certainty of being elected, or that God will beflow it upon him. Here it is neceffary to obferve, there is a material difference between hoping and knowing. Although the terms be fometimes ufed promifcoufly, yet, in a strict fenfe, there is an essential difference. There are alfo various degrees of what is often called certain knowledge. The Doctor has ftated the cafe in the fuperlative degree. Beyond a doubt we must know all men are elected to falvation, or we have no warrant to invite every creature to believe to falvation. And beyond a doubt each individual muft know he is thus elected, or the door of hope is barr'd against him. But David fays, I fink in deep mire, where there is no flanding: I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me. I am weary of my crying, my throat is dried: mine eyes fail while I wait for my God.'* David is here in the ftrongest exercife of faving faith. But instead of having certain knowledge of obtaining the object, relative to his own perfon, even his hope is ready to fail him. I fink in deep mire, where there is no ftanding. When David, by the confpiracy of Abfalom, was driven out of Jerufalem, he had no certain knowledge But he had true faith in the that God had decreed his return. Meffiah; and prayed, as to this particular matter, and gave himfelf up in the faith. If I fhall find favour in the eyes of the LORD, he will bring me again, and fhow me his habitation. But if he thus fay, I have no delight in thee: Behold, here am I, let him ⚫ do to me as feemeth good unto him.'t David's faith refted on a different foundation, from that which Dr. H. has fhown us, as the only foundation.

Numerous inftances might be cited, wherein the children of God have been fecking, with a fingle eye, after things, which they had no pofitive certainty and but little hope of obtaining. The first thought, the firft holy. exercife, in the moment of regeneration, goes out to God, in the fame kind of longing and thirting after him as David fo often expreffes. The perfon, at that moment, has no affurance, or he may have none, of his being cholen to eternal life. We cannot fuppofe the thief on the crofs had pofitive evidence of future happiness, before Chrift told him, To day fhalt thou be with me in paradife.' But previous to this he acknowledged the juftice of God, took blame to himfelf, defended the innocent character of Jefus, and prayed, Lord, remember me when thou comeft into thy kingdom.'t Shall the kingdom of heaven be fut up against fuch a perfon? Shall Pfal. 69. 2. 3. Altho' this Palm applies to Chrift, yet David here fpeaks from his own experience, and refers to Ahithophel &c. v. 22-28.

Sam. 15 25, 26.

Luke 23. 40-43

Shall he be told not to feck after prefent faving confolation,' left he make God a liar, because he does not know that all is firft made fure in Chrift? Therefore, for the thirsting pious foul to have the door of mercy fhut against him, fo that he cannot take one step towards the full enjoyment of God, unless he first have the affurance of his being elected to it, muft wound him most fenfibly indeed.

On our author's plan, the believer has no encouragement to prefs forward and ftrive for further degrees of fanctification. He cannot know he is elected, as to this life, to higher degrees of holiness than what he now has. He cannot poffibly know as to one fingle exercife or enjoyment, which he is yet to have, before his departure out of time. But Dr. H. fays, All is made 'true and fure in Chrift before we have any acquaintance with 'the tidings.' And Christ who orders thefe tidings to be preached, engages to give all these things, viz. faith, love, hope, joy, and every good work wrought in us, or exercifed by us.' On 'any other ground than this,' all preaching and believing is in vain. And unlefs we know we are elected to the enjoyment of thefe things, we make God a liar in believing, or in feeking after them. But as the believer cannot know he is yet to have one more holy comforting exercise this fide eternity, he cannot feek to God for it. So long as he continues in the body, the way is wholly clofed up againft his preffing forward. He niuft fit down, and mourn, and weep, and fpread forth his hands, and there is none to comfort him! Although this, however, is fo painful to the righteous foul, yet all the malice and cunning of fatan could have devised nothing more gratifying to the proud deceitful heart.

4. Dr. H's fcheme brings God and man upon a level; or rather the divine Being yields up the point in difpute to finful man. For if man must first know all is made fure in Chrift, before he has any acquaintance with the tidings, or any operation from them; that is, without the leaft condition or duty required on his part, it is easy to fee which party yields. God and man were at the greatest variance. God charged man with rebellion against him, and previously threatened him with the moft awful curfe. On the Doctor's plan, God wholly remits the curfe, man must be told of this, with the promise of every poffible bleffing to him, even whether he continues in rebellion or not. And unless man is affured of this, he is under no obligation to return to his former allegiance to his God. In this cafe, every one fees that God comes over to man's terms. Sinners have long been complaining-We do not know that we are decreed for heaven. Did

We

'we know we were thus chofen of God, we fhould then have fome encouragement to ferve him; but now we have none neither are we under obligation to take Chrift's yoke upon us." Dr. H's fcheme coincides with their bitter murmurings; yea, he has put the very words into their mouths.

On the limitarian plan, Dr. H. can charge no finner with any amifs; and because no impenitent finner, on this plan, can be certain he is of the number of the elect. Therefore, as he confiders it, every finner is in an innocent juftified flate for not believing to his own falvation, until God makes known to him that his falvation is fecured; and fecured to him whether he repents and believes in Jefus, or not during this life. This leads the finner to fuppofe, that, as he can be accepted of God only through a Mediator, God has no demand upon him, before he makes known to him that all is previously made certain in Chrift. All the demand God has upon him, provided he have any, is in confequence of his certifying to him that he is delivered from hell, and heaven forever made over to him. And as he can ferve God but through a Mediator, which is the fame as believing to eternal life, he will conclude he is under no kind of obligation to love and ferve God, before all the bleffings of heaven are made cer. tain to him; and made certain to him, although he fhould perfevere in fin all his days. In this cafe which party yields? The curfe is fet afide, heaven is granted, and the finner left to live as he lifteth, to the end of life. Certainly God yields up the whole point in difpute, & without the finner's turning from his rebellion.

