God is sovereign; this was understood from earliest times. He has a plan which is only partially known by human beings and he will not change that plan just because men find some parts of it hard.
‘Many are moved when they hear God spoken of, and are somewhat well disposed, but that disposition is not well established in them, and therefore we see that the faith that appears in them for a time, vanishes away. Let us note well then that we never make progress in God’s school until his word is so deeply rooted in our hearts (that is to say that we have received it with such a mind) that it is not just some passing emotion to accept the thing that is spoken to us, but a heartfelt affection settled upon us in earnest’ (Calvin – in modern English).
‘When God has spoken and promised to be merciful and favourable to us, and to help us in all our needs, we must steadfastly believe it and rest on it without doubting whether or not he will perform his promise. Why? Because his truth is infallible. On the other hand, if he threatens us we must tremble, assuring ourselves that it is not for us to dally with such a matter … We know that God speaks his mind to us when he pledges himself to be pitiful and to receive us in mercy. If he so calls us to himself, it is not to beguile us and to load us with some vain hope. Therefore since we have assurance of his good will, let us boldly rest upon it. For what reason? Because he does not change … and although we see the whole world oppose God’s promises, yet we shall continue to be at rest, just as we see the Holy Ghost arms the faithful with such trust, and teaches them to defy all their enemies … We may despise all that our enemies can practice or devise. How so? Because they cannot withstand God or prevent him performing what he has spoken … Also, if he rebukes our vices, and is so good as to warn us of them, let us not remain unable to be amended in our wrongdoing, but let us humble ourselves and carefully endeavour to prevent the curse which God has warned us of, because for this purpose he warns us – so that he would not be constrained to execute his wrath against us’ (Calvin – in modern English).
‘When we see things out of order in the world and everything seems to go other than it should, let us remember that it is said that God holds the reins of the bridle, and that nothing is done except what he has predetermined in his purpose. Often we make think what is done is very strange, for our eyes are too poor sighted to comprehend the infinite power of God. What then? Let us conclude that because God is righteous, we must accept all his works, even though they are not to our liking’ (Calvin – in modern English).
The NKJ differs here from the KJV. The Hebrew says, ‘He is in one [with one]’ and the KJV and other versions supply the word ‘mind’ to give the sense, but the NKJ understands this as one in the sense of uniqueness. The word ‘mind’ is supplied because of what follows in the verse, which is clearly about the secret will and purpose of God and how unalterable it is. The uniqueness of God is not a relevant thought in context, nor does the preposition ‘in’ suggest this.