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18 willingly have forgiven him and blotted out his sin for His mercy's sake. The obstacle in the way of human salvation was not the inappeasable wrath of God, but the persistent obduracy of man. Like the father mentioned in the parable he was ever anxious to meet the returning prodigal with open arms, and even to meet and embrace him while yet a great way off. This is plainly taught in the prophecy from which we previously quoted. "When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; if he turn from his sin, and do that which is lawful and right; if the wicked restore the pledge, give again that he had robbed, walk in the statutes of life without committing iniquity, he shall surely live, he shall not die. None of his sins that he hath committed shall be mentioned unto him: he hath done that which is lawful and right; he shall surely live."

The work of Atonement was not rendered necessary by the anger of God; on the contrary, it was "in His love and in His pity He redeemed us." It was not because He was angry with the world on account of the sin of Adam, but "God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believed on Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." The idea that God needed reconciling to us is in direct opposition to the testimony of Scripture, which affirms that it was man that needed reconciling to God. "If when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled,