A Little Maid: a Note in Passing on God’s Providence

Luke 4:27 And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian.

2 Kings 5:1-3 Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable, because by him the Lord had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper. And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman’s wife. And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy.

From the story of 2 Kings 5, we hang three large portraits on the wall. Elisha, of course. And Naaman. And Gehazi. God is not there – simply because images are not to be made of him. We won’t display Benhadad’s and Jehoram’s pictures, since we don’t really like them! When we come to the end of the chapter and see his deceit, we decide to remove Gehazi’s picture. As we take it down, we notice a small previously unnoticed frame in the corner. “Who is that,” we ask? “I don’t know her name,” comes the answer. “She’s just a little maid from Israel.” A little unnamed maid out of the land of Israel.

Naaman is a primary and noteworthy figure throughout the chapter. The little maid is mentioned in passing. Naaman was a captain; she was a captive. Naaman was a great man; she was a little maid. Naaman is accentuated by name; her name is unknown. Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? Let us not rush past, but stop and linger here. Look here. Learn here.

Doubtless a man in Naaman’s position had tried the doctors, tried the experiments, and even tried the quacks. Nothing worked. Despite his position of honour and power, he was a diseased dying man, afflicted by the uncurable leprosy. Whatever he might have tried for healing had failed. “So death will soon disrobe us all, of what we here possess.”

In his providence and by his special aid, God used Naaman the captain to bring deliverance to Syria, expanding their power and prosperity. Why, God? O, why? They are Israel’s enemy. Syria’s armies had gone out in companies, raiding the coasts of Israel. In one particularly successful raid, a little maid was taken, separated from father and mother. Did she know what happened to them? Did they know what happened to her? We know what happened to her. Of all the families in all the houses of all the people of Syria, she landed in just one house, the house of Naaman – the captain of the host, the great man in the eyes of his king, the mighty man of valour – who was also a leper. A little maid; a prominent household; a grand providence.

The little maid was brought into captivity because of God’s judgment on Israel. At this time Jehoram was king in Israel. “He wrought evil in the sight of the Lord” (but not like his father and mother – Ahab and Jezebel). Jehoram sanctioned, promoted, and stood by “the sins of Jeroboam” – the worship of the golden calves that Jeroboam installed in Dan and Bethel (2 Kings 3:3; 1 Kings 12:28-33). This serious breach of God’s law was an invitation of God’s judgment. God had begun to lay Israel low, and he would lay them lower. If Israel would not hearken to the voice of the Lord in keeping his commandments, “the Lord shall cause thee to be smitten before thine enemies,” and “thy sons and thy daughters shall be given unto another people” (Deuteronomy 28:15, 25, 32). Through no direct fault of her own, but through the fault of her national leaders, a little maid in Israel is now a captive in Syria.

The little maid received her cup and allowed no root of bitterness to spring up. Perhaps this little maid saw her parents slain before her eyes; perhaps she was ripped from their arms never to know what happened to them. A sad fate, either way. In our society, we excuse bad behavior because of bad circumstances that decimate one’s life. In our mindset we would concede her every right to be angry, to nurse a grudge, to become bitter, to wish the worst for her captors. Yet the little maid let no root of bitterness spring up within her. She obeyed the New Testament exhortation, “Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you” (Ephesians 4:31). It seems she dutifully went about her business, serving the mistress of the house, Naaman’s wife.

The little maid loved her enemies, blessed them that cursed her, and did good to them that hated her. It is likely that this little maid did not consider her master and mistress as enemies who hated her. What God would do for Naaman and how Naaman received the God of Israel as the true God suggests God was working a work in his heart. However, the Syrians and Israelites were enemies who hated one another. They were at odds, and at war. Nevertheless, the little maid did not withhold the good news she could impart in her household. Out of the mouth of babes – and of little maids – hath God perfected praise. The little maid believed in God, his power, his miracles, and his prophet. Surely, she testifies of what she has seen? Nay, O man, she testifies of what she knows! How many lepers had the little maid seen cleansed? None! (Luke 4:27) She withholds not the good. She withholds not the good news. There is a prophet in Samaria of a God in Israel (yea, in all places) who heals. If the master could just get to him. The simple words of a simple child, so beautiful in their simplicity, were not dismissed by the wife or household of Naaman. The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the Lord hath made even both of them. How miraculous in itself is their submission to the words of this child! Naaman had no were else to turn.

