The Doctrine of Divine Preservation

God’s power is seen not only in creation but also in the preservation or maintenance of all that He created.

Who created the universe?

Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”

God preserves or maintains all created things.

Nehemiah 9:6 “Thou, even thou, art Lord alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee.”

Psalm 36:6 “Thy righteousness is like the great mountains; Thy judgments are a great deep: O Lord, thou preservest man and beast.”

Acts 17:28 “For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.”

Hebrews 1:2–4 “Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.”

John 5:17 “But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.”

In preserving the life of a man whi lives in sin, is God therefore a party to sin?

Hebrews 1:13 “But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool?”

James 1:13–14 “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.”

Does God preserve government among men?

Daniel 4:35 “And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?”

Psalm 22:28 “For the kingdom is the Lord’s: And he is the governor among the nations.”

Acts 17:26 “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;”

God’s preserves the animal creation.

Psalm 104:21–28 “The young lions roar after their prey, And seek their meat from God. The sun ariseth, they gather themselves together, And lay them down in their dens. Man goeth forth unto his work And to his labour until the evening. O Lord, how manifold are thy works! In wisdom hast thou made them all: The earth is full of thy riches. So is this great and wide sea, Wherein are things creeping innumerable, Both small and great beasts. There go the ships: There is that leviathan, whom thou hast made to play therein. These wait all upon thee; That thou mayest give them their meat in due season. That thou givest them they gather: Thou openest thine hand, they are filled with good.”

Matthew 6:26 “Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?”

Matthew 10:29 “Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.”

Are kings and rulers dependent on God?

Luke 1:52 “He hath put down the mighty from their seats, And exalted them of low degree.”

Daniel 5:18–21 “O thou king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honour: And for the majesty that he gave him, all people, nations, and languages, trembled and feared before him: whom he would he slew; and whom he would he kept alive; and whom he would he set up; and whom he would he put down. But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him: And he was driven from the sons of men; and his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses: they fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven; till he knew that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he appointeth over it whomsoever he will.”

God preserves our life by giving us the necessities of life.

Philippians 4:19 “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”

Psalm 68:10 “Thy congregation hath dwelt therein: Thou, O God, hast prepared of thy goodness for the poor.”

James 4:13–15 “Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.”

Does God preserve our Christian life?

Philippians 2:13 “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.”

Psalm 4:8 “I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: For thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety.”

Psalm 63:8 “My soul followeth hard after thee: Thy right hand upholdeth me.”

Psalm 121:3 “He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: He that keepeth thee will not slumber.”

God determines how far Satan may go in opposing the Lord’s people.

Job 1:12 “And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord.”

Psalm 124:2–3 “If it had not been the Lord who was on our side, When men rose up against us: Then they had swallowed us up quick, When their wrath was kindled against us:”

1 Corinthians 10:13 “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”

Cry out to the Lord when danger comes!

Psalm 107:23–28 “They that go down to the sea in ships, That do business in great waters; These see the works of the Lord, And his wonders in the deep. For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, Which lifteth up the waves thereof. They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: Their soul is melted because of trouble. They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, And are at their wits’ end. Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, And he bringeth them out of their distresses.”

God has promised to answer the prayers of His children.

Psalm 116:1–8 “I love the Lord, because he hath heard My voice and my supplications. Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, Therefore will I call upon him as long as I live. The sorrows of death compassed me, And the pains of hell gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow. Then called I upon the name of the Lord; O Lord, I beseech thee, deliver my soul. Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; Yea, our God is merciful. The Lord preserveth the simple: I was brought low, and he helped me. Return unto thy rest, O my soul; For the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee. For thou hast delivered my soul from death, Mine eyes from tears, And my feet from falling.”

1 Kings 18:36–38 “And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word. Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again. Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.”

God’s preserving care should encourage us to serve Him!

Malachi 3:10 “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be meat in mine house, And prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, If I will not open you the windows of heaven, And pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.”

Proverbs 3:6 “In all thy ways acknowledge him, And he shall direct thy paths.”

Colossians 1:26–29 “Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.”