Guest post from C. H. Spurgeon. No pity for the damned. :-(
The righteous in heaven will be quite satisfied
with the damnation of the lost.
I used to think that if I could see the lost in hell,
surely I must weep for them.
Could I hear their horrid wailings, and see the dreadful
contortions of their anguish, surely I must pity them.
But there is no such sentiment as that known in heaven.
The believer shall be there so satisfied with all of God's will,
that he will quite forget the lost, in the idea that God has done
it for the best, that even their loss has been their own fault,
and that God is infinitely just in it.
If my parents could see me in hell they would not have a tear to
shed for me, though they were in heaven, for they would say,
"It is only just, great God; and your justice must be magnified,
as well as your mercy;" and moreover, they would feel that God
was so much above his creatures that they would be satisfied to
see those creatures crushed if it might increase God's glory.
Oh! in heaven I believe we shall think rightly of "men".
Here "men" seem great things to us; but in heaven they will
seem no more than a few creeping insects that are swept
away in ploughing a field for harvest.
From heaven's viewpoint, "men" will appear no more than a
tiny handful of dust, or like some nest of wasps that ought
to be exterminated for the injury they have done.
"Men" will appear such little things when we sit on high with God,
and look down on the nations of the earth as "grasshoppers",
and "count the isles as very little things."
with the damnation of the lost.
I used to think that if I could see the lost in hell,
surely I must weep for them.
Could I hear their horrid wailings, and see the dreadful
contortions of their anguish, surely I must pity them.
But there is no such sentiment as that known in heaven.
The believer shall be there so satisfied with all of God's will,
that he will quite forget the lost, in the idea that God has done
it for the best, that even their loss has been their own fault,
and that God is infinitely just in it.
If my parents could see me in hell they would not have a tear to
shed for me, though they were in heaven, for they would say,
"It is only just, great God; and your justice must be magnified,
as well as your mercy;" and moreover, they would feel that God
was so much above his creatures that they would be satisfied to
see those creatures crushed if it might increase God's glory.
Oh! in heaven I believe we shall think rightly of "men".
Here "men" seem great things to us; but in heaven they will
seem no more than a few creeping insects that are swept
away in ploughing a field for harvest.
From heaven's viewpoint, "men" will appear no more than a
tiny handful of dust, or like some nest of wasps that ought
to be exterminated for the injury they have done.
"Men" will appear such little things when we sit on high with God,
and look down on the nations of the earth as "grasshoppers",
and "count the isles as very little things."
Comments
re the comment "If you sin against the everlasting God, the punishment must be everlasting"
how about
"If you sin against the loving God, the punishment must be loving"?
Or how about a sermon called: "Sinners in the Hands of a Loving God" ?
http://talkingchristianity.blogspot.com/
I do wonder how some Christians make sense of God taking no joy in the destruction of the wicked yet he's filled with joy at their destruction?
The Isaiah blog post is not bad (except that it reads Isa 34 and 66 as about eternal torment which they are very obviously not). Interestingly both passages become texts that NT hell texts draw on. But the parallel (and the contrast between "saved" and "lost" in the two texts) is not daft.
One day I will need to write a proper OT study on judgment. Alas, all such things are a mountain of work.
I am impressed by the fact that Jesus did not gloat over Jerusalem's judgment but wept. Lamentations manifests the same attitude. The destruction may well be a manifestation of divine retribution but that does not make it a cause for celebration, even to God.
Spurgeon's attitude is, in this regard, not remotely like Jesus'.
You write: "Spurgeon's attitude is, in this regard, not remotely like Jesus'."
I am confused. I thought the original post was a satire to demonstrate how absurd the dogma of hell is. Is this actually for real?
To be fair, they are not rejoicing in the sufferings as such. They are rejoicing in the glory of divine justice perfectly displayed.
However, the tradition is unfortunate. I would say that it is ungodly in that God's own attitude to punishing sinners (in the Bible) never seems to be one of rejoicing in perfect justice, etc. It is one of lamenting.