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Q7 Q9

Q8. How doth God execute his decrees?

A. God executeth his decrees in the works of creation and providence.

See also in WCF: 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5, 3.6, 3.7, 3.8 See also in WLC: Q12, Q13, Q14 Compare: God's Eternal Decree
Ps. 148:8
[8] fire and hail, snow and mist, stormy wind fulfilling his word!
Isa. 40:26
[26] Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name; by the greatness of his might and because he is strong in power, not one is missing.
Dan. 4:35
[35] all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, “What have you done?”
Acts 4:24-28
[24] And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, [25] who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit, “‘Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples plot in vain? [26] The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed’ — [27] for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, [28] to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.
Rev. 4:11
[11] “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”

Q1. What is it for God to execute his decrees?

A. It is to bring them to pass; or, give an actual being in time, to what he purposed from eternity, Isaiah 46:10.

Q2. Does not God leave the execution of his decrees to second causes?

A. Whatever use God may make of second causes, in the execution of his decrees, yet they are merely tools in his over-ruling hand, to bring about his glorious designs; they are his servants, and must do all his pleasure, Acts 4:27, 28.

Q3. What difference is there between the decree and the execution of it?

A. The decree is an immanent or inherent act in God, and is nothing else but God decreeing; but the execution is a transient or passing act of his infinite power, bringing the thing decreed into actual existence, 2 Pet. 1:3.

Q4. Is there an exact harmony, or correspondence, between God's decree and the execution of it?

A. When the thing decreed is brought actually into being, it exactly corresponds to the idea or platform of it in the infinite mind of God, Psalm 139:16; as the tabernacle of Moses answered the pattern given of it in the Mount, Ex. 25:40.

Q5. Can none of the decrees of God be defeated, or fail of execution?

A. By no means; the counsel of the Lord shall stand, and he will do all his pleasure, Isaiah 46:10. "Who hath resisted his will?" Rom. 9:19. "None can stay his hand, or say unto him, What dost thou?" Dan. 4:35.

Q6. What are the works of God, in which his decrees are executed?

A. They are the works of creation and providence.

Q7. To which of these works of God does redemption belong?

A. To the providence of God, as the most glorious part of it towards men.

Q8. What then is the first external work of God?

A. It is creation: which is therefore called, "The beginning of his ways," Proverbs 8:22.

Q9. What is the difference between God's executing the work of creation, and that of providence?

A. He executed the work of creation entirely without means, by the word of his power; but he executes the work of providence, ordinarily, in the use of them.

Q10. What may we learn from God's executing his decrees?

A. That all his promises shall be punctually accomplished, and not one of them fall to the ground, Mark 13:31.

Q1. Shall all God's decrees be executed?

A. Yes: For the Lord of hosts hath sworn, surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass, Isa. 14:24.

Q2. Can any of them be defeated?

A. No: For the Lord of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? Isa. 14:27.

Q3. Did God execute his decree in the work of creation?

A. Yes: He hath created all things, and for his pleasure they are and were created, Rev. 4:11.

Q4. And does he execute his decrees in the works of providence?

A. Yes: For out of the mouth of the Most High both evil and good proceed, Lam. 3:38.

Q5. Did God begin to work in the creation of the world?

A. Yes: Thou, Lord, in the beginning didst lay the foundations of the earth, Heb. 1:10.

Q6. Is he still working?

A. Yes: For Christ says, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work, John 5:17.

Q7. Are all his works copied out of his counsels?

A. Yes: For they are what his hand and his counsel determine before to be done, Acts 4:28.

Q8. Are God's works many?

A. Yes: O Lord, how manifold are thy works! Ps. 104:24.

Q9. Are they great?

A. Yes: His work is honourable and glorious, Ps. 111:8.

Q10. Are they perfect in their kind?

A. Yes: God is the Rock, his work is perfect, Deut. 32:4.

Q11. Can they be amended?

A. No: Whatsoever God doth, nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it, Eccl. 3:14.

Q12. Ought they to be studied?

A. Yes: They are sought out of all them that have pleasure therein, Ps. 111:2.

Q13. Is it a great sin to neglect them?

A. Yes: Because they regard not the work of the Lord, neither consider the operations of his hands, he shall destroy them, and not build them up, Ps. 28:5.

Q14. Can all God's works be thoroughly discovered?

A. No: For no man can find out the work that God makes from the beginning to the end, Eccl. 3:11.

Q15. Can his designs in them be accounted for?

A. No: For his way is in the sea, and his path in the great waters, Ps. 77:19.

Q16. But is he glorified in them?

A. Yes: All his works do praise him, Ps. 145:10.

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Q7: What are the decrees of God? Q9: What is the work of creation?

God as Creator

The nature and works of God as Creator and Sustainer

Q1. What is the chief end of man?

A. Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him for ever.

Q2. What rule hath God given to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him?

A. The Word of God, which is contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him.

Q3. What do the Scriptures principally teach?

A. The Scriptures principally teach what man is to believe concerning God, and what duty God requires of man.

Q4. What is God?

A. God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.

Q5. Are there more Gods than one?

A. There is but one only, the living and true God.

Q6. How many persons are there in the Godhead?

A. There are three persons in the Godhead; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; and these three are one God, the same in substance, equal in power and glory.

Q7. What are the decrees of God?

A. The decrees of God are, his eternal purpose, according to the counsel of his will, whereby, for his own glory, he hath foreordained whatsoever comes to pass.

Q8. How doth God execute his decrees?

A. God executeth his decrees in the works of creation and providence.

Q9. What is the work of creation?

A. The work of creation is, God's making all things of nothing, by the word of his power, in the space of six days, and all very good.

Q10. How did God create man?

A. God created man male and female, after his own image, in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, with dominion over the creatures.

Q11. What are God's works of providence?

A. God's works of providence are, his most holy, wise, and powerful preserving and governing all his creatures, and all their actions.

Q12. What special act of providence did God exercise toward man in the estate wherein he was created?

A. When God had created man, he entered into a covenant of life with him, upon condition of perfect obedience; forbidding him to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, upon pain of death.