God ReiGns oveR All

Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892)

Course GRA (complete)

Name: _______________________________ Student ID: ________ Date: _________

Mount Zion BiBle institute

Instructions for this courseThe reading material for this course is God’s Providence and Divine Sover-eignty, both by Charles Spurgeon and included in this study guide. All mate-rials you need to take this course are included in this study guide, except for a Bible and answer sheets.

Before each lesson: pray for God to give a teachable heart and understanding.Begin the lesson by reading the related section in this study guide.

Answer the questions for the corresponding lesson in this study guide.Use the required answer sheet format, putting your name and course informa-

tion on each sheet (sample after the Table of Contents). Use any standard note paper (or the answer booklets if provided).

Skip a line between answers.Always use your own words in your answers.Try to be as clear and concise as possible.Please do not rush! Meditate on what God wants you to learn.Don’t go to the next question until completing the current one.

If, and only if, you are taking the course as correspondence study (with written feed-back from others):After completing all the lessons, send the completed answer sheets to your course coordinator. Only mail your answers sheets, not other materials. Allsentanswersarehandledconfidentially. Label the envelope’s lower left with: student ID, course, and lesson numbers.

Two months are allotted for course completion. Extensions may be granted upon request.

Your answer sheets are returned to you after review. Keep all materials and returned answers together for future reference.

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GOD REIGNS OVER ALL

Course GRA – Contents

Lesson 1 God’s Sovereignty

Introduction to God’s Sovereignty .................................................... 3

A. Temporal gifts ............................................................................... 4

B. Honorable gifts ............................................................................. 7

C. The gift of usefulness .................................................................... 7

D. Faith gifts ....................................................................................... 8

Study Questions ................................................................................... 9

Lesson 2 God’s Providence

Part 1: Introduction to God’s Providence

A. Personal example ........................................................................ 10 B. God’s hand ................................................................................... 12

Part 2: God’s Providence in Small Details

A. Little circumstances .................................................................... 13

B. Punctuality ................................................................................... 14

C. Use of little things ....................................................................... 16

D. Thoughts ...................................................................................... 17

Study Questions ................................................................................. 18

Lesson 3 The Blessings of God’s Sovereignty

Part 1: The Kind Consideration of Sovereignty ............... 19

Part 2: Application of God’s Sovereignty

A. Boldness ....................................................................................... 22

B. Moderation in grief ..................................................................... 23

C. Balance .......................................................................................... 23

D. Conclusion ................................................................................... 24

Study Questions ................................................................................. 26

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From two sermons by Charles H. Spurgeon: Providence, delivered on April 11, 1858, at the Music Hall, Royal Surrey Gardens; from The New Park Street Pulpit, Vol. 4, No. 187; avail-able from Chapel Library entitled “God’s Providence.” Divine Sovereignty, delivered on May 4, 1856, at New Park Street Chapel, Southwark, London; from The New Park Street Pulpit; Vol. 2, No. 77; with assistance from SpurgeonGems.org. Both texts have been slightly modi-fied for course purposes. © Copyright 2015 Chapel Library: annotations, questions. Printed in the USA. All Scrip-ture quotations are from the King James Version unless noted otherwise. Chapel Library does not necessarily agree with all the doctrinal positions of the authors it publishes. Per-mission is expressly granted to reproduce this material by any means, provided 1. you do not charge beyond a nominal sum for cost of duplication; 2. this copyright notice and all the text on this page are included. Chapel Library is a faith ministry that relies entirely upon God’s faithfulness. We therefore do not solicit donations, but we gratefully receive support from those who freely desire to give. WorldwideWorldwideWorldwideWorldwide, please download material without charge from our website, or contact the in-ternational distributor as listed there for your country. This and hundreds of other books, booklets, and eBooks are available at www.ChapelLibrary.org. In North AmericaNorth AmericaNorth AmericaNorth America, for copies of the booklet God’s Providence or other Christ-centered mate-rials from prior centuries, please contact

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GOD REIGNS OVER ALL

Lesson 1

God’s Sovereignty

“Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own?”

—Matthew 20:15

Introduction to God’s sovereignty

In Christ’s parable, the master of the vineyard says, “Is it not lawful for

me to do what I will with mine own?”—and even so the God of heaven and

earth asks this question of you. There is no attribute of God more comfort-

ing to His children than the doctrine of divine sovereignty. Under the most

adverse circumstances, in the most severe troubles, they believe that sover-

eignty has ordained1 their afflictions, that sovereignty always overrules those

afflictions for their ultimate good, and that sovereignty will use them all for

growing our faith! There is nothing the children of God ought to fight for

more than the reign of their Master over all creation: the kingship of God

over all the works of His own hands, the throne of God and His right to sit

upon that throne!

On the other hand, there is no doctrine more hated by worldlings, no

truth of God of which they have made such a football, as the amazing and

yet most certain doctrine of the sovereignty of the infinite Jehovah. Men will

allow God to be everywhere except on His throne! They will allow Him to be

in His workshop to fashion worlds and to make stars. They will allow Him to

be in His place of benevolence to dispense his gifts. They will allow Him to

sustain the earth and bear up its pillars, or light the lamps of heaven, or rule

the waves of the ever-moving ocean. But when God ascends His throne, His

creatures then gnash their teeth! When we proclaim an enthroned God and

His right to do as He wills with His own, to dispose of His creatures as He

thinks well without consulting them in the matter—then it is that we are

cursed. And then it is that men turn a deaf ear to us, for God on His throne

is not the God they love! They love Him anywhere better than they do when

He sits with His scepter in His hand and His crown upon His head!

And why is this? Because men want to worship a convenient god who

will not interfere with their personal plans, desires, and, yes, sins (Jdg 21:25;

1 ordained – appointed authoritatively; decreed; predestined.

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Gal 5:17; 1Jo 2:16; Rom 1:28-32). They do not want to feel guilty or think

that God has expectations of them.2 But it is the sovereign God upon His

throne Whom we trust.

The “sovereignty of God” may be defined as the exercise of His suprem-

acy. Being infinitely elevated above the highest creature, He is the Most

High Lord of heaven and earth. Subject to none, influenced by none,

absolutely independent: God does as He pleases, only as He pleases, al-

ways as He pleases. None can thwart Him, none can hinder Him. So His

own Word expressly declares: “My counsel shall stand, and I will do all

my pleasure” (Isa 46:10). “He doeth according to his will in the army of

heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his

hand” (Dan 4:35). Divine sovereignty means that God is God in fact as

well as in name, that He is on the throne of the universe, directing all

things, working all things “after the counsel of his own will” (Eph 1:11).

Yes, such is the imperial King revealed in the holy Scriptures: unri-

valled in majesty, unlimited in power, unaffected by anything outside

Himself.3

We will consider God’s sovereignty in the distribution of His gifts. In

this respect I believe that He has a right to do as He wills with His own, and

that He exercises that right. Before we commence, we must assume one

thing: namely, that all blessings are gifts from God and that we have no

claim to them by our own good works or talents. This I think every reasona-

ble mind will grant. And this being admitted, we shall attempt to show that

He has a right, seeing they are His own, to do what He wills with them: to

withhold them wholly if He pleases, to distribute them all if He chooses, to

give to some and not to others, to give to none, or to give to all—just as

seems good in His sight. “Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine

own?”

