Page:A Compendium of the Chief Doctrines of the True Christian Religion.djvu/125

Rh Hence it is granted to no one to see the divine providence in front, or before an actual event has made it manifest; and this for wise purposes, lest the proprium or will of man should enter into it, and so disturb the order of it's progression; the consequence of which would be, to render ineffectual every effort of the divine mercy to save him. But it is allowable to see the divine providence from behind, or after it has taken effect: for in such a view of it the will of man cannot interfere with the order and tenor of it's course; but by the exercise of an enlightened reason he may discern the most evident traces of divine love and wisdom in a wonderful series of concurrent circumstances, which have all conspired to produce the given event; and thus discerning them, he will with gratitude and holy veneration acknowledge and confess them. In this sense we may understand and apply the words of Jehovah to Moses, when he desired to see his glory: "Thou canst not see my face; for there shall no man see me, and live. And Jehovah said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock. And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand, while I pass by. And I will take away my hand, and thou shalt see my back-parts; but my face shall not be seen," Exod. xxxiii. 20 to 23. With the Lord there is providence, and also previdence or foresight; for the one cannot exist without the other. Good is provided, and evil is previded or foreseen: the former is all of the Lord, the latter is all of man. And yet, though every possible evil is foreseen, and every possible good is provided by the Lord, there is still no such thing as absolute predestination, nor a blind, unmerciful fatality: but the government of the universe, more especially of man,