5. Dr. H's fcheme argues that men, fince the intervention of the Meffiah, are not in a probationary state. A ftate of probation implies that life and death are fufpended on the conduct of the creature or the conduct of the creature, in this cafe, is made a condition. We know of no other ftate of trial for accountable crcatures, as ftanding in relation to their God. Thus it was with angels; life and death were fufpended upon their conduct. And thus it was with Adam; life and death were fet before him; which of thefe would be his fate, his own conduct was to decide. Since the fall of man, Dr. H. fays the fecond Adam has affumed the place of man, and acted and fuffered in his ftead; and not only offers life to all men, but has actually fecured the life of all men. Admitting this, and why is life and death set before us? But admitting eternal life is actually fecured to all men, and they are all releafed from their ftate of trial; here can be no further trial, nor condition after the grand object, and even all is made fure. And if life be made certain to all men, fo that, from their birth

to

to their departure out of time, their conduct cannot make it void, then their fate of existence during time is not a state of probation. It cannot be a state of probation as to life and death, because these are not fufpended upon it. This is an effential article in Dr. H's fcheme, as we may yet fee.

6. Our author, with veneration and confidence, avows most of the leading principles in the calvinian fyftem. He has treated the doctrine of the divine decrees, however, in fuch a manner as tends greatly to injure the caufe of truth;-to releafe finners from accountablenefs to God, and make them look like mere machines. If innumerable of the offspring of God,' fays he, or even any * number of them, are in extreme fufferings to endlefs duration, in this cafe, they must be infinite lofers by that exiftence, which the God of love forced upon them.'* To have a juft idea of this, and other things of like kind in his book, it is neceffary to obferve that he thinks fome men are vaftly more miferable in this life than others; that in this life the wicked fuffer the full reward of their evil deeds; that they have a diminished state of happinefs in the next world, proportionate to their evil deeds in this. See Let. IV. V. VII. Part I. When, therefore, hardened finners find themselves in extreme fufferings, and when, provided they credit the Doctor, they fee a diminutive ftate of happiness before them to eternity, all this their perverse hearts, if not their mouths, will fay, The God of love has forced upon them.' The Doctor has put the words into their mouths. Although, according to his plan they may expect not to be loofers, on the whole, by their exiftence, yet they will conclude they are forced below, far below their fellow creatures, both in time and eternity. And whatever our author may fay of divine juftice, and however he may contradict himfelf the next breath, yet he has here fuggefted that God cannot justly hold finners in extreme fuffering to endless duration; but this would be a forced, arbitrary, and unjuft act. By the fame rule, the proud and haughty will fay it is a forced and unjust act in God, to punifh them in the manner he does, in this world, and affign them to a lower state of happiness, in the next. Alfo the very existence of finners, the continuation of their existence, with all their thoughts and actions, appear agreeably to the Doctor's words, to be forced upon them by their Maker. Inftead of keeping up the idea of their voluntary oppofition against God, and that they are active in hardening their own hearts, he has charged God with forcing existence upon them. And in fuch manner as has a very strong appearance that God decrees them, and actually makes them finners, contrary to

*P. 301

E

their

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their own wifhes. The greateft part he has faid on the divine decrees bears a like complexion. Which cafts no little contempt. on the fupreme being, and reduces the perverfeness of tranfgreffors to an empty name.

Again, he evidently holds that men are under no obligation to fubmit to the divine decrees, until they know them to be in their favour. He fays, The divine will, purpofe, elec. tion, decree, predeftination, or by whatever term you would fignify the eternal, immutable plan of Jehovah, does, every where in the word of God, fully fecure the certain happinefs of all the human race, after death.** When we can view the divine decrees in this light, as he argues, it is our duty to embrace and love them, otherwife it is not. The hearts of good people,' he adds do not reject the abfolute predeftination and decrees of God, nor ever did, fimply confidered, or juftly confidered. What our hearts revolt at, is the attributing fuch decrees to God, as are contrary to his nature. GOD IS LOVE. Attribute no de crees to God but thofe of infinite love,-and they will fet eafy on our minds.'t The Doctor is here trying to prove the future happinefs of all men from the nature of God. As the 'nature of God is love, he will bring us all, every human foul in due time, to fee and approve of his infinite wifdom and love, in all his works.' The boundlefs love of God, he thinks, forms an argument that makes the falvation of all men certain. And the final damnation of fome part of mankind he confiders to be contrary to the divine nature. I cannot fee,' he says, 'that the most holy God can derive any glory to himfelf, or commu. nicate any good to the intelligent fyftem, from the eternal, perfonal danination of any guilty finner of the human kind; or that fuch a thing can be without manifeft opposition to the bleffed nature of God, who is infinite love.' He often fpeaks in this pofitive manner,fhowing how contrary it is, to the bleffed nature of God that even one human creature fhould finally perifh. His mean. ing is therefore plain- Attribute no decrees to God but thofe of infinte love' Charge him with no decrees that are contrary 'to his nature,' none but fuch as include the eternal happiness of all men, and they will fet cafy on our minds-,& they will allap'pear beautiful,'as he further fays. What our hearts revolt at,' juftly revolt at is the attributing fuch decrees to God as are contrary to his nature,' as include the endlefs mifery of part of mankind. The counfels and decrees of God are to be viewed in the fame light as his events of providence, vice verfa. The evnts of providence are the fruits and fulfilment of his holy counfels. But; according

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* P. 80

+ P. 221.

P. 220

§ P. 319.