We shall divide God’s gifts into four classes:

A) temporal gifts

B) honorable gifts

C) useful gifts

D) faith gifts

In all these we will note the principle of God’s rightful reign: “Is it not lawful

for me to do what I will with mine own?”

A. Temporal gifts

It is an indisputable fact that God has not, in temporal matters, given to

every man alike. He has not distributed to all His creatures the same

2 This paragraph is provided by Chapel Library for course purposes. 3 A.W. Pink (British, 1886-1952), Chapter 6, The Attributes of God, available in tract form

entitled “God’s Sovereignty.” Pink authored Studies in the Scriptures and many books, in-

cluding his well-known The Sovereignty of God; all four available from CHAPEL LIBRARY.

Insert is by Chapel Library and did not appear in Spurgeon’s sermon.

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amount of happiness or the same standing in Creation. There is a difference.

Mark what a difference there is in men physically: one is born like Saul,

head and shoulders taller than the rest; another shall live all his life a Zac-

cheus, a man short of stature. One has a muscular frame and a share of

beauty; another is weak and far from having anything attractive. How many

we find who are unable to see, hear, or speak. Walk through the earth and

you will find men superior to yourself in vigor, health, and fashion—and

others who are your inferiors in the very same respects. Some here are pre-

ferred far above their fellows in their outward appearance, and some sink

low in the scale, having nothing about them that can make them glory in

the flesh. Why has God given to one man strength and beauty, and to anoth-

er none; to one all his senses and to another but a portion? Let men say

what they will, no answer can be given except this: “Even so, Father; for so it

seemed good in thy sight” (Luk 10:21). The old Pharisee asked, Did this man

sin “or his parents, that he was born blind?” (Joh 9:2). We know that there

was neither sin in parents nor child, that he was born blind and that others

have suffered similar distresses, because God has done as it has pleased Him

in the distribution of His earthly benefits! And thus He has said to the world,

“Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own?”

Mark also, in the distribution of mental gifts, what a difference exists.

All men are not like Socrates4 or Plato.

5 We shall but every now and then

converse with a Sir Isaac Newton.6 Some have stupendous intellects with

which they can unravel secrets, measure mountains, and weigh the stars!

Others have more limited minds. They may study, but rise little. They have

not genius and no man can impart it. Anybody may see that there is an in-

herent difference in men from their very birth. Some with a little education

surpass those who have been highly trained. There are two boys educated, it

may be in the same school by the same master, and they shall apply them-

selves to their studies with the same diligence—yet one shall far outstrip his

fellow. Why is this? Because God has asserted His sovereignty over the intel-

lect as well as the body! God has not made us all alike, but has diversified

His “gifts.” One man speaks as well as Whitefield.7 Another stammers if he

but speaks three words of his mother tongue! What makes these various

differences between man and man? We answer: we must refer it all to the

sovereignty of God, Who does as He wills with His own!

4 Socrates (469-399 BC) – Greek philosopher; profoundly affected Western philosophy. 5 Plato (428-348 BC) – philosopher and mathematician in classical Greece; an essential fig-

ure in the development of Western philosophy. His teacher was Socrates and his most fa-

mous student Aristotle. 6 Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1726) – English physicist and mathematician; widely recognized

as one of the most influential scientists of all time. 7 George Whitefield (1714-1770): English evangelist; born in Gloucester, England; worked

with the Wesleys during studies at Oxford University. He was mightily used of God in

England and the American Colonies during the “Great Awakening.”

6

Note, again, the differences of men’s conditions in this world. We often

find wise men who are poor, and rich men who are ignorant and vain.8 One

comes into the world to be clothed at once in royal purple—another shall

never wear anything but the humble cloth of a peasant. If we ask the reason

for this, the reply still is, “Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy

sight.”

So in health you will observe how sovereignty displays itself. To one

man God gives a long life and uniform health, so that he scarcely knows

what it is to have a day’s sickness—while another totters through the world

and finds a grave at almost every step, feeling a thousand deaths! One man,

even in extreme old age, like Moses has his eyes undimmed. And though his

hair is gray, he stands as firmly on his feet as when a young man in his fa-

ther’s house. What, again we ask, is this difference? And the only adequate

answer is: it is the effect of Jehovah’s sovereignty.

You find, too, that some men are cut off in the prime of their life, in the

very midst of their days, while others live beyond the normal life of about 70

years. One departs before he has reached the first stage of existence and an-

other has his life lengthened out until it becomes quite a burden. We must

necessarily trace the cause of all these differences in life to the fact of God’s

sovereignty! He is Ruler and King, and shall He not do as He wills with His

own?

Warnings

O you who are gifted with a strong and handsome body: boast not your-

self therein, for your gifts come from God! Glory not, for if you glory, you

become unattractive in a moment! And you men of might and intellect, re-

member that all you have is bestowed by a sovereign Lord: He created, He

can destroy! Your brain may, at any moment, be struck and you may be

doomed henceforth to live a madman. Boast not yourself of all that you

know, for even the little knowledge you have has been given you. “For who

maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not

receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst

not received it?” (1Co 4:7).

Therefore, I say, exalt not yourself above measure, but use for God what

God has given you, for it is a royal gift and you should not lay it aside (Luk

12:48b)! But if the sovereign Lord has given you one talent and no more, lay

it not up in a napkin, but use it well (Mat 25:24-25)—then it may be that He

will give you more. Bless God that you have more than others. And thank

Him, also, if He has given you less than others, for you have less to carry on

your shoulders—the lighter your burden, the less cause will you have to

groan as you travel on towards the better land. Bless God, then, when you

possess less or more than your fellows: see His goodness in withholding as

well as in giving!

8 vain – useless; unimportant; producing nothing good.

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B. Honorable gifts

We now come to notice the differences that God often makes in His

Church in honorable gifts. When they are His children, there is a difference

made between them.

One has the honorable gift of knowledge, another knows but little. I

meet every now and then with a dear Christian brother with whom I could

talk for a month and learn something from him every day. He has had deep

experience; he has seen into the deep things of God; his whole life has been a

perpetual study wherever he has been. He seems to have gathered thoughts,

not merely from books, but from men, from God, from his own heart! He

knows all the variations of Christian experience—he understands the

height, the depths, the lengths, and the breadths of the love of Christ that

passes knowledge (Eph 3:18-19). He has gained an intimate knowledge of

God’s grace, and can understand the dealings of the Lord with His people!

