CHAPTER VII.

THE PURPOSE OF GOD; OR, THE NEW HOUSE.

QUESTION VII. _What are the decrees of God?_

ANSWER. The decrees of God are his eternal purpose, according to the counsel of his will, whereby, for his own glory, he hath foreordained whatsoever comes to pass.

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A FEW days succeeding the last lesson, Mr. Dermott received letters which rendered it necessary for him to leave home sooner than he had anticipated. His wife keenly regretted this, as, aside from the great pleasure she experienced in his society, she had been so much assisted by him in the catechisings. As he must leave two days before the evening for another lesson, it was proposed by the children that the exercise should be anticipated that length of time; and Mrs. Dermott requested him to assume the character of teacher for the occasion. This she would at all times have preferred him to do; but he thought her gifted with a peculiar tact at imparting instruction; and then he was so liable to be called away.

It was Isabelle's turn to answer the question, but she begged her mother, who sat by her side, to do it for her; when Mr. Dermott inquired, "Wife, where is the plan of our new house?"

"In the secretary. Walter, pass it to your father."

The boy opened wide his eyes with astonishment, but immediately obeyed, while little Belle whispered to her mother, "Shan't we have any story, then?"

"I think so, my dear; but hear what papa is saying."

"Who drew this plan, Walter?"

"I heard you say, sir, that Mr. Bond, the architect, did, and that you gave him fifty dollars for doing it."

"Yes, and it was cheap enough too; a very nice house it is; and how comfortable we have been since we moved into it! I remember well how pleased I was when he showed me this plan; and that after your mother and I had passed a whole evening in carefully examining every part, I determined, or purposed, that my house should be like it."

The children had gathered around their father, though wondering not a little that he had so entirely forgotten their lesson.

"See here," added the gentleman, turning the large sheet of stiff paper, at which they had been looking. "Here is what is called a framing plan, so that the carpenters may know, before they buy their lumber, exactly how much they shall need, and of what size. And here at the corner is a little sketch of the pillars to support the piazza, and the form of the brackets that go around the coving."

"I heard the carpenters say," exclaimed Walter, "that it was a great help to have such a plan, and prevented much misunderstanding and unkind feeling; for often the carpenter will understand the contract one way, and his employer quite another; and he wished every man, who was going to build a house, would have an exact framing plan, as well as a profile of the rooms."

"Yes, it is very important," replied the gentleman. "The house we rented while ours was building, is an illustration of the folly of not having a plan. Mr. Longworth wished to build a house. He wanted one that would look handsomely outside; but his own family was small, and so he concluded to make a building with two tenements. He consulted Mr. Bond about it, and found that an exact plan of the building, and of framing, with specifications, would cost him sixty-five dollars. It was to be larger than mine. Sixty-five dollars was quite too much money, he thought, to pay for the plan of a house, when he could make one just as well himself. I told him he would find it would be a saving of money in the end. But he thought otherwise, and, having engaged the carpenters, set them to work.

"As I was to have the tenement when it was ready, I felt an interest to watch the job. The workmen knew that they were to put up a frame forty-four feet front and forty deep; and so far they went on tolerably well, though even here there were some hard words about the size of timbers, &c. But after that, every thing went 'at sixes and sevens,' as old Mr. Carter used to say. The men would go on from day to day, receiving their directions from Mr. Longworth; but as he was a hatter, and not a mechanic, he did not make his plans aright, and the men used often to pull down one day what they had built up the preceding.

"You know the consequences, for we all suffered from living in an ill-contrived, sham-built house; and we were glad enough to get away from it. Now, Mr. Longworth cannot rent it at all; and he told me, a few days since, that if he had followed my advice, and let Mr. Bond make a plan, he should have been a thousand dollars better off than he is at present.

"Now, children, I am going to apply this to your lesson. More than six thousand years ago, before God had said,—

"'Let there be light, and there was light.'—

"He took counsel of himself, and determined to create a world; and, first of all, he made a plan, or, as the Catechism calls it, a decree. There should be in the new world a great light for the day, called the sun, and a lesser light for the night, called the moon. There should be trees, and fruits, and flowers, each in their season. There should be beasts, and birds, and fishes, and insects. He also determined to make a man and woman, with souls to think and feel. These would be at the head of a race of beings capable of worshipping him, and enjoying him forever. If I lived a hundred years, and talked all the time, I could not begin to tell you all the little minutiæ of God's plan, or decree, about his new world.

"Now, I can only give a very imperfect outline. God decreed, or planned, or determined, that when Adam was formed, he should be a holy being; but as he wished to try him, and see whether he would obey God's holy laws, he decreed that Satan should tempt him to eat the forbidden fruit; and, as he knew that neither Adam nor Eve would resist the temptation, but would fall from holiness to sin, he formed a wonderful plan of redemption through his own Son, who should suffer for the guilty race, that those who accepted him as their ransom, might be saved, and, at length restored to holiness and happiness.

"God is a being of wondrous power, and he knew exactly who would love this dear Saviour whom he had sent into the world. He knew from all eternity that there would be this catechising this evening, and what would be the thoughts of each one of our hearts. Yes, he made a plan of it all, though it seems as insignificant as the planning where a little screw should go in one of our door handles; and he determined, or ordained, beforehand,—or foreordained, as the Catechism has it,—that whatsoever should come to pass should be for his own glory."

"It seems the most blessed thing for us that God did make such a plan," remarked Mrs. Dermott, as her husband ceased speaking.

"Yes, indeed, we can see the sad effects of the want of plan in Mr. Longworth's house; but we cannot conceive the awful results which would have followed had God been changeable; one day governing the world in one way, and the next in another way; and we must bless him to all eternity."

"What does God call this plan?" asked Mrs. Dermott. "I think in the Bible it is nowhere called a decree."

"No, that word is not used. In Proverbs it is called God's counsel.

"'The counsel of the Lord, that shall stand.'

"In Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians, he calls the plan of God his purpose.

"'According to the eternal purpose, which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord.'

"In Romans it is called foreknowledge and predestination.

"'For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the first-born among many brethren. Moreover, whom he did predestinate, them he also called; and whom he called, them he also justified; and whom he justified, them he also glorified.'"