God's Infinite Intelligence
W. Howels. Isaiah 14:24 The LORD of hosts has sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand:… To think and to purpose are the attributes of all rational beings, whether created or uncreated. I. God is such an infinitely perfect being, that His thoughts and purposes are CO-ETERNAL WITH HIMSELF. God cannot possibly exist Without His thoughts and purposes. A child at school in France, was asked whether God reasoned or not. The child paused awhile, and answered, "No: God is too perfect to reason. He knows everything without reasoning." Newton himself could not have given a better answer. Everything that exists in God now, has existed in Him from eternity. II. As His thoughts and put. poses flow exclusively from Himself, they are ABSOLUTE; they are, primarily considered, unconditional. This is a necessity that does not militate, in the least degree, against the accountability of man. They must have been absolute, or no being could possibly have existed. III. The thoughts and purposes of the Almighty are INFINITELY GLORIOUS; in other words, are infinitely worthy of Himself. It is in the fulfilment of His own thoughts and purposes that He develops all the beauty of His own perfections; it is in the development of all the beauty of His own perfections, that He confers every good on the creature. Take two axioms in divinity. All good is from God — all evil is from the creature. Do justice to these truths, and they will, as two keys, unlock some of the most difficult passages in Scripture. IV. The purpose of God is REPLETE WITH LOVE AND TENDERNESS. The sovereign purpose of God, properly speaking, involves nothing but good. Evil is to be traced to another source. But what does it comprise chiefly? A Saviour. We were suffered to fall into the deepest guilt, that God might display His glory to the utmost in our salvation. (W. Howels.) Parallel Verses KJV: The LORD of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand: WEB: Yahweh of Armies has sworn, saying, "Surely, as I have thought, so shall it happen; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand: