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God's Providence: Quotations from Burning Words

God tempers the wind to the shorn lamb.— LAURENCE STERNE

And behind the dim unknown Standeth God within the shadow, Keeping watch above His own. The moment we recognize God as supreme in power and infinitely good and loving toward all His intelligent creatures, that moment we admit the doctrine of universal and special providence.— J. G. HOLLAND

Whoever studies Divine providence, whether it be in relation to the events that concern us, our families, the cities and nations to which we belong; whoever studies the rise and fall of nations and empires, whoever looks at the clashing of armies, will perceive that these are only parts of one grand movement. God is marching on to the accomplishment of an appointed end; namely, the subjugation of the world to Himself.— J. M. REID

O God! Thy arm was here, And not to us, but to Thy arm alone, Ascribe we all.— SHAKSPEARE

God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform; He plants His footsteps in the sea, And rides upon the storm.— COWPER

I believe not only in "special providences," but in the whole universe as one infinite complexity of "special providences."— CHARLES KINGSLEY

My bark is wafted to the strand By breath Divine ; And on the helm there rests a hand Other than mine.— DEAN ALFORD

O, lonely tomb.in Moab's land, O, dark Bethpeor's hill, Speak to these curious hearts of ours, And teach them to be still! God hath His mysteries of grace Ways that we cannot tell; - He hides them deep, like the secret sleep, Of him He loved so well.— MRS. C. F. ALEXANDER

Let us always remember that God has never promised to supply our wishes, but only our wants, and these only as they arise from day to day.— ALEXANDER DICKSON

The sentences in the book of providence are sometimes long, and you must read a great way before you understand their meaning.— MATTHEW HENRY

Sometimes providences, like Hebrew letters, must be read backwards.— JOHN FLAVEL

God works in a mysterious way in grace as well as in nature, concealing His operations under an imperceptible succession of events, and thus keeps us always in the darkness of faith.— FENELON

In all God's providences, it is good to compare His word and His works together; for we shall find a beautiful harmony between them, and that they mutually illustrate each other.— MATTHEW HENRY

Be an observer of providence; for God is showing you ever, by the way in which He leads you, whither He means to lead. Study your trials, your talents, the world's wants, and stand ready to serve God now, in whatever He brings to your hand.— HORACE BUSHNELL

We are never less alone than when we are in the society of a single, faithful friend; never less deserted than when we are carried in the arms of the All-Powerful.— FENELON

All spiritual strength for ourselves, all noble ties to one another, have their real source in that inner sanctuary where God denies His lonely audience to none. Its secrets are holy; its asylum, inviolate; its consolations, sure; and all are open to the simple heart-word, "Thou art my hiding-place."— JAMES MARTINEAU

It was a touching answer of a Christian sailor, when asked why he remained so calm in a fearful storm, when the sea seemed ready to devour the ship. He was not sure that he could swim. "But," he said, "though I sink I shall only drop into the hollow of my Father's hand; for He holds all these waters there"— WILLIAM ARNOT

There is many a thing which the world calls disappointment; but there is no such thing in the dictionary of faith. What to otners are disappointments are to believers intimations of the will of God.— JOHN NEWTON

God's ways seem dark, but, soon or late, They touch the shining hills of day; The evil cannot brook delay, The good can well afford to wait.— JOHN G. WHITTIER

Not a sorrow, not a burden, not a temptation, not a bereavement, not a disappointment, not a care, not a groan or tear, but has its antidote in God's rich and inexhaustible resources.— GEORGE C. LORIMER

As yonder tower outstretches to the earth The dark triangle of its shade alone When the clear day is shining on its top; So, darkness in the pathway of man's life Is but the shadow of God's providence, By the great Sun of wisdom cast thereon; And what is dark below is light in heaven.— J. G. WHITTIER

He sendeth sun, He sendeth shower,- Alike they're needful to the flower; And joys and tears alike are sent To give the soul fit nourishment. As comes to me or cloud or sun, Father! Thy will, not mine, be done.— S. F. ADAMS

God's plans, like lilies pure and white, unfold; We must not tear the close-shut leaves apart - Time will reveal the calyxes of gold. And, if through patient toil we reach the land Where tired feet with sandals loose may rest, When we shall clearly know, and understand, I think that we shall say: "God knows the best." God never makes us sensible of our weakness except to give us of His strength.— FENELON