rescue the divine character from this falfe and foul afperfion.

God knew that fome would be eternally miferable; and that the gospel would be an occafion of increafing the quantity of that mifery. God exprefsly fent the golpel to them, when he commanded that it should be preached to every creature. God himself then, hath exprefsly prefented men with the occafion of increasing their eternal mifery. He either intended to increase their mifery, or he did not. If he did not intend to increase their mifery, an event hath happened which he forefaw, but did not intend, which event he himself occafioned. If so, then an event hath happened, which God himself occafioned, but did not intend fhould happen. But to occafion an event, and not intend the existence of that event, is absurd. God, therefore, intended to increase the eternal misery of some men, by fending the gospel among them. Then certainly he could have no view to their personal good, in fending the gospel among them.

Now let us fee, my kind reader, how all this confifts with scripture. God faid, in Ezek. "As I live, faith the Lord, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked."-But to fend the gofpel am- ong them, is to occafion their aggravated death. Then God does that which produces an effect, in which he hath no pleasure. Which is the same thing, as to do that in which he hath no pleasure. Which is a fhocking abfurdity. Again, God fays,

as

as the prophet reprefents him, Turn ye, turn ye ; for why will ye die, O boufe of Ifrael! At the fame time, God knows they will die. He intends their death. Yea, he is doing that which he intends shall be an aggravation of their eternal death.

Now, my reader, if your neighbor not only knew you were presently to fall into a labyrinth of mifery and wretchednels; but intended you should; and were continually endeavoring to increase your misery and wretchedness; and yet if this neighbor fhould declare to you that he had no pleasure in your mil ery; and urge you to avoid it; would you confider him as your friend? or, rather would you not look on him as your falfeft, fouleft, and moft cruel enemy ? and can you confider this as the true and real character of your God? It abfolutely is his real character, if Mr. S.'s hypothefis is true, that the gofpel, fent by God, makes the eternal wretchedness of fome men more awful. How then can we avoid falling into this absurdity and blafphemy? The gofpel is fent of God to all men. And it does aggravate their guilt and mifery, if any of them reject it. And God knows they will reject it. The answer is easy and fimple; give up the falfe abfurd idea of eternal misery. Then there is no difficulty in the case. God knows that fome men will refift the methods of

But he knows at the

grace, for a time; and that this resistance will aggra-: vate their guilt and mifery. fame time, that all this is needful for them; and will prove, in the end, to be a falutary difcipline to

them.

them. That fin and mifery are the neceffary meana of producing the greatest good, or the highest glory and bleffedness of God, and of his holy intelligent kingdom, we have feen to be falfe, and replete with absurdity and blafphemy. If God fend the gofpel to any perfon, or people, this is a demonftration that he defigns the virtue and happiness of that person or people. Another text Mr. S. produces, is, 2d Cor. v. 10, 11. "For we must all appear before the judg→ ment feat of Chrift; that every one may receive the things done in the body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. Knowing therefore the terrors of the Lord we persuade men.”

"Here," Mr. S. obferves, "is a promise of the day of judgment, when we must be rewarded according to our character and practice in life." If this obfervation be juft, that our future reward of mifery, will be according to our character and practice in life, it is an argument of great validity against eternal misery, By being rewarded according to our character and practice in life, is meant, that we fhall be punished, if found to be vicious at the day of judgment, in exact proportion to our guilt and demerit. Eternity will not admit of any fuch proportion. Thoufands, perhaps millions, will be found, in the great day of judgment, to have died out of this world, af ter having committed one fingle fin, after they had arrived at a state of moral agency. Thefe, moft cer. tainly, had contracted no habit of vice,

their natures

had not suffered but a very small degree of depravi

ty;

ty, only what was induced upon them by the commission of one single crime. Can an eternal state of fuffering be confidered as juftly proportionate to this one fingle crime? Befides, it is very confiderable, in this case, that a happy eternity is loft. Sa that the reward of one fingle crime amounts to an eternity of mifery, and the lofs of an eternity of hap piness. Can we refpect that government as juft and righteous, which inflicts fuch a punishment on one fingle temporary crime?

This text of fcripture, therefore, instead of favor ing, directly opposes and contradicts Mr. S.'s hypoth❤ efis of eternal mifery.

Mr. S. next proceeds to St. Paul's epiftle to the Philippians, and quotes Chap. i. 28, and Chap. iii. 18, 19. "And in nothing terrified by your adverfaries which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of falvation. For many walk of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Chrift; whofe end is deftruction."

Mr. S. has a remarkable obfervation upon this paffage of fcripture, p. 62. "Some men are enemies of the cross of Chrift, which is proved by their bad conversation, whofe end is deftruction; and if their end, or the last state in which they are found be deftruction, there can be no following falvation; for there can be no other ftate after the end or laft ftate of any thing." I fhould have fuppofed that a very different method of reafoning ought to have been inftituted

inftituted in this cafe. Sin is enmity against God, and is not fubject to the law of God, nor indeed can be; this is the language of the fame apoftle. Now this fame apostle tells us that Chrift will deftroy every

enemy.

Sin will then be destroyed. And, in this paffage, which Mr. S. has quoted, he tells us that the finner alfo fhall be destroyed. Mr. S.'s inference is, that, if the finner be destroyed, he cannot be faved. My inference from the deftruction of fin and of the finner, both which St. Paul affirms will be, is this, that the finner will be faved. There can be but two ways of deftroying a finner, that I know of. One, to destroy his exiftence, as a creature of God. The other, to render him a willing, obedient member of God's moral government. Mr. S. will fay, that a state of eternal mifery is the deftruction of the finner. This would be taking the very thing for granted, which he is laboring to prove. That Chrift came to make an end of fin, and bring in everlasting righteoufnefs; is not the language of Daniel only, but of all the facred writers, who fpeak of his office and bufinefs on earth. Sin is no otherwise destroyed, but by being extinguished out of the universe of God. If any facred writer had faid, that Chrift came to punish fin with eternal mifery; we should be under obligations to believe it, however unaccountable it might appear. But as

this is not the fact; and, as we are moft exprefsly

1

informed, by both Old and New Teftament writers, that the great defign of Chrift's coming into the

world