Reference: Providence
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Ac 24:2, a superintending and forecasting care. The providence of God upholds and governs every created thing. Its operation is coextensive with the universe, and as unceasing as the flow of time. All his attributes are engaged in it. He provideth for the raven his food, and satisfieth the desire of every living thing. The Bible shows us all nature looking up to him and depending upon him, Job 38:41; Ps 104; 145:15-16; 147:8-9; and uniformly declares that every occurrence, as well as every being, is perfectly controlled by him. There is no such thong as chance in the universe; "the lot is cast into the lap, but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord," Pr 16:23. Not a sparrow, nor a hair of the head, falls to the ground without his knowledge, Isa 14:26-27; Mt 10:29-30; Ac 17:24-29. Nothing that was not too minute for God to create, is too minute for him to preserve and control. The history of each man, the rise and fall of nations, and the progress of the church of Christ, reveal at every step the hand of Him who "worketh all things after the counsel of his own will."
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Who will prepare for the raven his food? for his young will cry to God; they will wander without food.
The heart of the wise shall attend to his mouth, and he shall add knowledge to his lips.
This the counsel being counseled upon all the land: and this the hand stretched out upon all the nations. For Jehovah of armies counseled and who shall bring to nought? and his hand was stretched out, and who shall turn it back?
Are not two little sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall to the earth without your Father. And also the hairs of your head are all numbered.
God having made the world and all things in it, he being Lord of heaven and earth, dwells not in temples made by hands; Nor is served by men's hands, standing in need of anything, he giving to all life, and breath, and all things. read more. And he made of one blood every nation of men to dwell upon all the face of the earth, having limited the times before arranged, and the bounds of their habitation; To seek the Lord, if perchance indeed they have felt for him, and found, although not being far from each one of us: For in him we live, and move, and are; as certain of the composers among you have said, For we also are his race. Being therefore the posterity of God, we ought not to think gold, or silver, or stone, an engraving of art, or meditation of man, the divinity to be like.
And he having been called, Tertullus began to accuse, saying,
Easton
literally means foresight, but is generally used to denote God's preserving and governing all things by means of second causes (Ps 18:35; 63:8; Ac 17:28; Col 1:17; Heb 1:3). God's providence extends to the natural world (Ps 104:14; 135:5-7; Ac 14:17), the brute creation (Ps 104:21-29; Mt 6:26; 10:29), and the affairs of men (1Ch 16:31; Ps 47:7; Pr 21:1; Job 12:23; Da 2:21; 4:25), and of individuals (1Sa 2:6; Ps 18:30; Lu 1:53; Jas 4:13-15). It extends also to the free actions of men (Ex 12:36; 1Sa 24:9-15; Ps 33:14-15; Pr 16:1; 19:21; 20:24; 21:1), and things sinful (2Sa 16:10; 24:1; Ro 11:32; Ac 4:27-28), as well as to their good actions (Php 2:13; 4:13; 2Co 12:9-10; Eph 2:10; Ga 5:22-25).
As regards sinful actions of men, they are represented as occurring by God's permission (Ge 45:5; 50:20. Comp. 1Sa 6:6; Ex 7:13; 14:17; Ac 2:3; 3:18; 4:27-28), and as controlled (Ps 76:10) and overruled for good (Ge 50:20; Ac 3:13). God does not cause or approve of sin, but only limits, restrains, overrules it for good.
The mode of God's providential government is altogether unexplained. We only know that it is a fact that God does govern all his creatures and all their actions; that this government is universal (Ps 103:17-19), particular (Mt 10:29-31), efficacious (Ps 33:11; Job 23:13), embraces events apparently contingent (Pr 16:9,33; 19:21; 21:1), is consistent with his own perfection (2Ti 2:13), and to his own glory (Ro 9:17; 11:36).
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And now, ye shall not be grieved, and it shall not burn in your eyes, because ye sold me here: for God sent me before you for the preservation of life.
And you, ye even purposed evil against me; God purposed it for good, for the sake of doing as this day, to preserve alive much people.
And you, ye even purposed evil against me; God purposed it for good, for the sake of doing as this day, to preserve alive much people.
And Pharaoh's heart. will be strengthened, and he will not hear to them; as Jehovah said.
And Jehovah gave favor to the people in the eyes of the Egyptians, and they will lend them; and they will strip the Egyptians.
And I, behold me binding fast the heart of the Egyptians, and they shall go after them: and I will be honored in Pharaoh, and upon all his army, and in his chariots, and in his horsemen.
