WHEN I had the pleasure of conversing with you, a few evenings ago, I stated a few propo­sitions, tending to analize the doc­trine of the eternal duration of hell torments; so as to have the sub­ject comprised in a small compass, on a few self evident principles.—But as the subject is of great im­portance, involving in its discussion and decision, the just or erroneous opinion we are to form of the moral character of the Deity; that is, whether we shall believe that the Deity has created millions of hu­man beings, knowing with certain­ty, before he brought them into ex­istence, that they would prove in­corrigible sinners, incur his divine displeasure, and that he, in conse­quence, should consign them to [Page 2] eternal punishment in the regions of misery and woe:

Or, whether he created them with the benevolent design or wish that they might all be eventually happy, knowing that he had suffi­cient abilities to fulfil his gracious intention. I would beg leave to state the following queries: viz.

Query I. When the Deity conceived the design of creating, or causing so many millions of human beings to exist; did he wish or de­sign that they should all be even­tually happy? Or did he not wish them final happiness?

Query II. Did he know what their future conduct in this life would be?

Query III. Was he possessed of a sufficient degree of wisdom to form a plan whereby the whole human race might be rescued from eter­nal misery?

Query IV. Had he a sufficient degree of power to execute his plan, and save the whole human race from eternal perdition?

[Page 3]If it be granted, as I conclude it must be; that the Deity was so be­nevolent as to wish that the whole human race might be eventually happy;

That he knew before hand what the conduct of each individual would be;

That he had wisdom enough to form a plan to effect his gracious design;

And a sufficient degree of power to execute his plan and save the whole human race from eternal perdition;

Query V. What power, or combination of powers can frustrate the designs of the Omnipotent Jeho­vab, and drag these beings to end­less perdition, which he intended should be eventually happy?

Query VI. What degree of cre­dit are we to give to the opinion of those who tell us, that notwith­standing the infinite goodness, wis­dom, and Almighty power, of the Deity are engaged to save the whole race, vast numbers of them must, [Page 4] nevertheless, be irrecoverably con­singed to the Devil, to be torment­ed by him to the endless ages of eternity? Nay, there are many who allege that the posterity of Adam are brought into being, with a na­tural and moral incapacity of do­ing any good; but with a strong propensity, and infinite power to do evil. In consequence of which disposition and power, every sin which they commit is an infinite evil, and every subsequent transgres­sion which they commit, being also an infinite evil, the sum total be­comes infinitely infinite; render­ing the miserable culprit justly liable to eternal punishment, for acting a­greeably to the constitution and pro­pensities of his nature, with which the Deity impelled him into existence.

Query VII. Is it not impious to suppose, that an infinitely good and merciful God, should bring into existence millions of human be­ings, under a moral incapacity of doing good; but with the strong­est inherent propensities and pow­ers [Page 5] to commit crimes [...] are infi­nitely evil; thereby to furnish a plausible pretext to justify the mea­sure of punishing them eternally?

If this doctrine be well founded, the Devil could not have wished for a plan more, or better calculated to people his dominions.

The Calvinists suppose the dire­ful reverse of our fortune, with respect to the benevolent disposi­tion of the Deity towards us, to have been caused by the transgres­sion and fall of Adam: for, say they, "Mankind by their fall lost communion with God, are under his wrath and curse, and so made liable to all the miseries of this life, to death itself, and to the pains of hell forever!"

Query VIII. What a shocking idea do they entertain of the mo­ral character of the Deity, and his divine government! Who can sup­pose a human being justly liable to God's wrath and curse in this life, and to the pain of hell forever, for a crime committed by another per­son [Page 6] five or six thousand years be­fore the imputed culprit had an ex­istence?

Query IX. Was Adam's future conduct and fall, a matter of con­tingency with the Deity? Nay, he certainly knew that he would eat the forbidden fruit; why then should his wrath and indignation rise to such a tremendous pitch, a­gainst millions of unborn, innocent beings, whose possible future ex­istence depended entirely on his own agency; which is as necessa­ry in the production of a human being at this time, as in producing Adam out of the dust of the earth?

Query X. Is it not more ration­al, more agreeable to scripture, and more consistent with the ideas we ought to entertain of the kind pa­rent of the human race, to believe, with the Universalists, that he cre­ated the whole human race, with the benevolent design of making them all eventually happy; that he had wisdom enough to form his plan; and power enough to execute [Page 7] it; that he has made them moral, accountable agents: for which pur­pose, he has endued them with knowledge to distinguish between good and evil; a free will to choose, and a power to act agreea­bly to their choice? Where either of these three powers or faculties are withheld, or are imperfect, the duties expected of the agent, will be proportionally diminished; an idiot not being in any degree ac­countable for his actions.

If, therefore, we make an im­proper use of our free agency, and are led or impelled by our appe­tites or passions, or any kind of temptation, to do any action which we know to be wrong or criminal, whether we gain our knowledge from revelation or reason, we are equally criminal. If we neglect to perform any known duty, we are also criminal. If we neglect to improve the means of gaining knowledge respecting our duties towards God and man, our igno­rance cannot be plead in mitiga­tion [Page 8] of our crimes, as our ignorance is not inevitable; but caused by neglect. The Deity, in all such cases, will correct, and sometimes punish sinners with severity; pro­bably he may punish some refrac­tory sinners for ages; but still, like a kind parent, for the sole purpose of reclaiming them.

The only valuable end or design of punishment, is the reformation of the being punished. But in all cases where this end cannot be at­tained, and the offender can be pre­vented from injuring other beings; the farther infliction of punishment can have no other motive than re­venge, which can answer no valu­able purpose. It would be better after having punished them to a de­gree adequate to their crimes, to suffer them to drop into a state of non-existence, than to keep them sinning and suffering eternally.

If sin is displeasing to the Deity, the sins and blasphemies committed in hell, must also displease him;— but it seems he is willing to dispense [Page 9] with this inconvenience, for the pleasure of punishing them to eter­nity.

If it be said, that the eternal pu­nishment of the wicked may be de­signed as an example to others, to deter them from acting as they had done. I ask, to whom can their punishment be a necessary exam­ple? Surely not to the wicked in this life, who neither hear their groans, nor see their sufferings— Certainly not to the blessed in hea­ven, who can neither be benefited, nor gratified by such an horrid spec­tacle. It certainly must be to gra­tify the Devil, as it affords him the pleasure of triumphing over the Saviour of mankind. Here, may he say, are the millions you fondly imagined you could rescue from my power; for them you left the bosom of your father; for them you assumed the human form; for them you suffered many hardships and indignities; for them you shed your blood on the cross; but after all this parade, behold, they are [Page 10] mine eternally; you tried to save them, but you could not! Is this the triumphant victory the Saviour of mankind was to gain over the powers of darkness? Is it all to ter­minate in peopling the infernal re­gions, with those very beings, who the eternal Father of mercies wished and intended should be e­ternally happy, in singing his prais­es world without end? Is it not more consistent with the ideas we ought to entertain of the infinite goodness, wisdom and power of God, to suppose that the Saviour of man­kind will go on conquering [...] to conquer, until he has released eve­ry human being, who had been held in captivity by the enemy of man­kind; correcting them for their transgressions, with the rod of be­nevolence, and alluring them by his tender mercies and loving kind­ness, until they become willing in the day of his power, to enlist un­der him, as the Captain of their salvation, that after he has gained this compleat victory over the pow­ers [Page 11] of darkness; he will deliver up the kingdom entire to his Father, that God may be all in all?

But on the other hand, should we suppose the Saviour, when he comes to give an account of the success of his mission, and deliver up the kingdom to his Father; to tell him, I have done my best to save the whole human race; but I found their natures so completely derang­ed and corrupted by Adam's fall, and their appetites and passions so though vitiated, and the Devil so amazingly artful and cunning in suiting his temptations to their cor­rupt appetites and passions; that I was at length obliged to come to a compromise with him, and give him up nine-tenths of the human race to recover one tenth? This would afford but small grounds for a triumph.

WHEN I presumed some time ago to trouble you with my sentiments concerning the final restoration of the human race; I considered the subject, as it re­spected our ideas of the unlimited prescience, goodness, wisdom, and almighty power of God. And I am still persuaded that this is the most rational method of investigat­ing this important subject: for if the Deity be omniscient, he must have known what would eventual­ly be the fate of every individual created being. If he is infinitely good and merciful, he must un­doubtedly wish to make them even­tually happy. If he be infinitely [Page 14] wise, he must have laid his plan, so as to prevent being frustrated in the accomplishment of his gracious design. And if infinitely power­ful, all the obstructions or obstacles that the united powers of all cre­ated beings could oppose to the operations of his almighty will, would be in vain; nay, worse than in vain.

If, therefore, any number of the human race, are to be consigned to the Devil, to be tormented in the regions of darkness and despair, to the endless ages of eternity, it must happen in consequence of some defect in the prescience, good­ness, wisdom, or power of the De­ity. To suppose the infinitely merciful and good God, capable of forcing any number of human beings into existence, without wish­ing to make the condition into which he brought them equal, if not preferable, to a state of non­existence, is shocking, (and I pre­sume there are but few, if any, who will assert, that a state of eter­nal [Page 15] punishment, is either equal or preferable to non-existence.)

But, supposing him to have known, from all eternity, that they would be most exquisitely miserable throughout eternal ages, without any possibility of relief; is to sup­pose the ever merciful Jehovah guilty of an unprovoked act of cru­elty: for it is certain non-entities could not offend him. It is, there­fore, dealing unfairly with the cha­racter of the Deity, to charge him with an act of cruelty of which no human being would be guilty.— What man would beget a child, provided he knew with certainty before band, that it would be eter­nally miserable? I presume there is not one to be found, that would not shudder at the thought of be­ing instrumental in producing a be­ing, knowing it should inevitably bear the most excrutiating tor­ments in the regions of darkness, despair, and woe, as long as God himself existed! But shocking as it is, this is the character that has [Page 16] been given to the beneficient pa­rent of mankind, who is the su­preme fountain of love and mercy. 1 1 Tim. II. 3, and 4. John iv. 8 "He that loveth not, knoweth not God; for God is love." Ver. 14 "And we have seen, and do testify, that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world."

"For this is good and accept­able in the sight of God our Savi­our, who will have all men to be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth." Ver.32 "For he hath concluded all in unbelief, that he might save all." Ver.5 "For there is one God, and one Media­tor between God and men; the man Jesus Christ;" Ver.6 "Who gave himself a ransom for all to be testified in due time." Rom. xi. 26 "And so all Israel shall be sav­ed, as it is written, there shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Ja­cob."

"For as in Adam all die1 Cor. XV. 22. Rom. V. 18., even so in Christ shall all be made alive."

"Therefore, as by the offence of [Page 17] one, judgment came upon all men to condemnation, even so, by the righteousness of one, the free gift came upon all men unto the justi­fication of life." 1 III John. 35. John ii. 1 and 2 "If any man sin we have an advo­cate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the pro­pitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world."

