Embracing God's Providence in Everyday Life

I was engaged to preach last Wednesday at Halifax where there was a heavy snowstorm. Preparations had been made for a Congregation of 8,000 persons and a huge wooden structure had been erected. I considered that owing to the severe weather few persons could possibly assemble and I looked forward to the dreary task of addressing an insignificant handful of people in a vast space. [00:00:29]

However, when I arrived I found from five thousand to eight thousand people gathered together to hear the word, and a more substantial looking place it has not been my lot to see. It certainly was a huge uncomely building, but nevertheless it seemed well adapted to answer the purpose. We met together in the afternoon and worshiped God and again in the evening, and we separated to our homes or rather we were about to separate and all this while the kind Providence of God was watching over us. [00:00:59]

Immediately in front of me there was a huge Gallery which looked an exceedingly massive structure capable of holding two thousand persons. This in the afternoon was crowded and it seemed to stand as firm as a rock. Again in the evening there it stood and neither moved nor shook, but Mark The Provident hand of God, in the evening when the people were about to retire and when there was scarcely more than a hundred persons there, a huge beam gave way and down came a portion of the flooring of the gallery with a fearful crash. [00:01:39]

Several persons were precipitated with the planks but still the good hand of God watched over us and only two persons were severely injured with broken legs, which it is trusted will be reset without the necessity of amputation. Now had this happened any earlier not only must many more have been injured but there are a thousand chances to one, as we say, that a panic must necessarily have ensued similar to that which we still remember and deplore as having occurred in this place. [00:02:12]

Overloaded by the immense weight of snow which fell upon it and beaten by a heavy wind the entire building fell with an enormous crash, three hours after life had left it, splitting the huge Timbers into Shivers and rendering very much of the material utterly useless for any future building. Now Mark this had the snow begun three hours earlier the building must have fallen Upon Us and how few of us would have escaped we cannot guess. [00:03:24]

But Mark another thing all day long it thawed so fast that the snow as it fell seemed to leave a mess not of white snow but of snow and water together. This ran through the roof upon us to our considerable annoyance and I was almost ready to complain that we had hard dealing from God's Providence, but if it had been a frost instead of a Thor you can easily perceive that the place must have fallen several hours beforehand and then your minister and the greater part of his congregation would probably have been in the other world. [00:03:55]

When Joseph was sent into Egypt by his brethren in order to provide for them against a day of famine we all agree with Joseph's declaration it was God that sent me hither, but now if we notice each of the little ways through which this great result was brought to pass, we shall see God in each of them. One day Joseph's Brethren had gone out with the Sheep Jacob wants to send to them why does he send Joseph he was his darling son he loved him better than all his Brethren why does he send him away he sends him however. [00:10:51]

Joseph goes his Brethren are in want of pasture and therefore leave shechem where Joseph expected to find them and journey on to Dothan why go to Dothan was not the whole land before them however Joseph goes there he arrives at Dothan just when they are thinking of him and his dreams and they put him into a pit as they are about to eat bread some ishmaelites came by why did they come there at all why did they come at that particular time why were they going to Egypt why might they not have been going any other way. [00:11:46]

How is it that the Baker and the butler should offend their master, all chance as the world has it, but every link necessary to make the chain, they do both offend their Master they are both put into prison, how is it that they both dream, how is it that Joseph interprets the dreams how is it that the butler forgets him, why just because if he had recollected him it would have spoiled at all, why is it Pharaoh dreams, how can dreams be under the arrangement of God's Providence, however Pharaoh does dream. [00:13:09]

Paul goes into the temple and the Jews Rush upon him in a moment to kill him, they drag him out of the temple and the doors are shut against him they're just in the very Act of Killing Him, and what is to become of Poor Paul's life, five minutes longer and Paul will be dead, when up comes the chief captain and delivers him, how was it that the chief Captain knew of it, very probably some young man of the crowd who knew Paul and loved him ran to tell him, but why was it that the chief Captain was at home. [00:16:56]

How was it that the ruler was able to come on a moment's emergency, how was it that he did come at all it was only just a Hebrew a man that was good for nothing being killed, how was it that he came and when he came the streets were full there was a mob about Jerusalem, how did he come to the right Street how did he come at the exact nick of time, say it is all chance, I laugh at you it is Providence, if there be anything in the world that is plain to any man that thinks it is plain that God overrules all Mortal things and manages our mean affairs. [00:17:36]

The second point is the kind consideration of God in taking care of his people, in reading the text I thought there is better care taken of me than I can take care of myself, You all take care of yourselves to some extent, but which of you ever took so much care of himself as to count the hairs of his head, but God will not only protect our limbs but even our very hair is to be seen after and how much this excels all the care of our tenderest friends. [00:26:36]