#758 1689 Confession Divine Providence Part 3

God, as the righteous Judge, sometimes blinds and hardens wicked and ungodly people because of  their sins. He withholds His grace from them, by which they could have been enlightened in their understanding and had their hearts renewed. Not only that, but sometimes He also takes away the gifts they already had and exposes them to situations that their corrupt natures turn into opportunities for sin. Moreover, He gives them over to their own lusts, the temptations of the world, and the power of Satan, so that they harden themselves in response to the same influences that God uses to soften others. 

…24Therefore God gave them over in the desires of their hearts to impurity for the dishonoring of their bodies with one another. 25They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator, who is forever worthy of praise! Amen. 26For this reason God gave them over to dishonorable passions. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones.… Romans 1: 24-26

…6And if it is by grace, then it is no longer by works. Otherwise, grace would no longer be grace. 7What then? What Israel was seeking, it failed to obtain, but the elect did. The others were hardened, 8as it is written: “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that could not see, and ears that could not hear, to this very day.”… Romans 11: 6-8

3You saw with your own eyes the great trials, and those miraculous signs and wonders. 4Yet to this day the LORD has not given you a mind to understand, eyes to see, or ears to hear. 5During the forty years I led you in the wilderness, neither your clothes nor the sandals on your feet wore out.… Deuteronomy 29: 3-5

…11He replied, “The knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. 12Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 13This is why I speak to them in parables: ‘Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.’… Matthew 13: 11-13

29just as the descendants of Esau who live in Seir and the Moabites who live in Ar did for us, until we cross the Jordan into the land the LORD our God is giving us.” 30But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass through, for the LORD your God had made his spirit stubborn and his heart obstinate, that He might give him into your hands, as is the case this day. 31Then the LORD said to me, “See, I have begun to deliver Sihon and his land to you. Now begin to conquer and possess his land.”… Deuteronomy 2: 29-31

…12“Why is my lord weeping?” asked Hazael. “Because I know the evil you will do to the Israelites,” Elisha replied. “You will set fire to their fortresses, kill their young men with the sword, dash their little ones to pieces, and rip open their pregnant women.” 13“But what is your servant, a mere dog, that he should do this monstrous thing?” said Hazael. And Elisha answered, “The LORD has shown me that you will become king over Aram.” 14So Hazael left Elisha and went to his master, who asked him, “What did Elisha say to you?” And he replied, “He told me that you would surely recover.”… 2 Kings 8: 12-14

…11But My people would not listen to Me, and Israel would not obey Me. 12So I gave them up to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices. 13If only My people would listen to Me, if Israel would follow My ways,… Psalms 81: 11-13

10and with every wicked deception directed against those who are perishing, because they refused the love of the truth that would have saved them. 11For this reason, God will send them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie, 12in order that judgment will come upon all who have disbelieved the truth and delighted in wickedness.… 2 Thessalonians 2: 10-12

…14The people piled them into countless heaps, and there was a terrible stench in the land. 15When Pharaoh saw there was relief, however, he hardened his heart and would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said. Exodus 8: 14-15

30Then Moses left Pharaoh and prayed to the LORD, 31and the LORD did as Moses requested. He removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh and his officials and his people; not one fly remained. 32But Pharaoh hardened his heart this time as well, and he would not let the people go.… Exodus 8: 30-32

9And He replied: “Go and tell this people, ‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’ 10Make the hearts of this people calloused; deafen their ears and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed. 11Then I asked: “How long, O Lord?” And He replied: “Until cities lie in ruins without an inhabitant, until the houses are left unoccupied, and the land is desolate and ravaged,… Isaiah 6: 9-11

To you who believe, then, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” 8and, “A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the message— and to this they were appointed. 9But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.… 1 Peter 2: 7-9

5:7 The providence of God in a general way includes all creatures, but in a special way it takes care of His church and arranges all things to its good. 

…9This is a trustworthy saying, worthy of full acceptance. 10To this end we labor and strive, because we have set our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe. 11Command and teach these things.… 1 Timothy 4: 9-11

8Surely the eyes of the Lord GOD are on the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from the face of the earth. Yet I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob,” declares the LORD. 9“For surely I will give the command, and I will shake the house of Israel among all the nations, as grain is sifted in a sieve, but not a pebble will reach the ground. 10All the sinners among My people will die by the sword—all those who say, ‘Disaster will never draw near or confront us.’”… Amos 9: 8-10

…3For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba in your place. 4Because you are precious and honored in My sight, and because I love you, I will give men in exchange for you and nations in place of your life. 5Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east and gather you from the west.… Isaiah 43: 3-5

God's providence reveals the hearts and intents of men, brings brokenness and grace to those it humbles. It causes us to seek a righteousness that is not our own. 

2So he returned and told his father and his mother, “I have seen a daughter of the Philistines in Timnah. Now get her for me as a wife.” 3But his father and mother replied, “Can you not find a young woman among your relatives or any of our people? Must you go to the uncircumcised Philistines to get a wife?” But Samson told his father, “Get her for me, for she is pleasing to my eyes.” 4(Now his father and mother did not know this was from the LORD, who was seeking an occasion to move against the Philistines; for at that time the Philistines were ruling over Israel.)… Judges 14: 2-4

It is a mistake that men hold in their mind, that they are of a power to persuade God, or that their good acts somehow outweigh the bad. Samson's sin did not thwart God's plan against the Philistines, and though God's judgement on that nation was carried out in part through Samson, Samson's disobedience led to much personal anguish. God says, I will have obedience rather than sacrifice, and so it is that no matter how hardened to God we are, in the end all will give glory to His sovereignty, those who obey and trust Christ as vessels of honor, and those who disobey and trust self as vessels of dishonor. One will bring glory to God's grace and the other to His justice.