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God sovereignly hates sin, and yet he most wisely
permits it, in order to let the reasonable creature
act according to the condition of its nature; and to
make the good more worthy of commendation, when
having power to transgress the law they do not
transgress it.
Let us therefore adore and bless this holy
permission, but since the Providence which permits
sin infinitely hates it, let us also detest and hate
it, desiring with all our power that sin permitted
may not be committed, and according to this desire
let us make use of all means possible to hinder the
birth, growth and reign of sin. Let us in this
imitate our Saviour, who never ceases to exhort,
promise, threaten, prohibit, command and inspire us,
in order to turn our will from sin, so far forth as
is possible without depriving us of liberty: and when
the sin is once committed let us endeavour what we
are able to have it blotted out, like our Saviour,
who assured Carpus, as was said above, that, if it
were requisite, he was ready to suffer death again to
deliver a single soul from sin.
But if the sinner grow obstinate, let us weep,
Theotimus, groan, pray for him, before the Saviour of
our souls, who having all his lifetime shed an
abundance of tears over sinners and over those who
represented all sinners, died in the end - his eyes
full of tears, his body all steeped in
blood-lamenting the ruin of sinners. This affection
touched David so to the quick that he fell into a
swoon over it: A fainting, said he, hath seized me
for sinners abandoning thy law.(1) And the great
Apostle protests that he has a continual sorrow in
his heart,(2) for the obstinacy of the Jews.
Meanwhile, however obstinate sinners may be, let us
never desist from aiding and assisting them. How do
we know but that they may do penance and be saved?
Happy is he that can say to his neighbour as did S.
Paul: For three years I ceased not with tears to
admonish every one of you night and day. Wherefore I
take you to witness this day that I am clear from the
blood of all men. For I have not spared to declare
unto you all the counsel of God.(3)
So long as we are within the limits of hope that
the sinner will amend (which limits are always of the
same extent as those of his life), we must never
reject him, but pray for him and assist him as far as
his misery will permit.
But, at last, after we have wept over the
obstinate, and performed towards them the good
offices of charity in trying to reclaim them from
perdition, we must imitate our Saviour and the
Apostles; that is, we must divert our spirit from
thence and place it upon other objects and
employments which are more to the advancement of
God's glory. To you it behoved us first (said the
Apostles to the Jews) to speak the word of God but
because you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy
of eternal life, behold we turn to the Gentiles.(4)
The kingdom of God (said our Saviour) shall be taken
from you, and shall be given to a nation yielding the
fruits thereof.(5) For we cannot spend too long time
in bewailing some, without losing time fit and
necessary for procuring the salvation of others.
The Apostle indeed says that the loss of the Jews
is a continual sorrow to him, but this is said in the
same sense that we say we praise God always; for we
mean no other thing thereby than that we praise him
very frequently, and on every occasion; and in the
same manner the glorious St. Paul felt a continual
grief in his heart on account of the reprobation of
the Jews, in the sense that on every occasion he
bemoaned their misfortune.
For the rest we must ever adore, love and praise God
avenging and punishing justice as we love his mercy,
being both daughters of his goodness; for by his
grace he makes us good, being good, yea, sovereignly
good, himself; by his justice he punishes sin because
he hates it, and he hates it because, being
sovereignly good, he hates the sovereign evil which
is iniquity: and, in conclusion, note, that God never
withdraws his mercy from us save by the just
vengeance of his punishing justice, nor do we ever
escape the rigour of his justice but by his
justifying mercy: and always, whether punishing or
favouring us, his good-pleasure is worthy of
adoration, love and everlasting praise.
So the just man who sings the praises of the mercy
of God over such as shall be saved, will also rejoice
when he shall see his vengeance. The blessed shall
with joy approve the sentence of the damnation of the
reprobate, as well as that of the salvation of the
elect: and the angels, having exercised their charity
towards those that they had in keeping, shall remain
in peace, when they see them obstinate, yea even
damned. We are therefore to submit ourselves to the
Divine will, and kiss the right hand of his mercy and
the left hand of his justice, with an equal love and
reverence.
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