Jehovah killing and giving life; bringing down to hades and bringing up.
And why shall ye make your hearts heavy, as Egypt and Pharaoh made their heart heavy? Did he not then do wonders among them, and they will send them away, and they will go?
And the king will say, What to me and you ye sons of Zeruiah? for he shall curse, and because Jehovah said to him, Curse David: and who shall say, Wherefore didst thou thus?
And the anger of Jehovah will add to kindle against Israel, and he stimulated David against them, saying, Go, number Israel and Judah.
The heavens shall rejoice, and the earth shall exult: and they shall say among the nations, Jehovah reigned:
Making great to the nations, and he will destroy them: he spread out to the nations, and he will guide them.
And he is in one, and who shall turn him back? and his soul desired, and he will do.
God, blameless his way: the saying of Jehovah being refined: a shield to all trusting in him.
Thou wilt give to me the shield of thy salvation, and thy right hand will uphold me, and thy clemency will enlarge me.
The counsel of Jehovah shall stand forever, the purposes of his heart to generation and generation.
From his prepared dwelling he viewed all dwelling in the earth. He formed their heart together, understanding all their works.
For God is King of all the earth: play on the harp from understanding.
My soul adhered after thee: thy right hand held fast upon me.
For the wrath of man shall praise thee: the remainder of wrath thou wilt gird up.
And the mercy of Jehovah is from forever even to forever upon those fearing him, and his justice to sons' sons. To those watching his covenant, and to those remembering his charges to do them. read more. Jehovah prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruled over all.
Causing grass to spring up for the cattle, and the green herb for the service of man, to bring forth bread from the earth:
The young lions roaring for prey, and to seek from God their food. The sun shall rise, they will be gathered together, and in their dens they will lie down. read more. Man will go forth to his work, and to his labor even to evening. How thy works were multiplied. O Jehovah! in wisdom thou madest them all: the earth was filled with thy possessions. This great and broad sea, hands there of the creeping thing, and no number of the beasts, small with great There the ships will go: the sea monster thou didst form to play in it They will all wait for thee to give their food in its time. Thou wilt give to them, they will gather up: thou wilt open thy hand, they will be filled with good. Thou wilt hide thy face, they will tremble: thou wilt take away their spirit, they shall expire and turn back to dust
For I knew that great is Jehovah, and our Lord above all gods. All which Jehovah delighted in he did, in the heavens and in the earth, in the seas and all the depths. read more. Causing the liftings up to ascend from the ends of the earth; he made lightnings for the rain; bringing forth the wind from his treasures.
To man the dispositions of the heart, and the answer of the tongue from Jehovah.
The heart of man will purpose his ways, and Jehovah will prepare his steps.
In the bosom he shall, cast the lot; and from Jehovah all his judgment
Many purposes in a man's heart: and the counsel of Jehovah, that shall stand.
Many purposes in a man's heart: and the counsel of Jehovah, that shall stand.
From Jehovah man's steps; and how shall man understand his way?
Steams of waters the heart of the king, in the hand of Jehovah: upon all which he shall delight in he will turn it
Steams of waters the heart of the king, in the hand of Jehovah: upon all which he shall delight in he will turn it
Steams of waters the heart of the king, in the hand of Jehovah: upon all which he shall delight in he will turn it
And he changes the times and the seasons; removing kings and setting up kings; giving wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those knowing understanding.
And for thee driving from men, and with the beasts of the open field to be thy dwelling, and they shall feed to thee grass as oxen, and wetting to thee from the dew of the heavens, and seven times shall pass over thee till that thou shalt know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and to whom that he will, he will give it
Look ye upon the fowls of heaven; for they neither sow, nor reap, nor collect into stores; and your heavenly Father nourishes them. Do ye not rather differ from them
Are not two little sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall to the earth without your Father.
Are not two little sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall to the earth without your Father. And also the hairs of your head are all numbered. read more. Fear not therefore; ye have the preeminence over many sparrows.
He has filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he sent away empty.
And seen to them were tongues divided as fire, and it sat upon Each one of them.
The God of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, God of our fathers, has honoured his child Jesus; whom ye have delivered up, and denied him before the face of Pilate, he having judged to loose.
But God, announced these things beforehand by the mouth of all his prophets, for Christ to suffer, he so completed.