"The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hands."

"All that the Father giveth me shall come to me, VI. 37. and him that com­eth to me, I will in no wise cast out." If then the Father hath giv­en all things into the hands of the Son, and all shall come unto him that the Father hath given him; then the whole human race must come, and he declares he will not cast them out.

He here speaks in the impera­tive mood, saying, they shall come, he will make them willing in the day of his power: for he tells us, [Page 18] Ver. 39 "And this is the Father's will who hath sent me, (to seek and to save that which was lost, Luke xix. 10,) that of all which he hath given me, I should lose nothing; but should raise it up at the last day."

How extremely discordant is the will of the advocates for eternal damnation, with the divine will of the Father of mercies, who wills that none should be lost; but will have all men to be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth, 1 1 Thes V. 9 and 10. Tim. i. and 4.

"For God has not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ.

Who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him."

"But we see Jesus, Heb. II. 9, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he, by the grace of God, should taste death for every man." These, sir, are a few of the many hundred texts, that plainly shew the graci­ous [Page 19] designs of the Deity in bring­ing so many millions of human beings into existence: and I should think them abundantly sufficient to vindicate the moral character of the Deity, who has been, and still is represented, to be an inexorable tyrant, punishing infants, (not a­bove a span long,) in hell flames to the endless ages of eternity, for Adam's transgression. And no­thing enrages these pious christians so much, as to hint, that Christ has either inclination or power to re­deem them from their captivity. But God has declared that this shall be done, and thanks be to God they cannot prevent it.

"And they shall be gathered together, Is. XXIV. 22. as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days they shall be visited." How? In mercy.

"As for thee, also, Zech. IX. 11. by the blood of thy covenant, I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water; at least poor Divus [Page 20] could find none to cool his tongue."

"For Christ also hath once suf­fered for sins, 1 Pet. III. 18. the just for the un­just, (that he might bring us to God,) being put to death in the flesh; but quickened by the Spi­rit:"

"By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison." 19.

"Which sometime were diso­bedient, when, once the long suf­fering of God waited, in the days of Noah, while the ark was a pre­paring." 2. What did Christ, after his crucifixion, go down to hell to preach to the spirits of the inhabit­ants of the old world, who for their disobedience perished in the de­luge? What could he have preach­ed to them? Surely not the doc­trine of Calvin: Nay; he preach­ed the gospel; i. e. "Glad tidings of great joy." Peter explains the matter farther.

"For, Chap. IV. 6. for this cause was the gos­pel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh; but [Page 21] live according to God in the Spi­rit."

These poor miserable beings had remained captives and close prisoners, in the pit, wherein is no water, near two thousand four hundred years, when the merciful Saviour of all mankind entered the dreary man­sions of misery and woe, and preached to them glad tidings of great joy. He probably told them that he was the high priest of the new covenant, who had lately of­fered up himself a ransom for all, and had made an ample atonement for the sins of the whole world; that as they had not the offers of salvation on the terms of the gos­pel made known to them, while living on earth, he had now come to offer them terms of reconcilia­tion and pardon; that having now heard the gospel, they should be judged according to the same rule, by which they were to be judged, who had the gospel preached to them in the flesh, that they might thereafter live according to the will [Page 22] of God in the Spirit: that the Father had given unto him all power in heaven, and on earth; that he was in possession of the keys of hell and of death; that he came to break the gates of brass, and cut the bars of iron in sunder; to open the prison doors, and pro­claim liberty. to the captives: for thus saith the Lord, "Even the captives of the mighty shall be ta­ken away, and the prey of the ter­rible shall be delivered, &c."

"For this purpose the Son of God was manifested; 1 John III. 8. that he might destroy the works of the Devil;" whose constant employment has been to deceive the children of men, by inducing them to trans­gress God's holy laws, whereby they become sinful, and consequent­ly miserable; for the Deity will correct them with the rod of bene­volence, in order to reform them; but he will undoubtedly cause the means which he employs, to an­swer the end, in due time.Lam. III. 31.

"For the Lord will not cast off [Page 23] forever;" Ver.32 But though he cause grief, yet will he have com­passion according to the multitude of his mercies:" Ver.33 "For he doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men."

"For I am merciful, Jer. III. 12. saith the Lord, and I will not keep anger forever."

"For I will not contend forever, Is. LVII. 16. neither will I be always wroth: for the spirit should fail before me, and the souls which I have made." If the above recited texts of scrip­ture be true: then must the doc­trine of eternal punishment be false: for both cannot be true, as they are in diametrical opposition to each other; for the latter af­firms that the Lord will cast off forever; that though he causes grief, yet will he have no compassi­on; that his mercies are limited to a very short space; and that he afflicts and grieves the children of men willingly, and that forever! That the Lord is unmerciful to great numbers, against whom his anger [Page 24] will last forever; and that he will contend forever, and be always wroth, and will render the spirits and souls which he has made im­mortal, in order to wreck his ven­geance upon them, to the endless ages of eternity: for when sin, death and the Devil are destroyed, which certainly will be done, if the scriptures are true, then the Deity, (according to the doctrine of the advocates of eternal punishment) will be the only tormentor. Heb. II. 14 "For as much as the chil­dren are made partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same, that through death, he might destroy him that had the power of death;"—that is, the Devil. Whether the Devil be destroyed by annihilation, or by having his nature changed, it does not alter the case; for at any rate, there will be no Devil. And the last enemy to be destroyed is death, which must mean the second death. 1 Cor. xxv. 25, and 26 "Previous to which Christ will ask this grand [Page 25] question, O death where is thy sting? O grave where is thy vic­tory? The sting of death is sin, and if sin remained in being, death might exultingly answer; here is my sting, tormenting millions which you made, and could not re­deem. When the Father delivered all things into your hands, his will was, that you should lose nothing; but should raise it up at the last day. What apology will you make for the irrecoverable loss of milli­ons? Are you the almighty Savi­our of mankind, who was made manifest to destroy the works of the Devil? Nay; that boasted that he would destroy sin, death, and even the Devil himself, with all his works; behold, here are sin, death and the Devil triumphant, with all their works unimpaired.

If you created these millions, knowing and designing that they should be eternally miserable; then are we completely out D—d indeed, and we yield to you the palm: but if you wished or intend­ed [Page 26] that they should be eventually happy, you have been trying a blind experiment, in which you have succeeded so illy, that modes­ty should have restrained you from asking these insulting questions; a discussion of them must naturally lead, to an investigation of your character and conduct in this busi­ness, which can only have a ten­dency to shew the malevolence of your disposition; or to betray the weakness of your judgment, and im­becility of your power.

In sincere hopes that the inha­bitants of the whole world, will soon conceive a better opinion of the character and conduct of God, the Father of mercies, and the be­nevolent Jesus, who has made an atonement for the sins of the whole world;

THE trade of idol-making is a very ancient business; and has been practised, with very little in­terruption, since the days of Serah. The first step taken by almost every system-builder is, to fabricate a de­ity: but it sometimes happens, that he finds one ready made to his hand; in which case, he has only to furnish him with a set of at­tributes to suit his purpose; and the temper and disposition of the workman, may be infalibly known by the attributes with which he equips his deity.—Calvin was a tyrant; he caused poor Servetus to be burned, because he had the audacity to differ from him in opi­nion; [Page 28] being bred a Papist, he had contracted a fondness for the dei­ty who presided over the inquisi­tion, because he was supposed to burn all those in hell to all eter­nity, who they burned here on earth for heresy; —not because they had sinned against him, and had provoked him to bring them into existence; —but because he foreknew and decreed they should become sinners, that he might there­by have an opportunity of display­ing his Almighty power, and gra­tifying his vindictive justice, by punishing them to the endless ages of eternity, for acting agreeably to the nature and dispositions with which he brought them into be­ing; —for the Calvinists assert, that the posterity of Adam, are born with the most invincible propensity to do evil, and as entirely incapa­ble either to will or to do any good, as a dead man is to raise himself up, and perform the actions and functions of a living person, with­out the special aid and assistance of [Page 29] the Spirit of God, which he has a free sovereign right, either to grant or with hold, which he exercises without any refference to the good or bad disposition, or conduct of ei­ther those whom he has elected from all eternity to everlasting life; or those consigned to eternal pu­nishment by an arbitrary decree; as he is supposed to be under no kind of obligation to the creatures he has made, and to have a free sovereign right to do, as he pleases with them, as a potter has with an insensible lump of clay.

I readily grant that Christ has a sovereign right, and am persuaded that he has a disposition to pardon Judas who betrayed him, and the Jews who murdered him, together with the whole of the inhabitants of Sodom, Samaria, and Jerusalem: But I positively deny that he has either a sovereign right, or a dispo­sition so devoid of mercy; as to create an immortal rattle-snake, on purpose to make it eternally mi­serable, for acting agreeable to the [Page 30] nature and disposition, with which he brought it into being. Would it not be a more safe and certain method of gaining [...] know­ledge of the moral character of the Deity, and his disposition to wards the children of Men, to collect it from the divine precepts, and ex­ample of Christ, than to search for it in the works of Calvin, Ed­wards, Toplady, &c.

Christ tells his hearers in his ser­mon on the Mount.

"Ye have heard that it has been said, [...]. V. 13. thou shalt love thy neighbour and hate thine enemy. 44 But I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you, and persecute you." He incul­cates these principles as correspond­ing with the true moral character of the Father of mercies; for he subjoins in the 45 "that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to shine on the evil and on [Page 31] the good, &c." He further encou­rages them in the 48th verse, to proceed in the practice of these godlike virtues, that they might imitate the Deity in his moral per­fections; saying, "Be ye perfect, even as your Father which is in hea­ven is perfect."

This is, undoubtedly, a true de­scription of the disposition and mo­ral character of the greatest and best of [...] which Christ wish­ed his hearers to imitate, and cer­tainly he could not have given us a better pattern.

And these divine precepts he sanctioned and confirmed by his own example. When suffering the most excrutiating torments on the cross, he prayed for his most bitter enemies and murderers, say­ing, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." If, therefore, Christ prayed to his Fa­ther, and made intercession for those who were murdering him, while, in the most bitter agonies; who can reasonably doubt that he will not be disposed to intercede for the less [Page 32] criminal part of mankind; or that his intercession will not prevail with the Father of mercies to forgive them. Christ prayed for the whole promiscuous group; if they were not, nor will not be eventually pardoned; then Christ's intercession for them is unavailing. If they are forgiven, it is very remarkable that none except Calvin's elected, predestinated saints, should be the only persons concerned in crucify­ing the Saviour of the world.