The providence of God rules over all – the just and the unjust, in good times and in bad times. God hath done whatsoever he hath pleased (Psalm 115:3). Often, we speak of providence of the good things of our life, of how God works all things for our good. Truth! On the other hand, the way we speak of God’s providence might lead the unknowing to believe that God wakes up betimes and then realizes he needs to take care of us. How unlike the God of mercy and grace. Speaking of this, George MacDonald acknowledged, “God’s care is more evident in some instances of it than in others to the dim and often bewildered vision of humanity.” For this reason, “Upon such instances men seize and call them providences.” But how much “gloriously better if they could believe that the whole matter is one grand providence.”

These things were written for our learning. May we learn:

• To not despise the day of small things – or small people, for God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty.
• To trust God and believe him in all our circumstances. Trust in him at all times.
• To act in faith, for who knoweth whether thou art come for such a time as this?
• To do good to them that hate you, for all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them. 
• To speak out in all circumstances. Speak the truth, in Christ, in love, always.

One Grand Providence

“People talk about special providences. I believe in the providences, but not in the specialty. I do not believe that God lets the thread of my affairs go for six days, and on the seventh evening takes it up for a moment. The so-called special providences are no exception to the rule—they are common to all men at all moments. But it is a fact that God’s care is more evident in some instances of it than in others to the dim and often bewildered vision of humanity. Upon such instances men seize and call them providences. It is well that they can; but it would be gloriously better if they could believe that the whole matter is one grand providence.”

George MacDonald (1824–1905) in Annals of a Quiet Neighbourhood, 1867, p. 27

Benjamin Franklin’s “Faith”

I have seen the following quote online, credited to Benjamin Franklin:

“Here is my Creed. I believe in one God, the Creator of the Universe. That He governs it by His Providence. That He ought to be worshipped.”

I have heard a lot of conflicting things about Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790). So, I put a question mark by the quote. Would he have said that? Well, he did – or rather wrote it. These are the words of Franklin. However, the brief extracted quote above sounds more “orthodox” Christian than Franklin actually was. The context brings out more of the “faith” or “religion” associated with Franklin. He follows this statement above in saying “That the most acceptable service we render to Him is in doing good to His other children.” He goes further to address man being judged by his good works, that the religion of Jesus is “the best the World ever saw,” but that he has “some Doubts as to his Divinity, tho’ it is a Question I do not dogmatise upon.” Nevertheless, Franklin saw “no harm however in its [Jesus’ Divinity] being believed,” as long as that belief resulted in the good consequences.

I suppose the whole is a good summary of what Benjamin Franklin believed – and that is what Franklin intended it to be. He did not hold biblical Christianity, though he considered it to be generally a good thing.

The statements are made in a letter from Franklin to U.S. educator and theologian Ezra Stiles, dated March 9, 1790, written a little over a month before his demise.

The melody of the soul

“Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines, the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation!” Habakkuk 3:17-18.

“See, my soul, in the prophet’s example, the blessedness of living above creature enjoyments, by living upon Creator fulness. Here is a sun, which never goes down! Here is a fountain, whose streams can never dry up! He that lives upon creature excellency, will want both food and comfort when that excellency dies, for they must die with it, when the period of its flourishing is over. But the soul that draws all from Jesus, the God of his salvation, will have Jesus and leis salvation to live upon, and to be an everlasting source, when nature, in all its varieties, ceases to supply. My soul, what are thy resources for a day of famine? Canst thou join issue with the prophet? If blasting, or mildew, or frost, shall nip the fig-tree of its blossom; both the vine and the olive fail; yea, if the staff of life, as well as the sweets of life, should all be gone; hast thou Jesus to live upon; canst thou rejoice in him, when there is nothing else left to rejoice in; and call him thine, and the God of thy salvation, when none will own thee, and thou hast none beside him to own?

“They say that music upon the waters always sounds best. Be this so or not, yet the melody of the soul is certainly sweetest when nature is out of tune, if the believer can take his harp from the willow, and sing aloud on the tribulated waters of sorrow, to the God of salvation. And this is a song never out of season, but has peculiar joy in the note, when from a new strung heart, the believer sings it of the God of his salvation, and addresses it to the God of his salvation. Blessed Lord Jesus! Give me grace, like the prophet, so to sing and so to triumph, that since, lose what I may, I cannot lose thee, while thy creature comforts remain, I may enjoy them, from enjoying thee in them: and when all are taken away, still, having thee for my portion, may I sing aloud with the prophet, though all earthly enjoyments cease, ‘I will still rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.’”

