
Reverend John Wesley
Sermons on Several Occasions
The General Deliverance
「1771」Rev. John Wesley, “The General Deliveran,” in vol. 1 of Sermons on Several Occasions「Google Books」(London, 1825) 121-132.
Reason, set aside that ambiguous term: exchange it for the plain word, understanding: and who can deny that brutes have this? We may as well deny that they have sight or hearing. (124)
Something better remains after death for those poor creatures also. (131)
It may enlarge our hearts towards those poor creatures, to reflect that, as vile as they appear in our eyes, not one of them is forgotten in the sight of our Father which is in heaven. Through all the vanity to which they are now subjected, let us look to what God hath prepared for them. Yea, let us habituate ourselves to look forward, beyond this present scene of bondage, to the happy time when they will be delivered therefrom, into the liberty of the children of God! (131)