The Perfect Wisdom of GodAs I mentioned earlier this month, I’m reading through The Knowledge of the Holy. Today, I read Chapter 11, entitled The Wisdom of God. It, as well as other chapters, has been a great blessing to me spiritually. The quote today is somewhat lengthy, but I hope it will encourage and challenge you.
“Wisdom, among other things, is the ability to devise perfect ends and to achieve those ends by the most perfect means. It sees the end from the beginning, so there can be no need to guess or conjecture. Wisdom sees everything in focus, each in proper relation to all, and is thus able to work toward predestined goals with flawless precision.
“All God’s acts are done in perfect wisdom, first for His own glory, and then for the highest good of the greatest number for the longest time. And all His acts are as pure as they are wise, and as good as they are wise and pure. Not only could His acts not be better done: a better way to do them could not be imagined. An infinitely wise God must work in a manner not to be improved upon by finite creatures.
...
“The operation of the gospel, the new birth, the coming of the divine Spirit into human nature, the ultimate overthrow of evil, and the final establishment of Christ’s righteous kingdom - all these have flowed and do flow out of God’s infinite fullness of wisdom. The sharpest eyes of the honest watcher in the blest company above cannot discover a flaw in the ways of God in bringing all this to fruition, nor can the pooled wisdom of seraphim and cherubim suggest how an improvement might be made in the divine procedure. ‘I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him.’
“It is vitally important that we hold the truth of God’s infinite wisdom as a tenet of our creed; but this is not enough. We must by the exercise of faith and by prayer bring it into the practical world of our day-by-day experience.
“To believe actively that our Heavenly Father constantly spreads around us providential circumstances that work for our present good and our everlasting well-being brings to the soul a veritable benediction. Most of us go through life praying a little, planning a little, jockeying for position, hoping but never being quite certain of anything, and always secretly afraid that we will miss the way. This is a tragic waste of truth and never gives rest to the heart.
“There is a better way. It is to repudiate our own wisdom and take instead the infinite wisdom of God. Our insistence upon seeing ahead is natural enough, but it is a real hindrance to our spiritual progress. God has charged himself with full responsibility for our eternal happiness and stands ready to take over the management of our lives the moment we turn in faith to Him.
“Here is His promise: ‘And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them’” (emphasis mine).
Over the last several months, I either have read or am currently reading several books that have had a powerful impact upon my life. I want to share something about them with you over the next two weeks.
The Hiding Place
This is a powerful and moving story. Corrie ten Boom, a Dutch believer, lived through the Holocaust. She and her family were heavily involved in the Dutch underground during World War II, and helped to save the lives of hundreds of Jews. On February 28, 1944, the family was arrested. Corrie, along with her sister Betsie, spent 10 months in concentration camps, the final one being the infamous Ravensbruck. Betsie died there, but Corrie was released due to a clerical error (God’s providence!). I visited the house where it all took place in August 2008, before I read the book. Now, when I see pictures of concentration camps, I am often reminded of what Corrie’s sister Betsie said: “There is no pit so deep that He is not deeper still.” If Corrie ten Boom could go through such horrors, and yet still trust in God, how can I not trust Him in my relatively easy life?
The Knowledge of the Holy
No-one writes like A.W. Tozer. The Knowledge of the 
Holy is love for and knowledge of God, distilled into meaning-filled chapters. If you underline the books you read, as I hope you do, you will underline almost every paragraph! This book has more in it than I can grasp and absorb in one reading. It has impacted my spiritual life in a meaningful way. Consider these excerpts:
“The doctrine of the Trinity is truth for the heart. The spirit of man alone can enter through the veil and penetrate into that Holy of Holies. ‘Let me seek Thee in longing,’ pleaded Anselm, ‘let me long for Thee in seeking; let me find Thee in love, and love Thee in finding.’ Love and faith are at home in the mystery of the Godhead. Let reason kneel in reverence outside” (from Chapter 4).
“We can never know who or what we are till we know at least something of what God is. For this reason the self-existence of God is not a wisp of dry doctrine, academic and remote; it is in fact as near as our breath and as practical as the latest surgical technique” (from Chapter 5).
