'Voices From The Past' Vol. 1 — June 4

Many mercies and deliverances have fallen upon the people of God that are far beyond the course of natural causes. When fire seeks to burn, waters seek to drown, and lions seek to devour, God can suspend these agents. The sea can be made a wall of water on each side to give distressed Israel a safe passage. The fire could not singe one hair of God's faithful witnesses. The hungry lions became gentle and harmless when Daniel was cast among them. Were not the envy of Joseph's brethren and the cursed plot of Haman all turned, by a secret and strange hand of providence, to their greater advancement and benefit? The history of Joseph's advancement shows twelve remarkable steps of providence. If but one of them had failed, in all likelihood the event would have failed too. But every one fell in its proper order, keeping its own time and place. In the deliverance of the Jews from the plot of Haman, we find no less than seven acts of providence concurring strangely to break the snare. In like manner, if the means and instruments employed to bestow mercy to the people of God are seriously considered, who can but confess that there are tools of all sorts and sizes in the workshop of providence and a most skilful hand that uses them. We find a multitude of providences so timed to the minute that had they fallen out just a little sooner or later, they would not have had the same impact. How remarkable were tidings that came to Saul that the Philistines had invaded the land to protect David (1 Sam. 23:27). The angel spoke to Abraham just before the fatal stroke to Isaac (Gen. 22:10-11). Rabshakeh also met with a blasting providence (Isa. 37:7-8). When Haman's plot was ripe, on that very night the king could not sleep. So the providence of God falls out in remarkable moments of time.

Devotional Readings taken from Puritan Devotional Readings 'Voices From The Past Vol.1.'
John Flavel, Works, IV:351-355
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