"Lo! all which belongeth to only, unto him thou shalt not Then Satan went forth from the faid Jehovah unto Satan, 13 And there was a day that his fons and his daughters feasted, and drank wine in the house of their elder brother. 14 And a meffenger came unto Job and faid, "The beeves 15 were ploughing, and the affes were under the feeders "hands, when the Sabeans afsaulted and took them, and and fmote the young men with the edge of the fword, "and I only escaped; alone 1 efcaped to relate it to 16 "thee." Whilft he was thus fpeaking, another came, and faid, "The fire'3 of the Aleim hath fallen from the "heavens, and hath kindled among the flocks and amongst the young men, and hath confumed them, " and I only escaped; alone I efcaped to relate it to thee." 17 Whilst he was thus fpeaking, another came, and said, The Cafdim14 placed three bands, and rufhed upon "the camels, and took them, and the young men they "have fmitten with the edge of the fword, and I only 18" escaped; alone I efcaped to relate it to thee." Whilft he was thus fpeaking, another came, and faid, “ Thy "fons and thy daughters were feasting and banqueting in "the house of their elder brother, and lo! a great wind "came, paffing's over the defert, and it fmote upon the "four fides of the house, and it fell upon the young men, "and they are dead, and I only escaped; alone I escaped to relate it to thee." Then Job stood up, and tore his robe and cut fhort the hair of his head, and fell upon 19 20 16 13 The fire of God was darted from the skies, The flocks and fhepherds are confum'd alone, I, wretch, furvive, to make the mischief known. SCOTT. But there were a fet of 14 Chaldea was a vaft diftance from Edom. profligates who, like the Arabs, esteemed it heroifm to make long journies over pathlefs folitudes, in queft of daring adventures.-Lowth and Scott. гs Zech. ix. 14. The Lord God fhall go with whirlwinds of the South. Probably the deep fandy defart between Egypt and Palestine, mentioned by Jofephus and Arrian, and mult therefore have been a fouth wind.-Scott. 16 Seemingly with a fulness of felf poffeffion, fuch calmnefs had the knowledge of God given him. For the tearing of his robe was the cuftomary mode of mourning, as likewife was the cutting off the hair. Thus Achilles at the funeral of Patroclus, Thefe hairs no longer grow, POPE'S HOMER. the the earth, and proftrated himself, and faid, "Naked I “came forth from the belly of my mother, and naked "fhall I return a defolation! Jehovah hath given, and "Jehovah hath taken; blessed be the name Jehovah." In all this Job erred not, and afcribed not inconfideration to the Aleim. 17 SeME. Ifa. v. 9. xxiv. 12. Hofea v. c. 18 Is not this noticed here, and in the 2d Clap. to fhew the perfection of Job's character to have contited in entire refignation to the will of God, unul bodily pain, and the unjuft afperions of his friends, had called forth complaints against God on account of his sufferings, which afterwards kd him to contention with the Mott High. We war not, saith Paul, against flesh and blood only, but against the ipiritual wicked rulers in the heights, or heavens. SIR, CASE OF JUDAS. To the Editor of the Univerfalift's Mifcellany. Perusing your last number I found in a letter from a clergyman in the country, the case of Judas introduced as an infuperable objection against Universal Salvation. If you think proper to infert the following abstract, with the remarks thereon, they are at your service. J. C. Y opinion of Mr. Winchester's fentiments remains the same: I see no argument of his fufficiently strong to overturn my former creed, respecting the eternity of future punishment. What our Bleffed Lord faid of Judas, that "It were good for him had he never been born," is so very forcible, that (at prefent) I think he would not have used fuch a ftrong expreffion, was Judas to have been restored, even after millions of years, to the joys of his salvation, &c" REMARK S. This very forcible objection against the refloration of Judas, will appear, if duly confidered, a very forcible objection against the wisdom and goodness of Him, who is the first cause and laft end of all creation! Now the fcriptures maintain, that God created all things by Jefus Chrift Eph. iii. 9. That without him was not any thing made that was made. John i. 3. For by him were all things created that are in heaven, and that are in earth, vifible and invifible, whether they be thrones or dominions, or principalities or powers; all things were created by him and for him, and he is before H 2 al Be all things, and by him all things confift. Col. i. 16, 17. I afk, therefore, is it poffible, is it rational, to fuppofe, that he who brought Judas into exiftence would exclaim • Good were it for that man, if he had never exifted or been born!' We are alfo affured from divine authority, that 'God is love.' John iv. 8. Love therefore must be the root of all creation; then the existence of Judas must neceffarily flow from that fource. From hence it will follow, that his final deftruction or exclufion for millions of years from the joys of Chrift's falvation, would perfectly contradict the apoftle's affertion, By him all things exift.' fides, if our Lord had ufed thofe words, or intended them exprefsly to decide the future ftate of Judas, it would have been contrary to the general tenor of fcripture, which speaks of his coming to judgment at a future period; previous to which he declares (ego ou kring oudeva) I judge (condemn or decide the fate of no one. John viii. 15. compared with chap. xii. 47, &c. But to come more immediately to the fubject, as it is found both in Matt. xxvi. 24. and Mark xiv. 24. In both places we thall find that our Saviour, inftead of expreffing any forrow or difappointment on account of the birth of Judas, he is, in a truly fympathetic manner, foretelling what would be the diftrefs and torture of that unhappy man's mind, after the commiffion of the dreadful act : manifefting himself thereby the true high priest of our profeflion, being touched with the feeling of human infirmities, who could have compaffion on the ignorant, and on them who are out of the way; exclaiming in the language of that friend who sticketh closer than a brother ouai, Alas! for that man by whom the fon of man is betrayed; kalon en auta, good. wee it to himself if he had never been born, i. e. according to his own apprehenfion from the conclufion which his dif tracted, wounded, and felf-condemned fpirit would draw from the horrid act of betraying his divine master. Solomon fpeaking of fuch a ftate fays, Prov. xviii. 