Robert Hawker (1753-1827)

Our dear Lord has mixt the cup

In December of 1832 and 1833, Gilbert and Phebe Ann Cunningham Beebe lost two children, first 1-year old James Moore Beebe and then 6-year old Robert George Beebe about a year later. “The following lines were written on the death of two children, the one expired without a struggle or groan, – the other languished in severe distress for eleven weeks.”

From the death of these children Beebe, a Baptist elder, wrote the following lines. I believe these lines could be a fine church hymn on the providence and sovereignty of God. For that reason, I removed stanzas four and five as too specific for congregational use. For the entire poem, look HERE.

The hymn is Long Meter. I suggest the tune Kedron. However, the tunes Hamburg and Hebron are likely more familiar to more congregations, so more useful for that reason.

“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” Psalm 23:4

1. Call’d as we are to bear thy rod,
Thou ever faithful cov’nant God;
Thy grace impart, that we may feel
Submissive, at thy sovereign will.

2. It is thy right, thou Lord of heaven,
To take from us what thou hast given, –
Remand our offspring to the dust,
And teach our hearts in thee to trust.

3. Twice in the circuit of this year,
Thy chast’nings we’ve been call’d to bear –
Yet all is right; we bless thy name,
Nor of thy Providence complain.

4. But why fond nature dost thou pore* –
Their suf'’rings, languishing are o’er.
And soon of us, it shall be said
They’re mingl’d with the slumb’ring dead.

5. Hush Lord the murm’rings of our mind,
May we through mercy be resign’d,
To all thy will, to all thy ways,
And in affliction give thee praise.

6. Since our dear Lord has mixt the cup
Be still, our souls and drink it up;
Jehovah has our good in view,
He’ll give us grace and bear us through.

By Gilbert Beebe, published in Signs of the Times, December 25, 1833

* pore = to gaze intently

Providentially Preserved

…a brief explanation.

When I write about the preservation of the Bible, I regularly use the term “providential preservation,” such as in the article “A Fundamental Problem for Fundamentalism.” I use it to cover all of God’s provisions in keeping his word intact from its beginning with inspiration and continuing to all generations throughout history – whether by normal, out of the ordinary, or miraculous ways. It is true that we often use “providence” to describe God’s governing all things through secondary causes. However, it is also true that we might not be so competent to always know the difference – such as the precise timing of events that led Joseph to exactly the right place at exactly the right time in history. (Was this normal/ordinary, unusual/out of the ordinary, miraculous?)

When many modern “non-preservationists” write about the preservation of the Bible, even using the word providential, they only intend “natural” or “ordinary” means – “...the preservation of Scripture is not different in method from any other ancient book God has determined to preserve...” (W. W. Combs, “The Preservation of Scripture,” pp. 9-10). (Same means for the Bible as how Mein Kampf and the Koran are preserved.)

Jon Rehurek wrote “Preservation of the Bible: Providential or Miraculous,” immediately poisoning the well with a false dilemma, Providential or Miraculous. Why must it be Providential or Miraculous (referring to his view of providential)? Why can it not be Providential and Miraculous? And who might write an article titled “Preservation of Israel in the Wilderness: Providential or Miraculous? The Biblical View”? There is more going on that either/or.

Anyway, I want to make the point that I mean what I mean when I use “providential preservation,” not what someone else means.

Providence and Preservation

The following arguments prove that the sources have not been corrupted. (1) The providence of God which could not permit books which it willed to be written by inspiration (theopneustois) for the salvation of men (and to continue unto the end of the world that they might draw from them waters of salvation) to become so corrupted as to render them unfit for this purpose. And since new revelations are not to be expected (after God has recorded in the Scriptures his entire will concerning the doctrine of salvation), what can be more derogatory to God (who has promised his constant presence with the church) than to assert that he has permitted the books containing this doctrine to become so corrupt that they cannot serve as a canon of faith? (2) The fidelity of the Christian church and unceasing labor in preserving the manuscripts; for since Christians have always labored with great zeal to keep this sacred deposit uncorrupted, it is not credible that they would either corrupt it themselves or suffer it to be corrupted by others...