Then you meet with another who has passed through many troubles,

but he has no deep acquaintance with Christian experience. He never

learned a single secret by all his troubles. He just floundered out of one

trouble into another, but never stopped to pick up any of the jewels that lay

in the mire of his afflictions. He knows very little more of the heights and

depths of the Savior’s love than when he first came into the world. You may

converse with such a man as long as you like, but you will get nothing from

him. If you ask why it is, I answer, there is a sovereignty of God in giving

knowledge to some and not to others—for He has a right to do as He wills

with His own! Instead of being envious of those who have the gift of

knowledge, we should seek to gain the same, if possible. Instead of sitting

down and murmuring that we have not more knowledge, we should re-

member that the foot cannot say to the head, nor the head to the foot, “I

have no need of you,” for God has given us talents as it has pleased Him

(1Co 12:14-22).

If you have gifts, O Christian, learn here to cast the honor of them at

the Savior’s feet. And if you possess them not, learn not to murmur! Re-

member that God is equally as kind when He keeps back as when He dis-

tributes His favors. If any among you is exalted, let him not be puffed up. If

any is lowly, let him not be despised, for God gives to every vessel his meas-

ure of grace. Serve Him after your measure, and adore the King of heaven

Who does as He pleases!

C. The gift of usefulness

We notice also the gift of usefulness. I have often done wrong in finding

fault with other ministers for not being useful. I have said, “You might have

been as useful as I have been had you been sincere.” But surely there are

others even more sincere and more efficient—others laboring as constantly

but with far less effect. And, therefore, let me take back my accusation, and

instead declare that the gift of usefulness is the result of God’s sovereignty!

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It is not in man to be useful, but in God to make him useful! We may labor

ourselves with all our might, but God alone can make us useful. In sailing,

we can put up all the sails when the wind blows, but we cannot make the

wind blow.

We ought to recognize God’s hand in everything. But I verily believe the

present is the most godless generation that ever trod this earth! In our fa-

thers’ days, when there was a shower they declared that God caused it to fall.

They had prayers for rain, prayers for sunshine, and prayers for harvest.

When a haystack was on fire and when a famine dried out the land, our fore-

fathers said the Lord has done it! But now our philosophers try to explain

everything, and trace all that happens to other secondary causes.9 Let us give

credit for the origin and direction of all things to the Lord, and the Lord

alone!

D. Faith gifts

Lastly, faith gifts are also of God. Some have strong faith and can laugh

at impossibilities. One can sing a song in all bad weather, in the storm as

well as in the calm. But there is another with little faith who is in danger of

tumbling down over every straw! We trace great faith entirely to God. One is

born with a sorrowful temperament; he is threatened by a storm brewing

even in the calm. Another is cheerful and sees a silver lining to every cloud,

however black, and he is a happy man! Why is that? Gifts of great faith come

from God.

Then observe that we ourselves differ at times. For a season we may

have blessed communion with heaven, close fellowship with God. But per-

haps those delightful enjoyments disappear: do we murmur on that ac-

count? May He not do as He wills with His own? May He not take back what

He has given? The comforts we possess were His before they were ours—

“And should Thou take them all away, Yet would I not repine,

Before they were possessed by me They were entirely Thine.”

All believers are responsible to grow in faith (2Pe 3:18): to read and

study their Bibles (Psa 119:9-11), to pray (1Th 5:17), to participate in wor-

ship services (Heb 10:25), to fellowship with other believers (1Jo 1:7). But,

in all these things, we are totally dependent upon the Spirit of God (Joh

15:5; Gal 5:22).10

There is no joy of the Spirit, no exceedingly blessed hope, no strong

faith, no burning desire, no close fellowship with Christ—that is not the gift

of God (Jam 1:17), which we must trace to Him! When I am in darkness and

suffer disappointment, I will look up and say He gives songs in the night.

And when I am made to rejoice, I will say my mountain shall stand secure

9 secondary causes – all actions in the natural world; the primary cause is always God, in-

visibly at work in providence. 10 This paragraph is provided by Chapel Library for course purposes.

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forever. The Lord is a sovereign Jehovah. And therefore, I lie prostrate at His

feet—if I perish, I will perish there.

Study Questions Lesson 1 God’s Sovereignty

First, please read the reading text for Lesson 1. Please answer the questions

below from the information in this chapter. Please read slowly enough so

you understand what you read. Please also pray before each lesson asking

the LORD for wisdom to apply what you learn to your life, and to enable

you to love Him with all your mind, heart, soul, and strength, for this is the

greatest commandment (Mar 12:30).

Very Important Note: We ask you to always get your answer

from the text, but use your own words in your answer. Please do

not merely quote the text for your answer. Rather, read what the

text says, think about the meaning of what it says, and summa-

rize the meaning of the text in your own words for your answer.

In this way, you will learn much more than simply a

“search/find/quote” method for answering the questions.

Introduction to God’s sovereignty

1. How is the doctrine of divine sovereignty comforting to God’s children?

2. Why do men resist the sovereignty of God?

3. Define “sovereignty of God.”

Temporal gifts (A)

4. Why was the man in John 9:2 born blind?

5. Why does one boy outperform another, even when they both are edu-

cated the same?

6. Making It Personal Have you suffered poverty or ill health? What do

you believe was the primary cause?

Warnings

7. Why should we not boast about strength, appearance, being smart, or

good health?

8. What possible benefit is there in being given less than others?

Honorable gifts (B)

9. Why do some excel in knowledge and others struggle to learn?

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10. a. If you have been blessed, what should your response be?

b. If you do not possess blessings, what should your response be?

c. Making It Personal How do you personally respond to your situa-

tion?

The gift of usefulness (C)

11. a. What are man’s responsibilities for being useful?

b. What is the reason some are more useful than others, accomplish-

ing more in the world?

Faith gifts (D)

12. a. To grow in faith, what are the believer’s responsibilities?

b. What gifts are included in “faith gifts”?

Lesson 2

God’s Providence

Part 1: Introduction to God’s Providence

“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 ye not therefore, ye

are of more value than many sparrows.”

—Matthew 10:29-31

A. Personal example

During this week my mind has been much directed to the subject of

providence. “God’s works of providence are His most holy, wise, and power-

ful preserving and governing all His creation, all His creatures, and all their

actions.”11

You will not wonder that I think much of God’s providence when I re-

late a portion of one day’s story. I was engaged to preach last Wednesday at

Halifax, where there was a heavy snow storm. Preparations had been made

for a congregation of 8,000 persons, and a huge wooden structure with addi-

tional seating had been erected. I considered that, owing to the severe

weather, few persons could possibly assemble, and I looked forward to the

11 See Psalm 145:17, Isaiah 28:29, Hebrews 1:3, Psalm 103:19, and Matthew 10:29. This

sentence is taken from Spurgeon’s Catechism, Q.11 (available from CHAPEL LIBRARY), and

has been added by Chapel Library for course purposes.

11

dreary task of addressing a small handful of people in a vast place. However,

when I arrived, I found from 5,000 to 6,000 people gathered together to hear

the Word; and a more substantial looking place it has not been my lot to see.

It certainly was a huge uncomely building, but nevertheless it seemed well

adapted to answer the purpose. We met together in the afternoon and wor-

shipped God, and again in the evening—and then we separated to our

homes, or rather, we were about to separate. All this while the kind provi-

dence of God was watching over us. Directly in front of me there was a huge

gallery that looked an exceedingly massive structure, capable of holding

2,000 persons. This, in the afternoon, was crowded, and it seemed to stand

as firm as a rock. Again in the evening there it stood, and neither moved nor

shook.