For against the truth were they gathered together against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou didst anoint, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the nations and peoples of Israel,
For against the truth were they gathered together against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou didst anoint, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the nations and peoples of Israel, To do what thy hands and thy counsel predestinated to be.
To do what thy hands and thy counsel predestinated to be.
And surely indeed he left not himself without witness, doing good, having given us rain from heaven, and fruitful times, filling our hearts with food and gladness.
For in him we live, and move, and are; as certain of the composers among you have said, For we also are his race.
For the writing says to Pharaoh, That for this same have I raised thee up, so that I might show in thee my power, and so that my name might be announced in all the earth.
For God shut them all up together in unbelief, that he might commiserate all.
For of him, and by him, and to him, all things: to him the glory forever Amen.
And the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such is no law. read more. And they of Christ have crucified the flesh with the passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
For we are his work, created in Christ Jesus to good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.,
For God is working in you also to will and to work by benevolence.
I am strong for all things in Christ strengthening me.
And he is before all, and all things have been established by him.
If we believe not, he remains faithful: he cannot deny himself.
Who being the brightness of glory, and the figure of his foundation, and bearing all things by the word of his power, having made by himself the purification of our sins, he sat down on the right hand of the Majesty among the highest ones;
Come on now, ye saying, To day or to morrow let us go to this city, and do there one year, and let us trade, and derive profit: (Which know not that of the morrow. For what your life? For it is a steam, appearing for a little, and then invisible.) read more. For you should say, If the Lord will, and we live, and should do this, or that.
Fausets
Foresight, Greek pronoia "forethought" (Ac 24:2). As applied to God, it expresses His never ceasing power exerted in and over all His works. It is the opposite of "chance," "fortune," and "luck." It continues creation. In relation to all things it is universal, and nothing is too minute for its regard; to moral beings special; to holy or converted beings particular. Each is an object of providence according to its capacity. God's providence is concerned in a sparrow's fall; His children are of more value than many sparrows, and therefore are assured of His providential care in all their concerns. Its acts are threefold; preservation, co-operation, and government. He controls all things for the highest good of the whole, acting upon every species conformably to its nature: inanimate things by physical influences, brutes according to instinct, and free agents according to the laws of free agency. Providence displays God's omnipresence, holiness, justice and benevolence.
If the telescope reveals the immense magnitude and countless hosts of worlds which He created and sustains, the microscope shows that His providence equally concerns itself with the minutest animalcule. Nothing is really small with God. He hangs the most momentous weights on little wires. We cannot explain fully why evil was ever permitted; but God overrules it to good. If no fallible beings had been created there could have been no virtue, for virtue implies probation, and probation implies liability to temptation and sin. Sin too has brought into view God's wisdom, mercy, and love, harmonized in redemption, and good educed from evil; yet the good so educed by guilt does not exculpate sinners, or warrant the inference, "let us do evil that good may come" (Ro 3:8).
Proofs of providence.
(I) We can no more account for the world's continued preservation than for its original creation, without God's interposition.
(II) He sustains because He originally made it (Ps 33:6,13-16; Col 1:17); as one may do what one will with his own, so God has the right to order all things as being their Maker (Isa 64:8; Ro 9:20-23). God's interest in His own creation is Job's argument for God's restoring him (Job 10:3,9-12; 14:15).
(III) God's power, wisdom, knowledge, and love all prove a providence. "He that denies providence denies God's attributes, His omniscience which is the eye of providence, His mercy and justice which are the arms of providence, His power which is its life and motion, His wisdom which is the rudder whereby providence is steered, and holiness the compass and rule of its motion" (Charnock).
(IV) The prevailing order in the world proves providence (Ge 8:22). The Greek word for world and order is one and the same, kosmos, Latin, mundus; and modern science has shown that the very seeming aberrations of the planets are parts of the universal order or law which reigns. "All discord harmony not understood, All partial evil universal good." (Isa 40:22,26.) The plagues, earthquakes, drought, flood, frost, and famine subserve ends of providence which we only in part see; and they also suggest to us the need of a providence to control them within appointed bounds, and that without such a providence all nature would fall into disorder (Jer 5:22; Job 26:7-11; 38:4-14).
(V) The present moral government of the world. Conscience stings the wicked, or civil punishments or the consequences of violating nature's laws overtake them.
(1) The anomalies apparent now, the temporary sufferings of the righteous and prosperity of the wicked, the failure of good plans and success of bad ones, confirm the revelation of the judgment to come which shall rectify these anomalie.s (See JOB.)
