4.13 THE ETERNAL bt7RATION OP [Dtsc. XTti. Ans. 3. Whenever any such criminal in hell shall be found making such a sincere and mournful address to the righteous and merciful Judge of all, if at the same time he is truly humble and penitent for his past sins, and is grieved at his heart for having offended his Maker and melts into sincere repentance, I cannot think that a God of perfect equity and rich mercy will continue such a creature under his vengeance ; but rather, that the per- fections of Gód will contrive a way for escape, though God has not given us here any revelation of such' special grace as this. But on the other hand, whatever melting 'or moving speeches may be made by sinners here on earth, in compassion to the sinners who are gone before them to hell ; yet if no such person be ever found in hell, truly and humbly repenting of his sins, nor havé We any reason to think there ever will, why shoulda righteous God be obliged to cease punishing a rebel who only is vexed and raging under his own chains, and whö continues in the spirit of obstinacy and rebellion against God, and will not repent of it? Objection the fifth, is derived from the " mercy and compassion of a God, compared with the mercy and compassion of man." Surely the compassion of the ever-blessed God, who has described himself " rich in mercy, abundant in goodness, and whose very name is love : 1 John iv. 8. must have transcendent tenderness and pity towards his creatures, the work of his hands, above all the compassions that any one fellow-creature can express towards another. Now the very thought and nameof eternal punishments, or endless torment, is such as seems to shock the nature of a good-natured man ; and though he was ever so much injured,. ye he would never have a thought of wishing his enemy any kind of eternal punishment for it, much less of condemning him to everlasting misery, and supporting him in being on purpose to suffer it 'and therefore we cannot suppose that God will do it. This objection is further strength- ened by an expression of our Saviour himself; Luke xviii. 19. " There is none good, save one, that is God :" As much as to say, . there is none equal or compara- ble in goodness to God himself : And it is further sup- ported. still by the common notionswhich good men have of God ,' those expressions in the apocryphal writings 6
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