The above principles and facts, does not evince the Deity to be such an inexorable, cruel being, as ma­ny well-meaning people have con­ceived him to be. They should, therefore, be cautious, and not charge the Deity with partiality and cruelty in the dispensations of his providence, with the children of men. Christ assures us, in the 22d Verse, of the aforementioned Chapter; "That whoever shall call his brother a fool, shall be in danger of hell fire." what then must the danger of that person be, [Page 33] who calls his maker a tyrant?— God forbid, says the Calvinist, that I should call God a tyrant! I only affirm that he has brought millions of human beings into existence, out of a state of non-existence, in which condition they were incapa­ble of either offending him, or suf­fering any inconvenience, what­ever, knowing, and having prede­termined that they should be pu­nished in bell flames, to the endless ages of eternity! Although I must confess it cannot be called a very merciful dispensation of Providence, I dare not call it tyranny. We are taught to believe that God knows every event that shall ever come to pass, he having established and fix­ed, every possible event by irrevo­cable decrees; so that nothing can happen contrary to his sovereign appointments, as will fully appear by perusing our Westminster confession of faith, and catechism, re­specting the above tenets, viz.

Question. What are the decrees of God?

[Page 34]Answer. The decrees of God are his eternal purpse, according to the council of his own will, whereby, for his own glory, he hath foreordained whatsoever comes to pass. He decreed that he would, in time, create a man and woman, by the names of Adam and Eve, and constitute Adam the head and representative of all his posterity; that he would enter into a cove­nant with him, on condition, that if he abstained from eating the fruit of a certain tree, himself and all his posterity should be happy; but if he tasted the forbidden fruit, himself and all his posterity should lose communion with God, be un­der his wrath and curse, and so made liable to all the miseries of this life, to death itself, and to the pains of hell forever! And that in conse­quence of Adam's transgression all his posterity should be born with the most invincible propensities to do evil, and both a natural and moral incapacity of doing any good, or even to will to do a good [Page 35] action, and least their natural pro­pensities to do evil, aided by the temptations of the Devil, should not instigate them sufficiently to fill up the measure of their iniqui­ty, the Deity is supposed to have decreed every evil action which they should commit; such as thefts, robberies, rapes, murders, &c. For all which crimes and abomina­tions, he has also decreed to punish the greatest number of the souls which he has made in hell, to the endless ages of eternity: for if the Deity has decreed whatsoever comes to pass, all these crimes and abomi­nations have come to pass, and therefore must have been included; for, say they, since God is omnisci­ent, it is evident that he foresaw from everlasting, whatever should come to pass; but there can be no prescience for future contin­gents: for what is certainly fore­seen, must infallibly come to pass; consequently, the prescience of the Deity cannot be antecedent to his decrees. They suppose that the [Page 36] Deity, by a free sovereign act of partiality, (he not being under the smallest obligation imaginable to regard the well being of the crea­tures he has made,) had chosen a certain number in Christ, unto e­verlasting glory, before the foun­dation of the world, according to his immutable purpose, and of his free grace and love, without the least reference to faith, good works, or any conditions to be performed by the creature: and as he loved those he elected without any rati­onal motive, so he also hated those he reprobated on the same ground, and left the poor wretched beings, which he dragged into existence under his unprovoked displeasure, not to be governed by the freedom of their own will, like moral ac­countable agents but pushed on to the greatest degree of guilt and wretchedness, by acting as the De­ity had foreknown and decreed they should do! And the Deity is sup­posed never to have altered any of his decrees, except one, that would [Page 37] have operated mercifully in their favour: to wit, "In the day thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die:" for surely non-existence would have been, at least a nega­tive blessing, to all those who are supposed to be eternally damned! But they must again be rendered immortal, that they might be pu­nished eternally for acting agreea­bly to the will of the Deity, by doing those things, and behaving in all respects, as he had decreed they should do: for it is absurd to sup­pose that the Deity would decree any thing contrary to his own will. If these doctrines be true, the Deity must certainly take great pleasure in the death and eternal damnation of sinners, otherwise he never would have constituted Adam their head and representative, and made their fate depend so entirely on his con­duct, when he infallibly knew that he would eat the forbiden fruit, whereby his posterity were to lose communion with God, to remain under his wrath and curse, be made [Page 38] liable to all the miseries of this life, to death itself, and to the pains of hell forever; for a crime commit­ted by a person of his own appoint­ment, some thousands of years be­fore many of them were in exist­ence; and in this deplorable con­dition are they supposed to be pass­ed by, and neglected by the God that made them, with their natures so completely polluted and conta­minated, and divested of all moral power of doing any thing to extri­cate themselves out of this deplor­able condition, and God is suppos­ed to have determined, previous to their existence, to do nothing for them; but to restore their immor­tality, to render them capable of enduring eternal misery: and I have possitively been told by a person of this persuasion, that should it please God to damn his wife and children eternally, he was sure he should rejoice in their misery!

If the tenets of Calvinism are true, then are all the invitations [Page 39] and promises in the Old and New Testaments, to be considered to be delivered ironically, with an intention to tantalize those poor miserable beings who were brought into this helpless con­dition by the appointment and de­crees of the Deity.

God directs Ezekiel to say unto the children of Israel; Ezek. XXXIII. 11. "As I live saith the Lord God, I have no plea­sure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live."—This is Plain, unequi­vocal language confirmed by an oath; which ought we to believe, God or Calvin?

"Look unto me and be ye saved, Isai. XLV. 22.all the ends of the earth, for I am God, and there is none else."

"For I will not contend forever; LVII. 16. neither will I be always wroth, for the spirit should fail before me, and the souls which I have made;" Query, does God ever make pollut­ed souls?

"For the Lord will not cast off for­ever; Lam. I. 3. [Page 40] 32 But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion, according to the multitude of his mercies. 33 For he doth not af­flict willingly, nor grieve the chil­dren of men." He afflicts and chas­tises, only to reform. Jer. III. 12. "For I am mer­ciful, saith the Lord, and I will not keep anger forever." "And so all Israel shall be saved, Rom. XI. 26. as it is writ­ten; there shall come out of Sion, a deliverer, and shall turn away un­godliness from Jacob. For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, 32. that he might have mercy upon all. "For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour, 1 Tim. II. 3. who will have all men to be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth; 5. for there is one God, and one Mediator, between God and men; the man Jesus Christ, who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time." Has Christ ransomed all mankind, and yet left millions to perish eternally? 1 John IV. 8. "He that loveth not, knoweth not God; for God is love."

[Page 41]"And we have seen, and dotestify, 1 John IV. 14. that the Father sent the Son to be the saviour of the world; and not of the self elected only."

"And if anyman sin, 1 John II. 1. we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 And he is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world." Query; If Christ be the propitiation for the sins of the whole world, for whose sins are so many millions supposed to be eternally damned?

"Thou hast put all things in sub­jection under his feet:" Heb. II. 8. for in that he put all things in subjection un­der him, he left nothing that is not put under him; but now we see not yet all things put under him. 9th "But we see Jesus who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God, should taste death for every man. How then can it be affirmed, Rom. V. 18. that mil­lions must perish eternally? "There­fore, [Page 42] by the offence of one, judge­ment came upon all men to con­demnation; even so, by the righ­teousness of one, the free gift came upon all men, to the justification of life. Query: If God justifies all men, who shall condemn any of them to eternal punishment?

"For the love of Christ constrain­eth us, 2 Cor. V. 14. because we thus judge, that if one died for all then were all dead. 15 And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto them­selves, but unto him who died for them, and rose again." Here St. Paul and Calvin differ in judgment again; one believes that Christ di­ed for all, and Calvin that he died for the elect only: for those must be saved, for whom Christ died; other­wise, he shed his blood in vain. Query; 1 Thes. V. 9. which shall we believe. "For God has not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salivation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we sleep or wake, we should live together with him."

[Page 43]"The Father loveth the Son, John III. 35. and hath given all things into his hand. All that the Father giveth me, shall come to me, VI. 37. and him that cometh, I will in no wise cast out." If the Father hath given all things into the hands of the Son, and all shall come to him, that the Father hath given him; then must all come to him; because he says they shall come, and he declares he will in no wise cast them out.

"And this is the Father's will which sent me, that of all which he hath given me, I should lose nothing; but should raise it up at the last day. It is therefore, plainly contrary to the will of the Father of mercies, that any of the human race should be lost: for he gave them into the hands of him who came to seek and to save that which was lost, that he should raise them up at the last day, and not leave them cap­tives and prisoners to the Devil, in the pit wherein is no water.

"As for thee also, Zech. IX. II. by the blood of thy covenant, I have sent forth thy [Page 44] prisoners out of the pit, wherein is no water.

"And they shall be gathered toge­ther, Isaiah. XXIV. 22. as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison: and after many days they shall be visited;" but least some should ima­gine they were to be visited in wrath, St. Peter informs us for what pur­pose, they were to be visited in mer­cy.

"Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead. 1 Pet. IV. 5. 6. For, for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh; but live according to God in the spirit."

"For Christ also hath once suf­fered for sins, 1 Pet. iii. 18. the just for the unjust, (that he might bring us to God) being put to death in the flesh; but quickened by the Spirit."— Ver. 19 "By which he also went and preached to the spirits in pri­son." 20 "Which sometime were disobedient, when once the [Page 45] long suffering of God [...] in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing; wherein few, that is, eight souls, were saved by wa­ter." The Calvinists, who make it an essential article in their creed, that the Devil has an absolute right to all the captives he has tak­en, they being made on purpose for him, deny that Christ descended in­to hell to preach the gospel to the spirits of the inhabitants of the old world; who, for their enormous transgressions, had been drowned by the universal deluge: for if this should once be allowed, the soul-reviving doctrine of eternal in­finite punishment, must, alas, be given up! They believe that all the gracious promises, made by God to mankind, are made to them­selves only; that is, to the elect: and only held out to the reprobates, in a general way, to aggravate their eternal punishment, and keep up an appearance of strict justice and impartiality; for, although they were destined to eternal perdi­tion, [Page 46] by a secret decree, by which their fate was irrevocably fixed; they may, nevertheless, be told, ye have had the gospel preached to you, with frequent offers of pardon and reconciliation; but ye would not accept of the terms of salva­tion, when, agrecably to their te­nets, it never was intended that they should ever come into the kingdom of heaven; the doors of mercy being shut against them, by an eternal decree, prior to their ex­istence. Therefore, when the De­ity appears to be earnestly plead­ing with the house of Israel, to for­sake the evil of their ways and live, he must have only intended to in­sult and tantalize them, by request­ing them to do that which, he knew to be impossible.

"Cast away from you all your transgressions, Ezek. xviii. 31. whereby ye have transgressed, and make you a new heart and a new spirit; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?"— 32 "For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the [Page 47] Lord God; wherefore, turn your­selves and live:" so saith Ezekiel; but Calvin says he is mistaken: for the Deity is supposed, by his sys­tem, to take great pleasure in the death and eternal misery of sin­ners; else, why should he have doomed so many millions to eter­nal misery, many ages before they existed, and fixed their fate by an immutable decree? If the Deity be a free agent, he certainly would not decree any thing contrary to his own good will and pleasure.

If it be said that God did not ab­solutely decree that any individual should be eternally miserable; but only foreknew, and permitted it to be so, to his own displeasure: I query; was he compelled to bring beings into existence, which he certainly foreknew would sin and suffer a few years on earth, and then be miserable to the endless ages of eternity in hell torments? If he was not obliged to create them; why did he not suffer them to sleep in a state of non-existence, where [Page 48] non-entities can suffer no inconve­nience, and cannot offend the De­ity? By this means two great evils would have been avoided; to wit, the infinite torment of created be­ings, and the great displeasure of the Creator.

But, say they, he has permitted all this evil and misery to make his almighty power known in the pu­nishment of sinners. An astonish­ing contrivance indeed, that the Deity should introduce into the system an infinity of sin and mise­ry, to give him an opportunity of displaying his almighty power, in crushing a few reptiles—mortals whose existence, even for a mo­ment, depends entirely on the sus­taining power of the Deity.

It is also supposed, that he rendered finite beings incapable of doing good, and capable of do­ing infinite evil, to afford him an opportunity of shewing his infinite aversion to sin and sinners, and to gratify his vindictive justice in pu­nishing them eternally. But why [Page 49] would not his numerous declara­tions in scripture; his punishing whole nations in this life, in the most awful manner; and an addi­tional punishment in hell flames, for two, three, or four thousand years, answer every valuable pur­pose, that chastisement can be ra­tionally expected to answer, whe­ther inflictive, exemplary, or em­mendatory. And whenever pu­nishment is inflicted, that cannot be vindicated on the abovegrounds, it must be inflicted in open viola­tion of the eternal laws of nature, and of nature's God whose severest judgments are inflicted, with the merciful design of reforming the offender.

"Every man's work shall be made manifest: 1 Cor.iii. 13. for the day shall declare it, because it shall be re­vealed by fire, and the fire shall try every man's work, of what sort it is."

"If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, 14. he shall receive a reward." 15 "If any [Page 50] man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so, as by fire."

By the above texts we are in­formed, that even the most severe afflictive dispensations of God's providence, are inflicted with the merciful design of purifying us from all dross and corruption; that is, to destroy sin in us; but ultimately to save the sinner.

How vastly different is the real cha­racter of the Deity, from that giv­en him by those who represent him as an Almighty Tyrant, forcing millions of human beings into ex­istence, with the most invincible propensities, inherent in their na­tures, to do all manner of evil; and precluded from the possibility of doing any good without his divine assistance, which aid he decreed ne­ver to afford them; but having de­termined, many ages prior to their existence, to punish them in hell to the endless ages of eternity, for acting agreeably to the nature and disposition with which he brought [Page 51] them into being. But to give their hypothesis the semblance of justice they say, that God created Adam both innocent and holy, and con­stituted him our head and repre­sentative; and entered into a cove­nant with him, that upon the sim­ple condition of his abstaining from eating the forbidden fruit, both himself and all his posterity should be happy this condition, they affirm, gave us all an extremely promising chance of securing eternal happi­ness at an easy rate:—but unfor­tunately Adam, being seduced by the serpent, did eat the forbidden fruit; which is the cause, or, as some very nice metaphysicians term it, the occasion, that all his poste­rity are born with such evil dispo­sitions as to render us justly obnoxi­ous to God's wrath and curse, to the endless ages of eternity. Of which, they say, we have no just cause to complain, as the Deity had given us such a fair chance for eter­nal happiness in the choice which he made for us. But in this part [Page 52] of their discordant hypothesis they appear to have forgotten both the prescience, and eternal decrees of the Deity, or wish to have this part of the transaction considered as con­tingent, when they say if Adam had stood we should have been happy, &c. whereas, they affirm the Deity not only infallibly knew, but had also positively decreed, that Adam should fall; for they admit of no contin­gents, that is, things which either may or may not happen; as such a disposition of affairs would admit of free agency, which might ren­der the decrees of the Deity un­certain, and liable to be frustrated. For if it be once granted, that man­kind have it in their power, either by their saith and good works, or their unbelief and wickedness, to al­ter the fate to which they were predestinated; then it might hap­pen, that the elected might go to hell, and the reprobated to heaven: which would overturn their whole chaotic system—In which they im­pute to the Deity many unprovok­ed acts of cruelty, viz.

• [Page 53]I. In forcing many millions into existence, out of a state of non-ex­istence, wherein they could have suffered no inconvenience; without having had the least inclination or disposition to make the condition into which he brought them, equal to a state of non-existence, but to make it infinitely worse.
• II. In constituting Adam our re­presentative, when he infallibly knew that he would transgress and render millions of his posterity infinitely sinful and eternally miserable: for nothing short of infinite guilt can merit eternal punishment.
• III. In denying millions of the fallen race of Adam of the benefits of Christ's death and sufferings, who tasted death for every man, and gave his life a ransom for all.— Which will undoubtedly be testified in due time.
• IV. In affirming that the Deity will punish human beings eternally for the misfortunes which they have suffered, in consequence of the choice he made for them, by constituting [Page 54] Adam their head and representative. To punish a person for a wilful fault, in a degree proportioned to the magnitude of the crime, is un­doubtedly just; but to punish a per­son for an unavoidable misfortune is both unjust and cruel, especially when the being said to inflict the punishment, has either by mistake, or wilfully through design, been the sole cause of the misfortune. If God wished well to the whole human race, and the merits of Christ's death and sufferings was only sufficient to save but a few, then it was a cruel oversight to create any greater number than it was in the power of Christ to ransom and redeem from the pit in which there is no water. To say that God did not wish or intend that the whole of the human race should be eventually happy; but that he made them to sin and suffer a few years in this world, and then to suffer in hell eternally—is blasphemy.

To say he wished that they might all be eventually happy, but knew [Page 55] infallibly before he created them, that great numbers would be eter­nally and irrecoverably miserable—is an absurdity too great to be in­serted in the religious code of any denomination of christians: that is, God is supposed to bring into exist­ence millions of unoffending beings, wishing and designing that they should be eventually happy, but knowing infallibly, long before he caused them to exist, that they should be eternally and irrecovera­bly miserable; it not being in the power of the greatest number to avoid it, and the Deity had prede­termined never to use any effectual means to prevent it, although his infinite wisdom and power could have easily effected it.

The scriptures inform us, that God made all things for himself; but our most orthodox teachers, as­sure us, that this is a grand mistake, he having made by far the greatest number of the posterity of Adam for the Devil, knowing and intend­ing that they should be his slaves [Page 56] and captives eternally, they being consigned to him by an eternal de­cree. It is therefore evident, say they, that Christ is the propitiation for the sins of the elect only, and not as John erroneously imagined, for the sins of the whole world. I John ii. 2. That he did not taste death for eve­ry man, but for a few self-chosen saints, who fancy themselves in pos­session of the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whose constant practice, from the earliest ages of the christian church, has been to endeavour to shut the door of mer­cy against every denomination and individual that were not as holy as themselves, saying, Stand off, I am more holy than thou. Heb. ii. 9.

Christ cannot reconcile, or be re­conciled to those we call reprobates. Coloss. i. 19 and 20.

He did not preach the gospel to the spirits in prison, that they should be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit. I Peter iv. 5 and 6.

Why should Christ preach to the spirits of the inhabitants of the old [Page 57] world, who were drowned, all but eight persons, for their rebellion? He surely will never have mercy on the damned. I Peter iii. 18..

God will never bring again the captivity of Sodom, Samaria, an Jerusalem, as predicted by Ezekiel: Ezek. xvi. 53.neither will he establish again an everlasting covenant with them, 60—62. Neither will he ever be pacified towards them, 63. For if the inhabitants of Sodom, Samaria, and Jerusalem are to be restored to God's favour, who were cut off and destroyed for their horrid sins and abominations, then all the human race may be restored, the kingdom of Satan depopulated, and the soul­reviving doctrine of eternal misery be for ever silenced. And many a pious Jonah, who had taken great delight in preaching it, be exceed­ingly displeased, and very, very an­gry. But every benevolent being will rejoice, when God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.—And there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither [Page 58] shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away. Amen. Ezek. xvi.

Having contrasted the tenets and doctrines of these two different de­dominations of christians, let us also contrast the obvious tendencies of their respective tenets, on the lives and morals of their disciples.

When the young Calvinistic pu­pil begins to learn his catechism, and is there told; "That me de­crees of God are his eternal pur­pose, according to the council of his own will; whereby, for his own glory, he hath foreordained whatso­ever comes to pass." That the Deity had, from all eternity, elect­ed a few individuals, to everlasting life and glory; and sentenced by far the greatest number of the souls which he determined to create, by a decree of reprobation, to eternal wretchedness, and never ending mi­sery—for his own glory, without any reference or respect, to what the disposition or conduct of the beings to be created might be: [Page 59] which predestinated fates, it is im­possible for any of them to alter, reverse or avoid, whether it be to eternal happiness or endless misery, by any thing that they can will or perform.

It is impossible that the unpre­judiced mind can view this charac­ter in any other light, than that of an arbitrary, cruel, merciless ty­rant, forcing unoffending millions into existence, on purpose to make them eternally miserable—for his own glory.

But to silence all enquiry and cavalling, they are told that this is an holy mystery; that it is danger­ous to reply against God, or dispute the decrees of his sovereign will, who has the same right and power to cre­ate one soul, on purpose to make it everlastingly happy, and another to be eternally miserable, as a potter has to make one vessel to honor, and another to dishonor; out of the same insensible lump of clay.

Their weak judgments being ra­ther stunned and confounded, than [Page 60] convinced and enlightened by such dogmatical stuff, (for it cannot be called reasoning) they continue to contemplate the Deity, as a tre­mendously powerful, partial ty­rant, the common enemy of man­kind, who had, most probably, brought them into existence, to make them eternally miserable, and sometimes pray to him, as the Indi­ans pray to the Devil, not out of love—for that is impossible; but out of fear, least they are of the number appointed to be eternally damned, for the honor and glory of this inexorable being: and although they are unwilling to be sacrificed to the honor and glory of the Deity themselves, they have no material objection to his dealing, as he pleas­es, with the rest of the human race, provided they escape themselves: for as it is impossible for them to love God, as long as they conceive him to be a partial tyrant, it cannot be expected that they should love his creatures.

In this condition they generally [Page 61] remain some time, until many that I have known, begin to reason thus: If I am elected to eternal life, by an absolute decree of the Deity, my salvation is certain, let me do or act is I please; but if I have been reprobated by an eter­nal decree, before I existed, all I can do by prayer, fasting, tears and penitence, will never influence the Deity to reverse his decrees; and as he doomed me to everlasting misery long before I had offended him, I certainly cannot be under any obligation to him on the score of gratitude, for forcing me into ex­istence, on purpose to make me eternally miserable: and as I am to be precluded from even the shadow of happiness hereafter, I am resolved to gratify every sensu­al appetite and passion, and enjoy all the happiness I can in this life.

