lence to any other individual, or number of individ uals, or to any other fyftem of intelligent creatures.

The universe is not fo large as to exhauft the divine benevolence. God loves all the worlds, and all the creatures, he hath made; and if he had made as many more, he would have loved them all.

Mr. S.'s idea of the divine benevolence is not only contrary to reafon, to common fenfe, to the common feelings of the human heart, and reducible to the groffeft abfurdity; but most directly contrary to the Scripture reprefentation of the love of God to his creatures.

'I will presently fhow what is the fcripture reprefen tation of the divine benevolence; after I have made a few observations on Mr. S.'s idea of selfishness, or partial benevolence.

From the quotations I have already made, we may form the following statement of Mr. S's. idea on this fubject.

That, to think that the happinefs of individuals composes the happiness of the whole ;-or that the greatest happiness of the whole, and the happiness of the individuals which compofe that whole, are the fame is felfishness.

;

That, to attempt the comfort and confolation of fuffering individuals in this life, by telling them that God will reward them in the world to come, and richly compensate them in heaven, for their fufferings on earth; proceeds from a felfifh principle, and not from a view to the general good.

I suppose

Suppofe a fociety confifts of one hundred individuals. The happiness of the hundred individuals does not make up the happiness of the whole. The fupreme happiness of the whole hundred, may confift well with the extreme misery of fifty. And it is a glorious imitation of divine benevolence, to take a fupreme pleasure in the mifery of fifty, if we can only fee the other fifty happy.

The subject, I acknowledge, is ferious; but Mr. S.'s metaphyfics bring to my mind a prayer once made by a good old farmer; and, fince the prayer was made in the very spirit of that benevolence which Mr. S. fo ardently pleads for, I muft recite ít.

"The Lord blefs me, and my wife, my son John, and his wife; we four and no more."

The candid reader will forgive me the introduction of this prayer, when I folemnly declare to him, that I have not the leaft difpofition to render Mr. S. ridiculous, or to treat the facred fubject with indecency. The fole object I had in view, in the introduction of this prayer was, that I might present to the world Mr. S.'s fyftem in its true light, which I fuppose this prayer does.

in

On Mr. S's. plan, the good honeft husbandman was perfectly right. That every family, or every dividual, in his neighborhood, or town, fhould be bleffed, was not, at all, neceffary to the happiness of the whole neighborhood, or town. And I cannot fee, on Mr. S.'s fcheme of benevolence, that the good

farmer's

farmer's philanthropy was a whit too contracted.

In whatever light we view Mr. S.'s fcheme of the public, or general good; the glory and bleffedness of God, and of his holy intelligent kingdom; the greateft poffible happiness, &c. we fhall find it effentially defective. And his idea of divine nevolence, which originates directly in his fcheme of the greatest poffible happiness, is as defective.

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If the fyftem of eternal mifery cannot be founded on better principles than these, it muft and will fall to the ground. I fhould certainly confider my fon who is not ten years old, as verily guilty, and worthy of correction, if he could not fubftantially refute fuch a scheme of eternal misery.

Indeed, the whole scheme of the greatest poffible happiness, and of the divine benevolence, as brought into view by Mr. S., is a mere fyftematic whim, a phantasma of a disordered imagination, first introduced into the Chriftian Church, in the 5th century, by the bishop of Rome, in company with the doctrines of original fin, partial election, irrefiftable grace, and others of equal truth. And, from Rome, through Germany and Great Britain, this scheme of eternal misery came into Connecticut, where it hath been for almost two centuries; and, by many in that State, is ftill held as a darling tenet, however flender and rotten be its foundation.

I will now endeavor to bring into view two schemes

fchemes of divine providence, in the creation and government of men, and fairly to reprefent them both, conducting each through the various ages of this world, up to thofe grand periods, when, as it is fuppofed, they will respectively close in the refult of the divine mediatorial plan,

Though one of these schemes is as much older than the other, as truth is older than error, I fhall not consult seniority in the order in which I fhall place them.

In the ages of eternity, it feemed good to him who alone inhabits eternity, to create a univerfe, and to people it, in part, with rational creatures; to form this planetary fyftem, and to plant man upon the earth.

;

He clearly faw the defectibility of fuch a creature that he would fin, and fall from his primeval state; and that, with fin, ficknefs, and pain, and forrow and death, with an infinite train of natural evils, would enter the fyftem. Though God, perhaps, confidered his power fufficient to form an indefectible creature, he chofe to make man. He confidered that fome of his rational creatures would maintain their integrity, and preferve their innocent ftate. That He could, confiftently with a divine character, and the rectitude of his government, enter on a mediatorial plan, that would eventually fave a part of the human kind. He confidered alfo that, with those intelligent creatures who fhould keep their firft eftate, and that part of mankind, which the mediatorial fcheme would fave, He could be far more glorious

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glorious and bleffed, and his holy intelligent king. dom far more happy, than if He could, and should, fave every individual of the human race. And, as He saw, that not the virtue and happiness of the whole race of Adam, but the fin and mifery of a great part of them, would be the neceffary means of producing the greatest glory and bleffednefs to himself, and the greateft poffible quantity of happiness to His holy intelligent kingdom; He determined and ordained that man fhould be created, with this express defign, that fome of Adam's race fhould be restored to virtue and happiness, by the mediatorial scheme, and that the reft fhould endure an eternity of fin and mifery.

He also determined that all things fhould be fo calculated and conducted, both in his providential and mediatorial schemes of government of the world, as that some part of mankind fhould be eventually reftored to virtue and happiness, and the reft eventually be left to spend a dreary eternity in finning and fuffering.

God also beheld, with divine benevolence and complacency, this mixed and checkered fyftem of moral beings; Himself, fupremely holy, bleffed, and happy, amidst a universe of rational immortals, partly virtuous and happy, and partly finful and misera. ble.

He confidered this moral difpofition of beings and things, as abfolutely the beft; He loves it accordingly, with fupreme affection, and this is his divine benevolence.