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simply cannot do it, since the laws of nature bind His hands, and therefore smile significantly
when they hear of God’s answering man’s prayers. Now it need not be denied that the relation
of special providence to the uniform laws of nature constitutes a problem. At the same time it
must be said that it involves a very poor, superficial, and un-Biblical view of God to say that He
does not and cannot concern Himself with the details of life, cannot answer prayer, give relief
in emergencies, or intervene miraculously in behalf of man. A ruler that simply laid down
certain general principles and paid no attention to particulars, or a business man who failed to
look after the details of his business, would soon come to grief. The Bible teaches that even the
minutest details of life are of divine ordering. In connection with the question, whether we can
harmonize the operation of the general laws of nature and special providence, we can only
point to the following: (1) The laws of nature should not be represented as powers of nature
absolutely controlling all phenomena and operations. They are really nothing more than man’s,
often deficient, description of the uniformity in variety discovered in the way in which the
powers of nature work. (2) The materialistic conception of the laws of nature as a close-knit
system, acting independently of God and really making it impossible for Him to interfere in the
course of the world, is absolutely wrong. The universe has a personal basis, and the uniformity
of nature is simply the method ordained by a personal agent. (3) The so-called laws of nature
produce the same effects only if all the conditions are the same. Effects are not generally the
results of a single power, but of a combination of natural powers. Even a man can vary the
effects by combining one power of nature with some other power or powers, while yet each
one of these powers works in strict accordance with its laws. And if this is possible for man, it is
infinitely more possible for God. By all kinds of combinations He can bring about the most
varied results.
B. Preservation.
1. BASIS FOR THE DOCTRINE OF PRESERVATION.
Proof for the doctrine of preservation is both
direct and inferential.
a. Direct proof.
The divine preservation of all things is clearly and explicitly taught in several
passages of Scripture. The following are but a few of the many passages that might be
mentioned: Deut. 33:12,25-28; I Sam. 2:9; Neh. 9:6; Ps. 107:9; 127:1; 145:14,15; Matt. 10:29;
Acts 17:28; Col. 1:17; Heb. 1:3. Very numerous are the passages that speak of the Lord as
preserving His people, such as, Gen. 28:15; 49:24; Ex. 14:29,30; Deut. 1:30,31; II Chron.
20:15,17; Job 1:10; 36:7; Ps. 31:20; 32:6; 34:15,17,19; 37:15, 17,19,20; 91:1,3,4,7,9,10,14;
121:3,4,7,8; 125:1,2; Isa. 40:11; 43:2; 63:9; Jer. 30:7,8,11; Ezek. 34:11,12,15,16; Dan. 12:1; Zech.
2:5; Luke 21:18; I Cor. 10:13; I. Pet. 3:12; Rev. 3:10.