First sentence: God has revealed the goal and nature and extent of his providence. He has not been silent. He has shown us these things in the Bible. This is one of the reasons that the apostle Paul says, “All Scripture is . . . profitable” (2 Tim. 3:16). The profit lies not mainly in the validation of a theological viewpoint but in the revelation of a great God, the exaltation of his invincible grace, and the liberation of his undeserving people. God has revealed his purposeful sovereignty over good and evil in order to humble human pride, intensify human worship, shatter human hopelessness, and put ballast in the battered boat of human faith, steel in the spine of human courage, gladness in the groans of affliction, and love in the heart that sees no way forward.

It is finished! It took me over a month--perhaps closer to two--to finish this one. Was it worth it? Yes. Do I see this as a book worthy of a reread? Yes. I think it is a substantive, weighty book where a reader would benefit from a second read. Or perhaps as an alternative as a resource to go back to again and again.

I will not try to provide an in-depth review of each part, each section, each chapter.

Part 1: A Definition and a Difficulty
1. What is Divine Providence
2. Is Divine Self-Exaltation Good News?
Part 2: The Ultimate Goal of Providence
Section 1: The Ultimate Goal of Providence before Creation and in Creation
3. Before Creation
4. The Act of Creation
Section 2: The Ultimate Goal of Providence in the History of Israel
5. Overview from Abraham to the Age to Come
6. The Exodus Unfolds
7. Remembering the Exodus
8. The Law, the Wilderness, and the Conquest of Canaan
9. The Time of the Judges and the Days of the Monarchy
10. The Protection, Destruction, and Restoration of Jerusalem
Section 3: The Ultimate Goal of Providence in the Design and Enactment of the New Covenant
11. The Designs of the New Covenant
12. Christ's Foundational Act in Establishing the New Covenant
13. The Entrance of Sin into Creation and the Glory of the Gospel
14. The Glory o fChrist in the Glorification of His People
Part 3: The Nature and Extent of Providence
Section 1: Setting the Stage
15. Knowing the Providence of the God Who Is
Section 2: Providence Over Nature
16. The Loss and Recovery of a Theater of Wonders
17. Earth, Water, Wind, Plants, and Animals
Section 3: Providence over Satan and Demons
18. Satan and Demons
19. The Ongoing Existence of Satan
Section 4: Providence over Kings and Nations
20. Israel's Divine King is King of the Nations
21. Human Kingship and the King of Kings
22. To Know and Rejoice That the Most High Rules
Section 5: Providence Over Life and Death
23. A Bath of Truth and the Gift of Birth
24. The Lord Has Taken Away; Blessed Be the Name of the Lord
25. We Are Immortal till Our Work is Done
Section 6: Providence Over Sin
26. Natural Human Willing and Acting
27. Things We Know and Things We Do Not Need to Know
28. Joseph: God's Good Meaning in a Sinful Act
29. Israel Hated, Pharaoh Hardened, God Exalted, Helpless Saved
30. Broken Families
31. Deception and Dullness of Heart
32. Though He Cause Grief, He Will Have Compassion
33. A Wickedness God Especially Abhorred
Section 7: Providence Over Conversion
34. Our Condition Before Conversion
35. Three Biblical Pictures of How God Brings People to Faith
36. Saving Faith as the Gift of Providence
37. Driven Back to the Precious Roots of Election
Section 8: Providence Over Christian Living
38. Forgiveness, Justification, and Obedience
39. God's Command-and-Warning Strategy
40. Those Whom He Called, He Also Glorified
41. Blood-Bought Zeal for Good Works
42. Working In Us That Which Is Pleasing In His Sight
43. Killing Sin and Creating Love--By Faith
Section 9: The Final Achievement of Providence
44. The Triumph of Missions and the Coming of Christ
45. New Bodies, New World, Never-Ending Gladness in God

If you take the time to thoughtfully read the table of contents you see that Piper's book covers just about anything and everything.

Is it accessible or reader friendly? This will vary reader by reader, of course, but I think if taken one to three chapters at a time, it IS more accessible than not. I do want to point out that it isn't equally accessible cover to cover. There are chapters--or paragraphs within chapters--that are quite complex and where Piper's approach is more technical/scholarly. The good news is that if you keep reading, keep on keeping on, that you will get back to parts you are able to understand/comprehend/appreciate. And sometimes he even provides summary of the harder bits by the end of the chapter or section. Don't give up.