(2) The godly amidst affliction enjoy more real happiness than the ungodly, whose prosperity is "shining misery"; (1Ti 4:8; Mr 10:29-30).
(3) The sorrows of godly men are sometimes the result of their running counter to laws of nature, or even of revelation; as Jacob's lying to Isaac, repaid in kind retributively in Jacob's sons lying to him, etc., David's adultery and murder punished retributively by Absalom's lying with his father's concubines and by the sword never departing from David's house (2 Samuel 12).
(4) Yet even so they are overruled to the moral discipline of the saint's faith, patience, and experience (Ro 5:3-4; 1Pe 1:6-7); David's noblest qualities were brought forth by Saul's persecutions, and even by Absalom's punitive rebellion (2Sa 15:25-26; 16:10-12).
(5) There is sin even in men sincere before God; they need at. times to be brought, as Job at last was, to abase themselves under God's visiting hand, and instead of calling God to account to acknowledge His ways are right and we are sinful, even though we do not see the reason why He contends with us (Job 40:4-5; 42:2-6; contrast Job 10:2; 33:13).
(6) The issue of wickedness is seen even in this life generally, that though flourishing for a time (Jer 12:1) the wicked are "set in slippery places, and brought into desolation as in a moment" (Psalm 73; Ps 37:35-37; Job 20:5).
(VI) History vindicates providence. The histories of Israel, Judah, and Gentile nations show that "righteousness exalteth a nation" (Pr 14:34). The preparations made for the gospel of our Saviour indicate a providence (Ga 4:4), the distinctness of prophecy waxing greater and greater as the time for the evangelization of the Gentiles approached (Lu 2:32). The translation of the Jewish Scriptures into the language of a large part of the civilized world, Greek, by the Septuagint (by it the history of providence and the prophecies of Messiah became accessible to the learned everywhere; all possibility of questioning the existence or falsifying the contents of the prophecies was taken away; the closing of the canon just before proved that the Scriptures, so translated, supplied complete all that God revealed in Old Testament times); the expectation throughout the East of a great King and Deliverer to arise in Judaea; the increasing light of philosophy; the comprehension of most of the known world by the Roman empire, breaking down the barrier between E. and W., establishing a regular police everywhere, and the universal peace which prevailed at the coming of the gospel of peace; the multiplication and settling of Jews in Egypt, Asia, Greece, Italy, and western Europe (Horace, Sat. i., 9:69-71; 4:140): all paving the way for promulgating the gospel.
The remarkable working of providence secretly (for God's name never occurs in the book) is apparent in the case of Esther, whereby the fate of the whole Jewish nation hung upon a despot's whim, acted on by a favorite. (See ESTHER.) The providential preparations for the appointed issue, Ahasuerus' feast, Vashti's womanly pride, Mordecai's informing the king of the design against his life, the choice of Esther as queen, Haman's plot, laid so cleverly yet made to recoil on himself, so that after having himself to thank for dictating the honours which he had to pay to the very man whom he wished to destroy he was hanged on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai.
So in the case of Joseph; the brothers' wicked and seemingly successful plan for defeating God's will of elevating him above them, as revealed in his dreams, was overruled to being made the very means of accomplishing it. So "Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel,were gathered together against Christ, for to do whatsoever God's hand and God's counsel determined before to be done" (Ac 4:27-28; compare Ge 42:6; Pr 19:21; 21:30). Fighters against the truth have been by providence made, in spite of themselves, instrumental in spreading it, by calling attention to it and to its power in ennobling believers' lives. "They that were scattered abroad" by persecutors "went everywhere preaching the word" (Ac 8:4), the storm that would rend the oak scatters its seed in every direction.
(VII) Belief in providence is the basis of religion, especially of revealed religion: "the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever He will" (Da 4:32), So minute is His providential care that "the very hairs of our head are all numbered" (Mt 10:30; Ac 27:34; Lu 21:18; Da
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Yet all the days of the earth, seed and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.
And Joseph, he the ruler over the land, and he selling grain to all the people of the earth; and Joseph's brethren will come, and will worship before him the face to the earth.
They saw not a man his brother, and they rose not up each from his lower part, three days: and to all the sons of Israel there was light in their dwellings.