But mark the provident hand of God. In the evening, when the people

were about to retire, and when there was scarcely more than a hundred per-

sons there, a huge beam gave way, and down came a portion of the flooring

of the gallery with a fearful crash. Several persons fell with the planks, but

still the good hand of God watched over us, and only two persons were se-

verely injured with broken legs, which we trust will completely heal. Now,

had this happened any earlier, not only must many more have been injured,

but there are a thousand chances to one, as we say, that a panic must neces-

sarily have followed, similar to that which we still remember and deplore as

having occurred in this very place.12

Had such a thing occurred again, and had

I been the unhappy preacher on this occasion also, I feel certain that I should

never have been able to occupy the pulpit again. The Lord, however, gracious-

ly preserved us last week: the fewness of the people in the gallery prevented

any such catastrophe, and thus a most fearful accident was avoided.

But we have a more marvelous providence still to mention. Overloaded

by the immense weight of snow that fell upon it and beaten by a heavy wind,

the entire building fell with an enormous crash three hours after we had left

it! It split the huge timbers into shreds and rendered very much of the ma-

terial utterly useless for any future building. Now mark this: had the snow

begun three hours earlier, the building must have fallen upon us, and how

few of us would have escaped we cannot guess. But mark another thing: all

day long it thawed so fast that the snow as it fell seemed to leave a mass, not

of white snow, but of snow and water together. This ran through the roof

upon us, to our considerable annoyance, and I was almost ready to complain

that we had hard dealing from God’s providence. But if it had been a frost

instead of a thaw, you can easily perceive that the place must have fallen

several hours beforehand—and then your minister, and the greater part of

12 The first occasion for Spurgeon’s preaching at the Royal Surrey Gardens was on Sunday

evening, October 19, 1856, 18 months earlier. Seating 10,000 people, the Music Hall was

the largest auditorium in London, and it was filled to capacity to hear the young preacher.

However, the service ended in disaster when someone cried “Fire!” and a panic ensued.

In the stampede to the exits, seven lost their lives and 28 were seriously injured. Feeling

somber responsibility, it took more than a week for Spurgeon to be able to function again.

12

that congregation, would probably have been in the other world. Some there

may be who deny providence altogether; but I cannot conceive that there

were any partakers of the scene who could have done so. This I know: if I

had been an unbeliever to this day in the doctrine of the supervision and

wise care of God, I must have been a believer in it at this hour. “O magnify

the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together” (Psa 34:3). He has

been very gracious unto us and has remembered us for good.

B. God’s hand

Now, when we look around us in the world, we see such abundant

proofs that there is a God, that we are likely to treat a man who denies the

existence of a God with very little patience. We believe him to be willfully

blind, for we see God’s name so clearly written in creation. Also in the mat-

ter of our own salvation, we have each of us seen such positive marks of the

Lord’s dealings with us, that we are likely to be somewhat critical toward

any who believe in a salvation apart from God’s hand. In the same way, I

think it likely that we should think hardly of the man who, having seen and

heard of such a providence as that which I have just related, could fail to see

God’s hand in it too. The hand of God in providence is as clear as in creation.

And while I am sure that God is the One Who saves, I am equally certain that

every matter in each of our lives is the handiwork of Jehovah, our God.

We must, if we would be true believers in God and would avoid all unbe-

lief, give unto Him the kingship in the three kingdoms of creation, grace,

and providence. It is in the last, however, where we are the most likely to

forget Him. We may easily see God in creation if we be at all enlightened;

and if saved, we cannot avoid confessing that salvation is of the Lord alone.

But providence is such a checkered thing, and you and I so tend to misjudge

God and to come to rash conclusions concerning His dealings with us, that

perhaps this is the greatest stronghold of our natural lack of faith: a doubt of

God’s dealings with us in the arrangements of outward affairs. Although we

will give only an overview of the subject, I very heartily can enter into it,

after being so great a partaker of His wonder-working power just last week.

The text says, “the very hairs of our head are all numbered.” From this

we will consider

• the small details of providence: our hairs

• the kind consideration, the generous care, that God exercises over

Christians: our hairs are all numbered

• a practical conclusion by applying God’s sovereignty to the spirit and

attitude of all Christians in light of this truth.

Part 2: God’s Providence in Small Details

“But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.”

13

—Matthew 10:29-31

Our text very clearly teaches us the small details of providence. Every

man can see providence in great things; it is very seldom that you find any

person denying that when an avalanche falls from the summit of the Alps,

the hand, the terrible hand of God is there. Most men will acknowledge that

the earthquake, the hurricane, the devastation of war, and the ravages of

pestilence, come from the hand of God.

We find most men very willing to confess that God is God of the hills,

but they forget that He is also Lord of the valleys. They will grant that He

deals with great masses, but not with individuals; with seas in the bulk, but

not with drops. Most men forget, however, that their believing in providence

in great things involves providence in the little, for it were an inconsistent

belief that the mass were in God’s hand, while the atom was left to chance. It

is indeed a belief that contradicts itself: we must believe all chance or else all

God. We must have all appointed and arranged, or else we must have every-

thing left to the wild whirlwind of chance and accident. It is in little things

that we fail to see God.

I believe my text means literally what it says: “The very hairs of your

head are all numbered.” God’s wisdom and knowledge are so great that He

even knows the number of the hairs upon our heads. His providence de-

scends to the smallest particles of dust in the summer gale; He numbers the

gnats in the sunshine and the fishes in the sea. While He certainly does con-

trol the massive stars that shine in heaven, He also does not blush to deal

with the teardrop that trickles from the eye.

A. Little circumstances

Notice how little circumstances of daily life, when we come to put them

all together, give evidence to their origin. Let us take a Scripture history and

show how the little events must have been of God, as well as the great re-

sults. When Joseph was sent into Egypt in order to accomplish the great

thing of providing for his brethren against years of famine, we all agree with

Joseph’s declaration: it was God “that sent me hither” (Gen 45:8). But now,

if we notice each of the little ways through which this great result was

brought to pass, we shall see God in each of them.

One day, Joseph’s brethren are gone out with the sheep; Jacob wants to

send to them (Gen 37). Why does he send Joseph? He was his darling son; he

loved him better than all his brethren. Why does he send him away? He

sends him, however. Then, why should it have happened, at that particular

time, that Jacob should want to send at all? However, he did want to send,

and he did send Joseph. A mere accident you will say, but quite necessary as

the foundation of the structure. Joseph goes; but his brethren are in need of

pasture and therefore leave Shechem, where Joseph expected to find them,

and journey on to Dothan. Why go to Dothan? Was not the whole land be-

14

fore them? So Joseph goes there; he arrives at Dothan just when they are

thinking of him and his dreams, and they put him into a pit.

