dy, when hope is forever fled ?-for when hope is gone, there is no support.

And the idea that the punishment is not eternal, because the word forever, sometimes in scripture is of a limited nature I think will not do; because the duration of certain words, are bounded by the duration of the things unto which they allude.For instance, "The servant shall serve his master forever," in Moses's law. The word forever, was bounded by the life of the servant. And where it relates to mortality, it is bounded by mortality; of course where it relates to immortality, it is bounded by immortality; and when it relates to God, it is bounded by the eternity of God,and as we are informed in several parts of scripture, after that mortality is done away, that the wicked shall be banished forever, from the presence of God. The word forever, and the word eternal must be synonymous, having one and the same meaning, as endless; being bounded by the eternity of God, and the endless duration of the immortal soul, &c. Matt. xxv. 41, 46. 2 Thess. i. 9. Rev. xix. 3. Jude 7.

And observing the doctrine of particular election and reprobation to tend to presumption, or despair, and those who preached it up to make the Bible clash and contradict itself, by preaching somewhat like this :

"You can and you can't-You shall and you "shan't-You will and you won't-And you will "be damned if you do-And you will be damned "if you don't."

Thus contradicting themselves, that people must do, and yet they cannot do, and God must do all, and at the same time invite them to come to Christ.

These inconsistencies caused me to reflect upon my past experience, and conclude that, the true tenor of the bible did not clash, of course that a

connect chain should be carried through that book, and the medium struck between the dark passages, which literally contradict, and reconcile them together by explaining scripture by scripture ;and by striving so to do, I imbibed what here follows:-1st, That Election is a Bible doctrine, but not an elect number, for I cannot find that in the Bible, but an Elect Character, viz. “Him that becomes a true penitent, willing to be made holy and saved by free grace, merited only by CHRIST." And on the other hand, instead of a reprobate number, it is a reprobate character; namely, him that obstinately and finally continues in unbelief, that shall be cast off, &c.". Thus any one may discover, that it is an election and reprobation of characters, instead of numbers,

and you cannot deny it. But the following seriptures demonstrate undeniably, that God instead of reprobating any, is willing to receive all, (2 Pet. iii. 9. Ezek. xxxiii. 11. 1 Tim. ii. 3, 4, 2 Cor. v. 19.) Secondly, that Christ instead of dying only for a part, the prophets, angels, Christ and the apostles positively affirm, that salvation by his merits is possible for all-Gen. xxiii. 14.Isai. liii. 6. Luke ii. 10. John. iii. 16, 17.)Thirdly, that the Holy Spirit doth not strive with a part only, as some say, a special call, but strives with every man according to the hardness of his heart; while the day of merey lasts-(John i, 9, and xvi. 8. compare vi. 41. with xii. 35.). Again, there is a gospel for, and an invitation to all ;Pand you cannot deny it-(Mark xvi. 15. Matt. xi. 28.) Again, there is a duty, which we owe to God, according to reason, conscience and seripture; and there are glorious promises, for our encouragement in the way of duty, and awful threatnings in the way of disobedience; cannot deny it--(Prov. xxviii. 13. 8. vii. 24. to 28. Isa. i. 16. to 20.

and you Matt. v. 2. to Psa. ix. 17.)

And now to affirm that a part were unconditionally elected for heaven, and can never be lost, what need was there of a Saviour? To save

them from what? And if the rest have no possibility of salvation, who are benefited by Christ? Or what did he come for? Not to benefit the elect or reprobate, but to accomplish a mere sham, or solemn nothing. This reminds me of a story I heard, concerning a negro who had just returned from meeting-his master said, Well Jack, how did you like the minister? Why massa, me scarcely know, for de minister say, God makey beings, calla man; he pickey out one here, oney dare, and givey dem to Jesus Christ, an da can't be lost. He maky all de rest reprobate, and givy dem to de devil, da cant pe saved. And de devil, he go about like a roaring lion, seeking to get away some a Christ's, and he cant. De minister, he go about to get away some de devil's, and he can't; me dono which de greatest fool, de pleacher or the devil."