And a great cry was in all the land of Egypt, such as was not, and such shall not be added. And against all the sons of Israel, a dog shall not sharpen his tongue, from man and even to cattle: so that ye shall know that Jehovah will separate between Egypt and between IsraeL
And the king will say to Zadok, Turn back the ark of God to the city: if I shall find grace in the eyes of Jehovah, and he turned me back, and caused me to see it and its rest And if he say thus, I delighted not in thee; behold me, he will do to me as is good in his eyes.
And the king will say, What to me and you ye sons of Zeruiah? for he shall curse, and because Jehovah said to him, Curse David: and who shall say, Wherefore didst thou thus? And David will say to Abishai and to all his servants, Behold my son who came forth from my bowels seeks my soul: and how much more now the son of the Jaminite? Leave to him and he shall curse, for Jehovah said to him. read more. Perhaps Jehovah will look upon my wrong, and Jehovah turn back to me good for his cursing this day.
Saying to God, Thou wilt not condemn me; make known to me for what thou wilt contend with me. Is it good to thee that thou wilt oppress, that thou wilt despise the labor of thy hinds, and thou didst shine upon the counsels of the unjust?
Remember now, thou didst make me as day; and thou wilt turn me back to dust. Wilt thou not weigh me out as milk, and coagulate me as cheese? read more. Thou wilt clothe me with skin and flesh, and thou wilt hedge me with bones and sinews. Thou didst with me life and mercy, and thy reviewing watched my spirit
Thou shalt call and I will answer thee: thou wilt long for the work of thy hands.
For the rejoicing of the unjust drawing near, and the gladness of the profane even for a moment
He stretched out the north upon emptiness, he hung up the earth upon nothing. He bound up the waters in his clouds, and the cloud was not rent under them. read more. Holding fast the face of the throne, he spread his cloud upon it He marked out with a compass the law upon the face of the waters, even till the end of light with darkness.. The pillars of the heavens shall be shaken, and be astonished from his reproof.
Wherefore didst thou contend against him? for he will not answer all his words.
Where wort thou in my founding the earth? Announce, if thou knewest understanding. Who set its measures, if thou shalt know? or who stretched the line upon it? read more. Upon what were its bases impressed? or who placed its corner-stone? In the rejoicing together of the stars of morning, and all the sons of God will shout for joy? And he will hedge in the sea with doors in its breaking forth, going forth from the womb. In my making the cloud its garment, and darkness its bandage: And I shall break upon it my law, and I shall set bars and doors; And saying, Even to this shalt thou come, and thou shalt not add: and here in the pride of thy waves, stand thou. In thy days didst thou command the morning? and didst thou make the dawning know its place? To take hold upon the wings of the earth, and the unjust shall be shaken out of it? It shall be turned as clay to the seal; and they shall stand as clothing.
Behold, I was vile; what shall I turn back to thee? I put my hand to my mouth. Once I sake, and I will not answer: and twice, and I will not add.
I knew that thou wilt be able to do all, and counsel shall not be restrained from thee. Who this hiding counsel without knowledge? for this, I announced, and I shall not understand; wonders above me, and I shall not know. read more. Hear, now, and I will speak: I will ask thee and make thou known to me. By the hearing of the ear I heard of thee: and now mine eyes saw thee: For this, I shall melt away, and I lamented in dust and ashes.
By the word of Jehovah the heavens were made, and by the spirit of his mouth all their army.
Jehovah looked from the heavens; he saw all the sons of man. From his prepared dwelling he viewed all dwelling in the earth. read more. He formed their heart together, understanding all their works. The king was not saved by much strength: the strong one will not be delivered by much power.
I saw the unjust one making afraid, and spreading abroad as a green native tree. And he shall pass away, and behold, he is not: and I shall seek him and he was not found. read more. Watch the blameless, and see the upright one, for the latter state to the man peace.
Justice will exalt a nation: and sin a reproach to nations.
In the bosom he shall, cast the lot; and from Jehovah all his judgment
Many purposes in a man's heart: and the counsel of Jehovah, that shall stand.
No wisdom and no understanding, and no counsel against Jehovah.
He sitting upon the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants as locusts; he stretching out the heavens as fine cloth, and he will extend them as a tent to dwell in:
Lift up your eyes on high, and see who created these, bringing forth their army by number: he will call to all of them by name, from the multitude of their strength; and he is strong of power; a man was not wanting.
And now, O Jehovah, thou our Father; we the clay and thou forming us; and we all the work of thy hand.
