GOD WILLING
Divine Conduct or the Mystery of Providence
By John Flavel
Christian Focus. 69 Pages. £5.99
ISBN 978 1 527 102 934
The 17th-century Puritan minister John Flavel’s classic work The Mystery of Providence is now available in modern English.
So according to the great man what is Providence? Providence is that working of God in all parts of the life of the believer, in small things as well as great. He writes, ‘When we get to heaven, we will see, not only that it is a beautiful place, but, in addition, the beauty of the way by which we have come.’ But why wait until then to be ‘lost in wonder, love and praise.’ Observe the working of Providence in your life in this world!
Unseen hand
Shakespeare recognised an unseen hand at work in the world: ‘There’s a divinity which shapes our ends rough hew them as we will’, but for Flavel, such a fatalistic impersonal outlook will not do. ‘Providence is like a fountain from which flows the goodness of God in things relating to this life and the life to come, in personal and public ways, in ordinary and extraordinary events.’
To identify these workings of God in our lives requires mental effort. Thankfully, Flavel does not leave us in the dark about how to do this.
First, he says that we must ask questions about life’s events. For example, the apostle Paul would have asked himself: ‘How was it that I was delivered from certain assassination by not being returned to Jerusalem for trial under Festus?’ Similarly, ask yourself, ‘How was it that … ?’
Second, we must know how to do this. We must keep looking. A quick glance will not do. Elijah’s servant learned this at Mt Carmel. He saw nothing until the seventh time of looking!
Third, Flavel encourages his readers to keep a written record of these works of Providence (our memories can fail!) ‘so as to compare your present experience with past experiences and so preserve their value for the future’.
Not only will exercising this discipline give pleasure in life, but at the end of life it will bring peace of mind. ‘The believer has come to know Christ as a faithful friend whose many visits have been sweet. So, with great assurance, the Christian may throw himself into the arms of God with whom he has long talked and walked in this world.’
It is in observing these providences, that God makes Himself known to my soul and therefore I am drawn into closer fellowship with Him. ‘Everyone loves the mercies of God but the saint loves the God of the mercies … It is not so much the blessings that Providence gives us but the goodness and kindness of God in giving them that occupies a grateful person in praise.’
Although Flavel’s intended audience is the Christian, he has words of warning for the unbeliever. He tells such readers that they should consider the providences of God towards them too. They are still living and thus in a position to avail themselves of the promises of the gospel.
Ultimately, Flavel’s work provides essential ‘iron rations for the soul’ for the 21st-century Christians who live in an increasingly hostile society. It is written in today’s language, but the truths it highlights are timeless.