If God has foreordained whatso­ever comes to pass, I cannot act contrary to his decrees, let me do as I will; but why his decrees should be contrary to his laws, I [Page 62] cannot tell; or why he should ap­prove and disapprove the same ac­tion, my teachers have not explain­ed; they only affirm it to be for God's glory, that it should be so; but surely there must be some mis­take in this doctrine. We are told, at one time, that the Dei­ty is, of all beings, the most wise, just and benevolent; that mercy is his darling attribute; and that he is no partial respecter of persons: and at another, that he is partial, cruel, revengeful and unjust—both these cannot be true.

How can God be glorified in the eternal damnation of a being which he created for that very purpose? Can God be a merciful being, and yet take delight in creating souls which he foreknew would be eternally miser­able? If the real character of the Deity is discoverable, it certainly is not to be found in this incohe­rent chaos of contradictions.

Thus reason and common sense conspire to combat the horrid idea which he had conceived of the a­dorable [Page 63] Jehovah, until he meets with a Deist, who had been per­suaded while young, that Calvinism was the doctrine taught by the apostles; but finding it an incohe­rent collection of self-evident con­tradictions, had too hastily rejected the scriptures, without comparing them with the doctrines, said to be taught in the sacred pages. The Deist explains to him the nature and adorable perfections of God, as far as they have been discovered by man; aided by both reason and revelation, which he finds to be so vastly discordant, with what he has been taught to believe, concerning the designs of the Deity, in creat­ing the human species, and his dis­position towards them; that he re­ject, the scriptures also; as teach­ing doctrines unworthy of God, and dishonorable to his holy name: and so, by relinquishing one egre­gious error, he embraces another, and turns Deist.

Others, again, who have been taught this doctrine, see no neces­sity, [Page 64] for either praying or preaching, as they are persuaded, that if all the angels in heaven, and all the saints on earth, were to intercede with the Deity—to take one single soul into heaven, which he had not elected to everlasting life, from all eternity, he would not do it. Those who were made for the Devil, must go to the Devil, and be tor­mented by him to the endless ages of eternity; for the honor and glory of God.

Thus are numbers taught from infancy, to hate the God that made them, on purpose to make them happy; and to live under the most dreadful apprehensions of his pow­er and wrath on the one hand, and that of the Devil, on the other.—In this dilemma, they sometimes fly to the priests, and enquire what they shall do to be saved; the good man examines them, with respect to the state of their feelings and dispositions, and generally finds them extremely afraid of being eternally damned, for the glory of [Page 65] God; this is called spiritual con­cern, and is esteemed a favourable symptom. They are directed to pray; but they cannot address the Deity, as the benevolent parent of mankind, the God of infinite love and mercy. The prejudices of an early education, are not easily era­dicated. They have been used to look upon God as their natural ene­my, and cannot confide in him, as a friend; until they can be per­suaded, by some means, that they are of the elected number: and then they begin to love God, in some degree, which they found, by experience, to be impossible, while they conceived him to be their enemy; but now, since they conceive themselves to be of the number of the chosen few, they cheerfully acquiesce in the dispen­sations of Providence, and extol the disinterested generosity of the Deity, in creating more souls for the Devil, than for himself: thus they make friends of two dreadful powerful beings, whose enmity [Page 66] they dreaded. They imagine that they flatter the Deity, by affirming, that he had an undoubted right to create millions, on purpose to damn them eternally, for his own glory. They also gratify the Devil, by en­deavouring to prove his absolute indefeasible right to, and property in, all the souls he may once get in­to his possession, on pretence, that they were consigned to him by the Deity, by a sovereign decree, be­fore they were created.

The Universaiist is taught to be­lieve, that God is the most pure, holy, wise, benevolent, merciful, just and powerful being, in exist­ence;

That he created every subordinate intelligent being, for his own glory; but that his glory is displayed to the greatest possible advantage, in the final salvation and everlasting hap­piness of every being, which he has or may create;

That God never did; nor ever will, create any being which he did [Page 67] not wish to establish in a state of permanent happiness;

That he had wisdom enough to form a plan, in which his designs cannot be frustrated, and power sufficient to enable him to accom­plish all his purposes; which are equitable, just and merciful. They love God, being firmly persuaded that God first loved them, and brought them into existence, on purpose to make them eternally happy: but foreseeing that man­kind would make an improper use of their free agency, and become sinners, he sent his only begotten Son, to be the propitiation for the sins of the whole world, and to taste death for every man.

The law was broken by man, and the man Christ, as our great high priest, has made an ample at­tonement for the breach of the law. Whatever demands justice might have had against human nature, for a breach of the divine law, they were paid to the last farthing, by Christ, as our representative, in [Page 68] our stead: and if justice has been once satisfied—from whence does this new claim arise? Does justice require that Christ should be cru­cified a second time? For he is our Surety, and the demand must be against him. He is our prophet, priest and king; and we are his subjects; he has redeemed us with his precious blood; and we are confident he never will relinquish one soul to the Devil, which he has made.

It is our duty, as well as our in­terest to serve God, and obey the commands and precepts of Christ, to whom we are answerable at pre­sent; for the Father hath delivered every thing appertaining to our salvation, into the hands of the Son: and we are confident that he will be faithful to his trust, and lose nothing that has been commit­ted to his charge, but raise it up at the last day; "for this is the will of the Father, who hath sent him, to seek and to save that which was lost. [Page 69] For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might de­stroy the works of the Devil: and not his works only, but the Devil himself. And to deliver them who through fear of death, were all their life time subject to bondage. Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost, that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth, to make intercession for them."

When the children of men trans­gress, they believe the Lord will chasten and correct them, when he finds it necessary, to reform or reclaim them; but never out of revenge, or any delight he takes in the misery of his creatures.— "For the Lord will not cast off forever: but though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion, according to the multitude of his mercies. Lam. iii. 31-33. For he doth not afflict wil­lingly, nor grieve the children of men." "For I will not contend fore­ver, Isaiah lviii. 16. [Page 70] neither will I be always wroth; for the spirit should fail before me, and the souls which I have made.

"For I am merciful, Jer. iii. 12. saith the Lord, and I will not keep anger for­ever." "O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thine help. Hos. xiii. 9. 14. I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction, &c."

"Who is a God like unto thee, that pardeneth iniquity, and pass­eth by the transgression of the rem­nant of his heritage? Micah vii. 18, 19. He retaineth not his anger forever, because he delighteth in mercy. He will turn again, he will have compassion up­on us; he will subdue our iniqui­ties; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea."

"And it shall come to pass in that day, Isa. xxiv. 21, 22. that the Lord shall pu­nish the host of the high ones, that are on high, and the kings of the [Page 71] earth upon the earth. And they shall be gathered together, as pri­soners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visit­ed."

"I will also give thee as a light to the Gentiles, Isa. xlix. 6. that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth."

"That thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth; to them that are in darkness, 9. Shew yourselves."

"Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive deli­vered? 24. But thus saith the Lord, even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, 25. and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered."

"As for thee also, Zech. ix. II. by the blood of thy covenant, I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit where­in is no water."

"Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, I Cor. iii. 13. because it shall be re­vealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work, of what sort it is."

[Page 72]"If any man's work abide, I Cor iii. 14. which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. 15. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suf­fer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so, as by fire."

"To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, Coloss. i. 27. the hope of glory."

"Whom we preach, warning every man, 28. and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus." These are a few of the many passag­es in scripture, which declare the benevolent disposition of the Deity towards every soul which he has created.

But it requires no scripture to prove, that if any of the human species are to be miserable to the endless ages of eternity, they must belong to one of the following de­scriptions, viz. Such as God could have saved, but would not: or such as he would have saved, but could [Page 73] not. As the first denies his infinite goodness, it must be false; and as the second denies his infinite pow­er, it cannot be true. Nor is there any possible method, of rendering the doctrine of never-ending mise­ry compatible with the attributes of the Deity. For to say, that he has brought any beings into exist­ence, knowing that they would inevitably be eternally miserable— is charging him with inflicting the greatest curse possible, prior to the possibility of any offence given, or transgression committed, by the be­ings on whom this dreadful punish­ment is to be inflicted. But this hor­rid doctrine, so dishonorable to the moral character of the Deity, is the last hold, or death-gripe, which the Devil has on the christian world; and it cannot be expected, that he will quit it without a severe struggle. He has many artful able champions on his side, who endea­vour to prove logically and meta­physically, that the Deity has cre­ated millions of souls, which he did [Page 74] not elect to eternal life and glory, but left them an helpless prey to the Devil: while others, more har­dy, affirm, that he consigned them to the Devil, by an absolute decree of reprobation. And as this doc­trine has a natural tendency to cause people to dread and hate God, as a cruel and partial being; it is impossible that they should love him: without which disposition they are more apt to fly from him as an enemy, than to supplicate him as the benevolent merciful pa­rent of the whole human race.

AS the christian world has been greatly divided in opinion, respecting the motives which in­duced the Deity to create the hu­man species, and his designs and intentions, with respect to their fu­ture face; as they are questions of great importance to human beings, both with respect to the ideas they are to form of the moral character of the Deity, and their own moral conduct, which should be conform­able to his.

It is natural for you to enquire; whether it is not possible to gain a satisfactory knowledge of a subject, which so nearly concerns us, and yet appears so vastly intricate, that notwithstanding the numerous vo­lumes [Page 76] that have been wrote upon the subject no rational conclusion, founded upon self-evident princi­ples, has ever been made by the advocates for the eternal duration of hell torments; and yet they are ready to anathematize every person who cannot believe all the self­contradictory opinions, in which they cannot agree themselves:— some asserting that God wished to convert and save the whole human race, but could not; others, that he could convert and save them all, but will not; he having doomed great numbers of them to eternal perdition, by an arbitrary decree, long before they existed, and that he had created them for this very purpose. While others deny that God decreed that any person should inevitably be miserable to the end­less ages of eternity; but most cer­tainly and infallibly knew, that they would be so, even before he created them. While a few other persons believe, that God created every human being, with an express [Page 77] and positive design, to make them all eventually happy; and affirm that he is possessed of a sufficient degree of wisdom and power, to enable him to accomplish his bene­volent design. As you appear to be so benevolent as to wish every individual of the human race might be happy: I will endeavour to con­vince you that the doctrine is found­ed on the glorious attributes of God; on the scriptures, and the self-evident principles of reason and common sense.

Let us proceed then to the im­portant investigation, and enquire;

Question I. What motive induced the Deity to create such an immense number of human beings?

Answer. To gratify his infinite beneficence, in conferring on them blessings, both temporal and eter­nal, and the universal display of his glorious attributes and perfections in the manifestations of providence, in their government.

Question II. Is it certain, that he wished or intended, that all the hu­man [Page 78] beings which he created might be happy?

