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under the name, Antichrift. Thus far Mr. Relly's union. Chrift united to all men, and Chrift united to Antichrift!' In another place he calls Antichrift the falfe Chrift. The falfe Chrift,' he says, 'is a compound of pride, darkness, deceit, felf-love, enmity to the true Chrift, &c.'* He labours much to fix this character on all fuch as difagree with him in fentiment. In fo doing he has made out his monstrous union. For if Chrift is equally united with all men, he is then united with Mr. Relly's opponents, thefe most hateful characters, and therefore united to the falfe Chrift, who is at enmity to the 'true Chrift. Chrift in confanguinity and affinity," he says, with all men; and thefe members, of the fame body, at enmity to Chrift their Head! These members alfo, at enmity to Chrift their Head, he fays, are in a flate of paffivity, and Christ the ⚫ active conscioufnefs and quickening fpirit of the whole.'t In a ftate of paffivity, and, his opponents efpecially, at the fame time at enmity to Chrift; and in a state of paffivity, while Chrift is the quickening Spirit of the whole! Mr. Relly's words, however, if they have any meaning, make Christ to be at enmity with himfelf; or the body at enmity to the Head!

1

Mr. Relly, like Dr. Huntington after him, makes little or no difference between the regenerate and unregenerate. He applies to all men alike, the words of the prophet Micah; concerning the corrupt rulers of Ifrael and Judah, in that day of noted apol tacy. He fays, 'When I except this Man [the Man Chrift Jefus], I believe that word of the Lord applicable unto all the others, where he fays, the best of them is as a brier, the most upright is harper than a thorn hedge.' But, what violence is Mr. Relly guilty of, in applying, without exception, this paffage to all men? The prophet was diftinguifhing those corrupt rulers and judges from fuch as were faithful to their truft; elfe there would be no meaning to his words. Befides, just before the above cited words, the prophet fays, The good man is perifhed out of the earth, and there is none upright among men.", Amplying, by thefe general terms, there had been good and righ teous men; and that there were still fome few remaining, how foever corrupt the generality of their rulers might be.-Mr. Relly fays again, Nor is it poffible I fhould ever defpife good works, on this account. But, wherever I have fpoken flightly of human goodnefs, it is because I am convinced it is not good; but a falfe fhow, and lying vanity; and therefore a falfehood, always to be oppofed.' He fays this of believers as well as unbelievers. It is allowed, as men are born into the world, P. 26. Introduction. § P. 27. Ibid.

+ P 48

* P. 133

world, and as we all are according to the flesh, there is no hu man goodness. There is none that doeth good, no, not one,'* is the carnal or natural state of mankind. Where grace is im planted, however, it renews the heart, and reforms the practice.

After Mr. Relly has collected the moft pertinent words of fcripture, used to fhow the entire depravity of the carnal heart, and of all impenitent men; after he has thus gone on to blacken every child of Adam, believers and unbelievers together, and made them as vile as poffible; he then, in the fame page, even calls God to witnefs his own gracious fincerity and purity of motives. The God, and Father of our Lord Jefus Chrift, be'fore whom I ftand,' fays he, knoweth that I lie not, when I declare, That there is but one Man, the Man Chrift Jefus, a'mongst all the individuals of Adam's race, whofe example I ⚫ admire and can perfectly approve of: by his example, I con'fefs I am deeply convinced, not to envy, but to the most profound admiration !-I cannot defpife, but muft forever reverence, admire, and wonder before Him.-O! Thou great Archetype of true holiness, Jefus Chrift: thou only art holy, thou only art the Lord: and thou knoweft wherefore I thus fpeak. -I have thus fpoken,, thou knoweft; because I apprehend 'what I have spoken against, to be utterly falfe; a grand decep* tion, and yet the Idol of mankind. Thou art my standard, and everlasting pattern of true goodness.-Unto thy grace and 'keeping I commit my all; and that thou fhouldest bless what 'I have written, unto the glory and praise of thy venerable name: and respecting my readers, unto their conviction, even to that Eternal Life, which is in thee; I pray.-It may easily be seen, that I aim only at illuftrating that grand capital propofition of the Saviour's: I am the truth.-Refpecting the ' matter and Scope of the following treatife, I am above un'certainty therein.'+-After reading what Mr. Relly here fays of himself, and what he fays, in direct oppofition, of every fon of Adam, he might feem to be of a different order of rational be ings, or one who never had apoftatized.

