The Providence of God

Psalm 135. Psalm 135, we'll read it in its entirety.! Praise the Lord!

Praise the name of the Lord! Praise Him, you servants of the Lord! You who minister in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God! Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good!

Sing praise to His name, for that is pleasant! For the Lord has chosen Jacob to be His own, Israel to be His treasured possession. I know that the Lord is great, that our Lord is greater than all gods.

The Lord does whatever pleases Him in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas, in all their depths. He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth.

He sends lightning with the rain and brings out the wind from His storehouses. He struck down the firstborn of Egypt, the firstborn of men and animals.

He sent His signs and wonders into your midst, O Egypt, against Pharaoh and all His servants. He struck down many nations and killed mighty kings, Sihon, king of the Amorites, Og, king of Bashan, and all the kings of Canaan.

And He gave their land as an inheritance, an inheritance to His people, Israel. Your name, O Lord, endures forever, your renown, O Lord, through all generations.

For the Lord will vindicate His people and have compassion on His servants. The idols of the nations are silver and gold, made by the hands of men.

They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but they cannot see. They have ears, but cannot hear, nor is there breath in their mouths. Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them.

O house of Israel, praise the Lord. O house of Aaron, praise the Lord. O house of Levi, praise the Lord.

You who fear Him, praise the Lord. Praise be to the Lord from Zion, to Him who dwells in Jerusalem. Praise the Lord. Reading Psalm 135 is like stepping into a time machine and going back 3,000 years and being dropped right in the middle of a worship service of God's people in the Old Testament.

They're praising the Lord. They're singing their praises because He is good and because He is great. This is the Old Testament equivalent of how great thou art, we might say.

There's many of them. And verse 3, praise the Lord for the Lord is good. And how is that goodness seen? Well, He says, it is seen in the election of a people to be His very own treasured possession.

Verse 4, And then He says, I know that the Lord is great. Not only good, but great. That our Lord is greater than all gods.

Well, how is God's greatness seen? And verse 6, He tells us, Well, the Lord does whatever pleases Him. In the heavens, on the earth, in the seas, and all their depths.

Notice the measure of God's greatness is His being able to do whatever pleases Him. That's what causes them to sing how great thou art.

So there's a little girl playing in her bedroom and she would like to do everything her way in that room. And just when she has it all ordered her way, her little brother comes in and messes it all up.

She is not very great. She's not able to do whatever pleases her, not even in her own bedroom. And there's Mom out in the garden. And she's trying to grow some zucchini squash.

And after just a few are harvested, some worm gets into the vine and it wilts and it's dead. Mom's not very great either. She's not able to do whatever she pleases, even in that little 20 by 20 patch.

And then Dad's at work. And he's got plans for his business to do this and to do that. It's going to be a productive day and everything working just as he wants it to go.

But someone calls in sick and it throws a wrench in his plans. He's not very great. He's not able to do whatever he pleases, even in that sphere.

Think of your own life. How great are you? Measured on the basis of being able to see everything done just as you want it to be.

Now we look up and we think of the Lord, the living God, and we find that He's doing whatever pleases Him.

Well, where? Well, not just in some little corner, not in one room, not in the garden, not at work, but in the heavens, plural.

The Bible speaks of the highest heaven where God's throne is, the middle heaven where the stars shine, and the lower heaven where the birds fly. And God is doing exactly as He pleases Him.

The heavens, plural. And not just there. In the earth. The whole planet. In the seas.

And all their depths. Not just the first foot of water. All their depths. He's doing whatsoever pleases Him. Can you see why they're singing?

How great our Lord is. We know the Lord is great. How? Because He's doing whatever pleases Him. Well, what kinds of things does He do?

Whatever pleases Him. Well, like what? Well, verse 7, like making clouds rise. Or sending lightning with rain. Or bringing out the wind. Or like, verse 8, striking down the firstborn in Egypt.

Or like performing wonders and plagues. Or like striking down many nations and killing many kings. And then giving their land as an inheritance to His people Israel.

All sorts of things that God is doing. Exactly whatever pleases Him. Throughout the whole universe. So what Psalm 135 is talking about is what theologians have called God's providence.

God's providence. Psalm 135 says, The providence of God demonstrates the greatness of God. As we study His providence, we'll see how great He is.

Now, I need ever clearer views and stronger convictions about the greatness of my God. Christians do not live well without seeing how great and awesome their God is.

And so, we're going to spend this day in this sermon studying the providence of God. But it's such a great theme and such a large topic that starting next week at 9.30 in the adult Sunday school class, we're going to start a new series on the providence of God.

