DISCOURSE XIII. 243 sort of passionate tenderness and sympathy in sparing them t Though the words of greatest affection are sometimes used by the sacred writers to figure out the mercies of God to man ; yet God both punishes and spares according to the calm and righteous exercises of his wisdom, and not under the influence of such pas- sions as we feel. Since therefore the exercise of such sort of passions amongst men oftentimes 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 justice ? Or that he should be as weak as they are, and as much moved to swerve from the rules of his own righteous go- vernment by such a sort of tenderness as ignorant, weak and foolish man may sometimes express towards criminals in their de- served misery ? It is readily granted, 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 under so severe a penalty by their own wilful crimes ; but still in their calmest and wisest thoughts they acknowledge the wisdom and equity of the government, in inflicting such penalties upon those who heinously offend, and they acquiesce in the sentence and the 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. 3¢. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that teillest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thÿchil- dren as a hen doth gather her brood 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 government 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. III. 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 nor inflicted, 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 great God who is infinitely offended, is bound to finish his wrath one day, and return in mercy to the z 3
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