Francis Turretin, in Institutes of Elenctic Theology

Hence, the providence of God hath manifested itself no less concerned in the preservation of the writings than of the doctrine contained in them; the writing itself being the product of his own eternal counsel for the preservation of the doctrine, after a sufficient discovery of the insufficiency of all other means for that end and purpose. And hence the malice of Satan hath raged no less against the book than against the truth contained in it.

John Owen, in Of the Divine Original, Authority, Self-Evidencing Light, and Power of the Scriptures

Treasures

Treasures.
 
The following poem was written by Martha Snell Nicholson. She was born 1888 in Nance County, Nebraska, the daughter of Samuel F. Snell and Mary B. Coy. In 1919 she married Howard Wren Nicholson in Washington and thy soon moved to California. According to her obituary and various internet sources, Mrs. Nicholson was an invalid and bedridden for about 30 years before her death in 1957. She and her husband are buried at the Westminster Memorial Park in Orange County, California.
 
Of her, pastor and well-known radio teacher J. Vernon McGee wrote:

I was privileged to know the poet, Martha Snell Nicholson, and to be her pastor. She suffered terrible pain whenever her body was touched, so much so she couldn’t leave her home. Well, she wanted to be baptized by immersion. So, we went to her home and as I baptized her, lowering her into a bathtub filled with water, she screamed out in pain. It was horrible. But if you read any of her poetry, you’d never dream that she suffered so. It was God’s beautiful discipline working in her in order to bless others.

Despite her chronic illnesses (apparently she was a sickly child even from birth), she read widely and developed an enjoyment of poetry. Her suffering became a catalyst for her poetry, spiritual, biblical, and heartfelt in praising her Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. WorldCat library catalog has over 2 dozen listings for Martha Snell Nicholson, including Twenty Years of Pain and Thankfulness: by One Who has Learned Songs in the Night (a small brochure).

“Treasures” is the title of the poem below, which teaches that God in his providence empties our hands of “every glittering toy” to fill them with “his own transcendent riches.” I was not aware that the poem had ever been put to music. Since it is 8s.7s. meter, I thought it would work with the well-known tune Holy Manna. Later I discovered that a gospel group called The Couriers have sung it under the title Empty Hands (the music apparently written by Tom Fettke). A lady named Mary W. Bentley has a song on YouTube titled One By One, which uses Nicholson’s poetry from “Treasures.”[i]
 
1. One by one He took them from me,
All the things I valued most,
Until I was empty-handed;
Every glittering toy was lost.
 
2. And I walked earth’s highways, grieving.
In my rags and poverty.
Till I heard His voice inviting,
“Lift your empty hands to Me!”
 
3. So I held my hands toward heaven,
And He filled them with a store
Of His own transcendent riches,
Till they could contain no more.
 
4. And at last I comprehended
With my stupid mind and dull,
That God could not pour His riches
Into hands already full!

---

[i] Library records suggest that “He became sin for us,” a poem by Martha Snell Nicholson, is used with a song in Harmony Bells (G. Kieffer Vaughan, editor, Lawrenceburg, TN: James D. Vaughan Company, 1949).

James 4:13ff

James 4:13-17 Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil. Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

If we rightly believe our life in a vapour, it might not affect all that much whether we plan to go somewhere, conduct business, and make money (i.e., not knowing about tomorrow, we still might make plans. Cf. Proverbs 6:6-8 Proverbs 31:16). However, if we rightly believe our life in a vapour, it should affect how we think and talk about those plans! A plan is made in the mind or thoughts. The thought-out plan is spoken with the mouth. Have these two things occurred with or without taking the truth about life, the future, and God into account? Very often our tongue will tell (Matthew 15:18). Over a lived-life, the Christian should learn that God is the disposer of life, and the events of life (Luke 12:20; Proverbs 16:33; 19:21).

In verse 13, James refers to what they say. In verse 15, he refers to what they ought to say. In verse 14, he refers to what they do not know, as well as the true condition of life. Verse 15 applies the recognition of this true condition to how we think and act.

• Our knowledge is restricted. “ye know not what shall be on the morrow.”
• Our life is temporal. “It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.”
• God’s will is sovereign. “If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.”