Come and join us. But for this morning then, the providence of God. Five points. First of all, the definition of providence. And I've taken this largely from the Westminster Shorter Catechism, though not exactly.

And here's the definition of God's providence. It is God's most holy, wise, and powerful, upholding, and controlling of all His creatures in all their actions all the time.

God's most holy, wise, and powerful, upholding, and controlling of all His creatures and all their actions all the time. God not only made all things, He controls all things.

That's what providence says. He controls whatever He has made. Hebrews 1.3, Christ is upholding all things by His powerful Word.

That means things hold together and exist because Christ is holding them together. What things? All things. Hebrews 1.3. And then Psalm 103.19, His kingdom rules over all.

His kingdom that governs and rules and controls and directs. Where? Not just in the little nation of Israel, but over all.

So that's the definition of providence. God's control of all His creatures and all their actions all the time. The second point is the purpose of providence.

What is God's aim in His providence, in this control that He exerts over His creation? What does He use providence for? Well, the answer is to bring to pass all that He's planned.

To bring to pass all that He has planned. God is not just someone spontaneously coming up with something to do in reaction to what people are doing on earth.

The Bible says that He has decreed all things from before the foundation of the world. He's made plans. Ephesians 1.11 speaks of the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will.

He's got a plan and He's working out everything according to that plan. that purpose of His will. Ephesians 1.11 Now it's one thing to plan to plan or decree what will happen.

It's another thing to bring it to pass. To pull it off. To actually be able to work out your plan in history. So God's plans for everything are being worked out by His providence.

His sovereign control of all His creatures and all their actions all the time. Well that's everything and it leaves nothing to chance.

That's the world we live in. It's God's world. I'm sorry I got ahead of myself here but I just wanted to say that that plan for God's people is always good for He's working all things together for the good of those who love Him and are the called according to His purpose.

So that's the purpose of providence to bring to pass all that God has planned. What's the extent of providence? How far does it reach?

Well Psalm 135 says He does as He pleases in the entire universe. The heavens the earth the sea and all their depths. And again Hebrews 1 3 says He upholds all things His kingdom Psalm 103 rules over all.

The Bible is constantly asserting or showing us God's control over all things that He has made. And so our definition states that He controls all His creatures not one excepted.

In all their actions everything they do and not just once in a while but all the time. That's all encompassing. Now let's think and tease that out a bit.

What does that include? Well it includes things animate and things inanimate. Things that are living and things that do not have life within them. Think of the inanimate things that God is controlling.

Things without life. The snow the rain the hail the lightning the stormy winds they all do His bidding the psalmist says.

The water which He sometimes divides and other times stops in its flow and sometimes turns into blood and then back into water. water that He sometimes brings from a rock or causes to flood upon a land.

The rocks the mountains the volcanoes even axe heads one of which He made to float just to show He is in control. And it was with a benevolent good end for His people.

The sun which He once made to stand still the moon the stars that He brings out every night by His mighty power all made to do His will even one of them to lead wise men to the place of the newborn King of Israel.

Every inanimate thing. But then think of the living things that He controls. If you just read the story in Exodus about the ten plagues think of the living things He controls.

We see living flies and gnats and locusts and frogs doing whatever God pleads. He tells them where they're to go and where they're not to go when they're to come and when they're to go.

And He controls angels and demons and donkeys and even makes one to speak to Balaam. Think of all the things God controlled in that little book of Jonah just four chapters.

He sent a great wind on the sea whipping it up into a violent storm to hunt down His runaway prophet and then He prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah and then He commanded that same fish to vomit him out on dry land and then He provided a vine to grow up and shade Jonah from the sun that was beating on his head and then He provided a worm to eat into that vine and cause it to wither and die and then He provided a scorching east wind which with the sun made Jonah grow faint and want to die.

That little book is full of pictures of showing us telling us that God is in control of all these things living and without life.

And then we must go on to say God's providence also extends over men people. Daniel 435 Nebuchadnezzar says He this living God does as He pleases with the powers of heaven and with the peoples on the earth.

Both great and small people. So think of those that are regarded as the greats of people. Well kings kings they wield the most power perhaps and so Proverbs 21 says the king's heart is in the hand of the Lord and the Lord directs it like a water course.

Just like a farmer in those days who wanted to get water to his crops and the water's here but his crops are over here and so he would dig a little irrigation trench to get the water over here but then there's a plant over here so he directed his water course here and directed his water course there to get the water to his plants and that's how God moves kings.

