Proverbs 16 is our initial reading. Verse 1, look at it. The preparations
of the heart in man and the answer of the tongue is from the Lord. Look at verse 4. The Lord hath
made all for himself, yea, even the wicked for the day of evil. Verse 9, a man's heart deviseth
his way, but the Lord directeth his steps. Now Solomon, though
speaking of wise sayings, did not neglect the sovereignty of
God or the providence of God either. But to our subject of
the day. A Puritan author that I have
read for a long time, John Flavell, or maybe it's Flavell, once wrote
these words in an article on the providence of God. He said,
and I'm quoting, that there are two chief ways whereby the blessed
God manifests himself unto men, and that is by his word and by
his works, unquote. And by his word, the word of
God, we mean, of course, the divinely inspired written word
of our God Most High. And Flavell added this, this
is a glorious medium of manifestation that God has written of himself
and his way and his law and his purpose there in his word. The psalmist wrote an amazing
thing in Psalm 138 and verse 2. Thou hast magnified thy word
above thy name. God's word is true. If every
person in the world turn out to be a consummate liar, yet
God's word is true. and it tells us all that we need
to know to be saved, to worship God through Christ, and how to
live as the people of God. However, we're interested in
that second way this morning that God manifests himself, and
that is he manifests himself by his works which we call the
divine providence of God. That is, by the ordering of things
so as to fulfill his purpose and bring to pass those many
prophecies made centuries and centuries before concerning the
Lord and all things. But on account of two things
for two reasons, I think that perhaps we ought to take the
time to define what we mean by providence, and there are two
reasons, as I said, why this might be done. Number one, some
might say that the word providence is not to be found anywhere in
the scripture, and that there, therefore, is no such doctrine
as that to be found in the scripture. It's true that the King James
Version has the word one time in Acts chapter 24 and verse
2, but there in that place, it is not used in relationship to
the work of God, but it is used and comes out of the mouth of
Tertullus when accusing Paul before the governor in order
that he might ingratiate himself under the governor and against
Paul, and to flatter the governor, there he brings his charges against
the apostle. We might say that this is probably
not the best translation of the word, as in that place it also
might be rendered as peace or it might be rendered as reforms. Reforms and things that the governor
himself had put in place to which Tertullos is congratulating or
complimenting him. But the second reason to define
providence is because though scripture is full of many examples
of the providence of God in the human affairs of the people,
it is not grasped by many in our day. Not many understand
it or believe it. Plus the fact that it is not
much preached in our day. Yes, it was a common staple in
the preaching a preacher in olden time, or preaching the Word of
God, we run against providence time and time again. But over
the course of history and the passing of time and of the century,
The preaching of the providence of God has been subtly replaced
by that stout idol of free will, and humanism has been exalted
in the place of the providence of God. Now, providence, therefore,
may be shortly and quickly defined as God's work of preserving and
directing all of the things that he has made in his creation,
in directing his purpose to its appointed end. God has appointed
an end. He has a purpose, he has a plan,
he has made a decree. And God's providence is, therefore,
the ordering of all things unto their proper end, and at time
that includes frustrating and overturning the intention and
the attempts of the wicked, so that the things that come to
pass are what God has purposed in his eternal decree. Robert
Dabney wrote, Providentia, that is the Greek, is the execution
in successive time of God's eternal and unsuccessive purpose, unquote. Dabney, Another great writer
of old has also described that, a distinct method of divine activity,
unquote. The providence, again, is bringing
to pass in time, in history, what was purposed before time
by the all-knowing, all-wise God of heaven, so that what God
has purposed But having purposed, he therefore directs all things,
all persons, and all events to their desired end by his providential
oversight and government. And Isaiah said it well, Isaiah
chapter 46 and verse 11. I have spoken it, I also will
bring it to pass. I have purposed it, I also will
do it. Let's divide that verse up. There are two sets of two statements
that are to be found here. Notice the two statements, I
have spoken it, I have purposed it, and those two are followed
by to complementary statement, I also will bring it to pass,
I also will do it. So that as Paul says in Romans
chapter 8, is it verse 28? God makes all things to work
together for good to them that love God and to them that are
the called according unto his purpose. Now this is not to insinuate
that God's providence is restricted to the people of his purpose
or those that Paul describes in that verse. For as we read
in Proverbs 21 and 1, Even the king's heart is in the Lord's
hand, and like the rivers of water, he turneth it whethersoever
he will. Proverbs 103 and verse 19. His kingdom rules over all. There's a great statement in
Daniel chapter 4 and verse 17. The Most High rules in the kingdom
of men and gives it to whom soever he will. Many such other utterances
we could give and will give during the course of our study. But
let us inject this thought here at this particular play. None
of these statements that we read qualified by any stipulation
or condition such as if the people submit if the people be willing
and yielded and obedient if they find and submit themselves to
God's plan for their life if they choose God's way and on
and on we have heard them go but because God's purpose is
absolute. Now I want to say that again.
