Reference: Providence
American
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 prepares for the crow its prey, when its young ones cry to God for help, [and] they wander around {for lack of food}?
The heart of the wise will make his mouth judicious, and upon his lips, it will add persuasiveness.
This [is] the plan that is planned concerning all of the earth; and this [is] the hand that is stretched out over all of the nations. For Yahweh of hosts has planned, and who will frustrate [it]? And his hand [is] stretched out, and who will turn it back?
Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And one of them will not fall to the ground {without the knowledge and consent} of your Father. And even the hairs of your head are all numbered!
the God who made the world and all the things in it. This one, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by human hands, nor is he served by human hands [as if he] needed anything, [because] he himself gives to everyone life and breath and everything. read more. And he made from one [man] every nation of humanity to live on all the face of the earth, determining [their] fixed times and the fixed boundaries of their habitation, to search for God, if perhaps indeed they might feel around for him and find [him]. And indeed he is not far away from each one of us, for in him we live and move and exist, as even some of {your own} poets have said: 'For we also are {his} offspring.' Therefore, [because we] are offspring of God, we ought not to think the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by human skill and thought.
And [when] he had been summoned, Tertullus began to accuse [him], saying, "We have experienced much peace through you, and reforms are taking place in this nation through your foresight.
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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So now, do not be distressed and do not be angry {with yourselves} that you sold me here, for God sent me as deliverance before you.
As for you, you planned evil against me, [but] God planned it for good, in order to do this--to keep many people alive--as [it is] today.
As for you, you planned evil against me, [but] God planned it for good, in order to do this--to keep many people alive--as [it is] today.
And Pharaoh's heart was hard, and he did not listen to them, as Yahweh had said.
And Yahweh gave the people favor in the eyes of [the] Egyptians, and they granted [their] requests, and they plundered [the] Egyptians.
And as for me, look, I [am] about to harden the heart of [the] Egyptians [so that] they come after them, and I will display my glory through Pharaoh and through all of his army, through his chariots and through his charioteers.
Yahweh kills and restores alive, he brings down [to] Sheol and raises up.
Why should you harden your hearts like [the] Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their heart? Is it not just like when he dealt with them wantonly so that they sent them away and they left?
The king said, "{What do we have in common}, sons of Zeruiah? If he curses because Yahweh has said to him 'Curse David,' who can say, "Why have you done this?"
Again Yahweh [was] angry with Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, "Go count Israel and Judah."
Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad, and let them tell the peoples, "Yahweh reigns!"
He makes the nations great, then he destroys them; he expands the nations, then he guides them.
"But he [is] {alone}, and who can dissuade him? And {whatever he desires}, {indeed}, he does [it].
This God--his way [is] blameless. The word of Yahweh [is] flawless. He [is] a shield for all those who take refuge in him.
You also gave me the shield of your salvation, and your right hand supported me, and your humility made me great.
The plan of Yahweh stands firm forever, the intents of his heart {from one generation to the next}.
From his dwelling place he gazes on all the inhabitants of the earth, he who fashions altogether their heart, he who understands all their works.
For God [is] king of all the earth. Sing praises with understanding.
My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.
For the anger of humankind will praise you. You will put on [the] remnant of anger.
But the loyal love of Yahweh [is] from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to [their] children's children, to those who keep his covenant and remember to do his precepts. read more. Yahweh has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all.
[who] causes grass to grow for the cattle and herbs for the service of humankind, to bring forth food from the earth,
The young lions [are] roaring for the prey and seeking their food from God. [When] the sun rises, they gather together and lie down in their dens. read more. Humankind goes out to its work, and to its labor until evening. How many are your works, O Yahweh; all of them you have done in wisdom. The earth is full of your creatures. This [is] the great and {wide} sea, in which [are] moving animals without number, living things small and great. There [the] ships sail. Leviathan [is there] that you formed to play with. They all wait for you to give [them] their food {at the proper time}. You give to them; they gather [it]. You open your hand, they are filled with [what is] good. You hide your face, they are terrified. You take away their breath, they die and return to their dust.
For I know that Yahweh [is] great, and our Lord [is greater] than all gods. All that Yahweh desires, he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all [the] depths. read more. [He] causes clouds to rise from the edge of the earth; he makes lightnings for the rain; [he] brings out [the] wind from his storehouses.
To mortals [belong] the plans of the heart, but from Yahweh [comes] the answer of the tongue.
The {mind} of a person will plan his ways, and Yahweh will direct his steps.
