Chapter
Seven: How
Great the Providence of God is in Reference
to the Necessities of Life
ALL things, it is true, are in the Hand of God, and yet a certain
person has not said amiss that He has three keys in His Own keeping,
which He entrusts to no one. One key
is that which lets out rain, wind, snow, and such-like influences of
the sky. Another is that which opens the graves, and calls the dead to
life again. The third is that which belongs to food and everything
necessary to the support of life. But if God were to close these
receptacles whence our supplies are derived, who could open them?
Therefore He is the Storekeeper and Dispenser of all things; and
whatever is needful for the support of life must be sought from Him.
1. Mark
the
Anchorite used to say,-----"If a man trusts not in God in these
transitory things, how much less will he trust in Him in those things
which relate to eternity!" And the first argument which our Lord uses
to shame our want of Trust in Him, is,-----"Is
not the life more than the
meat, and the body more than the raiment?" [Matt. VI. 25] Here, then,
by the most cogent arguments, He removes from the mind that pernicious
solicitude about food and clothing, and teaches us that we should trust
alone in the benign Providence of God. For if God is so provident and
bountiful in those things which seem to be more weighty, why do we
charge Him with forgetfulness, or want of care, in other things which
are of lesser moment? If He gave us the body, why should he refuse us
clothing? If He bestows on us a horse, why should He withhold the
bridle? Is not the life itself more precious than that by which it is
supported? And is not the body of more consequence than that with which
it is covered? Most undoubtedly. He, therefore, Who gave life and a
body to us, without any solicitude on our part, or rather when as yet
we had no existence at all, will without doubt also give things for the
support of the life and body, especially since He Himself wills that
our life and body shall stand in need of such things. If then He of
His Own free will gave that which is greater, He proclaimed that He was
both able and willing also to give that which is less. He will not,
however, give to us while we are in a state of idleness, since He did
not create us for this; but He will give to us when we are free from
anxious care, for He wills that this should be cast on Himself. God
when challenging Job, inquires,-----"Who provideth food for the raven, when
her young ones cry to God, wandering about, because they have no meat?"
[Job XXXVIII. 41] And this same argument derived from birds our Lord
enforces when He says,-----"Consider the ravens: for they sow not,
neither
do they reap; neither have they storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth
them: how much are you more valuable than they?" [Luke XII. 24] And
often inculcating the same truth, our Divine Master says,-----"Are not two
sparrows sold for a farthing? And not one of them shall fall on the
ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all
numbered. Fear not therefore, better are you than many sparrows."
[Matt. X. 29-31] And in order to make this as clear as possible He does
not bring forward the children of Israel, who were fed in the
wilderness for forty years, neither does He commend to us Elias, who
was sustained by ravens, nor yet does He set before us lions, or bears,
or elephants, or any large beasts of that kind, although these also are
fed by Divine Providence, but the most insignificant of living things,
those little birds which, since they are chiefly occupied in singing,
and only take their food in the intervals, seem to be most especially
free from all anxious care. And should man, who is of more value than
countless birds, and who acknowledges God not only as his Lord, but as
his Father, be thus distracted in mind?
And after pointing out
the Providence of God in the case of birds, and
the hairs of our head, our Lord proceeds to set forth how it is shown
in the case of flowers. "Consider," He says, "the lilies of the field,
how they grow; they labour not, neither do they spin: but I say to you,
that not even Solomon in all his glory was arrayed as one of these. And
if the grass of the field, which is today, and tomorrow is cast into
the oven, God doth so clothe; how much more you, O ye of little faith?"
[Matt: VI. 28-30] See, then, how entirely free from anxiety are the
flowers of the field about that clothing in which they glory, for all
their beauty they acknowledge to be received from God alone, openly
declaring that they owe nothing to human care. Now the nature of things, which is derived from the
Providence of God, the industry and
skill of man may imitate, but cannot rival; and so the robe of Solomon,
which was exquisite in fabric, and ornamented even to a miracle, did
yet in no way equal the elegance of the most insignificant flower. And
do you now judge, if God clothes with such beauty the commonest
flowers, which will be cut down and thrown into the fire, how much more
will He clothe you who were formed by Him for immortality, and provide
what is necessary not merely for covering the body, but also, if need
be, for adorning it.
