Day 159.
4 The Lord has made everything for its purpose,
even the wicked for the day of trouble.
5 Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the Lord;
be assured, he will not go unpunished. (Pr 16:4-5)
The sovereignty of God is one truth that the wise man must keep in mind. Everything has a purpose, even that which is hard to understand. “Even the wicked for the day of trouble” has a purpose in God’s sovereign plan, though we scratch our heads to understand it. The apostle Paul in Romans explains that God has the right to make some destined for hell and some destined for heaven. “Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory (Ro 9:21-23)”
And yet, even in the midst of God’s sovereignty the writer of Proverbs does not discount the responsibility of man as he explains in verse 5, “everyone who is arrogant in heart…will not go unpunished.”
The sovereignty of God gives us hope in the midst of our lack of wisdom at times in life. Left to ourselves we would all be in dire straights. And yet, the Lord is preserving a people for himself and the Lord is giving wisdom and prudence to His people. And the confidence in that rests in God and not us.
9 The heart of man plans his way,
but the Lord establishes his steps. (Pr 16:9)
