Εικόνες σελίδας
PDF
Ηλεκτρ. έκδοση

I know in whom I have believed, and am perfuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day."

Thus our private and public piety and devotion are encouraged, on the prefent theory of divine benevolence. Alfo our faith, and hope, and love, and joy are all perfected, and carried to their highest degree of exercise and excellence.

Let us now go over to the other fide of this im portant question, and contraft this rational and confiftent, charming and delightful theory of divine benevolence, with the irrational and inconsistent, dark and diftreffing theory of eternal mifery.

On this theory, we addrefs, both in the family, the closet, and the public affembly, a God who hath made innumerable millions of rational creatures, capable and desirous of eternal happiness, on purpose to make them eternally miferable. We now addrefs a being, who could not be fupremely glorious and bleffed himself, for fo conftru&t a universe of intellectual beings, as to make fome of them happy in the highest degree, without awaking an infinite multitude of rational beings from non-entity, and giving those perfect innocents a finful and miserable eternal exiftence! Our piety and devotion, our faith, and hope, and love, and joy, are all damped at once. An impenetrable mift, a horror of unutterable darkness, now refts on the divine character, and on all the works and ways of God. With anxious hearts and trembling lips, we address a God, who is N n

fo

fo myfterious, fo unaccountable, so dreadful, in his

nature, and in all his dealings with man.

not pray; we know not how to pray.

We can

If we smite

on our breafts, and cry, Lord, be merciful to us finners! We cannot do this in faith; for we know not whether we are the appointed heirs of glory, or veffels of wrath, brought into existence, by the unfolicited and irrefiftible act of God, for deftruction. We cannot, we dare not, praise God for our exiftence, until we know whether it be deftined to eter nal holiness and happiness, or to eternal fin and mifery. If to the latter, we cannot praise and thank God for our being; but muft forever lament the fatal hour, when the fovereign fiat of the Almighty caufed us to be. If to the former, we are certainly curfed with endless doubt and uncertainty, through all this life. Nothing but the day of general judgment can disclose our fate, unlefs we may expect fome new and particular revelation. All that hath been hitherto revealed is, that God defigns to fave fome of Adam's race: but who they are, is a fecret wrapt up in impenetrable darkness, and known only to God. So that, on this plan, we are deprived abfolutely, of all juft ground of faith, or hope, or joy. And how it is poffible, angels cannot tell, that we fhould love a God, fo cruelly unjust and unmerciful, as to give, or rather, impose a finful and miserable eternal exiftence, on crcatures who certainly could not deferve any evil, previous to this fovereign act

of

of omnipotence, but were as innocent as their Creator himself.

I fee not, I folemnly declare, in the presence of God, how, upon the plan of eternal mifery, we can ever exercise faith, or love, or hope, or joy, or truft. All piety and devotion, with every religious fentiment of the human heart, are gone, and are for ever unfounded, on fuch a plan. But this is not all. It is not enough for this horrid plan of eternal misery, to deftroy all piety, and every devotional fentiment of the human heart. It deftroys all humanity alfo. If we cannot love God, on this plan, we certainly cannot love man. Can it be our duty to love a fellow creature, whom God hates with an implacable and eternal hatred? The Bible directs us to be merciful, as our Father in heaven is merciful. According to the plan of eternal mifery, God has no mercy or pity for infinite millions of fouls that he hath made. If we, therefore, have no pity or mercy for one half of our fellow creatures, we are but following the example our heavenly Father hath fet us. If God have mercy on any of our co-evals, as we know not who they are, I cannot fee how we can be merciful to any fon or daughter of Adam, without a fpecial revelation, defignating those whom God hath chofen as veffels of mercy; for I fee not that we can be under obligation to love whom God hates, Thus compaffion, pity, love and mercy cannot be, on the fyftem of eternal mifery, till we receive a new revelation from heaven.

St.

St. Paul gives commandment, that prayers and Supplications, with thanksgivings, be made for all men ; and he renders a very good reason for it, that it is acceptable to God our Saviour, who will have all men to be faved, and come to the knowledge of the truth. According to the doctrine of eternal misery, this text ought to be read one of these two ways," that prayers, &c. be made for all men; for this is good and acceptable in the fight of God our Saviour, who will have fome men to be faved:" or thus" that fupplications, prayers, &c. be made for fome men ; for this is good, and acceptable in the fight of God our Saviour, who will have fome men to be faved." The first reading will palpably contradict the apoftle, and be inconfiftent with itself. This reading cannot, therefore, be admitted, The fecond reading as palpably contradicts the apoftle's defign and is entirely useless to us, until we hear again from heaven, to know who they are that God our Saviour will have to be faved. For, according to St. Paul, we must pray for none but thofe, whom God our Saviour will have to be faved. But I need not to multiply contradictions and abfurdities upon this wild and frantic plan of eternal mifery.

This plan absolutely destroys all piety and all charity; and fubverts the whole system of religion and morals. Never again let it be faid, I pray, for thonour of God, and the good of mankind, that

loofe fufe of the word benevolence, which focers the tann, as that all men fhall be faved, is

very agreeable to carnal minds, and tends to fix men in the fatal fecurity of death. It is now, I prelume, evident to every candid reader, that this loose sense of the word benevolence, affords us the only fyftem, upon which we can fupport either piety or humanity; the love of God, or the love of man,

If we give up this plan, and fubftitute that of eternal misery, farewell all piety and devotion ; adieu forever to faith, and hope, and love, and joy, and truft in God. We are inftantly discharged from every pious and every focial obligation. We can, in the nature of things, exercife no love, nor pity, nor mercy for our fellow creatures; for our God, on this plan, has no pity, nor love, nor mercy, nor even justice, for innumerable millions of immortal fouls which he hath made.

I believe the reader muft grow impatient of the long confideration which I have given to this objection against the doctrine of universal restoration to virtue and happiness, that it hath an ill tendency.

Having now confidered Mr. S.'s fcripture evidences of eternal mifery, as objections against univerfal falvation, and finished this of ill tendency, I here close my third part,

PART

« ΠροηγούμενηΣυνέχεια »