Would you turn with me to 2 Samuel
chapter 7? 2 Samuel chapter 7, I'd like to
read verses, well, verse 22. 2 Samuel chapter 7,
verse 22. Wherefore, thou art great, O
Lord God, for there is none like thee. Neither is there any God
beside thee according to all that we've heard with our ears. Let's pray together. Lord, we come into your presence
in Christ's name and Lord. We ask that you would be pleased
to meet with us. Make yourself known to us. Lord,
we ask that our hearts might be broken through the hearing
of your gospel. We ask that Christ might be exalted
and that we be allowed. To stand in all. Of him and his
salvation. Lord, we confess our sins. We
pray for forgiveness and cleansing. We pray for your mercy and grace
to be upon us and be with all your people wherever they meet
together. Those of our number that aren't here, we ask that
you would keep them by your grace. And Lord, those that are struggling
and going through trials, we ask that you would draw near
to them and say into them, I am thy salvation. Bless us for the Lord's sake
and be with all your people wherever they meet together. In Christ's
name we pray. Amen. Now, the verse that I just read is what
is known, and I don't really like using this term all that
much, but I'm going to use it. It's called the solitariness
of God. easy enough to understand as
far as being solitary. We know what that means. That
means he's alone. There's nobody like him. The
solitariness of God, there is nothing to compare him to. There's nothing and no one like
him. He's utterly unique. He's other. I love that. He's other. What
a description of our God. He is other. any attempt to say,
this is like God, is idolatry. There's not one single thing
in this universe that you can say, this is like God. No, it's
not. He is other. He's altogether
unique. He is by himself. I want to look
at several scriptures before I say much more about this, but
first turn to Exodus chapter 20. This is the commandment regarding
idolatry, Exodus chapter 20. Verse four, thou shalt not make
unto thee any graven image or any likeness of anything that's
in heaven above or that's in the earth beneath or that's in
the water under the earth. You're not going to make any
image or likeness of God and say, this is like God, this is
what he's like. No, he's not. No, he's not. Any attempt to
make an image to say this is what God is like is to bring
God down to a human level. Verse five, thou shalt not bow
down myself to them nor serve them, for I, the Lord thy God,
am a jealous God. That's who God is. He's jealous
of his own glory, visiting the iniquities of the fathers upon
the children and the third and fourth generation of them that
hate me. Now that's a description of when
someone makes an image, an idol, a likeness of God. God's like
this or God's like that. The reason is they hate the living
God and they try to bring him down to a level that is human. I love what Martin Luther said
to Erasmus. He said, your God is too human. He's too much like a man. I think
of what David said, or what the Lord said through David in the
50th Psalm. This is God speaking. And he says, thou thoughtest,
I was altogether such a one as thyself. And that's what men
think. We try to bring, this is the
way I am. Surely God's like this. No, he's not. No, he's not. Turn with me to Isaiah chapter
four, or Exodus chapter 15, while you're in Exodus. This is the, Exodus 15, verse 11. Who is like unto thee, O Lord,
among the gods? Who is like thee? Glorious in
holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders. No one's like
him. Turn to Isaiah chapter 40. Isaiah
has got several passages of scripture like this. And, uh, Isaiah uses some biting
sarcasm beginning in verse 18. To whom then will you like in
God and what likeness will you compare unto him? The workman
melteth a graven image and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with
gold and casteth silver chains. He that is so impoverished that
he hath no ablation chooses a tree that will not rot. He seeketh
unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image that shall
not be moved. Have you not known? Have you
not heard, hath it not been told you from the beginning? Have
you not understood from the foundation of the earth? It is he that sitteth
upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are
as grasshoppers, that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain,
and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in. That bringeth the
princes to nothing, he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity.
Yea, They shall not be planted, yea, they shall not be sown,
yea, their stalks shall not take root in the earth, and he shall
blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall
take them away as stubble. To whom then will ye liken me? Or shall I be equal, saith the
Lord? Lift up your eyes on high, and behold, who hath created
these things, that bringeth out their host by number? He calleth
them by names, by the greatness of his might, for that he's strong
in power, not one falleth. Look in Isaiah chapter 44 beginning
in verse 9. They that make a graven image
are all of them vanity, Isaiah 44, 9. And their delectable things
shall not profit. And they're their own witness.
They see not, nor know that they may be ashamed. Who hath formed
a god or a molten, a graven image that's profitable for nothing?
Behold, all of his fellows shall be ashamed. And the workmen that
are their men, let them all be gathered together. Let them stand
up. Yet they shall fear, and they shall be ashamed together.
The smith with the tongs both worketh in the coals, and fashioneth
it with hammers, and works it with the strength of his arms.
