The Annoyances of the Man of God by the World, Under the Control of Providence

    In all ages and in all countries God's people are strangers and pilgrims, and will be subject to ill treatment under the very best forms of government. There are innumerable ways in which they may be annoyed by their enemies, beyond redress from the best system of laws under the best administrators. Their comfort is, that Divine Providence overrules and regulates the extent of mischief which his wisdom may see meet to permit their enemies to inflict on them. The wrath of man he will make to praise him ; and whatever of this wrath is not for his glory and the good of his people, he will restrain. He suffered the herdsmen of Gerar to strive with the servants of Isaac for the wells which the latter had dug. They did so repeatedly. This was necessary in the typical people, and it served to manifest the peaceable character of Isaac. But, though there is no end to the unreasonableness of men, there is a limit to the extent in which Divine Providence will suffer it to manifest itself against his people. At the digging of the third well, the Philistines ceased to strive. And that this was not accidental, or unrelated to Providence, we know from the pious acknowledgment of Isaac on the occasion. "And he called the name of it Rehoboth; and he said, For now the Lord hath made room for us." A man of the world—a philosopher, would see nothing here but mere accident, without any connexion with Providence. But the man of God ascribes the ceasing of the annoyance of his enemies to the overruling power of the Ruler of the world. What a consolation to the Christian to reflect on this fact! He is in safety while he is on all sides encircled by those who hate him. He lies down in the midst of bears and lions, yet he rises in tranquillity and peace. Were it not for Divine Providence, the people of God, who, compared with the world, are but a handful, would be extirpated utterly from the earth. They are like the family of Abraham and Isaac sojourning as strangers among the inhabitants of Canaan. But Abraham and Isaac were as safe, when they sojourned in Canaan as strangers, as were Solomon and David when they ruled over all the nations as far as the river Euphrates. God's Providence is the inheritance of his people.