mind and will, then may we infer that he will bring none of thefe evils upon us. So may we run into the greatest delufion. Again, men's hearts are naturally felfifh; they are haters of God and haters of one another. Thus fcripture gives the character of all men by nature. Hence, it is abfurd to suppose natural men defire the happiness of the whole, out of pure love or benevolence to the whole.

3. The apoftate Jews that crucified Chrift, Dr. H. fuppofes were just as criminal as Judas. He alfo appears to fay much the fame of the whole race of this people, from Mofes to Chrift. Good diftinctions,' he fays, are the only things men boast of, * or at least, what they value as good. If they come in a way of mere grace, without any hand of theirs in them, they always feel more pride in them, than if they came by their own good efforts. The Doctor means to apply this to the covenant people of God, Jews and Chriftians, in every age. By these good diftinctions' he intends the outward means of grace and falvation. And here he fays they always feel more pride in ⚫ them, if they come in a way of mere grace,' &c. That is, the covenant people of God always, and without excepting any one, feel more pride in their outward means of falvation, if they come in a way of mere grace, than if they come by their own good efforts. He fays this to make us believe that 'good efforts,' as prayer, thanksgiving, perfeverence in alms and good deeds, make no difference as to our eternal falvation. But thefe outward fervices and privileges always, without exception, tend only to nourish fpiritual pride. For he fays again, Eminent advances in grace and favor in this life are ftrong incentives of pride, in the moft exalted faints on carth. They are fo. They always were, and always will be, fo long as any moral depravity remains, or any principle of pride in their hearts.'+ Why did he not fay, the more faints feel humble, the more do they increase in pride? For he here intends eminent advances of fanétifying grace' in the heart, as well as outward favours. Paul found it fo,' he fays immediately after, when God, of his free grace, fet him at the greatest distance from others, by fpecial difcoveries and divine raptures.' Divine raptures, the Doctor himself fuppofes, ever intend love, peace, joy, or divine grace in the heart. Thus we have his ftrong incen tives to pride, in the moft exalted faints on earth. But this fhows us what character he gives the vifible people of God, and the moft diftinguished faints among them. He fays this to rea duce gracious or holy exercises of heart to nothing, or that they

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end in fpiritual pride. So he would make us believe one stands as fair for falvation as another. Or if any preference, it is to fuch as defpife fanctifying grace.

Therefore, according to Dr. H, not only thofe Jews that crucified Chrift, but all along under their difpenfation they were exceeding proud, monopolizing and covetous; like the traitor that loved the thirty pieces of filver more than he did his Mafter. For they all along had thofe good diftinétions of mere grace,' which he fays, always make men proud and selfish. And fuch as had real grace, and eminent advances of grace in their hearts, were ftill more like Judas; having ftronger incentives to pride, which always, in this life, fill them with fpiritual pride. Thus far Dr. H, to help Judas himself, and all unbelievers with him, along to heaven; alfo to fhow why the Jews were not Univerfalifts; has made the Jews, the whole race of them, as one collective body, the fon of perdition: he has ranked them in one,

as to moral character.

As to the limitarians, we have feen Dr. H. place them with the proudest of pharifees, who were the foremoft to crucify Chrift. Now as the limitarians, fuch as hold to endless punishment, have made the main part of chriftendom, fo here we have nearly the whole of the Redeemer's kingdom, Jews and chriftians, from MoTes down to this day, placed upon a level with Judas. Yea, as Dr. H. fo reprobates all fchemes but his own, we are obliged to take them fridly the whole, marked out by him as one collective body,the fon of perdition. This leads to the following inferences. 1. They muft all fuffer the fame evils in this world as Judas This confequence from Dr. H's reafoning is undeniable. For he fays, hell in an awful degree and the pains of it attend all fin. A man is always miferable in this world, in proportion to the degree of wickednefs that governs him.'+ Many other things he fays to the fame import. Therefore, as he charges the fame wickednefs upon the whole train of his opponents, especially, as he does upon Judas, fo he fairly argues them all to be as miferable in this world, and conflantly fo, as Judas was when he fuffered damnation in the higheft fenfe of the term.

did.

