"The Most Important Truth of All"
Some years ago I decided on a personal language reform. Not my first. This time out went words like lucky, fate, fortunately, chance, fluke, etc., and in came words like blessed, providence, thankfully, opportunity, etc. It was not easy at first and I probably over did it. Even Jesus, I later noticed, was willing to say, 'A priest happened to he coming down the road ...' (Luke 10:31). Of course, another problem with saying, 'That was providential,' is that it can apply to anything.
There is a story of a Puritan and his son riding to meet each other. On meeting, the son says, 'Father, I met with a special providence on the way here. My horse stumbled three times but I was not thrown off.'
'I have had an equally special providence,' said the father.
'What was that, father?' said the son, full of curiosity.
'Yes,' the father continued, 'I rode all this way and my horse did not even stumble!'
However far we go in language reform, it is vital that our hearts are fully convinced of the biblical doctrine of providence, what Calvin called, in his commentary on the Psalms, 'The most important truth of all'.
Articles in this issue of GRACE are intended to help us explore the doctrine and some of its implications. It can be a doctrine of great comfort to those who understand and believe it correctly.
He that formed me in the womb,
He shall guide me to the tomb;
All my times shall ever be
Ordered by his wise decree.
Plagues and deaths around me fly;
Till he bids I cannot die;
Not a single shaft can hit,
Till the God of love sees fit.
God's providence in the Conversion of Two People ...
In an early sermon, Spurgeon tells the story of a prostitute who planned to take her life on Blackfriars Bridge. Passing the place where Spurgeon was preaching, she decided to come in to listen. That night the text was Luke 7:44: Seest thou this woman? and Spurgeon spoke of Mary Magdalene washing Jesus' feet with her tears. That night the woman was saved from death and from hell.
A century later Dr Lloyd-Jones told a similar story. Again someone was bent on suicide. This time a very backslidden Welshman was intending to throw himself off Westminster Bridge. Hearing Big Ben, he realised Lloyd-Jones would be preaching nearby and so he hurried along to Westminster Chapel to hear him one more time. As he entered the building the Doctor was praying. At that very moment he specifically prayed for the Backslider. Along with the sermon, appropriately from Psalm 73, this was the means God used to restore this man to true faith.
... And His Answer to a Doubter
Flavel tells the story of a certain Mrs Honeywood who had grave doubts about her salvation. On one occasion a minister was visiting seeking to help her. Taking a glass goblet in her hand she exclaimed, 'I am as sure to be damned as this glass is to be broken'. She then flung it to the floor. Incredibly, it did not break and she was forced to reconsider her attitude completely.
Above the entrance to the Royal Exchange in London there is a model of a grasshopper. Why is it there? It is to do with Sir Thomas Gresham, financier and philanthropist, and the exchange's founder. As a baby, he had been abandoned to die in a field. As he lay there a boy who was passing heard a grasshopper and came over to investigate. Finding the baby, he informed his mother, who brought up the baby as her own.
Sixteenth century preacher Bernard Gilpin would often remark 'Everything is for the best'. During Bloody Mary's reign, he was arrested and brought to London. On the way, he fell from his horse and broke his leg. How his enemies mocked. But he quietly remarked, 'I have no doubt but that even this painful accident will prove to he a blessing'. And so it was. The leg healed and Gilpin was again sent to London. But as they reached Highgate the news was announced that Mary was dead and Elizabeth was now on the throne. Even a broken leg worked for his good!
There is a famous example of providence from the terrible St Bartholemew's Day Massacre in Paris in 1572. A minister by the name of Du Moulin crept into an oven to hide from his pursuers. Immediately a spider spun a web across the door. When his enemies arrived shortly after, they assumed there was no point in looking inside the oven and so the man escaped with his life.
A sparrow fall, a cloud obscure the sky,
A moth be crushed, a leaf fall from a tree
But in submission to his wise decree. (William Gadshy)
Books on Providence
The classic work on the providence of God is still Flavel's Mystery of Providence available from the Banner of Truth Trust. Before the middle section on meditating on providence, Flavel has seven chapters on the evidence of providence in which he looks at, among other things, upbringing, conversion, employment, family life and sanctification. In the third section of the book, he applies the doctrine. He draws out five practical implications and deals with five practical problems. In his closing chapter he encourages us to keep a written record of providence. If you have read any other Puritan works you will know what to look forward to. If you have not, here is a good work to start you in the Puritans.
If, however, the whole idea daunts you, turn to the second little book in GPT's Great Christian Classics series. God Willing distils Flavel into a 65 page read that no believer of average intelligence should find difficult.
If you want something more demanding, turn to Paul Helm's book The Providence of God produced by IVP in its Contours of Theology series. Mr Helm is a philosophy teacher and the doctrine of providence is highly thought-provoking, so this book is not for those with lazy minds. If you are willing to work at it, the rewards are significant. After setting out his own view and dealing with the subject in Scripture, Mr Helm goes on to look at guidance, prayer, accountability and evil, before coming to a concluding chapter on reckoning with providence.
One other little book worth mentioning is The History of Providence as explained in the Bible by Alexander Carson (the nineteenth century Edwards, who was, in fact, an Ulster Baptist). He goes through the Scriptures pointing out the various providences found there.
These items originally appeared in Grace Magazine