“Sin has many manifestations but its essence is one. A moral being, created to worship before the throne of God, sits on the throne of his own selfhood and from that elevated position declares, ‘I AM.’ That is sin in its concentrated essence; yet because it is natural it appears to be good” (from Chapter 5).
Read this book. It will challenge your misconceptions about God, and give you a hunger to truly know the One “with whom we have to do” (Heb. 4:13).
The life of William Cowper (pronounced “Cooper”) presents a quandary for Christians. The man who wrote touching poetry and beautiful hymns (God Moves in Mysterious Ways; There Is a Fountain Filled with Blood) struggled with despair and depression for most of his Christian life. How do we reconcile spiritual songs and insanity?
Cowper was born in 1731 near London, England. His mother died when William was six years old, and his father sent him to boarding school, which was an exceedingly traumatic experience for the young boy. “From the age of ten till he was seventeen he attended Westminster private school and learned his French and Latin and Greek well enough to spend the last years of his life fifty years later translating Homer and Madame Guyon” (see footnote).
He began to be depressed in 1752, at the age of 21. He had not yet trusted Christ. He wrote about his first bout with depression thus:
“(I was struck) with such a dejection of spirits, as none but they who have felt the same, can have the least conception of. Day and night I was upon the rack, lying down in horror, and rising up in despair. I presently lost all relish for those studies, to which before I had been closely attached; the classics had no longer any charms for me; I had need of something more salutary than amusement, but I had not one to direct me where to find it.”
He fell in love with his cousin Theodora. They became engaged, but her father forbade the marriage at the end of seven years. This broke Cowper’s heart.
Cowper had been trained as a lawyer, and that was his profession. In 1759, he was to be made the Clerk of Journals in the British Parliament. He was required to pass an interrogation, which prospect struck him with terror; so much so that he went insane under the strain. He tried to commit suicide in three different ways, and was committed to a mental asylum.
After his third suicide attempt, he wrote:
“Conviction of sin took place, especially of that just committed; the meanness of it, as well as its atrocity, were exhibited to me in colours so inconceivably strong that I despised myself, with a contempt not to be imagined or expressed ... This sense of it secured me from the repetition of a crime which I could not now reflect on without abhorrence ... A sense of God's wrath, and a deep despair of escaping it, instantly succeeded.”
A Dr. Nathaniel Cotton took care of the patients at that asylum. He was a believer in Christ, and God, in His mercy, was pleased to use him in Cowper’s conversion. Cowper found a Bible lying on a bench in the garden, about six months after he came to the asylum. He read John 11, and then Romans 3:25 (“Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God”). Of this experience h
e wrote:
“Immediately I received the strength to believe it, and the full beams of the Sun of Righteousness shone upon me. I saw the sufficiency of the atonement He had made, my pardon sealed in His blood, and all the fullness and completeness of His justification. In a moment I believed, and received the gospel ... Whatever my friend Madan had said to me, long before, revived in all its clearness, with demonstration of the spirit and power. Unless the Almighty arm had been under me, I think I should have died with gratitude and joy. My eyes filled with tears, and my voice choked with transport; I could only look up to heaven in silent fear,
overwhelmed with love and wonder.”
We could stop here, and think that this was the end of William’s struggles with despair. Surely, looking back through the many dim years that have passed, this seems to be a true conversion. Sadly, William’s “life seems to be one long accumulation of pain” (see footnote) as well as depression and insanity.
In 1767, having been out of the asylum for about two years, Cowper met John Newton, the curate of the church in Olney. This was the most important relationship in Cowper’s life, as far as spiritual influence is concerned. Newton was a warm and happy man, and was loved by his people. Cowper moved to Olney, and remained there for the remaining 19 years of his life.
In 1769 Newton asked Cowper to help him in writing a hymnbook. Cowper only wrote 68 of the over 250 hymns in the hymnbook. It was at this time that There Is a Fountain Filled with Blood was written. In 1773, Cowper had another attack of insanity. He tried again, more than once, to commit suicide, but God did not allow this. Yet this was not the end, for in 1786 he again fell into despair, and attempted suicide.