James concludes with a general principle that stresses the importance of doing what we know to do. Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin. Do not sin. Do what you know is right.

What is Praise?

WHAT IS PRAISE? by Mark Osgatharp

“The voice of the Lord makes the hinds to calve, and discovers the forests: and in his temple doth every one speak of his glory.” Psalm 29:9

Praise is speaking about the fact that God is the one who makes baby deer to be born at His command. If it is glory that God makes the “hinds to calve”, how much more when He makes a human baby to be born! Believe the ramifications of this one little verse of this one little Psalm and you will be overwhelmed by the presence and power of God Almighty! You will cry out with the seraphim, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.” Isaiah 6:3

It has been my observation that many Christian people think that the creation is running on auto pilot. As if God formed the creation, put it in place and that it operates on perpetual motion. From a scientific perspective this is an absurd position. In the material world there is no such thing as perpetual energy. Crackpot inventors have tried for years to come up with a perpetual motion machine. They never have and never will because every form of energy will eventually deplete itself. Which is precisely why evolutionists claim the universe will eventually run out.

The consistent, clear and copious Biblical doctrine is that God is in constant and perpetual supervision and empowerment of the physical world. Even when animals, evil mean and evil angels are doing bad things, God is still so directing them as to accomplish His will.

This doctrine, though thoroughly Biblical, is repugnant to man because it forces us to deal with God as He is. It forces us to deal with the fact that God is responsible for injecting abject misery into our lives as well as the good things we enjoy.

It is easy to say “praise God” when He sends a soft rain on our thirsty garden. But it is difficult to actually praise God and verbally acknowledge He is the one who made our child sick unto death.

Think deeply on the ramifications of this truth.

[Cf. Job 1:21 and Job 2:10.]

All is well

At Baptist News, opinion writer Kate Hanch asks, “Amid this pandemic, can we say with Julian of Norwich, ‘All shall be well’?” I say yes, and not only, “All shall be well,” but with the text used by J. T. White in his Sacred Harp song on page 122, “All is well.”

In Christ:

If this be sickness, all is well.

If this be death, all is well.

If this be life, all is well.

For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. Philippians 1:12

All Is Well, 122

My times are in thy hand

“My times are in thy hand,” writes the Psalmist David (Psalm 31:15). The antecedent of “my” is David, found in the superscription “A Psalm of David.” The antecedent of “thy” is the Lord God, found in verse 14. David’s times, he recognizes, are in God’s hands. David’s times are the incidents of life, such as guarding the sheep, facing Goliath, running from Saul and Absalom, inflicted with chills from which he died.

David’s times are unique, his very own. However, the truth “my times are in thy hand” is applicable to every unique member of the human race. You and I can take it up and say with full assurance, “my times are in God’s hands” – “In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind” (Job 12:10).

We all share generalities in common, such as “A time to be born, and a time to die” (Ecclesiastes 3:2). The dash in between belongs to each uniquely, the race that God has set before him or her (Hebrews 12:1). Be we males or female, black or white, rich or poor, Jew or Gentile, Americans or Chinese, our times – uniquely and individually – are in God’s hands. Since David knew and was assured that he was in God’s hands, he could pray with calmness and confidence to God for deliverance.

One day the dash will come to a close, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, and the wages of sin is death (Romans 3:23; 6:23). It is appointed unto men once to die (Hebrews 9:27). Cancer or coronavirus, car wreck or heart attack, stillbirth or old age atroke, the time comes when, like Elisha, we will meet the thing whereof we die ( 2 Kings 13:14).

In life, by creation, every creature is in God’s hands. However, only some are uniquely in God’s hands for both time and eternity – his sheep who hear his voice (John 10:26-27). “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. I and my Father are one.” (John 10: 28-20).

Sovereign ruler of the skies,

Ever gracious ever wise!

All my times are in thy hand—

All events at thy command.

Plagues and death around me fly;

Till he bids I cannot die:

Not a single shaft can hit

Till the God of loves sees fit.

O thou gracious, wise, and just,

In thy hands my life I trust.

Have I something dearer still?

I resign it to thy will.