2. They must all have the fame degraded lot, or loweft place in heaven, with Judas. For he fays, all may be in heaven together in God's own time, brought there in his own way, with as great a diftinction of reward there, as of character here.' 'Their reward will be as different as their works have been.' Therefore, on Dr. H's plan, his opponents can have no higher reward, certainly, in the next world, than he has affigned to Judas.

3. His & P. 224.

3. His ranking his opponents, all that hold to eternal punif ment, with the apoflate Jews, even the crucifiers of Chrift, and arguing them to be fo miferable in this world, and fo degraded in the next, is proof of his great liberality and pure benevolence, he fo often profeffes. But,

4. His cafting fuch contempt on the grace of God, and gracious exercifes of heart, and being under neceffity fo to do, in or der to make room for the defpifers of grace to be in the way to heaven, as well as true believers; who are fo much governed by bigotry and fpiritual pride, as he pretends; this one thing is fufficient to make us wholly renounce his fcheme. It was his duty to have diftinguifhed between fpiritual pride and true love or holinels. And fhown how the latter is oppofed to the former; and how believers need more grace daily, to overcome their pride, bigotry, and fuperftition. Inftead of this, he would make the grace of God the occafion of thefe abominable things. But that fcheme which muft needs caft fuch contempt on the power of divine grace in the hearts of men, cannot be right. It is faid to be common for univerfalift preachers to ridicule and mock thofe gracious exercifes, which diftinguifh faints from finners. And to brand all fuch with bigotry, fuperftition, and hypocrify, as profefs repentance, faith, humility, and a broken heart, as a neceffary preparation for death and the judgment. This daring, ungodly practice among thofe preachers is enough to mark them out as falfe teachers, and to warn all men to beware of them, as they muf anfwer it at the great day.

5.

The evils fuffered in this world by fuch as hold to eternal mifery, whether Jews or chriftians, can do no good on the Doctor's plan. He makes them all fuffer with Judas, the height of damnation, without effecting any valuable end. But, paffing the evils he tells of, we will come to fuch as are real. And all that have been in the world from the beginning, can be of no use whatever, according to the Doctor's fcheme. He fays, all this glory and terror of divine holinefs and juffice, we fee, and forever fhall fee,in the fufferings of the Son of God for finners. And there ' is no more need of the eternal damnation of any of the human * race further to difplay the glory of God's juftice, and his holy anger againft fin; than there is need of the dim light of a candle, to help us to behold the face of the earth, when the fun fhines in the meridian.'* Thus he wholly contemns the fufferings of mere inen, even their eternal fufferings, as beings fuited to anfwer any of thefe purpofes. It is like adding to the finished work of the Son of God, or like fuppofing his work is not finifhed, to imag

* P. 169.

