knowledgement of the truth; which is only saying, in other terms, that he will have all the mischievous works of satan in every man to be utterly defeated and invalidated; he will have all to be restored to life in him. "But besides these considerations, are not lost souls declared expressly to be our Saviour's? Are we not assured that the lost are those very souls which he came to seek and to restore? So far are these from being unsusceptible of restoration, that they are the very destined subjects of his restoring power, the reason that he is now God man. This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to restore and deliver sinners."* As a farther evidence that Christ is both wil ling and able to destroy the works of the devil in the souls of men, it is declared that he appeared in the flesh, and submitted to a painful death, that he might destroy him that hath the power of death, even the devil himself. When the devil is destroyed, how shall he hold an everlasting possession of the souls of the wicked? And where shall the wicked be found after the works of the devil are all destroyed? *1 Tim. i. 15. † Heb. ii. 14. But if it should really prove true, agreeable to the generally received opinion, that God can neither destroy the devil nor his works, it will be a most curious question, why an omnipotent God should create another being more omnipotent than himself? The matter is now fairly at issue. Christ has already suffered that death which was to be the means of accomplishing these three important purposes, viz. to be the Saviour of the world, and to destroy the devil, and also his works: and God is now in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them.* But the greatest number of our public teachers take great pains to persuade us, that none of these three important purposes will ever be ac complished; while some of them boldly affirm that God never wished or intended that Christ should be the Saviour of the whole world of mankind, but only of a few individuals, which he had arbitrarily chosen out of his mere good plea sure, and abandoned the remainder, an helpless prey to the perpetual dominion of the devil! while others alledge, that God was favourably disposed towards the whole human race, until the unfortunate failure and defection of the representative which the Deity had chosen to act for us. But when Adam transgressed and fell, they say that his posterity lost communion with God, are under his curse, and so made liable to all the miseries of this life, to death itself, and to the pains of hell forever! * 2 Cor. v, 19. By this fatal misfortune, they also assert, that our very nature and dispositions became so corrupted and contaminated, as to render us morally incapable of doing any thing that is good or acceptable to God, and are rendered capable of committing crimes that are infinitely evil. And in this deplorable and helpless condition (into which we were brought by the purpose and appointment of the Deity) they contend that it is perfectly just in the Deity to deny and preclude any number from the benefits resulting from the sufferings, death, and perfect righteousness of Christ, who tasted death for every man, and gave himself a ransom for all; and consign us to the peaceable, indisputed dominion of the devil. The Deity knew positively when he constituted Adam our head and representative, that he would transgress: but he never intended that we should suffer any inconvenience from the choice which he made for us. He laid this plan to convince mankind by experience, that imperfect beings, just entering on their first stage of action, were incapable of observing and keeping his laws perfectly: but as his laws required perfect obedience, which we could not possibly yield, he made choice of a person most perfectly qualified, in all respects, to be our prophet, priest, and king; by whose merits and righteousness God is reconciled to the world, and is now in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them. As this work has been undertaken, and is now progressing, under the direction of an om niscient, omnipotent God and most benevolent mediator, who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time, we are confident that he will compleatly accomplish all his benevolent purposes towards the whole human race, notwithstanding the pains that has been taken, by the advocates for the eternal duration of sin and misery, in conjuring up a devil, which they re present to be an overmatch for a God of infinite goodness, wisdom, and almighty power: and to render their hypothesis the more feasible, they endeavour to reduce the moral character of the Deity to correspond as nearly as possible with that of his most implacable enemy; some of them affirming boldly, that God has created vast. numbers to be vessels of wrath fitted for de-. struction; and in proof of this horrid opinion, they quote the 17th verse of the ixth chapter of Romans, viz. For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee; and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. But what connexion can we possibly perceive between the circumstance of God's raising up Pharaoh to be king of Egypt, and chastising him severely for his cruel, tyran-. nical conduct, to be a lasting example to all future tyrants, and in creating milions of souls on purpose to damn them eternally, to shew his irresistible power? But can any unprejudiced person possibly believe, that a God of infinite goodness, wisdom, and almighty power, should introduce into his system such an infinity of sin and endless misery, to give him an opportunity to display his almighty power, by crushing a few reptiles, mortals whose existence even for, a moment depends on his sustaining power? They also endeavour to persuade us, that he hath rendered finite beings morally incapable of doing any action acceptable to God; but as if ۱ |