T. Thy wants are well; but not thy wrongs to satisfy thy wants. Thy wants are misdirected; they work harm to thy mind. It will not be so, when thou understandest the law which should govern thee. Thou wilt not reform, nor leave this castle, till thou seest that all good is obedience, and all evil is disobedience to the law of God. So long as thou shalt remain subject to the wisdom of those who instruct thee to do wrong, that good may come to thee, thou wilt not refrain from thy wrongs. Thy errors are thy wrongs; and, if thou wouldst be saved from their curse, thou shouldst cast them away.
D. That would I do, when I have found the wrong. But I see no error in my faith.
T. Thy faith is not well when wrong.
D. Yea; but wherein is it wrong?
T. I heard thee say, that God was not just. If God be not just, who will not be like him when arrested for judgment? Thou seest that thy accusation is wrong; and thy wrong hath disturbed thy quiet. When wilt thou reform of thy wrong, if thy God be unjust?
D. But when I said he was unjust, I meant that he was so merciful, as not to punish the wicked as their sins deserve; not that he was an unjust God.
T. Thou wilt not put new wine into old bottles, lest it ferment and break the bottles, and the wine be lost. Thou hast made the rent no better. If God will not give the wicked what they deserve, he is unjust, and is not faithful to his promise. Besides, how can the wicked separate themselves from the evil of a violated law? When the law is disregarded, a wrong is done; and, when a wrong is done, the evil is committed. The evil is the wrong. The wrong is what disturbs thee, and what disturbs thee is thy reward. Thy reward is the judgment of God, executed in thy mind, because thy wisdom needs improvement.
D. Thou wilt not say, the wrong is the reward.
T. The wrong is the evil, and the evil is what thou shouldst abandon for thy good; because what is evil to thee, thou shouldst not pursue. The law which rewards thee, is eternal, and, while wrong is cherished, the reward is thine. What is thine, thou wilt receive, for it is just.
D. Thou wilt not say, the wrong is the reward.