The Lord hath made all things for himself — i.e., to serve His own purposes, that His wisdom, goodness, &c, may be thereby revealed. Or the passage may be translated, “hath made all for its own end or purpose.” The assertion that “He has made the wicked for the day of evil,” does not mean that He created any one for punishment — i.e., predestined him for destruction. It only teaches that even the wicked are subservient to God’s eternal purposes; that Pharaoh, for instance, by his rebellion could not change God’s plans for the deliverance of His people, but only gave Him an occasion for showing forth His power, justice, goodness, and longsuffering. The “day of evil,” i.e., punishment, at last overtook Pharaoh in accordance with the law and purpose of God that the wicked, if unrepentant, shall be punished, and thereby serve as a warning to others; but God by his longsuffering shewed that He was “not willing” that he should “perish,” but rather that he “should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). This appears to be also the teaching of St. Paul in Romans 9:17, sqq.
Proverbs 16:4
4 The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.