way, shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins. Thus I thought, thus I said; and, swelled with a high idea of my wn importance, I went, accompanied by two or three of my Christian brethren, to see, to converse with, and if need were, to admonish this simple, weak, but, as we heretofore believed, meritorious female. Fully persuaded, that I could easily convince her of her errors, I entertained no doubt respecting the result of my undertaking. The young lady received us with much kindness and condescension, while, as I glanced my eye upon her fine countenance, beaming with intelligence, mingling pity and contempt grew in my bosom. After the first ceremonies, we sat for some time silent; at length I drew up a heavy sigh, and uttered a pathetic sentiment, relative to the deplorable condition of those, who live, and die in unbelief; and I concluded a violent declamation, by pronouncing, with great earnestness, He, that believeth not, shall be damned.

6

And pray sir,' said the young lady, with great sweetness, Pray, sir, what is the unbeliever damned for not believing?' What is he damned for not believing? Why, is he damned for not believing.

'But, my dear sir I asked what was that, which he did not believe, for which he was damned? '

Why, for not believing in Jesus Christ, to be sure.

'Do you mean to say, that unbelievers are damned, for not believing there was such a person as Jesus Christ?'

No, I do not; a man may believe there was such a person, and yet be damned.

'What then, sir, must he believe, in order to avoid damnation ?' Why he must believe that Jesus Christ is a complete Saviour. 'Well, suppose he were to believe, that Jesus Christ was the complete Saviour of others, would this belief save him?'

No, he must believe, that Christ Jesus is his complete Saviour; every individual must believe for himself, that Jesus Christ is his complete Saviour.

6

Why, sir, is Jesus Christ the Saviour of any unbelievers ? ›
No, madam.

"Why, then, should any unbeliever believe, that Jesus Christ is his Saviour, if he be not his Saviour?'

I say he is not the Saviour of any one, until he believes.

'Then, if Jesus be not the Saviour of the unbeliever, until he believes, the unbeliever is called upon to believe a lie. It appears to me, sir, that Jesus is the complete Saviour of unbelievers; and that unbelievers are called upon to believe the truth; and that, by believing they are saved, in their own apprehension, saved from all those dreadful fears, which are consequent upon a state of conscious condemnation.'

No madam; you are dreadfully, I trust not fatally, misled. Jesus never was, never will be, the Saviour of any unbeliever. 'Do you think Jesus is your Saviour, sir ?'

I hope he is.

'Were you always a believer, sir?' No, inadam.

'Then you were once an unbeliever; that is, you once believed, that Jesus Christ was not your Saviour. Now, as you say, he never was, nor never will be, the Saviour of any unbeliever ; as you were once an unbeliever, he never can be your Saviour.'

He never was my Saviour till I believed.

'Did he never die for you, till you believed, sir?'

Here I was extremely embarrassed, and most devoutly wished myself out of her habitation; I sighed bitterly, expressed deep commiseration for those souls, who had nothing but head-knowledge; drew out my watch, discovered it was late; and, recollecting an engagement, observed it was time to take leave.

I was extremely mortified: the young lady observed my confusion, but was too generous to pursue her triumph. I arose to depart; the company arose; she urged us to tarry; addressed each of us in the language of kindness. Her countenance seemed to wear a resemblance of the heaven which she contemplated; it was stamped by benignity; and when we bade her adieu, she enriched us by her good wishes.

I suspected that my religious brethren saw she had the advantage of me; and I felt that her remarks were indeed unanswerable. My pride was hurt, and I determined to ascertain the exact sentiments of my associates, respecting this interview. Poor soul, said I, she is far gone in error. True, said they; but she is, notwithstanding, a very sensible woman. Ay, ay, thought I, they have assuredly discovered, that she had proved too mighty for me. Yes, said I, she has a great deal of head knowledge; but yet she may be a lost, damned soul. I hope not, returned one of my friends; she is a very good young woman. I saw, and it was with extreme chagrin, that the result of this visit had depreciated me in the opinion of my companions. But I could only censure and condemn, solemnly observing, It was better not to converse with any of those apostates, and it would be judicious never to associate with them upon any occasion. From this period, I myself carefully avoided every Universalist, and most cordially did I hate them. My ear.was open to the public calumniator, to the secret whisperer, and I yielded credence to every scandalous report, however improbable. My informers were good people; I had no doubt of their veracity; and I believed it would be difficult to paint Relly, and his connexions, in colors too black. How severely has the law of retaliation been since exercised in the stabs, which have been aimed at my own reputation! Relly was described, as a man black with crimes; an atrocious offender, both in principle and practice. He had, it was said, abused and deserted an amiable wife; and, it was added, that he retained in his house an abandoned woman; and that he not only thus conducted himself, but, publicly, and most nefariously, taught his hearers to dare the laws of their country, and their

