things in his book certainly imply this. Although he has fixed upon the time at the parting moment; ftill he must grant it to be while foul and body conftitute one diftinct agent. Elfe he nuft affign a probationary flate and feafon of grace in the next world; or, at least, a fort of purgatory, a half way place between earth and heaven. This he utterly rejects. And this would make an entire alteration in his fcheme. He also says, ' We are plainly taught in the word of God, that every foul goes imme. diately after death, into an eternal fixed flate; which never more admits of an alteration, but in progreffive degree.' If the foul goes immediately after death, into this ftate, then cer tainly the great work, he tells of, must be done, while foul and body are united. As another conclufive evidence of this, he holds that every one will receive, in the next world, according to the things done in his body.‡

At length, my Friend, we are ready to attend to the principal object of this Letter. Which is to compare this fentiment of the Doctor's, that all impenitent finners are regenerated at death, with his rule of faith, and other things in his book; also, to see the abfurd confequences of this fentiment. And

1. His rule of faith is, We have no warrant to seek eternal life by Chrift, unless we firft know we are elected to it. And, as he has made out by his reafoning, We have no gofpel-warrant to exhort men to embrace any one fpiritual bleffing, till we know they are elected to this bleffing. Great is the bleffing, he fays, of all who are elected to fpiritual attainments of grace in early life. But he knows not that all men are thus elected. Neither does he pretend to know that any one man, now impenitent, is elected to repentance before his dying moment. It is an estab lifhed point with him, that all are ordained to it, by God, when that ferious event overtakes them. But the great majority of men, he fays, are left, by the fixed decree of God, to live un. der the damnable power of impenitence' all their days. Thefe things are fairly contained in his fcheme, and not one of them to be fpared; as has been fhown, in this and the foregoing Letters. How is it poffible, therefore, for him to preach repentance, de claring, Now is the accepted time, only to fuch as aie paffing out of time into eternity!

He has fixed upon the period when all are to become true pen. itents, which is in the laft inftant of life; or the laft thought while foul and body are one. The very moment before we expire,' fays he, the best do juftly cry out, O wretched men 'that we are, we have a body of death! The fame infinite mer. 'cy, P. 64, 234 235

See in P. 205-207.

+ P. 204.

cy, power, and faithfulness, which can then feperate one foul ⚫from all its unfitness for heaven, can another.'*This is the moment, the moment of death, and not before; when the great mafs of men are to have this great work of grace done in their hearts. The inftant before death, he favs, the bulk of mankind are wholly oppofed to repentance; like the moft abandoned fai lor, having his head taken off with a cannon ball, with an hor rid oath in his mouth.'t-Now, when this 'moft abandoned failor's head is taken off with a cannn ball,' then can Dr. H. ftand forth and exhort him to repentance, and not before. The reafon is because he does not know, this abandoned creature is elected to repentance before this. And if he exhorts finners to that which he does not know they are elected to, he exhorts them to make God a liar, in fo doing; according to his own words.

Thus, the mighty, the boafted claim Dr. H. affumes above all others, of preaching the gofpel to every creature, of pouring in 'this additional light,' does indeed amount to this: He can flat. ter all impenitent finners to believe a lie, that they might be damned. In direct oppofition to divine truth, and to the utmof hazard of loofing their fouls forever, he can flatter them, that they will all become true penitents, in their laft expiring moment.

2. Dr. H. cannot pray for the repentance and fanctification of all men, to be effected by the grace of God immediately, unless he, at the fame time, prays for the immediate death of all men. • We pray,' fays he, for the falvation of all men. This we ought not to do without a foundation in the word of God. If 'God has decided the point in his word, that many fhall be damn⚫ ed eternally, in their own perfons, we have no warrant to pray as we do.' He fays again, God has decided the point in his word, that many will reinain impenitent till their death. Hence he has no warrant to pray, confiftently with his own plan, that all men might become fincere penitents, before their death. Should he, however, pray for the immediate fanctification of all men, this, in his fcheme, would include a prayer for the immediate death of all men.

God commands us to pray for all men. He therefore defigns to fave all men. God fays he will have all men to be faved, and 'to come unto the knowledge of the truth.' Therefore, all men will be faved. For who can refift the divine will? Thefe things form a very material argument among Univerfalifts. But this argument proves too much, and of courfe proves nothing. It takes for granted, that God always brings about every thing he com. mands us to pray for. Which is not true. God commands us to P. 19. P. 160. ¶ 1 Tim. 2. 4.

P. 204.

+ P. 187.

pray

.

pray for the life of our chief magiftrate. But our chief magistrate dies. God commands us to pray for our daily bread. Could St. Paul argue from hence that he should never suffer hunger? Uni. verfalifts feem to have forgotten one important article of prayer; for which Chrift gave an example. Father, if it be poflible, let this cup pafs from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt.' So that all our petitions are to be left with the divire will. Again, the argument takes for granted that God always accomplishes whatever he will: making no diftinction between his preceptive and his decretive will. God wills that his people, with well-doing, put to filence the ignorance of foolish men.'t He wills that his profeffed people, no longer fhould live the rest of their time in the flesh, to the lufts of men, but to the will of God.' These things God wills and commands, but does not in all cafes determine them. And he wills many things that would be, in themselves, well-pleafing to him; which he has not determined fhall take place. Chrift faid of Jerufalem, how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth her brood under ⚫her wings, and ye would not !' God therefore wills that all men hould come unto the knowledge of the truth, that they should lead quiet and peaceable lives, in all godliness and honefly, in the fame fenfe as he will have all men to be faved.