The lot will be cast into the lap, but all of its decisions are from Yahweh.
Many plans [are] in the heart of a man, but the purpose of Yahweh will be established.
Many plans [are] in the heart of a man, but the purpose of Yahweh will be established.
[Away] from Yahweh are the steps of a strong man, and how will humankind understand his ways?
Streams of water [are] the heart of a king in the hand of Yahweh; {wherever} he will desire, he will turn.
Streams of water [are] the heart of a king in the hand of Yahweh; {wherever} he will desire, he will turn.
Streams of water [are] the heart of a king in the hand of Yahweh; {wherever} he will desire, he will turn.
And he changes the times and the seasons, and he deposes kings and he sets up kings; he gives wisdom to wise men and knowledge to [men who] know understanding.
you will be driven away {from human society} and {you will dwell} with the animals of the field, and you will be caused to graze grass like the oxen {yourself}, and you will be watered with the dew of heaven, and seven [periods of] time will pass over you until that you have acknowledged that the Most High [is] sovereign over the kingdom of humankind, and {to whom he wills} he gives it.
Consider the birds of the sky, that they do not sow or reap or gather [produce] into barns, and your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth more than they [are]?
Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And one of them will not fall to the ground {without the knowledge and consent} of your Father.
Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And one of them will not fall to the ground {without the knowledge and consent} of your Father. And even the hairs of your head are all numbered! read more. Therefore do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
He has filled those who are hungry with good [things], and those who are rich he has sent away empty-handed.
And divided tongues like fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them.
The God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus, whom you handed over and denied in the presence of Pilate, [after] he had decided to release [him].
But [the things] which God foretold through the mouth of all the prophets, [that] his Christ would suffer, he has fulfilled in this way.
For in truth both Herod and Pontius Pilate, together with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, assembled together in this city against your holy servant Jesus whom you anointed,
For in truth both Herod and Pontius Pilate, together with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, assembled together in this city against your holy servant Jesus whom you anointed, to do all that your hand and plan had predestined to take place.
to do all that your hand and plan had predestined to take place.
And yet he did not leave himself without witness [by] doing good, giving you rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying [you] with food and your hearts with gladness."
for in him we live and move and exist, as even some of {your own} poets have said: 'For we also are {his} offspring.'
For the scripture says to Pharaoh, "For this very [reason] I have raised you up, so that I may demonstrate my power in you, and so that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth."
For God confined them all in disobedience, in order that he could have mercy on them all.
For from him and through him and to him [are] all [things]. To him [be] glory for eternity! Amen.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control. Against such things [there] is no law. read more. Now those {who belong to Christ} have crucified the flesh together with its feelings and its desires. If we live by the Spirit, we must also follow the Spirit.
For we are his creation, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, so that we may walk in them.
For the one at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure, is God.
I am able [to do] all [things] by the one who strengthens me.
and he himself is before all [things], and in him all [things] are held together,
if we are unfaithful, he remains faithful--{he cannot deny himself}.
who is the radiance of his glory and the representation of his essence, sustaining all [things] by the word of power. [When he] had made purification for sins through him, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will travel to such and such a city and spend a year there, and carry on business and make a profit," you who do not know {what will happen tomorrow}, {what your life will be like}. For you are a smoky vapor that appears for a short time and then disappears. read more. Instead you should say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and 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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{As long as the earth endures}, seed and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will not cease.
Now Joseph was the governor over the land. He [was] the one who sold [food] to all the people of the land. And the brothers of Joseph came and bowed down to him with their faces to the ground.
No one could see his brother, and {because of it no one could move from where they were} [for] three days, but there was light for the {Israelites} in their dwellings.
And there will be a great cry of distress in all the land of Egypt, the like of which has not been nor will be again. But against all the {Israelites}, from a man to an animal, a dog will not [even] {bark}, so that you will know that Yahweh makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.'
The king said to Zadok, "Let the ark of God return to the city. If I find favor in the eyes of Yawheh, he will let me return and let me see him in his dwelling place. But if he says, 'I take no pleasure in you,' then {I am ready}. Let him do to me that which [is] good in his eyes.
The king said, "{What do we have in common}, sons of Zeruiah? If he curses because Yahweh has said to him 'Curse David,' who can say, "Why have you done this?" David said to Abishai and to all his servants, "Look, my son who came out of my loins [is] seeking my life. Now {as far as} [this] Benjaminite, leave him alone and let him curse, for Yahweh has spoken to him. read more. Perhaps Yahweh will look {in my eye} and repay good for me in place of his curse this day.
