*ble as himself and his pofterity. This is human nature in every 'age.' It was not therefore because the Jews were worse by nature, but it was what is common to human nature in every age. Which is the fame as afferting that men are naturally selfish, and fo felfifh as to grafp in, or monopolize fpiritual things, as they would temporal things. Every man is fo felfifh by nature, he would take all happiness to himself, and leave the rest of the world to eternal mifery. Or, at leaft, that all the rest of the world fhould either have happiness or mifery, to eternity, juft fo as would molt contribute to his own eternal happinefs. So as a rich mifer would make all the world his flaves, or in the best way fubfervient to his own avarice. This is plainly the Doctor's reafoning. And the longer the Jews were favoured with the peculiar privileges of revelation or the gofpel, the more this monopolizing spirit in them increased, and the more they defpifed Chrift and his difciples. Thus far he gives the Jews their character: having that fame proud, covetous, perfecuting fpirit as Judas had, when he fold his Mafter for thirty pieces of filver. But in giving the character of the unbelieving Jews, Dr. H. gives that of the limitarians his opponents. For he often in volves them both in one. The calviniftic fcheme, in the limi 'tarian fenfe,' he fays, is full of contradiction and absurdity. The fame may be faid of all the reft that ever have been advanced in the world, except this alone,'t that is, his own fcheme. A viler character can hardly be given, certainly as it relates to articles of faith if not of practice, than the Doctor here gives of thofe who hold to future punishment. Yea, he here characterizes all others, in the fame manner, that bear the chriftian name. The fame may be faid of all the reft,' of all fchemes of religion thac have ever been advanced, except his own.-Of the preaching of his opponents he fays, it hath always been clear demonftra. tion, that there is great duplicity and illufion in it.' The Doctor continues, the limitarian plan gives fatan a grand victory and triumph, in all he had in view, or ever had any hope to ac complish. It confiders Chrift as concurring with him, in the main, in all that he defired.' 'Another argument against the ⚫ limitarian scheme is this: No man, on their principles, can do his ⚫ duty; even if his whole heart and difpofition were perfectly right.' God's law of nature cries out against it, with all the authority of the divine Being himfelf.' Indeed there is no falvation, on the limitarian plan; but the fame that was fo plea 'fing to that devout pharifee in the temple, Luke xviii,'**On the limitarian plan,they,who are faved,will be faved by their own 4 works. P. 39, 40. P. 182. P. 181. P. 213 P. 285. I P. 278. ** P. 301. works. Yea, they are faved by their own merit, fo far as we ' can have any notion of merit in a crature.'+ Thus the Doctor goes on to blacken the character of his opponents. They join with the proud pharifee, the most bitter enemies of Chrift, and join with fatan in all that he does, &c. &c. He not only fays these things of the limitarians, but he fays, they fay, even by their religious profeffion, all that the proud pharifees ever did fay, and all that the proudest man on earth ever did, or can fay.'‡ And he directly intimates that they hold God to be a God of fome love and of great malevolence,' and even a disposition to infi'nite malevolence.'§ The Doctor could hardly have said more, in fo few words, than he here fays against his opponents, or thofe who hold to endless: punishment. But he has faid all this against himself, as much as he has against them. So all he has faid against the apoftate Jews, turns against himfelf. For, 1. What he has faid against each of them is a contradiction to his meridian glory of the gofpel, and its peculiar benefits to men. See in last Letter. Nearly all the chriftian world, fince the days of Chrift, have held to endless punishment, or have been limitarians, as he invidiously calls them. Origen, in the third century, was the firft to invent and publifh univerfalifm. But this fcheme never fucceeded till about thirty years palt. And a confiderable part of its new profelytes have already gone off to deifm. So that the chriftian world has been, ftill is, and fill like to be, of this vile defcription given by Dr. H; only a fmall remnant of univer falifts excepted. And thefe he equally reprobates with all others. All fchemes of religion but his own, and originated by himself, as he pretends, are full of contradiction and abfurdity. Here we have the Doctor's picture of all chriftendom; from Chrift's day to the prefent, totally involved in darkness. Far greater nefs than that among the moft ignorant heathen; for they thodox in fome points,' he fays, and right in fome But the whole chriftian world has hitherto been one 'arknefs, and becaufe they have not believed the unbelieving Jews the Doctor has nefs; giving them the fame vile rime their oppofition to unioctrine was never thought "-ft heard it preached ་ dark... 4 . ftrange, fo far entertained P. 221, 222. P. 141 ong among the covenant people of God.'-This is 'a plain conceffion that the Jewish nation had in every preceding age been in this grofs blindness, entirely ignorant of the doctrine of the falvation of all men. And when Chrift preached it, as Dr. H. pretends, the great body of the Jews rejected it, and ftill remained in their blindness. Thus the Doctor defcribes both the Jewish and the christian state, to be a state of midnight darkness; all along from Mofes to Chrift, fo down to his own day. Now, how does this compare with what Dr. H. calls the meridian glory of gofpel light? The Jewish difpenfation was, at firft, like the horizontal beams of the rifing fun. As light 'was added, under that difpenfation, the fun advanced towards the meridian. Chrift and the infpired apoftles, with the light at that time poured in upon the world, may compare with the fun "in his ftrength.' So the bleffings of the great Redeemer have been increafing, fince he was on earth in the form of man.'