4th century BC
Plato
- Idealism — forms over particulars
- The Republic ethic: “God is not the author of evil”
Notes
This is the hard one. All Things, the song just before it, gave you sovereignty at its gentlest - every trial worked for good. This song takes the very same sovereignty all the way down, into Romans 9, to the potter and the clay and the words most people will not sing: salvation and damnation, by His will displayed. You cannot rest in "all things work for good" and then flinch here. It is one hand. Track eleven simply refuses to stop short of where Romans 9 actually goes.
Notice what the song tells you to do with a doctrine this size, because it is not what you would expect. Twice it says there is no need for defense. God's sovereign will does not require a mortal lawyer. Verse three warns that the man who reaches for a justifier's role - who appoints himself God's defense attorney - is the one who falters. The faithful do not argue the decree into acceptability. They bow under it. In awe we bow before Your throne.
And hear the register it asks for. Verse six: tremble in reverence, speak the truth whole, even the discomfort. Speak all of it - do not trim the hard half to make it easier. But tremble. There is a kind of man who enjoys this doctrine, who relishes the damnation in it, and that man has missed it entirely. The throne where the sovereign will stands firm is the same throne where mercy overflows. You sing this one on your knees, or you do not sing it at all.
Lyrics
[Verse 1]
In realms of might, where the Sovereign stands,
No need for mortal to defend His plans,
He who molds the world with divine hands,
The Creator, Shaper, the Almighty spans.
[Chorus]
Your sovereign will stands firm, O Lord, no power can oppose;
In awe we bow before Your throne, where mercy overflows.
[Verse 2]
In His acts of righteousness, none contest,
For He, the law giver, knows what is best,
From beginning to end, His pleasure invests,
A world unfolding, His decree manifests.
[Chorus]
Your sovereign will stands firm, O Lord, no power can oppose;
In awe we bow before Your throne, where mercy overflows.
[Verse 3]
No need for defense, the faithful perceive,
In God’s sovereignty, they humbly believe,
Yet some may falter, as they try to achieve,
A justifier’s role, in what He conceived.
[Verse 4]
Before time began, His choice was made,
Salvation and damnation, by His will displayed,
Not for good or bad, His plan was laid,
But for His pleasure, the ransom paid.
[Chorus]
Your sovereign will stands firm, O Lord, no power can oppose;
In awe we bow before Your throne, where mercy overflows.
[Verse 5]
The potter and clay, His power reveals,
One vessel for honor, the other truth concealed,
His wrath and mercy, in balance He wields,
To show His glory, His plan unpeels.
[Verse 6]
Tremble in reverence, speak the truth whole,
Even the discomfort, let His story unroll,
For in His sovereignty, we find our soul,
In the Almighty’s hands, eternally console.
[Chorus x2]
Your sovereign will stands firm, O Lord, no power can oppose;
In awe we bow before Your throne, where mercy overflows.
Commentary