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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

should

a

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

name

of

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

notions

which good men have

of

God

,'

those expressions in

the apocryphal

writings

6