this period, for "bloody and
deceitful men do not live half their days," and many people commit
suicide, and break one of God's commands. Does God determine the
number of suicides? Yes, if Calvinism is true; for, according to it,
He hath "foreordained whatsoever comes to pass."

RESTRAINT ON WRATH.--Psalm lxxvi. 10 is appealed to. The words are,
"Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee: the remainder of wrath
shalt thou restrain." Dying men catch at straws, and, to appeal to
this passage is as if one were catching at a straw. It brings before
us the great truth that God overrules evil, and brings good out of
it. The methods by which God does this are not stated, but would be
suited to the peculiar circumstances of each case. We see
illustrations of the principle in the destruction of the Egyptians,
the deliverance of the three Hebrews from the furnace, and the
general history of the Church. But to bring good out of evil and cut
down persecutors, are very different things from "foreordaining
whatsoever comes to pass."

THE STANDING OF THE COUNSEL.--Isaiah xlvi. 10 is appealed to. It is
as follows:--"My counsel shall stand, and I shall do all my
pleasure." Now there is no doubt that God's counsel shall stand, nor
that He will do all His pleasure; but the questions are, what is His
counsel, and what is His pleasure? To bring the passage forward on
behalf of universal foreordination is to assume the point in debate,
and it is therefore inadmissible. God has a definite purpose
regarding individuals and nations. It is to make the best out of
every man that He can in harmony with the freedom of the will; and
it is the same regarding nations. The principle of His dealing is
stated in these words,--"If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat
the good of the land; but if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be
devoured by the sword" (Isa. i. 19). This is the Divine counsel and
pleasure regarding man still.

EVIL IN THE CITY.--Amos iii. 6 is appealed to. It is as follows:
--"Shall the trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be
afraid? Shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done
it?" The word rendered "_evil_" (_ra_) occurs more than 300 times in
the Old Testament, and has various shades of signification. It is
translated as meaning "sorrow" (Gen. xliv. 29), "wretchedness" (Neh.
xi. 15), "distress" (Neh. ii. 17). It is applied to "beasts,"
"diseases," "adversity," "troubles." It stood as the opposite of
"go