He wrote this in 1784:
“Loaded as my life is with despair, I have no such comfort as would result from a supposed probability of better things to come, were it once ended ... You will tell me that this cold gloom will be succeeded by a cheerful spring, and endeavour to encourage me to hope for a spiritual change resembling it—but it will be lost labour. Nature revives again; but a soul once slain lives no more ... My friends, I now expect that I shall see yet again. They think it necessary to the existence of divine truth, that he who once had possession of it should never finally lose it. I admit the solidity of this reasoning in every case but my own. And why not in my own? ... I forestall the answer:—God's ways are mysterious, and He giveth no account of His matters:—an answer that would serve my purpose as well as theirs that use it. There is a mystery in my destruction, and in time it shall be explained.”
In 1792, he told John Newton that he often felt as if he were “scrambling in the dark, among rocks and precipices, without a guide. Thus I have spent 20 years, but thus I shall not spend twenty years more. Long ere that period arrives, the grand question concerning my everlasting weal or woe will be decided.”
“The last days of his life brought no relief. No happy ending. In March of 1800 he said to visiting Dr. Lubbock, ‘I feel unutterable despair.’ On April 24 Miss Perowne offered some refreshment to him, to which he replied, ‘What can it signify?’ He never spoke again and died the next afternoon" (see footnote).
His life, as full as it was of darkness and despair, has been used by God. There Is a Fountain Filled with Blood has been a blessing to untold thousands of hearts. It seems to me to be nearly impossible to reconcile his depression and his doubts of being accepted by God with his wonderful hymns and poetry. We need to remember, however, that God knows the heart. An unstable mind can misrepresent God and His Word to itself; God, however, always remains faithful: “Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.”
Let us also be merciful and compassionate in our evaluation. It is easy to be hard and judgemental, removed as we are so many years from his life. John Newton was a great lover of God, and a faithful pastor, and he treated Cowper with compassion, and remained his friend through all of the darkness, until Cowper’s death. Perhaps the words of J.C. Ryle will help here:
“Let us never set down men in a low place, as graceless and godless, because their faith is feeble and their love is cold. Let us remember the case of Thomas, and be very pitiful and of tender mercy. Our Lord has many weak children in His family, many dull pupils in His school, many raw soldiers in His army, many lame sheep in His school. Yet He bears with them all, and casts none away.
“Happy is that Christian who has learned to deal likewise with his brethren. There are many in the Church, who, like Thomas, are dull and slow, but for all that, like Thomas, are real and true believers.”
Let us close with the words of the hymn There Is a Fountain Filled with Blood. When we sing it in church, let us remember that God can use even the weakest of us for His glory.
1.There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel’s veins;
And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.
Lose all their guilty stains, lose all their guilty stains;
And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.
2.The dying thief rejoiced to see that fountain in his day;
And there have I, though vile as he, washed all my sins away.
Washed all my sins away, washed all my sins away;
And there have I, though vile as he, washed all my sins away.
3.Dear dying Lamb, Thy precious blood shall never lose its power
Till all the ransomed church of God be saved, to sin no more.
Be saved, to sin no more, be saved, to sin no more;
Till all the ransomed church of God be saved, to sin no more.
4.E’er since, by faith, I saw the stream Thy flowing wounds supply,
Redeeming love has been my theme, and shall be till I die.
And shall be till I die, and shall be till I die;
Redeeming love has been my theme, and shall be till I die.
5.Then in a nobler, sweeter song, I’ll sing Thy power to save,
When this poor lisping, stammering tongue lies silent in the grave.
Lies silent in the grave, lies silent in the grave;
When this poor lisping, stammering tongue lies silent in the grave.
6.Lord, I believe Thou hast prepared, unworthy though I be,
For me a blood bought free reward, a golden harp for me!
’Tis strung and tuned for endless years, and formed by power divine,
To sound in God the Father’s ears no other name but Thine.
Footnote: The quotes in this article were taken from an excellent account of Cowper's life, which can be found here.
Earlier this month, the famous antitheist Richard Dawkins was interviewed on a Toronto radio station. The host was John Moore, himself an atheist. I’d like to share two excerpts from that interview, and share some thoughts on
John Moore: “Is there anything for you... that is sacred? I mean the kind of feeling of awe and majesty that the faithful enjoy. Is there anything for you that is sacred?”