God's purpose is absolute. I have purposed it, is what Isaiah
said. But because his purpose is absolute,
so his providence also is absolute as well. What good is it for
God to have a purpose or to have made a decree unless he order
all things so as to bring that to pass, even as he has will. Must his purpose, therefore,
ride upon the wings of faith, or must it be dependent upon
the free will of man to do the right thing, or the resolve of
the objects of the purpose or the decree of God, or of luck,
or of chance, as we so often hear those words used in our
language today. Thus we see that we can use the
word providence in order to signify the outworking of God in time,
his purpose, or as one has called it, the efficacious administration
of the things decreed unquote, so that it is impossible to separate
providence from either creation or the decree of God made before
the world. If God has created with a purpose,
that is with a name or with an end in view, as something to
redound unto His glory, we read in Revelation 4 and verse 11,
Thou art worthy to receive glory and honor and power, for Thou
hast created all things. and for your pleasure they are
and were created." And if God has decreed a thing to come to
pass, then he guides the events of those person or those things
that he has decreed so that none of the decree of God miscarry
and none of his words fall to the ground and none of its purpose
be frustrated." Now I think this might be a good time to consider
some of the different views of providence which are held in
the world, have been held, in the history of the Church of
Christianity, those that have a tie to Christianity. who hold the same view, do not
hold the same view, I should say, of the divine providence. So we might call this unadulterated
Christianity, holds to the true providence of God while they
are invention for others. The Armenians, for example, who
were hatched from that rotten egg of old Pelagianism of old. The question is this, how much
of the hand of God, if any, does he take in the affairs of the
world? How much to do, if any, does
God have to do with the affairs of the world as it plays out? Is he Or is he not involved in
the lives of the human family and of the events of history? Does this God intervene in the
mundane affairs of men? Does he intervene in all things? in some things or in no things,
at some time and not at others, of some events and not at others. Is that how God works? Then we
do not know which is of God and which is not. But here are some
views, I think, that miss the mark when it comes to the providence
of God. that of the Epicureans of old,
which Dabney rightly called practical atheism. The Epicureans were
practical atheists. Remember, Paul met some of them
in the 17th chapter of the book of Acts when he was in Athens. And they denied that the deity
had any hand in the affairs of the world or of men. Again, there is that view of
18th century deism and even earlier than that, that God exercised
no special and no perpetual or immediate providence over the
affairs of men and of history. That God simply set some natural
laws in place and set them in motion to which people are then
left to work out their own lives and their own destiny. And then
we might mention that idea of providence held by the pantheists
who say that God is one with the world, that God and substance
and matter are one, so that there is, according to them, no providence
to speak of since man has actual identity with God in their foolish
doctrine. And there is a view much too
much accepted and popular in our day, and generally you will
find it embraced by Arminians and other secular humanists in
our day, that good things are of God and bad things are from
the devil. They make this distinction, that
such things as hurricanes and floods and wars and devastation
and pestilence and drought and those kind of things are the
work of the devil. For God, they say, is loving
and is good, and he only desires and sends good things upon his
people. Now this is a notion easily refuted
using the scripture because who sent the flood? God. Who rained
fire and brimstone on Sodom and Gomorrah? Was it not the God
of heaven? So God's providence, therefore,
to move forward is both general and particular. By general, I
mean his providence is over all of the works of his hand. By
particular, I mean that his providence is at work in individual, that
his purpose and design and providence be brought to pass. Example. God would destroy King Ahab. You remember that King Ahab,
for his wickedness, was under a sentence of death from God,
pronounced by the prophet. You'll find that in 1 Kings chapter
22, written on at length in that chapter. Also you'll find it
in 1 Kings chapter 21, and verse 19 through 22. Now providence
carried out the sentence of God on this wise. This is how it
came to pass that God brought Ahab to destruction and down
to death. Ahab went into battle. He had
consulted all of his prophet and they said go with a blessing.
