Providence
Christian, thy mercies come not from the hand of chance; thy daily bread cometh not so much from thy industry as from thy heavenly Father’s care. Stamped upon every mercy is heaven’s own inscription; every blessing comes down perfumed with the ointment, and spikenard, and myrrh of the ivory palaces whence God dispenses his bounties.
In a wheel there is one portion that never turns round, that stands steadfast, and that is the axle. So, in God’s providence, there is an axle which never moves. What is that axle? What is the pivot upon which all the machinery revolves? It is the axle of God’s everlasting love towards his covenant people.
The moment I become a child of God, not only is my heart changed and my nature renewed, but my very position becomes different; the very beasts of the field are in league with me, and the stones thereof are at peace. My habitation is now guarded by Jehovah. My position in this world is no longer that of a needy mendicant; I have become a gentleman-pensioner on the providence of God; my position, which was that of a bondslave in Egypt, is now become that of an inheritor in Canaan.
All my mercies come from above. Don’t you like to see the print of your Father’s fingers on every mercy? Happy the lot of that man who receives everything as coming from God, and thanks his Father for it all! It makes anything sweet when he knows it comes from heaven.
The chastisements of God’s providence are the fatherly acts of his love; they are not the wrathful acts of his justice. As judge, God cannot punish either you or me if we are believers; as holding the sceptre, he cannot unsheathe the sword against a believer.
The fly that sits now on the edge of the wheel may be crushed by its next revolution, and be brought to the dust of death the next day. The world may cry Hosannah to its minister to-day, and the next day may say, “Crucify him, crucify him.” Such is the state of man. Providence is like a wheel.
Christian, there is no sweeter pillow than providence; and, when providence seemeth adverse, believe it still, lay it under thy head; for depend upon it there is comfort in its bosom.