A Thought on Miracles
Unknown Author
Table of Contents
A Thought on Miracles: Part 1
The case of the poor mother was a pathetic one, and would naturally awaken the sympathies of the tender-hearted. But the Great Prophet of the kingdom of God could not be swayed by sentiment or emotion merely, and thrown from His just balance in the administration of the mercy of Jehovah. In Him mercy was perfectly tempered with truth and righteousness, as was the case with none other of the servants of God. Jonah, that former prophet of Galilee, knew neither mercy nor grace, and repined in his bigotry, at the forbearance of God shown to the Ninevites who repented at his preaching. Though he had himself experienced how Jehovah's power and mercy miraculously delivered a disobedient servant from a just retribution, Jonah could not endure that the ignorant Gentiles unable to " discern between their right hand and their left hand " should be spared from the threatened judgment. But Jesus, while full of compassion for the stranger, was equally full of truth as of grace. His mercy, " the sure mercies of David," was exercised according to the inflexible truth of God. Bounds were set to the flow of the living waters. Jehovah had for many centuries drawn broad and deep distinctions among the families of mankind, based upon His promise and His oath. In Abraham the olive tree of promise was established, and successive prophets had declared that his seed were the appointed participants in its " root and fatness."
According to the oracles of truth, therefore, the seed of Abraham were the chosen people of God, and nationally were brought into filial relationship with Him. " Out of Egypt I have called my son," said Jehovah, carrying the nation out of the house of bondage into the land of plenty, the " land flowing with milk and honey." Because of their gross idolatry and moral depravity, the aboriginal inhabitants of Canaan were driven out to make place for those known in prophetic language as " sons of the living God."
Dispensationally, therefore, as the whole scheme of Old Testament promise and prophecy showed, the descendants of Israel were nearer God than the Gentiles. And the Lord Jesus in His ministry of the abundant grace of God recognized the divine restrictions imposed in former days. He had not come to destroy the law and the prophets (Matt. 5:17); and what God had established He would not permit man to waive or ignore. Even in this case of dire extremity, the woman was not entitled by reason of her necessity to set aside the ruling and ways of God for centuries. The Messiah was sent to Israel, and salvation was of the Jews. She must learn that her only hope lay in the sovereign mercy of God.
The question involved in the woman's plea, therefore, was one of proper decorum in approaching the Majesty of heavenly grace. Seemliness in the eyes of heaven is the due recognition of the dignity and authority of what is of God. Distinctions must not be set aside save by the One who made those distinctions. Soon it would be declared of human depravity that " there is no difference; for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God "; and further, of divine sovereignty, " there is no difference, for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him " (Rom. 3:23; 10:12).
But in the days of our Lord's ministry, there were still those who nationally were of the family of God and those who were not. In relative dispensational position, therefore, the two classes were as far removed from one another in the household as children and dogs. Hence the Lord said to the woman, " Let the children first be filled; it is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to the dogs."
In this reply, the Lord, as it were, appealed to what was in harmony with divine appointment in the matter of government among men. When the order of the coming heavenly kingdom is fully established upon the earth, there will then be a class who have a right to eat of the tree of life, and to enter through the gates into the city: there will at the same time be " dogs," but these are said to be " without " (Rev. 22:15).
The words of our Lord challenged the woman whether she would accept these limitations imposed by God in the course of His sovereign dealings with men. The divine decree to Joshua was that the Canaanite should be exterminated from the land, and now the anointed King in that land had used to her a term of reproach which seemed to be harsh and humiliating. What would she do? In her self-abasement, she accepted the term in its full religious import. She could not claim to be a child, and she did not refuse to acknowledge herself before the Lord and His disciples to be an unclean dog. The word of truth had truly entered her soul, and cast out all Gentile pride, convincing her that by race she was an outcast from Israel, and therefore without any prescriptive claim upon the Messiah of that nation.
A Thought on Miracles: Part 2
Faith delights to accredit God in all His ways either in His giving laws for the ordering of the universe, or in His suspending them, graciously, acting upon principles which man is constantly discerning, or in wondrously displaying His power and right to set aside for a given purpose His usual methods.
The sun stands still (Josh. 10:12). The earth quakes (1 Sam. 14, Matt. 27). The waters are turned into blood (Ex. 7:20), or stand " on heap " (Josh. 3:13). The violence of fire is quenched (Dan. 3:25), and even man himself becomes as a beast (Dan. 4), or is swallowed by a fish (Jonah 1) at His decree. Scripture testifies to the working of miracles in all ages. Sometimes directly by the divine hand alone, and sometimes by the instrumentality of chosen servants. Both the Old and the New Testaments furnish us with their marvelous records.
In Egypt, in the Wilderness, in the Land, in Captivity, the o. t. records the working of God by His power, for or with His people; whilst in the N.T. we read of signs being wrought by the Lord Jesus and the apostles, as well as by those who believed their testimony (Mark 16:17). Early church history also bears witness to their having been wrought while as yet Christianity was combating the forces of pagan emperors, and the powers of darkness. The purpose of God in using miracles may be gathered from the words used in scripture to express them, namely, signs, wonders, and powers. As " signs " they witnessed that God had visited His people; as " wonders," arresting the attention of a godless world to His rights in it; and as " powers," as being superhuman and accomplished only according to His permission, and the working of His sovereign will. We find all three words used in reference to the miracles wrought by the Lord Jesus Himself (Acts 2:22); by those wrought by the apostle Paul (2 Cor. 12:12); and to those which will be by the antichrist in the near future (2 Thess. 2:9).
Seeing then that we have this general testimony of Scripture concerning miracles, we may ask, to what cause can we attribute the fact that we do not see them wrought around us in the present day? Certainly none dare question the prerogative, or right, of God to act as He pleases in the heavens, or on the earth, and it may be that even now He puts forth His hand to over-ride some law of nature locally, for the deliverance or succor of His children: but such action does not take the form of a public testimony, because the Holy Spirit is not only now present in the church, but to convince (ελέγχειυ) i.e., to reprove, bring to light, and put to shame, the world as such, before God, by the instrumentality of His word now completed, and which would not be made more effectual even were it accompanied with miraculous powers. It is mighty in itself to the pulling down of strongholds (2 Cor. 10:4), and when its working is manifested by spiritual power seen by a gainsaying world in the believer, or in the church, and made known for the obedience of faith in the preaching of the gospel for the deliverance of souls from death and destruction, no material sign of the testimony being owned of God is required. For it is manifest that a miracle of grace has been wrought in every soul delivered from Satan's power; and the entire sufficiency of the word of God as the sword of the Spirit, would be less distinctly seen, did it please God to allow signs following to confirm the word now (Mark 16:20. Compare also Thess. 1:5-10; 2:13). We cannot rely too implicitly on, or press too earnestly, the sole authority of the Scriptures now completed, and accompanied by the presence of the Holy Ghost, sent down from heaven, who uses them. But the solemn fact is revealed that He who now letteth will be " taken out of the way " (2 Thess. 2:7); and the world, left to itself and its darkness, will worship the anti-christ, who will exercise power, and signs and great wonders (Rev. 13:12, 13)-lying wonders-which God will permit to delude those who believed not the truth (2 Thess. 2:11). May He give us to discern the times and the spiritual blessings wherewith He now blesses us, together with the power of His word to accomplish all His will!
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