Esther 4:14; Acts 17:25,26
Who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?
He giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; and hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation.
WILLIAM JAY (1769-1853): Nothing comes by chance in our affairs. The Lord determines the bounds of our habitations, appoints us our stations and offices, and assigns us our talents and opportunities…As men, we are not the creatures of chance. There is an “appointed time to man upon earth,” Job 7:1. And, as Christians, are we the offspring of contingency? Is conversion a happy accident? It is the work of God, and He does nothing without foreknowledge and design.
ROWLAND HILL (1744-1833): Nothing is by blind chance, all is under the management of infinite wisdom.
ADAM CLARKE (1760-1832): How admirably does God determine even the place of our birth!
MATTHEW HENRY (1662-1714): For every one of us, there is a decreed place; for He that determined the times beforehand, determined also the bounds of our habitation.
ALEXANDER MacLAREN (1826-1910): But is that all? Surely, if we believe that God determines the bounds of our habitation, we must believe that other purposes affecting other people are also meant by God to be accomplished through us.
C. H. SPURGEON (1834-1892): Every child of God is where God has placed Him for some purpose. The practical use of this first point is to lead you to inquire for what practical purpose has God placed each one of you where you now are.
MATTHEW HENRY: We should every one of us consider for what end God has put us in the place where we are, and study to answer that end; and, when any particular opportunity of serving God and our generation offers itself, we must take care that we do not let it slip; for we were entrusted with it that we might improve it.
C. H. SPURGEON: In every event of Providence God has a purpose―Times are hard. The people are famishing―and who knows but that, like Queen Esther, you may have come to the Kingdom of God for such a time as this? God may have brought you where you are to make use of you―perhaps the Lord intends, by some of you, to save multitudes of souls, to stir up His Churches and to awaken the slumbering spirit of religion.
A. W. PINK (1886-1952): None but an infidel believes in things happening by chance, though there are many infidels now wearing the name of “Christian.”
C. H. SPURGEON: Listen, Friends, many people are not true to their occasions, whatever they may be. They do not consider that they have come to the Kingdom of God for such a time as this…Should not this cheer us—that the appointment of our lot has been made by a loving Father’s prudence?
ROBERT HAWKER (1753-1827): It is sweet, it is precious, to eye the hand of the LORD in all events. And it is equally so to trust God upon all occasions. The Holy One of Israel is engaged for His people’s welfare, both by word, and by oath, and by the blood and righteousness of His dear Son. And He hath manifested His faithfulness, as all the saints have borne testimony to under all trials. Why then, Reader, shall you or I be an exception to this everlasting care and love that Jehovah hath to His people? Oh! for faith to give God in Christ the credit of GOD, and to believe in Him when matters are most dark and discouraging.
THOMAS GOODWIN (1600-1679): Think with thyself, I was converted, born again for such a time as this; shall I fail God now, and bid farewell to His friendship, when there are such obligations between God and me?
THOMAS WATSON (1620-1686): Consider that all the injuries and unkind usages we meet with from the world, do not fall out by chance, but are disposed of by the all-wise God for our good. Many are like the foolish cur that snarls at the stone, never looking to the hand that threw it―If we looked higher than instruments our hearts would grow meek and calm. David looked beyond Shimei’s rage: “Let him curse, for the Lord hath bidden him,” 2 Samuel 16:11. What wisdom were it for Christians to see the hand of God in all the barbarisms and incivilities of men! Job eyed God in his affliction, and that meekened his spirit. “The Lord hath taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord,” Job 1:21. He does not say, ‘The Chaldeans have taken away,’ but “The Lord hath taken away.” What made Christ so meek in His sufferings? He did not look at Judas or Pilate, but at His Father: “The cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?” John 18:11.
WILLIAM JAY: “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee,” Isaiah 26:3. This confidence composes the mind in the events of life—and this is the thing principally intended. We live in a world of changes, and uncertainties…And with regard to ourselves, our wisest schemes are frequently thwarted, our fairest hopes destroyed, our choicest comforts laid waste. Thus we are liable to be perpetually ruffled and dismayed: and there is only one principle that can sustain and solace the mind: It is holy confidence in God…God governs the world—if we could see what God sees, we should do precisely what God does. His people are His care; nothing can essentially injure them―yea, all things are working together for their good.
A. W. PINK: Yes, dear reader, a spiritual faith perceives that things do not happen by chance, but that everything is regulated by the Lord God. Second, faith recognizes that everything which enters our lives is ordered by Him who is our Father…There are no accidents in a world which is governed by the living God, for “of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things: to whom be glory forever. Amen,” Romans 11:6. Therefore does faith perceive the hand of God in every thing which enters our lives, be it great or small.
C. H. MACKINTOSH (1820-1896): He arranges our movements for us; He fixes the bounds of our habitation; He tells us how long to stay in a place, and where to go next. He has charged Himself with all our concerns, all our movements, all our wants. His gracious word to us is, “Be careful far nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God,” Philippians 4:6. And what then? “The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus,” Philippians 4:7.
A. W. PINK: And it is only as we recognize His hand molding all our circumstances that God is honoured, and our hearts are kept in peace. O for grace to say at all times, “It is the Lord: let Him do what seemeth Him good,” 1 Samuel 3:18.
BASIL (329-379): Never let us say of anything, ‘it happened by chance;’ there is nothing that has not been fore-arranged, nothing which has not its own special end, by which it forms a link in the chain of appointed order.
CHARLES SIMEON (1759-1836): We must all be witnesses for God in the place where we live, and shine as lights in a dark world. And if for our fidelity we be called to suffer, we must rejoice that we are so honoured of our God.