(Isaac Watts)

Tryggare Kan Ingen Vara

The following hymn is one that I have heard and like, though it has not been part of my singing tradition. “Children of the heavenly Father” was originally written by Karolina Wilhelmina Sandell-Berg (1832–1903). “Lina” Sandell was born on October 3, 1832 in Fröeryd, Småland, Sweden. Her father was a Lutheran pastor who was part of the pietist movement in his church and country. She wrote many religious hymn texts and other poems. Sandell-Berg is called the “Fanny Crosby of Sweden.” In Sing It Again: a Handbook on the Covenant Hymnal (1973), J. Irving Erickson writes of a tradition that “…relates that she wrote ‘Tryggare kan ingen vara’ [i.e. the hymn] while seated on the branch of a large ash tree that stood in the parsonage yard. From that spot on warm summer evenings she could listen to the content twitter of the birds as they hid in their nests among the green leaves, and from there she could watch the stars as they began to appear. Her impressions fortified the biblical concepts of the security of God’s children.” This tradition places the origin of the hymn early in her life, circa 1855, when Sandell-Berg was about 17 years old. In 1867 she married Oscar Berg. She died died July 27, 1903 is buried at Solna Church in Stockholm, Sweden.

1. Children of the heav’nly Father,

Safely in His bosom gather;

Nestling bird nor star in heaven

Such a refuge e’er was given.

2. God His own doth tend and nourish;

In His holy courts they flourish.

From all evil things He spares them;

In His mighty arms He bears them.

3. Neither life nor death shall ever

From the Lord His children sever;

Unto them His grace He showeth,

And their sorrows all He knoweth.

4. Though He giveth or He taketh,

God His children ne’er forsaketh;

His the loving purpose solely

To preserve them pure and holy.

Ernst Wilhelm Olson translated this hymn into English. He was born in 1870 in Sweden, but immigrated with his family in 1878 to America, first settling in Nebraska. Olson is credited with four hymns of his own, and he translated nearly 30 others. Olson titled his translation “A Hymn Born of a Broken Heart.” He died in 1958 in Chicago, Illinois. He and his wife are buried at the Riverside Cemetery in Moline, Illinois.

The traditional tune for this hymn is Tryggare Kan Ingen Vara which is a probably Swedish or possibly German folk song dating back at least to the early 1800s.

A sung version on YouTube; This includes another stanza apparently from the original hymn, but sometimes credited to Eliza Hewitt.

Praise the Lord in joyful numbers:
Your Protector never slumbers.
At the will of your Defender
Every foeman must surrender.

Another stanza may be part of the original. I have not researched it:

Lo, their very hairs He numbers,
And no daily care encumbers
Them that share His ev’ry blessing
And His help in woes distressing.

Who Moved David?

Who moved David to number Israel?

God did. 2 Samuel 24:1 And again the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them to say, Go, number Israel and Judah.[i]

Satan did. 1 Chronicles 21:1 And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.

The sentence in 2 Samuel 24:1 attributes directly to God the things that come under his sovereign control. Men will use whatever expressions necessary to soothe their own consciences and support their own beliefs. “God caused it” on the one hand, or “God permitted it” on the other. Even the stout predestinarian Baptist John Gill equivocates in his commentary, writing, “he moved David against them; not the Lord, but Satan, as may be supplied from 1 Chronicles 21:1.” Nevertheless, in whatever ways one wishes to speculate, the statements are still that both “God moved David” and “Satan provoked David” to number Israel.

God’s anger was kindled against the nation Israel for some sin or sins committed, which are not here named. The sin in 2 Samuel 24 verse 1 is not a reference to the numbering, which takes place only after the kindling of God’s righteous anger. Here God does not expose Israel’s “secret sin,” to tell us what it is, but rather judges them with a sin that is public, obvious, and alarming prior to its execution. Matthew Henry writes, “It is certain that it was a sin, and a great sin; but where the evil of it lay is not so certain.” We can be sure that David’s purpose in numbering the people was sinful, if we accept the Bible as written.[ii] Joab immediately recognized it as a wrong (v. 3; 1 Chronicles 21:3). David quickly grasped that after the fact and freely admitted it was wrong (v. 10).

