Chapter XV: The Definition of Providence, § 157
CHAPTER XV: THE DEFINITION OF PROVIDENCE
§ 156. From the preceding paragraphs we establish the following definition of divine providence: divine providence is the act by which God not only looks upon all things but also preserves each and every thing He has created according to the counsel of His will; governs them freely, powerfully, wisely, doing this ordinarily by preserving the established course of nature but extraordinarily by acting without natural means or even contrary to them; especially directs the life and actions of all people by commanding, aiding, and approving good things, and by permitting evil things, by setting their limits beforehand, and by eliciting good from them. Damascenus defines it briefly and powerfully (Orth. fid., bk. 2, ch. 29): “Providence is the care which God has for all things which exist.” And again: “Providence is the will of God through which all things which exist receive their proper kind of life.”
The summation of all the preceding points.
§ 157. If anyone would delight in a brief synopsis of everything we have said so far, he could proceed as follows: The action of the providence of God is either eternal, namely, foreknowledge and end purpose [πρόγνωσις καὶ πρόθεσις], or temporal, namely, the preservation and governance of creation; and this happens either ordinarily through means or extraordinarily, that is, either without or contrary to means. Both involve all things, especially human nature, in whose preservation and governance human life and actions are prominent. Of [human] life, what is considered is the entrance to, progress in, and departure from life. Some actions are good, and this is true either civilly or spiritually, or they are evil. With certain aphorisms we explained how the act of divine providence concurs in all these.
We conclude with the exclamation of Augustine (Confess., bk. 3, ch. 11): “O Almighty Good, You who care for each one of us as though alone and care for all together as if they were single—to You be praise and honor and thanksgiving forever. Amen.”