God's Sovereign Design in Scripture's Composition
The concept of God's sovereign design in Scripture's composition is rooted in the biblical understanding of God's sovereignty over creation and his role as the ultimate author of Scripture. According to Easton's Bible Dictionary, the decrees of God are "his eternal, unchangeable, holy, wise, and sovereign purpose, comprehending at once all things that ever were or will be" [2]. This sovereignty extends to the composition of Scripture, where God guided human authors to express exactly what He intended [1].
The biblical basis for this concept is evident in passages that highlight God's control over creation and his ability to shape the course of human events. For example, Psalms 135:6 states, "Whatever God pleases, he does" [7], emphasizing God's sovereignty over the created order. Similarly, Psalms 147:5 affirms that "His understanding is infinite" [4], underscoring God's wisdom and power.
The composition of Scripture is seen as an extension of God's sovereign design, where human authors were guided by divine inspiration to record God's revelation. Easton's Bible Dictionary notes that the Scripture was "thus enlarged from time to time as God saw necessary" [3]. This understanding is reinforced by 2 Timothy 3:16, which states that "All scripture is given by inspiration of God" [1].
Theological traditions have interpreted this concept in various ways. The Nonconformist/Puritan tradition, represented by Matthew Henry, emphasizes the importance of divine revelation in Scripture, highlighting its role in recovering humanity from its fallen state [8]. The Protestant academic tradition, as seen in the Tyndale House commentary on Psalms, underscores God's sovereignty over creation and his control over the weather, illustrating his power and wisdom [5, 6, 7].
The Presbyterian tradition, represented by Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Job, notes that God's sovereignty is evident in the natural world, where He directs the forces of nature according to His will [9]. This understanding of God's sovereignty is not limited to creation but extends to the composition of Scripture, where God guided human authors to record His revelation.
Sources
- Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Inspiration — That extraordinary or supernatural divine influence vouchsafed to those who wrote the Holy Scriptures, rendering their writings infallible. "All scripture is given by inspiration of God" (R.V., "Every scripture inspired of God"), 2 Tim. 3:16. This is true of all the "sacred writings," not in the sense of their being works of genius or of supernatural insight, but as "theopneustic," i.e., "breathed into by God" in such a sense that the writers were supernaturally guided to express exactly what God intended them to express as a revelation of his mind and ”
- Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Decrees of God — "The decrees of God are his eternal, unchangeable, holy, wise, and sovereign purpose, comprehending at once all things that ever were or will be in their causes, conditions, successions, and relations, and determining their certain futurition. The several contents of this one eternal purpose are, because of the limitation of our faculties, necessarily conceived of by us in partial aspects, and in logical relations, and are therefore styled Decrees." The decree being the act of an infinite, absolute, eternal, unchangeable, and sovereign Person, compre”
- Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Scripture — Invariably in the New Testament denotes that definite collection of sacred books, regarded as given by inspiration of God, which we usually call the Old Testament (2 Tim. 3:15, 16; John 20:9; Gal. 3:22; 2 Pet. 1:20). It was God's purpose thus to perpetuate his revealed will. From time to time he raised up men to commit to writing in an infallible record the revelation he gave. The "Scripture," or collection of sacred writings, was thus enlarged from time to time as God saw necessary. We have now a completed "Scripture," consisting of the Old and New Testa”
- Psalms “Great is our Lord, and mighty in power. His understanding is infinite. -- Psalms 147:5”
- Psalms (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Psalms 24:2: 24:2 God created everything in an orderly and stable manner (see 89:11; 102:25; 104:5).”
- Psalms (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Psalms 33:11: 33:11 God’s word still orders creation and will do so forever. • God’s intentions are marvelous (40:5; 92:5).”
- Psalms (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Psalms 135:6: 135:6 God is sovereign over the whole created order—he does whatever pleases him him. • The phrase heaven and earth refers to all of creation.”
- Psalms (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on Psalms 19:7: God's glory, (that is, his goodness to man) appears much in the works of creation, but much more in and by divine revelation. The holy scripture, as it is a rule both of our duty to God and of our expectation from him, is of much greater use and benefit to us than day or night, than the air we breathe in, or the light of the sun. The discoveries made of God by his works might have served if man had retained his integrity; but, to recover him out of his fallen state, another course must be taken; that must be done by the word of God. And here, 1. The psalmist gives”
- Job (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Job 37:5: (Job 36:26; Psa 65:6; Psa 139:14). The sublimity of the description lies in this, that God is everywhere in the storm, directing it whither He will [BARNES]. See Psa 29:1-11, where, as here, the "voice" of God is repeated with grand effect. The thunder in Arabia is sublimely terrible.”