It is evident that the devil and the damned in hell do not believe in the doctrine of eternal decrees: for it is the nature of sinners, to strive to justify themselves in evil, and cast the blame elsewhere. This is evil practice, therefore came from an evil source, and consequently from the devil. When Adam fell and God called to him, he cast the blame on the woman; God turning to her, she cast the blame on the serpent; God turned to him and he was speechless. Now if he had believed in the doctrine of decrees, does it not appear evidently, that he would have replied? Adam was not left to the freedom of his own will; he was bound by the decrees, and we have only fulfilled thy decrees and done thy will, and thou oughtest to reward us for it." But he was speechless, and knew nothing of such talk then, therefore it must be something he has hatched up since-as saith the poets

"There is a Reprobation plan,

Some how it did arise;

By the Predestinarian clan
Of horrid cruelties.

The plan is this, they hold a few,
They are ordain'd for heaven,
They hold the rest accursed crew,
That cannot be forgiven.

They do hold, God hath decreed
Whatever comes to pass;

Some to be damned, some to be freed,
And this they call free grace.
This iron bedstead they do fetch,
To try our hopes upon;

And if too short, we must be stretch'd,
Cut off, if we're too long.

This is a bold serpentine scheme,
It suits the serpent well;
If he can make the sinner dream
That he is doom'd to hell.

Or if he can persuade a man,
Decree is on his side;

Then he will say without delay,
This cannot be untied.

He tells one sinner, he's decreed
Unto eternal bliss;

He tells another, he can't be freed,
For he is doom'd to miss.

The first he bindeth fast in pride,
The second in despair;

If he can only keep them tied,
Which way he does not care."

It appeareth by the rich man's desiring his five brethren to be warned, lest they come to hell with him, &c. Luke xvi. that he did not believe their states to be unalterably fixed by God's decrees; for if he did, why did he request their warning? saying, "if one arose from the dead, they would repent, &c." It appeareth likewise, that if God hath decreed all things, that his deerees are as ancient as his knowledge; as his decrées are generally argued from his foreknowledge, and that he foreknows it will be so, because he hath decreed it, &c. This opens a door to argue, that there was a time when God was ignorant and knew

nothing. For a decree is an act of the mind, and there cannot be an action, without there being a particular time when that action took place; if so, then if God hath decreed all things, it must be, that there was a time when God passed those decrees; and if so, then there was a time when the deerees were not passed; and if God did not foreknow any thing until he decreed it, then there was a time when God knew nothing. This is the truthand you cannot deny it.*

And now to talk about God's foreknowledge or decreeing all things from all eternity, appears a nonsensical phrase; because to say from (as the word from implies a place of starting) all eternity, implies eternity had a beginning and as some use an unmeaning expression, to convey an idea of unbeginning time: for the want of language it is nonsense to attempt to build an argument thereon: For as it is argued in the foregoing, that God is eternal, we may admit with propriety that he possesseth all the attributes that are ascribed to him; and yet it is not inconsistent to say that the first thing that ever God made, was time, †

* Whatever is, or exists abstract from God, is finite. How or what God conceives or knows of himself, or the manner of his knowing, I shall not attempt to fathom, till the day of eternity. But relative to his knowledge, as it concerns his creatures, I think the term infinite improper, for he can know no more than what hath been, is, and will be, (for there is no more to know) which are only finite in any and every sense whatever. Therefore to attempt to build an eternal covenant by arguing or attempting to conceive his infinite knowledge, is a contradiction. For first, the term knowledge, implies a power of perception, to know and comprehend the existence of qualities, or things, &c.therefore in this sense, when you speak of the knowledge of God relative to creation or his crea tures in the sense they speak, you must necessarily bound God's knowledge by finity. I now refer only to the act or circumference of the act, not to the power or capacity, for only God is infinite, of course to apply the word infinite, &c. to argue great knowledge is a contradiction; and you cannot deny it, because there cannot be an infinite finite.

† Eph. i. 3, 4, 5. God hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in Christ, (not out of him) according as he hath chosers