B

Self-commendation carried to fuch an height, thus feen in open day, and in its native colours, may, however, answer this good end: It may ferve to open their eyes, and effectually cure those writers, on the fide of truth, who have in fome degree fal len into the fame difgraceful practice. But thofe writers who have maintained the doctrine of endless punishment, in oppofition to univerfalifm; and who have been generally esteemed in the church of God, for one or two centuries past; have not Q been $ P. 26, 31, 32, 33. Ibid

Rom. 3. 12.

been fo fond of speaking in the first perfon, or fo liberal in be flowing encomiums on their own works and characters. Neither have they exhibited their own experiences, or their own good feelings, with a view to render their doctrines popular, or to give fupport to their fentiments. For the truth of this, an appeal is made to their writings. And truly the great and most important doctrines, that look forward to eternity, ought firft to be clearly fupported by divine revelation. As to felf-commendation, feveral thousand years ago, Solomon has told us, Let another man ⚫ praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a ftranger, and not thine own lips.'*

Prov. 27. 2.

I am, &c.

END OF PART I

***

Dr. Chauncy's, Mr. Winchefler's, Mr. Petitpierre's, and Med. Dr. Young's Scheme, which fuppofes a limited punishment hereafter, fhown to be made up of contradictions.

LETTER I.

Mr. Winchester, following Dr. Chauncy, holds that all men are faved by Grace, and, in contradiction to this, that the damned fuffer all they deferve.

MY DEAR FRIEND,

AD you read Dr. Edwards against Dr. Chauncy, you would have found an anfwer to Mr. Winchefter's dialogues. So, have faved yourself the trouble of your last request to me. There appears nothing material in thofe dialogues, on univerfal restoration, but what we find in Dr. Chauncy's falvation of all men. An answer to the latter is of course an anfwer to the former. And Dr, Edwards has given a complete anfwer, it is thought, to Dr. Chauncy. This makes it needlefs to attend minutely to things in Mr. Winchester's book; but only to ftate fome of his leading ideas, compare them together, and fee their confequences. In this cafe it will be moft expedient, fomewhat to pattern after Dr. Edwards in his reply to Dr. Chauncy.

Mr. Winchester holds that all men are faved by grace, and faved wholly by the grace of God. The Gofpel of the Grace of God,' he fays, is in itfelf fo amiable, and has something in it fo attracting and engaging, that wherever it has come, it has gained profelites.-It bringeth falvation to all men. By all men, is to be underflood every individual of the human race. It has ⚫ been too good news for fome, and too bad for others. And the objections they have raised against the universality of its grace, and fullest extent of its efficacy and mercy, have been * many and great."* Thus he prefaces his book.

He

P. 1. Hudson Edition: Printed 1793. From which all the following quotations

are taken.

He fays again, It is not fo much the intention of God, merely to restrain fin, as to fhow it in all its dreadful deformity, punifh it according to its defert, and finally to fhew the fuperabounding of his grace in overcoming and totally destroying it out of his creation; which fhall be accomplished, when he that fitteth upon his throne fhall make all things new.'* By thefe words, to reftrain fin,-punish it according to its defert,' &c. Mr. W. means, to reftrain finners, and punish them according to their defert. He has fuggefted no fuch idea in his book, that fin feparate from finners, is punifhed. Befide, by the words, to fhew the fuper-abounding of his grace in overcoming and totally destroying it,' that is fin; he evidently means the fuperabounding of divine grace toward finners, in their complete restoration or falvation. The fame which he often advances. Hence, he afcribes the falvation of men to grace, and the fu 'per-abounding' grace of God..

In another place, he fays, Heaven forbid, that ever I should, in the leaft, fet afide the merits of Chrift, the efficacy of his blood, or the faving operation of his fpirit and grace !—Salva⚫tion from the guilt and pollution of fin, is always afcribed, and always will be to the blood of the Lamb; and the renovation of the foul to the operation of the Spirit of God, the opera tion of the grace of God.'t

.

Speaking of the fufferings of the wicked in a purifying fire, or ftate of purgatory, as he pretends; he fays, Thofe who fhall be caft into the lake of fire, their torments and forrows fhall ⚫ bring them down, and, in the sense of fcripture, deftroy them; and thus prepare them for the renewing power of Chrift: but it cannot be faid, with any propriety, that their deftruction shall reftore them :-No; this is an honour which is referved for "the Son of God alone, who came to feek and fave the loft.'‡ Hence, it is plain Mr. W. holds, that all men are faved by grace alone; and faved by the merits of Chrift, by the merits of the Son of God alone. Other places in his book, to the fame im port, might be cited, were it neceffary.

Should it be denied, however, that men are faved wholly by grace; that is, all who are faved; by the fame rule Mr. Win chefter's fcheme must be denied and given up. So, by the fame rule the holy fcriptures must be denied. Furthermore, Mr. Winchester has written his book, profeffedly to extol the grace of God, and our need of a Saviour; and to fhow us that there is none other name given, whereby we must be saved. He pretends above all others, or certainly above his opponents, to teach falvation