I will say to God, 'You should not condemn me; let me know why you contend [against] me. Is it good for you that you oppress, that you despise the labor of your hands, and you smile over the schemes of [the] wicked?
Please remember that you made me like clay, but you turn me into dust [again]? Did you not pour me out like milk and {curdle me} like cheese? read more. You clothed me [with] skin and flesh, and you knit me together with bones and sinews. You have granted me life and loyal love, and your care has preserved my spirit.
You would call, and I myself would answer you; you would long for the work of your hand.
that [the] rejoicing of [the] wicked [is] {short}, and the joy of [the] godless {lasts only a moment}?
He stretches out [the] north over emptiness; [he] hangs [the] earth {over nothing}. [He] ties up [the] water in its clouds, and [the] cloud is not torn open beneath it. read more. [He] covers [the] face of [the] full moon; [he] spreads his cloud over it. {He has described a circle} on [the] face of [the] water {between light and darkness}. "[The] pillars of heaven tremble, and they are astounded at his rebuke.
Why do you contend against him, that he will not answer all a person's words?
"Where were you at my laying the foundation of [the] earth? Tell [me], if you possess understanding. Who determined its measurement? Yes, you do know. Or who stretched [the] measuring line upon it? read more. On what were its bases sunk? Or who laid its cornerstone, when [the] morning stars were singing together and all the sons of God shouted for joy? "Or [who] shut [the] sea in with doors at its bursting, [when] it went out of [the] womb, at my making [the] clouds its garment and thick darkness its swaddling band, and I prescribed my rule for it, and I set bars and doors, and I said, 'You shall come up to here, but you shall not go further, and here it will set [a boundary] {for your proud surging waves}'? "Have you {ever in your life} commanded [the] morning? Have you made the dawn know its place, to take hold of the earth's skirts so that the wicked might be shaken off from it? It is changed like clay [under] a seal, and they appear like a garment.
"Look, I am insignificant. What shall I answer you? I lay my hand on my mouth. Once I have spoken, and I will not answer; even twice, but I will not proceed."
"I know that you can do all [things], and [any] scheme from you will not be thwarted. 'Who [is] this darkening counsel without knowledge?' Therefore I uttered, but I did not understand; {things too wonderful for me}, but I did not know. read more. 'Hear and I will speak; I will question you, then inform me.' By the ear's hearing I heard [of] you, but now my eye has seen you. Therefore I despise [myself] and repent in dust and ashes."
By the word of Yahweh [the] heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host.
From heaven Yahweh looks; he sees all the children of humankind. From his dwelling place he gazes on all the inhabitants of the earth, read more. he who fashions altogether their heart, he who understands all their works. The king [is] not saved by [the] greatness of an army. The warrior is not delivered by [the] greatness of strength.
I have seen [the] wicked acting violently and spreading himself out like a luxuriant native tree. Then he passed on and behold, he was not. And I sought him, but he could not be found. read more. Observe [the] blameless and look at [the] upright, for [there is] a future for a man of peace.
Righteousness will exalt a nation, but sin [is] a reproach to a people.
The lot will be cast into the lap, but all of its decisions are from Yahweh.
Many plans [are] in the heart of a man, but the purpose of Yahweh will be established.
There is no wisdom, nor understanding, nor counsel to oppose Yahweh.
[He is] the one who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants [are] like grasshoppers; the one who stretches out [the] heavens like a veil and spreads them out like tent to live [in],
Lift your eyes up [on] high, and see! Who created these? The one who brings out their host by number. He calls all them by name. Because [he is] great of power and mighty of power, no man is missing.
Yet now Yahweh, you [are] our father; we [are] the clay and you [are] our {potter}, and we all [are] the work of your hand.
Do you not revere me?" {declares} Yahweh, "Do you not tremble {before me}? For I have placed [the] sand [as] a boundary for the sea, {as an everlasting limit}, and it cannot pass over it, and they rise and fall loudly, but they cannot prevail, and its waves roar, but they cannot pass over it.
You [will be] in the right, Yahweh, when I complain to you. Even so, let me speak [my] claims with you. Why does [the] way of [the] wicked succeed? All those who deal treacherously with treachery are at ease.
