#756 1689 Confession Divine Providence

5:1 God the good Creator of all things, in His infinite power and wisdom, upholds, directs, arranges and governs all creatures and things, from the greatest to the least, by His perfectly wise and holy providence, to the purpose for which they were created. He governs according to His infallible foreknowledge and the free and unchangeable counsel of His own will. His providence leads to the praise and glory of His wisdom, power, justice, infinite goodness and mercy. 

…2 But in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, and through whom He made the universe. 3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His nature, upholding all things by His powerful word. After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. 4 So He became as far superior to the angels as the name He has inherited is excellent beyond theirs.… Hebrews 1: 2-4

…10 when I fixed its boundaries and set in place its bars and doors, 11 and I declared: ‘You may come this far, but no farther;here your proud waves must stop’? 12 In your days, have you commanded the morning or assigned the dawn its place,… Job 38: 10-12

…9 Remember what happened long ago, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me. 10 I distinguish the end from the beginning, and ancient times from what is still to come, saying: ‘My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure.’ 11 I summon a bird of prey from the east, a man for My purpose from a far-off land. Truly I have spoken, truly I will bring it to pass. I have planned it, I will surely do it.… Isaiah 46: 9-11

…5 For I know that the LORD is great; our Lord is above all gods. 6 The LORD does whatever pleases Him in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and all their depths. 7 He causes the clouds to rise from the ends of the earth. He sends lightning with the rain and brings the wind from His storehouses.… Psalm 135: 5-7

…29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. 30 And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.… Matthew 10: 29-31

5:2 All things come to pass unchangeably and certainly in relation to the foreknowledge and decree of God, who is the first cause. Thus nothing happens to anyone by chance or outside of God's providence. Yet by the same providence God arranges all things to occur according to the nature of second causes, either necessarily, freely, or in response to other causes.

…22 Men of Israel, listen to this message: Jesus of Nazareth was a man certified by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs, which God did among you through Him, as you yourselves know. 23 He was handed over by God’s set plan and foreknowledge, and you, by the hands of the lawless, put Him to death by nailing Him to the cross. 24 But God raised Him from the dead, releasing Him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for Him to be held in its clutches.… Acts 2: 22-24

5:3 In His ordinary providence, God makes use of means, though He is free to work apart from them, beyond them and contrary to them at His pleasure. 

…30 Meanwhile, the sailors attempted to escape from the ship. Pretending to lower anchors from the bow, they let the lifeboat down into the sea. 31 But Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men remain with the ship, you cannot be saved.” 32 So the soldiers cut the ropes to the lifeboat and set it adrift.… Acts 27: 30-32

…42 The soldiers planned to kill the prisoners so none of them could swim to freedom. 43 But the centurion, wanting to spare Paul’s life , thwarted their plan. He commanded those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land. 44 The rest were to follow on planks and various parts of the ship. In this way everyone was brought safely to land.… Acts 27: 42-44

…10 For just as rain and snow fall from heaven and do not return without watering the earth, making it bud and sprout, and providing seed to sow and food to eat, 11 so My word that proceeds from My mouth will not return to Me empty, but it will accomplish what I please, and it will prosper where I send it.12 You will indeed go out with joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.… Isaiah 55: 10-12

…6 Gomer again conceived and gave birth to a daughter, and the LORD said to Hosea, “Name her Lo-ruhamah, for I will no longer have compassion on the house of Israel, that I should ever forgive them. 7 Yet I will have compassion on the house of Judah, and I will deliver them, not by bow or sword or war, not by horses and cavalry, but by the LORD their God.”  Hosea 1: 6-7

…19 Without weakening in his faith, he acknowledged the decrepitness of his body (since he was about a hundred years old) and the lifelessness of Sarah’s womb. 20 Yet he did not waver through disbelief in the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21 being fully persuaded that God was able to do what He had promised.… Romans 4: 19-21

…26 Then Nebuchadnezzar approached the door of the burning fiery furnace and called out, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out!” So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out of the fire, 27 and when the satraps, prefects, governors, and royal advisers had gathered around, they saw that the fire had no effect on the bodies of these men: Not a hair of their heads was singed, their robes were unaffected, and there was no smell of fire on them.28 Nebuchadnezzar declared, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent His Angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him. They violated the king’s command and risked their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.… Daniel 3: 26-28

God's providence provides means by which men may accomplish so many things, He calls in to being those tools of the mind and body that function and observe an ordered universe. We observe seasons, harvest, rain and so many natural functions that may be understood through science, yet God remains above all these things. The creation itself is a miracle, and being born again is in every way as much a miracle as being raised from the dead. People who look solely for miracles would have them be not miraculous, but common and therefore no longer miracles, and life chaotic and unpredictable. Or, some would have God become a genie that performed at their request.

In this way, we ignore the beauty of God's providence, His provision of normal means. For example:

• I grew up poor, or so I thought, and that is the way it was described to me by some, and the way I saw it when comparing myself to others. When I look back now, I see we had all we physically needed and there has never been a time in my life that I did not have more than what I actually needed. I thought I had nothing to give because I had less financially then other people.
• Lord, I want to give, but I am too poor. I had legs that could push a mower, and God provided us with a mower. I had hands that could pull weeds, hoe the earth, and we had a wonderful garden. My mom shared from our garden and though manna didn't fall from the sky, we caught fish and had a roof over our heads. 
• I could help paint someone's house, but that went against my laziness, and besides, I was poor so I thought I should only receive. I did not like to receive though because it went against my pride. I saw other kids my age that just played and got the things they wanted, so I wasted time envying what God had not given me, rather than thanking Him and using what I had. 
• I wished I knew the Bible better, I even prayed that, but here it was, God, in His providence provided these natural means, my eyes and my brain so that I could read. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. He said His word would not return void, and there it was gathering dust on my mantle. If I really wanted to know His word better, then I would pick it up, pray for the Holy Spirit to guide me, and start reading. 
• There are means in the Christian walk, things that take us from milk to meat, but so much of that I rejected. If only there were good pastors, but I wasn't seeking one. I would choose comfort over conviction. Being part of the body of Christ, but I prefer to study alone, and people are annoying. Being humble, but that's not my thing. Reading the word, rightly dividing the Scriptures, but that takes time away from my hobbies and tv. Prayer, but I don't know how to pray, and where could I find out about that? 

Sadly, we refuse the means God has given us, we see our bodies as temples to ourselves and not the Holy Spirit. We praise autonomy, referring to our bodies as our own, as if we created them. The indescribable Creator of the universe reaches out to us, tells us about our condition, our fallen state, His ownership of the world, and of His Holy nature, but somehow we think we know better than that. Our ideals of how things should work become our idols. What God should do but doesn't, in our reasoning, makes Him not God. It is truly a miracle that anyone comes to God, and that God chose me is a mystery I cannot comprehend, but I am forever grateful.