But according to Dr. H's doctrine, we have no warrant to pray for all men, that they may lead quiet and peaceable lives, in all godlinefs and honefty, until they are juft launching into eternity. Becaufe, as he fays, we do not know they are elected to thefe gracious exercises before that time. The Doctor fays, "If it is certain that the word of God, his juftice and his glory, do af. * certain the eternal, perfonal damnation of many; we ought to pray for that awful event, as explicitly as for any thing elfe.' In another place he fays, The word of God, his juftice and glory do afcertain, that the great majority of men do, and will live under the damnable power of impenitence, till their expiring 'moment.' Because he is certain of this, ought he to pray for this awful event, as explicitly as for any thing else? And because he is certain, as he pretends, that all men will have repentance at death, and not before, fhall he pray for the immediate repentance of all men, and of courfe for the inmediate death of all men? But how would it ftrike the minds of any congregation in the world,' he adds, to hear him that leads in prayer crying mightily to God, that many, or moft of his fellow men, might be the miferable victims of his eternal vengeance perfonally, in hell to all eternity. Many men difcern premifes well, but

Matt. 26. 39. +1 Fet. 2. 15 and † 4. 2. § Luke 13. 34.

do

do not fee the juft confequence.

With regard to one man,

the Doctor has demonftrated this laft expreffion.

3. 3. The Doctor can administer no comfort to wretched fin. ners; nor, with hope of fuccefs, can he use any means with them; except it be in that moment he fees them paffing into e ternity. He fays much about adminiftering words of confolation to poor helplefs finners, And blames his opponents før their cruelty and hardness towards them. Speaking of malefac tors, who are about to be led to the place of execution, there to end their lives with trembling and horror, he fays, Why thould we grudge them the mercy and pity of the Father of their spir its? And many other things; intimating the cruelty of his opponents to thefe wretches, and how we ought to speak peace and comfort to their fouls. But the Doctor can give them not the leaft folid comfort, he can fpeak not a word of peace to their fouls before their expiring moment comes, or till they are indeed turned off the gallows. For he fays thefe trembling wretches, and all others, who continue oppofed to the grace of the gofpel, ⚫ can derive no comfort in their own fouls from the bleffed truth ' he maintains ;' meaning the bleffed truth of univerfalifm. And he pretends to have no evidence they are elected to hope in Jefus, and rejoice in God, until the last moment of their lives. But he must have evidence, according to his own scheme, that the moment is come, in which they are elected to this bleffed enjoyment of God; elfe he has no right to exhort them to it. And if he thould before this time exhort them to it, in his own words, he would exhort them to make God a liar, in fo doing."

Thus, the Doctor must acknowledge we have full warrant to exhort, to pray, to speak words of confolation, even in cafes feemingly the most hopeless; when we are wholly ignorant of the fecret counsels of God; when we know not whether thofe abandoned wretches will hear, or whether they will forbear.' He muft alfo acknowledge that which is a verv grievous eye-fore to him; that the ground and warrant we have to exhort finners to embrace eternal life, is not because we are first certain they are elected to it; but because God, out of regard to Chrift's atonement, hath mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom 'he will he hardeneth.' These things, and others in connection, he must acknowledge; or find himfelf cut off from the ufe of all appointed means; even in cafes moft diftreffing and pitiful, which call aloud for the most pious exertions and compaffionate feelings.

4. A § Ezck. 2. 5. | Rom, g. 18.

P. 164, + P. 239. P. 232, Ezok. 2. 5.

4. A threatening of temporal and untimely death, which is to be fet afide on condition of repentance, but certainly executed on condition of perfeverance in fin; it is impoffible fuch a threatening, going on Dr. H's ground, ever thould be executed. Under the Jewish difpenfation, fo from Adam down to Chrift, there were many divine threatenings of this nature: denouncing the temporal and untimely death of notorious finners, unless they repented. But if they repented they should efcape the threatening, or their lives fhould fill be continued. Some crimes there were, as adultery, fodomy, murder, &c. from which there was no deliverance. No deliverance, that is, when convicted in open court of any of thefe crimes; in this cafe the life of the criminal must go, as a ranfom for his crime. There were other crimes, however, or other cafes, from which they fhould be rescued, on condition of repentance, See in Ezek. xxxiii. 10-20. Amos v. 4-8, and many other places. Chrift faid to the Jews, Luke xiii. 3. Except ye repent, ye fhall all likewife perifh.' Imply. ing, if they did repent, they should not in like manner perith: fhould not die an aggravated and untimely death, as thofe Gali leans did, whofe blood Pilate had mingled with their facrifices."

6

But if repentance takes place, as Dr. H. holds it does with every impenitent finner, in his laft thought, or that which would be his laft expiring thought without his repentance; this finner, having the offer and promife of life in confequence of his re pentance, would that inftant be fnatched from death, or have his life prolonged. No man can previously difcern between life and death; or when the finner enters upon his laft expiring groan or thought. Omnifciency however can. And one moment or one day is with the LORD as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. So one thought in the heart of man, as to his being pardoned, is fubftantially the fame with God, as a feries of thoughts. Every promife of grace is made to the finner, to be bestowed in him, and made fure, at the inflant of his turning to God. Before they call I will anfwer, and while they are yet fpeaking, I will hear." The inftant the finner's heart feels humble, and he of courfe bows to God, the whole scene is reversed. He then ftands upon the ground of a juftified perfon, all his paft fins being blotted out. At what inftant I fhall fpeak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to deftroy it: If that nation against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil I thought to do unto them.'+ This muft apply to every individwal, as well as to bodies of men, throughout the world. And it

6

muf