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DISC.
X111.3
THE PUNISHMENTS IN HELL.
613
in all
things
which
the
law
requires;" Gal.
iii. 10.
Every
new sin
demands
a
new
curse and a new punishment,
and
there
is
no
rèason
which
forbids a righteous
governor
to
cease punishing,
while
the
rebellious
creature
will
not
cease
to
offend,
and
especially while he
maintains an
everlasting enmity and rebellion against the
law
of God
his
creator.
If
there
were any
humble meltings of
repentance
in
the guilty
soul,
if there
were any
sincere mournings in
the sinful
creature
for
having offended
his
Maker,
if
there
were any softness
of heart relenting under a
serise
of
the
evil
of
sin,
and returning
to
obedience and duty,
even this would
not
oblige
'a
righteous and
wise
governor
to
forgive the
criminal; repentance
is
no
compensation
fora
wilful
offence;
nor
is
it
thought
unrighteous
or
un-
wise
for
a
prince
to
punish even a
penitent
offender
with
death.
-But
let
its
propose the
case
in
utmost favour
to a
sinner
against,
the
blessed
God, let
us imagine
that
divine
wis-
dom and divine mercy
perhaps
might be
supposed
to
contrive
and
to
offer some
proposals
to
justice
in
a
way
of
compassion,
and might
enquire
whether the
sentence
of
punishment
could
not
be reversed, or
the
terror of it
relieved,
or
some
new
state of trial
proposed.
Let it
be
added
in
favour
of
the criminal,
that
we
do
not
find
through
all
the
book
of God
the actual
practice
of true
repentance
beginning among
men,
but it
has been always
followed with
proportionable
degrees
of
compassion from
God
But on the
other
side,
when
there
is
nothing found
in
the
heart
of
a sinner
but
obstinacy,
and
malice,
and
revenge,
cursing and
blasphemy
against the
Almighty,
without
the least moving or melting into a genuine
penit-
ence
or
holy
sorrow,
without any
meek submission to
the
majesty
and
justice
of
`God,
or
humbly imploring
his
mercy,
what reasonable
hope can
such wretches have
that
their
chains
of darkness
should
be
broken, and
the
prisoners
released from the vengeance?
When they shall
curse
his
justice, because it
punishes
their
crimes,
when
they shall curse his mercy,
because
it
did
not
save
their
souls,
and curse
and
blaspheme the blood
of
the blessed
Jesus, because it
has,
not
washed away
their
sins,
what
possible excuse can be
made
for such
creatures? Or what
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