God will bless you and you will come back successful indeed. So Ahab a little bit leery of
the words of Micaiah, a true prophet of God, disguised himself
so that he did not or was not dressed as the king. He disguised
himself to conceal his identity and went forth into battle to
not be recognized by the enemy. But providence carried the day,
and in 1 Kings chapter 22, verse 34, a certain man shot an arrow
at random, or at a venture, not aimed at anyone in particular,
just shot at random. And that arrow went and went
between the joint of the harness of Ahab pierced into his body
and was the occasion of his death. It gave him a mortal wound. What providence is there? Not
shooting at anyone in particular, and particularly not at the king. I'll give you another example
of divine providence where it hangs in the balance and that
is a providence of a Roman soldier with a club or a bar of some
kind in his hand going to Calvary to break the legs of the three
thieves that it might hasten their death but scripture had
said not a bone of the Passover lamb was to be broken Exodus
12 46 John 19 and 36 and while the soldiers did break the legs
of the two thieves yet not the legs of Jesus for he was already
dead and and this fulfilled the scripture, not a bone of him
shall be broken. Consider individual providence
as that Samaritan woman in John chapter 4 coming out to Jacob's
well with her pitcher to draw water, at the very time that
the Lord Jesus Christ, weary from his journey, sat on the
curb of Jacob's well, and she went home having drunk of the
water of life. Again, Proverbs is in Acts chapter
8. a Ethiopian eunuch riding in
a chariot, reading from the word of God, and in particular from
the prophet Isaiah, when God sends a man to open unto him
the Lord. Providence is in Genesis chapter
24, Abraham sending out his most trusted and senior servant to
find a bride for his son Isaac, And as the servant came one evening
to a watering place for his camel, he knelt down and he prayed for
guidance from the Lord, that the Lord would direct the matter.
No sooner had he closed his prayer, Then Rebecca came with her water
pitcher, drew water for his camel, and the rest, as they say, is
history. She became the wife of Isaac
and the builder of Israel. And then let us enlarge upon
the providence of God, involving a larger cast of people, thus
more complicated, and make use of evil, of poverty, and even
a politics to bring to pass a certain thing that God has willed or
desired. I should like to consider three
instances of amazing providence. Now we'll make it short. Number
one is the providence of God in the case and the life of Joseph. You'll find it in the last 14
chapters of the book of Genesis. Joseph's brothers for envy had
sold him into slavery. He was carried down into Egypt,
sold into slavery, and finally cast down into the dungeon after
being falsely accused, found favor with the king, for interpreting
the dream of the king, was elevated to be second in power and authority
of the king. God used him to save much people
alive from a coming famine and preserve the house of Jacob or
of Israel. Now these events are very well
summed up by Joseph himself, and if you'd like to turn with
me to the book of Genesis, two places, chapter 45 and chapter
50, there are some passages here that are very interesting for
us to read. as we look at them as they are
carried out by God's secret providence as it works its way out in the
life of this good man Joseph. Now in chapter 45 we want to
look at verses 5 through 8 if I can get my paper, thin paper
turned to the right place. Genesis chapter 45 and verses
5 through verse 8 for our reading. Now Joseph is speaking to his
brothers after he has made himself known to them. Therefore be not
grieved nor angry with yourselves that you sow me hither for God
did send me before you to preserve life. For these two years hath
the famine been in the land, and yet are there five years
in which there shall be no earing or harvest. And God sent me before
you to preserve you a posterity in the earth and to save your
lives by a great deliverance. Now it was not you that sent
me hither but God, and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh,
and lord of all of his house, and a ruler throughout the land
of Egypt. Now, turning to chapter 50 of
that same book, the last book, or chapter of Genesis, chapter
50, verse 19 and 20. Joseph says it to them again,
Fear not, am I in the place of God? But as for you, ye thought
evil against me, but God meant it unto good to bring to pass
God meant it unto good to bring to pass, as it is this day, to