As they are about to eat bread, some Ishmaelites came by. Why did they

come there at all? Why did they come at that particular time? Why were they

going to Egypt? Why might they not have been going any other way? Why

was it that the Ishmaelites wanted to buy slaves; why might they not have

been trading in some other commodity? So Joseph is sold; but he is not dis-

posed of on the road to Egypt, he is taken to the land. Why is it that Potiphar

is to buy him? Why is it that Potiphar has a wife at all? Why is it, again, that

Potiphar’s wife should be so full of lust?

After false accusation, Potiphar has Joseph arrested and imprisoned

(Gen 39). Why should Joseph get into prison? How is it that the baker and

the butler should offend Pharaoh, their master? All chance, as the world has

it, but every link necessary to make the chain. They do both offend their

master; they are both put into prison. How is it that they both dream? How

is it that Joseph interprets the dreams? How is it that the butler forgets

him? Because, if he had remembered him, it would have spoiled it all.

Why is it Pharaoh dreams (Gen 40)? How can dreams be under the ar-

rangement of God’s providence? However, Pharaoh does dream; the butler

then thinks of Joseph; Joseph is brought out of prison and taken before

Pharaoh. And Pharaoh makes him a ruler over all Egypt—God’s appointed

means to save His people from the coming famine in Canaan. “But as for

you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to

pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive” (Gen 50:20). The great

thing is accomplished!

Now, take away any of those simple circumstances, break any one of the

links of the chain, and the whole of the design is scattered to the winds. You

cannot get the machine to work if any of the minute cogs of the wheels are

taken away: everything is disarranged. I think it seems very clear to any man

who will dissect not only that, but any other history he likes to fix upon, that

there must be a God in the little accidents and dealings of daily life, as well

as in the great results that tell upon the pages of history. God is to be seen

in little things.

B. Punctuality

1. Joseph

Now notice in the small details of providence how punctual providence

always is. Returning to our history, how is it that the Ishmaelites should

come by just at the time? How many thousand chances there were that their

journey might have been taken just before! You know Reuben intended to

fetch Joseph out of the pit half an hour later, and “the child [was] not” (Gen

37:30). God had these Ishmaelites ready: you do not know how He may have

sped them on their journey, or delayed them, so as to bring them on the

spot punctually at the identical moment. It could not have happened better.

15

2. The Shunnamite woman

To give another instance, there was a poor Shunnamite woman whose

son had been raised from the dead by Elisha (2Ki 4); she, however, had left

her country at the time of famine and had lost her estate (2Ki 8:1-6). She

wanted to get it back; God determined that she should have it. How was it to

be done? The king sends for Gehazi, the servant of Elisha, and he talks to the

king about Elisha’s life. He tells him one instance about a woman whose son

Elisha raised from the dead—how strange! And then in comes the woman

herself! “My lord…this is the woman”; she comes to obtain her suit. Her

desire is granted, but only because the king’s mind is interested concerning

her at that very moment. All chance, was it not? So fools say; but those who

read their Bibles, and those who have judgment, say there is something

more than chance in such a combination of circumstances. It could not be a

“mere coincidence,” as men sometimes say; there must be God here, for it is

harder to think that there is not God in this than that there is. And while a

belief in God may be said by some to involve a great stretch of faith, the put-

ting Him out of such things as this would involve an infinitely greater

amount of faith. No—God was there.

3. Paul

There is an instance also in the New Testament history (Act 21:26-32).

Paul goes into the Temple, and the Jews rush upon him in a moment to kill

him. They drag him out of the Temple, and are just in the very act of killing

him—what is to become of poor Paul’s life? Five minutes longer and Paul

will be dead, when up comes the chief captain and delivers him. How was it

that the chief captain knew of it? Very probably some young man of the

crowd who knew Paul and loved him, ran to tell him. But why was it that

the chief captain was at home? How was it that the ruler was able to come

on a moment’s emergency? How was it that he did come at all? It was only

just a Hebrew being killed, a man that was good for nothing. And when he

came, the streets were full; there was a mob about Jerusalem: how did he

come to the right street? How did he come at the exact nick of time? Say, “It

is all chance”—I laugh at you; it is providence! If there be anything in the

world that is plain to any man that thinks, it is plain that God “Overrules all

mortal things, and manages our mean affairs.”13

But mark that the running of the youth, and his arrival at the precise

time, and the coming of the chief captain at the precise time, just proved the

punctuality of divine providence. If God has a design that a thing shall hap-

pen at twelve, if you try to do it at eleven, it shall not happen till twelve; and

if He means it to be delayed till one, it is in vain that you propose any earlier

or any later. God’s punctuality in providence is always sure, and very often

apparent.

13 From “God that must stoop to view the skies,” a hymn by Isaac Watts (1674-1748), Eng-

lish pastor, essayist, and hymnwriter. Born in Southampton, England.

16

C. Use of little things

Nor is it only in the minutes of time that we get an idea of the extreme

detail of providence, but it is also in the use of little things: a sparrow has

turned the fate of an empire. You remember the old story of Mohammed

flying from his pursuers. He enters a cave, and a sparrow chirps at the en-

trance, but flies away as the pursuers pass. “Oh,” say they, “there is no fear

that Mohammed is there, otherwise the bird would have gone a long while

ago”—and the imposter’s life is saved by a sparrow. We think, perhaps, that

God directs the motions of the biggest whale, and guides him in the sea as

he stirs up the deep. Let us remember that the guidance of a minnow in its

tiny pool, or the smallest sparrow, is as much in the hand of providence as

the motion of the great creatures in the depths.

You see the birds congregate in the autumn, ready for their flight across

the purple sea. They fly hither and thither in strange confusion. The believer

in providence holds that the wing of every bird has stamped upon it the

place where it shall fly, and even flying with the uncertainty of its own wild

will, it cannot stray so much as the millionth part of an inch from its pre-

destined14

track. It may whirl about—above, beneath, east, west, north,

south, wherever it pleases—still, it is all according to the providential hand

of God. Although we see it not, it may be that if that swallow did not take the

precise track that it does take, something a little greater might be affected

thereby; and again, something still a little greater might be affected, until at

last a great thing would be involved in a little. Blessed is that man who sees

God in small trifles! It is there that it is the hardest to see Him; but he who

believes that God is there, may go from the little providence up to the great

God Who rules over all of providence.

Rest assured, when the fish in the sea take their migration, they have a

Captain and a Leader as well as the stars; for He Who marshals the stars in

their courses and guides the planets in their march, also directs the fly,

wings the bat, guides the minnow, and does not despise the tiniest of His

creatures. You believe there is predestination in the path of the earth; you

believe that in the shining of the sun there is the ordinance of God: then

there is as much His ordinance in the creeping of an insect or in the glim-

mering of a glow-worm in the darkness. In nothing is there chance, but in

everything there is God. All things live and move in Him, and have their

being (Act 17:28); nor could they live or move otherwise, for God has so or-

dered them.

I hear one say, “Well, sir, you seem to be a fatalist!” No, far from it.

There is just this difference between fate and providence: Fate is blind; prov-

idence has eyes. Fate is blind, a thing caused by something else; it is just an

arrow shot from a bow: it must fly onward, but has no target. Not so provi-

dence: providence is full of eyes. There is a design in everything and an end

14 predestined – appointed beforehand by the eternal purpose of God (predestination).

17

to be answered; all things are working together, and working together for

good (Rom 8:28). They are not done at random or as cause/effect in this

world, but they are done because there is some reason for it. It is not only

that the thing happens when caused by something else; but the thing hap-

pens because it is right that it should happen—God has a purpose for it. God

has not arbitrarily15

marked out the world’s history: He had an eye to the

great architecture of perfection when He marked all the aisles of history,

and placed all the pillars of events in the building of time.

D. Thoughts

There is another thing that we have to recollect also, which will strike

us perhaps more than the smallness of things. The small details of provi-

dence may be seen in the fact that even the thoughts of men are under God’s

hand. Now, thoughts are things that generally escape our attention when we

speak of providence. But how much may depend upon a thought! Often-

times a monarch has had a thought that has cost a nation many a bloody

battle. Sometimes a good man has had a thought that has been the means of

rescuing multitudes from hell, bearing thousands safely to heaven. Beyond

any doubt, every imagination, every passing thought, and every concep-

tion—which are all only born to quickly pass on—is under the hand of God.

And in turning over the pages of history, you will often be struck when you

see how great a thing has been brought about by an idle thought or word.

Depend upon it, then, that the will of man, the thought of man, the de-

sire of man, and every purpose of man, is directly under the hand of God.

For example, Micah prophesied that Jesus Christ is to be born at Bethlehem

(Mic 5:2). But Jesus’ mother is living at Nazareth (Luk 2): it is certain that

He will be born there. No, not so: Caesar16

takes a whim into his head. All

the world shall be taxed, and he will have all of them go to the city of their

family heritage. What necessity for that?—stupid idea of Caesar’s! If he had

had a parliament, they would have voted against him. They would have said,

“Why make all the people go to their own particular city to the census? Take

the census where they live; that will be abundantly sufficient. “No,” says he,

“it is my will, and Caesar cannot be opposed.” Some think Caesar mad; but

God knows what He means to do with Caesar. Mary, great with child, must

take a laborious journey to Bethlehem; and there is her child born in a

manger. We should not have had the prophecy fulfilled that Christ should be

born at Bethlehem, and our very faith in the Messiah might have been shak-

en, if it had not been for that whim of Caesar’s. So that even the will of

man—the whims and absolute rule of the tyrant—is in the hand of God, and

He turns it however He pleases to work His own will (Pro 21:1).

15 arbitrarily – based on whim; based solely on momentary personal wishes or feelings rather

than on reasons with purpose. 16 Augustus Caesar (63 BC - AD 14) – considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire,

which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in AD 14.

18

Gathering up all our points into one short statement, it is our firm be-

lief that He Who wings an angel also guides a sparrow. We believe that He

Who supports the dignity of His throne amidst the splendors of heaven,

maintains it also in the depths of the dark sea. We believe that there is noth-

ing above, beneath, or around that is not according to the determination of

His own counsel and will (Eph 1:11). And while we are not fatalists, we do

most truly and sternly hold the doctrine that God has decreed all things

whatsoever that come to pass, and that He overrules all these things for His

own glory and good. With Martin Luther,17

we can say,

“He everywhere hath sway, And all things serve His might;

His every act pure blessing is, His path unsullied light.”

Study Questions Lesson 2 God’s Providence

Part 1: Introduction to God’s Providence

Please read Lesson 2 Part 1 before answering these questions.

Always use your own words, in order to indicate your understanding.

Personal example (A)

1. What is providence?

2. Making It Personal Do you believe such an example as described is

ordered by God, or mere chance? Briefly explain your answer.

God’s hand (B)

3. List the three kingdoms mentioned to which all believers should give

God kingship. What is meant by each?

4. Why is providence the area in which we tend to doubt God the most?

Part 2: God’s Providence in Small Details

Please read Lesson 2 Part 2 before answering these questions.

Always use your own words, in order to indicate your understanding.

5. Why is it inconsistent to believe that God works in great things, but not

in the small details of life?

Little circumstances (A)

6. Why do little circumstances control the outcome of great things?

17 Martin Luther (1483-1546) – German monk, theologian, university professor, and church

reformer whose ideas inspired the Protestant Reformation and changed the course of

Western civilization.

19

Punctuality (B)

The Shummanite woman (2)

7. Why can many combinations of circumstances not be “mere coinci-

dence”?

Paul (3)

8. When you are trying to do something at a certain time, and things are

going “wrong” and preventing you from getting it done, what is un-

seen and actually happening?

Use of little things (C)

9. Describe the difference between providence and fate.

Thoughts (D)

10. How does Caesar’s thought to take a census show that the thoughts of

men are under God’s hand?

11. Making It Personal “God has decreed all things whatsoever that come

to pass (including the smallest details), and He overrules all these

things for His own glory and good.” To what degree to you agree?

Why?

Lesson 3

The Blessings of Sovereignty

Part 1: The Kind Consideration of God’s Sovereignty

“But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.”

—Matthew 10:29-31

In reading this text, I thought, “There is better care taken of me than I

can take care of myself.” You all take care of yourselves to some extent, but

which of you ever took so much care of himself as to count the hairs of his

head? God not only protects our limbs, but even the outgrowth of hair is to

be looked after. And how much this excels all the care of our tenderest

friends! Look how careful the mother is. If her child has a little cough, she

notices it; the slightest weakness is sure to be observed. She has watched all

its motions anxiously: to see whether it walked right, whether all its limbs

were sound, and whether it had the use of all its powers in perfection. But she

has never thought of numbering the hairs of her child’s head, and the absence

of one or two of them would give her no great concern! But our God is more

20

careful of us even than a mother with her child—so careful that He numbers

the hairs of our head. How safe are we, then, beneath the hand of God!

A. Keeping alive

Let us again notice the kind, guardian care that God exerts over His

people. I have often been struck with the providence of God in keeping His

people alive before they were converted. How many are there here who

would have been in hell at this hour if some special providence had not kept

them alive!

I remember mentioning this in company, and almost every person in

the room had some half-miracle to tell concerning his own deliverance be-

fore conversion. One gentleman, I remember, was a sporting man who af-

terwards became an eminent Christian. He told me that a little time before

his conversion he was shooting, and his gun exploded into four pieces,

which stood upright in the earth as near as possible in the exact form of a

square, having been driven nearly a foot into the ground—while he stood

there unharmed and quite safe, having scarcely felt the shock.

I was noticing in Hervey’s18

writings a good thought on this subject. He

says, “Two persons who had been hunting together in the day, slept together

the following night. One of them was renewing the pursuit in his dream

and, having run the whole circle of the chase, came at last to the fall of the

stag. Upon this he cries out with fiery intensity: “I’ll kill him, I’ll kill him”;

and immediately feels for the knife in his pocket. His companion, happening

to awake and observing what passed, leaped from the bed. Being secure from

danger and the moon shining in the room, he stood to view the event when,

to his inexpressible surprise, the enthusiastic sportsman gave several deadly

stabs in the very place where a moment before the throat and the life of his

friend lay.” This I mention as a proof that nothing hinders us, even from

being assassins of others or murderers of ourselves amidst the mad sallies of

sleep, but only the preventing care of our heavenly Father.

