laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, fhall give me at that day.'

Common sense dictates that St. Paul, when he uttered what I have juft recited, had a respect to his own individual happiness in heaven. If fo, he must be pronounced to have been a very felfifh man, and to have judged of the difpenfations of God on the principles of selfishness.

Again, Mr. S. fays, p. 112, " Though the chriftian cannot promife himself any perfona! benefit from what he endures, except it be that of thinking God is glorified; his confidence that infinite wifdom will make all events redound to the divine honor and happiness, and the general good, excites his benevolent refignation; and he rejoices that God reigns, because he will glorify himself and make a universe of the greatest blessedness.”

Here is fomething fo contrary to the fcriptures, and to the experience and hopes of good men, in all paft ages of the world, that one is almost tempted to think that it was written merely to fupport an hy pothefis. Certainly a man must be extremely preffed, or he never would call for aid fo contrary to rea fon, to human experience, and to the voice of divine revelation.

Mr. S. fays that "the chriftian cannot promise himself any personal benefit from what he endures, except it be that of thinking God is glorified."David fays, "it is good for me that I have been afflicted that I might keep thy ftatutes." Was it not a perfonal

perfonal benefit to David, to be taught obedience to divine commands?

Of the Jewish church it is faid, "By this fhall the iniquity of Jacob be purged: and this is all the fruit, to take away his fin." Ifa. xxvii. 9. Was it no benefit to Jacob, that his iniquities were purged, and his fin taken away, by what he suffered?

Our bleffed Saviour fays to his difciples, "Bleffec are ye when men fhall revile you, and perfecute you, and fhall fay all manner of evil against you falsely, for my fake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad; for great is your reward in heaven." Matt. v. 11, 12, Christ did extremely wrong, if Mr. S. is right, to tell his difciples of a reward of their fufferings on earth, which they fhould receive in heaven. "Whosoever fhall lofe his life for my fake, fhall find it," Matt. xvi. 25. Will it be no perfonal benefit to a chriftian, to find immortal life, in confequence of lofing a mortal, one for Chrift ?

St. Paul was of a very different opinion from that of Mr. S., when he said, "If fo be that we fuffer with him, that we may be alfo glorified together. For I reckon that the fufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which fhall be revealed in us." Rom. viii. 17, 18.

The author of the epiftle to the Hebrews, after he had prefented them with a long catalogue of ancient worthies, who, through faith and patience, were then inheriting the promises; proceeds to exhort

them:

them: "Wherefore, feeing we also are compaffed about with so great a cloud of witneffes, let us lay afide every weight, and the fin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is fet before us, looking unto Jefus the author and finisher of our faith; who, for the joy that was fet before him, endured the crofs, defpifing the fhame, and is fet down at the right hand of the throne of God." Heb. xii, 1, 2. It appears that a glorious exaltation in heaven was to be our Saviour's reward. for fuffering on the crofs, from Philip. ii. 8, 9. "And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name."-Here we have Jefus himself, the most benevolent being that ever appeared on the theatre of the world, as animated by the profpect of a great perfonal reward in heaven, to endure the moft cruel fufferings, and the moft ignominious death on the cross.

We have alfo one of his difciples, an apostle, exhorting chriftians to keep the great author of their falvation in conftant view, and to imitate his example, by patient fuffering in prospect of the reward

in heaven.

And yet, by Mr. S.'s scheme of benevolence, Jesus Chrift is reduced down to a being who hath been guilty of inglorious selfishness; and one who hath

judged

judged of the difpenfations of God on selfish principles !!!

The author to the Hebrews alfo must be claffed

with his Master, Jefus Chrift, and confidered as a felfifh, ignoble being !!

No chriftian divine, I am perfuaded, ever wrote any thing before, on a ferious and important fubject; fo contrary to reafon, fo abhorrent from common fenfe, and fo eafily reducible to abfurdity, and even to blafphemy.

Yet, after all, my heart feels difpofed to make fome apology for my brother.

Poor human nature!

What faft hold does prejudice take of the human mind! How hard is it to diveft ourfeives of it! Great talents, thining accomplishments, and the most useful qualities of the mind, are often facrificed before the thrine of prejudice. My brother, no doubt, fat out with a pious heart, and with a real defign to fubferve the cause of truth, of Zion, and of God. But, alas! alas how hath he failed! It appears ! that he really confiders thofe he calls Univerfalifts to be in a great error, to have corrupted the truth, and injured the morals of the people. And it is ve ry evident that he took up his pen with a refolution to refute thefe errotifts.

One of two things, I think, may be confidered as certain, with regard to Mr. S. either he hath never thoroughly ftudied his fubject, or a peculiar fondness for a favorite hypothefis hath injured his intellectual

powers, A man of Mr. S's. abilities, who had bea come a perfect master of his subject, and was tolerably free of prejudice, could not have written in fuch

a manner.

This fhews us the importance of prayer to God, the great author of our beings, and father of our fpirits, that he would aid us in all our moral researches, and lead and guide us into all truth, and preserve us from falling into any dangerous errors, or delufions.

There is fomething farther, in what was laft quoted from Mr. S. that appears to be very incautiously written, and conveys an idea that cannot be admit ted, and which Mr. S. himself, in a confiderate moment, will not admit. It is as follows: when fpeaking of the chriftian who is enduring affliction and suffering here on earth, he says, "his confidence that infinite wifdom will make all events redound to the divine honor and happiness, and the general good, excites his benevolent refignation." Are we to fuppose that the divine happiness receives any addition or increase from the fufferings of mortal men? We have ever been taught that God is abfolutely and infinitely perfect. If so, his happiness cannot be in creased or diminished.

The prophet, speaking of God's treatment of If rael, and his difpofition towards them when in afflic tion, fays, "I will mention the loving kindness of the Lord, and the praises of the Lord, according to

all