651 / 674
DISC.
XII1.]
THE PUNISHMENTS
IN HELL.
631
the 'exercise of
such
sort
of
passions
amongst
men
often-
times
appears
to
be
the
weakness
of
nature,
joined
with
their
ignorance
of the rules
of
equity,
is
it reasonable
that
the great
and'-all -wise
God
should make such
creatures
his
patterns
in
the limitation
of
the
exercises
of
his
jus-
tice? Or
that
he
should
be as
weak as they are,
and as
much moved to swerve from
the rules
of
his own
righte-
ous government
by
such a
sort of
tenderness
as
ignorant,
weak
and
foolish
man may sometimes express towards
criminals
in
their
deserved misery
?
It
is
readily.ganted, that
a,
wise
and
a
good
man may
and
ought
to
be
sorry and grieved,
that
any
of
his
fellow
-
creatures
should be
so
vicious
as
to bring
themselves
un-
der
so
severe
a
penalty
by
their
own wilful
crimes
;
but
still
in
their
calmest and
wisest
thoughts
they acknow-
ledge the
wisdom
and
equity of
the government,
in
,in-
flicting
such penalties
upon
those
who
heinously
offend,
and they acquiesce
in
the sentence and execution.
Our
blessed
Lord Jesus
himself, who was
the wisest
and best
of
creatures, looked upon the
city
of Jerusalem
with an
eye
of
compassion,
and wept
over
it
;
Luke xiii.
34.
"
O
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou
that
killest the
pro-
phets, and stonest them
that
are sent unto
thee, how
often would
I
have
gathered
thy
children
as a
hen doth
gather
her broód
under
her
wings,
and
ye
would
not?
Therefore
behold
your
house
is
left unto
you
desolate."
Let
it
be
observed here,
that
our Saviour had
the bowels,
and
compassions,
and tenderness
of
the best
of
men
;
but
he still
maintains the vindictive exercise
of
the govern-
ment
of
God.
" Your
desolation must and
shall
come
upon
you,
nor
will
I
forbid or withhold it." And
I am
sure the human
nature
of
our
blessed
Saviour
was
formed
nearest
to the image
of God
beyond any
creature
besides;
and
as
I
have
hinted
before,
it
is
he who
is
the
supreme
messenger
of
his
Father's
love,
that
has
pronounced these
eternal punishments upon impenitent
sinners
in
many
parts of
his
ministry.
Ans.
3.
How far
will
these objectors
permit
the
justice
of
God
to go
in
the
punishment
of
impenitent
sinners
?
If
eternal punishment must neither
be
threatened or
in,
flitted; lest
divine goodness
be
injured, then
all
mankind,
even
the
worst
and vilest
of
criminals,
must certainly
be
one day
delivered
from
their
miseries; and thus
the
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