Answer: The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.” (Psalm 145: 9). In a wide sense, God’s providential care attaches to every creature.

God’s special providences have been exercised toward His consecrated people during the faith Ages – from Abel’s day until the present time. This was especially true during the Gospel Age in respect to the calling and election of the Church, the body of Christ. Although God is not presently dealing with the world as His sons and granting them His favor, He is exercising a general providential oversight toward them. God has devised, and has already partially executed, a plan for the world’s redemption and restitution during the coming Millennial Age, which has been set aside for that purpose. God sent His only begotten Son to die for them (John 3: 16, 17). Jesus tasted “death for every man”; He “gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time”; for God “will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.” (Hebrews 2: 9) (1 Timothy 2: 4, 6). God has also been developing His consecrated people, preparing them to act as His agents for the uplift of the world during our Lord’s Mediatorial Reign.  

In the meantime, God is giving the world such experiences as will in due time bring them to realize their own helplessness, and to desire and seek God’s favor. All the bitterness of sin and evil that men have experienced have been painful, but will eventually prove to be useful lessons to mankind. To this end God has been overruling the affairs of men for the past sixty-one hundred years. That is, while He has been permitting men to rule themselves according to their own ideas, He has been, unknown to them, so overruling as to make even their blind and evil course bring to pass His purpose. For example, the world’s present course is bringing about a great time of trouble, which will ultimately overthrow all human governments. But man’s extremity will be God’s opportunity, for their experience with sin and its consequences will prepare them for the righteous reign of the Prince of Peace. When man experiences God’s Kingdom blessings, he will understand and profit by contrasting those experiences of good with the present evil.

Psalm 76: 10 reads, “Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee: the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain.” In God’s far-seeing wisdom, He has permitted, and has used the wrath of men, devils and even the Adversary himself, as His agents, who have unintentionally been working out His plans. And that which would work no good, serve no purpose, or teach no lesson, but which would be subversive to the Divine arrangements, He interferes with, and restrains.

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