proverb · Words worth keeping
God reacheth us good things with our own hands.
God reacheth us good things with our own hands.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
The saying connects divine help with human action. It can encourage participation in a hoped-for result, but it should not make faith a guarantee of success or imply that people who need assistance have failed to use their hands well enough.
What the words are saying
The hands are both the means of receiving and the means of doing. By bringing them into the statement about God, the proverb makes action part of the imagined provision rather than setting prayer or hope apart from practical effort. A person who uses the phrase may be encouraging a step that is within reach. Its religious framing belongs to that reading, not to a universal explanation of outcomes. Circumstances can limit what anyone can do, and help from others may be essential. A constructive application asks what contribution is possible and what support is needed. It does not assign fault to someone in difficulty or promise that effort earns divine favour.
Everyday example
A faith community hoping to improve access to its reading room arranges a survey with visitors and offers practical help with the changes they identify.
When to use it
Use it within an appropriate faith context to connect hope with a feasible practical contribution.
What it does not mean
Effort does not guarantee success or divine favour; people may need support and hold different beliefs.
Agent-assisted editorial interpretation. This explains the words; it does not by itself verify their author or earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Historical period not yet established
No sufficiently supported historical placement has been established. Import and download dates are not treated as composition dates. - Recorded source
- A Dictionary of English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases
Entry 709 · Good things
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
- Culture
- English