Will ye not fear me? says Jehovah; or will ye not tremble from my face, who set the sand a bound to the sea a law forever, and it shall not pass over it: and its waves shall toss themselves and shall not prevail; and they were put in commotion and shall not pass over it
Just art thou, O Jehovah, for I will strive to thee: surely I will speak judgments with thee: Wherefore did the way of the evil prosper? all they acting faithlessly with treachery were secure?
{ And there being gathered together the satraps, the prefects, and governors, and the king's counselors, looking upon these men that upon their bodies the fire had no power, and a hair of their head was not singed, and their wide trowsers were not changed, and the smell of fire passed not upon them.}
And from men driving thee out, and with beasts of the open field thy dwelling: and they shall feed to thee the grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee till that thou shalt know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and to whom he will, he will give it
For behold, I command, and I caused the house of Israel to move to and fro among all nations as it will move to and fro in a sieve, and a stone shall not fall to the earth.
And they will say each to his neighbor, Come, and we will cast the lot, and we shall know for the retributions of this evil to us. And they will cast lots, and the lot will fall upon Jonah.
And also the hairs of your head are all numbered.
And Jesus having answered, said, Truly I say to you, There is none who has left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or fields, for sake of me, and the good news, Except he should receive a hundred-fold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mother, and children, and fields, with expulsions; and in the time coming eternal life.
A light for the revelation of the nations, and the glory of thy people Israel.
And there shall not a hair of your head perish.
For against the truth were they gathered together against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou didst anoint, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the nations and peoples of Israel, To do what thy hands and thy counsel predestinated to be.
Truly therefore the dispersed passed through announcing good news the word.
For in him we live, and move, and are; as certain of the composers among you have said, For we also are his race.
And he having been called, Tertullus began to accuse, saying,
Wherefore I beseech you to take food: for this is for your salvation: for not a hair of the head of one of you shall fall.
And not, (as we are defamed, and some have declared us to say,) That we should do evil things, that good things might come: whose judgment is just.
And not only, but also we boast in affliction: knowing that affliction works perseverance; And perseverance, proof; and proof, hope.
Surely, O man, who art thou replying against God? Shall the formation say to him having formed, Why hest thou made me so Or has not the potter power over the clay, of the same mixture truly to make one vessel for honour, and one for dishonour read more. And if God, willing anger to be shown, and his power to be made known, endured in much long suffering the vessels of anger put in proper order for destruction: And that he might make known the riches of his glory upon the vessels of mercy, which he before prepared for glory
And when the completion of the time was come, God sent his Son, born of woman, born under the law,
And he is before all, and all things have been established by him.
And he is before all, and all things have been established by him.
For bodily exercise is profitable, to little: but devotion is profitable to all things, having promise of life now, and that about to be.
Who being the brightness of glory, and the figure of his foundation, and bearing all things by the word of his power, having made by himself the purification of our sins, he sat down on the right hand of the Majesty among the highest ones;
Hastings
1. The word is not found in the OT. In the NT it is used only once; in the exordium of his address to Felix, the orator Tertullus says: 'By thy providence evils are corrected for this nation' (Ac 24:2). Here 'providence' simply means 'foresight,' as in 2Ma 4:6 'the king's providence.'
2. The first appearance of the word 'providence' (Gr. pronoia) in Jewish literature is in Wis 14:3, where God is represented as making for a ship 'a way in the sea'; the Jewish author, borrowing the expression from the Stoic philosophers, says: 'Thy providence, O Father, guideth it along.' In a later passage, recognizing the sterner aspect of the truth to which the OT also bears witness, he contrasts the destinies of the Israelites and Egyptians and describes the latter, when they were 'prisoners of darkness,' as 'exiled from the eternal providence' (Wis 17:2).
3. Although the OT does not contain the word 'providence,' it is a continuous and progressive revelation of Him 'whose never-failing providence ordereth all things both in heaven and earth.' Historians narrate the gradual accomplishment of His redemptive purpose concerning the Chosen People and the world at large (Ge 50:20; Ex 8:22; De 32:8 ff.; cf. Ps 74:12 ff.); poets delight to extol Him 'whose tender mercies are over all his works' (Ps 145:9; cf. Ps 29:3 ff., Ps 104; 136); prophets point to the proofs of God's guidance in the past in order that the people may gain wisdom for the present and courage for the future (De 32:7 ff., Hag 2:9; Isa 51:2; Mal 4:4 ff.). The Book of Job has been called 'the book of Providence,' because it not only gives the author's solution of perplexing problems, but also 'furnishes reasons for believing in the righteous providence of God from the consideration of His character and His dominion over nature' (Oehler, Theology of OT, ii. 474; cf. Job 27; 34:10; 36:22; 37:21).
