What then is the Providence of God? It is the Almighty, everywhere present, power of God, whereby, as it were, by his hand, he still

upholds heaven and earth with all creatures and so governs them that herbs and

grass rain and drought fruitful and barren years,

meat and drink, health and sickness,

riches and poverty,

yay, all things come not by chance but by his fatherly hand.

That's the Heidelberg catacisms rich answer to the question, what is the providence of God?

In this episode of Light and Truth, John Piper highlights invaluable definitions of God's

providence from church history.

This seminar was originally given at Bethlehem Baptist Church on September 10, 1995.

Insights from the Confessions of Faith on the definition what is Providence.

Heilberg Catechism 1563 a catechism designed to establish the Reformed Faith.

When I say Reformed Faith, I know that's not a trade term for most, it's simply the big picture of the Christian faith that came out of the reformers,

Luther, Calvin, Zwingley, and they had so many precious, deep profound things in common that what separated

them can be put to the side and that center thing can be called the reformed faith in Heidelberg, Germany, but which attained widespread

use and was affirmed at the Senate of Dort as one of the reliable testimonies of the

Senate of Dort as one of the reliable testimonies of the reformed faith.

It is the Almighty, everywhere present, power of God, whereby, as it were, by his hand, he still upholds heaven and earth with all creatures and so governs them that herbs and grass, rain and drought,

fruitful and barren years, meat and drink, health and sickness, riches and poverty, yay, all things

come not by chance but by his fatherly hand.

The Heidelberg Catechism, by the way, has a real tangible concreteness about it that sets it off from the Westminster

confession of faith. The Westminster is bigger and more thorough than

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