CALVINISTIC PREDESTINATION IN REFERENCE TO DIVINE WISDOM.
THE wisdom of God is held as proving universal foreordination. Being
infinitely wise--such is the argument--He will act upon a plan, as
in creation, and as wise people do in regard to affairs in general.
And this is perfectly correct. The question, however, is not whether
God has a plan, but what that plan comprehends? Sin being a factor
in the programme of life, the Divine wisdom or plan will be
exercised in reference to it. There are two ways in which this may
be done. It may be foreordained as part of the plan, as is seen in
the above extracts. But another way is this: The Divine wisdom may
be exercised in regard to sin, not as ordaining it, but as
overruling it, and in turning it to account. That the evil deeds of
men bring into view features of the Divine character which would not
otherwise have been seen, is no doubt true, but this does not save
the wrong-doers from the severest blame. But what is wisdom? It is
the choosing of the best means to effect a good end. The ultimate
end of creation is the glory of God, as He is the highest and the
best of beings. There can be nothing higher than himself He desires
the _confidence_ and the _love_ of men.
"Love is the root of creation, God's essence.
Worlds without number
Lie in His bosom like children; He made them for this purpose only,--
Only to love and be loved again."--TEGNER.
Men are asked to give Him their trust and love. It is right that
they should do so, for He is infinitely worthy of them. But what are
sinful actions? Essentially they are foolish, and issue in misery.
And if God foreordained them, how can we esteem Him as wise and
good? And if not to our intelligence wise and good, how can we give
Him our confidence and love? Trust and love are based upon the
perception of the true and the good. If I find a man who is
destitute of these qualities of character, to love him with approval
is, as I am constituted, an impossibility. But to ordain the "acts
of the wicked," as Hodge says that God did, in order to spread
Christianity, was neither just nor good. It was doing evil that good
might come. Instead of being wise it was, if it were so, an
exhibition of unwisdom as regards the very end of creation, as it
was fitted to drive men away from, instead of bringing them to, God.
And yet wisdom, Divine wisdom, was exercised in reference to those
very persecutions. It was true, as Tertullian said, that the "blood
of the martyrs was the seed of the Church." By means of the
sufferings of the early Christians men's minds were directed to that
religion which supported its adherents in the midst of their
accumulated sorrows. Their patience, their heroic bravery in facing
grim death, threw a halo of moral glory around the martyrs which
touched the hearts of true men who lived in the midst of general
degeneration. The Christians were driven from their homes, but they
carried the truth with them.
"The seeds of truth are bearded, and adhere we know not when, we
know not where." In the world of nature there are seeds with hooks,
and others have wings to be wafted by the breeze to their proper
habitat. And if Divine wisdom watches over the seeds of the
vegetable kingdom, does it not stand to reason that it will do so in
regard to truth? God overrules the evil, and makes it the occasion
of good. Joseph was immured in jail, but from it he ascended to a
seat next the throne. Christ was crucified, but from the blessed
cross came streams of blessing. Paul was incarcerated, but from his
prison came "thoughts that breathe and words that burn," that have
kept alive the flame of piety for more than a thousand years. The
people of God still suffer, but, like the asbestos cloth when thrown
into the fire, they, by these sufferings, become purified and made
meet for the coming glory. In thus overruling evil, God, we say,
shows the highest wisdom and love fitted to secure our trust and
affection; but to ordain evil would be an illustration of supreme
folly, fitted to lower him in the estimation of angels and of men.