they should remain forever ignorant of realities, and spend an eternity in the midst of shadows and phantasms? (See Arcana Cœlestia 4623.)
And what unspeakable benignity in our Heavenly Father, does this doctrine display! When his children have wandered far from the way of his commandments; when they have shut their souls against the light of his wisdom and the purity of his love, and confirmed themselves in a life of evil; He loves them still—loves them too tenderly to permit them to see where and what they are. He loves them, and, for their own good, mercifully provides that they remain forever oblivious of what they were created to be; that they shall not be permitted to see themselves or each other as monsters, but as men; that the loathsome objects which surround them, and which their own evil loves create by an unfailing law, shall not seem loathsome but pleasing to them; that they shall still enjoy what they call delights—delights, too, as elevated as the kind of life they have formed for themselves, will possibly admit of.
Where shall we find a more striking display of the Lord's infinite and unspeakable mercy, than is presented in the wonderful provision He has made for the comfort and highest welfare of the devils? His love is, indeed, unfathomable. "His mercy is forever." Who can unfold his marvelous loving-kindness? "Who can show forth all his praise?"