Yea, he's hungry, and his strength fails. He drinks no water. He's
faint. The carpenter stretches out his
rule. He marks it out with a line. He fits it with a plane. He marks
it out with a compass, and maketh it after the figure of a man,
according to the beauty of a man, that it may remain in the house.
He yeweth him down cedars, and taketh the cypress, and the oak,
and he strengthens for himself among the trees of the forest.
He plants an ash, and the rain does nourish it. Then shall it
be for a man to burn, for he shall take thereof and warm himself. Yea, he kindleth it, he bakes
bread, And then he makes a god and worships it. He makes a graven
image and falls down there unto. He burneth part thereof in the
fire, and part thereof he eats flesh. He roasteth roast, and
is satisfied. Yea, he warmeth himself, and
say, Aha, I'm warm. I've seen the fire. And the residue
thereof he makes a god, even his graven image. He falleth
down unto it, and worships it, and prays unto it, and says,
Deliver me, for thou art my god. They've not known or understood,
for He has shut their eyes that they cannot see, and their hearts
that they can't understand. None considers in His heart,
neither is there any knowledge nor understanding, to say, I
burned part of it in the fire. Yea, also I've baked bread upon
the coals thereof. I've roasted flesh, I've eaten
it. Shall I make the residue thereof an abomination? Shall
I fall down to the stalk of a tree? He feeds on ashes, He deceives
A deceived heart hath turned him aside and cannot deliver
his soul, nor say is there not a lie at my right hand." Now
you see the sarcasm he uses. He takes the same board, the
same piece of wood, he uses some of it to warm himself with, and
he makes him a god with it, and worships it and bows down to
it. Turn with me to one other scripture, Isaiah 46, beginning in verse 5. To whom will you liken me, and
make me equal, and compare me that we may be alike? They lavish
gold out of the bag, and weigh silver in the balance, and hire
a goldsmith, and he makes it a god. They fall down, yea, they
worship, they bear him upon the shoulder, they carry him, and
set him in his place. And he standeth from his place,
shall he not remove? Yea, one shall cry unto him,
yet he can't answer. nor save him out of his trouble.
Remember this and show yourselves men. Bring it again to mind,
O transgressors. Remember the former things of
old, for I am God, and there's none else. I am God, and there's
none like me, declaring the end from the beginning. And from
ancient times of things that are not yet done, saying, my
counsel shall stand, I will do all my pleasure. Calling a ravenous
bird from the east, the man that executes my counsel from a far
country, yea, I've spoken it, I will bring it to pass. I have
purposed it, I also will do it. Now no one, nothing can be compared
to the living God. He's utterly unique. There is
none like Him. Now, there was a time, and I
love thinking about this, although I can't conceive it. There was
a time when there was nothing but God. There was no universe. There were no stars, no planets,
no sun, no angels. There was nothing but God in
his solitariness. And he had no needs. He didn't
create because he was lonely. Creation adds nothing to Him.
And you know, our worship really adds nothing to Him. Listen to
this scripture from Job chapter 35 verse 7. If thou be righteous,
what givest thou to him? What does that add to him? Or
what receiveth he at thy hand? The reason for all things is
his own solitary will. I love that scripture in Matthew
chapter 11 verse 25. where the Lord said, I thank Thee, O Father,
Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hid these things from
the wise and prudent and revealed them unto babes. Now listen to
this. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Thy sight. No other reason is needed. Ephesians 1.11 says, he worketh
all things after the counsel of his own will. Romans 11.34
and 35 says, for who hath known the mind of the Lord, who hath
been his counselor, or who has first given to him that it might
be recompensed to him again. For of him and through him and
to him are all things to whom be glory, both now and forever. Amen. Now, I think it's interesting
that men have given these what they call proofs of God's existence. I remember I had a class when
I was in college called the philosophy of religion, and they gave the
four proofs of God's existence. And the Bible doesn't do that. That's trying to prove something
merely on an intellectual level, like you can prove God's existence.
And they got, first of all, what they call the ontological proof.
And this one never really meant, maybe I'm not smart enough to
figure out what they're saying, but they're saying that God is greater
than the greatest thought man can have of him. And that proves
there's a God, which, well, if you can, maybe after church,
one of y'all can explain to me what that means. I don't know.
But after that, there's what they call the cosmological proof,
and that's that every effect must have a cause. And I think
the Bible kind of says that when it says somebody created this.