* "The Most High fpeaks of the light of Chrift, as a growing and 'fpreading light, until in the end, all the world fhall behold his 'glorious beams, and feel his faving power.'t-This the Doctor fay's in one place; then again all is left in darkness-full of contradiction and abfurdity. The reafon is, they have fo generally rejected his fcheme. And this leaves the world in a moft difmal cafe indeed, according to Dr. H's affertion. Besides, where are the peculiar benefits of the gofpel? The 'covenant people of God, under every dispensation,' the Doctor fays, may be compared to thofe climates and regions moft pe'culiarly under the bleffings of the natural fun.' And the gof pel, like the natural fun, has influence on the hearts of all men according to its degrees of light among them. All men are much the better for the gofpel: and better in proportion as they have its outward means... Therefore, the covenant people of God, all of them, are eminently revived, quickened, and made holy by the influence of the gospel. These things the Doctor holds, as we have seen in the laft Letter, to which the Reader is referred. Now, what becomes of thefe peculiar bleffings? The Jews were much more wicked, he fays, than the gentiles. Many more 'gentiles had come to the knowledge of falvation than the Jews." The longer they had been favoured with the oracles of God, the more was their proud monopolizing spirit increased; which vented itself against the whole gentile world. And efpecially vented itself in the utmoft rage againft Chrift, as Dr. H. fays, for his preaching univerfal falvation. So to the limitarians, it would have been difficult, if not impoffible, for him to have given a + P. 138. 4 P. 142. *P. 1394 more more vile character. As he makes them join with fatan in all he does, and even call God infinitely malevolent. This is what he fays of the whole body of this people, from Chrift's time to the prefent. The truth of the cafe is, the Doctor was obliged to fet them forth in this odious, contemptuous manner; because they deny universal falvation. Then again he was obliged to give them the beft of characters: all men much the better for Chrift, and better as they have greater outward advantages; because all men are equally united to Chrift. It would have been very odd and inconfiftent for him to have told of this union between Chrift and all human nature, had he not confidered all men as being better on this account. And better, more revived, quickened, and brought back to a state of holiness, as they have greater gofpel privileges. Again, it would have been equally odd and out of joint, for him to have told of this long continued oppofition to univerfal falvation, as he fays the limitarians are guilty of, had he not given them the blackest character in the fame connection. Thus he was obliged to make them exceeding good and exceeding bad, at the fame time in one connection as bad as fatan himself, in another the greatest of faints. 2. Why the Jews were fo oppofed to univerfal falvation, Dr. H. fays, was because of the original depravity of human nature. Not because they were worse than other men, or more vicious by nature. It was that native depravity of heart common to men in all ages.' Which argues as plainly as words can, that all men are naturally oppofed to univerfal falvation. And he would infer that this is the ground of the limitarian oppofition to this doctrine. But this is as much against himself as it is against his opponents. It is a direct contradiction to one of his chief arguments. All men naturally feel a ftrong defire that every one of their fellow men might be made forever happy. All men have the ftrongest averfion to the endless mifery of their fellow mortals, and the moft ardent love for their endlefs felicity. God himself has implanted this principle in their breafts; elfe how came it there? And this love, in poor imperfect mortals, is only a faint image of the infinite love of the infinite God, for the falvation of all men. Therefore, it is moft certain all men will be faved. For what can refift the love or defire of God? This is one formidable argument among Univerfalifts. The Doctor lays fpecial dependance upon it. Then again he pofitively denies it, as we have juft feen. It would feem that he could not fay things bad enough againft the apoftate Jews and limitarians, *See . 278, 322. because because they fo ftrenuously oppofe his fcheme. As he makes no diftinction between the apoftate Jews and limitarians, as to charafter, fo he charges the latter as well as the former, and all of them without exception, with retaining their natural pride and enmity of heart against the bleffed truth he maintains.' And that this native enmity of heart has never been subdued in the leaft degree; but that they wax worse and worse, joining with fatan in all he does. In this way he would account for their fted faft oppofition to his doctrine. But while he declaims against them, he only deftroys one principal fupport of his own scheme. To fay that all men have this defire and love for the eternal happinefs of every one of their fellow mortals, and that the bible plainly teaches all will be faved, is a felf-evident falfehood. The bible plainly teaches all will be faved, and all men naturally defire, yea moft ftrongly defire juft as the bible plainly teaches, Hence, it is impoffible, with the bible in their hands, any fhould ever believe the doctrine of endless punishment. Allowing men are educated to believe this doctrine; the queftion is, how came men firft to believe it, when they naturally and ftrongly defire the contrary, and the bible plainly teaches the contrary? The only objection that can here be brought, is, that the bible does indeed teach the falvation of all men; though not fo clearly as to have it readily understood, or underflood at firft. But God gives light more and more, particularly to individuals; and of late this doctrine has been better understood than formerly it was. Whereas this defire and love in the hearts of men by nature, for the falvation of all, is clear and undeniable, every one knows he has it. Though men may ftrive to fupprefs it, yet it is evidently the law of nature, and the law of God written in every man's heart, in all ages.-Dr. H. cannot make this objection without denying of it again. For then he must give his opponents quite a different character; and to this he will never yield. But to answer this, the objection fuppofes that the law of nature, what all men naturally have without Revelation, is clear and undeniable. Whereas, Revelation is not fo clear, not fo readily understood. That is, the law of nature is more plain and intelligible than Revelation itself, ever fince Chrift has come the light of the world. This objection, therefore, cafts fuch contempt on Revelation, it cannot be admitted. That all men have a natural abhorrence to pain and mifery of every kind, cannot be denied. But nothing can be argued from this. For if it be a rule in one cafe, it is in another. And then we may as well argue we fhall never have pain, sickness, or death. If this abhorrence be only a faint image of the divine mind |