Semper idem ( always the same ) is written across every one of them . His power is unabated , His wisdom is undiminished , His holiness unsullied . The attributes of God can no more change than diety can cease to be ...
Third , God is immutable in His counsel . His will never varies . Perhaps some are ready to object when we read "It repented the LORD that he had made man " ( Gensis 6:6 ) . Our first reply is , Do the Scriptures contradict themselves ? No , that cannot be . Numbers 23:19 is plain enough : " God is not a man , that he should repent ." The explanation is simple . When speaking of Himself , God frequently accommodates His language to our limited capacities . He describes Himself as clothed with bodily members , as eyes , ears , hands ...

God's purpose never alters . One of two things causes a man to change his mind and reverse his plans : want of foresight to anticipate everything , or lack of power to excute them . But as God is both omniscient and omnipotent , there is never any need for Him to revise His decrees . No : " The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever , the thoughts of his heart to all generations " ( Psalm 33:11 ) . Therefore we read of " the immutability of his counsel " ( Hebrews 6:17 ) .

 

Are you trying to refute something AW said Mr.Ps. ? If so be specific . As far as I see it , your posts have nothing to do with the Pink quotes .

 

Mr. Ps. , those are mighty fine Bible passages . They have nothing to do with anything that Pink is addressing though . Do you know the meaning of the word I-R-R-E-L-E-V-A-N-T ? Why not just start your own thread ( have you ever ?) and post to your heart's delight on what you believe on any given subject ?

 

Gleanings In The Godhead

The Immutability Of God

Here is terror for the wicked . Those who defy Him , break His laws , have no concern for His glory , but live their lives as though He did not exist , must not suppose that , when at the last they shall cry to Him for mercy , He will alter His will , revoke His will, revoke His word , and rescind His awful threatenings . No , He has declared , " Therefore will I also deal in fury : mine eye shall not spare , neither will I have pity : and though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice , yet will I not hear them " ( Ezeliel 8:18 ) . God will not deny Himself to gratify their lusts . God is holy , unchangingly so . Therefore God hates sin , eternally hates it . Hence the eternality of the punishment of all who die in their sins .

 

Gleanings In The Godhead

The Holiness Of God

The character attributed to the gods of the ancients and of modern heathendom are the very reverse of that immaculate purity which pertains to the true God . An ineffably holy God , who has the utmost abhorrence of all sin , was never invented by any of Adam's fallen descendants ! The fact is that nothing reveals more of the terrible depravity of man's heart and his enmity against the living God than to have set before him One who is infinitely and immutably holy . His own idea of sin is practically limited to what the world calls crime . Anything short of that , palliates as "defects," "mistakes," "infirmities." And even where sin is owned at all , man makes excuses and extenuations for it .
The god which the vast majority of professing Christians love is looked upon very much like an indulgent old man , who himself has no relish for folly , but leniently winks at the indiscretions of youth . But the Word says , " Thou hatest all workers of iniquity " ( Psalm 5:5) . And again , " God is angry with the wicked every day" ( Psalm 7:11 ) . But men refuse to believe in this God , and gnash their teeth when His hatred of sin is faithfully pressed upon their attention . No , sinful man was no more likely to devise a holy God than to create the lake of fire in which he will be tormented forever and ever .

 

Gleanings In The Godhead

The Power Of God

Well may all tremble before such a God . To treat with disrespect 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 in pieces or cast 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 Son , lest he be angry , and ye perish from the way , when His wrath is kindled but a little" ( Psalm 2:12 ) .
Well may the enlightened soul adore such a God ! The wonderous , 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 , among the gods ? who is like thee , glorious in holiness , fearful in praises , doing wonders ?" ( Exodus 15:11 ) .

 

Gleanings In The Godhead

The Faithfulness Of God

" I know , O LORD , that thy judgments are right , and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me" ( Psalm 119:75 ) . Trouble and affliction are not only consistent with God's love pledged in the everlasting covenant , but also they are parts of the administration of the same . God is not only faithful , notwithstanding afflictions , but faithful in sending them . "Then will I visit their transgression with the rod , and their iniquity with stripes . Nevertheless my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him , nor suffer my faithfulness to fail" ( Psalm 89:52-33 ) . Chastening is not only reconciable with God's loving-kindness , but also it is the effect and expression of it . It would quiet the minds of God's people if they would remember that His covenant love binds Him to lay on them seasonable correction . Afflictions are necessary for us : "In their affliction they will seek me early" ( Hosea 5:15 ) .

