Where men are bent upon wrong there is always a strong tendency to elect a character of God that is not very just, but that is very kind--so kind that behind it they may gain some security in their wrong course. And when God's long-suffering and patience are opened up to men they often say, "Well, if God is a being that is tender and loving, I need not be in a hurry to leave off my evil ways. He will bear with me a little longer, and I do not believe that He will account with me for my petty transgressions." Men deliberately employ God's mercy and goodness to violate His feelings. . . . That is infernal; it is inhuman, because kindness seems to lay almost every man under a debt of gratitude. A dog, even, feels itself laid under a debt of gratitude by kindness. It is only men who are corrupted that would ever think of making goodness, and kindness, and generosity towards them the ground on which to base a violation of these qualities. And yet hundreds say, "God is good, and we will go on a little longer in sin." Yes, He is infinitely good. He has been patient with you; He has longed for you; He has sent ten thousand invisible mercies to you, besides those visible mercies he has showered upon you; He has been long-suffering and forgiving; He has sunk in the depths of the sea thrice ten thousands of transgressions; He did it yesterday, He is doing it to-day, and He will do it to-morrow; and shall you argue with yourself that because God is so good you will go on and insult Him, and wound Him, and injure Him? Or shall the goodness of God lead you to repentance and newness of life? I beseech of you, for the sake of honour and manhood, do not tread upon God's goodness, and generosity, and magnanimity to offend Him more.--_Beecher._ [3] H. E. I. 2296-2301, 2349. [4] H. E. I. 2316, 2317. [5] H. E. I. 604, 605. [6] H. E. I. 2283, 2284. THE VIRGIN'S SON. vii. 13-16. _And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David, &c._ On this supremely difficult passage Dr. Kennicott preached a remarkable sermon before the University of Oxford, on the 19th of May 1765. As this sermon is not readily accessible, I here give some extracts from it. Concerning these words there have been the four following opinions:-- I. That the whole passage relates only to a son of Isaiah. II. That the whole passage relates only to CHRIST. III. That the whole passage relates both to Isaiah's son and to CHRIST; to the former in a primary and literal sense, and in a secondary sense to the latter. IV. That there are here _two_ prophecies, each literal, and each to be understood in one sense only: the first relating to CHRIST, the second to Isaiah's son.