The heavens declare the glory of God, and I can kind of see
that one. And then there's what's called the telelogical proof,
and that means if there's design, there has to be a designer. You
look at the, if there's design to things, there had to be a
designer, and then there's the moral argument. They say, if
there is a right and wrong, there must be a God. If there's a right
and wrong, there must be a God. If there's no God, who's to say
what's right? Who's to say what's wrong? Who's to say that anything
matters? And you know, if there isn't
a God, this is a lonely place, isn't it? I mean, who's to say
what's right and what's wrong? But deep down, everybody knows
that God is. There's no such thing as someone
born an atheist. Everybody knows intuitively that
God is. And all these proofs of his existence
I think are a waste of time. That's making things intellectual.
And he is known spiritually. He's not known intellectually,
he's known spiritually. The natural man receiveth not
the things of the Spirit of God, for they're foolishness unto
him. Neither indeed can he know them. He lacks the ability to know
them because they are spiritually discerned. The only way a man
can know God is if he has a spiritual nature. He's got to be born of
the spirit to actually know the living God. So all these proofs
regarding God's existence are a complete waste of time. Now, God only is solitariness. Let me give you seven or eight
things real quick about the solitariness of God. And it's something the
Bible teaches. We've read all these scriptures.
Who are you going to liken me to, God says. Anytime I say this
is like God, I'm making an idol. No, it's not like God. God is
altogether other. He's altogether different. He's
not like you and I naturally think. Now, the first thing that
tells me something about the solitariness of God is his decrees. Everything that happens, happens
according to His purpose. No exceptions to that rule. God is in absolute control of
everything. The decree of God is His purpose
or His determination. Now, known unto God are all His
works from the beginning. From the beginning. When Peter
spoke of the death of Christ on The day of Pentecost, he said,
him being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of
God, you have taken and with wicked hands have crucified and
slain. Now everything that happens, happens according to God's purpose. Romans 9, 11 says the children
being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the
purpose of God, according to election might stand. There it
is. Not of works, but of him that
calleth. And we know that all things work
together for good to them that love God, to them who are thee
called according to his purpose. God is a God of purpose and everything
he purposes comes to pass because he's God. Now me and you purpose
things, how often do they come to pass? Well, if God purposed
them, they will. But there's a lot of things I've
wanted to happen and purpose. It doesn't come to pass because
I don't have any power to bring it to pass, but he does. His
purpose is such that if he wills something, it becomes past tense
before it happens. That's how glorious this God
is. Nobody's like him, are they?
We can't compare him to anybody. Only God is Omniscient. That means he knows everything.
That means he's never taken by surprise. There isn't anything
he doesn't know. He's never informed of anything.
He already knows everything. Whatever kind of knowledge it
is, he knows it all. He is omniscient. Nobody can
be compared to him. You think about how ignorant
you are. You think about how little you know. You know, Paul
said, even under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, we know in
part and we prophesy in part. But God's never learned anything.
He knows all things. Nobody like Him, is there? What
about His foreknowledge? You say, what's the difference
between that and purpose? Well, foreknowledge has to do with
persons. Somebody says, well, God foreknows everything that's
gonna take place because he can see the future and he knows what's
gonna happen. Well, that's true because he determined everything
that's gonna happen. But that doesn't have anything to do with
what his foreknowledge is. Listen to this scripture, Romans 8,
29, for whom he did, whom he did, not what he did, whom he
did foreknow. Then he also did predestinate
to be conformed to the image of his son, that he might be
the firstborn among many brethren. He said to Jeremiah, before I
formed thee in the belly, I knew thee. You see, God's foreknowledge
is the first part of our salvation. Being elect, Peter said, elect
according to the foreknowledge of God. Oh, God's foreknowledge. That means he knew me beforehand.
He loved me beforehand. Who could do that but God? You know, before 9-9-59, nobody
knew me. Nobody knew anything about me.
After I die, give it a few years, nobody will know anything then.
What about your legacy? Don't have one. Don't have one. It doesn't bother me a bit. But
you know what? God knew me before time began. He's always known me. And he
always will. Only God has foreknowledge. Only
God is sovereign. Daniel chapter four, verse 34
and 35 says, he doeth according to his will in the armies of
heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. And none can stay
his hand, none can stop him, none can thwart him. Does man
have a free will? No. No. Do men do what they want
to do? Yeah, they do what they want
to do, but they don't have a free will. God is completely sovereign over
all the actions of men. He doeth according to his will
in the armies of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth,
and none can stay his hand or say unto him, What doest thou?
