Psalm 150:6
Psalm 150:6
Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD.
Question: Let who praise the Lord?
Answer: This is similar to God’s call for all men everywhere to repent: “Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.”
Question: If God calls everything that has breath to praise the Lord, and calls all men everywhere to repent, wouldn’t it seem reasonable, that He has also, in some way, graciously enabled them to do so?
Answer: Arguing to the contrary, Calvinists point out Pharaoh, in that God called Pharaoh to release Israel, all while hardening him to remain obstinate. However, it must be noted that Pharaoh hardened his own heart (Exodus 7:13, 22, 8:15, 19, 32; 9:7) before God hardened it. (Exodus 9:12, 34-35, 10:1, 20, 27, 11:10; 14:8). Pharaoh demanded a sign, and God gave it to him, in the form of the miracle of Aaron’s staff turning into a serpent. Yet, despite God’s grace, Pharaoh remained stubborn, as God attested (Exodus 7:14), and as God foreknew. (Exodus 3:19-20) Therefore, God merely hardened him further, in order that Pharaoh’s own stubbornness might still achieve a useful purpose. Therefore, Pharaoh is actually a good example of God’s grace, since God never owed him any miracle or any sign.
Calvinist, William MacDonald: “And the answer, of course, is, ‘Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.’ The massed choir of all the voices of earth are given the cue to join in the loud, eternal burst of praise to God.” (Believers Bible Commentary, p. 782, emphasis mine)
However, Calvinism also teaches that man is totally unable to praise the Lord, apart from irresistible saving grace by means of preemptive regeneration. Therefore, by that reasoning, only a few of the voices of the earth have the ability to answer God’s cue of “Let everything.” In fact, under Calvinism, God has allegedly, unconditionally and eternally reprobated the vast majority of mankind so that they can never answer God’s cue to praise Him. Calvinist, George Whitefield, explains: “…the doctrine of reprobation…this view, that God intends to give saving grace, through Jesus Christ, only to a certain number, and that the rest of mankind, after the fall of Adam, being justly left of God to continue in sin, will at last suffer that eternal death which is its proper wages.” (Whitefield’s Letter to Wesley, 1740, emphasis mine)
Why would God command everything that has breath to praise the Lord unless He has given everything that has breath the ability to do so? This isn’t referring to natural ability, but divinely given ability through the supernatural power of the faith-producing Gospel. (Romans 1:16; 10:17)
Calvinist, J. Vernon McGee: “He is worthy of our worship because He is the Creator. He is also worthy of our worship because He is the Redeemer.” (Thru the Bible Commentary Series: Psalms, Chapters 90-150, p.193, emphasis mine)
5-Point Calvinists teach that Jesus is not the Redeemer of all mankind because He plainly did not die for all mankind, but only Calvinism’s elect [the alleged, eternal elect in the Father]. If that’s the case, then you’ve removed one of McGee’s main reasons to worship God. Furthermore, John Calvin taught that God decreed everything that will ever come to pass, including the wickedness of the wicked:
John Calvin: “We also note that we should consider the creation of the world so that we may realize that everything is subject to God and ruled by his will and that when the world has done what it may, nothing happens other than what God decrees.” (Acts: Calvin, The Crossway Classic Commentaries, p.66, emphasis mine)
John Calvin: “At this point in particular the flesh rages when it hears that the predestination to death of those who perish is referred to the will of God.” (Calvin’s New Testament Commentaries: Romans and Thessalonians, p.208, emphasis mine)
Therefore, if God predestined people to Hell, then they are being commanded to praise the God who created them for eternal torment. To the Calvinist, they are like Esau, having been hated by God before they were even born. For these, then, to praise God, would result in the wicked taking the high road despite God’s alleged, unconditional election to hatred.
John Calvin comments on Unconditional Reprobation: “When God prefers some to others, choosing some and passing others by, the difference does not depend on human dignity or indignity. It is therefore wrong to say that the reprobate are worthy of eternal destruction.” (Concerning the Eternal Predestination of God, pp.120-121, emphasis mine)
In context, John Calvin is summarizing how his opponents understand the meaning of his writings, which Calvin rejects, but while rejecting it, Calvin resorts to deferring to mystery.
Question: How could God, hypothetically speaking, command those whom He allegedly hates, to love Him in return? Furthermore, how could God command mankind to love His neighbor, when God eternally hated billions of man’s neighbors?
Answer: Calvinists often complain that Calvinism is misunderstood because non-Calvinists frequently quote hyper-Calvinists. Yet, I’ve quoted Calvin himself. Was he a hyper-Calvinist? One thing that you will learn about Calvinists is that when pinned down, they will talk in circles. In one verse, they will talk like a moderate Calvinist, while at another passage speak like the very hyper-Calvinists that they oppose.