The book covers just about everything--it's very broad in its subject. I think it's only natural that some readers will "love" some chapters and sections more than others. While all chapters are relevant when seen in the grand scheme of seeing God's Providence, not all chapters are equally relevant in showing how God's providence relates back to the reader. The last third of the book is, in my opinion, the best.

Quotes:
I am going to use the word providence to refer to a biblical reality. The reality is not found in any single Bible word. It emerges from the way God has revealed himself through many texts and many stories in the Bible. They are like threads woven together into a beautiful tapestry greater than any one thread. We are using a word that is not in the Bible for the sake of this larger truth of the Bible.
The focus of this book is on God’s sovereignty considered not simply as powerful but as purposeful. Historically, the term providence has been used as shorthand for this more specific focus.
God does not simply see as a passive bystander. As God, he is never merely an observer. He is not a passive observer of the world—and not a passive predictor of the future. Wherever God is looking, God is acting. In other words, there is a profound theological reason why God’s providence does not merely mean his seeing, but rather his seeing to. When God sees something, he sees to it.
Providence says, Whatever God ordains must be; but the wisdom of God never ordains anything without a purpose. Everything in this world is working for some one great end.
It is cheap grace, not genuine grace, that thinks life in Christ is without remorse for past sin and for remaining corruption.
The fear of the Lord is not the opposite of joy in the Lord; it is the depth and seriousness of it.
Jesus is both the ground of our salvation, and the glory we were saved to see and savor and share. He was the price that was paid for our deliverance, and the prize we were destined to enjoy. He redeemed us from hell, and he rewarded us with himself.
Though death is real, (1) Christ has defeated it by his death and resurrection, so that (2) those who treasure him need not fear what kills the body, because (3) in that moment we will be with Christ, seeing his glory, savoring his love, feeling at home, until the day of his appearing, when (4) he will raise our bodies from the dead, and (5) give us a body like his glorious body, and (6) renew all creation as our eternal habitation, and (7) bring us to fullness of joy and pleasures forever in the radiance of his glorious presence. That is bracing reality.
What if I look you in the eye and ask, “Are you a Christian? Do you have saving faith in Jesus?” And what if you say, “Yes, I do,” and I then ask, “How did that happen? How did you cease to be a person who preferred other things to God and become a person who treasures Christ?” Will you be able to give me a true, biblical answer? This is not theoretical. This is urgent. For most people, the answer presses for an answer with more urgency than the question of election. It feels like something great hangs in the balance. And it does.
I am not asking about what you can remember about the circumstances—young or old, recent or distant. Those facts may be precious in memory or long forgotten. The genuineness of our conversion does not depend on its being remembered. If it did, people with dementia would be in a desperate spiritual plight. Salvation is not by works—including the work of memory.
Far more important than the human circumstances God used to bring you to faith is how God himself was involved at the moment when you passed from death to life (Eph. 2:5). And we learn that from Scripture, not from memory. In fact, many people must unlearn aspects of what they think happened, when they finally see in Scripture what truly happened in their conversion.
Experience does not teach us the depth of our difficulty. Only God can do that. And he does it by his word and Spirit.
The point is that any sin—because it is sin (a preference for something over God)—will destroy us if we cordon it off from opposition, give it amnesty, and keep it as our beloved rebellion against God.
I often ask people, How do you know you will wake up a Christian tomorrow morning? The bottom-line answer is that God will cause you to wake up a Christian, or you won’t. God will be faithful. God will keep you. Everything hangs on the faithfulness of God to his promise: “Those whom he called . . . he also glorified.”
Holiness is the opposite of sin. Therefore, treasuring God above all things is the essence of holiness.

It’s time for me to write a review on this book. However, I feel somewhat inadequate to write a review because of the depth of the topic. I’m not quite qualified to critique the theology presented here. As of right now, I am still reading and thinking through it. There’s so much here to learn, and although it may take me awhile to make my way though the book. It’s going to be well-worth the time spent in reading and thought.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

John Piper is a name frequently heard in my home and in our social circles. My husband and I both were excited for this new title from Piper and especially for this topic.

As is typical of Piper's writing, Providence is clearly written with approachable language on an advanced topic, beautifully edited, and full of Bible references to support what he communicates. For such a massive, door stop of a book, the chapters are short enough to easily consume, with helpful chapter titles and subsections.

Even the very beginning of the book is such a delight, so helpful, and so worshipful. Especially in our current difficult times, this topic is timely and refreshing to explore. It's hard to review just this book, when what I really want to say in response to reading this is how great our God is! Piper's writing continually pointed me back to God and brought clarity to Scripture that I didn't previously have, or simply put in his simple and clear words things I understood in my heart but couldn't articulate.