Answer. He certainly did;— otherwise he would not be as bene­volent as our common parents. And to suppose the Deity capable of sorcing any number of human beings into existence, without wish­ing to make the condition into which he brought them, equal, if not preferable to a state of non­existence—would be charging him with an unprovoked act of cruelty: for it is certain that non-entities could not have offended him; it is therefore evident, that he never in­tended any of them should be even­tually miserable, when he created them: but, on the contrary, it is declared, 1 Tim. ii. 4. "That God will have all men to be saved, and come unto the knowledge of the truth."

Question III. If God willed that all men should be saved; had he wisdom sufficient to enable him to form a plan, to accomplish his be­nevolent design?

[Page 79]Answer. His wisdom is infinite, and his goodness unlimitted, and the love of Christ unbounded, "Who gave himself a ransom for all, 2 Tim. vi. to be testified in due time."—

Question IV. Has he a sufficient degree of power to execute his plan?

Answer. A union of the power of all created beings, would still be finite; and therefore, fail in an at­tempt to oppose or counteract the designs and operations of the omnipo­tent Jehovah. If then it has been proved, that the Deity is so bene­volent as to wish all men to be sav­ed; that he had wisdom enough to form a plan to effect his gracious design; and a sufficient degree of power to execute his plan, and ac­complish his design.

Question V. What power, or combination of powers, terrestrial and infernal, shall prevail against Jehovah, and frustrate his designs? So that if any of the human race are to be eternally lost, it must be such as God never wished to save; [Page 80] which impeaches his infinite good­ness.

That the Deity did, and still does intend, to save the whole human race, is abundantly evident, from the whole tenor of the scriptures; if they are examined without pre­judice. Rom. V. 13. "Therefore, as by the of­fence of one judgement came upon all men to condemnation, even so, by the righteousness of one, the free gift came upon all men unto the jus­tification of life. If God justifieth all men by the merits and righteous­ness of Christ. Who shall presume to condemn them?

"For the love of Christ con­straineth us, 2 Cor. v. 14. because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead."

"And that he died for all, 15. that they which live, should not hence­forth live unto themselves; but unto him who died for them, and rose again."

"The next day John seeth Je­sus coming unto him, John i. 29. and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, who [Page 81] taketh away the sin of the world."

"If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father; Jesus Christ the righteous. 1 John ii, 1. And he is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only; but also for the sins of the whole world."

"But we see Jesus who was made a little lower than the angels; for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor, Heb. ii. 9. that he, by the grace of God, should taste death for every man."

"For it pleased the Father. Col. i. 19. that in him should all fulness dwell." And having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things on earth, or things in heaven. "If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature, which is under heaven; whereof, I Paul, am made a minis­ter." 23.

[Page 82]This last text strongly corrobo­rates, what St. Peter affirms, that the gospel was preached to the dead, or spirits in prison. 1 Pet. iv. 5, 6.

"Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead: for, for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, 1. Pet. iv. 5. but live according to God in the spirit." We are told in the preceding chapter; when, and by whom the gospel was preached to the dead: "For Christ also hath once suffered for sins; the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but quickened by the spirit;" By which also, he, to wit, Christ, went and preached unto the spi­rits in prison: which, sometime, (or formerly) were disobedient, when once the long suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few; that is, eight souls, iii. 18, 19, 20. were saved by water."From what [Page 83] has been observed, it is apparent, from scripture, and also supported by reason; that God willed that all men should be saved; that Christ gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time, al­though it be esteemed criminal by many to mention it, least it should induce people to sin! That by the offence of one, judgment came upon all men to condemnation, even so, by the righteousness of one, the free gift came upon all men, unto the justification of life; that Christ is the propitiation for the sins of the whole world; that he tasted death for every man; that it pleased God that in Christ should all fulness dwell; thereby to enable him to reconcile all things unto himself, both in earth and heaven. Nor was this power given to Christ in vain; for we find him, both before and after his crucifixion, exerting these powers in the most diligent and in­defatigable manner, for the restora­tion and salvation of all mankind; first preaching the gospel to the [Page 84] living, until the time of his cruci­fixion: and immediately after­wards, to those who died above two thousand years before he ap­peared in the flesh: for St. Paul informs the Colossians, that the gospel had been preached to every creature which is under heaven, which would have appeared very improbable, if St. Peter had not explained the matter, by informing us—when, by whom, and to whom the gospel was preached; to wit, by Christ after his crucifixion, to the dead—the inhabitants of the old world, who had formerly been disobedient in the days of Noah; that they might have the same advantages, and be judged accord­ing to the same rule or law, by which they were to be judged, who had heard the gospel in the flesh and might thereafter live ac­cording to the will of God in the Spirit. These poor meserable be­ings had remained captives and those prisoners in the pit, wherein is no water, near two thousand [Page 85] four hundred years, when the Sa­viour of mankind entered the drea­ry mansions of misery and woe, and preached to them the gospel, or ti­dings of great joy.—He probably told them that he was the high priest of the new covenant, who had lately made an ample atone­ment for the sins of the whole world; that he was in possession of the keys of hell and of death; that he came to break the gates of brass, and cut the bars of iron asunder; to open the prison doors, and pro­claim liberty to the captives: for thus saith the Lord, even the cap­tives of the mighty, shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered. In what a glo­rious light does the Saviour of all mankind appear, when his conduct and character is properly delineated, and well understood. In the hour of his crucifixion, when labouring under, the pressure of the most ago­nizing [...], he prayed for his murderers, saying, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they [Page 86] do. Actuated by the same bene­volent disposition, he had no soon­er finished the glorious work of re­demption, than he flew, an unem­bodied spirit, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release a world from misery and woe; who had remained prisoners in the regions of darkness, for near two thousand four hundred years. Whoever deems this a slight punishment, and affirms that the doctrine of the uni­versal restoration, affords great en­couragement to continue in sin, when they can escape so easily— would probably alter their mind, before they had lain half that time in the pit, wherein is no water, and deem a never ending punishment rather too severe, and continued something too long.

Were the zealous John Lucius Calvinus himself to lay 200 years in a fire but half as hot as that in which he caused poor Servetus to be burned; and then be told, that vindictive justice could not be sa­tisfied with any term short of eter­nal [Page 87] never ending punishment: for such measure as he dealt out to others, such he should receive him­self—he would most probably con­clude, that David was mistaken, when he penned psalm CXLV; where he says, "The Lord is good to all; and his tender mercies are over all his other works." And again, "Let Israel hope in the Lord: for with the Lord there is mercy, Psal cxxx. 7. and with him is plenteous redemp­tion."

"And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities." "O give thanks unto the Lord, 8. for he is good: for his mercy endureth for­ever." Calvin would probably comment upon these passages of scripture, Ps. cvii. 1. and say, How can it be affirmed, that God is good to all? and that his tender mercies are over all his other works? Am I not an individual, brought out of a state of non-existence, by the agency of the Deity? Am I not the work­manship of his hands, who has de­clared that he has made all things [Page 88] for himself? Am I now to consi­der my living a few years on earth as a blessing, where I sinned and suffered many hardships? But is sinning and suffering a few years on earth, such a mighty privilege, as to be an ample compensation for the endurance of never ending misery? Are these conditions so, much preferable to a state of non­existence, that I am bound to ac­knowledge it as a blessing, and return sincere thanks to the Deity for his goodness to me, in forcing me into existence, knowing infal­libly that I would be a sinner, which he made use of no effectual means to prevent, although it was in his power; but rather chose to leave me unassisted; to the machina­tions of the Devil a few years; and then send [...] hell, to be torment­ed to the endless ages of eternity!

If this be the case, —that the reign of mercy is to last 80 or 100 years, and the raging reign of vin­dictive justice to last throughout the endless ages of eternity, —how [Page 89] can it be said with truth, that "the tender mercies of the Lord are over all his other works?" Should it not rather be reversed, and say, The mercies of the Lord are exer­cised towards the children of men a few days, months, or years; and the reign of vindictive justice to be continued throughout the end­less ages of eternity? If this be true, then revenge must be the darling attribute of the Deity, and preside over all his other works. Expressly contrary to what he has declared, by the mouth of the pro­phet. "For I will not contend forever, neither will I be always wroth; for the spirit should fail before me, Isaiah lvii. 16. and the souls which I have made."

"O thou that hearest prayer, Psalm IXV 2. unto thee shall all flesh come."

"The Lord is merciful and gra­cious, ps. ciii.8. slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy."

"He will not always ehide; 9. nei­ther will he keep anger forever."

"He will swallow up death in [Page 90] victory; Isaiah xxv.8. and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces."

"Fury is not in me." Is. xxvii. 4.

"For the Lord will not cast off for ever." Lam. iii. 31.

"But though he cause grief, 32. yet will he have compassion, ac­cording to the multitude of his mercies."

"For he doth not afflict willing­ly, 33. nor grieve the children of men."

"Oh Israel, Hosea xiii. thou hast destroyed thyself; 9. but in me is thine help."

"I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, 14. I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction, &c."

"Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgressions of the remnant of his heritage ? He retaineth not his anger forever, because he de­lighteth in mercy. He will turn again, he will have compassion up­on us; Micah vii, 18, 19. he will subdue our iniqui­ties: and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea."

[Page 91]"As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water:" i. e. that pit where Dives could not find as much as to cool the tip of his tongue. Zech. ix. 11. In hopes that the above quotations and arguments may give you entire sa­tisfaction, respecting the benevo­lence of the Deity towards the whole human race, and his ability to reinstate them all in permanent happiness—to his own glory and the consolation of every good being. I beg leave to assure you, that I am

WHEN, in conversation with you, I affirmed that St. Paul was an Universalist, I promised to quote some of the most pointed texts by which he inculcates the doctrine in the most clear and posi­tive terms.

"Therefore as by the offence of one, judgment came upon all men to condemnation, even so by the righteousness of one, Rom. v. 18. the [...] gift: came upon all men unto justification of life."

"He that spared not his own Son; Rom. viii. 32. but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not, with him al­so, freely give us all things."

"For God hath concluded them [Page 93] all in unbelief, Rom. xi. 32. that he might have mercy upon all."

By the first of these texts, it plainly appears; that Adam was the representative of all his posteri­ty, or of human nature in general, in as much as judgment unto con­demnation came upon all men for his offence; that Jesus Christ, by assuming the human nature, became as fully and compleatly the repre­sentative of all mankind, as Adam was, or had been; and therefore, by his righteousness, the free gift came upon all men, unto justification of life.

So you see, that St. Paul consi­ders Christ as the compleat repre­sentative and Saviour of all man­kind; who, by his righteousness, had wrought out a compleat salva­tion for the whole human race, unto the justification of life; and if God justifieth, who is he that condemn­eth?

And further to establish them in the belief of this glorious doctrine, he argues, that as God spared not [Page 94] his own Son; but delivered him up for us all—he will, with him also, [...] give us all things. And to convince them that Christ was not that partial Saviour, which many conceive him to be, who would sit down contentedly, with as many souls as the Devil pleased to give him. Rom. xi. 32. He tells the Romans, "That God had concluded them all in un­belief, that he might have mercy up­on all."