The situation of both God and Satan inciting David to number Israel finds a close parallel in the book of Job, in the first two chapters.[iii] Even though Satan was the immediate cause for Job’s suffering, we find Job saying, “the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away” and “shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?” These statements of Job are followed by biblical commentary: “In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly” and “In all this did not Job sin with his lips.” Even in the conclusion the inspired author wrote “Then came there unto him all his brethren, and all his sisters, and all they that had been of his acquaintance before, and did eat bread with him in his house: and they bemoaned him, and comforted him over all the evil that the Lord had brought upon him…” (Job 42:11).[iv]

God’s authority, sovereignty, and providence extends over the affairs of men and the actions of Satan. The word can speak of God, Satan, and man performing the same act. We intuitively perceive that there is a “reasonable” explanation, but (if we are honest) are frequently flummoxed floundering to find it. These acts of God, men, and devils are intricately interwoven, sometimes cryptically concealed and otherwise mysteriously moved. May we accept that there are puzzling aspects of this incident of the numbering of Israel that we are not able to understand fully in our present state of existence. It is better to live with the enigma than to twist the Bible to make its plain statements incomprehensible. Though there is sin and sorrow in this world, God will accomplish his purpose (Isaiah 14:24) and work together good for his people (Romans 8:28). We can know that assuredly.

---

[i] Summary of 2 Samuel 24: Israel sinned. God was angry. God and Satan moved David to number Israel. David sinned in numbering Israel. God judged Israel. David fell on the mercies of God. God revealed the way of relief and then withdrew his hand of judgement when the relief was applied.

[ii] Numbering of itself was not sinful. God twice commanded Moses to number the Israelites. The first occurred in the second year after they came out of Egypt (Numbers 1:1-3,19). The second occurred near the end of Israel’s wanderings in the wilderness (Numbers 26:2-4,63-64). The book “Numbers” even receives its title from these two occurrences. Perhaps David violated the legal instructions concerning number the people (cf. Exodus 30:12-16) or placed his trust in the strength of numbers rather than God (cf. Isaiah 31:1). Perhaps there is some implication of pride in David’s statement “that I may know the number of the people.”

[iii] In both cases leading up to Satan’s troubling of Job, Satan implores God with “put forth thine hand now.” See Job 1:11 and Job 2:5. Yet in both cases it is Satan who directly “puts forth his hand.” See Job 1:12 and Job 2:7.

[iv] “Evil” here is used in the sense of “calamity,” referring to all the things that came upon Job, from the loss of property, to the loss of children, to the loss of health. As in 2 Samuel 24:1, the book of Job attributes directly to God the things that come under his sovereign control.

Not necessary we should know everything

It is not necessary we should know every thing. There are mysteries in nature as well as in providence and grace. We should beware of picking the lock, as one expresses it, of which the key is not in our keeping. It becomes us rather humbly to adore that God, who does all things well, Mark vii. 37; but gives account of his matters to none, Job xxxiii. 13; and be thankful for that wonderful and all-sufficient discovery of divine truth, that has been made.

Samuel Jones, Circular Letter of the Philadelphia Baptist Association, 1783

Be not afraid

Be not afraid, by John Fawcett, 1782

Hymn VI. L. M.

Be not afraid, it is I. John vi. 20.

1. Children of God, renounce your fears,

Lo! Jesus for your help appears,

And kindly speaks as he draws nigh,

Be not afraid, for it is I.

2. When in the awful tempest toss’d

You feel your strength and courage lost,

And mighty waves roll o’er your head,

Your Lord is near, be not afraid.

3. When mournful tidings come from far,

Or nations raise tumultuous war,

And wide their devastations spread,

Yet he is near, be not afraid.

4. The famine, pestilence and sword,

Are all obedient to his word;

He, riding on the stormy sky,

Says, “Fear ye not, for it is I.”

5. When earthly joys are from you torn,

Or when, with heart-felt grief you mourn,

To see you dear relations dead,

Yet Jesus lives, be not afraid.

6. When fierce disease attacks your frame,

Your Saviour’s love is still the same;

In death’s dark shade you need not fear,

For Jesus will be with you there.

7. When stars are from their orbits hurl’d,

And flames consume the guilty world,

E’en then your Judge will smiling cry,

Be not afraid, for it is I.

He Giveth More Grace

1. He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater,
He sendeth more strength when the labors increase;
To added afflictions He addeth His mercy,
To multiplied trials, His multiplied peace.

2. When we have exhausted our store of endurance,
When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,
When we reach the end of our hoarded resources
Our Father’s full giving is only begun.