Give an account for yourself. He doesn't know you or me to
give an account for himself. He's God. He's absolutely sovereign. He's got the power to make His
will come to pass, and He does make His will come to pass all
the time. Amen and amen. We're glad. David
said in Psalm 115, verse 3, our God's in the heavens. He hath
done whatsoever He hath pleased. Now, let me make this statement
with regarding to God's sovereign will. If a man believes in free
will, he believes man's will trumps God's will. That's all
there is to it. Only God is immutable. That means
He never changes. He never changes. Now, I love
that hymn, change and decay in all around I see, O thou who
changest not, abide with me. God never changes. I look at
everybody, including myself, there's so much change. So much
change. And you know, the Scripture says
with regard to God and the angels, He charges His angels with folly. I'm talking about angels who
have never sinned. Why does He charge them with folly? Because
they're mutable. They could commit folly if he
doesn't keep them from it. You see, only he is immutable. I am the Lord, I change not. Therefore, you sons of Jacob
are not consumed. Revelation 15.4 says, only thou
art holy. Only God is holy. Only thou art
holy. Now this is who he is. When Isaiah saw the cherubims
flying around his throne in that vision, when he said, when I
saw the Lord, what were those angels saying? Love, love, love. Grace, grace, grace. Mercy, mercy,
mercy. No, although God is all those
things, but they had this one thing to say, holy, holy, holy. And that's what made Isaiah say,
woe is me, I'm undone. Now, God is holy. Now that holiness
is really, in many respects, it's a difficult concept to even
define. It's his hatred of sin. It's his otherness. Nobody like
him. He's utterly unique. Holy, holy,
holy. Only he is omnipotent. Power
belongeth unto the Lord. I mentioned this a few months
ago. I was listening to the radio in the car and they named the
three, I don't know, the five most powerful men in the United
States. And I had to start laughing when I heard that. Oh, oh, power
belongeth to the Lord. No man has power. He's a powerful
man. No, he's not. Not at all. Power
belongs to the Lord. He's all powerful. And the reason
he can make his decrees come to pass and his purposes come
to pass is because he has all power. All power belongs to him. And any power you or I have is
just something delegated that you really don't have. It's his.
It's his. Pilate said, don't you know that
I have power to crucify you and I have power to release you?
He said, you have no power at all over me, except it be given
thee from above. He's all-powerful, only he is
faithful. He could not be God without being
faithful. It's of the Lord's mercies that
we're not consumed, because his compassions fail not. Great is
thy faithfulness. His utter reliability, his utter
predictability, I like that. You know, I've heard people say,
maybe I've even said it, I don't want to put God in a box. I'm
not worried about you putting God in a box. He is who he is. You can't put him in a box. He
is who he is. And he's always the way he is. He's totally faithful to be who
he is. And that's our hope of salvation.
Only God is good. I love when that The rich young
ruler said, good master, what good thing shall I do to inherit
eternal life? And the Lord said, why callst thou me good? There's
none good, but one, God only. And our Lord knew that this man
was coming to him as a man and nothing more. And he says, there's
none good, but God only, only he is good. I think of his, I
wish I had more time, but I don't, but I meant to say a lot of other
things, but here's one thing I'd like to get hold of. What
about only God is gracious? Only God is merciful. You know,
men, when they hear, and what we're going to talk about next
week from this seventh chapter of 2 Samuel is discriminating
grace. And that comes from, look back on our text in 2 Samuel
chapter 7, when David says in verse 23.
And what one nation in the earth is like thy people, even like
Israel, whom God hath went to redeem for a people to himself,
and to make him a name, and to do for you great things and terrible,
for thy land before thy people, which thou redeemest to thee
from Egypt, from the nations and their gods? For thou hast
confirmed to thyself thy people Israel to be a people unto thee
forever, and thou, Lord, art become their God. Now there we
find his discriminating grace. He made a difference between
Israel and the rest of the world. And if you're saved, He made
a difference between you and the rest of the world. And people
respond to that. People who are not saved, they
say, how could that be fair? How could that be right? Now,
let me say this. If it were up to me or you as
to whether or not people would be saved, and people stand in
judgment of God, it wasn't right for Him to choose some and pass
by others. If it were up to me or you as
to who would be saved, you know how many people would be saved?
Just me. I guarantee you. Now, you could
sin against me, I'd forgive you. You'd sin against me, I'd forgive
you. You'd irritate me, I'd forgive you. But at some point, I'd say,
I've had it. No more. Send him to hell. Now,
that's man. And here men presume to sit in
judgment on God, saying, I'd be more merciful than God. No,
you wouldn't. No, you wouldn't. If salvation
were up to you, I wouldn't be saved. You'd have a reason to
get rid of me, and that's just the way men... Only God is gracious. Now, I know we have high thoughts
of ourself. Oh, I'd do it differently. No, you wouldn't. No, you wouldn't.
I know you better than that, and I know myself better than
that. Only God is gracious. But the point is, God is utterly
unique. There's nobody like him. And
what a blessed privilege of grace that we might know this living
God. What's a greater blessing than
that? To know the living God. Okay, we'll pick up with verse
23 and 24 next week.