"For as in Adam all die, 1 Cor. xxv. 22. even so in Christ shall all be made alive."

"For the love of Christ con­straineth us, because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: And that he died for all, that they which live, should not henceforth, 2 Cor. 5. 14. live unto themselves, 15. but unto him who died for them, and rose again."

"For to this end Christ both di­ed, Rom. xiv. 9. and rose and revived, that he might be Lord of both the dead and living." If so, he must be Lord of all.

Saint Paul calls Christ "The [Page 95] image of the invisible God, Col. i. 15. the first born of every creature."

"For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, Col. i. 16. and that are in earth, visible and invi­ble; whether they be thrones or dominions, or principalities or powers; all things were created by him and for him."

If therefore Christ made all things for himself, he must deviate greatly from his original intention, before he gives up any thing to the Devil, especially the souls which he has made for himself.

"I exhort, 1 Tim. ii. 1 therefore, that first of all, supplications, prayers, interces­sions, and giving of thanks be made for all men."

"For this is good and accepta­ble in the sight of God our Saviour." 3,

"Who will have all men to be saved, 4, and come unto the know­ledge of the truth."

"For there is one God, 5, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus."

"Who gave himself a ransom for [Page 96] all, 6. to be testified in due time." — St. Paul exhorts Timothy, first of all, to make supplication, &c. for all men, as being acceptable to God our Saviour, who is a being of such universal benevolence, as to will that all men should be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth. And whatever the omnipo­tent Jehovah wills to be done, he will certainly accomplish. But the apostle, to shew that the salvation of all men, was not only possible; but easily practicable—he observes, that there is one God to be appeas­ed, who is a God of infinite good­ness and mercy, who wills that all men may be saved, and one media­tor between this gracious God and men; to wit, the man Christ Jesus, who is the advocate and friend of mankind universally, as he has al­ready given himself a ransom; not for a few individuals, but for all mankind. And although this great and important truth, may not be generally known to the chief priests and Pharisees of our day, it shall [Page 97] nevertheless be testified in due time; to the honor of God, and the unspeakable consolation of eve­ry good being.

If, therefore, the supreme God is so benevolent, as to will that all mankind should be saved, and has sent his Son, on purpose to be the Saviour of the world: and Christ has, on his part, given himself a ransom for all—then all must be saved.

He who redeems or ransoms captives, claims them as his own, and never leaves them in the pos­session of the enemy.

Can there be any thing more absurd, than to suppose, that after Christ had given his life a ransom for the whole world of mankind— that he should, nevertheless, leave vast numbers of those very beings, for whom he shed his precious blood, in the possession of the Devil eternally?

Christ is neither a partial Savi­our, nor a partial conqueror; he will never submit to the Devil, [Page 98] and permit him to retain one hu­man soul in captivity, which he made for himself: for certainly he was not so complaisant as to make any souls, on purpose for the De­vil; and if the Devil should even­tually retain in captivity, any of the souls which Christ had made for himself, then is Christ defeated; and his designs frustrated. And to say, that Christ has made souls, which he neither wished to be happy, nor intended to save from endless perdition, is blasphemy.

And I believe it would be thought much less derogatory to the cha­racter of the Deity, by every un­prejudiced person, to suppose that he abandoned the creatures which he had made, to the permanent do­minion of the Devil, through a want of wisdom and power to rescue them; than to affirm that he had a sufficient degree of wisdom and power to save them; but that it was more agreeable to his divine will, that they should be eternally and irrecoverably miserable. If [Page 99] we suppose him to be infinitely be­nevolent, but deficient in wisdom and power, this would be a great misfortune, which every good be­ing would deplore, and would wish to assist him: but, if on the con­trary, he is supposed to be infinite­ly wise and powerful; but so male­volent, as to speak unoffending, in­conscious matter into existence, in­fallibly knowing, that the condi­tion into which he brought it, was as much worse than that in which he found it, as a state of the most severe, eternal, never ending pu­nishment, is worse than a state of non-existence, is horrid beyond de­scription—but so it is. The Cal­vinists having determined, that vast numbers of the human race must be eternally damned, rather than give up this darling tenet, they blaspheme the moral character of the Deity, by affirming that he forces into existence millions of hu­man beings, morally incapable of doing any good; but replete with the strongest propensities to do evil, [Page 100] which can neither be restrained or eradicated, by any thing which they can do. In which condition they are excluded from the benefit of Christ's death and sufferings, and left to sin and suffer a few years on earth, and then sentenced, by the judge of the whole earth, to suffer the most exquisite torment, in hell flames, as long as God himself ex­ists.

When all this mischief and mise­ry might have been avoided, by omitting to create all such beings, as the Deity foreknew would be in­finitely sinful, and eternally miser­able; for nothing short of infinite guilt, can render any being justly obnoxious to a never ending or in­finite punishment.

"He that loveth not, 1 John iv. 8. knoweth not God, for God is love."

"Herein is love, 10. not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitia­tion for our sins."

"And we have seen, and do tes­tify, that the Father sent the Son to [Page 101] be the Saviour of the world. 14.

"For God sent not his Son into the world, John iii. 17. to condemn the world; but that the world, through him might be saved." In the above cit­ed texts, it appears, that God is the most benevolent of all beings, his very essence is love; his benevo­lence inspired him to create us; he so loved the world, as to send his dearly beloved Son, to be a propi­tiation for our sins, and the Saviour of the world. It should be the bu­siness of our teachers to exhibit the Deity in his true character, which is that of infinite love, and un­bounded benevolence to all created beings; he hates sin, because it has a natural and necessary tendency to create confusion, misery and dis­order; but Christ loved mankind and died for them, while they were yet in a state of rebellion against him. Rom. v. 6, 8.

We should, therefore, love the Lord our God, with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind. 18. "There is no fear in love; but perfect love [Page 102] casteth out fear, because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love." If perfect love casteth out fear, it is as certain, that the perfect fear and dread of a tyrant, must and will cast out love.

Therefore, people should never be taught to believe that God is as much glorified and pleased with the death and eternal damnation of a sinner, as in the salvation and eternal felicity of a saint. As it is not in the powers of imagination, to paint a tyrant in more infernal colours; it is a character which no being, except the prince of Devils, can possibly either love or imitate. And there can be no doubt, that the Devil is highly pleased with those, who endeavour to persuade their fellow beings, that partiality, cruelty and revenge, are the genu­ine attributes of the Deity: be­cause it is impossible, in the nature of things, that any wise and good being, should serve a God, possess­ing such attributes, through love; [Page 103] which is the only motive that can render our services acceptable to a God, whose very essence is love.

And as to the worship extorted, and rendered, through a slavish fear, it can only debase the mind and derange the understanding; but can never mend the heart.— And therefore, can never be ac­ceptable to that God, who requires us to love the Lord our God, with all our heart, soul, strength and mind, and our neighbours as ourselves. We are also command­ed to love, our enemies, and for­give those that trespass against us. Now if God neither loved his ene­mies; nor ever forgave all those that trespassed against him; but will torment millions of them, in everlasting burnings, as long as he himself exists. Can it be possible that he expected, that we should be more merciful and benevolent than himself, or recommended to us a line of conduct, more virtuous and godlike, than that which he prac­tised himself? But thanks be to [Page 104] God, the fetters of ignorance and superstition are wearing out very fast, and prejudice, that bitter ene­my to free enquiry, and the inves­tigation of truth, has lost much of its power over the minds of great numbers of very sensible people; who begin to view the Deity, as a God of strict impartial justice, di­vine love, infinite goodness, bene­volence, truth and mercy, that has no pleasure in the death and eter­nal damnation of a sinner; but would rather that he should turn from the evil of his ways and live.

If sin and its consequences be displeasing to a God of infinite good­ness, wisdom, and power—is it not absurd to suppose, that he will per­mit them to remain in being, to the endless ages of eternity? Are they of that indestructable nature, that the Deity cannot eradicate and de­stroy them? If he can destroy them, why should he permit them always to remain in being, to dis­please him eternally?

Are there some men, who are, by [Page 105] nature, unconvertable; that infinite wisdom and power are incapable of reforming? Does the Deity doom any souls to eternal misery, but such as he cannot save? Or, does he doom to eternal misery, any souls, which he could, but would not save?

If any souls are to be miserable to the endless ages of eternity, I affirm, that they must belong to one of the above classes; to wit,

Such as God could have saved, but would not: or such as he would have saved, but could not. The first of these propositions denies God's infinite goodness, and there­fore cannot be true.

The second denies his infinite power, which must be false.

It is, therefore, false to say, that any of the souls which God has made, will be eternally and irreco­verably miserable; because Christ is both able and willing to save them all—who tells us, "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men unto me." John xii. 32.

[Page 106]Now as Christ has been lifted up from the earth, on the cross, and from thence to the heavens; I make no doubt that he will fulfil his promise; even to those who be­lieve that hell lies beyond the reach of almighty power; he will convince them that the keys of hell and of death are not useless in his hand; he will break the gates of brass, and cut the bars of iron in sunder: "For thus saith the Lord, even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey, of the terrible shall be delivered. Is. xlix. 25.

WHEN we had the last con­versation, respecting the motives which induced the infinite­ly good and merciful God to cre­ate the human species: you alledg­ed that he had done it to display the glory of his divine attributes, to which opinion I cheerfully a­gree. But the point in dispute be­tween us, is,

Whether these divine attributes are not displayed, in a more glori­ous, just and merciful manner, in the final salvation, and everlasting happiness of every human being, which God has created; than in the eternal damnation, and ever­lasting misery of any number of them? Therefore, to assist us in the [Page 108] investigation of this important sub­ject; we must have recourse to the scriptures, and such self-evident principles and axioms, as the light of reason, and the nature of the subject will furnish.

The proper steps to be taken in this case is, to enquire,

• I. What is God?
• II. What are his attributes?
• III. For whom, and for what end did he create us?

And, in the first place, I shall define God; whose very essence is love, "To be a spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in his being;" whose attributes are infi­nite mercy, wisdom, power, holi­ness, justice, goodness and truth. The first proposition to be proved, is, that God is love; which is suf­ficiently apparent in his works of creation and providence; but point­edly proved in John, "He that loveth not, knoweth not God, for God is love" I John iv, 8, 16. I John iv. 8.

"And we have known and be­lieved the love that God hath to [Page 109] us. 16. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love, dwelleth in God, and God in him. 1 John 9. 10.

In this was manifested the love of God, towards us, because that God hath sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. 1 John ii. 1. Herein is love, not that we loved God; but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins: but least it should be said, that he is the propitiation, for the sins of the few that are supposed to be elected only; I shall quote, "And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righ­teous."

"And he is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world."

