The providence of God is more than a distant, unattainable doctrine professed by ancient clerics. It is a living, breathing reality which should fire the spiritual passion and calm the soul of every true believer in Jesus Christ. It is motivation for the believer. It is hope. It is life.

And for the Phillips family, it is even more: It is the peace of a newborn baby. It is the hope of future generations. It is the beauty of a child.

On December 11, 2003, at 4:35 in the morning, God brought into this world and to the Phillips family a blessed answer to prayer, our fourth son and seventh child, Providence Mather Phillips. He was born in the comfort and safety of our home, assisted by the able hands of our midwife. We thank God for that “kind and special providence” of Christ to so privilege us with the responsibility and joy of such a gift. May the glorious name of Jehovah be praised in the life of this boy

On January 7, we asked a small handful of brothers and sisters in the Lord to join us for an evening of blessing, of covenantal commitments as a family, and for the announcement of the name of God’s new gift to the Phillips household.

For the better part of an hour, we read from Scripture of the providence of God, we spoke of the multi-generational Mather family who kept covenant one with another for at least four generations and who Washington once described as America’s true founding fathers.

We read from a rare and ancient Bible — the first “free” family Bible published in the United States — the introduction of which was written by John Witherspoon himself, the clergyman who trained approximately one sixth of the members of the Constitutional Convention in Reformation principles of law and government, and who introduced to the Declaration of Independence the phrase, “with a firm reliance on divine Providence.”

We lifted our child to the Lord and prayed for his soul, his life mission, his future spouse, and the generations yet to be born who might proceed from him. My sons prayed over him and purposed to stand with their father as we together raise Providence in the fear and nurture of the Lord. And dear men prayed for my son — blessed men. Friends who have stood with us after the birth of each of our children since moving to Texas.