Providence

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literally means foresight, but is generally used to denote God's preserving and governing all things by means of second causes (Ps 18³⁵; 63:8; Acts 17:28; Col 1:17; Heb 1:3). God's providence extends to the natural world (Ps 104¹⁴; 135:5-7; Acts 14:17), the brute creation (Ps 104²¹-29; Mt 6:26; 10:29), and the affairs of men (1Chr 16:31; Ps 47⁷; Prov 21:1; Job 12:23; Dan 2:21; 4:25), and of individuals (1Sam 2:6; Ps 18³⁰; Lk 1:53; James 4:13-15). It extends also to the free actions of men (Ex 12:36; 1Sam 24:9-15; Ps 33¹⁴, 15; Prov 16:1; 19:21; 20:24; 21:1), and things sinful (2 Sam 16:10; 24:1; Rom 11:32; Acts 4:27, 28), as well as to their good actions (Phil 2:13; 4:13; 2Cor 12:9, 10; Eph 2:10; Gal 5:22-25).

As regards sinful actions of men, they are represented as occurring by God's permission (Gen 45:5; 50:20. Comp. 1Sam 6:6; Ex 7:13; 14:17; Acts 2:3; 3:18; 4:27, 28), and as controlled (Ps 76¹⁰) and overruled for good (Gen 50:20; Acts 3:13). God does not cause or approve of sin, but only limits, restrains, overrules it for good.

The mode of God's providential government is altogether unexplained. We only know that it is a fact that God does govern all his creatures and all their actions; that this government is universal (Ps 103¹⁷-19), particular (Mt 10:29-31), efficacious (Ps 33¹¹; Job 23:13), embraces events apparently contingent (Prov 16:9, 33; 19:21; 21:1), is consistent with his own perfection (2 Tim 2:13), and to his own glory (Rom 9:17; 11:36).