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ffiaB be beaten u with few F are' aH consi gned together , In dnie tmcRstirirmished mass , to never-ending tor-Jjertts ! Such a representation of things can be neither true nor wholesome : the last cited text , in fall upison with the dictates of nature , proves its falsity ;
and what is not true can n £ ver be useful . Such a scheme may amaze and terrify , but can never satisf y and convince . To believe a thing , is to be persuaded of it , and to be able to give some solid reasons for such a belief . That which hath ho hold on the
understanding , can work rio conviction on the heart . But , let us briefly examine the pleas , which the victim of eternal wrath is here supposed to urg ; e , m the midst of
his sufferings . We shall pass over those passages which justly and awful \ y display the self-accusations of the hitherto impenitent transgressor : they need no comment . " It is a fearful
thing to fall into the hands of the living GodP when manifested as a God of judgment , and when his mercy and loving kindness , as to individuals , shall appear for a season to be suspended ! Tnejbfetts , here supposed to be urged , arise frobi the consideration of the strict eternity of punishment , represented in different Views .
u What , no reprieve , no least indulgence giv ' n , No beam of hope from any point of Heav ' n ? AJi ! mercy , mercy , art thou dead above , Is lovi extinguish'd in the Source of love ?"
This is a very important question , and , upon the supposition of eternal punishment , absolutely i * nanswerable . It is not a mere difficulty , but an insuperable objection , if individuals shall suffer Strictly to all eternity , then divine
toercy , &s to them , is for ever dead * and love extinguished in its original source The very supposition appears to be Ptftme .
But , says the advocate of this opinion , we allow that the divioe goodness and m are , in thetosefoes * always the Jtone , that is , in their essence and nature , put tiemaUij restrained in their exercise , ""J } this particular case . The ynchmge this particular case . The uncJiange
wleness of the Ueifcy is tin everlasting w to any change in their sterte : u bemuse God is eternal , therefore the torwents of the damned are so also / ' * - — , : - ¦ . • / . . .. . ) . " '' * ¦ ' ¦» " > ' i " " ¦— ¦ r * " ' "* * " ¦ w - • • * Wtebeart ,
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This , ftpNteeror , vs mere assertion ; With out th £ jxjsfcibllity of a proofT . - Metaphysical writers sometimes rea * son and subtilize as tb the itnirtut&bittey of the Deity , till , from their zeal to avoid anthropomorphitism , they appear ,
as it Hvere , almost to divest him of sensations : arid though neither this term , or any others that we know of , ate adequate to the description of his matchless and adorable excellencies , yet , having no better , we Wust be content to employ them . Nomt the
immutability of the Deity is the unchangeabteness of all his perfections : ' one ^ ivine attribute is not exercised to the prejudice or wrong of another . " * As he is infinitely holy and just , so he is also infinitely gracious and merciful j and there is tire same proportion of infinite
to infinite , as of one to one . His mercy cannot impede his justice , nor 9 an his justice obstruct or diminish the exercise of his mercy , only with this distinction , that * ' mercy is his darling attribute , and judgment " Tnis strange work * " and that in many cases , " mercy rejoice d *
against judgment . " Moreover , this unchangeableness of the £ > eity is consistent with infinite variety : " As , therefore , God is present every where , knows and perceives every thing , he must be supposed also ,
in a way infinitely superior to our comp rehensions , to feel every where for Q . U his credtUres ^\ The immutability of God , \ s , therefore , so far fom implyipg the eternity of future punishment , that , as we have formerly . observed of his power * it rather implies , the contrary .
The poet goes on to reure ^ ent the sinner , as checking himself in the midst of these reflections , magnifying the former merely and forbearance of the Almighty , and endeavouring to reconcile hisfwtesent dealings wkl * him , to his own conceptions of his moral character and gf ) V ^ rniBent : Yet , still
the plea is repeared—must his punishment transcend the reach of time , " and shoot forward beyond the limits oT thought and imagination ? In this view he riroceeds to urge , that it would have been far more merciful in the
Deity not to have given him existence * which , if succeeded by eternal suffering would render allt /^ blessings * tf"Aw prior state a nullity > and ** a curse , " and the light of Heaven ¦ •* a tbamkles ^ jH-efient , " which would be for the Almighty not . , , . i . ' . r ¦ . - . i ¦ ri , ' _ ' ! ' a ' 1 r ' t ¦ ' ¦ - ' ** -i ' i f ^ i . i * . M * . ' * W 1 » W ^^ ' rh Hartley * '
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Inconsistencies 6 f ff ^ itm oit PtilUre Ptinisbyimk . Mflfe
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Aug. 2, 1816, page 465, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2455/page/29/
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