be no longer perplexed with the discordant sys. tems of their teachers, who all pretend to know God, and to declare what they call his will with the greatest confidence, when perhaps scarcely more than two in ten do perfectly agree; while some of them tell us, that God is so good and gracious, that it is his will that all men should be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth.* That Christ is the propitiation for the sins of the whole world." That Christ gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.‡ That the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.|| That Christ died for all, &c. That God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them.** That Christ tasted death for every man. That he will destroy him that hath the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them, who, through * 1 Tim. ii. 4. 1 John iv. 14. 1 Tim. ii. 6, 1 John ii. 2. E fear of death, were all their lifetime subject to bondage.* That the Son of God was manifested on pure pose to destroy the works of the devil.t That Christ hath made peace through the blood of his cross, and will reconcile all things to his Father.‡ That Christ will take and bear away the sin of the world. That the free gift came upon all men to the justification of life.** That every knee will bow to Jesus, and every tongue confess that he is Lord.tt And that whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.‡‡ That Christ " was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we, like sheep, have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way: and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” They also ground their tenets upon a most explicit promise of Christ himself upon a very solemn occasion, that of his death, saying, "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. (This he said, signifying what death he should die.)"t The promise of salvation to all men, is so explicitly declared in this text, that the ingenuity of man cannot pervert its meaning. The be ings to whom the promise is made, are, in the original Greek, pantas anthropous, which in English is, all men. If, therefore, we consider that this promise was made by Christ himself, in a solemn hour when his soul was sore troubled in contemplating the near approach of his crucifixion, and as we are assured that one part of the condition on * Isa. liii. 5, 6. † John xii. 32, 33. which the promise was predicated, has been fulfilled, to wit, his being lifted up from the earth, we have sufficient cause to believe that he will draw all men unto him according to his wish, that where he was, they might be also, that they might behold his glory. But those who appear to be fond of perpetuating the reign of sin and misery, and establishing the kingdom of the devil on as permanent and durable foundation as that of Jehovah, preach a very different doctrine, and although the various denominations of Christians differ greatly in many things, they all agree in asserting that God has created a vast number of souls which he positively knew would suffer the most excruciating torments in hell flames, throughout an endless eternity. The most moderate class only affirm, that God foreknew and permitted this horrid calamity, but did not decree that this should inevitably be the fate of any one of these, we would beg leave to enquire, First, Whether they deem it possible for any person to avoid a fate which the Deity positively knew awaited him? Secondly, By what means had these nonentities offended him, before they were created, to provoke him to drag them into existence under these deplorable circumstances? Thirdly, Had justice and mercy been consulted in this transaction? Fourthly, Did that insatiable justice (which we are told has not been satisfied with the merits, death, and sufferings of Christ for the sins of mankind) connive at this proceeding, knowing. that it would furnish a vast number of subjects, whereon to wreck his inexorable vengeance at a future period? Fifthly, If Christ our present head, hath tasted death for every man, and is the propitiation for the sins of the whole world, and also redeemed us from the curse of the law of works, upon what law is this second claim and denunciation founded? Surely not on any law contained in the covenant of grace. God's justice has been already satisfied by the merits, death, and sufferings of Christ, whereby God is reconciled to the world, and is now in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them. We would now ask any candid, unprejudiced person, if God is now in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them, on what |