What saith the Scripture Tradition must give way to the clear statements of the Scripture

  God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform; He plants his footsteps in the sea, And rides upon the storm. Deep in unfathomable mines Of never-failing skill, He treasures up his bright designs And works his sovereign will. Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, But trust him for his grace; Behind a frowning providence He hides a smiling face. William Cowper  Now surely, one of the most comforting things about any faith in the absolute sovereignty of the grace of God ought to be the assurance we derive from that faith that God is still on the throne even in our most dismal defeats and that the clouds we so much dread are waiting to pour only showers of blessing on our head. Arthur C. Custance, The Sovereignty of Grace (Curt Daniel, The History and Theology of Calvinism (Darlington, Co Durham: EP Books, 2019), 717.) Surely apart from You the way cannot be perfected, nor can...

  In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me; incline your ear to me and save me. Be for me a rock of refuge to resort to always; you have ordained to save me, because you are my rock and my fortress. Ps 71:2–3 LEB. The coming Messiah is called “a rock of stumbling” (Isa. 8:14). He cannot be ignored; all who come into contact with him are made aware of their sin and misunderstanding about God’s way of providing salvation. Some stumble and are broken to repentance; others fall and are crushed by the rock itself (cf. Mt. 21:42ff.; Rom. 9:32ff.; 1 Pet. 2:8). When Israel strays, Isaiah exhorts them to “look to the Rock from which you were hewn” (Isa. 51:1). Perhaps he is alluding to Deut. 32:4. Yahweh gave birth to Israel through Abraham’s faith in him. Isaiah encourages the people to trust in Yahweh; as a result they shall have perfect peace (Isa 26:4ff.).(John E. Hartley, “1901 צור,” ed. R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer Jr., and Bruce K. Waltke, Theological Wordbook of the Old ...