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ed in the 31st chapter of Jeremiah, and the 8th chapter of Hebrews, until all shall know him from the least of them to the greatest of them. But if it should be alledged that these gracious promises are made only to those who may be living at that time'; and that these poor, ignorant beings, who never had heard the name of Jesus mentioned while living on earth, nor until they are summoned to appear before him at the last day, and are then told that the personage seated on the throne to judge the world is Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God, who had been sent by his Father to be the Saviour of the world, and that he had frequently and solemnly promised to save all those who should believe that he is the Christ, the Son of God, and call on his name for mercy; we ask, can any rational being doubt that they will most firmly believe that he is the Son of God, or suppose that they will not be disposed to call upon him with fervency to save them also? And if they embrace the first opportunity that has ever been offered to them of believing in, and calling upon, the name of the Lord for mercy, is it not most probable that he will fulfil his promise to them, by saving them both from the guilt and sting of sin, and protecting them from misery? For he has promised to forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more. But notwithstanding H2

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the numerous declarations in scripture to the contrary, there are numbers who appear to be extremely anxious to limit the benevolence of the Deity towards the human species to this life or present stage of action, who alledge that all those who die impenitent, or that are not regenerated in this life, are abandoned by the Deity, and forever precluded from receiving any benefit by the mediation of Christ, who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time, who came on purpose to seek and to save that which was lost ; * and to be the Saviour of the world;† and who, in the progress of this important work, has tasted death for every man.‡ Isaiah, proclaiming the universal invitation of his God, says, "Look unto me and be ye saved all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is none else. I have sworn by myself, the word has gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, that unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear. In the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory."|| This prophesy is repeated and explained, wherefore God hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name; that at the name

• Luke xix. 10. || Isa. xlv. 22, 23, 25.

†1 John iv. 14. Heb. ii. 9.

of Jesus every knee should bow, and every tongue confess, that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.*

" Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God."t

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.‡

"And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord, shall be delivered."||

Here we find Isaiah, in the name of God, proclaiming a promise of salvation to all men, even to the ends of the earth; and, to induce them to confide in his gracious promise, he confirms it by a solemn qath, saying, that unto him every knee should bow, and every tongue should swear; and concludes with a promise, that in the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory. But St. Paul, probably foreseeing that many false teachers would

* Phil. ii. 9, 10, 11. † 1 John iv. 15. ‡ Rom. x. 9. || Joel ii. 32.

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arise, who would take great pains to limit the goodness and universal benevolence of the Deity to a few individuals of their own sect, and damn all those who did not implicitly believe their tenets, has taken some pains to render the promise more explicit. He tells us, that God hath highly exalted the Saviour of the world, and given him a name above every other name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, and every tongue should confess that Je sus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. But least they should construe the general terms every knee, and every tongue, to mean those of a few individuals only, he includes the whole creation by comprehending all that are in Heaven, and that are on earth, or that are under the earth.

We would now ask any rational, unprejudiced person, if they can possibly believe, that when the whole human race are upon their knees before the throne of the benevolent Jesus, confessing him to be their Lord to the glory of God, and swearing allegiance to him as their lawful sovereign, and most fervently calling upon him for mercy, that he will then spurn them from his presence, and sentence them to suffer eternal torments? No; it is impossible: for the same Jesus sits judge who prayed for his mur

derers! He that was sent to be the Saviour of the world, not to condemn it, and also to destroy the works of the devil;* which works are al lowed by all to be sin, and misery its natural consequence; and not to perpetuate and establish the kingdom and dominion of the devil, to be equal in duration and stability with the kingdom of his Father. The benevolent parent of mankind sent his beloved Son into the world to accom. plish two very important purposes, to wit, to be the Saviour of the world, and to destroy the works of the devil. But if he should establish the kingdom of the devil, and perpetuate sin and misery by consigning millions of the souls which God declares he had made for himself, to the permanent dominion of his most implacable enemy, to sin and suffer eternally, is it not demon. strably evident that he would act diametrically contrary to the purpose of his mission, by preserving and perpetuating the works of the devil, and consigning the works of his Father to ever. lasting destruction, even the souls which he has made? But if he is the same God yesterday, today, and forever, this deplorable consummation of all things will never be realized. For Christ tells us to ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be open

• 1 John iii. 8.

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