Bible Truths Illustrated by J. C. Ferdinand Pittman

BIBLE TRUTHS ILLUSTRATED
out His permission, and "to them that love God all things
work together for good" (Rom. 8:28).
To those in the vale, life consists of an apparently confused
mass of events. From the lowlands of earthly life, we cannot
comprehend the grandeur of the divine plan. But from heaven's
high hill the Almighty sees no confusion, no disconnected events,
but countless seemingly unrelated and adverse experiences, like
timber and bricks and stones fixed in proper positions in the
building being erected to His glory.
Not until Joseph was raised to the throne could he see the
meaning of being thrown into a pit, sold as a slave, and imprisoned,
but now all is plain. So, only from the throne of the
Almighty can the real plan of life be seen.
Often, by special intervention, God comes to the help of His
people, at the exact moment of extremity. Two striking illustrations
are found in the cases of Abraham and Hagar. Abraham's
knife was uplifted to strike his son, and, just then, the
angel of the Lord intervened, and prevented the tragedy (Gen.
22:10-12). Hagar, wandering in the wilderness of Beer-sheba,
lifted up her voice and wept, for her child was dying, and just
then, "God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water" (Gen.
21:19).
The supreme test of faith is when all is dark, yet the
Christian believes that
"Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face."
696. My bark is wafted to the strand
By breath divine,
And on the helm there rests a hand
Other than mine. — Dean Alford.
697. An old author, writes C. H. Spurgeon, assures us that
"the Jews fancy, concerning the cloud that conducted Israel
through the wilderness, that it did not only lead them in the
way which they must go, but also fit the way for them to go
upon it; that it cleared all the mountains and smoothed all the
rocks ; that it cleared all the bushes and removed all the rubs."
What is probably a mere legend as to the type is abundantly
true of the providence of God, which it so accurately represents.
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