Providence (Lat. provideniia; ilr.Trp6i>oia; both signifying foresight), a term importing the wisdom and power which God continually exercises in the preserva- tion and government of the world, for the ends winch he proposes to accomplish.
I. The. Doctrine Proved. — -1. From Reason. — (1.) From the existence of a Supreme Creator. If there be a Supreme Being who created all things, it is reasona- ble to infer that he upholds and governs all things; hence, nearly all men concur in the belief of a superin- tending providence.
(2.) From the perfections of the Supreme Creator, viz., knowledge, power, wisdom, goodness, justice, and righteousness, all of which reason teaches us to ascribe to him in infinite measure. All things being known to him, and all things being possible to him (if not essen- tially contradictory), and he being able to discern the best plan, and preinclined to execute that plan, a providence becomes the natural and proper sphere for the activity of his attributes. Moreover, being just and righteous, his government of his rational creatures will necessarily be by the principles of justice and righteousness; for the end and perfection of these attributes consist in their exercise. Hence power must uphold, wisdom di- rect, goodness bestow, righteousness discriminate, and justice adjudge; and this constitutes a providence.
(3.) From the dependence of God's creatures. That which is not self-existent is contingent. The contin- gent may cease to be, there being nothing in the nature of things to insure its continuance; therefore, the per- petuity of the contingent is dependent upon the will of the self-existent. The Supreme Creator alone is self- existent: hence, upon his will the existence of the cre- ated depends ; and that will, in exercise, implies a prov- idence.
( 4. ) From the order, harmony, and regularity observ- able in the course of nature. The course of nature is that wise adjustment and counterpoise of natural forces by which the planets swing in their orbits, the seasons revolve with the year, the tides ebb and flow in their
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intervals, the currents of the atmosphere shift to their ever-changing conditions, the endless procession of life keeps pace with the dead-march of decay, and all the varied phenomena of the universe appear. Viewing mderful complications in the lighl of their nec- essary dependence upon the self-existent, God's handi- work is plainly evident in the complexities of their multiform evolutions, the equipoise of i heir contending forces, and the continuity of adjustment, which proclaim unceasing watchfulness and care.
(5.) Prom the moral facilities of men. Conscience, which utters its authoritative "ought" or "ought not" concerning suggested actions, must be delusive, if there be no providence to note its verdict Bui if our sense of responsibility be false, and we must hence discredit the affirmations of our highest faculties concerning our- selves, then is all truth visionary and all knowledge misleading.
further, we have a faculty the legitimate expression of which is worship ; hence .ill nations have their forms of devotion. Bui to stand in awe of the Creator's jus- tice, to trust in his goodness, to submit to his will, to pray to him for the supply of our wauls, to depend upon his wisdom for direction— all these acts of worship are not only unauthorized but absurd, and our noblest in- stincts are false to fact if there be no superintending providence by which his responses may he indicated.
(G.) From the system of compensations which pre- vails, embracing recompense lor suffering, compensation for loss, and retribution for wrong. In this system, the recompense includes the natural benefits of discipline, and such compensative provisions of grace as the rea- son recognizes as matters of fact in present human ex- perience. The compensation comprises the reparative processes by which loss in one direction is made up by increased efficiency in another, as in the added keenness of the senses of hearing and touch attending the loss of sight. The retribution comprehends not only the nat- ural operation of the law, "As a man soweth, so also shall he reap," hut all those special illustrations of that law in marked and mysterious judgments upon wrong- doing which occasionally occur, and which hear such likeness to the sin that men agree to call them retribu- tive. In all these a providence is implied. The doc- trine i< further proven —
2. From the Scriptures.— (I.) By a class of passages which declare in general his preserving power ((Jen. xlviii, 15; Neh. i\. •'.; Job vii, 20; \. 12; xxxiii, 18; Psa. xvi, 5; xxxvi, (I; lxvi, it; Isa. xlvi, 3-4 ; .Malt. x. 29; Luke xii, 6; Acts xvii.2*; Col. i. 17).
(2.) By a class of passages which assert God's con- trol of the regular operations of nature (Exod. ix, 18; xxiii, 26; 1 Kings xviii, I ; Job v, ID; ix, 5-6; xxviii, 21 27; xxxvi, 29-32; xxxvii, 6 16; xxxviii, 25; Psa. Ixxiv, 17; Ixxxix, 9; civ, 10, 13 15, 19 21, 24-30; cv. 32; cxxxv,6-7; exxxvi, -J.".; cxlv, 15 16; cxlvii, 8 9J I*; -xlviii, 8; [sa. xlv, 7; 1. 3; Jer. v. 22 24; x, 13; xiv, 22; xxxi, :;.".; xxxiii, 20, 25 ; li. 16; Ezek. xxxii. 7-8; xxxviii, •.'•_'; Joel ii, 23; Amosiv,6 L0,13; Zech. x, I : Matt. vi. 26, 28 32; Ads xiv, 17).
i .;. > By a class of passages which specifically declare his sovereignty over birth (Gen. xxxiii. 5; xlviii,!); Josh, xxiv, 3, I; l Sara, i, 27; Job x, 18; Psa. lxxi, 6; exxxix, 15-16; Isa. xlvi,."); «/e(Josh. xiv. 10; 2 Sam. xii, 22; Job vii, 1; xiv. 5; Psa. lxvi. 8 9; xci, 3 16; Isa. xxxviii, 1-5 ; Phil. ii, 27; .lames v. II 15); diseas, (Exod. ix. 15; xxiii, 25; Job ii. 10; v, 6, 17 18; Psa. xxxix, 9, 13; Johnix,3); death (1 Sam.ii,6; xxv. •_'!>; Job i, 21; xii, 10; xiv, 5 6; xxxiv, 1 I 15; Psa.lxviii, • civ, 29; cxviii, 18); afflictions (Dent, viii, 6; Job v. 17; x, 17: l'sa. lxvi, 10 12; Ixix, 26; xciv, !•-' 13; cxix,75; Prov.iii, 12; [sa.xxvi,16; xlviii. 10; Jer. ii. 30; Lam. >. 12 1 l: iii, I. 32 33; Amos viii. 10; Beb. xii, 5 6) j pre pi rify | Deut. viii, 18; I Sam. ii. 7 8; 2 Sam. vii, 8 9; xii, 7 8; I Chron.xvii,7 8; xxix, 12,10; Ezra v, 5; Job i. 10; xxxiv, 24; Psa. xxx, 7; lxxv, 6-8; cxiii, 7-8; Prov. xxix, 26 ; Eccles. ix, 11,