Providence
God's providential governance of the world and human affairs — ordering events "sweetly and strongly" for the good of the Church and individuals. Van der Burch's inauguration coincided providentially with Lapide's commentary; divine governance "reaches from end to end mightily, and orders all things sweetly."
Preliminaries
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TO THE MOST REVEREND AND MOST ILLUSTRIOUS LORD HENRY FRANCIS VAN DER BURCH, ARCHBISHOP AND DUKE OF CAMBRAI, PRINCE OF THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE, COUNT OF CAMBRAI.
— Van der Burch's inauguration as Archbishop coincided providentially with the publication of Lapide's commentary.
"It happened opportunely, by God's providential arrangement, Most Illustrious Lord, that at the very time you were being inaugurated as Archbishop and Prince of the Holy Roman Empire at Cambrai, this Moses of mine... was brought into the light."
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TO THE MOST REVEREND AND MOST ILLUSTRIOUS LORD HENRY FRANCIS VAN DER BURCH, ARCHBISHOP AND DUKE OF CAMBRAI, PRINCE OF THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE, COUNT OF CAMBRAI.
— Van der Burch's governance imitates the "most wise providence of God which divinely governs the whole world" and "orders all things sweetly."
"That most wise providence of God which divinely governs the whole world, as the Sage testifies, 'reaches from end to end mightily, and orders all things sweetly.'"
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THE LIFE OF CORNELIUS A LAPIDE.
— Lapide was preserved from the attack at Aspromont "by a wonderful providence."
"he himself was preserved unharmed by a wonderful providence"
Preface and Praise of Sacred Scripture
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Section One
— From the weight, number, and measure of created things one may admire the most wise providence of the great Architect.
"from the weight, number, and measure of these same things, one may admire and look up to the most wise providence of this great Architect"
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Chapter II: On the Object and Breadth of Sacred Scripture
— Aristotle fixes the First Mover to the East, asserts He moves by natural necessity, and denies or obscures God's providence over men and things beneath the moon.
"as for the immortality of the soul, God's providence over men and things beneath the moon, future punishments and rewards, he either flatly denies them or so obscures them"
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I. The Old Testament Establishes Faith
— From the succession of so many ages in the Old Testament we acknowledge God's providence.
"Whence did we acknowledge God's providence, unless from the succession of so many ages?"
Commentary on the Pentateuch of Moses
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Canons Bearing a Torch Before the Pentateuch
— All Old Testament theophanies were made through angels bearing God's person
"it is more true that all these apparitions were made through angels, who in assumed bodies bore the person of God"
Chapter I (The Six Days of Creation)
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God (Elohim): Thirteen Definitions
— God is providence itself over all things; nothing happens without being commanded or permitted from His interior court.
"God is providence itself over all things; for, as Saint Augustine says, book III of On the Trinity, chapter iv: "Nothing happens visibly and perceptibly that is not either commanded or permitted from the interior, invisible, and intelligible court of the supreme ruler,"
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Verse 11: Let the earth bring forth
— St. Basil marvels at God's providence in germination: stalks equal in number to roots, joints strengthening wheat to bear ears, husks hiding grain from birds.
"Basil marvels, and rightly so, at God's providence in germination, which sends up stalks equal in number to the roots."
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Verse 9: Let the waters be gathered together
— The raging sea is restrained not by its shores but by God's command as by a bridle; He set for the sea its boundary which it cannot transgress.
"Theodoretus notes that the raging sea is restrained not so much by its shores as by God's command, as by a bridle: otherwise it would often break through and overwhelm everything."
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Verse 20: Let the Waters Bring Forth
— St. Basil teaches us to admire God's power, wisdom, and munificence in the theater of the sea, and to give perpetual thanks.
"St. Basil teaches, first, to admire God's power, wisdom, and munificence in this theater of the sea, and to give Him perpetual thanks for as many benefits as there are fish, indeed drops in the sea."