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Even the casting of the reprobate into the Lake of Fire is an act of mercy!
将不悔改的人投入火湖也是一种怜悯之举！
(Arthur Pink, “The Mercy of God” 3 pages)
（亚瑟·皮恩，《神的怜悯》，三页）
It is pure sovereign grace which alone determines the exercise of divine mercy. God expressly affirms this fact in Romans 9:15, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. It does not, therefore, depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.”
唯有纯粹的主权恩典决定神怜悯的施行。神在罗马书9:15明确确认这一事实：”我要怜悯谁就怜悯谁，要恩待谁就恩待谁。所以这不在乎那定意的，也不在乎那奔跑的，只在乎发怜悯的神。”
It is not the wretchedness of the creature which causes Him to show mercy, for God is not influenced by things outside of Himself as we are. If God were influenced by the abject misery of leprous sinners, He would cleanse and save all of them. But He does not. Why? Simply because it is not His pleasure and purpose so to do.
不是受造物的可怜境况使祂施怜悯，因为神不像我们那样受外在事物的影响。如果神会被麻风病人般罪人的极度苦难所影响，祂就会洁净并拯救所有人。但祂并没有这样做。为什么？仅仅因为这不是祂的喜悦和旨意。
Still less is it the merits of the creatures which causes Him to bestow mercies upon them, for it is a contradiction in terms to speak of meriting mercy. “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us” (Titus 3:5)-the one standing in direct antithesis to the other.
更不是受造物的功德使祂向他们施怜悯，因为谈论赚得怜悯本身就是自相矛盾。”祂救了我们，并不是因我们自己所行的义，乃是照祂的怜悯”（提多书3:5）- 这两者是完全对立的。
The merits of Christ make it possible for God to righteously bestow spiritual mercies on His elect-justice having been fully satisfied by the Surety! Divine mercy arises solely from God’s imperial pleasure.
基督的功德使神能够公义地将属灵的怜悯赐给祂的选民 – 因为公义已经被担保者完全满足！神的怜悯完全源于祂至高的喜悦。
Though it is true, blessedly and gloriously true, that God’s mercy “endures forever”-yet we must observe carefully the objects to whom His “saving mercy” is shown.
虽然神的怜悯”永远长存”这一点确实是真实的，是有福的，是荣耀的 – 但我们必须仔细观察，祂的”拯救的怜悯”是向谁显明的。
Even the casting of the reprobate into the Lake of Fire is an act of mercy!
将不敬者投入火湖也是一种怜悯之举！
The punishment of the wicked is to be contemplated from a threefold viewpoint:
对恶人的惩罚应从三个角度来思考：
- From God’s side, the punishment of the wicked is an act of justice, vindicating His honor. The mercy of God is never shown to the detriment of His holiness and righteousness.
从神的角度来看，惩罚恶人是一种伸张正义的行为，维护祂的荣耀。神的怜悯从不会损害祂的圣洁与公义。 - From their side, it is an act of equity, when they are made to suffer the due penalty of their iniquities.
从恶人的角度来看，这是一种公平的行为，他们为自己的罪恶承受应得的惩罚。 - But from the standpoint of the redeemed, the punishment of the wicked is an act of unspeakable mercy. How dreadful would it be if the present order of things, when the children of God are obliged to live in the midst of the children of the Devil, should continue forever! Heaven would at once cease to be Heaven, if the ears of the saints still heard the blasphemous and filthy language of the reprobate. What a mercy that in Heaven, “Nothing evil will be allowed to enter, nor anyone who practices shameful idolatry and dishonesty-but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life!” Revelation 21:27
但从蒙救赎者的角度来看，惩罚恶人是一种难以言表的怜悯。若现今这种状况，就是神的儿女不得不与魔鬼的儿女一同生活的情形永远持续下去，将会是多么可怕啊！若圣徒的耳朵仍要听到不敬者的亵渎和污秽的言语，天堂就不再是天堂了。在天堂里，”凡不洁净的，并那行可憎与虚谎之事的，总不得进那城。只有名字写在羔羊生命册上的才得进去。”（启示录21:27）这是何等的怜悯！
But let our final thought be of God’s spiritual mercies unto His own people-the riches thereof transcend our loftiest thought. “For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him” (Psalm 103:11). None can measure it.
让我们最后思想神对祂子民的属灵怜悯——其丰富超越我们最崇高的思想。”天离地何等的高，他的慈爱向敬畏他的人也是何等的大。”（诗篇103:11）无人能测度。
The elect are designated “vessels of mercy.” Romans 9:23
蒙拣选的人被称为”蒙怜悯的器皿。”（罗马书9:23）
It is divine mercy which quickened them when they were dead in sins. Ephesians 2:4-5
是神的怜悯使他们在罪中死了的时候得以复活。（以弗所书2:4-5）
It is God’s mercy which saves them. Titus 3:5
是神的怜悯拯救了他们。（提多书3:5）
It is His abundant mercy which begat them unto an eternal inheritance which can never perish, spoil or fade! 1 Peter 1:4
是祂丰盛的怜悯使他们得到永不朽坏、永不玷污、永不衰残的基业！（彼得前书1:4）
Time would fail us to tell of His preserving, sustaining, pardoning and supplying mercies!
若要述说祂保守的、扶持的、赦免的和供应的怜悯，时间都不够用！
Unto His own, God is “the Father of mercies and God of all comfort!” 2 Corinthians 1:3
对祂自己的子民而言，神是”发慈悲的父，赐各样安慰的神！”（哥林多后书1:3）