By William S. Plumer, 1875
I. Providence is the care of God over his creatures.
God's works of providence are his most holy, wise, and powerful preserving
and governing all his creatures and all their actions.
II. To deny providence is as truly atheistic as to deny
God's existence. One who neither sees, nor hears, nor knows, nor cares, nor
helps, nor saves, is no God at all. No right-minded man could worship such a
being.
III. Both the Old and New Testaments declare with great
frequency God's providence over the world. In the hand of the Lord is "the
soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind." "In him we live,
and move, and have our being." "The Lord God omnipotent reigns." Job 12:10;
Acts 17:28; Rev. 19:6. Pious men of all ages have been very much agreed on
the general doctrine of providence. They have felt that the world may as
well be without a God as to have one who controls it not.
IV. God's providence partakes of his own excellent
nature. Because he is supreme and holy and just and good and wise and kind
and almighty; his government is irresistible, kind, wise, good, just, holy,
and over all. Nothing escapes the divine notice. Living creatures invisible
to the naked eye as well as the great sea monsters alike evince his presence
and his power. He never slumbers nor sleeps. He calls the stars by their
names. That which is to us chance is to him matter of exact arrangement.
Eccles. 9:11; Proverbs 16:33. He makes the wrath of man to praise him, and
the remainder of wrath he restrains. Psalm 76:10. His providence is not
extemporaneous and conducted by a plan formed from day to day, but by a plan
fixed and settled according to a holy, wise, and eternal purpose. Eph. 1:11;
3:11; 2 Tim. 1:9. God does not change his plan: "My counsel shall stand, and
I will do all my pleasure." Isaiah 46:10.
V. Very remarkable is the long-suffering of God's
providence. For their sins God might justly and instantly cut men down; but
his long-suffering prevails, and the guilty are spared so as to have time
for repentance.
VI. The Scriptures forewarn us that God's doings will
often confound us: "Your judgments are a great deep." "Your way is in the
sea, and your path in the great waters, and your footsteps are not known."
Psalm 36:6; 77:19. God saves or he destroys, by few or by many, by the
strong or by the weak, by friend or by foe. He is on the right hand, but we
perceive him not. None are more surprised than wicked men when God brings
their conduct to its natural end. Nor does he give account of any of his
doings. Often he does not even give us notice when he is about to effect his
greatest wonders. He hangs the earth upon nothing. He often seems to hang
the destiny of empires upon a thing of naught. Both his means and his
instruments are commonly such as man would reject. God sees order where we
see but confusion, and light where we see but darkness. He has as perfect
control over invisible agents as he has over things seen by men. "His
kingdom rules over all." Many think it vastly strange that God takes the
poor from the ash-heap and sets them among princes, and pours contempt on
noble birth, on prowess and on princes.
VII. There is something very wonderful in God's care of
godly men. They often speak of it here. They will oftener speak of it
hereafter. "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord; and He delights
in his way." Psalm 37:23. There is a wonderful connection between the
prayers of saints and the providence of God. For thousands of years one good
man after another has repeated the words of the Psalmist as applicable to
himself: "This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of
all his troubles." Psalm 34:6. It does not at all diminish the wonder of
God's care of his people that he protects them without the interposition of
miracles.
VIII. All the argument brought against providence from
the apparent confusion in human affairs is easily enough answered. In this
world nothing is finished, nothing is perfected. Let men wait until they see
Lazarus in Abraham's bosom, and the rich sinner beyond the reach of hope,
and they will not doubt that there is a God that judges in the earth.
IX. In one respect providence is a continual exhibition
of creative energy. "You send forth your Spirit, they are created: and you
renew the face of the earth." Psalm 104:30. Every man on earth is as truly
the creature of God as was Adam in the garden of Eden.
X. It seems strange that any should limit, or wish to
limit the control of God over free agents. The Scriptures clearly show that
God as much governs the free acts of malignant men as he does material
causes. It is true that both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and
the people of Israel, were gathered together; but it was for to do whatever
God's hand and God's counsel determined before to be done. Acts 4:27, 28. No
power had they against Jesus except as the Almighty lengthened their chain.
John 19:11. "Our God is in the heavens: he has done whatever he has
pleased." Psalm 115:3. None can stay his hand. Dan. 4:35.
XI. Sometimes our minds dwell on great affairs and the
vastness of the universe until we almost doubt whether the Most High cares
for little things. But when we take the microscope and look at the vast
numbers of little creatures too small to be perceived by the naked eye; we
find his wisdom, power, and goodness to them as manifest as towards
creatures of the greatest size and beauty. And when we look at the
Scriptures the same doctrine is abundantly taught: "Are not two sparrows
sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without
your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not
therefore, you are of more value than many sparrows." Matt. 10:29-31. Some
have said that the care of so many things, great and small, could not be
expected of God. They forget that to create and neglect would be indeed a
blot on the divine character, and that it is no labor to the Almighty to
take infinite care of his creatures. "The Lord is good to all; and his
tender mercies are over all his works. The eyes of all wait upon you; and
you give them their meat in due season. You open your hand and satisfy the
desire of every living thing." Psalm 145:9, 15, 16.
XII. This doctrine of providence cuts up by the roots the
spirit of self-sufficiency and vain-boasting. "What have you that you have
not received?" "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and
comes down from the Father of lights." "It is God who works in you both to
will and to do of his good pleasure." 1 Cor. 4:7; Jas. 1:17; Phil. 2:13.
XIII. In the church below and in the church above, the
doctrine of providence fills pious hearts with joy and pious mouths with
praise. "Of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be
glory forever. Amen." "Alleluia: For the Lord God omnipotent reigns." Romans
11:36; Rev. 19:6.