All right, our text this evening
is Proverbs 21 and verse 1, and the subject from this text is
God's sovereignty over the hearts of men. Let's listen to what
Solomon writes. Verse 1, the king's heart is
in the Lord's hand. As the rivers of water, he turns
it whithersoever he will. Now, there's no question that
we have waded off into the doctrine of divine sovereignty. There's
also no question that the doctrine of divine sovereignty is both
a beloved and a hated and despised doctrine. People have contrary
opinions about the sovereignty of God. There are sharp, sharp
differences on the subject, even among those who name the name
of Christ and call themselves a Christian. Among those who
profess to be Christian believers, there is sharp controversy on
the subject that we are engaging this evening. To some, it is
a blessed and a comforting doctrine. To some, it stills our heart,
it grants us faith, and it stills and assures us. To others, it
is a heretical teaching, come out of the pits of hell, and
nothing but heresy. To some, it is the clear teaching
of the Word of God that nothing could be clearer in the Scripture. To others, it militates against
what they call human responsibility. To some, even if true, it is
said that it ought not to be preached in public or in the
hearing of people, because it is so unsettling unto many and
is hard to be received and it is a hard doctrine. Some even
claiming that it is not important at all to Christian theology
or unto the Christian life. Still others would restrict the
sovereignty of God and put certain limits upon it and not relate
it at all into the realm of salvation or intrude it into the spiritual
life of the people of God. But the present inquiry this
evening is this, whether God does sovereignly incline the
hearts of people in one way or another, whether it is God behind
these things, and whether it is God that actually exerts a
power and an influence to incline one heart this way and another
another. That is, whether he can or whether
he does put certain thoughts even into the mind and the heart
and the understanding. Does he direct the heart of men
and women on certain matters that are before them? Yet it
is said to be thoughts and actions of the individual as well that
are included in this. Is this that we are studying
a major part of God's work of providence and governing his
creatures? Is this one of the great ways
that God exercises a providential government over the human family? Now, our text said it once more. The King's heart is in the Lord's
hand. Like the rivers of water, He
turns it whithersoever He will. Now notice the first statement. The King's heart is in the hand
of the Lord. is a statement and a matter of
fact. Here is a general truth that
is set out here and other places in the scripture, that the heart
of the king is in the hand of the Lord. That is, that the Lord
God holds in his hand or in his power or in his possession the
heart of the king. Then we're given a statement
to the extent of that operation. of the king's heart being in
the hand of the Lord. Notice the last part describes
that. The king's heart is in the Lord's
hand. Then he says, as the rivers of
water, he turns it whithersoever he will. Which way he will. That is, he controls the actions
of people, even the kings, by turning their heart in one direction
or another. He controls men by having reign
upon the heart. And I like to throw in the conscience
that God actually holds the reigns of conscience of individual. And notice, if you will, in verse
1, what it is that is given as an example of God controlling
the king's heart. The king's heart, not the lowest
peasant, not the slave or the servant that is under strict
authority, the one that has no power, but he says the king's
heart is in the hand of the Lord, not just the common man, but
the king, the one who has the most power, the one who has the
most say in the kingdom, the one who has the most power over
others himself and is himself least subject unto others, the
one who gives out laws and edicts and reign over the people governing
them, that is, the king upon the throne, the highest among
men, kings, their heart in the hand of God. That is, they're
subject to God. They're under the control and
the direction of God. It's what an old-time writer,
Ralph Wardlaw, called, quote, the purposes and determinations
of men, unquote, are under or in the hand of God. stop, if
you will, and consider the matter which Solomon has raised for
our consideration, and that is the sovereignty of God over the
purposes and the determination of the hearts of men. That the
bringing to pass the purpose of God depends upon it to be
so. God's government of the world
requires it, that God direct the hearts of these and of those. God's government of the world
is that which is accomplished by and through this in great
part. The reigns of the heart and of
the conscience of the greatest, highest in authority, are but
in the hands of the Lord." Consider, if you will, God governs the
material world, does he not? God's sovereignty is certainly
over the material world. He governs that material word