Their heart is in his hand and he directs them. I want him to do this now I want him to do that I want him here there I want the king of Assyria coming down into Israel and destroying them.

I want the king of Babylon I want that great nation coming and destroying Jerusalem now I want Persia to arise and to conquer the Babylonians so that they might set my people free.

God is controlling kings the great people of the earth and if he controls the greats the inference is he's controlling everyone. God's providence includes good men and wicked men Proverbs 16 4 the Lord works out everything for his own ends even the wicked for the day of disaster.

He works out even the wicked to fulfill his ends his plan a Pharaoh a Herod a Nero a Hitler a Stalin a Mao Zedong a Pol Pot he is in control of all wicked men even Judas who betrayed the Son of God but his control of those men is such that he does not enter into the sin of those men he is able to control and govern their activities in a way that does not get his hand dirty with their sin you say I don't understand that either do I but the Bible says it he's not the author of sin and yet he's the one who controls and directs even the wicked for the day of disaster so he is his providence extends to good events sinful events it's over all man's plans Proverbs 16 9 in his heart a man plans this course I want to do this oh but the Lord directs and determines his steps so Haman had a plan to kill the Jews but God had other plans

Pharaoh had a plan to kill the Israelites I will pursue I will overtake I will destroy and God said no you won't I am the one who controls your every breath and soon Pharaoh and his chariots sink like lead down to the bottom of the sea he controls the plans the outcome of men's plans sometimes frustrating them sometimes bringing them to pass God's own plan of redemption to save his people through the Lord Jesus dying on a cross that plan was not frustrated because God controlled it and brought it to pass though he frustrated all sorts of other plans that tried to stop it so God's providence how far does it reach that's the extent well it reaches over big things and over little things we've seen mighty kings mighty nations but also there's some little things even things that we might call insignificant casual everyday things that we don't even think about perhaps that much like every sparrow's fall well that's not a headliner is it but it never happens apart from your father's will in heaven like one hair falling into your sink it never happens apart from your father's will his control over every hair it even extends to the reading material of an insomniac king at midnight and so in the book of Esther the king can't sleep and so he calls for the chronicles of his reign that's boring enough to put him to sleep but not until he's read in one section about a guy named

Mordecai who saved his life from an assassination plot once and he's saying did we ever do anything to honor that man for that good deed no we haven't well we must and it was on that little insignificant event that the whole book of Esther turns that the destruction of Israel and Mordecai it turns around and it's Haman who's going to end up on his own gallows little things chance not in your life God controlling all his creatures in all their actions all of the time even that night what should I read to put me to sleep every fall of the dice now you say you're really stretching it pastor every time you roll the dice it controls the outcome not just when you get snake eyes every throw proverbs 16 33 the lot is cast into the lap but it's every decision is from the

Lord do you see the extent of the Lord's providence and control over his world it goes to that end there is no such thing as luck and even those things that seem to look like chance are things that he rules over and controls according to his plan like a man shooting an arrow randomly into the air remember that story back in first Kings chapter 22 King Ahab and Israel were fighting against Aram though he was warned of disaster of God's judgment that was coming and so Ahab thinks well I can avert God's judgment I'll go into battle in disguise I won't go looking like the king I'll go in looking like anybody!

else so in the judgment of God but there was an archer from Aram who took an arrow and put it on his string and let it fly in the air toward the Israelites and the arrow went up and the arrow went down and it landed right in the middle of the folds of his armor of King Ahab's armor and he bled and died and dogs licked up his blood just as Elijah had prophesied they would as God's judgment against him for what he did to Nabal in murdering him for his vineyard but the scriptures say that the archer drew his bow at a venture at random and yet it was not a lucky shot it was a providence guided missile you think of the control that God had over that one event everything from the strength in that man's arm how far back he could pull that thing the aerodynamic smoothness of that arrow the placement of the feathers on it the exact moment of the release the direction in which he's firing away at random and the wind and the movement of

King Ahab's chariot and just how he's positioned in his chariot and how he happens to be wearing his armor that day so that it didn't hit on the piece of armor and bounce off but it caught in the chinks the folds between the plated armor and killed him that is down to detail that I don't think we've even entered into that's the control God has even over situations that seem to be random seem to be chance his control is at work all the time it's not just once in a while it's not just when the miraculous happens that we say oh God was in that that was a God moment not at all it's all his creatures in all their actions all the time it's not just when whales are swallowing runaway prophets or donkeys are talking to balaams and so on and arrows are striking wicked kings it's all arrows it's all donkeys it's all whales all their movements all of the time

