See the hand of God in all the barbarisms and incivilities of men!

(Thomas Watson)

"The Almighty has afflicted me!" Ruth 1:21

"The cup which My Father has given Me, shall I not drink it?" John 18:11

All the injuries and unkind treatments we meet with from others, do not come to us by chance, but are ordained by the all-wise God for our good.

Many are like the foolish cur that snarls at the stick, never looking to the hand that swung it. If we looked higher than instruments, our hearts would grow meek and calm. Instruments can no more stir until God gives them a commission-than the ax can cut by itself without a hand. David looked beyond Shimei's rage: "Let him curse, for the Lord has bidden him!" 2 Samuel 16:11

What wisdom for Christians-to see the hand of God in all the barbarisms and incivilities of men! Job eyed God in his affliction, and that meekened his spirit: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised!" Job 1:21. He does not say, The Chaldeans have taken away-but "The Lord has taken away."

Whoever brings an affliction, it is God who sends it.

"God has sovereign right to dispose of us as He pleases. We ought to acquiesce in all that God does with us and to us." William Carey

"When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider: God has made the one as well as the other!" Ecclesiastes 7:14

"Shall we poor worms give laws to our supreme Lord and Governor, and oblige Him always to bless and favor us, and never to afflict us?" Matthew Poole

"What? Should we accept only good things from the hand of God, and never anything bad?" Job 2:10