by His word. By His word, the heavens are
created and they stand. By His power, He upholds all
things. He governs and directs the ignorant
beasts of the forest and of the field by the instincts which
He has created in them, and they act in accordance with their
innate instincts according as God had supplied them. The human
family, Almighty God guides and directs by the power that he
has over the heart and over the conscience, holding them in check
by means of fear if necessary. Now Solomon speaks of the king's
heart and many others also speak of the heart. It appears hundreds
and hundreds of times in the scripture. You'll find it in
the Old Testament, you'll find it in the New Testament, references
to the heart or the hearts of men, so that it behooves us then
to consider and define the meaning of the heart. What is the meaning
of the heart of man in light of what the Bible calls our heart? Well, we know it certainly is
not the physical heart that we have within our chest. It certainly
is not that. Though it is the chief organ
of the body, I think that we could say, it is the most important
to the physical life. It's the most important to the
life of the flesh. And as it were, this heart blood
pumper, stands at the heart and the center of the body and supplies
to it and sends out unto it life. It is the seed of the physical
vitality that is in a human. But so in the spiritual sense,
the heart stands also for the center of the life. It is the
personal life. It is that that we are within.
The seed, if we may call it, or the center. of the emotion,
the thought, and the intellect. Out of the heart, says Solomon,
are the issues of life, Proverbs 4 and verse 23. Solomon goes
so far as to say, again in Proverbs 23 and verse 7, as one thinks
in their heart, so are they. As a man thinketh in his heart,
so is he. He is what his heart is. And the question that may cause
us to scratch our heads is, what all is included then under this
one heading or summation of the heart? How about the soul and
the spirit? Are we to consider that as part? How about the will? How about
the emotions that are in man, the heart of man, has been called
the seat of rational functions, quote unquote. The heart plans,
the inner impulses, the seat of emotion, various passions
that are there within this individual or that one. So we must admit
something about the heart as it is by nature. It is not good
as gold. We hear that expression, he's
got a heart as good as gold. The heart of man by nature is
not pure and it is not upright. It is not inclined towards God. prior to regeneration. It is
not filled with righteousness and good thoughts and perfect
intention. Instead, as Jeremiah 17 and verse
9 has declared, the heart is deceitful above all things and
desperately wicked and who can know it. In verse 10, God said
of that chapter, I the Lord search the heart, I try the rain. The Lord Jesus said in Matthew
15, 18 through 20, then again in a powerful passage in Mark
chapter 7 and verse 21 through 23, that out of the heart, from
within, out of the heart proceed the filthy evil thoughts and
the filthy sins of all sorts, out of the heart proceed these
things. The unregenerate heart is a cesspool
of sin. They originate from within, coming
up out of the heart of man. As in Genesis 6 and 5, in the
generation upon which the flood was sent by God, God saw that
every imagination of the thoughts and the intent of the heart was
only evil continually. Genesis 6 and verse 5. Now does this question enter
into our mind when we consider our first text? The king's heart
is in the hand of the Lord. And does Solomon have in mind
a particular kind of king, a certain or particular kind of king. That is, is he speaking of a
wicked king, such as Pharaoh? and Ahab, or does the good man
have in mind a righteous king, such as David and Jehoash, whose
hearts are more pliable, perhaps, to the workings of God, any more
tender and perhaps inclined toward the way of the Lord? Or does
Solomon have no such distinction in his mind at all, the point
being that God holds absolute sway over the heart of even the
most powerful and the most wicked king. Matthew Henry wrote this,
notwithstanding their power and the prerogative of their crowns,
unquote, the king's heart is in the hand of the Lord. They
who rule their subjects with an iron fist and an absolutely
imposing upon them whatsoever arbitrary laws they will, and
yet the discerner of the thoughts and the intents of the heart,
Hebrews chapter 4 and verse 12, is able by his power to turn
the heart of a proud, arrogant king, whether so ever he will. Like the rivers of water are
turned to a certain place for the irrigation, to channel them,
to turn them, which so ever way or direction God would. Now,
in looking at that text, the rivers of water in Proverbs 21
and verse 1, Methinks that they are right here who understand
the reference to the waterways to be an allusion to the irrigation
of a field or a garden. where the channels are cut, cut
so as to carry the water where the owner wills and where he
wants it to flow, directing it first this way, then another.