God controls and from time to time God does something for our benefit he shows us that he's in control of all these things and so he does something miraculous to show how he's controlling the fish in the sea the great fish that swallow Jonah that swim into Peter's nets and he's showing us his control down to these small and big things wherever they happen so sometimes God does the miraculous the unusual to make us aware of what he's doing every day all day to all of his creatures and all their actions all the time so consider the manna that God gave to the Israelites for 40 years in the desert that was God's providence wasn't it God controlled things such that bread from heaven came down to feed them as soon as they came into the promised land what happened to the manna it stopped was that chance or no

God stopped it my people needed it in the wilderness because they're traveling about but now that they're in the promised land they can plant and grow their own things but though the manna stopped God's providence did not stop it is as much the providence of God to cause food to grow up out of the dirt as it is to cause food to come down out of the sky God is working here just as much as he's working here children God's providence is working to get food to your table every time you sit down as much as it was at work when he had ravens bring food to feed his prophet Elijah God is controlling God is bringing good to his people God is ruling over all things and we need to recognize God's providence in the ordinary things of ordinary day life the little things we need to develop an eye for it and praise

God for it like breath he gives us breath have you thought of that the next breath I breathe he must give before I breathe it gives us life and breath and everything else food think of those little things how he's ordering them sometimes people exclaim of an event that was providential wow well the truth is everything is providential everything down to your next breath your next bite of food Dr.

John Witherspoon realized this he was one of the signers of the declaration of independence in this country he was also president of what was then the college of New Jersey which today is Princeton but a different school altogether in terms of morals and ethics he lived a couple miles away from the university in a place called Rocky Hill and he drove a horse and rig each day to his office one day one of his neighbors burst into his office exclaiming Dr.

Witherspoon you must join me in giving thanks to God for his extraordinary providence and saving my life for as I was driving from Rocky Hill the horse ran away and the buggy was smashed to pieces on the rocks but I escaped unharmed well Witherspoon replied why I can tell you a far a far more remarkable providence than that I have driven over that road hundreds of times and my horse never ran away and my buggy never was smashed and I was never hurt he had it didn't he both were providential both were due to the fact that God controls all of his creatures in all their actions all of the time every day of safety that you have dad and mom on the highways children is God's providence his control bringing good to you now God never slumbers or sleeps is the message of

Psalm 121 this providential control is never relaxed or relinquished he's always alert always governing all things now why is this so important that we took such a long time on point number three and we're still not done with it that it's over all well this is the glory of our God folks this is what causes angels and redeemed sinners to stand in awe of him and worship our God is great because he does whatever pleases him in the heavens the earth the sea and their depths so we cannot relinquish this without relinquishing something and diminishing something of the glory and greatness and majesty of our God so hold tight to it and then remember point number two the purpose of providence is to bring to pass all that God has planned to work out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will well now to be able to work out everything according to his plan means that all the variables that go into fulfilling that plan must be under his control if there was anything outside of

God's control his plan would be in jeopardy and it may go unfulfilled Now a few weeks ago you heard some encouraging preaching from Romans 8 28 from Pastor Jeff Johnson that we know in all things God is working those things together for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose but I want to tell you this morning that that is only possible because of God's providence things don't naturally work together for good I think there was a Murphy's law that was some observation on life that if things happen they usually happen for bad and that's a faithful observation things don't automatically work together for good to be able to work out everything for good means that God must be in control of everything it's his providence that makes it happen and guarantees us and gives us the certainty to say

I know that everything in everything God is working it together for my good as one of his children now some would try to remove man's choices from God's control oh God's in charge and in control and governs all of his creatures except for man and his free will and and so on his decisions God can't monkey around with man no that's not what the scriptures teach we saw the king's heart is in the hand of the Lord and he turns it wherever he wants God's providence and say he's not over everything he doesn't have every single thing in control all the comfort in Romans 8 28 leaks out of that one exception that you make whatever it is that only sometimes some of these creatures and some of their actions some of the time well then what happens when

I'm in a problem I never know is this one of the exceptions will this be worked together for my God I really don't know because it's not everything you know no the reason Romans 8 28 has carried so much comfort and freight of consolation to God's people over the centuries is because we know that in all things God is in control and he's working them he's able to work them because they're all under his control you can't have Romans 8 28 without God's providential control being over everything it just doesn't happen on its own so I'm lying in my bed in Manila Philippines in one of the CCM girls homes room and I can't sleep it's the middle of the night middle of the morning early morning because the dogs are barking not only the

