hey would, in the exercise of their free agency, and without
any decree, put Christ to death; and yet He sent Him at the time He
did. All the glory of grace, therefore, redounds to the praise of
the Lord, and the ignominy rests upon the Jews and the Gentiles. As
a proof of universal foreordination, the passage proves nothing.

GOD WORKETH ALL THINGS.--Ephes. i. 11 is adduced as upholding the
predestination of all events. It reads thus: "In whom also we have
obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the
purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of His own
will." The stress of the passage as a proof rests on the words, "who
worketh all things." But according to the canon of interpretation
already stated--viz., that when the literal interpretation of a
passage leads to absurdity, it cannot be the true one. John in his
first epistle (ii. 20) says, "But ye have an unction from the Holy
One, and ye know all things." To take these words literally would be
to make those Christians to whom they were addressed to possess all
knowledge, and thus make them equal to God, which is absurd. The
words must be limited to the subject matter in which they are found.
The apostle is speaking of the anointing of Christians, the
imparting unto them of the Holy Ghost, and the phrase "all things"
denotes things necessary to salvation, It is said (Acts ii. 44) that
the first Christians "had all things common." But to take the words
literally would be to outrage propriety. In Philippians ii. 14, it
is written: "Do all things without murmurings and disputings." Here,
again, the words must be limited in their application, otherwise the
Christians were commanded to do all kinds of evil if commanded,
without a murmur or dispute. This could not be, hence the words must
be restricted to the duties devolving on them. So there must, of
necessity, be restriction upon the passage in Ephesians quoted in
the Confession of Faith. It must be restricted, otherwise it will
follow that God is the only worker in the universe. And what is done
in the world? God's laws are broken; but if He is the only worker,
then He is the only breaker of His own laws! This is absurd, hence
the literality must be given up. The obvious meaning is, that in the
redemptive scheme God has wrought it all out according to the wise
plan He had formed respecting it, just as He works out all His plans
in nature and in providence.

We know of no stronger passag