The ministers of the grace of God have, by the Holy Spirit, spoken of repentance; and the Lord of all things has himself declared with an oath regarding it, "As I live, saith the Lord, I desire not the death of the sinner, but rather his repentance;" [4043] adding, moreover, this gracious declaration, "Repent, O house of Israel, of your iniquity." [4044] Say to the children of my people, Though your sins reach from earth to heaven, and though they be redder [4045] than scarlet, and blacker than sack-cloth, yet if ye turn to me with your whole heart, and say, Father! I will listen to you, as to a holy [4046] people. And in another place He speaks thus: "Wash you and become clean; put away the wickedness of your souls from before mine eyes; cease from your evil ways, and learn to do well; seek out judgment, deliver the oppressed, judge the fatherless, and see that justice is done to the widow; and come, and let us reason together. He declares, Though your sins be like crimson, I will make them white as snow; though they be like scarlet, I will whiten them like wool. And if ye be willing and obey me, ye shall eat the good of the land; but if ye refuse, and will not hearken unto me, the sword shall devour you, for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken these things." [4047] Desiring, therefore, that all His beloved should be partakers of repentance, He has, by His almighty will, established [these declarations].

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Footnotes:

[4043] Ezekiel 33:11.

[4044] Ezekiel 18:30.

[4045] Comp. Isaiah 1:18.

[4046] These words are not found in Scripture, though they are quoted again by Clem. Alex. (Pædag. i. 10) as from Ezekiel.

[4047] Isaiah 1:16-20.