What, then, has revelation to say upon the subject? The first thing, and the most important, which it has to say is almost ignored in the discussion. As has been said, the problem propounded by the opening writer is to reconcile the terrors and horrors of this war with the idea of an “all-powerful and all-beneficent Creator.” From the point of view of the Bible, of the Psalms in particular, and of our Lord, that description of the Creator leaves out His most important attribute. If we add as the Psalms invariably imply, “an all-righteous Creator,” an element is introduced into the problem which raises entirely fresh considerations. If you merely ask the question how the pain and misery of the war are compatible with perfect beneficence and perfect omnipotence, the answer is obscure. But if you introduce the question of the compatibility of the permission of such suffering with perfect righteousness combined with benevolence, the problem is radically altered. God is dealing with a creature who is not merely capable of pain and happiness, but of a righteousness and a truth like His own; and to bestow upon this creature happiness without righteousness would be inconsistent with the main object for which he was created, and such an idea would, in fact, involve a contradiction in terms. Once recognize that there is no happiness possible for man except in the harmony of his nature with the Divine righteousness, and it is evident that the main object of an all-benevolent Creator must be to produce this righteousness in man, and to repress and extirpate, by whatever means may be requisite, the evil which is incompatible with his happiness.