save much people alive. This is a grand example of the
providence of God causing all things, good and evil, to work
together to fulfill the purpose of God. Now next, let's consider
the providence of God in the Old Testament book of Ruth. How she went from being a pagan
to believing in God, to being in the genealogy of the Lord
Jesus Christ, all guided by the sovereign providence of God. We read in Ruth chapter 2 and
verse 3 that when Ruth went to glean in the fields, We read,
and her hap happened to light in the field of Boaz. Her hap happened upon the field
of Boaz. Now, there are two things important
about Boaz. Number one, he was a proper kinsman
unto them. Number two, he had the means
to redeem. And we might add a third, he
was willing to exercise the work of a redeemer. Notice, her hap. In the King James, the margin
has it, her half happened. It so happened. Of all the fields,
and of all the landlords, and of all the harvest, and of all
the reapers, and of all the gleaners, All under the same law of gaining,
she made her way to the field of one being a qualified Goel
redeemer. But what but divine providence
guided her there? I agree with Gil. What may have
seemed to her to be chance, or to her might be called luck,
was indeed the purpose of God, and was by the providential direction
of Almighty God. One more, if you would, from
the book of Esther. Esther, you know, had been an
orphan raised by her uncle. And Haman had persuaded the king
to destroy all of the Jews in the kingdom, he said, because
they hold laws different under the kingdom. The plot was foiled
when in Esther chapter 6 and verse 1, we read of a night when
the king could not sleep. On that night could not the king
sleep. A bout of insomnia overcame the
king and it caused him to sin for the records of the chronicles
of his kingdom and to be read unto him, and therein was discovered
that Mordecai had revealed a plot that saved the life of the king. Such an unlikely thing as the
king being unable to fall to sleep. The providence of God
worked mightily. But concerning providence, let's
enlarge our earlier definition of it. Upon using this description,
which appears in John Owen's very strong work, A Display of
Arminianism, the providence is that work of Almighty God, quote,
whereby he sustains and governs the world all things he created,
moving them, and agreeable to those natures which he has endowed
them with in the beginning, unto those ends which he has proposed."
Unquote. A good description of providence. And now let's consider providence
theologically within this context, that it is a distinct providence
clearly set forth in scripture, capable of being considered upon
its own merit and many, many sermon might be preached on the
subject, many examples of it might be given from the scripture
and also from history. And yet, it is capable of being
considered distinctly as a biblical doctrine, yet it is not to be
completely separated from other truths, truths such as creation,
and the eternal purpose of God, and predestination, and election,
and all of those things, such like. It cannot be completely
separated from these things. And I think that you will find
that one's view of them will influence their view of providence
and vice versa. To which we might add, not even
reprobation flies out of the bounds of the providence of God,
for do we not read, and whom he will he hardens, and he hardened
the heart of Pharaoh. Now we touched on this earlier
but let's expand upon it a little bit more now. That is that creation
and providence are tied together. And they're tied together in
such text as Nehemiah chapter 9 and verse 6 where there it
is written that God made heaven and earth and all of their hosts
the earth and all therein the heavens and all therein and it
says this and thou Preserve us them all Me and my name and verse
6 you can see that again in Hebrews 1 2 & 3 Colossians 1 16 and 17
by him all things are created by him all things consist providence
is not God continuing to create as something, but providence
is God's preserving and sustaining and ordering what he has created
and governing what he has created and what he has decreed. And
as God did not create without a purpose, it is providence that
directs all things to their appointed end. And if this be so, then
it will soon become apparent that these there are three omnis
that are very important to us in the scripture of which we
now speak. Three omnis. Number one is the
omnipotence of God. He is omnipotent. Omni. Omni. means all it means
completely it means all power when the subject is power revelation
