CONFERENCE 1. 419 last forgive anhumble penitent creature that has offended against him in time past if heearnestly implore divine forgiveness, if he grow up to a settled hatred of his iniquity, and behave himself with all watchfulness in the practice of his duty for time to come, both toward God, towardhis neighbour, and himself. I think I must believe that God loves holiness so well, that he will not for ever punish a creature that repents sincerely, and that he cannot but love acreature which sincerely loves God; and there- fore if among sinful rebels he should find any such remarkable penitent in the savage regions of the earth, I grant he shall not finally and eternally be banished from the presence of his Makcr into misery, ar at least he may have very encouraging hopes of some favour and acceptanceat last, ifhe can and will exercise his, reason so far upon these subjects andenquiries. LOG. I am glad Sophronius is here in this dispute, and I am well pleased to see Philander not only ready to yield to conviction at first, upon the appearance of the light of reason, but to retain it through all our conference. PITH. But there are still some considerable difficulties re- maining, Sir, upon this point; there is some darkness hangs about this gleam of light. Suppose a heathen should be brought to believe and hope that God may forgive his past sins upon sincere repentance, his renewed obedience, andhis humble addresses to him for that purpose, yet can his reason teach him that God will forgive daily and repeated sins, after knowledge and vows of obedience ? That he will forgive the same sinner relapsing a hundred times over ? That hewill forgive his sins even to the end ofhis life ? Or that he will forgive him entirely and perfectly so as to make him undergo no penalty at all, and pass through no purgatory in the other world; tomake some dègree of expia- tion for past offences ? Thisdoctrine of a painful purification in , another state, was supposed by some of the ancient heathens, and is still believed by one party of christians, whereby souls of im- perfect virtue do penance for the crimes committed in this life ? Can his reason tell him how long this state of penance and pur- gation will endure ? Can it assure him that God will take the sinner into his favour, so far as to givehim a lasting stateofhap- piness hereafter, who has been such a vilecriminal here ? And I was going to say, Can his reason assure him, since his best re- pentance is so very imperfect, that he shall not be put upon ano- ther state of trial in a future world, and that his soul shall not be sent to animate any other body, partly to punish him for his crimes in this, and partly to go through a new probation with regard to some further state of happiness or misery ? And not onlyone, but all these doubtswill grow much stronger, if the repentance itself be doubtful and feeble, or much interrupted by returning sins. 111 d2
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