In Eric Bechler's sermon on 'Of Divine Providence,' he delves into the distinction between general and special providence. General providence refers to God's governance and preservation of all creation, whereas special providence indicates God's particular care for His church, arranging all things for its good. The sermon references various biblical passages and historical figures such as Noah, Abraham, and Mary, highlighting how God preserves a remnant of faithful believers despite widespread apostasy. The speaker emphasizes that believers should be encouraged by God's active involvement in their lives, urging them to recognize God's greatness and goodness, repent quickly, maintain joyful confidence, and engage in worship. The sermon concludes with practical applications from Rob Ventura's commentary, encouraging believers to trust God's sovereignty and purpose, even amidst suffering.

Our reading today from the Second London Baptist Confession of 1689 comes again from chapter 5 of Divine Providence. Today is paragraph 7. As the providence of God doth in general reach to all creatures, so after a more special manner, it taketh care of his church and disposeth of all things to the good thereof. We come to our last paragraph in our discussion of divine providence. The main point is how God in a special way with special providence takes care of his church and arranges all things to its good.

We find a distinction here between how God works in a general way and in a special way. As a reminder, God's providence is his active execution of his eternal and immutable decree, including his ongoing governance, preservation, and direction of all things in time and history. This is how God works in general to all creatures, to all things in time and history. He governs the natural world and the events in it. He sets in place the stars, the rising and the setting of the sun, the seasons, the weather, gravity, the cycle of life of all that lives and more.

He graciously extends common grace to all people, believers and unbelievers. So why make a distinction here? Why would the authors of the confession call out a special category or circumstance? This distinction doesn't mean that special providence is outside of general providence. Special providence is actually within general providence, And yet it highlights God's personal direct involvement in the lives of His people for His glory and their good.

Isaiah records God's words to His people, For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Kush and Seba in exchange for you. Because you're precious in my eyes and honored, and I love you. I give men in return for you, people in exchange for your life. Fear not for I am with you.

I will bring your offspring from the East and from the West I will gather you. Matthew Henry comments on this passage, all who are redeemed with the blood of his son he has set apart for himself. Those that have God for them need not fear who or what can be against them. What are Egypt and Ethiopia all their lives and treasures compared with the blood of Christ? True believers are precious in God's sight.

His delight is in them above any people. Though they went through fire and water, yet while they had God with them, they need fear, no evil, and they should be born up and brought out. Yes, God sees as special His people over all other people of the world, but our paragraph focuses on the church. What is the church? The church is the body of Christ.

The church is the gathering of believers. When we are saved, we are adopted into the family of God. When we are saved, we are grafted into the body of Christ, and God sees His church as special. Solomon tells us that he stores up sound wisdom for the upright. He is a shield to those who walk uprightly.

He guards the paths of justice and preserves the way of his saints. Proverbs 2, 7, and 8. The psalmist declares, I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go. I will give you counsel and watch over you. Psalm 32, 8.

The Lord will protect and preserve him. He will bless him in the land and refuse to give him over to the will of his foes. Psalm 41 2. For the Lord loves justice and will not forsake his saints. Psalm 37 28.

And he guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way. All the Lord's ways are loving and faithful to those who keep His covenant and His decrees. Psalm 25, 9, and 10. Does this mean that God, through special providence, will preserve a particular church or a particular denomination? What it means is that he will preserve a remnant.

Dr. Sproul explains, the Old Testament records the history of the apostasy and corruption of the visible church. It is the story of people rejecting their covenant agreements with God and substituting idol worship and other pagan practices in the place of the purity of the covenant that God had made with them. But throughout this drama is an undercurrent of God's preserving his people. He preserved Noah, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

He preserved Zacharias and Elizabeth, Mary and Joseph, Simeon and Anna. They did not succumb to the spirit of the age. God had preserved his remnant. In his special providence he preserved this small group of people and others. In a special way through special providence he takes care of his church and arranges all things to its good.

Paul tells us that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to his purpose. Romans 8 28. We should be encouraged by this for to this end we both labor and suffer reproach because we trust in the living God who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe. First Timothy 410, We trust and we labor. We even endure hardships and sufferings because God loves us and is faithful and true.

He is not a distant detached creator but a loving and sovereign Father who actively works in and through his people at a personal level guiding and directing us them to accomplish his redemptive purposes. I'd like to close with five practical ways that the doctrine of providence should affect us. These come from Rob Ventura's commentary on the confession. One, it should call us to recognize the greatness of God. Nothing, not even a subatomic particle, nothing in the universe lies out of his control.

Two, it should call us to recognize the goodness of God. Even when we are suffering, we must remember that all that God does is good and right. Number three, it should call us to repentance. We have no idea where our sin might take us, so we must repent quickly. Four, it should call us to joyful confidence.

We are always in the hand of God. No matter what happens, we can be confident that the Lord will never leave or forsake us. And number five, it should call us to worship. Our God is so great and so good, He should be worshiped and adored. Amen.