Search -
The salvation of all men strictly examined
The salvation of all men strictly examined Author:Jonathan Edwards Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER II. WHETHER THE DAMNED DESERVE ANY OTHER PUNISHMENT, THAN THAT WHICH IS CONDUCIVE TO THEIR PERSONAL GOOD. On the supposition, that future punishmen... more »t is a mere discipline necessary and happily conducive to the repentance and good of the damned ; it may he asked, whether such discipline be all which they deserve, and which can consistently with strict justice be inflicted ; or whether they do indeed deserve a greater degree or duration of punishment, than that which is sufficient to lead them to repentance, and that additional punishment be by grace remitted to them. Let us consider both these hypotheses. The first is, that the wicked deserve, according to strict justice, no more punishment, than is necessary to lead them to repentance, and to prepare them for happiness.—That this is not a mere hypothesis made by aD opponent of Dr. C. but is a doctrine implied at least, if not expressly asserted in his book, may appear by the following quotations. " Is it not far more reasonable to suppose, that the miseries of the other world are a proper discipline in order to accomplish this end" [the recovery of sinners] " than that they should be final and vindictive only?" If a final and vindictive punishment be entirely just, what has reason to object to the infliction of it, in some instances at least ?—t" The consideration of hell as a purging fire, is that only which can make the witter sit easy on one's mind." But if hell, though not merely a purging fire, be justly deserved, why does not the thought.of it sit easy on one's mind? .So that it is P. 321,322. tP. 324. manifestly implied in this reasoning of Dr. C. that no other punishment of the wicked can be reconciled with justice,- than that which is adapted to their personal good. The same is implicitly assert...« less