not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold; but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a Lamb without blemish, and without spot: See 2 Cors it v. 15, Rom. vi. 12, 13. 1 Cor. vii. 23, vi. 19, 20. Rom. xii. 1. 1 Pet. i. 18, 19.

What a horrid thought would it be, that Christ should be the minister of sin, and that his blood shed-u ding should cause wickedness to abound? The love of GOD, in giving his Son to die, is enough to move an heart of stone: "For when we were yet without strength, in due time, Christ died for the ungodly ;7 for, scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet, peradventure, for a good (kind, benevolent, gener ous) man, some would even dare to die. But Good commendeth his love towards us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more being now justified through his blood, we shall be saved b from wrath through him. For if when we were en emies, we were reconciled to God by the death of hist Son; much more, being reconciled, we shall be save ed by his life," Rom. v. 6, 10.

Here the death of the Lord Jesus is laid as the ground and the salvation of men inferred from it, with the greatest possible certainty; yet, will any one say, that because Christ hath died for him, therefore be will indulge himself in sin? God forbid. Some say that if they believed this doctrine; they would live in sin, and indulge themselves in their lusts and passions. But then it may be observed, that those who say so are its enemies, and those who oppose the view, and not those who receive it.

There is something so brutish and unaccountable! in such dispositions, as would lead men to hate their best friends, merely because they are so; that would lead them to hate GoD, because he loved them; and despise Christ, merely because he died for them; that, for the honor of human nature, I would hope these instances are rare. But to the point; I have conversed with many who believe that Christ died

for them in particular; and yet I never heard them say, that they hated him for it; but, on the contrary, that they loved him exceedingly. Now, is not the same cause likely to produce the same effect? If a thousand persons, for instance, all believing that Christ died for them, find their hearts constrained to love him for it, would it not have the same effect upon ten thousand, ten millions, or ten millions, of millions ?And if it would cause licentiousness to abound in the world, to preach that Christ died for all, if it was universally believed; by the same rule it must cause it to prevail, in a lesser degree, to preach that he died for a small part, at least, among those who believe themselves to be of the number; and, therefore, it must not be preached at all, that be died for any?— Who can deny the consequence? It seems to be evident, that Christ has done and suffered too much for those that he died for, to loose them finally; and thus the universal Restoration stands connected necessarily with the universality of the death of Christ, and is deduced therefrom, in the easiest manner; therefore, the doctrine of the former cannot tend to licentiousness, as it stands upon the ground of the latter, which hath been demonstrated to have no such tendency.

4. Another principle upon which the universal doctrine depends, is, the unchangeableness of God: Whom he loves once, he also loves; he loved his creatures when he made them, as none can well deny; their. sins he never loved, nor ever will; he hath declared, · that he loved us when sinners, but never as sinners. His eternal and constant hatred of all sin, and his unchangeable love of all his creatures, are of the nature of primary truths; from which the doctrine of the general Restoration may be easily and plainly inferred. In this view we may understand those many dreadful threatenings and gracious promises, made to the same people and persons: Both shall be fulfilled; the first, while they continue as rebels, which

#are designed to humble and subdue them; the last, when they shall have accepted of the punishment of their iniquity; when their uncircumcised hearts are humble, when their stubborn knees shall bow to JEROVAH, and their former rebellious tongues shall swear allegiance to him.

Does this idea lead to licentiousness, that God hates sin, and determines to pursue it to entire destruction, and never to put up his sword, so long as there is a rebel in the universe: yet, at the same time, has no positive hatred to the souls which he has made, but only wishes them to return to order?-This idea appears to me, equally to check presumption and despair; and tends to put an end to licentiousness, rather than to encourage it: For, if rebels are assured that their rightful sovereign hates them, and will ne ver suffer them to be reconciled to him, it naturally causes them to fight with tenfold rage, as all warriors will testify; as, on the other hand, if they believe he is too weak, or undetermined, to conquer them, they will be presumptuous, and continue the war. It cannot, therefore, be affirmed, by any persons of reason, that the declaration that God will destroy sin, tend to promote it; or, that his love of order, and hatred of evil, being compatible with his love to the crea tures he has made, is a doctrine that encourages imen to rebel; the contrary is evident; and yet these are ⚫ the very grounds of the Universal Restoration : which cannot, therefore, be licentious.

5. Another of the first principles of the Restoration is, the immutability of God's counsels; which he bath confirmed by an oath, “That by two immutable things, (viz. his word and oath) in which it was im possible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge, to lay hold upon the hope set before us," Heb. vi, 17, 18, "God hath abounded towards us in all wisdom and prudence, baving made known unto us the mystery of his will,accors ding to his good pleasure, which he hath purposed in

?

himself. That in the dispensation of the fulness of times, he might gather together (or rehead) in one, all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him; in whom we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things according to the counsel of his own WILL, Ephes. i. 8, 9, 10, !I. God is our Savior, (or Soteros, Restorer) who will have all men to be saved, (sothenai, restored) and to come unto the knowledwe of the truth," 1 Tim. ii. 3, 4. This is the will and counsel of that Gon, who "doeth according to his will in the armies of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou ?" Dan. iv. 35. He hath sworn by himself, the word is gone out of his mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, that unto him "every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear," Isai, xlv. 23. The counsel of GOD shall stand; he will perform his pleasure, notwithstanding all the opposition that men can make : “God is not a man, that he should lie, neither the son of man, that he should repent: Hath he said, and shall he not do it? or, hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?" Numb. xxiii. 19. If God will have all men to be saved, or restored, and to come to the knowledge of the truth, if it is his good pleasure, which he hath purposed in himself, in the dispensation of the fulness of times, to rehead all things in Christ, both in heaven and on earth; if he hath sworn that, unto him every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall swear; and if he worketh all things after the counsel of his own will, and is determined to perform all his pleasure, which he is able to do; and with him nothing that he pleases is impossible: I say, if all these things are true, (as who, that believes the Scriptures, can deny ?) then, is not the doctrine of the Kestoration true? And who will venture to charge that with licentiousness, which Gon, in the counsel of his will, hath purposed, and is determined to perform?

We know, the will of God is a will to all goodness, and that he cannot do any thing unjust, or contrary to his holy nature, or inconsistent with his plan of moral government, or that shall tend to promote rebellion; therefore, if God had seen that this great work had been, in any respect, injurious to his perfections, character, government, &c. he would not have proposed it; and if he had foreseen that the knowledge of it would have been hurtful to mankind, he would not have revealed it: But since he hath done both, we may certainly argue, that it is not a licentious doctrine to declare, that God will finally make all his intelli gent creatures happy; by making them all his sub. jects, by destroying their sins, and making them holy, in a way perfectly consistent, with all his perfections and attributes; without doing the least injury to his character, or rendering his moral government weak, or making any of his words void, whether threatenings or promises, or in the least setting aside the sanctions of his law or gospel, or a future state wards and punishments; without derogating at all, from the glory of the Mediator, but rather exalting it to the highest possible pitch; without saddening the hearts of the righteous, or diminishing in the least, from the happiness of Heaven, but rather causing itto increase; for if there is joy in Heaven over one sinner that repenteth, there must be more over many, in exact proportion; and as God will certainly give the greatest possible joy to his chosen, and there is no doubt but it will receive addition from every one that is restored, or brought home to himself; there fore, it can only be brought to its highest possible pitch by the universal Restoration; which doctrine cannot, therefore, be licentious, as God has appointed and revealed it, and all holy beings (except some weak good men on earth) rejoice therein exceedingly.

of re

6. Another of the principles on which the general Restoration is founded is, that God hath given all things