THE CHRISTIAN ERA 55 



compass him, he will have no occasion to murmur 

 at his lot or to envy the future happiness of beings 

 beneath him. 



God has decreed that man shall be happy if he 

 will, and the means are placed within his power. If 

 he is ultimately miserable, it is the result of his own 

 unrestrained choice. Therefore God's purposes are 

 fulfilled either in his happiness or misery, because 

 He has purposed that he shall be happy if he will, 

 and that misery shall be the result of his disobedi- 

 ence. But though the lower animals never sinned 

 against God and are involved in the suffering of 

 sinful man without any fault of their own, yet 

 they have no choice or means of correcting their 

 misery. Now, it follows that the Creator, whose 

 " tender mercy is over all His works," and " whose 

 judgment is just," will find some means by which 

 these innocent suffering creatures shall be compen- 

 sated. That they have no compensation here, their 

 intense suffering, labors, and agonizing deaths prove; 

 and if they are to have any compensation, they must 

 have it in another state of existence. God must 

 have originally designed them for that measure of 

 happiness which is suited to the nature and power 

 He gave them, but they have been deprived of the 



