ABSTRACT
Donne is absorbed in studying the eternal purpose of God in the world, and in contemplating the mercy, power, and justice of God'. The infinite proportion between God and thee, and so between that sin and the mercy of God; for, thou canst not be so absolutely, so intirely, so essentially sinfull, as God is absolutely, and intirely, and essentially mercifull. God's omnipotence is what enables him to be omnimerciful. Technically his omnipotence enables him to do anything he wishes, but that does not include acting out of 'character'. A refrain of Donne's sermons is that God cannot gainsay his own nature. The hallmark of Donne's theology, in both the narrow sense of 'discourse about God' and the wider one of 'religious outlook', is its inclusivity. The mature Donne's God was one that, having been passed on to him in childhood, he creatively fine-tuned in line with his own predisposition for viewing heaven as accessible.