Richard Dawkins: “...One sense of sacred, I would say that something like truth is sacred. But you’re asking [something] a bit different, something like the equivalent to a spiritual experience. Yes. When I look up at the Milky Way, especially in the Southern Hemisphere, on a moonless night, you get a feeling of hearing the heavens singing, and you get a singing in your own breast, and its a feeling that must be very akin to a mystical, religious experience. There’s nothing supernatural about it. The human brain is a very complicated thing....”
The Bible says in Psalm 19:1-3: “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. 2 Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. 3 There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.”
The skies are pouring out speech daily, and even an antitheist like Richard Dawkins can hear it! However, he denies the supernatural in such an experience. This general revelation of God in the skies is one reason why no man will be able to claim innocence on the day of judgement, for “Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse” (Romans 1:19-20).
Here’s the second excerpt:
John Moore: “Is there a cost to not understanding evolution, to a society rejecting evolution?”
Richard Dawkins: “...I think there’s a...may I even use the word “spiritual” cost, since we’ve just been talking about that. It is such a waste of a life to spend a few decades on this planet without ever understanding why you’re here, which is what many people are condemned to by the ignorance which is forced upon them by a bad education. It’s such an enormous privilege to be allowed to understand why you’re here before you have to leave forever.”
Wow. If would have given that quote (minus the part about a bad education), without telling you who said it, all the Christians would be saying “Amen!” The only life worth living is one that is lived for the glory of God and the good of others. All other lives are wasted. Let us make sure that we know God, and that we live our lives for His glory. While atheists deny the general revelation of God, let us make sure that we do not deny or reject any part of God’s special revelation in His Word.
"The heavens declare Thy glory, Lord,
In every star Thy wisdom shines;
But when our eyes behold Thy Word,
We read Thy name in fairer lines."
Isaac Watts
The heavens are singing, and God is speaking through His Word. Are you listening?
Although my favourite music to listen to is vocal music, I do enjoy a good instrumental CD. I first heard the CD Hear My Prayer through a friend, and purchased it a couple years ago or so. The liquid, golden sound of a classical guitar being masterfully played is incredibly relaxing. When mixed with oboe, flute, orchestra or strings, as in some tracks, the heart is quieted, and the spirit soars.
I appreciate that Matthew Burtner has included several old hymns on this CD. Come, Ye Sinners, Poor and Wretched; O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus and O Sacred Head Now Wounded are too often forgotten in our hymn-singing today. The inclusion of The Sands of Time Are Sinking is special as well, as it is one of my all-time favourite hymns. One way it became beloved to me is as I read about the life of Jim and Elisabeth Elliot, and how the fourth verse was close to her heart:
O Christ, He is the fountain, the deep, sweet well of love!
The streams of earth I’ve tasted more deep I’ll drink above:
There to an ocean fullness His mercy doth expand,
And glory, glory dwelleth in Immanuel’s land.
Newer songs, such as Psalm 86; Saviour, Lead Us; and The Steps of a Good Man are also welcome additions. Some of the tracks were familiar to me before; others were new. The lyrics to all the songs are included in the insert, which is a great help, and an added blessing.
If you want an instrumental CD to relax with, and to edify you spiritually as well, go with this one. You can search for it here.
I am currently reading through The Knowledge of the Holy, by A.W. Tozer. I am teaching Theology Proper this semester, and this book is an excellent help. It is comprehensive, yet never dry. It is a book that could be read in a devotional setting as well. The famous preacher Warren Wiersbe said, “A.W. Tozer had the gift of taking a spiritual truth and holding it up to the light so that, like a diamond, every facet was seen and admired.” I highly recommended reading it.
The book is a scholarly, yet worshipful volume, with chapters that cover topics such as God’s self-existence, His eternity, faithfulness and goodness. I have only read the first five chapters, but this book is a bountiful feast that I’m sure I will return to again and again for spiritual nourishment.