Presuming that enough has been said on this head, to prove the im­partial love of the Deity to all man­kind: and also, that the enumera­tion of the attributes of the Deity, will not be disputed. I shall pro­ceed, [Page 110] in the third place, to prove, that God made all the souls of mankind for himself; with the most express and benevolent de­sign, to make them all eventually happy, in praising and glorifying his holy name, for his infinite love and kindness towards them, and to enjoy the manifestations of his un­bounded goodness forever.

Every soul, created by the Dei­ty, must be pure and innocent, and as such, he must love it, and wish a continuation of its happiness: but if he foreknew, (as the Calvinists suppose) that it would be eternally miserable, if it remained in exist­ence, he, as a merciful being, would blot it out of existence again, while in a state of innocence. But as it is universally allowed amongst christians, that there are but two places of permanent residence, for departed souls after this life; to wit, heaven and hell; and but two beings who are to divide the souls of the human species between them; to wit, God and the Devil: [Page 111] we must endeavour, by a careful investigation of their different powers and attributes, to judge of their final success, with respect to their efforts to gain subjects, and depopulate each others kingdoms; and to enable us to do this, let us establish a few self-evident propo­sitions, as axioms.

It is the exclusive prerogative of the Deity to create souls.

No other being can create them.

Therefore he has created all the souls that ever have existed.

• I. When, he created them, he either intended that they should be eternally miserable: Or,
• II He did not care what became of them: Or,
• III. He wished, and designed, that they should be eventually happy.

To affirm the first, is blasphe­mous.

The second, impiously absurd.

Therefore, the third must be true.

God is infinitely benevolent, wise [Page 112] and powerful: therefore, being in­finitely benevolent, he wished and designed, that all the souls which he made, might be eventually hap­py.

Being infinitely wise, he has cer­tainly concerted his plan, so as not to be frustrated, in the accomplish­ment of his gracious design.

And being infinitely powerful, no combination of finite powers, can ever amount to infinite; and if still finite, they must ultimately fail in the attempt, to counteract and frustrate the operations and de­signs of an omnipotent God; who will make a most glorious display of his divine attributes, in vanquish­ing the powers of death and hell, and releasing every captive and prisoner out of the pit, wherein is no water.

Is it not amazingly absurd, to suppose, that a God of infinite goodness, justice and mercy, has created millions of human beings, on purpose for the Devil, to be his captives and prisoners, to the end­less [Page 113] ages of eternity? But is it not more absurd, if possible, to suppose, that the Deity made them for himself, with the benevolent design of rendering them eternally hap­py, in praising and adoring his ho­ly name, for his infinite love and goodness towards them; but con­trary to his gracious designs, that millions of these very beings, are to be, and remain in the possession and under the powers of the De­vil, to be tormented by him, to the endless ages of eternity?

If such an event should finally take place, then it is certain, that finite folly, weakness, and wicked­ness, can overpower, baffle, fru­strate and defeat, the benevolent designs and operations, of infinite goodness, wisdom, and almighty power, and triumph over omnipo­tence.

If any individual of the human race is to be miserable, as long as God himself exists; it must happen through a defeat of benevolence, wisdom or power in the Deity.

[Page 114]Therefore, the predestinarians deny God's infinite goodness, when they maintain, that God could, but would not convert all his creatures. The Socinians deny his infinite power, when they maintain, that he would but cannot convert them; and will be obliged one day to an­nihilate all reprobate spirits! The premises being absurd, an absurd conclusion is to be expected.

The Universalists affirm, that it is incompatible with the divine love, infinite justice and mercy of the Deity, to create human beings, knowing that the condition into which he brought them, would be as much worse than that in which they were—as a state of eternal, never ending misery, under the in­finite displeasure of an offended God, is worse than a state of non­existence, in which condition they could neither offend the Deity, nor suffer any inconvenience whatever.

They, therefore, believe that the Deity created the whole human race, with a positive determination [Page 115] to make the condition, into which he brought them, vastly preferable to a state of non-existence: and that it would be an unprovoked act of cruelty to make it worse; be­cause the materials of which the future being was to consist, could not offend him, before it existed as a moral accountable agent, capa­ble of distinguishing between good and evil, with a free will to choose, and a power of action, to do either good or evil, agreeable to the free choice of the will. If, therefore, the Deity foreknew, that any be­ing, which he might create, would, by making an improper use of its free agency, become eternally and irrecoverably miserable, he cer­tainly never would force it into existence, which would be a severe unmerited punishment inflicted, prior to the possibility of offence, or transgression on the part of the being punished.

To say, that the infinitely graci­ous and merciful Deity's foreknow­ledge, that a certain individual non­entity, [Page 116] would, if created, make an improper use of its free agency, and become an incorrigible sinner, had provoked him to drag it into exist­ence, to punish it eternally; not for any evil it had done—but for what he foreknew it would do—is charging him with making an ex­tremely cruel, and improper use of his own free agency: not only to do evil, that good might come, but doing evil of the most barbarous kind, for the sake of evil, from which no good could possibly re­sult—which is impossible.

This is not only charging God foolishly; but wickedly. If the Devil is not extremely ungrateful indeed, he must have precious re­wards in store, for those who use, every possible means in their power, to persuade people that the Deity is the the greatest tyrant of the two. But the God of justice, love, and mercy, knowing what pains would be taken to traduce his mo­ral character, directed the prophet Ezekiel to record the following [Page 117] oath; to wit, "As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way, and live." If we believe what the Deity has sworn in this case; we must disbelieve that he has ever created one soul, knowing that it would be so obstinately and perseveringly wicked; that infinite wisdom goodness and almighty pow­er could not reform and reclaim it. If it be said, that the Deity could not save it, consistently with the plan he had chosen: I answer; that the plan could not have been the pro­duction of infinite wisdom, which prevented the Deity from accom­plishing his original design; which must have been to make every be­ing which he created, eventually happy.

To affirm that an human being, in a state of extreme, eternal, ne­ver ending misery, is as happy as the Deity intended or designed he should ever be, at the time he cre­ated him—is blasphemy. If God [Page 118] intended that all the souls which he created, should be eventually hap­py, and gave them existence, as a positive blessing, and not as a curse: and not with standing many millions are supposed to resist the benevolent designs of the Deity, and bassle all the means that could be employed by the Deity, for their conversion. The question na­turally recurs;

How can it be possible, that finite folly, weakness and wicked­ness, should eternally overpower, baffle, frustrate and defeat the de­signs and operations of the divine love, infinite wisdom, goodness and almighty power? But the Calvin­ists, to justify the measure of in­flicting an infinite, eternal, never ending punishment, for temporary crimes, committed, in time, by finite beings, have laboured to per­suade us, that every sin is an infi­nite evil, because it is committed against an infinite being: thence it follows, that if one sin be an infinite evil, two sins are dou­bly [Page 119] infinite, and three, trebly infi­nite—which, at best, is egregious nonsense, as infinity admits of no addition: and therefore, if any one sin be an infinite evil, it destroys all degrees of comparison between crimes, and renders the boy, who takes an apple out of his neigh­bour's orchard, as criminal as the Jews, who murdered the Saviour of the world. As there can be no difference, in degree, between things that are infinite; it is, there­fore, demonstrably evident. that no being, who is not possessed of infi­nite power, can do or perform, any infinite action, either good or bad; therefore, the plea, in justification of inflicting infinite punishments on human beings, to satisfy divine jus­tice, for the commission of crimes, supposed to be infinite—must fall to the ground. A person would naturally conclude, on being told, that sinners were to be punished in hell, to satisfy divine justice, that there might be a time, at some future period, when justice might [Page 120] be satisfied, and the sinners releas­ed: but they tell us, that justice is vindictive; that is, so revengeful, malicious and spiteful, that it never can be satisfied: and therefore, in this undertaking, as in all the rest, the means are still inadequate to the end; and although good might have been intended, the final con­sequence is always evil. Yet the Calvinists tell us, it is by this inco­herent system of their own fabrica­tion, that the Deity is to display the glory of his divine attributes to all intelligent beings.

The chief objection which the calvinists oppose, to the doctrine of the universal restoration, is, that it has a tendency to make people remiss in making their calling and election sure, in this life: in which case, they may be eternally misera­ble hereafter—owing to their own neglect: but how inconsistent this objection is, with the doctrine of election and reprobation, any per­son of common understanding may very easily perceive. For a Cal­vinist [Page 121] to admonish a reprobate, to work out his own salvation, with fear and trembling; to make his calling and election sure—and to make his peace with that God, who had consigned him to endless perdition, by an unchangeable de­cree, many ages prior to his ex­istence; is, of all things, the most absurd. But others being shocked at the horrid imputation, that God should create human beings, having consigned them to eternal punish­ment, by an unalterable decree, prior to a possibility of their hav­ing offended him—deny that he de­creed their eternal misery; but still affirm that the Deity infalli­bly knew, that they would be so, to the endless ages of eternity.—Whatever God infallibly foreknew, must as certainly come to pass, as if he had decreed it: so that this miserable shift will neither vindicate the character of the Deity, from being guilty of an unprovoked act of cruelty, in creating beings, who had never offended him, infallibly [Page 122] knowing that they would be eter­nally miserable: neither does it al­ter the fate of the poor unhappy creature.

For if God infallibly knew, that any individual would be eternally miserable; it is clearly impossible that he should escape. And the conclusion, from these premises, must be, that the Deity has dragged him into existence, before he had offended, on purpose that he should be eternally damned: for it is ab­surd to suppose, that God would seriously use any means to save a being, whom he infallibly knew would be eternally miserable. So that the unhappy creature is sup­posed to be deserted by the God that made him; and abandoned to the entire conduct of the Devil. Therefore, if we admit that the De­ity is either just or merciful, we must, in consequence, disbelieve, that he ever either decreed or fore­knew, that any soul, which he cre­ated, would be misereble to the end­less ages of eternity, and believe [Page 123] that he has benevolence, wisdom and power sufficient to save them all, otherwise he never would have created them. "The Father lov­eth the Son, and bath given all things into his hand." "All that the Father giveth me, John iii. 35. vi 37. shall come to me; and him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out."

"And this is the Father's will, 39. who hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me, I should lose nothing, but should raise it up a­gain at the last day."

If the Father hath given all things into the bands of the Son; and all which the Father hath gi­ven him, shall come to him—then all must come; and he declares he will in no wise cast them out.

"And I, xii. 32. if I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men un­to me."

Christ has been lifted up from the earth, first on the cross, and then to heaven; and as I repose entire confidence in what Christ has promised in such plain terms; [Page 124] I sincerely believe, that he will finally draw all men unto him; even those who have made it the business of their whole lives; to traduce his moral character: for if he forgave the Jews who murder­ed him, Rom. xi. 26. he will doubtless pray for his defamers, saying "Father for­give them: for they know not what they do." "And so all Isra­el shall be saved; as it is written, there shall come out of Sion, the deliverer, and turn away ungodli­ness from Jacob."