God. Hence, said my informers, the dissipated and unprincipled, of every class, flock to his church; his congregation is astonishingly large, the carriages of the great, block up the street, in which his meeting-house stands, and he is the idol of the voluptuous of every description. All this, and much more was said, industriously propagated, and credited in every religious circle. Denominations, at variance with each other, most cordially agreed in thus thinking, and thus speaking of Relly, of his preaching, and of his practice. I confess I felt a strong inclination to see, and hear this monster, once at least; but the risk was dreadful! I could not gather courage to hazard the steadfastness of my faith; and for many years I persevered in my resolution, on no consideration to contaminate my ear by the sound of his voice. At length, however, I was prevailed upon to enter his church; but I detested the sight of him; and my mind, prejudiced by the reports to which I had listened respecting him, was too completely filled with a recollection of his fancied atrocities, to permit a candid attention to his subject, or his mode of investigation. I wondered much at his impudence, in daring to speak in the name of God; and I felt assured, that he was treasuring up unto himself wrath against the day of wrath. I looked upon this deluded audience with alternate pity and contempt, and I thanked God, that I was not one of them. I rejoiced, when I escaped from the house, and, as I passed home, I exclaimed, almost audibly: Why, O my God, was I not left in this deplorable, damnable state? given up, like this poor, unfortunate people, to believe a lie, to the utter perversion of my soul? But I was thus furnished with another proof of my election, in consequence of my not being deceived by this detestable deceiver; and, of course, my conIsolation was great.

About this time, there was a religious society established in Cannon-street, in an independent meeting-house, for the purpose of elucidating difficult passages of scripture. This society chose for their president a Mr. Mason, who, although not a clerical gentleman, was, nevertheless, of high standing in the religious world: frequent applications were made to him, in the character of a physician to the sinking, sorrowing, sin-sick soul. His figure was commanding, and well calculated to fill the minds of young converts with religious awe. When this company of serious inquirers were assembled, the president addressed the throne of grace, in a solemn and appropriate prayer, and the subject for the evening was next proposed. Every member of the society was indulged with the privilege of expressing his sentiments, for the space of five minutes; a glass was upon the table, which ran accurately the given term. The president held in his hand a small ivory hammer: when the speaker's time had expired, he had a right to give him notice by a stroke on the table, round which the members were seated. But, if he approved of what was delivered, it was optional with him to extend the limits of [his term. When the question had gone round the table, the president summed up the evidences, gave his own

judgment, and, having proposed the question for the next evening, concluded with prayer.

Upon this society I was a constant attendant, and I was frequently gratified by the indulgence of the president and the implied approbation of the society. It was on the close of one of those evenings, which were to me very precious opportunities, that the president took me by the hand, and requested me to accompany him into the vestry. 'Sit down, my good sir; you cannot but have seen, that I have long distinguished you in this society; that I have been pleased with your observations; and I have given indisputable evidence, that both my reason and my judgment, approved your remarks.' I bowed respectfully, and endeavored to express my gratitude in a manner becoming an occasion so truly flattering.

'My object,' said he, 'in seeking to engage you in private, is to request you would take home with you a pamphlet I have written against Relly's Union. I have long wondered that some able servant of our Master has not taken up this subject. But, as my superiors are silent, I have been urged by a sense of duty to make a stand, and I have done all in my power to prevent the pernicious tendency of this soul-destroying book.'