And the satraps, the prefects, the governors and the advisors of the king [were] assembling, [and] they saw these men, that the fire had no power over their bodies, and the hair of their heads was not singed, and their garments were not harmed, and the smell of fire did not come from them.
and you will be driven away from {human society} and your dwelling [will be] with the animals of the field and they will cause you to graze [the] grass like oxen, and seven times will pass over you, until you acknowledge that the Most High [is] sovereign over the kingdom of humankind and that he gives it to whom he wills.'
"Yes, look, I [am] going to command and I will shake the house of Israel among all the nations like one who shakes with a sieve, but not a pebble will fall [to the] ground.
And they said {to one another}, "Come, let us cast lots so that we may know on whose account this disaster [has come] on us!" And they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah.
And even the hairs of your head are all numbered!
Jesus said, "Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields on account of me and on account of the gospel {who will not} receive a hundred times as much now in this time--houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and fields, together with persecutions--and in the age to come, eternal life.
a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory to your people Israel."
Even a hair of your head will never perish!
For in truth both Herod and Pontius Pilate, together with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, assembled together in this city against your holy servant Jesus whom you anointed, to do all that your hand and plan had predestined to take place.
Now those who had been scattered went about proclaiming the good news [of] the word.
for in him we live and move and exist, as even some of {your own} poets have said: 'For we also are {his} offspring.'
And [when] he had been summoned, Tertullus began to accuse [him], saying, "We have experienced much peace through you, and reforms are taking place in this nation through your foresight.
Therefore I urge you to take [some] food, for this is necessary for your preservation. For not a hair from your head will be lost."
And [why] not (as we are slandered, and as some affirm that we say), "Let us do evil, in order that good may come [of it]? Their condemnation is just!
And not only [this], but we also boast in our afflictions, [because we] know that affliction produces patient endurance, and patient endurance, proven character, and proven character, hope,
On the contrary, O man, who are you who answers back to God? Will what is molded say to the one who molded [it], "Why did you make me like this"? Or does the potter not have authority over the clay, to make from the same lump a vessel that [is] for {honorable use} and [one] that [is] for {ordinary use}? read more. And [what] if God, wanting to demonstrate his wrath and to make known his power, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction? And [he did so] in order that he could make known the riches of his glory upon vessels of mercy that he prepared beforehand for glory,
But when the fullness of time came, God sent out his Son, born of a woman, born under the law,
and he himself is before all [things], and in him all [things] are held together,
and he himself is before all [things], and in him all [things] are held together,
For the training of the body is {somewhat} profitable, but godliness is profitable for everything, [because it] holds promise for the present life and for the [life] to come.
who is the radiance of his glory and the representation of his essence, sustaining all [things] by the word of power. [When he] had made purification for sins through him, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
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.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
As for you, you planned evil against me, [but] God planned it for good, in order to do this--to keep many people alive--as [it is] today.
But on that day I will distinguish the land of Goshen, where my people are staying, by there not being flies there, so that you will know that I [am] Yahweh in the midst of the land.
Remember [the] old days, {the years long past}; ask your father, and he will inform you, your elders and they will tell you. {When the Most High apportioned} [the] nations, at his dividing [up] of the sons of humankind, he fixed the boundaries of [the] peoples, according to the number of the children of Israel.
The voice of Yahweh [is] over the waters; the God of glory thunders. Yahweh [is] over many waters.
But God [has been] my king from long ago, working salvation in the midst of the earth.
Yahweh [is] good to all, and his mercies [are] over all his works.
Look to Abraham your father, and to Sarah; she brought you forth. For I called him {alone}, but I blessed him and made him numerous."
'The latter glory of this house will be greater than the former,' says Yahweh of hosts, 'and in this place I will give peace' {declares} Yahweh of hosts.'"
"Remember the instruction of my servant Moses, which I commanded him at Horeb to all Israel, the rules and regulations.
"For this [reason] I say to you, do not be anxious for your life, what you will eat, and not for your body, what you will wear. Is your life not more than food and your body [more than] clothing?
Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And one of them will not fall to the ground {without the knowledge and consent} of your Father.
But he answered them, "My Father is working until now, and I am working."
And [when] he had been summoned, Tertullus began to accuse [him], saying, "We have experienced much peace through you, and reforms are taking place in this nation through your foresight.
And we know that all [things] work together for good for those who love God, for those who are called according to [his] purpose,
and Jesus who is called Justus. These [are] the only ones who are fellow workers for the kingdom of God from the circumcision, who have been a comfort to me.
in which you rejoice greatly, [although] now for a short time, if necessary, you are distressed by various trials,
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 why are you anxious about clothing? Observe the lilies of the field, how they grow: they do not toil or spin,