And to these arguments
our Lord joins also a third one: -----"Which
of you,
by taking thought, can add to his stature one cubit?" [Luke XII. 25]
Nay, rather he will diminish it by anxiety, for here the diligence of
no one will profit him: "If then ye be not able to do so much as the
least thing why take ye thought for the rest?" [Luke XII. 26] If the
greatest anxiety you can show does not advance so trifling a thing as
that the stature of your body should increase, how
will an abundance of corn and riches heaped together be able to
preserve your body in life, unless the Providence of God grants a
blessing? Empty and fruitless is all your labour unless God prospers
it. To Him, therefore, commit the care of nourishing your body, to Him,
too, the care of causing it to grow, for this He will do most fittingly
and sweetly, without any assistance from your anxiety. He openeth His
Hand, and filleth all living things with blessing. [Ps. CXLIV. 16]
2. Since God,
therefore, provides for all things which are necessary to support life,
for "He hath equally care of all,"
[Wisd. VI. 8] how comes it that there is so great a number of people in
every place who suffer from the extremity of want? Truly does S.
Chrysostom [Orat. S. de Div. et
Paup.] say,
-----"Not only do poor men
stand
in need of the rich, but the rich need the poor, and more so than the
poor need the rich." And let us imagine two cities, in one of which
rich men alone live, and in the other only poor: there can be no
dealings between them; for in the former there will be no mechanics or
tradesmen, no tailor, baker,
smith, woollen-draper, or labourer. For such callings as these the rich
are not adapted. There will be no menservants or maids here; and what
sort of city, then, will it be if deprived of external help? In the
other there will be an abundance of those who mend shoes, make clothes,
and cultivate the fields; plenty of people, in a word, who are
satisfied with moderate means. But if the necessaries of life were
supplied to all in abundance, what would follow? The destruction of all
trades, mechanics' works and crafts of all
kinds. Building, navigation, bird-catching, fishing, and trading of
all sorts would go to ruin; and who would be masters, if there were
none who would offer themselves as servants? Poverty, therefore,
preserves the human race, and adorns it. Poverty makes men diligent and
industrious. Poverty stimulates the arts. Let Poverty be banished
from the world, and at the same time good manners, and nearly all
virtues will be banished with it. To eat, drink, sport, act the
glutton, or the wanton, and more than act the wanton, will be the chief
busines of life; riot will attend upon extravagance, vice upon riches.
Where there is abundance of all things, there is generally no lack of
vices also. Years of plenty prove this, in which the taverns are full
of drunkards and overflow with all kinds of filthiness and infamy. The
Deluge is an evidence of this; its beginnings were ease and luxury; and
so the life of all men was lost to every feeling of shame, and was
brimming over with lusts. See, then, how great is the Providence of
God, which by means of poverty draws men from wantonness to toil.
Labour stimulates the best of men. Whatever object of beauty we
anywhere behold was laboriously fashioned by those who were ill
supplied with money, and who therefore were obliged to sell their
labours. With how great Providence, moreover, does God
come to our aid in poverty! "The Lord will not afflict the soul of the
just with famine." [Prov. X. 3] S. Francis, when standing before the
Bishop of Assisi, with nothing but a common piece of linen wrapped
round him, exclaimed-----"Now can I say with perfect freedom,
'Our Father
Who art in Heaven.' " He used also to give to his followers, as
provision for their journey, those words of the Psalmist,-----"Cast thy
care upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee." [Ps. LIV. 23] When the
Roman pontiff also was inquiring about their means of support, he
replied,-----"We
have a poor Mother indeed, Religion,
but a very rich
Father." And so it is, this Father embraces His Children with such care
and Providence that, when human aid fails, He ministers Divine.