I sincerely hope that Christians in general wouldn't be intimidated by the size of this book. It's worth it. If you want to know more about who God is, if you want to read more Scripture, if you are fearful in this world, I cannot recommend this book enough.

Thank you NetGalley and Crossway for an ecopy of this book in exchange for my honest review. We have since received a physical copy, and it's beautiful, super heavy, and my husband and I are enjoying reading this together.

John Piper’s new book — Providence — is, in my assessment, the crowning achievement of his ministry as a God-glorifying author. The vast scope and depth of this book could only have been written by a person who has soaked in the Word of God for decades. I have all of Piper’s previous books — and I can now say that this is his best book.

A quick glance at the table of contents will show that he very carefully takes the reader though the entire Bible on a journey of grasping the awesome glory of God and His ways in our world. In the advance copy that was provided to me it is indicated that the final published version will include both a general and a Scripture index. The Scripture index will make this volume a treasure to draw from as one studies the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. I can hardly wait to get the finished product so as to begin using this great new resource in my own study of God’s Word. It is clearly the longest book that Piper has ever written — and it deals with the most grand subject he has ever taken on as an author. And the well-crafted manner in which the book is both laid out — and in which Piper unfolds the message — make this a book that is hard to put down. It is that good!

The book is absolutely soaked in texts of Scripture — and as been true of Piper throughout his ministry as a writer — he is committed to dealing with the hard issues that surface as we seek to grasp the message of the Bible. Simply put — this volume will stand out, in my opinion, as the highpoint amidst all of the other amazing books that have come from the pen of John Piper. It has my highest recommendation!

I received a free advance copy of this book from the publisher and have complete freedom to express my views.

Piper's mature thoughts on Providence are contained in this book. He tackles the subject from a broader Augustinian perspective, and specifically from a Calvinistic point of view. His book is expansive on Piper's previous treatments on justification and predestination and his main backbone for the book is:

Goal (I like that he defines Providence as intentional towards all creation and specifically for man)
Nature (Well grounded on Christology following the best of the Reformed tradition and broader Christian tradition)
Extent (Very thorough treatment on both OT and NT events, circumstances and peoples)

About half of the book is devoted to the extent itself, with very thorough treatments on many, many passages of Scripture. It is perhaps, if not the most, one of the most exhaustive treatments on the subject and at the caliber of Flavel's.

Piper doesn't give much explicit practice on the subject, but it is there, just hidden for those readers who pay careful attention. His treatment on free will is Edwarsian, and even though I do agree that Jonathan Edwards is compatible with the broader Reformed Orthodox tradition, Piper is shallow on this. Of course, I say this as someone who has read from Vermigli to Turretin to Voetius to Aquinas on the subject of freedom of the will.

Overall, this book should be on your shelf as a one-stop station on this subject. The best modern treatment I have seen on this topic.

Providence is a word not mentioned in the Bible, however there are many examples of God’s providence in the Bible. Author and pastor John Piper does a spectacular job examining and explaining each of God’s providences from the Old Testament to the New Testament.
This book surprised me in a good way. I never thought about providence, let alone God’s providence in the Bible. It’s definitely a book you will want to take the time to read closely.

I graciously received an advance e-copy from Netgalley for review. All opinions are my own.

This is a meaty book, meaning it is extremlly long but John writes in such an engaging way that I didn’t mind plowing through and reading his insights.

So much good stuff in here and a wonderful reminder of God’s providence. I highlighted so many thoughts but honestly I can’t share them all, that would be its own book.

One thing I remember reading that really stuck with me due to our current political climate, no matter what side you voted for, is that God puts kings on thrones and removes them. I think we can apply that to presidents as well. God is in control and His providence will prevail whether we like the outcome or not. It’s all about His glory, not man’s.

If you are looking for a deeper insight into God’s providence I highly recommend this book. It is worth the time it will take to get through.



A copy of this book was given to me through Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

John Piper, well-known Christian author and pastor, is renowned for his ability to preach the Bible. In this book, Piper explains the concept of providence, and its effects on the Christian life. Providence is described by Piper as "God's purposeful sovereignty" (p.155). This book is divided into the following aspects of providence: its goal, nature, and extent. Most of the book was too deep for a regular person like me, but I could see how theologians and pastors would really enjoy this book and understand Piper's viewpoints. Also, at over 8000 pages, this book would definitely be more for someone who is well versed in doctrine and theology.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.