CCM dogs but I think every one of their dozen neighbors around them have dogs as well and when one barks the others aren't to be outdone in the contest of who can keep John awake the longest and so one barks they all bark and then maybe they'll quiet down a bit one barks they all start barking again and I'm sitting on line there I can't sleep and it's Wednesday night we've had two days of pastors conference my throat is getting weary and a bit sore I need rest but I can't sleep well we'd had preaching that day on the providence of God by a brother Ian Demption from England three messages over the conference on the providence of God I'd heard two of them so far so I'm lying there thinking about the providence of God John do you think that God's providence all its creatures all their actions all the time yep it extends to these barking dogs you remember the last of the ten plagues in Egypt about midnight every first born in

Egypt will die so Moses is telling this to Pharaoh there will be loud wailing throughout Egypt worse than there has ever been or ever will be again but among the Israelites not a dog will bark not a dog will bark at any man or animal then you will know that the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel God is going to show you how great he is that he's in control of everything down to the barking of dogs I found comfort in that God is in control of those howling hounds outside my window he hears them just like I he hears them and he's able to muzzle them Lord muzzle them is my prayer and they're not muzzled they go on barking well what do

I do with that well I say there's comfort in this God is in control of everything he could muzzle them so easy he's done it before in Egypt but he's chosen not to and I kind of think that he knows better than you John what you best need right now you think you need sleep he may know that you need to feel your weakness a little more that you might lean a little harder on his strength and there is comfort in knowing that God's sovereignty extends right down to the nitty gritty things that happen in our lives so don't give up the the scope and extent of his providence well we must finish the mystery of providence number four the mystery of providence that's the name of the book we're going to be studying in the adult Sunday school class written 350 years ago by a

Puritan John Flavel but God hasn't changed since he wrote and he's the same today with regard to his providence the mystery of providence which is to say there are twists and turns in the long and winding road of providence that will leave you baffled scratching your head pulling your hair out crying out to the Lord I don't understand why it's the mystery of his providence how great God is Job says beyond our understanding Isaiah says as the heavens are higher than the earth so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts and that means that we should not only accept mystery in his providence we should expect it who am I anyway that I should think that I should understand all the twists and turns of

God's control over my life and all that goes on around me do you expect your one year old to understand all the reasons why it must endure the pain of that immunization shot no you don't expect her or him to understand that then don't you oh man expect to understand everything that infinite God is doing in your life there are mysteries the God of providence sometimes hides himself so well that you don't see him you don't feel him near you wonder how can he even be caring for me there's Jacob he's the father of twelve patriarchs and there's no food in Palestine where they live famine was threatening them all with starvation and he wants to send his sons back to Egypt where they got some grain but they said no the man in

Egypt giving out the food said unless Benjamin comes with us he's not giving us anything he's got Simeon he's going to keep him and so Jacob sees all this that's happening we're starving we can't go get more grain unless I let go of Benjamin but and then he says Joseph is no more he thinks Joseph's death Simeon is no more you left him behind in Egypt and we don't know what's going to happen to him and now you want to take Benjamin everything is against me those are his words everything is against me that's how it looked that's how it felt that's how it seemed it was a frowning providence!

But the hymn writer says behind a frowning providence God hides what? smiling face oh Jacob if you could only know what God was fixing to do for you if you only knew the lengths to which he is gone to take Joseph who you think is dead to make him what he is now that man in Egypt who rules over the whole land who has plenty of food to feed you and your family and save many others besides at the very moment when it felt and looked and seemed like everything was against him things were never more working for him as God his God his covenant keeping God was working all things all 22 years of those missing years of Joseph together for the good of Jacob his family and an innumerable host of people along with them God moves in a mysterious way his wonders to perform maybe you've read through the book of Esther it's the same thing mysterious providence things are looking terrible but God behind the scenes is smiling he knows what he's fixing to do maybe you've read about

Naomi in the book of Ruth oh call me bitter don't call me pleasant why because the Lord has made my life very bitter oh Naomi if you only knew what God has in store for you what he right now is working on through all these adverse circumstances then we take your life and maybe you feel like everything is against me what is mysterious now will be clear at last and we'll understand it better by and by the hand of providence is sometimes so well hidden that we think God is nowhere near us Frederick Faber put it this way God is on the field when he is most invisible he hides himself so wondrously as though there were no God maybe some of you are there you're dealing with the mystery of God's providence behind a frowning providence he hides a smiling face for his people you can cling to that lastly the application of providence and we're done dear Christian

