We see now that the yearnings of divine love will be satisfied. There is a harmony in this view which commends it at once to our highest conceptions of fitness. God is infinite in His being, and in His perfections. Hence His operations are not limited to the mere span of time. The outgoings of His Wisdom, and power, and love, are from everlasting to everlasting.
In my view, there is nothing that will so effectually break down sin, as a belief that all sin has been atoned for. That is God's royal way of bestowing favors. But then we need renewal. That may require a shorter or a longer process, but it will come, either in this life or the next. In a multitude of passages in the divine Word we know that God desires this. Not only so, but God has expressed His desire in the gift of His Son. If we had any doubt, surely that might convince us. And I believe it will convince us yet. The doctrine of a universal atonement is now generally accented. Even Calvinists have declared almost unanimously that Christ died for the whole world. And if we had not that declaration in words, we have it even more emphatically in missionary enterprise. Still there is a remnant of the old belief that Christ died only for the sins of the elect. I believe the day is coming when there will be the assured conviction that He died for the sins of the world. Then there will follow the joyous assurance that there is salvation for the world, to be realized either in this life or the next.
We have said that God desires this consumation. He has expressed that desire again and again in His Word. And He has expressed it with infinite emphasis in the gift of His Son. Men, ask yourselves this question: Can any desire of His ultimately fail? Let us never forget that "his counsel will stand, and he will do all His pleasure."
V.
HARMONY OF THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES.
Our Limitations—Development—Our Capacity—Divine Foreknowledge—No Divine Failure—The Heathen—Unchangeable Love—Union of Four Attributes—Eternal Wisdom—A Marvel of Coercion and Freedom—The Day of Divine Power—An Unfathomable Mystery—Future Revelations—Coming to Zion with Songs.
Since trying to see the relation of absolute Justice to the Idea of Restoration, it has struck me that it may be well to take a glance at some others of the Divine attributes, and see if they also sustain the same theory. Any theory that is really true must be in harmony with the Divine character. The trouble is, that our knowledge of all that pertains to the Infinite is necessarily limited. At the same time, if it seems that when any quality of the Divine character is contradicted or disparaged by any theory of ours, that is a strong argument that the theory is not true. But if, on the other hand, our theory is seen to glorify the Divine character, that is strong evidence that the theory is right. While well aware, then, of our limitations, in this direction, it is fair to inquire if the Divine attributes, or any of them, appear to sustain our theory.
We have dealt already with the attribute of Justice. Some have regarded that as the fundamental quality of the Divine character. I am not sure that it is so. I think Love and Wisdom are equally fundamental. In a former age the idea of Divine Justice overshadowed all other conceptions of God. But the fact that He is infinite in His being, seems to imply that He is also infinite in His perfections. So we shall give our attention for a little to the qualities of Power, of Wisdom, and of Love, and try to combine them with the idea of Justice, at which we have glanced already.
Take Divine Wisdom. That means that God knows all things. Ponder for a moment what that implies. It means that to the Eternal Mind, every event, whether it be past, present, or future, is as clear as if it were now transpiring. He knows, without any peradventure, everything that will happen throughout all eternity. And He sees every circumstance that will cause every event to transpire. Not only that, but He has the fullest knowledge of the best means to adopt to bring about any desirable end.
Such an idea is altogether too vast and high for us adequately to comprehend. At the same time, it seems to imply certain things that are beyond peradventure. God must have foreseen, for instance, that He would make man. He must have foreseen, too, that man would fall. He foresaw, also, and arranged, the great scheme of Redemption. But He must have known with the utmost certainty that millions and millions of the human race would pass out of this life without once hearing the joyful sound. And because they did not know it, if annihilation or torment is true, He knew that He would utterly extinguish them, or consign them to everlasting fire!