Henty Essay Contest Winners
FIRST PLACE WINNER
Rylan McQuade
HENTY and GOD’S PROVIDENCE
In a culture that is immersed in self absorption and reliance on one’s own
achievements, we are in great need of the historical books by Mr. Henty. His works
reveal God’s sovereign power over all His people and events; they show us that
nothing works out by our own brilliance but instead by God’s divine providence.
Isaiah 46: 9-11 tells of the importance of studying God’s orchestrated plan
in history and gleaning all that we can about God’s manifested glory. Mr. Henty
understood this and authored scores of books which provide us with a detailed description
of historical events while showing God’s providence woven throughout. Some
of his depictions display God’s providence in timing, in raising and humbling
nations, the giving and taking of wealth, and even His sovereignty over the weather.
God’s providence in timing allowed Admiral Francis Drake to lead a band of
English buccaneers to the Caribbean where they lay in wait for and then plundered
the Spanish merchant ships which were laden with imports from the New World. Mr.
Henty magnificently captures the facts surrounding these events and packs them into
Under Drake’s Flag. He also reveals how it was a necessary precursor for the
English Protestants to amass this great wealth prior to the onset of the Eighty
Years’ War against Catholic Spain.
Another example of God’s providential governance over the timing of events
occurs in By Pike and Dyke and By England’s Aid. These books portray how the
mega-empire of Spain failed to conquer the Netherlands, a nation initially defended
by simple fishermen and sailors. This is an excellent example of what Proverbs 21:30-31
emphatically states, “No wisdom, no understanding, no counsel can avail against
the Lord. The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but the victory belongs
to the Lord.” This victory was no different. God sent two furious tempests
which wreaked havoc on the Spanish armada just as they prepared to invade England.
Had the invasion succeeded, England would have been unable to come to the aid of
the Dutch. These storms turned the tide of the war and ultimately resulted in England’s
crushing the Spanish war machine, thereby preserving religious freedom in both the
Netherlands and England. Psalm 33:10 reminds us, “The LORD brings the counsel
of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples.”
In Beric the Briton, Mr. Henty reveals the important aspect of God’s providence
in raising and humbling nations and that He is the one who bestows power. This book
illustrates the final war between the Romans and the Britons while revealing the
vast power and discipline of the victorious Roman legions. In one battle, the Romans
were outnumbered 23 to 1, but God used their superior discipline to display His
sovereignty, even among Pagan nations, as He brings His will to fruition. Job 12:23
and Psalm 22:28 state that God is the one who enlarges and destroys nations for
His glory.
Mr. Henty teaches how God is the giver and taker of wealth in The Lion of the North
and Won by the Sword. He demonstrates how God allowed France to increase in wealth
so they could help the Protestant Swedes in their hour of need. The Swedes and their
French allies eventually triumphed over the united countries of Spain, Austria,
and Bavaria, thus maintaining their religious liberty throughout much of Europe.
Mr. Henty also shows God’s amazing providence in By Right of Conquest. In this
exciting and dramatic book, Hernando Cortez, a veteran Spaniard, conquers the whole
of the mighty Aztec kingdom starting with only 400 Spanish soldiers and 6,500 Mexican
allies. God allowed this to happen in order to make ready a haven in the New World
for the Pilgrims as their time to flee religious persecution approached.
In the thriller, For the Temple, Mr. Henty reveals that God always carries out His
judgment on the unfaithful and that He always does what He promises to do. Jesus
predicted in Matthew 24:3, speaking of the buildings of the temple, that, “There
will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”
This was fulfilled to the letter when the Roman General Titus sacked Jerusalem in
A.D. 70. God did this so We can look repeatedly at events in history and see how
civilizations were destroyed because of their unfaithfulness to God and realize
that will also be our fate if we turn from Him.
In St. Bartholomew's Eve, Mr. Henty uses the unmerciful torture and slaughter of
the Huguenots to remind that God’s providence governs even tragedy. This exciting
book tells of how the Huguenots united and defended themselves under the command
of Gaspard de Coligny. Eventually, a peace treaty was signed and one of the Huguenot
noblemen was planned to be married to a Catholic princess. The king swore that he
would give safe conduct to all the Huguenots who attended the wedding. However,
his mother incited him against the Protestants and he treacherously massacred 3,000
sleeping Huguenots in one night. This kindled a great persecution during which 8,000
more Huguenots were murdered. God did this so that many Catholics, seeing the Huguenots
remain steadfast under persecution, would themselves be converted. God also planned
for this to happen so that the Huguenots would flee to America and the Netherlands
and there be shining witnesses for Christ.
These are only a few examples of how Mr. Henty shows us God’s marvelous providence
in his fascinating books. Christians ought to study history in order to see God’s
plan throughout it and not fall prey to the same mistakes our predecessors made;
fathers are commanded to teach their children about history so that they may, “set
their hope in God and not forget His works” (Psalm 78:7). By reading the books
in the Henty series, we can learn both accurate, historical facts in context as
well as see that same history littered with God’s providence. Romans 15:4 tells
us that we must learn of the mighty deeds of God throughout history so that we can
glean valuable lessons from them. Written from a Christian perspective, Mr. Henty’s
books do an excellent job in reminding the reader of God’s sovereignty throughout
the ages. Psalm 78:4, 6-7 tells us: “We will not hide them from their children,
but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might,
and the wonders that he has done. That the next generation might know them, the
children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children, so that they should
set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments.”
ABOUT RYLAN MCQUADE
My name is Rylan McQuade. I am 14 years old, the oldest of four brothers and soon
to have a new baby sister from China. We live near Frankfurt, Germany. Some of my
hobbies include tennis, piano, debating, learning about history, and fencing.
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