Page:The New View of Hell.djvu/159

 through the medium of fear. It is in this way that He comes to, and manifests his love for, the devils. He does not hate them. He does not turn his face away from them. He does not take delight in tormenting them, as Christians have hitherto believed and taught;—far from it. On the contrary his love for them is like that of a kind and benignant father for his disobedient children, only infinitely more tender. It is not less strong for them, than it is for men on earth, or even for the angels in heaven;—no, nor less active in its efforts to promote their highest welfare. But because they have quenched his holy Spirit in their hearts—because they have refused to listen to his loving voice, which evermore seeks to lead men freely in the path to heaven, therefore they must be governed like wayward and rebellious children. They cannot be governed as the angels are—by love; they can only be governed by fear. Therefore the Lord permits them to be punished from time to time, with more or less severity according to the stubbornness of "their dispositions or the measure of their perversity. And this, too, for their own good; precisely as a wise and loving father will chastise his disobedient children, not because he delights in causing them pain, but because he wishes, for their good, to subdue their rebellious dispositions, and prevent them from injuring themselves and others through the unrestrained indulgence of their wrong inclinations.

It is precisely in this way that the Lord deals with the