B. Keeping from temptation

How wonderful the providence of God with regard to Christian people

in keeping them out of temptation. Many have often noticed this fact, that

there are times when, if a temptation should come, you would be overtaken

by it: but the temptation does not come. And at other times, when the temp-

tation comes, you have supernatural strength to resist it. Yes! the best

Christian in the world will tell you that such is still the strength of his lust,

that there are moments when if the object were presented to him, he would

certainly fall into the commission of a foul sin—but then the object is not

there, or there is no opportunity of committing the sin. At another time,

when we are called to go through a burning fiery furnace of temptation, we

18 James Hervey (1714-1758) – English pastor and writer; educated at Oxford.

21

have no desire towards the peculiar sin, in fact we feel an intense dislike of

it, or are even incapable of it. Strange it is, but many a man’s character has

been saved by providence. The best man that ever lived, little knows how

much he owes for preservation to the providence as well as to the grace of

God.

C. Arranging places

How marvelously, too, has providence arranged all our places. I shall

always regard the fact of my being here today as a remarkable instance of

providence. I should not have occupied this hall probably, and been blessed

of God in preaching to multitudes, if it had not been for what I considered

an untoward accident.

I should have been at this time studying in college, instead of preaching

here, but for a singular circumstance that happened. I had agreed to go to

college, and I went to see the tutor at the house of a mutual friend. I was

shown by the servant into one drawing-room in the house; he was shown

into another. He sat and waited for me two hours; I sat and waited for him

two hours. He could wait no longer, and went away thinking I had not treat-

ed him well; I went away and thought that he had not treated me well. As I

went away this text came into my mind, “Seekest thou great things for thy-

self? Seek them not” (Jer 45:5). So I wrote to say that I must positively de-

cline, I was happy enough amongst my own country people and got on very

well in preaching, and I did not care to go to college. I have now preached

the gospel four years. Speaking after the manner of men, those who have

been saved during that time would not have been saved, at least not through

me, if it had not been for the remarkable providence turning the whole atti-

tude of my thoughts and putting things into a new track.

You have often had strange accidents like that. When you have resolved

to do a thing, you could not do it any how; it was quite impossible. God

turned you another way and proved that providence is indeed the master of

all human events.

D. Providing food

And how good, too, has God been in providence in providing our daily

bread. It is remarkable how a little poverty makes a person believe in provi-

dence, especially if he is helped through it. If a person has to live from hand

to mouth day by day, he begins to think there is a providence then. The gen-

tleman who sows his broad acres, reaps his wheat, and puts it into his barn;

or takes his regular income, gets on so nicely that he can do without provi-

dence—he does not care a bit about it. The rents of his houses all come in,

and his money in the bank is quite safe—what does he want with provi-

dence? But the poor man who has to work at day labor sometimes runs very

short, and just then happens to meet with somebody who gives him precise-

22

ly what he needs: he exclaims, “Well, I know there is a providence; I cannot

help believing it—these things could not have come by chance!”

Part 2: Application of God’s Sovereignty

If the hairs of our head are all numbered, and if God sovereignly pro-

vides for His people all things necessary for this life and godliness (2Pe 1:3),

and if He arranges everything with infinite and unerring wisdom—what

manner of persons ought we to be?

A. Boldness

In the first place, we ought to be a bold race of people. What have we to

fear? Another man looks up, and if he sees a lightning-flash, he trembles at

its mysterious power. We believe it has its predestined path. We may stand

and contemplate it. Although we would not presumptuously expose our-

selves to it, yet we can confide in our God in the midst of the storm. We are

out at sea; the waves are dashing against the ship; she reels to and fro. Other

men shake, because they think this is all chance; we, however, see an order

in the waves and hear a music in the winds. It is for us to be peaceful and

calm. To other men the tempest is a fearful thing, but we believe that the

tempest is in the hand of God. Why should we shake? Why should we quiver?

In all convulsions of the world, in all temporal distress and danger, it is for

us to stand calm and collected, looking boldly on. In comparison with the

man who is not a believer in providence, our confidence should be very

much the same as that of some learned surgeon, who, when he is going

through an operation, sees something very incredible amid the blood and

open flesh, yet never shudders at it—while the ignorant peasant, who has

never seen anything so astonishing, is alarmed and fearful, and even thinks

that evil spirits are at work!

We are to say, let others say what they please: I know God is here, and I

am His child, and this is all working for my good (Rom 8:28); therefore I will

not fear, “though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be car-

ried into the midst of the sea” (Psa 46:2).

Especially may I address this remark to timid people. There are some of

you who are frightened at every little thing. Oh! if you could but believe that

God manages all, you would not be screaming because your husband is not

home when there is a little thunder and lightning, or because there is a

mouse in the parlor, or because there is a great tree blown down in the gar-

den. There is no necessity you should believe that your brother-in-law, who

has gone to Australia, was wrecked because there was a storm when he was at

sea. There is no need for you to imagine that your son in the army was neces-

sarily killed, because he was in a battle. Or if you think the thing necessary,

23

still, as a believer in God’s providence, you should just stand and say that God

has done it, and that it is yours to give over all things into His hands.

B. Moderation in grief

For those of you also who have lost loved ones: if you believe in sover-

eignty, you may grieve, but your grief must not be excessive. I remember at

a funeral of a friend hearing a useful parable. There was much weeping on

account of the loss of a loved one, and the minister said it this way: “Sup-

pose you are a gardener employed by another. It is not your garden, but you

are called upon to tend it, and you have your wages paid you. You have taken

great care with a certain number of roses; you have trained them up, and

there they are, blooming in their beauty. You pride yourself upon them. You

come one morning into the garden, and you find that the best rose has been

taken away. You are angry: you go to your fellow-servants and charge them

with having taken the rose. They will declare that they had nothing at all to

do with it. And one says, ‘I saw the master walking here this morning; I

think he took it.’ Is the gardener angry then? No: at once he says, ‘I am hap-

py that my rose should have been so fair as to attract the attention of the

master. It is his own: he hath taken it; let him do what seemeth him good.’ ”

It is even so with your friends. They wither not by chance; the grave is

not filled by accident; men die according to God’s will. Your child is gone,

but the Master took it. Your husband is gone; your wife is buried—the Mas-

ter took them. Thank Him that He let you have the pleasure of caring for

them and tending them while they were here, and thank Him that as He

gave, He Himself has taken away. If others had done it, you would have had

cause to be angry. But the Lord has done it. Can you then murmur? Will you

not say—

Thee at all times will I bless; Having Thee I all possess;

How can I bereaved be, Since I cannot part with Thee.19

C. Balance

Finally, this doctrine, if fully believed, ought to keep us always in a bal-

anced frame of mind. One of the things we most need is to always maintain

our emotional balance. Sometimes we are elated. If I ever find myself elated,

I know what is coming: I know that I shall be depressed in a very few hours.