I'm talking to you because this only has application to you that as you heard from Romans 8 28 God is not working all things together for good for those who are not his people it's all leading to an endless torment in hell that in no way can be applied to an unbeliever so this application is for you believers what difference does knowing about the providence of God over all things do in my life well God's providence says at least three things to us number one here's a God to trust in for our peace and comfort in trials here's a God to trust in he his care for you and his control over all things extends to everything so there's King David and his own son Absalom has raised up a revolution and is chasing him out of town driving him out of Jerusalem and David and his faithful are humbled and humiliated broken hearted fleeing for their lives and out comes a man named

Shimei he's continually cursing David and calling him names and he says David you're just getting what you deserve what you had coming he's rejoicing in David's downfall and all the while he's throwing stones and dirt down on him as he's up above David traveling along throwing this junk down upon him David's bodyguard says why should this dead dog curse my lord the king let me go over now and cut off his head David says no you know why he said no he had a penetrating view of God's providence in that situation amidst the din of the cursing and the name calling and the dirt and stones he's dodging he's got enough of the sight of his God to know my God's in control even of this so what does he say to his body guard no if he is cursing because the

Lord said to him curse David who can ask why do you do this let him alone let him curse for the Lord has told him to David knows that this man wouldn't have the breath in his mouth to curse if God hadn't given it God has decided he could snuff his life out by withholding the next breath God has decided to give him breath he's allowing him to curse me with that breath my life is in God's hands God's in control of the scene I don't need to seek!

some kind of revenge upon him here and now perhaps the Lord will see my distress and repay me with good for the cursing I'm receiving today you ever have that kind of response to evil done to you simply because you know God's providence extends to that wrongdoer who's just wrongdoing what they said did thought or whatever he's content he can trust his life his reputation all into God's hands because God's in control and that's why I say that's the first application the doctrine of God's providence says here's a God to trust in it always keeps God in the picture you say God's providence is not an impersonal force it's not some mere plan at work in the universe no it's God himself having daily dealings with us he's involved in our everyday lives it's him at work exercising his dominion all over us and all that concerns us in all of life down to the smallest detail

God is personally involved with us brothers and sisters and I must confess that I live too much of my life half aware of that reality oh how much stronger would be my trust if I would focus on God's providence for me secondly here's a God to pray to back in Psalm 135 you remember he talked about the gods of the nations those idols they got eyes they can't see ears they can't hear hands they can't do anything not so our God does whatever pleases him now there's a God I can pray to there's not a thing in the world in the universe that God's not able to do God God God God God to God to worship we're back in Psalm 135 where we started it's God's providence that demonstrates how great and how big he is and so

God is glorified when we ascribe to him control over all things when we say that with our lips in our songs in our prayers in our reading of scripture in our preaching God is glorified when we ascribe to him the glory to his name so let's worship him for his providence in our lives that's what made Job a worshipper it came the storm the Sabeans the Chaldeans and all of his children are destroyed in one storm and all of his possessions are taken by the Chaldeans and Sabeans and what does Job do he believed in a God of providence and so he says the Lord has given the Lord has taken away blessed be the name of the Lord praise be to his name he fell to the ground and worship where did worship come from a sense that my life and all my children my thank you

Lord for giving you are the one who has given you are the one who has taken blessed be your name let us worship God for his providence in our lives as we sing number 21 in our response to God's word preach to us let's respond by praising him for his providential control of all things in our lives brothers and sisters this is what Jesus Christ has won for us to be the children of this father who controls all things for our good if you're lost and outside of Christ I would simply remind you that you too have been receiving good from God's hands you live on his estate you breathe his air you eat his food you walk on his ground are you aware that you live before a God of providence who one day will call you at count of earthly benefits of the gospel of

Jesus Christ come this day and surrender your life to him trust in Jesus Christ and come to know this God whom you can trust in and never be disappointed let's pray Lord we didn't want you we didn't want your rule in our lives and still you pursued!

you said I was found of those who did not seek me Lord that was all of us we thank you for seeking us for making us your children your treasured possession and now for working all things in our lives together for our good forgive us Lord that we don't trust you more that we don't pray more to you such an all controlling!

God and cleanse us in that blood of Christ and fill us with your Holy Spirit that would make us trustful prayerful worshiping people and save those who are outside of your fold we ask in Jesus name and for his praise amen