The Song of Solomon : and the Lamentations of Jeremiah

226 THE LAMENTATIONS OF JEREMIAH
unity, and therefore the more impossible is it for us
to think of her objectionable characteristics as foreign
to her being—alien immigrants from another sphere.
Physical evil itself looks less dreadful when it is seen
to take its place as an integral part of the complicated
movement of the whole system of the universe.
But the chief reason for regarding the prospect with
more than satisfaction has yet to be stated. It is
derived from the character of Him to whom both the
evil and the good are attributed. We can go beyond
the assertion that these contrarieties spring from one
common origin to the great truth that this origin is to
be found in God. All that we know of our Father in
heaven comes to our aid in reflecting upon the character
of the actions thus attributed to Him. The account of
God's goodness that immediately precedes this ascription
of the two extreme experiences of life to Him would be
in the mind of the writer, and it should be in the mind
of the reader also. The poet has just been dwelling
very emphatically on the indubitable justice of God.
When, therefore, he reminds us that both evil and
good come from the Divine Being, it is as though he
said that they both originated in justice. A little
earlier he was expressing the most fervent appreciation
of the mercy and compassion of God. Then these
gracious attributes should be in our thoughts while we
hear that the mixed experiences of life are to be traced
back to Him of whom so cheering a view can be
taken.
We know the love of God much more fully since it
has been revealed to us in Jesus Christ. Therefore
we have a much better reason for building our faith
and hope on the fact of the universal Divine origin of
events. In itself the evil exists all the same whether