EVERYTHING CONTROLLED AND UNDER SUPERVISION 235 



§ 42. Everything Controlled and under Supervision. 



The view here advanced accords, on the whole, with the account of creation given in the Old Testament. 

 According to that account there was a succession of events, one thing was formed after another : the inorganic first 

 and then the organic ; the plant and then the animal in an ascending series, and, last of all, man . The seven, or 

 rather the six days (for the seventh, according to Scripture, was a day of rest), occupied by the creative acts evidently 

 represent six epochs of time ; each period being undetermined, and as far as man is concerned, indeterminable. 



That the six days of Scripture do not mean six ordinary days of twenty-four hours each, goes without saying, 

 if regard be had to the nature of the heavenly bodies, the slow formation of the crust of the earth, and the pro- 

 duction thereon of plants and animals, as revealed by their fossil remains in successive geologic strata. 



It is not my province to deal with theological tenets, but it may be stated that the progressive and con- 

 tinuous view of creation set forth in Genesis, which requires an ever-present, originating, controlling, and 

 directing Creator, lends powerful support to the doctrine that all things are pre-arranged and pre-determined. It 

 gives emphasis to the following passages in the New and Old Testament : " Behold the fowls of the air : for they 

 sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns ; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much 

 better than they ? Which of you, by taking thought, can add one cubit unto his stature ? And why take ye 

 thought for raiment ? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow ; they toil not, neither do they spin : And 

 yet I say unto you. That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so 

 clothe the grass of the field, which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not nmch more clothe 

 you, ye of little faith ? . . . Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing ? And one of them shall not fall on the 

 ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of 

 more value than many sparrows." ^ " Nay but, man, who art thou that rephest against God ? Shall the thing 

 formed say to him that formed it. Why hast thou made me thus ? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of 

 the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour ? " ^ " But in a great house there are 

 not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth : and some to honour, and some to dishonour." * 

 " Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter's clay : for shall the work say of 

 him that made it. He made me not ! or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it. He had no understand- 

 ing ?.. . Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker ! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. 

 Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it. What makest thou ? or thy work. He hath no hands ? " * 



The doctrine of predestination as here recorded directly raises the question of " necessity " and of " free 

 will," but into this I need not enter further than to say that man cannot be granted a free will and a free hand 

 in any other sense than it is granted to all animated created things. He assuredly cannot interfere with the order 

 and progress of creation. He has hmits assigned to everything he does, as other animals have. Even plants are 

 hedged in by boundaries which they may not overstep. All things in the ultimate sense are fore -ordained, and fore- 

 seen. Anything short of this would mean an end of law and order, and a reign of anarchy and confusion. To 

 those who advocate the doctrine of free will I would respectfully suggest, that to an absolutely omniscient Being, 

 Who foresees the end from the beginning, the element of free will does not necessarily or wholly clash with the idea 

 of responsibihty. One may know that a confirmed drunkard will indulge when he has an opportunity ; the 

 drunkard, however, is the responsible party. This explanation is satisfactory only up to a point, for it may still 

 be said that what is, is as God made it, with all its tendencies and potentiaUties. 



If the Creator be taxed with partiality, favouritism, and unfairness, it may truly be said that as Creator He 

 has a perfect right to do what He pleases with every created thing. He is the Alpha and Omega : His will in 

 everything is supreme and final. No garrulousness on our part is permissible. It is absolutely clear to my 

 mind that the Creator is omniscient and all-powerful, and that He not only made and is making the universe, but 

 that He supervised and continues to supervise all the details of His overwhelmingly stupendous task. The Creator 

 is omnijrresent as well as omniscient, and notliing is too great or too little to claim and occupy His all-embracmg 

 attention. He is also eternal : He was, and is, and ever shall be. There can be no such thing as a partial Creator. 

 He must be-all powerful and everywhere present in time and space. Law and order must characterise His every 

 act. Every action and reaction bespeaks unmistakable design. The means and ends are never separated. No 

 force and no material are ever wasted. There is no blundering and no confusion when the ultimate purpose is 

 considered and grasped. The tremendous upheavals in the physical universe, and the ravages of war, pestilence, 



' The Gospel of Matthew, eliapter vi., verses 26, 27, 28, 29 and 30 ; chapter x., verses 29, 30, and :il. 



* The Epistle of Paul to the Romans, chapter i.\., verses 20 and 21. 



' The Second Epistle of Paul to Timothy, chaptei- ii., verse 20. 



« The book of the prophecy of Isaiah, chapter xxix., verse 16 ; chapter xlv., verse y. 



