Predestinating God has appointed “the bounds of your habitation” (Acts 17:26): by A W Pink The very uncertainty of what the morrow may bring forth fills many with uneasiness and trepidation. But how different should be the state of God’s children! If the poor worldling is concerned with what lies before him, it is the blessed privilege of the Believer to be occupied with Who goes before him, the One who is his Captain, his Guide, his Forerunner. “The LORD! He it is WHO goes before you” (Deut 31:8). What a difference that makes! THE LORD HAS GONE BEFORE YOU IN THE GRAND DECREE OF HIS PRE- DESTINATION. YOUR FUTURE HAS ALL BEEN MARKED OUT FOR YOU. YOU SHALL NOT TREAD A STEP WHICH IS NOT MAPPED ON THE GRAND CHART OF GOD’S FOREORDINATION. ALL YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES HAVE BEEN DIVINELY ORDERED FOR YOU. AH, CHRISTIAN READER, WHAT AN IMMENSE DIFFERENCE THIS MAKES THAT YOU ARE NOT A CHILD OF CHANCE—THAT YOUR LOT IS NOT DECIDED BY THE CAPRICE OF FICKLE FORTUNE. INFINITE WISDOM AND INFINITE LOVE HAVE ARRANGED EVERYTHING! You will go nowhere during this year but where God has de- creed. A predestinating God has appointed “the bounds of your habitation” (Acts 17:26). You may be thrust into the furnace of affliction, yet you will not be deserted. You may be brought low, yet it will be for your future blessing. You may be chastened, yet the rod is in the hands of your Father. The Lord has gone before you in the preparations of His Providence. “My God shall supply all your need” (Phil 4:19). Full provision has already been made for it. Jehovah does not have to improvise. No unexpected emergency can overtake Him—“known unto God are all His works from the beginning of the world” (Acts 15:18). Therefore is it written, “And it shall come to pass that before they call I will answer” (Isa 65:24). Before we reach a place God has provided for us—wherever the road leads—all has been made ready. “...Who went in the way before you, to search you out a place to pitch your tents in” (Deut 1:33). And He will not do less for His people today! Here is comfort for the preacher, too—“The LORD, He it is that does go before you,” to prepare hearts for the message, for the reception of the Truth. The Lord has gone before you in Person. The path which He calls you to tread has first been traversed by Himself. None other than the Lord of Glory became Incarnate, entered this world of ours and tabernacled here for 33 years in the flesh that He might be the Captain of our salvation (Heb 2:10). “When He puts forth His own sheep, He goes before them” (John 10:4). “Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that you should follow His steps” (1 Peter 2:21). WHAT COMFORT IS THERE HERE—THAT THE TRIALS WE ENDURE FOR THE TRUTH’S SAKE—THAT THE UNKIND TREATMENT WE MEET WITH FROM PROFESSING BRETHREN BECAUSE WE DARE NOT COMPROMISE ARE AN ESSENTIAL PART OF THE PROCESS OF OUR BEING CONFORMED TO THE IMAGE OF GOD’S SON! SHALL WE BE CALLED UPON TO PASS THROUGH THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH? WELL, THE CHRISTIAN HAS NOTHING TO FEAR, FOR CHRIST HAS GONE BEFORE HIM AND EXTRACTED ITS STING! The Lord has gone before you in the directions of His precepts. “Your Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path” (Psa 119:105), revealing the way of peace and blessing through this dark world. Especially is that true of its perceptive portions, for they make known the paths of righteousness which we are to tread. Ignorance of God’s will concerning the way we should go is inexcusable—for He has already clearly and definitely made known His will. The highway of holiness does not have to be made by us—it is there plainly enough before us in the Word, and it is ours to walk in it. “You shall guide me with Your counsel, and afterward receive me to glory” (Psa 73:24). The Lord has gone before you in the provisions of His promises. What are the Divine promises but so many anticipations of our varied needs and guarantees that God stands pledged to supply? They are so many proofs of His Omniscience which foresaw what would meet our requirements. They are so many tokens of His loving kindness to manifest His tender concerns for us long before we had any historical existence. They are so many evidences of His faithfulness that He will withhold no good thing from them who walk uprightly. Whatever tomorrow may hold, the Divine promises assure the Christian that the Lord has gone before and made every provision for him. The Lord has gone before you into Paradise. Did He not expressly announce before He left this scene, “In My Father’s House are many mansions: if it were not so I would have told you: I go to prepare a place for you”? (John 14:2). Not for Himself but for His redeemed! Nor would He entrust this task unto the angels! How it tells of the love of the Bridegroom for His bride! Christ has entered Heaven on our behalf, taking possession of it in our name: “where the Forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus” (Heb 6:20). Here, then, is real substantial comfort and what shall be my response? “The LORD, He it is who does go before you” (Deut 31:8). Then, first, my eyes should be constantly fixed upon Him: “looking unto Jesus” (Heb 12:2) —looking away from all else, trusting none other. Second, it is my business to follow Him—for what other purpose is a Guide?—“when He puts forth His own sheep, He goes before them and the sheep follow Him” (John 10:4). And as they do, so they find that He makes them to lie down in green pastures, that He leads them beside the still waters. Ah, who would not follow such a Shepherd?! O that the Lord may say of us as He did of Caleb, “he has followed Me fully” (Num 14:24). Third, fear should be entirely banished from my heart. And will it not be so if faith really lays hold of this: “The LORD, He it is who does go before you, He will be with you, He will not fail you, neither forsake you; fear not, neither be dismayed”? The Lord has gone before the preacher. This little message would hardly be complete if we fail to include a special word for the minister of the Gospel. Nor has God overlooked him at this very point. “Behold He goes before you” (Matt 28:7) is addressed immediately unto the servants of Christ, and it is for their faith to appropriate the same. According as they do so will their hearts and hands be strengthened. If you are really the servant of Christ, your Master has NOT CALLED YOU TO DRAW A BOW AT A VENTURE, but has appointed your specific place in His vineyard and has ordered everything in connection therewith. That does not mean all will be smooth sailing. It did not mean that for the Apostles, as the book of Acts shows. But it did mean that they were not left without a Pilot. He not only went before them but gave assurance, “Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world” (Matt 28:20). That is the grand consolation of this writer. May it be yours, too.—Adapted from Brother Pink’s Studies in the Scriptures, January, 1943.
Posted on: Mon, 08 Jul 2013 13:45:12 +0000