I’ll leave you with a quote that will hopefully encourage you to read The Knowledge of the Holy. It is again from Warren Wiersbe: “If a sermon can be compared to light, then A. W. Tozer released a laser beam from the pulpit, a beam that penetrated your heart. If you have never read Tozer—what are you waiting for? Thirty minutes spent in a Tozer essay is often better than a week at a Bible conference.”
The following quote is from Chapter 5, “The Self-existence of God.”
“It is not a cheerful thought that millions of us who live in a land of Bibles, who belong to churches and labor to promote the Christian religion, may yet pass our whole life on this earth without once having thought or tried to think seriously about the being of God. Few of us have let our hearts gaze in wonder at the I AM, the self-existent Self back of which no creature can think. Such thoughts are too painful for us. We prefer to think where it will do more good - about how to build a better mousetrap, for instance, or how to make two blades of grass grow where one grew before. And for this we are now paying a too heavy price in the secularization of our religion and the decay of our inner lives.”
(You can read The Knowledge of the Holy online here, or you can download the .pdf here. Just open the .pdf file in your browser, and select File, then Save Page As.)
Since I was a teenager, I have loved Mac Lynch’s voice. As a teenager, I tried to make my high tenor voice sound like his, attempting to emulate his rich, warm tones. To do this as a high tenor, I had to sing in my throat, in a way that would make any professional voice teacher cringe! I later unlearned this bad habit in voice lessons, but I have retained my enjoyment of Mac Lynch’s music. (I have also learned that you need to sing with the voice that God gave you, not trying to force it to sound like someone else’s!)
Proclaim His Name is one of my favourite CDs from THE WILDS. Mac Lynch obtained his B.A. (1976) and M.A. (1979) in sacred music from Bob Jones University. He joined the music staff at THE WILDS in 1988, and is currently their music director. Mac is a composer, arranger, soloist and accomplished pianist, as well as the producer of some of THE WILDS CDs.
For this recording, Mac is joined by Tim Fisher. Tim also received a B.A. and an M.A. from Bob Jones University, and taught on faculty for 9 years. He founded Sacred Music Services in 1998, with a goal of providing sacred music recordings for the home. He is an author, public speaker, composer, arranger, and performer. My speaking so highly of Mac Lynch’s voice isn’t meant to denigrate in any way Tim Fisher’s voice! Tim is a baritone, whose voice has a pleasing smooth and round tone. (Please forgive my florid descriptions of voices. I love music, especially vocal music, and am liable to wax verbose!)
In Proclaim His Name, Mac and Tim sing quite a few duets, as well as solos. They are joined by an orchestra, as well as a choir! This is a heavenly combination, with superb results.
The first track is O Worship the King. This majestic arrangement gave me a love for this old hymn. I wish I knew where to get the arrangement for it!
Before the Throne of God Above is another old hymn. Faye Lopez, who has published hymn arrangements for piano, wrote the music. The result is a stirring song of worship. The words of the hymn continue to encourage me. "Before the throne of God above I have a strong and perfect plea: A great high priest Whose name is Love, Who ever lives and pleads for me! My name is graven on His hands; My name is written on His heart. I know that while in heav'n He stands, No tongue can bid me thence depart."
Our church choir has sung Ashamed of Jesus? twice, I believe. Again, it is an old hymn, set to a beautiful new melody. The title of the CD comes from a line in this song: “No, when I blush be this my shame, That I have not proclaimed His name.” This is a challenging and moving piece.
When I think of the song Rest, I think of a dear lady at my church, Alicia Harrison. She went to heaven a few years ago, and it may have been near that time that I first heard this CD. “All is done, the race has ended; Weary bones are set aside.” Tim’s voice is perfect for this song.
The last track is I Will Go. The words here grew in meaning to me when I realized the chorus is based on a Bible verse, Psalm 71:16: “I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD: I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only.” I love the line in the song that says, “Strengthened with might by His spirit in power, Fully assured that my Captain I know.” We do know Who our Captain is, and that should encourage us to witness boldly.
You can order this CD here for only $5.95 US! If you live in Canada, I believe you will have to order via phone. The number is (864) 268-4760.
The theme of the CD is, in their words, “to praise our glorious Creator.” Listen to this CD with your heart. You will be helped and blessed and moved to praise Him as well!