If the balance goes too much up, it is sure to come down again. The happiest

state of mind is to be always in balance. If good things come, thank God for

them—but do not set your heart upon them. If good things go, thank God

that He has taken them Himself—and still bless His name. Bear all. He who

feels that everything comes to pass according to God’s will, has a great

main-stay to his soul. He need not be shaken to and fro by every wind that

blows, for he is securely bound, so that he need not move. This is an anchor

19 From “Sovereign Ruler of the Skies” by John Ryland (1753-1825), the most well-known

Baptist preacher for nearly 30 years in the west of England.

24

cast into the sea: while the other ships are drifting far away, he can ride

calmly through.

Strive, dear friends, to believe this, and maintain as the consequence of

it that continual calm and peace which makes life so happy. Do not get to

fearing ills that may come tomorrow; either they will not come, or else they

will bring good with them. If you have evils today, do not multiply them by

fearing those of tomorrow. “Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof ” (Mat

6:34). Oh, I would to God that some of you who are full of distressful care

and worry could be delivered from it by a belief in providence. And when you

once get into that quiet frame which this doctrine brings, you will be pre-

pared for those higher exercises of communion and fellowship with Christ,

to which distracting care is ever a fearful hindrance, if not an entire obstacle.

D. Conclusion

1. To those who fear God

“Whatsoever the LORD pleased, that did he in heaven, and in earth, in

the seas, and all deep places” (Psa 135:6).

“But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath

pleased” (Psa 115:3).

“Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive

with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it,

What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands?” (Isa 45:9).

“He doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the

inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What

doest thou?” (Dan 4:35).

“The LORD of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so

shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand. For the

LORD of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is

stretched out, and who shall turn it back?” (Isa 14:24, 27)

“I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be

put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear

before him” (Ecc 3:14).

Brothers and sisters, some might think that they can sit down in lazi-

ness, since God will do everything anyway according to His will. But so far

from this doctrine of divine sovereignty bringing you to inactivity, I hope in

God it will spur you on in spiritual growth: to humble you, increase your

faith, and lead you to forsake worry, fear, and anger. It humbles us to see

more the greatness of our God. It grows our faith to know more that our

God is absolutely trustworthy. And this great doctrine leads us to forsake

worry, fear, and anger because all such emotions deny our most holy God.

He has provided all that we need, and He is actively watching over every

detail of our lives. To worry, fear, or be angry is to shake our fist in God’s

face and scream at Him: “What You are doing is not good enough for me!” It

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is to call His good as evil (Isa 5:20)! When “bad” things happen to us, there

is always a hidden purpose of God’s. He will use it for our good—perhaps in

this life we will know it as such; and if not, we can be assured that we will

know it finally, at the return of Christ and receipt of our heavenly reward

(1Co 13:12). Let us become men and women of great faith, trusting our God

completely with all of our hearts!20

2. To those who fear not God

As for you who are yet to turn to Christ, remember, the stones of the

field are set against you. The heavens cry to the earth, and the earth answers

to the heavens, for vengeance upon you on account of your sins. For you

there is nothing good; everything is in rebellion against you. Oh that God

might bring you into peace with Him, and then you would be at rest with all

beside. I hope this doctrine will bring you to say,

“Sovereign God of heaven, I am unworthy of the least of all Your mer-

cies. I feel that You have a right to do with me as You will. If You crush

me, a helpless worm, You will not be dishonored. And I have no right to

ask You to have compassion upon me, save this: that I need Your mercy.

Lord, if You will, You are able to pardon; You never gave grace to one

that needed it more. Because I am empty, fill me with the Bread of

heaven. Because I am naked, clothe me with Your robe. Because I am

dead, give me life.”

If you press that plea with all your soul and mind, though Jehovah is an ex-

alted king, He will stretch out His scepter and save, and you shall live to

worship Him in the beauty of holiness, loving and adoring His gracious sov-

ereignty (Luk 19:10)!

“Those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them,

think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell

you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish” (Luk 13:4-5)

“Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these

things shall be added to you” (Mat 6:33).

“He that believeth…shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be

damned” (Mar 16:16).

Jesus Christ said, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy lad-

en, and I will give you rest” (Mat 11:28).

He who believes in Christ alone, shall be saved, but he who rejects

Christ and believes not in Him, shall be damned! That is the sovereign de-

cree and proclamation of heaven. Our great sovereign God reigns over all.

Bow to Him, acknowledge Him, and obey Him. �

20 This paragraph and all Scripture verses in the conclusion are provided by Chapel Library

for course purposes.

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“The Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice,

and give honour to him.”—Revelation 19:6-7

Study Questions Lesson 3 The Blessings of God’s Sovereignty

Part 1: The Kind Consideration of God’s Sovereignty

Please read Lesson 3 Part 1 before answering these questions.

Always use your own words, in order to indicate your understanding.

1. What does God’s numbering the hairs on your head tell you about God?

Keeping alive (A)

2. Making It Personal Have you or someone you know almost died?

If so, what do you believe prevented death?

Keeping from temptation (B)

3. How does providence save men from falling to temptation?

Arranging places (C)

4. Making It Personal Have you ever noticed unusual circumstances in

steering you to a particular place or job or situation? If so, think

about the details of the situation. Could anyone but God have done

it?

Providing food (D)

5. Making It Personal Have you ever been hungry and been provided

food? If so, think about the details of the situation. Could anyone

but God have done it?

Part 2: Application of God’s Sovereignty

Please read Lesson 3 Part 2 before answering these questions.

Always use your own words, in order to indicate your understanding.

Boldness (A)

6. a. How should we respond to threats, storms, or troubles?

b. Why?

Moderation in grief (B)

7. Use the illustration of the gardener and rose to describe our attitude in

the loss of a loved one.

8. What should our response be to God when we lose a loved one?

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Balance (C)

9. What should be our response

a. When good things come to us?

b. When bad things come to us?

c. Use the illustration of a ship to explain this.

10. a. How does an understanding of providence answer fear and worry?

b. What comes after we get into the quiet frame this doctrine brings?

Conclusion (D)

To those who fear God (1)

11. a. Why might the doctrine of God’s providence promote laziness?

b. What should we do instead?

12. a. Why are worry, fear, and anger great sins?

b. How does the doctrine of sovereignty overcome each of these?

13. a. Of the Scriptures listed, which one stands out to you? Why?

b. Will you commit to memorize it? Please do so, and use it to combat

worry, fear, and anger every time they arise.

To those who fear not God (2)

14. a. Describe the situation of those who do not fear God.

b. What is the answer to their situation?

15. Making It Personal

a. What are the main lessons you have learned during this course?

b. What value is this to you?

____________________

Thank you for taking this course.

Please write now for your next course

to continue your studies of God’s Word.

Now begins the daily practical application of the principles

God has revealed during your time in these materials.

To aid in the transition from “head knowledge” to having the mind of Christ,

we suggest reviewing the key points daily for one week after completion

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(trying to be mindful of them throughout the day), and then reviewing

at the week end for the next four weeks thereafter.