3. Fear not that thy need shall exceed His provision,
Our God ever yearns His resources to share;
Lean hard on the arm everlasting, availing;
The Father both thee and thy load will upbear.

4. His love has no limits, His grace has no measure,
His power no boundary known unto men;
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus
He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.

By Annie Johnson Flint (1866-1932)
Find-A-Grave Memorial

So did not I

“So did not I, because of the fear of God” – Nehemiah 5:15

We can never praise God sufficiently for his restraining grace; for what should we be without it? What an unspeakable mercy, then, it is, that you cannot be what you would be, nor act as you would act, nor speak what you would speak, nor do the things you would do, because there is in you who fear God a spiritual principle which holds you up, and keeps you back from the ways of sin and death in which the flesh would walk.

How this spirit of grace and godly fear kept Joseph in the hour of temptation! How it preserved David when he had Saul in his power as he lay asleep in the cave! How it kept Nehemiah in the fear of God from extortion and oppression! And how, in thousands of instances, it has preserved the feet of the saints, and kept them from doing things that would have ruined their reputation, blighted their character, brought reproach upon the cause of God, and the greatest grief and distress into their own conscience!

J. C. Philpot (1802-1869)

The divine dealings of God

Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

Joseph wended his way from his people to a pit (Genesis 37:1-3; Genesis 37:23-24), from a pit to a purchase (Genesis 37:28), from a purchase to Potiphar’s house (Genesis 37:36), from Potiphar’s house to a prison (Genesis 39:7-20), and from prison to Pharoah’s palace (Genesis 41:37-45) – all the while traveling on the journey sent by God, meant for good (Genesis 45:5; Genesis 50:20).

A hope and a future

When our children were graduating High School, Jeremiah 29:11 was a popular verse used with graduation cards, gifts and so forth. It may still be popular. The text, probably quoted from the New International Version of the Bible, reminds graduates that God has “plans to give you hope and a future.”

Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV) “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

While this Scripture is true and still speaks to us today (Romans 15:4), the contextless verse often “says” to the reader “God has a great future for me” (with “great” meaning “what I want and expect”). The context straightens the meaning out for us, which is deeper and fuller than the “verse on a card” or “verse on a cup” approach. Here also is the reading from the King James Version of the Bible:

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you,[i] saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

The words of verse 11 are part of the prophecy of Jeremiah “to all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon” (Jeremiah 29:1).  Prophets rose up in Babylon to speak falsely in Jehovah’s name (Jeremiah 29:21). Among those who remained in Jerusalem, Hananiah said that within two years God would break the yoke of the king of Babylon, bring back those who had already gone into captivity, and restore the vessels of the Lord’s house to the temple (Jeremiah 28:2-4). Into this lie Jeremiah must speak the truth. Not only will this not happen, but those who are still at Jerusalem will also go into captivity! The yoke will not be broken in two years, but Israelites will remain captives in a strange land for seventy years.[ii] Do not spend the next two years expecting to come home, but settle down for the long term in the land where you are – “And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the Lord for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace.” (Jer. 29:7). This is the context and meaning in its context – God knows the thoughts and plans he has for Israel (Cf. Isaiah 55:9). Those to whom he has not revealed those thought are liars (Romans 3:4). The Lord has thoughts of peace and prosperity in their future. Even their captivity, though a judgment, is for their good (Jeremiah 24:5). Their history is not concluded – it has a future – and there will be an ending in fulfillment of their expectations.[iii] God knows – he does not forget what he purposes to do.

To us this speaks today, within the context of Jeremiah and the general principles taught in the Bible. We look not for the fulfilling of all our desires. We know not all the thoughts God has, but we know that even in the midst of that which is disappointing, depressing, and distressing, God is working all things for good to them that love him, to them who are the called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28).  

---

[i] “I alone” – not the false prophets who pretend to speak for me.

[ii] This had already been expressed by Jeremiah, as recorded in Jeremiah 25:11-12.

[iii] The “expected end” must be understood in the context of God’s work among his people Israel more than applied to individuals. The current generation – “the elders which were carried away captives” – would never return to their homeland, but their hopes could be fulfilled in their children and grandchildren (Cf. 1 Chronicles 22:7; 1 Chronicles 28:6).