Apprension of this blessed truth will preserve us from worry . To be full of care , to view our situation with dark forebodings , to anticipate the morrow with sad anxiety is to reflect upon the faithfulness of God . He who has cared for His child through all the years will not forsake him in old age . He who has heard your prayers in the past will not refuse to supply your need in the present emergency . Rest on Job 5:19 : " He shall deliver thee in six troubles : yea , in seven there shall no evil touch thee."
Apprension of this truth will check our murmurings . The Lord knows what is best for each of us . One effect of resting on this truth will be to silence our petulant complainings . God is greatly honered when , under trial and chastening , we have good thoughts of Him , vindicate His wisdom and justice , and recognize His love in His rebukes .

 

Gleanings In The Godhead

The Loving-Kindness Of God

We propose to engage the reader with another of His excellencies -- of which every Christian receives innumerable proofs . We turn to a consideration of God's loving-kindness because our aim is to maintain a due proportion in treating of the divine perfections , for all of us are apt to entertain one-sided views of them . A balance must be preserved here ( as everywhere ) , as it appears in these two statements of the divine attributes : "God is light" ( 1 John 1:5 ) ; "God is love" ( 4:8 ) . The sterner, more awe-inspiring aspects of the divine character are offset by the gentler , more winsome ones . It is to our irreparable loss if we dwell exclusively on God's sovereignty and majesty , or His holiness and justice ; we need to meditate frequently , though not exclusively , on His goodness and mercy . Nothing short of a full-orbed view of the divine perfections -- as revealed in Holy Writ -- should satisfy us .

 

Yes , J.D. AW has many apt quotes ranging over the whole body of Scripture . Unlike how others have characterized him -- he maintained a " due proportion" when dealing with the attributes of God . Pink had balance and symmetry in his writings .

 

Gleanings In The Godhead

The Goodness Of God

Nor can God's benignity be called into question because He has not made every sinful creature a subject of His redemptive grace . He did not do so with the fallen angels . Had God left all to perish it had been no reflection on his goodness . To any who challenge this statement we remind him of our Lord's sovereign prerogative : " Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with my own ? Is thy eye evil , because I am good ?" ( Matthew 20:15 ) .

The goodness of God is the life of the believer's trust . It is this excellency in God which most appeals to our hearts . Because His goodness endureth forever , we ought never to be discouraged : " The LORD is good , a strong hold in the day of trouble ; and he knoweth them that trust in him" ( Nahum 1:7 ) .

 

Gleanings In The Godhead

The Loving-Kindness Of God

This loving-kindness of the Lord is never far removed from His children . To our reason it may appear to be so , yet it never is . Since the believer be in Christ , nothing can separate him from the love of God ( Romans 8:39 ) . God has solemnly engaged Himself by covenant , and our sins cannot make it void . God has sworn that if His children "keep not [His] commandments ," He will "visit their transgressions with the rod , and their iniquity with stripes" ( Psalm 89:31-32) . Yet He adds , "Nevertheless my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him , nor suffer my faithfulness to fail . My covenant will I not break" ( vv.33-34 ) . Observe the change of number from "their" and "them" to"him." The loving-kindness of God toward His people is centered in Christ . Because His exercise of loving-kindness is a covenant engagement , it is repeatedly linked to His "truth" ( 40:11 ; 138:2 ) , showing that it proceeds to us by promise . Therefore we should never despair .

"Be ye therefore followers [imitators] of God , as dear children ; and walk in love" ( Ephesians 5:5:1-2 ) ."put on therefore , as the elect of God , holy and beloved , bowels of mercies , kindness" ( Colossians 3:12 ) .Thus it was with David: "Thy lovingkindness is before mine eyes : and I have walked in thy truth" ( Psalm 26:3 ) . He delighted to ponder it . It refreshed his soul to do so , and it molded his conduct . The more we are occupied with God's goodness , the more careful we will be about our obedience . The constraints of God's love and grace are more powerful to the regenerate than the terrors of His law . "How excellent is thy lovingkindness , O God ! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings" ( Psalm 36:7 ) . Second , a sense of this divine perfection strengthens our faith and promotes confidence in God .