4. Belief in Providence stands or falls with belief in a personal God. It is incompatible with mechanical or pantheistic theories of Creation. Ancient problems which perplexed Greek philosophers and Hebrew sages press heavily upon the modern mind as it strives to reconcile its trust in Divine providence with the reign of law in the universe and with the existence of pain and evil. Jesus Christ taught that the laws of nature are the established methods of His Heavenly Father's working, and that they fulfil as well as reveal His will (Mt 6:25 ff; Mt 10:29 ff., Joh 5:17). Belief in Providence means to the Christian, trust in the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has so clearly revealed His will in His Son as to make it plain to His children that natural laws may not only subserve moral and spiritual ends in this present time, but may also further His unerring purposes which are not bounded by this mortal life (Ro 8:28; 2Co 4:11 ff., 1Pe 1:6 ff.).
J. G. Tasker.
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And you, ye even purposed evil against me; God purposed it for good, for the sake of doing as this day, to preserve alive much people.
And I separated in that day the land of Goshen, which my people stood upon it, for no gad-fly to be there; that thou shalt know that I am Jehovah in the midst of the earth.
Remember the days of eternity; Discern the years of generation and generation: Ask thy father, and he will announce to thee; Thy old men, and they shall say to thee. The Most High distributing the nations, In his dispersing the sons of Adam, He set the bounds of the peoples According to the number of the sons of Israel.
The voice of Jehovah upon the waters: the God of glory thundered: Jehovah upon many waters.
And God my king of old working salvations in the midst of the earth.
Jehovah is good to all, and his mercies over all his works.
look to Abraham your father, and to Sarah bringing you forth: for one I called him, and I will bless him, and I will increase him.
Great shall be the glory of this latter house above the first, said Jehovah of armies: and in this place I will give peace, says Jehovah of armies.
Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel, the laws and the judgments.
For this I say to you, Be not anxious about your soul, what ye eat, and what ye drink; nor about your body, what ye put on. Is not the soul more than food, and the body than dress?
Are not two little sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall to the earth without your Father.
And Jesus answered, My Father works till now, and I work.
And he having been called, Tertullus began to accuse, saying,
And we know that to them loving God, all things work together for good, to them being called according to the setting up.
And Jesus, called Justus, they being of the circumcision. These only fellow workers in the kingdom of God, which were a consolation to me.
By which ye are transported with joy, now for a little, (if it is necessary,) having grieved in various temptations:
Watsons
PROVIDENCE, the conduct and direction of the several parts of the universe, by a superior intelligent Being. The notion of a providence is founded upon this truth, that the Creator has not so fixed and ascertained the laws of nature, nor so connected the chain of second causes, as to leave the world to itself, but that he still preserves the reins in his own hands, and occasionally intervenes, alters, restrains, enforces, suspends, &c, those laws by a particular providence. Some use the word providence in a more general sense, signifying by it that power or action by which the several parts of the creation are ordinarily directed. Thus Damascenus defines providence to be that divine will by which all things are ordered and directed to the proper end: which notion of providence supposes no laws at all fixed by the author of nature at the creation, but that he reserved it at large, to be governed by himself immediately. The Epicureans denied any divine providence, as thinking it inconsistent with the ease and repose of the divine nature to meddle at all with human affairs. Simplicius argues thus for a providence: If God does not look to the affairs of the world, it is either because he cannot or will not; but the first is absurd, since, to govern cannot be difficult where to create was easy; and the latter is both absurd and blasphemous. In Plato's Tenth Dialogue of Laws, he teaches excellently, that (since what is self-moving is, by its nature, before that which moves only in consequence of being moved) mind must be prior to matter, and the cause of all its modifications and changes; and that, therefore, there is a universal Mind possessed of all perfection, which produced and which actuates all things. After this he shows that the Deity exercises a particular providence over the world, taking care of small no less than great things. In proving this he observes "that a superior nature of such excellence as the divine, which hears, sees, and knows all things, cannot, in any instance, be subject to negligence or sloth; that the meanest and the greatest part of the world are all equally his work or possession; that great things cannot be rightly taken care of without taking care of small; and that, in all cases, the more able and perfect any artist is, (as a physician, an architect, or the ruler of the state,) the more his skill and care appear in little as well as great things. Let us not, then," says he, "conceive of God as worse than even mortal artists." The term providence, in its primary signification, simply denotes foresight; and if we allow the existence of a supreme Being who formed the universe at first, we must necessarily