down this row and then down that row. A few times in my life on
vacations out in New Mexico and in Colorado, in the big river
countries where there are canals and aqueducts that drain the
water off of the big raging river into the farms through channels
that have been cut. And they are cut so as the waters
follow them. And then the farmer can block
the water from one part of the field and direct it over to another
part of the field by moving the blocks from one place to another
or opening and shutting valves. He therefore irrigates his crop. directing the water whether so
ever he will. It's water channels here. I believe
that's in the writer's mind. Even so, God's sovereign and
irresistible power can direct the actions of men even the most
powerful king to a desired end, and he does that by a powerful
influence and operation upon the heart of the individual.
He causes them to leave off what they would do or had intended
to do and do what they would not ordinarily do. And it is
not necessary that such a person should be regenerate. For God
to perform this work, He does not need a regenerate heart.
As He works by His grace and His Spirit in the renewed heart,
so in the unrenewed heart He works by His power and influence. But to repeat a point, it is
not necessary for the king to be regenerate, for God to turn
his heart in one direction or another, or to believe even,
or to acknowledge the existence of God. This king need not be
a friend of God or even religious. In fact, he may be a pagan, even
an atheist, for so great is the power of God So extensive is
His divine sovereignty that God makes them to be the instruments
in His hand to accomplish His purpose as He would. So great
is God's power over the heart of the King, even the will of
the King, that He puts it in their hearts to do what is at
the time against their own best interest and benefit. Like Revelation
17 and verse 7 said, God had put it into their heart to give
their kingdom unto the beast. He had put it into all of these
kings heart to give their kingdom unto the beast for a time. At times, God has directed the
heart of the king so that it helps and blesses and encourages
the people of God. For example, in Ezra 6 and 22,
it says, the Lord turned the heart of the king of Assyria
onto them to strengthen their hand in the work of the house
of God, the God of Israel, unquote. God put it into the heart of
the king to be helpful to the people of God. again in Ezra
7 and verse 27, blessed be the Lord God of our fathers, which
put it into the heart of the king such a thing to beautify
the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem, putting it in the
heart of the king. for the people having not the
resources need the help therefore of the king. Consider something
in Nehemiah chapter 2 verse 4 and verse 5 when Nehemiah who was
away from his country and city when he heard the sad report
of the state of Jerusalem. Someone brought him a report
of the state of Jerusalem, that the walls were fallen, the gates
were burned, and that it lay in disrepair. The scripture said
that he wept and he mourned, he prayed, and he fasted and
he confessed the sins of the people against God. Now Nehemiah,
you might remember, was the king's cupbearer at that time and on
a certain day as he brought the king his wine before him in a
cup. His spirit was low. His spirit was as low or lower
than a snake's belly on this particular day. And in verse
2, the king asked Nehemiah, why are you so sad? Why is your countenance
fallen like that? What is the cause of it? You're
not sick, you're not a sick man, so why is it that thy countenance
is so fallen? Well, the king accurately diagnosed
Nehemiah, this is a case of sadness of heart. He says, you're a sad,
sad man. Something has made you sad. You are in the grip of some deep
sadness. And in verse 3, Nehemiah salutes
the king, blesses him, and then He answers the king, why wouldn't
I be sad when the city in which my fathers are buried lies in
waste and the gates are burned? Why wouldn't I be sad? In verse
4, the king, instead of passing it off, asks his faithful and
usually cheerful servant and cupbearer, what is your request? What do you want to ask? What
is it that you need? What do you want of me? And in verse 5, we're in Nehemiah
2, after praying to God, Nehemiah went to prayer, Nehemiah said,
Oh, that I might go to Jerusalem and rebuild the city. And in
the 6th verse we see, it pleased the king to approve it. The king's heart was in the Lord's
hand like the rivers of water turned it whether so ever he
will. Notice Nehemiah attributes his desire, that is Nehemiah's
own desire to rebuild the city. He attributes that to an impulse
which the Lord had put in his heart. He says that in Nehemiah
chapter 2 verse 12 chapter 7 And verse 5, the Lord has put it
into my heart to do that. Then let's think of another king,
Abimelech. There was a king named Abimelech
who was king over Gerar. And you have the record in Exodus
chapter 20. You might remember when Abraham
and Sarah journeyed down to the country of Gerar. Abraham told
a half-truth when he came down before the king. He said that
Sarah was his sister in the second verse. So King Abimelech, thinking
that, took Sarah to become one of his own wives. But before
he came into Sarah, God did visit the King Abimelech in a dream. a powerful dream, a startling
dream, telling him this, you are as good as a dead man. If you do this, you are as good
as a dead man, for she is married to a husband. In verse 5, Abimelech
defends himself. I didn't know that. I didn't
understand that. He told me that she was his sister,
even she told me that Abraham was her brother." Well, you see,
Sarah and Abraham had this deal going. You'll find it in verse
12 and verse 13 of this chapter. And Abraham had said to her,
wherever we go, you don't tell people you're my wife, you tell
them that you're my sister. Well, that's just a half-truth
because she was his half-sister, but that's neither there nor
here in our study today. But God says, Yes, I know that,
to the king. And in verse 6, the last part
says, I withheld you from sinning against me. I suffered you not
to touch her. Listen to that. If I didn't divine
sovereignty over the heart of the king. As God, as it were,
put hooks in the jaw of the king restraining him from defiling
Sarah. This again in Genesis chapter
12 you see. This may be a little off the
subject but remember Sarah was to bear a special promised son
and that by her husband Abraham. And that time was drawing ever
near. And she must not be defiled by
any other man, lest it provide the opportunity for some to call
into question the purpose and the power and the promise of
God to Abraham that he would father the precious or the promise
seed not another must father Isaac, but Abraham himself. And so these incidents at Gerar
again confirm our text that the heart of the king is in the hand
of our God, in the Lord's hand, who by his sovereign power directs
them according to the good pleasure of his purpose, to accomplish
his will and to accomplish his purpose. Then there is another
demonstration of this in Daniel chapter 4, if you care to turn
there, God's dealings with Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. And the king one night had a
dream, and he saw in that dream a messenger, a messenger of God,
saying unto him, In verse 15 and verse 16, let his portion
be with a beast of the grass of the earth. Let his heart be
changed from man's. Let a beast's heart be given
unto him. What a dream! What was fulfilled,
though, in Daniel 4 and verse 33? He went and grazed out in
the field like a cow or an oxen. The dude drenched him. His hair
resembled the feathers. of an eagle and his nails resemble
the claws of a bird, the scripture said. John Gill noted chapter
4 of Daniel was written by Nebuchadnezzar himself and included in the book
because we see it in a first person account I Nebuchadnezzar
verse 4 verse 2 I Thought it good verse 5. I saw verse 18
I King Nebuchadnezzar and so on and here is what Gil said
about this episode quote I a very useful instruction it contained,
showing the sovereignty of God over the hearts of the greatest
kings and potentates of the earth, which is acknowledged by one
of the proudest monarchs that ever lived upon the face of the
earth." Unquote. Gill is right when he calls King
Nebuchadnezzar a proud monarch. how proud and boastful was this
man. Look with me at Daniel chapter
4 and verse 30, when the king here said, instead of the king,
the king, that is Nebuchadnezzar, he spoke and he said, is not
this great Babylon that I have built for the house of the kingdom,
probably referring to the king's palace, by the might of my power
and for the honor of my majesty." The king had built a monument
to himself and boasting one day as he walked upon the walls of
how great he was and what great things he had done and how great
things he had built. And in verse 31, it said, no
sooner had the words passed out of his lips but a voice from
heaven declared that his kingdom was taken away and ran. Daniel
4, 34 and 35, when the king's understanding returned and what
he called my reason in verse 36, he is deeply humble. I don't know if he's converted
and makes a sound confession, but he is deeply humble. that
God's dominion is an everlasting dominion, His kingdom from generation
to generation to generation, that all the inhabitants that
dwell upon the earth are reputed as nothing, and that He does
His will in the armies of heaven and of earth, and none can stay
His hand or say unto Him, What are you doing? That is the words
of King Nebuchadnezzar, after the Lord had terrified him. Again, in Daniel 5, 20 and 21,
Daniel said to Nebuchadnezzar's son that when his heart was lifted
up and hardened with pride, then God caused him to know, quote,
that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men and he
appoints over it whomsoever he will, unquote. Now in these events,
in the book of Daniel, we behold God's sovereignty over the kingdoms
of men and over the kings themselves. Now we have not even yet mentioned
one of the greatest examples of all the Bible and that is
the king's heart is in the hand of the Lord in connection to
Pharaoh, the king over Egypt. How God raised him to power.
How God got glory through Pharaoh by drowning him in the Red Sea. God hardened his heart and he
let the cup of iniquity fill to overflowing. God glory unto
Himself. Glory for the ages through Pharaoh. And you can read this in the
book of Exodus chapters 5 through chapter 13 mentioned by Paul
in Romans chapter 9 and verse 15 through verse 17. Now, God
does not limit His sovereignty over the hearts of men simply
to kings, those who rule and reign, For all the hearts of
all are in the hands of God to do with them as he would. Some he gives over to beastly
desires, like old Nebuchadnezzar acted like an animal and went
out in the field and grazed upon all fours and ate grass and did
that for a while, some wallah in their beastly desires. Some
wallow in their sin like a hog in a mud puddle, giving them
over to a reprobate mind, incapable of discerning the truth. God
does that according to Romans 1. On the other hand, thank God
He gives when it is His good pleasure a new heart, taking
away the old stony heart of flesh away, giving a heart to know
Him. exactly as He promised in Jeremiah
31 and 33. Ezekiel 11 and verse 19, I will
give them a new heart. He can harden whom He will. He
can have mercy. on whom He will, Romans 9 and
verse 18. As all souls are His, Ezekiel
18 and 4, so all hearts are in His hand to harden or to melt
according to His good pleasure, to open or to close, to lighten
or to darken according to the pleasure of God. Our God has
sovereignty over the heart. He can circumcise the heart. Deuteronomy 30 and 6, Colossians
2, 11 and 12. He circumcises the heart, cutting
away that body of filth and flesh and sin. He opened the heart
of Lydia, Acts 16 and verse 14, giving her an ear for the gospel
and the things that were preached by the Apostle Paul down by the
riverside. Paul says in II Thessalonians
3 and 5 that he directs the heart into the love of God and the
patient waiting for Christ Jesus the Lord. He reigns in the hearts
of his people. having sent forth his spirit
into their hearts, crying, Abba, Father, Abba, Father. He has
given us a heart to know him. He has completely changed the
inclination of our hearts by that great sovereign work of
regeneration, whereby we own him as Lord and Lord of all,
and we know that there is no God but one, and that is Yahweh,
the eternal sovereign God who has control of our heart. How we thank God for that great
work when He turned our hearts about. He turned us about by
the sovereignty of His power, by changing our heart, by giving
us a new heart whereby we turn from our sin and turn to Christ
and to God. What a turning was that, how
he turned our heart so abruptly about, and that by a sovereign
work of his power, an inward work, an inward work of the heart. Thank God that Solomon is right. The king's heart is in the Lord's
hand like rivers of water. He turns it whithersoever he
will.