2. HEIDELBERG CATECHISM 27. Q. What do you understand by the providence of God? A. God's providence is His almighty and ever present power,[1] whereby, as with His hand, He still upholds heaven and earth and all creatures,[2] and so governs them that leaf and blade, rain and drought, fruitful and barren years, food and drink, health and sickness, riches and poverty,[3] indeed, all things, come not by chance[4] but by His fatherly hand.[5] Heb. 1:3.... sustaining all things by His powerful wordHeb. 1:3 Acts 14:17... He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasonsActs 14:17

3. PROVIDENCE OF GOD DEFINED Providence means that God has not abandoned the world that he created, but rather works within that creation to manage all things according to the “immutable counsel of His own will”. Boice

4. PROVIDENCE OF GOD DEFINED Providence may be defined as that continued exercise of the divine energy whereby the Creator preserves all His creatures, is operating in all that comes to pass in the world, and directs all things to their appointed end. Berkhof

5. PROVIDENCE OF GOD DEFINED Augustine stressed the fact that all things are preserved and governed by the sovereign, wise and beneficent will of God, and this includes control over good and evil.

6. PROVIDENCE OF GOD DEFINED History involves a goal, struggle, human responsibility—Boice Creation and humans purposefully brought into existence Efficacious administration of the things decreed

7. PROVIDENCE OF GOD DEFINED Christian philosophy of history—Sorenson God intervenes in history God guides history in a straight line God will bring it to the conclusion he has planned

8. THE PRESENCE OF EVIL Sin is still sin; it has consequences. Evil is still evil, but God is greater than the evil. That is the point. And he is determined to and will accomplish his purposes in spite of it. Boice

9. THE PRESENCE OF EVIL A. H. Strong—How does evil fall into God’s plans, his goals 1.Sometimes God prevents sin 2.Sometimes God permits sin 3.Sometimes God directs evil “to ends unforeseen and unintended” 4.God establishes boundaries

10. MIRACLES Extraordinary providence or miracles result from the supernatural power of God; a miracle is above the established order of nature. Berkhof

11. MIRACLES A miracle is an effect or extraordinary event in the physical world that surpasses all known human or natural powers and is ascribed to a supernatural cause; it is an extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs. Berkhof

12. MIRACLES “God guides the development of history through his eternal decrees and sometimes intervenes supernaturally both in nature and history to accomplish them.” Boice

13. MIRACLES There is undoubtedly a certain uniformity in nature; there are laws controlling the operation of second causes in the physical world. But let us remember that these merely represent God’s usual method of working in nature. It is His good pleasure to work in an orderly way and through secondary causes. But this does not mean that He cannot depart from the established order, and cannot produce an extraordinary effect, which does not result from natural causes, by a single volition, if He deems it desirable for the end in view. When God works miracles, He produces extraordinary effects in a supernatural way. –Berkhof

14. MYSTERY “By defending the reality of second causes, he safeguarded the holiness of God and upheld the responsibility of man.” “One of the great mysteries of the Christian faith is the relationship between the eternal decrees or will of God and contrary human wills.” James Boice

15. MYSTERY I cannot tell you where human will and free agency unite with God's sovereignty and with his unfailing decrees. This has been the place where intellectual gladiators have fought with each other ever since the time of Adam. Some have said, Man does as he likes; and others have said, God does as he pleases. In one sense, they are both true; but there is no man that has brains or understanding enough to show where they meet. We cannot tell how it is that I do just as I please as to which street I shall go home by; and yet I cannot go home but through a certain road. Last Sabbath day I came down a certain street I do not know why—and there was a young man who wished to speak to me; he wished to see me many times before. I say that was God's Providence—that I might meet that young man. Here was Providence, and yet there was my choice; how, I cannot tell. I cannot comprehend it. Spurgeon

16. PROVIDENCE IS LIKE A WHEEL On the rim of a wheel, there are ups and downs—that is like our lives. The axle remains steadfast at the center—that is the love of God.

17. PROVIDENCE IS LIKE A WHEEL Take the whole together, instead of the things one by one; look at a thousand years, and you will see nothing but one round ring of symmetry, teaching you that God is wise, and God is just. So let it be with you in your lives. Here you are fretting about troubles today. Think also of the past; put all your troubles together, and they are no troubles at all. You will see that one counteracts the other. If you take your life—not today, but look back on forty years of it—you will be obliged, instead of lamenting and mourning, to bless God for his mercies toward you. Let the wheel go round, and you will see nothing but a ring of everlasting wisdom revolving.

18. PROVIDENCE IS LIKE A WHEEL There were a thousand chances, as the world has it, working together to produce the exaltation of Joseph. It is like the ocean for another reason. The sea is never still; both day and night it is always moving. Such is Providence; by night or day Providence is always going on. The farmer sleeps, but his wheat is growing. The mariner on the sea sleeps, but the wind and the waves are carrying on his bark. Providence! thou never stoppest; thy mighty wheels never stay their everlasting circles.

19. PIE IN THE SKY BY AND BY? Gratitude of mind for the favorable outcome of things, patience in adversity, and also incredible freedom from worry about the future all necessarily follow upon this knowledge. Calvin

20. PIE IN THE SKY BY AND BY? “The vision of the Scriptures is clear. The final goal of the work of the triune God in salvation history is the establishment of the eschatological community—a redeemed people dwelling in a renewed earth, enjoying reconciliation with their God, fellowship with each other, and harmony with all creation.” Stanley Grenz

21. PIE IN THE SKY BY AND BY? 28. Q. What does it benefit us to know that God has created all things and still upholds them by His providence? A. We can be patient in adversity,[1] thankful in prosperity,[2] and with a view to the future we can have a firm confidence in our faithful God and Father that no creature shall separate us from His love;[3] for all creatures are so completely in His hand that without His will they cannot so much as move.[4] James 1:3... the testing of your faith develops perseveranceJames 1:3 Prov. 21:1... the king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord Prov. 21:1