RELIGIOUS ENCYCLOPEDIA
Proverbs Providence
the other by the laws of cause and effect. In applying this principle of providence to detailed considerations, however, the Stoics too often vitiated their position by their constant attempt to find some utilitarian purpose for man's benefit in every natural phenomenon. The Neoplatonists lost the Stoic concept of providence altogether, making the deity entirely transcendent, and filling the gulf between him and man by intermediary beings which were not without influence on Christian views of providence. Classical, and especially Stoic, elements are also visible in the apocryphal literature of the Old Testament, which presents a peculiar blending of Hellenistic concepts and Jewish beliefs.
The Old Testament shows a long course of development of the belief in providence. Traces of earlier and lower ideas, common to all the Semites, are found late in the period of the kings. There was, however, a determined effort to secure the uncontested recognition of monotheism 2. Old- in Israel, an essential element of this
Testament belief being the doctrine of providence. Data. The preservation and continued development of the order of nature depend upon the divine will. Atmospheric phenomena are regarded as due to the immediate activity of God (Job xxxvi. 27-28, xxxvii. 2-6, 10-13, xxxviii. 25 sqq.; Ps. xxix. 3 sqq., cxlvii. 16-18), all this ultimately being for the benefit of man. He draws man from the womb and guards him throughout the life to which he himself appoints the limit (Ps. xxii. 10 sqq.; Job xiv. 5). The divine protection rests especially upon his chosen people Israel (Ps. cv. ; Hos. xi. 1 sqq.), keeping them from all peril and nourishing them (Ex. xiii.-xvi.; Num. xi.; Ps. xci., cv.-cvii.). While in punishment he hardens the heart and sends evil thoughts (Ex. vii. 3; II Sam. xxiv. 1), he can render evil intents futile and turn them to good (Gen. 1. 20; Ps. ii.); and fertility and drought are instruments of blessing and of punishment in his hand (Deut. xxviii. 12-23). The Old-Testament belief in providence reached its acme in its concept of miracles, though since both extraordinary and ordinary events were regarded as being equally the free and deliberate acts of God, the difference between the two was held to be merely one of degree. God is the author of evil as well as of good (Isa. xlv. 7; Lam. hi. 38; cf. also Ex. iv. 21, xiv. 17; Deut. ii. 30; Josh. xi. 20; Judges ix. 23; I Sam. ii. 25, xvi. 14, xviii. 10, xix. 9; II Sam. xxiv.; Amos iii. 6), such evil being usually punishment for sin (Ex. xx. 5; Lev. xxvi.; Num. xi. 33; II Sam. xxiv.; Ezek. xviii.; Joel i.). Since, however, the doctrine that good and evil fortune were given in accord with the character of the individual did not seem to be confirmed by actual experience, attempts at reconciliation were made. In Ps. xxxvii., xlix., and Ixxiii. the view is advanced that the seeming prosperity of the wicked is only transitory, while the blessedness of the good is ultimate and enduring. Nevertheless, this failed to solve the problem, which was worked out in the lesson of the life of Joseph (Gen. 1. 20) and in the theodicy of the Book of Job.
Allusion has already been made to Stoic influence on the apocryphal writers, who even borrowed from
the phraseology of the pagan school. According to the Wisdom of Solomon, the divinity governs and directs all things (Wisd. of Sol., viii. 1, xii. 18, xiv. 3, xv. 1), ordering everything well and 3. The righteously (viii. 1, xii. 15). God's Apocrypha, mercy, however, mitigates and delays punishments (xi. 23-26, xii. 2) which are in themselves only a form of fatherly correction (xi. 10). Ecclesiasticus, on the other hand, emphasizes the freedom of the human will (Ecclus. xv. 11-17), and, while recognizing the antithesis of good and evil (xlii. 24-25), declares all the works of the Lord to be good (xxxix. 33-34). The increasing power of a belief in immortality in Judaism lent essential aid to the problem of the theodicy which Ecclesiastes had surrendered in despair (cf. II Mac. vii. 9, 11, 14, 20, 23, 29, 36-38). The passages in which Josephus ascribes divergent views to the Pharisees and Sadducees regarding divine providence and the freedom of the will (War, II., viii. 14; Ant., XVIII., i. 3, XIII., v. 9) are obscure, but probably imply that the Pharisees believed that divine providence governed all things, so that every human act, whether good or evil, involved the cooperation of God. The sect accordingly maintained the tenets both of divine providence and omnipotence and of human freedom and responsibility; while the Sadducees seem to have laid preponderating stress on the human element, as the Essenes on the divine.
In direct continuity with the Old Testament, as well as in consequence of personal experience and original revelation, Christ taught the Father as an omnipotent and holy will inspired by infinite goodness, as the king, judge, and moral law-giver, and as lovingly watching over all mankind. God is, indeed, " Lord of heaven and earth " (Matt. xi. 25), and protects all things, even the most 4. In the minute and humble (Matt. vi. 25-30, NewTes- x. 29-31; Luke xii. 6-7). Though tament. the courses of nature are for the benefit of the good and evil alike (Matt. v. 45), yet God harkens especially to the prayers of the righteous (Matt vii. 7-11; Mark xi. 23-24; Luke xi. 9-13, xvii. 6, xviii. 1-7). There is, therefore, no reason to fear need or danger (Matt. vi. 31-33, x. 19-20; Luke xii. 11-12), for even though the bodies of the righteous be slain, they shall receive the kingdom of God (Matt. x. 28; Luke xii. 32). God also has power over temptation (Matt, vi. 13, xxiv. 22), and in the divine omnipotence (Matt. xix. 26; Mark x. 27, xiv. 36; Luke xviii. 27) is implied a practical theodicy which gives clear expression to the mighty optimism of faith. While the connection of evil and sin is by no means ignored (Matt. ix. 2), Christ expressly teaches that the degree of evil is not necessarily commensurate with the degree of sin, but that the danger of punishment with like penalties should serve as an impulse for the fulfilment of the divine commands (Luke xiii. 1-5).
In the apostolic and post-apostolic age the words of Jesus, sprung from his immediate consciousness of divinity, were formulated into theology. This was especially the case with Paul, whose doctrine of providence is best set forth in Rom. viii. 28-39.
Providence