Posted in ,

Potent Prooftexts: it stands fast

06 April 2011 by David

Q. 14. How doth God execute his decrees?

A. God executes his decrees in the works of creation and providence, according to his infallible foreknowledge, and the free and immutable counsel of his own will.

By the word of the LORD the heavens were made,
And by the breath of His mouth all their host.
He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap;
He lays up the deeps in storehouses.
Let all the earth fear the LORD.
Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.
For He spoke, and it was done;
He commanded, and it stood fast. —Psalm 33:6–9

I have built houses — whole houses, from a bare hole in the ground to a turn-key home. I’ve formed and poured the footings down in the ground, and set forms on top of them and poured the basement walls. I’ve bolted plates down on top of those walls and nailed the floor joists to them. I’ve screwed the sub-floor to the joists, and framed walls on top of them. I’ve set the rafters, sheeted the roof and walls, installed the windows and doors, and shingled, sided, and soffited the shell of the house. Then, following the electrician and plummer, I’ve gone inside, insulated the exterior walls and hung the drywall. I’ve installed the kitchen and bathroom cabinets and countertops, hung the interior doors, and trimmed the whole works.

Impressive? Not really. On every job, I was taking orders, along with at least two others. Every wall I raised had another man at the other end, and maybe a couple in the middle. Lumber was measured and cut, and nails, screws, and glue held it all together. Thousands of dollars worth of tools and who-knows-how-many kilowatts of electricity got the job done. All that, plus hundreds of man-hours, put another family in a house.

Sometimes, when my back and feet were tired and hurting, I wished I could be God for a day. I wished I could show up on the job site one morning and say to my boss, “Watch this,” and to the dirt, “Let there be a house.” I reckon I could have gotten a pretty good raise out of that.

That’s how God executes his decrees. From creation to the carrying out of his will for the creation, he executes his decrees by the sheer power of his will. He speaks, and it is done; he commands, and it stands fast.

Let them praise the name of the LORD: for he commanded, and they were created. —Psalm 148:5