allow that he has a perfect foresight of every event which at any time takes place in the natural or moral world. Matter can have no motion, nor spirit any energy, but what is derived from him; nor can he be ignorant of the effects which they will, either separately or conjointly, produce. A common mechanic has knowledge of the work of his own hands: when he puts the machine which he has made in motion, he foresees how long it will go, and what will be the state and position of its several parts at any particular point of time; or, if he is not perfectly able to do this, it is because he is not perfectly acquainted with all the powers of the materials which he has used in its construction: they are not of his making, and they may therefore have qualities which he does not understand, and consequently cannot regulate. But in the immense machine of the universe there is nothing except that which God has made; all the powers and properties, relations and dependencies, which created things have, they have, both in kind and degree, from him. Nothing, therefore, it should seem, can come to pass at any time, or in any part of the universe, which its incomprehensible Architect did not, from the moment his almighty fiat called it into existence, clearly foresee. The providence of God is implied in his very existence as an intelligent Creator; and it imports not only an abstract foresight of all possible events, but such a predisposition of causes and effects, such an adjustment of means and ends, as seems to us to exclude that contingency of human actions with which, as expectants of positive rewards and punishments in another world, we firmly believe it to be altogether consistent.
By providence we may understand, not merely foresight, but a uniform and constant operation of God subsequent to the act of creation. Thus, in every machine formed by human ingenuity, there is a necessity for the action of some extraneous power to put the machine in motion: a proper construction and disposition of parts not being sufficient to effect the end: there must be a spring, or a weight, or an impulse of air or water, or some substance or other, on which the motion of the several parts of the machine must depend. In like manner, the machine of the universe depends upon its Creator for the commencement and the conservation of the motion of its several parts. The power by which the insensible particles of matter coalesce into sensible lumps, as well as that by which the great orbs of the universe are reluctantly, as it were, retained in their courses, admits not an explanation from mechanical causes: the effects of both of them are different from such as mere matter and motion can produce; they must ultimately be referred to God. Vegetable and animal life and increase cannot be accounted for, without recurring to him as the primary cause of both. In all these respects the providence of God is something more than foresight; it is a continual influence, a universal agency; "by him all things consist," and "in him we live, and move, and have our being." Much labour has been employed to account for all the phenomena of nature by the powers of mechanism, or the necessary laws of matter and motion. But this, as we imagine, cannot be done. The primary causes of things must certainly be some powers and principles not mechanical, otherwise we shall be reduced to the necessity of maintaining an endless progression of motions communicated from matter to matter, without any first mover; or of saying that the first impelling matter moved itself. The former is an absurdity too great to be embraced by any one; and there is reason to hope that me essential inactivity of matter is at present so well understood, and so generally allowed, notwithstanding some modern oppugners of this hypothesis, that there can be but few who will care to assert the latter. All our reasonings about bodies, and the whole of natural philosophy, are founded on the three laws of motion laid down by Sir Isaac Newton, at the beginning of the "Principia." These laws express the plainest truths; but they would have neither evidence nor meaning, were not inactivity contained in our idea of matter. Should it be said that matter, though naturally inert, may be made to be otherwise by divine power, this would be the same with saying that matter may be made not to be matter. If inactivity belong to it at all, it must belong to it as matter, or solid extension, and therefore must be inseparable from it. Matter is figured, movable, discerptable, inactive, and capable of communicating motion by impulse to other matter; these are not accidental but primary qualities of matter. Beside, matter void of inactivity, if we were to suppose it possible, could produce no effects. The communication of motion, its direction, the resistance it suffers, and its cessation, in a word, the whole doctrine of motion cannot be consistently explained or clearly understood without supposing the inertia of matter. Self-moving matter must have thought and design, because, whenever matter moves, it must move in some particular direction, and with some precise degree of velocity; and as there is an infinity of these equally possible, it cannot move itself without selecting one of these preferably to and exclusively of all others, and therefore not without design. Moreover, it may be plainly proved that matter cannot be the ultimate cause of the phenomena of nature, or the agent which, by any powers inherent in itself, produces the general
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And about dress, why are ye anxious? Consider the white lilies of the field, how they grow; they are not wearied, neither do they spin: