It is obvious to remark, in the first place, that every scheme of universal salvation is utterly destitute of any foundation in the word of God. The foregoing observations equally strike at the root of this opinion, in whatever shape it appears, or on whatever ground it is built. Various schemes have been pursued to establish the notion of the final restoration and happiness of all lapsed beings. This notion perhaps was first conceived in the fertile brain of Origen, who, like other great and aspiring minds, made such gross blunders in speculation, as men of an inferior size are incapable of committing. This opinion of his, transpired with several others equally absurd and romantic. He maintained-that "the souls of men do pre-exist that through their fault and negligence they appear here inhabitants of the earth clothed in terrestrial bodies-that the mystery of the resurrection is this, that we shall be clothed with heavenly or ætherial bodies that after long periods of time the damned shall be delivered from their torments, and try their fortunes again in such regions of the world as their natures fit them for and that the earth, after her conflagration, shall become habitable again, and be the mansions of men and other animals, and this in eternal vicissitudes."* Such crude and undigested notions were propagated by Origen, which probably would have dropt into oblivion ages ago, had not the name of their author carried more weight with some, than the strength of his arguments. Out of this rubbish, however, the Romish clergy formed the absurd doctrine of purgatory. And after them, Chevalier Ramsay, Dr. Hartley and others have built on the same foundation, the doctrine of the final restoration of all lapsed beings to the divine favor.

Phenix, Vol i, page 11.

Others have founded their expectation of the final happiness of the whole intelligent creation on the infinite goodness and mercy of the Supreme Being. They suppose that the endless misery of the creature cannot be reconciled with the nature of his crime, nor the boundless love and benevolence of the Deity. This scheme hath been generally adopted by deistical writers.

And of late, Mr. Relly hath devised another method of arriving to the same conclusion, and maintained, that all men will be saved by virtue of their union to Christ, which God constituted and established from eternity, without any act or exercise of theirs. This is the last improvement upon the doctrine of universal salvation; and is, of all others, the most absurd and repugnant to the genius and spirit of the gospel.

But the notion of universal salvation, in every form of it, is so absurd, that it hath never met with general acceptance among those that have called themselves Christians. They have never adopted it as an article in any of their formulas, creeds, or confessions of faith. Even the Romish church have not embraced it. They do not imagine that every sinner will have the benefit of purgatory, but suppose multitudes are so guilty as to be sent directly to hell, and shall there remain forever. Only a few individuals have believed and propagated this doctrine, in any age of the world, as Dr. Hartley frankly acknowledges. His words are these. *"It is farther to be observed, that the fear of death is much increased by the exquisiteness of the punishments threatened in a future state, and by the variety of the emblems, representations, analogies, and evidences, of natural and revealed religion, whereby all the terrors of all other things are tranferred upon those punishments; also by that peculiar circumstance of the

* Observations on man, Vol. i. page 467, 468.

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eternity of them, which seems to have been a general tradition previous to the appearance of Christianity, amongst both Jews and Pagans, and which has been the doctrine of the Christian world ever since, some very few persons excepted." This general disbelief of the doctrine of universal salvation bears a very dark aspect upon the truth of it. For had it been true, and plainly revealed in the sacred oracles, it is strange that the Christian world could never yet be brought to embrace it; especially since it is a doctrine so every way adapted to please and gratify all the natural desires of the human heart The belief of it would not have afforded half the evidence of its truth, as the disbelief of it, for so many ages, affords of its falsehood. There has been every thing to lead mankind to embrace it, and nothing to reject it, had it been true. But on the other hand, there has been every thing to lead mankind to reject, and nothing to embrace the doctrine of eternal punishments, had it been false. Therefore it is next to a miracle, that the Christian world should, for so many ages, embrace the doctrine of eternal punishments, and reject that of universal salvation, had not the doctrine of universal salvation been really false, and that of eternal puishments most evidently true. In no case, perhaps, the general voice of the Christian world ought to have more weight than in this; especially since it so fully concurs with the general voice of Scripture. We have seen that all the doctrines, declarations, precepts, promises and threatenings of the gospel conspire to condemn the notion of universal salvation. Indeed had the Bible been written on purpose to refute it, we can hardly conceive that it could have contained any thing more plain, full and determinate against it. And Chevalier Ramsay acknowledges, that "St. Jerom, St.

Gregory, of Nyssa, St. Augustin, and St. Cyril, of Alexandria, attacked and confuted this opinion, as maintained by Origen, before the fifth general council held at Constantinople."* In short, there is every kind of evidence against it. It stands condemned by scripture, by reason, and by the general voice of mankind for more than a thousand years past.

Secondly, it appears from what hath been said, that this sentiment is not only false, but very dangerous.

If there be an essential difference between saints and sinners; if they shall be separated from each other, at the last day, and eternally rewarded and punished according to their works, as we have endeavored to show in the preceding discourse, then the notion of universal salvation, especially as maintained by Mr. Relly, and his followers, is fundamentally wrong and absolutely fatal. Their doctrine teaches, that holiness and piety are empty names; that faith, love, repentance, humility and submission, are no other than hypocrisy, pride and idolatry; that it is impossible for a man to prevent his salvation by the most irreligious, abandoned, profligate life; that there is no essential difference between the righteous and the wicked; that they shall not be separated at the last day, but Cain, Pharaoh, Haman, Herod, Judas, Pilate, and all the rest of the impenitent world shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of glory, and no human soul be finally shut out. Such a doctrine as this is replete with infinite mischief. It strikes at the root of all experimental religion. It confounds all notions of virtue and vice. It destroys all distinction of characters, it saps the foundation of morality. It takes off every restraint from vice. It opens the flood gates of iniquity. It renders even God, and Christ, and the

Filosophical Principles, vol. I, page 245. & Suò farm.

prophets and the apostles, the ministers of sin. It speaks peace to the wicked, to whom, saith God, there is no peace. It has indeed every signature of a damnable doctrine. There are many errors, no doubt, in regard to the modes and forms, and some of the doctrines of religion, which, though they cannot abide the clear light of the last great day, will not exclude men from the favor of God, or the kingdom of heaven. But this is a practical error of the first magnitude, which will eventually prove fatal in the day of decision. Our Lord hath so clearly described the process of the final judgment, that we may as certainly know now, that all unregenerate, unholy, impenitent, unclean, impure persons shall then be condemned, as if we now stood before that awful tribunal, and heard the last decisive sentence denounced against them, Depart, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.

Some seem reluctant to pronounce absolutely upon the fatal tendency of this doctrine, and choose only to say, if it be true, we are as safe as those who embrace it. But we ought rather to say, if there be no future judgment then we are all safe, but not otherwise. Admit a future judgment, and there remains no room for doubt, whether God will make a difference between him that serveth him, and him that serveth him not; between him that sweareth, and him that feareth an oath. Indeed the supposition that no distinction will be made between the righteous and the wicked at the last day, wholly supersedes the necessity and even propriety of a general judgment. Why should God point a day, in which to judge the world in righteousness, if no persons were to be judged, no characters to be examined, and no displays of retributive justice to be made! "Be not deceived, God is not mocked; for what Осса.

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ap.