chapter 19 verse 6 hallelujah for the lord god omnipotent reigneth
He has all power in heaven and in earth. How shall his providence
be effectual unless he has all power and unless he exercises
it over all creation? The second omni that we look
at now is the omniscience of God, that is, his complete knowledge. of everything that God is all-knowing,
having all knowledge, knowing all that there is to be known. Nothing has been Nothing is now,
nothing will be in the future that is unknown to God because
of His Omniism. And the third Omni is His Omnipresent. That is, Scripture teaches us
God is everywhere present. Have you read the 139th Psalm? Whither shall I flee from thy
presence? Garden Clark asks, How can God
exercise a sovereign providence over human affairs unless he
be all-powerful, all-wise, and all-present? unquote, but is
one aspect of providence which Gil called the greatest difficulty
to be met with in the article of providence, unquote. There
is one part of providence at which we might stumble and which
we might fall and falter, and that is at the providence of
God in the sin and the fall of man. Was the providence of God
operative even then in that matter and affair? It brought misery,
it brought suffering, it brought death, it brought wars, violence,
perversion, idolatry, murder, child abuse, and a number known
only to God who will fall down in hell forever. So that if we
halt, or if we stumble, or if we doubt, or back up at any part
of the providence of God, it will likely or possibly be in
connection with these things. And yet we know some things.
Number one, God is holy. Number two, he could have prevented
the fall of man, if he will. Number three, he could save all
who fell and are sinners, if he will, so that not even these
things fly out of the bounds of the providence of God. I want
to just give you an example. Consider growing old. and the
things that precede the death of the body. Now, God might take
all out of the world without dying, as he did Enoch and Elijah. He might simply come at a set
time and snatch us away, take us out of life, he did Enoch
and Elijah, without seeing death. Again, if it were God's sovereign
prerogative, he might like Moses. Let Moses die without succumbing
to the infirmities of old age. Deuteronomy 34 and verse 7. When
Moses died, he was 120 years old, but the scripture said his
eye was not dim and his natural strength was not abated. That is, his natural vigor was
not gone. He was not decrepit and old and
infirm. But so often the last days or
the last years of life are filled with trouble so that at times
it is difficult to own circumstances to be according to the providence
of our God. When the providence of our God,
some say, is frowning. When the providence of God is
a frowning providence. I read this week of what Eli
said in 1 Samuel 3, verse 18. It was announced that God would
kill his sons for their iniquity, that God would put them to death,
that they would die. And what did Eli say? It is the
Lord let him do as seemeth good in his sight. Many are not able
to see the providence of God in gross evil in the world, or
that God, holy beyond description, could ordain the evil acts that
people commit. And yet He ordained that wicked
hands crucify His Son at the cross of Calvary, did He not? He ordained that Judas The wicked
hands and mind of Judas betray the Lord for 30 pieces of silver. He ordained that Pharaoh be raised
up as an example of his power. Exodus 9, 16, Romans 9, verse
17. Indeed, for this purpose have
I raised thee up that I might show in thee my power that my
name might be declared throughout all of the earth. he said unto
Pharaoh now that might stumble our heart that might come in
our minds in a hard way but do we not read that God does harden
the heart of some Romans 9 17 Deuteronomy 2 and 30 he hardened
the heart of of Sihon, king of Heshbon, and
it resulted in strong, in destruction of his people. We read that God
sends strong delusion, that he mingles a perverse spirit, that
he sends deception. All of these things are taught
in the scripture. But still, in the end, we must
say, thy ways are past finding out. We can never know the way
of God. We can understand only a part
and only to a point, but we can never understand in this life
the ways of God. Mysterious they are unto us,
yet they are the ways of God. But let us close with that confession
and admission, thy ways are past finding out. Who, Lord, can know
thy way? Who can tell this from that?
Who knoweth the works of the Almighty God which he hath done
in the earth? Who knoweth the ways of God,
their paths finding out?