Labor to get as full and thorough a recognition as you are able of the providences of God concerning you from first to last.
Flavel’s argumentation is that if one working of Providence is exceedingly glorious, then how much more glorious is a stack of them. And we are encouraged in considering these things not to just skim the surface but to plum the depths of what God has done. As Flavel says, “do not let your thoughts swim like feathers upon the surface of the wters, but sink like lead to the bottom”.
Under this point Flavel mentions several things that should be considered in this matter:
- The seasonableness of mercy given to us (consider the phenomenal timing of the mercy)
- The peculiar care and kindness of Providence to us (consider our exemption from what has happened to others)
- What a providence introduces (consider that which a providence leads to)
- The instruments employed by Providence (consider the means that God uses)
- The design and scope of Providence (consider the aim and goal of Providence…Rom. 8:28)
- The respect and relation Providence bears to our prayers (consider how our prayers have been answered by God)
What particular point to bring out is what Flavel says on #5. He notes that this is the most “warming and melting” of all considerations. To think that, “A thousand friendly hands are at work for [us], to promote and bring about [our] happiness.” What a wonderful thought, and to think that this is confirmed in Scripture. You almost get the idea that Flavel was also a Christian Hedonist.
Return to The Mystery of Providence Chapter 9