ine

ine the fufferings of mere creatures can do the least good in this way. And God can lead men to repentance, fo fit them for the fame degree of happiness in heaven, as well without their fuffering evils in this world as with. Each of these things Dr. H. holds, as we have feen in the laft Letter. Which is faying as plain as words can fay, that all the evils fuffered by men, in this life, are entirely ufelefs. Now, this world, ever fince Adam's tranfgreffion, has been a scene of forrow, pain, and death. The LORD has alfo fent on men great and awful judgments, from time to time. But all the judgments of heaven poured on men, here in time, from first to laft, center in that great work of God on the apoftate Jews; done in those days of vengeance mentioned in Matt. xxiv. 21. Then fhall be great tribulation, fuch as was not fince the beginning of the world to this time, no nor ever fhall be.' Whoever reads the hiftory of earthquakes, famine, peftilence; treacheries, robberies, and affaffinations; with the whole power of the Roman army, treading the Jews down as the mire of the treet, and filling Jerufalem and the neighbouring cities with blood, carnage, and death; whoever reads this, is at once ftruck with that moft awful prediction by Mofes: A fire • is kindled in mine anger,' faith the LORD, and fhall burn unto the lowest hell. I will heap mifchiefs upon them, I will spend ⚫ mine arrows upon them. They fhall be burnt with hunger, and devoured with burning heat, and with bitter deftruction.' According to the apoftle, this was to difplay both the goodness and feverity of God.'* To exhibit, throughout all ages, a standing witnefs of his difpleasure at the fin of the Jews in crucifying Chrift; and to defignate, moft emphatically, the Saviour of men to a loft world. But of all this Dr. H. can give no account. The judicial deftruction or death of that vaft multitude of Jews, with every attending evil, on his plan, can accomplish no higher purpofe, by bringing the character of God or man into view; communicate no more inftruction, do no more good to the intelligent fyftem, than the flaughter of fo many brute beafts. So all the evils that ever have been, or will be, in this world, are in the fame manner useless, on his plan.

When the chief magiftrate inflicts punishment, ever fo painful and of long continuance, on one or more of his fubjects; which punishment fo inflicted is, at the fame time, fuited to fecure the peace and beft good of the nation: this, inftead of leffening his honour and dignity, does directly establish his character as an excellent ruler. But when a chief magiftrate inflicts a flight puniament, and for a fhort continuance, on fome of his fubjects;

*Rom. 11. 28.

which

which punishment fo inflicted is wholly for fport or felf-gratification; this conduct does only call down upon him the indignation and abhorrence of the nation. Reafon and common fense revolt at fuch conduct, viewing of it as the moft favage barbarity. In this cafe, the fafety and very exiftence of the nation is ftruck at: For this difpofition which will thus fport in one inftance, will alfo fport with the lives and fortunes of the whole, when opportunity offers. So, for Dr. H. to argue that all the evils God has fent into the world, and thofe great and noted evils on the Jews, above mentioned; for him to argue thefe to be wholly ufelefs, is cafting the utmoft contempt on the divine character. Allowing thefe evils to be infinitely lefs than the endlefs torments of the damned, ftill if God can inflict them for one day without doing any good, or for felf-gratification only, we have then no fecurity left. God can then do the fame, and for the fame end, for two days, ten days, and forever. So that he is no longer to be truft, ed as a Being of infinite goodness, or as one difpofed to bring good to pals by every thing he does. On the contrary, to hold that God invariably does good by all the evils he fends on men in this world, and that he fuits the everlafting punifhment of the damned for the best good of the redeemed, is directly pleading for the honour and dignity of his character. Efpecially as he has fo clearly revealed that part of mankind fhall go away into everlast ing punishment.

6. The light of the gospel, if the Doctor's words be true, can do no good in the world. When' good diftinétions,' and all the diftinguishing things of the gofpel, always tend to fpiritual pride, how can they ever do good? When Jews and Chriftians, includ ing the whole of the Redeemer's kingdom, have hitherto denied the Doctor's fcheme, and been the proudeft of pharifees, where is the benefit arifing? Had they been heathen idolaters, as the Doctor pretends, they would have been all orthodox' in fome points, and right in fome meafure. He would have the whole of them to be more vile and ignorant than the heathen, and that good diftinétions or gofpel light and means have made them fuch. So he would have them to be univerfally more miferable here in time, and lefs happy in eternity, on account of thefe good diftinctions. What is ftill more extraordinary if poffible, all the evil they fuffer in this world brings no honour to God nor does it do good in any way whatever. Thus he makes the gofpel prove a fore judgment, always fo, inftead of a bleffing. As it proved to Judas, fo it has to all men fince Judas's day. Dr. H. has made the exception of not one man, in this cafe, as we have feen, before he comes to himself. And here we leave the Doctor for the prefent.

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