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100. These are "the great works of the Lord,
well-considered in all his acts of will"(218) --and
so wisely well-considered that when his angelic and
human creation sinned (that is, did not do what he
willed, but what it willed) he could still accomplish
what he himself had willed and this through the same
creaturely will by which the first act contrary to
the Creator's will had been done. As the Supreme
Good, he made good use of evil deeds, for the
damnation of those whom he had justly predestined to
punishment and for the salvation of those whom he had
mercifully predestined to grace. For, as far as
they were concerned, they did what God did not will
that they do, but as far as God's omnipotence is
concerned, they were quite unable to achieve their
purpose. In their very act of going against his will,
his will was thereby accomplished. This is the
meaning of the statement, "The works of the Lord are
great, well-considered in all his acts of will"--that
in a strange and ineffable fashion even that which is
done against his will is not done without his will.
For it would not be done without his allowing it--and
surely his permission is not unwilling but
willing--nor would he who is good allow the evil to
be done, unless in his omnipotence he could bring
good even out of evil.
101. Sometimes, however, a man of good will wills
something that God doth not will, even though God's
will is much more, and much more certainly, good--for
under no circumstances can it ever be evil. For
example, it is a good son's will that his father
live, whereas it is God's good will that he should
die. Or, again, it can happen that a man of evil will
can will something that God also willeth with a good
will--as, for example, a bad son wills that his
father die and this is also God's will. Of course,
the former wills what God doth not will, whereas the
latter does will what God willeth. Yet the piety of
the one, though he wills not what God willeth, is
more consonant with God's will than is the impiety of
the other, who wills the same thing that God willeth.
There is a very great difference between what is
fitting for man to will and what is fitting for
God--and also between the ends to which a man directs
his will--and this difference determines whether an
act of will is to be approved or disapproved.
Actually, God achieveth some of his purposes--which
are, of course, all good--through the evil wills of
bad men. For example, it was through the ill will of
the Jews that, by the good will of the Father, Christ
was slain for us--a deed so good that when the
apostle Peter would have nullified it he was called
"Satan" by him who had come in order to be
slain.(219) How good seemed the purposes of the pious
faithful who were unwilling that the apostle Paul
should go to Jerusalem, lest there he should suffer
the things that the prophet Agabus had
predicted!(220)
And yet God had willed that he should suffer these
things for the sake of the preaching of Christ, and
for the training of a martyr for Christ. And this
good purpose of his he achieved, not through the good
will of the Christians, but through the ill will of
the Jews. Yet they were more fully his who did not
will what he willed than were those who were willing
instruments of his purpose--for while he and the
latter did the very same thing, he worked through
them with a good will, whereas they did his good will
with their ill will.
102. But, however strong the wills either of
angels or of men, whether good or evil, whether they
will what God willeth or will something else, the
will of the Omnipotent is always undefeated. And this
will can never be evil, because even when it inflicts
evils, it is still just; and obviously what is just
is not evil. Therefore, whether through pity "he hath
mercy on whom he willeth," or in justice "whom he
willeth, he hardeneth," the omnipotent God never doth
anything except what he doth will, and doth
everything that he willeth. |