278 THE KING'S MIRROR 



those things may be interpreted as if spoken, because in 

 His mind He has spoken all that to Himself. This, too, 

 is clear to me, that, although no one is able to divine 

 what God had in mind at the beginning, He has Himself 

 revealed it in letting those things come to pass which 

 He had thought and purposed; for it seems very evident 

 that all those things which God has allowed to occur, 

 He had thought upon and wisely planned in his own 

 mind, before they came to pass. It is also quite clear 

 to me that those who have added explanatory glosses 

 to the writings of David, or other men who have written 

 sermons and set them in books, have developed their 

 interpretations by studying out what fundamental 

 thought or purpose had since the beginning lain under- 

 neath the words. Afterwards they wisely considered 

 this, too, with what truth probability might be able to 

 account for every branch and twig of that discourse, 

 so that the contents might be revealed. Now since these 

 things begin to look somewhat clearer to me, it may be 

 that I shall continue to reflect upon them, if God gives 

 me the necessary insight. But since I realize that you 

 feel it would be a large and tedious task both to con- 

 tinue the discourse already begun and to make suitable 

 comments, I will now ask you to return to the subject 

 before us and to continue setting forth the judgment 

 of God, giving cases in which He allowed the sentence 

 to be carried out with severity according to the verdict 

 of Justice and Truth, and others in which He showed 

 greater leniency. 



Father. The following instances occurred long after the 

 fall but had a similar outcome. Pharaoh, the king of 