14. The spirit of a man will fuftain his infirmity; but a wounded fpirit who can bear? We may perceive by the language of Job, Chap. iii, 1. &c. likewife Jeremiah, chap. xx. 14. that they were both expofed to the fame miferable fituation; each of them thought it would have been good to himself if he never had been born. Upon the whole it plainly appears, that all the miferies of Judas were in the prefent ftate; for though he was born to the calamity of a traitor, yet was he not spared in his wickedness to become a blafphemer; but being arrefted refted for fin in this act of treachery, Matt. xxvii. 3, 4. he repented himself, went and confeffed his guilt: he confeffed it too before the parties concerned with him; and parties. who were well able to refent his confeffion, as an accufation recoiling upon themfelves with feverity; yet in the face of their power, and in defiance of their dignity, he brought the pieces of filver to the chief priests and elders, and caft them down before them, and declared to them all, I have finned, in that I have betrayed innocent blod. Similar to that the thief on the crofs boldly teftified of Chrift, As for this man he hath done nothing amifs.' With refpect to his hanging himfulf, there is not the leaft fhadow of proof; the words, Matt. xxvii. 5. kai apelthon apegxato. literally, And departing was ftrangled (or fuffocated with overwhelming grief). See Dr. Hammon in loc. comp. with Acts i. 18. This view of the subject must appear to every unprejudiced inquirer after truth, moft confiftent with the fcriptures in general, as well as thofe propheces in particular which relate to the perfon of Judas, attending at the fame time to the unconditional promise made by our Saviour to all the twelve difciples, when Judas was amongst them, of fitting upon twelve thrones, &c. Matt. xix. 28. Luke xxii. 29, 30. and we may be sure that the gifts and calling of God are without repentance or change of mind; for God is not a man that he fhould lie, nor the fon of man that he should repent: hath he said and shall he not do it, hath he spoken and shall he not make it good? And this is perfectly agreeable to the apoftle Peter's declaration from the old teftament prophecy, Acts i. 20 (genetheto he epaulis autou eremos kai me efto ho katoikon en aute) let his eftate or manfion become defolate, and without inhabitant, i. e. what his divine mafter promifed him. But his bishoprick (or office of an apoftle in the prefent ftate) let another take. This, Sir, is my prefent view of this very important fubject; and nothing can convince me that I am in an error but an explanation of it more confiftent with the wifdom, love and power of Him who hath created all things, and for whofe pleasure they are and were created. ROM the faithful records of the difpenfations and dealings of God with his creatures in ages paft,-from, the fure word of prophecy, by which we are informed of what fhall fhall take place in the ages to come,-from the holy fcriptures at large, we may learn this grand truth, that the end to which Jehovah will ultimately conduct all his creatures, the state in which he will finally place them, is the fame to which he intended bringing them, and in which he determined they should be placed, when he first gave them existence. To that end all the difpenfations, of providence and of grace, of mercy and of judgment, running through fucceffive ages, to the final confummation, are, and ever will be fubfervient. When we view any particular difpenfation of the Moft High, or contemplate his dealings with any particular part of his creatures, we ought to remember that we have before us in that inftance; only a part of the astonishing system of divine government, which comprehends all creatures, periods, and events, in all their circumstances, and combines them together in one amazing whole; which, in its developement, will difplay every divine perfection, and lay open every fource of improvement and happinefs, for the perfecting of every derived existence in the univerfe. The difpenfations of God which have been unfolded, and those which remain to be unfolded in the fulness of times, are not final ends; but means leading to one great and ultimate end: they are diftinct, yet connected branches of that abfolutely perfect plan of divine operations, which originated in infinite love, is carried on by unerring wisdom, almighty power, and unbounded goodnefs, and which muft iffue in God's being all in all. If these remarks be juft, we may reafon from them as given premises, fhould we meet with an inftance of God's having chosen individuals, and endowed them with fpecial favors, without his having avowed at the fame time that his defign, in the beftowment of such peculiar grace, was the general good of his creatures for if enough be faid in the fcriptures to establish the foregoing view of the divine government, it must be applicable in every particular cafe. In my laft letter, I attempted to prove that Abram was chofen of God, and made an object of his peculiar favour; that his being chofen to become a recipient of special bleffings, was a step towards the bleffing of all the families of the earth; that the promise made to him extends to his feed, both natural and fpiritual, and that as the dealing of God with him, was a step towards the blefling of all mankind, fo the choice of, and divine favours beftowed upon, his feed, are fucceffive steps leading to the fame end. We fhall in this letter attempt to fhew how the fame gracious plan was carried forward, by the |