Theme · theological
Providence
Providence is sovereignty applied to the everyday: God provides a ram for Abraham, manna in the wilderness, ravens for Elijah. The book of Esther never mentions God's name yet narrates providence so intricate that a king's insomnia saves a nation. Ruth's 'chance' gleaning in Boaz's field is anything but chance. Jesus points to sparrows and lilies to assure his followers that the Father who feeds birds and clothes flowers will certainly care for them. Paul's confidence that 'all things work together for good' is the New Testament summary of this theme.
Related doctrines
Passages expressing this theme
- 1Chr 4:10 — And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may
- 1Chr 5:20 — And they were helped against them, and the Hagarites were delivered into their hand, and all that were with them: for they cried to God in the battle, and he was intreated of them; because they put th
- 1Chr 12:18 — Then the spirit came upon Amasai, who was chief of the captains, and he said, Thine are we, David, and on thy side, thou son of Jesse: peace, peace be unto thee, and peace be to thine helpers; for thy
- 1Chr 28:20 — And David said to Solomon his son, Be strong and of good courage, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed: for the LORD God, even my God, will be with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, until
- 1Chr 29:14 — But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee.
- 1Cor 3:6 — I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.
- 1Cor 10:13 — There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to esca
- 1Pet 4:19 — Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.
- 1Pet 5:7 — Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
- 1Sam 2:8 — He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the LORD’
- 1Sam 7:12 — Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Ebenezer, saying, Hitherto hath the LORD helped us.
- 1Sam 14:6 — And Jonathan said to the young man that bare his armour, Come, and let us go over unto the garrison of these uncircumcised: it may be that the LORD will work for us: for there is no restraint to the L
- 1Sam 16:1 — And the LORD said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite: fo
- 1Thess 5:24 — Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.
- 2Chr 14:11 — And Asa cried unto the LORD his God, and said, LORD, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power: help us, O LORD our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name
- 2Chr 15:2 — And he went out to meet Asa, and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The LORD is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake
- 2Chr 17:5 — Therefore the LORD stablished the kingdom in his hand; and all Judah brought to Jehoshaphat presents; and he had riches and honour in abundance.
- 2Chr 20:15 — And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the LORD unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the batt
- 2Chr 20:17 — Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them:
- 2Chr 32:7 — Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him: for there be more with us than with him:
- 2Chr 32:8 — With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the LORD our God to help us, and to fight our battles. And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.
- 2Chr 36:15 — And the LORD God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising up betimes, and sending; because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place:
- 2Cor 4:7 — But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.
- 2Cor 7:6 — Nevertheless God, that comforteth those that are cast down, comforted us by the coming of Titus;
- 2Cor 8:1 — Moreover, brethren, we do you to wit of the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia;
The Church Fathers on Providence
Providence, then, is the solicitude that God has for existing things. And again, providence is that will of God by which all existing things receive suitable guidance through to their end. But, if providence is God's will, then, according to right reason, everything that has come about through providence has quite…
(De Nat. Hom. 42.) That there is a Providence, is shown by such signs as the following; The continuance of all things, of those things especially which are in a state of decay and reproduction, and the place and order of all things that exist is ever preserved in one and the same state; and how could this be done…
The forms of your providence are inscribed and indelibly etched, as it were, on each person's heart; after all, who is the provider and who the supplier of what is needed from without for life? In fact, perhaps it was for this reason also that you put us in a state of need, so that we might not forget the provider…
The providence of God is clearer than the sun and its rays. On every occasion and in every place you will see clear and abundant evidence of this providence—in the desert, on cultivated and uncultivated land, on land and sea, wherever you go. This evidence is old and new. Voices are raised from every side that sound…
Second, divine providence is attentive to human acts in that he preserves the good and wicked deeds of men in his memory to repay them with good or evil, and so he continues, "You have sealed my faults in a sack." For what one seals in a sack is carefully kept. Lest anyone say this sealing excludes divine mercy he…
The reasons of the divine dispensation and providence are most obscure. For "God made darkness his hiding place." Those desiring audaciously and rashly to examine this darkness and appropriating for themselves one thing from another have fallen headlong into the dense "darkness" of errors.