Although, at this period, I had never seen Relly's Union, yet my heart rejoiced, that Mason, this great and good man, had undertaken to write against it, and, from the abundance of my heart, my mouth overflowed with thankfulness.

Meet

I

'All that I request of you,' said Mr. Mason, 'is to take this manuscript home with you, and keep it till our next meeting. me in this vestry, a little before the usual time. Read it, I entreat you, carefully, and favor me with your unbiassed sentiments.' was elated by the honor done me, and I evinced much astonishment at the confidence reposed in me. But he was pleased to express a high opinion of my judgment, abilities, and goodness of heart, and he begged leave to avail himself of those qualities with which his fancy had invested me.

I took the manuscript home, perused it carefully, and with much pleasure, until I came to a passage at which I was constrained to pause, painfully to pause. Mr. Relly has said, speaking of the record which God gave of his Son: This life is in his Son, and he, that believeth not this record, maketh God a liar; from whence, inferred Mr. Relly, it is plain, that God hath given this eternal life in the Son to unbelievers, as fully as to believers, else the unbeliever could not, by his unbelief make God a liar. This, said Mr. Mason, punning upon the author's name, is just as clear as that this writer is an Irish Bishop. I was grieved to observe, that Mr. Mason could say no more upon a subject so momentous; nor could I forbear allowing more than I wished to allow, to the reasoning of Mr. Relly. Most devoutly did I lament, that the advantage in argument did not rest with my admired friend, Mason; and I was especially desirous that this last argument should have been completely confuted. I was positive, that God never gave eternal life to any unbeliever; and

yet I was perplexed to decide how, if God had not given life to unbelievers, they could possibly make God a liar, by believing that he had not. My mind was incessantly exercised, and greatly embarrassed upon this question. What is it to make any one a liar, but to deny the truth of what he has said? But if God had nowhere said, he had given life to unbelievers, how could the unbeliever make God a liar? The stronger this argument seemed in favor of the grace and love of God, the more distressed and unhappy I became ; and most earnestly did I wish that Mr. Mason's pamplilet might contain something that was more rational, more scriptural, than a mere pun; that he might be able to adduce proof positive, that the gift of God, which is everlasting life, was never given to any but believers. I was indisputably assured, that I myself was a believer; and right precious did I hold my exclusive property in the Son of God.

At the appointed time, I met Mr. Mason in the vestry. 'Well, sir, I presume you have read my manuscript?' I have, sir, and I have read it repeatedly. "Well, sir, speak freely, is there any thing in the manuscript which you dislike?' Why, sir, as you are so good as to indulge me with the liberty of speaking, I will venture to point out one passage, which appears to me not sufficiently clear. Pardon me, sir, but surely argument, especially upon religious subjects, is preferable to ridicule, to punning upon the name of an author. And where, pray, is the objectionable paragraph to which you advert? I pointed it out; but, on looking in his face, I observed his countenance fallen; it was no longer toward me. Mr. Mason questioned my judgment, and never afterward honored me by his attention. However, I still believed Mason right, and Relly wrong; for if Relly was right, the conclusion was unavoidable, all men must finally be saved. But this was out of the question, utterly impossible; all religious denominations agreed to condemn this heresy, to consider it as a damnable doctrine, and what every religious denomination united to condemn, must be false.

Thus, although I lost the favor of Mr. Mason, and he published his pamphlet precisely as it stood, when submitted to my perusal, yet my reverential regard for him was not diminished. wished, most cordially wished success to his book, and destruction to the author against whom it was written.

In this manner, some months rolled over my head, when, accompanying my wife on a visit to her aunt, after the usual ceremonies, I repaired, according to custom, to the book-case, and turning over many books and pamphlets, I at length opened one that had been robbed of its title page; but in running it over, I came to the very argument which had excited so much anxiety in my bosom. It was the first moment I had ever seen a line of Mr. Relly's writing, except in Mr. Mason's pamphlet. I was much astonished, and turning to Mrs. Murray, I informed her, I held Mr. Relly's Union in my hand. I asked our uncle, if I might put it in my pocket? Sure. ly,' said he, and keep it there, if you please, I never read books of divinity; I know not what the pamphlet is, nor do I wish to know.'