S. Dominic, when
founding his order, sent out two of his followers to
preach. One evening they were tired, and hungry, and were sorrowfully
complaining that they were among strangers, and had descended to the
lowest depths of poverty in a place where no help could be expected,
whereupon a certain person met them, and discovering the cause of their
sorrow, addressed them as follows: -----"You have forsaken all for the love
of God, and so have showed great trust in Him, and are you now full of
fear, as if you were bereft of all hope? God feeds the cattle, and will
He suffer His children to perish with hunger?" Having said this he
left them. They then entered a city, and after they had said their
prayers in the church they were invited to supper by the curate. But
another person also came up and showed great eagerness that they should
become his guests; whereupon a friendly contest began between the two;
and this was put an end to by a third person, a man high in authority
in that place, who carried them off with him to his house as well as
the curate and the other who was offering hospitality, and
entertained them all sumptuously. And so our Lord says to His Own
people, when they have toiled all the night,-----"Come and dine." [John
XXI. 12] And yet there are times when these examples do not root out
our want of Trust in God. Whatever He supplies we still fear want; in
the very midst of water we are apprehensive of drought, and, unless a
great abundance of everything surrounds us, we believe that much is
wanting. And so the wicked thought ever and anon disturbs us,-----Where is
that which you hope for? To which S. Augustine well replies,-----"Hope is
not yet come to its fulfillment. An egg is something, but it is not yet
a chicken."
4. The story goes
that there was once upon a time a beggar, who,
when he saw his wallet full, and completely stuffed out with bread,
used to say, -----"Now
I hope!" And we are
very like this beggar, for we, in sooth, hope when we believe that
there is a prospect of our living sumptuously for many a year to come.
We, in fact, conceive hope in exact proportion to our possessions at
the time.
S. Amatus was a noble
mirror for all such to look into as either show
impatience against Divine Providence, or silently accuse it. After he
had spent thirty years in a monastery he passed a life of perfect
contentment on a solitary rock, for Berinus, who was assigned as a
companion to him by the brotherhood, only brought him every third day a
barley loaf and a pitcher of water. This was the rule both of his food
and obedience. But the evil spirit was exasperated by his abstinence.
And so upon a favourable occasion, vhen the holy man was on his knees,
wrestling in prayer with God, a raven flew to him, and upset the
pitcher and carried off the bread; and so all the three days' stock of
provisions was lost. And what did Amatus then do? Perhaps he was
enraged against the raven, and cursed the greedy bird with direful
imprecations, and gave vent to fierce complaints about the Providence
of God, and cursed these devices of the devil? He did nothing of the
kind. This is our accustomed way of
talking. Raising his hands and his soul towards Heaven, he said,
-----"I
give Thee thanks, O Lord JESU, because it is pleasing to Thy most Holy
Will to discipline me with a longer fast. I know that this will be good
for me, since nothing happens in the world without Thy Providence."
Listen to this, ye querulous and unbelieving ones! Nothing is done in
the world without Divine Providence, apart from which not even a leaf
falls from a tree. And do you imagine that houses are burnt lown, ships
sunk, fortunes lost, good names blasted, while this Providence is
lulled to sleep?
Theodoret relates that
S. Mresimas had two barrels, one full of wheat,
and the other of oil. From these he used to give very liberally to the
poor, and yet the tubs did not become empty. And God likewise has two
barrels, the one full of corn and all things needful to support life,
the other brimful and running over with mercy, liberality, and
providence; and neither oi them can be exhausted. To these two
depositories must we run when our little vessels begin to be dry. Only
let us thoroughly learn this one thing, TO TRUST IN GOD, and to commend
ourselves afresh to His most Holy Will.
There is an old saying
among the Germans, that if we did what we ought, God would do what we
wished.
Wann wir
thaten was wir
solten, So that Gott was wit wolten.
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