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That he seems to endeavour to prove it, is certain but at the fame time he mentions feveral objections (tho' not near all he might have mentioned) against such punishments; particularly, "that they are inconfiftent with "the juftice and goodness of God." "This objection," fays the archbishop, "hath "been attempted to be answered feveral ways, none of which feems to me to give "clear and full fatisfaction to it." He then fpecifies one of these anfwers, for the parti culars of which the reader is referred to the fermon itself, and faith; "But this I doubt "will upon examination be found to have "more of fubtilty than of folidity in it." This might perhaps with equal justice and reafon be faid, not only of all the other an fwers he quotes, but of his own alfo, on which he seems to lay great ftrefs, and by it attempts to folve this difficulty. And indeed he does afterwards acknowledge," that this "mifery is fo terribly fevere, that at present "we can hardly tell how to reconcile it with "the JUSTICE AND GOODNESS of God." He undertakes nevertheless to prove, "that "the eternal punishment of wicked men in "another world is plainly threatned in fcrip"ture." It is a common cafe, this: when men find reafon against them, then they have recourse to authority. What honour or fer

vice they, by this means, do the authority they appeal to, is left for them to fhew. However, the point, that this punishment is threátned in fcripture, the archbishop seems to think plainly made out. But, after all, the good-natured prelate appears fenfible, that the executing these threatnings would be fo contrary to "the ESSENTIAL PERFEC"TIONS of the divine nature," that he is very defirous to find a falvo in the cafe. "He “that threatens," fays the bifhop, "keeps "the right of punishing in his own hands, "and is not obliged to execute what he “hath threatned any farther than the rea« fons and ends of government do require : "and he may, without any injury to the

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party threathed, remit and abate as much "as he pleaseth of the punishment that he " hath threatned." This is indeed true of man: but can any thing be more unlike God than to threaten what he never intends to perform? Let it but be proved, that Gon hath threatned, and furely no man in his fenfes will dare to doubt the execution. But the cafe will be very different, if MEN have prefumed to threaten IN THE NAME OF GOD, and without his authority.

WHAT a poor fhift is here! Is this like the archbishop's ufual candor? What a task do men undertake, when they labour to

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prove doctrines directly contrary to reason, and perhaps to their own sentiments also ! But truth at laft prevailed: for a little after this remarkable paffage he acknowledges, that “we may reft affured, God will judge "the world in righteousness; and if it be

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any wife inconfiftent either with righteouf"nefs or goodness, which he knows much "better than we do, to make finners mife"rable for ever, that he will not do it; nor " is it credible, that he would THREATEN "finners with a punishment which he could "not execute upon them." Let the reader judge, by what is laft faid, if both the execution and the THREATNINGS alfo of eternal punishments do not appear to be entirely given up by this great man. We will ceed, however, to our third article, That the fcriptures plainly denounce everlafting pu

nifhments.

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WHETHER they do or not, divines and other learned men differ greatly, as it is well known they do alfo about the true meaning of fcripture in a multitude of places. Some fuppofe the words for ever and everlasting may be taken, and are frequently used, in a limited fenfe: others are very pofitive, that in thofe places where they relate to punishments, they are intended, and ought to be understood, in an unlimited fenfe. Of this

latter

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latter opinion the above-mentioned prelate has declared himself, and affigns feveral reafons for being fo. But fuppofing, tho' by no means granting, that these punishments are plainly denounced in the fcripture, this queftion will then arife: Were all parts of those writings given forth by divine inspiration, or only certain parts of them? If the latter, then it is poffible at least that these threatnings of everlasting punishments may be fome of those paffages not given forth by divine infpiration, and confequently are to be regarded as proceeding merely from private opinion. This point, whether the fcriptures in the whole, or only in part, were divinely revealed, hath also been very warmly disputed.

SECTION IV.

OME very

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ancient chriftians, as well as

feveral of the greatest and most learned modern divines, have been clearly of opinion, that not only many particular paffages of the scriptures, but even divers whole books, were not written by divine revelation.

EUSEBIUS, in his history of the church', says, that the epistle of James, the epistle of Jude,

M. Coufin's tranflation into French, 1. iii. c. xxv. p. 157.

Jude, the fecond of Peter, the fecond and third of John, are not generally received. And after mentioning feveral falfe and counterfeit books, as the Acts of Paul, the Book of the Shepherd, the Revelation of Peter, the Epiftle of Barnabas, and the Inftitutions of the Apostles, he adds, " and among these may be placed the Apocalypfe of John, which some

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expunge from the number of the facred "books, and others think may remain." Concerning this revelation of John, the fame author informs us what Denys bishop of Alexandria faid concerning it, which begins thus: "Some of thofe," fays Denys, "who ❝ lived before our times, have abfolutely re'jected this book, and having examined it "chapter by chapter from the beginning to "the end, have fhewed, that there is neither "sense nor reafon in it. They fay also, that "the title is falfe, because the book was not "written by John, and that it abounds too

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much with ignorance to be a revelation.

They affure us, that this book was not "compofed by any one of the apoftles, nor "even by any of the holy authors of the "church: that it is a forgery of Cerinthus, "who making himself head of a fect, affumed "the name of John to authorife his extravagant fancies."

z Ibid. 1. vii. c. xxv. p. 361, 362.

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