"Yes, I am very sorry to leave her in this trouble. Do you think it
likely that Colonel Keith can escape?"
Ephraim shook his head.
"Is it possible?"
"`Possible' is a Divine word, not fit for the lips of men. What God
wills is possible. And it is not often that He lets us see long
beforehand what He means to do."
"Then you think all lies with God?" I said--I am afraid, in a rather
hopeless tone.
"Does not everything, at all times, lie with God? That means hope,
Cary, not despair. `Whatsoever the Lord pleased, that did He.'"
"Oh dear! that sounds as if--Ephraim, I don't mean to say anything
wicked--as if He did not care."
"He cares for our sanctification: that is, in the long run, for our
happiness. Would you rather that He cared just to rid you of the pain
of the moment, and not for your eternal happiness?"
"Oh no! But could I not have both?"
"No, Cary, I don't suppose you could."
"But if God can do everything, why can He not do that? Do you never
want to know the answers to such questions? Or do they not trouble you?
They are always coming up with me."
"Far too often. Satan takes care of that."
"You think it is wicked to want the answers?"
"It is rebellion, Cary. The King is the best judge of what concerns His
subjects' welfare."