1ÍISC. XIIL TIM PUNISHMENTS IN HELL. 649 Notwithstanding all the express language of scripture on our side of the question, and all our arguments drawn from it, yet there are some of the reasoners and the dis- puters of this world, whowill still suppose that it is more for the honour of God, and for the glory of our blessed Saviour, for ministers to dwell always upon the promises of the new covenant, and the riches of the grace of Christ, and the overflowing measures of the love of God, in order to save sinful men. " Surely," say they, " preachers have tried long enough what the words of terror will do ; let us now allure sinful men to be recon- conciled to God by a ministry of universal love and grace and let us see whether the boundless compassions of a God, in putting a final period to the miseries of his guilty creatures after a certain number of years, will not draw sinners with a sweeter violence to the love and obedience of their Maker, than all this doctrine of seve- rity and terror." In the first place I answer, Ans. I. That surely Jesus himself, who is the prime mi- nister of his Father's kingdom, and the divinest messen- ger of his love, knew better than we do how to pay the highest honour to his heavenly Father, and to display his own grace. Surely he was well acquainted with the best way to begin with sinners in order to their reconciliation to God, and knew also the most effectual avenues to the consciences of sinful creatures, incomparably beyond what anyof us, can pretend to. Had he not as tender a sense of the honour of his Father's mercy, as warm a zeal for the glory of his own grace and the gospel, and as wise and melting a compassion for the souls of men as the best of us can boast of? And yet he thought it proper to lay the foundation of his own, and his apostles' ministra- tions of grace, in this language of terror, in these, threat- enings of eternal punishment. And in the course ofhis providence throughout all ages he has, in some measure, made, this doctrine successful to recover souls from the sign and to bad purpose ;" so that if this were a true doctrine, yet the learned author agrees, that neither the holy writers of the Bible, nor the fathers, think it proper that the bulk of the people should know it. But if it should not be translated, I would ask, why dici the author write it and leave it to be published? Did he suppose all men and boys, who understood Latin, to be sufficiently guarded against the abuse of such an opinion? . VOL. II. ` U
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