Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1883-03-22
(Origlnal.J
GODS SOVEREIGNTY.

REV. ROBERT LATHAM.
lOngnaLJ
GODS SOVEREIGNTY.
Webster defines sovereignty to be 'The
exercise of, Or right to exercise, supreme
power" A sovereign is person who has
the right to do as he sees fit, or perosn whose
own will is his only rule Of action. 1t is ev-
ident that sovereignty is a prerogative pos
sessed by no ocreature. Kings are sometimes
called sovereigns, but such they areo only in
very limited sense. The only sovereign
| in the universe is God. TO him and to him
only sovereignty belongs. He only can do
as he pleases. Every other being is depen-
dent. This arises from the nature of things.
| Whatever is not self-eXistent, Omnicient,
omnipotent and eternal cannot possess SOW
ereignty. All of these attributes, at least,
must be possessed before claim, can be laid
to ti,eaprerogative Of sovereignty. ~
That God has the right to exercise supreme
power, or to act in all cases and under all
circumstances, according to his own pleasure
or will, follows as necessary result of the
perfection of his attributes. He has the
right to do as he pleases, because he is amin
finite, uncreated, Interchangeable, self-exist-
ent and eternal spirit, from whom all things
derived their being and on whom all things
are DEPENDENT That God exercises sover-
eighty may be proven by reference to
facts as recorded in the Bible, and as seen by
every individual who has watched, with the
least care, the events which have transpired
in his own history. Wefnd the sovereignty
.Io1 ~ ir,6i Ivy
in connection with every event that is re-
corded in the Bible. In the creation of the
world God exercised his sovereignty. He
Was.induced by no motive outside of him
selfirf& Bringing any creature into being.
The existence of the whole world was not
necessary to the essential glory of God. If
it was, then God is not perfect. So soon,
however, as we suppose him to be defective
he ceases to us, at least, to be God. Right
reason promptly assents to the announce
ment that there is God, and that he is per-
feet in all his attributes. Such being the
case, the act of bringing anything into ex-
istence was an act Of sovereignty on the
part of Gods He made the world and all
that it contains, because it was in accordance
with his own will.
The exercise of sovereignty on the part of
God is further seen in the peculiar natures
which he gave the creatures of his hands,
and the purposes which they maniiestly
were designed to subserve. Not only is
there evidence of design in all the works of
creation, but there is also display of SOW
ereignty. God not only made all things,
but he fashioned them as he pleased. live
are asked whysfish cannot live out Of water
and birds scannot live in water, the only an
swer, ataIeastthe only intelligent answer,
we can give is, God made them SO, or they
are 50 in accordance with the sovereignty of
God. If we are asked where the rose got
it's beautiful tints and its delicious fragrance,
we can only say it's sovereign maker gave
them to it. The rose and the lily are what
they are by the sovereignty of God as exer-
cised in creation. What they possess can
never be transferred to the thistle or nettle,
and what the thistle and nettle possess can
never be transferred to the rose or lily.
The sovereignty of God is seen in the use
which he sometimes makes of his creatures.
In the exercise of his sovereignty, and on
account of the wickedness of the inhabitants
of Sodom and Gomorrah, God rained down
fire and birthstone from heaven, which con-
sumed those cities and their inhabitants.
Flies, lice and frogs. were made to plague
the Egyptians and their king while the Is
raelitesWere uinmolested. Darkness brood
ed over Egypt, except in the land of Goshen
where all was light. .: T. T.,
The Psalmist (Ps. 113) gives us an exam
pie of the manner in which God exercises
his sovereignty when he says, "He raises
up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the
needy out of the dung hill, ,.that he may set
him with the princes, even the princes of
his people," There is scarcely single in
dividual in any civilized country who has
not seen some one taken from the novels of
squalid poverty, and often from the dens of
ignominy and shame, and raised to wealth
and rank and influence. Every individual
has seen the sovereignty of God in actual
exercise in raising up one and casting down
another. Nothing can be clearer than that
God does as he pleases. ShOrt-sighted and
dependent men are prone to say, 'To-day or
tomorrow we Will 60 into such acity, and
continue there year, and buy and sell, and
get gain" We forget that our living and
accomplishing any object shall be of the
Lords will.
God exercises his prerogative to do as he
pleasesz inssuch Away 4as to show forth has
own glory and promote the welfare Of his
creatures. In the exercise of his peculiar
prerogative he may, and often does, permit
some of his creatures to combine together
for the purpose of breaking off their allegi-
ance to their sovereign, but all such plotters
he holds in derision. (Ps. q.
Since only the fool will say there is no
God, and since none but the rebellious will
attempt to deprive God of his rightful pre-
rogative to do as he pleases, the whole duty
of all intelligent creatures is to obey the
voice of the Lord. The solemn instruction
of the Holy Spirit is to "Stand in awe and
sin not commune with your own heart
upon your bed and be still"
What can be more awe-inspiring than a
Scriptural knowledge Of the fact that God
doesas he pleases with all his creatures
What can be more consoling to. poor crea-
lures than knowledge Of thefac that God
will, in the exercise of his sovereignty, al
ways do right ?. Whatneed those who obey
tTevoiee the Lord fear? Their sovereign
has an arm that is full of power and heart
that is full of pity. Says the Psalmist:
Fret not thyself because of evil doers,
neither be thou envious against the workers
of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut