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Chriftians, that we may be filled with the knowledge of the Lord's will, in all wisdom and fpiritual understanding; that we may all walk worthy of him unto all pleafing, being fruitful in every good work, and increafing in the knowledge of God, Col. i. 9, 10. Wishing you much fuccefs in all your efforts to promote genuine Christianity, I am,

Dear Sir,

Your cordial friend and fellow fervant, &c.

LETTER VII.

Then came to Jefus Scribes and Pharifees, faying, Why do thy disciples tranfgrefs the tradition of the elders? He answered, Why do ye alfo tranfgrefs the commandment of God by your tradition? Ye hypocrites, well did Efaias prophefy of you, faying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their month, and boncur eth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain do they worship me, teaching for doarines the commandments of men. The Pharifees were offended after they heard this, Mat. xv. 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, 12.

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DEAR SIR,

T would appear that Paul was branded as an enemy, by fome in the Coloffian church, on account of the doctrine which he taught among them: "Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?" To be reputed fuch was, no doubt, often the reward of his fidelity from men, and of that of his fellow-apoftles. It will also be more or less the reward of all who obtain mercy to ferve God with their spirit in the gofpel of his Son. But why fhould a perfon be thought an enemy to God, or to his fellow-men, because he declares what appears to him, upon due examination, and earneft prayer to God, to be his truth, though he cannot pretend to be infallible in his judgment? Let him fpeak as to wife men, leaving them to judge what he faith, by the verdict of divine truth, which fhall judge all its hearers at laft. "He that hath my word, let him fpeak my word faithfully: what is chaff to the wheat? faith the Lord," Jer. xxiii. 28. How fhall men judge whether it be the word of God, if nothing muit be spoken or heard as fuch, but what human wisdom has already discovered, and been pleafed to fanction. It is the right and duty of every fervant of Chrift to declare freely and faithfully whatever they learn from his word, and let none pretend his authority in forbidding them. The fuppreffion of this right, inherent in every meffenger of peace, by whatever mean, is a device of Satan, to counteract the fpread of divine knowledge; and he never carries his point fo effectually, as when he can influence perfons of reputation, for piety and foundness in the faith, to abet his caufe. Thus he transforms himself into an angel of light.

I have of late been often furprised to find, not only the pious hoftile to the doctrine of the restoration, but also many who have yet no reafon to hope, that they fhall efcape the wrath to come! Can the former wifh the eternal existence of Satan's empire? Are the lattes fo well pleafed with their prefeat mafter and

his fervice, that they are afraid a feparation fhould ever take place? It is truly furprising, to fee fome zealoufly pleading for the eternity of future punishment, who manifeft, by their words and deeds, that they believe no fuch doctrine. Some public teachers conjure the restoration into a bugbear, with which they alarm poor ignorant people, who are left to perifh for lack of knowledge. But did you hear them fometimes exhort their audience, you would think them univerfalifts. How far this is confiftent with their profeffed creed, let the world judge.

It is fafe following the facred writers; for their language is not calculated to mislead, as theirs is who attempt to bring the word of God to speak the language, and fupport the tenets of a fyftem. Paul had every advantage of educacation, to which unerring inspiration was added. He tells us, that "at, or in the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth, and that every tongue fhall confefs, that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father," Phil. ii. 10, 11. Are not these terms general enough to comprehend an universe of beings? Elsewhere he tells 18, "That no man can fay that Jefus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghoft," 1 Cor. xii. 3. He certainly knew the import of fuch language; and we are justified in making him his own interpreter rather than fallible men.

In the epiftle to the Romans, xiv. chap. 11. ver. the fame paffage is alfo quoted from the prophet Isaiah xlv. 23. and referred to the last judgment as a check to rash cenfure. But why deft tbou judge thy brother? or why doft thou fet at nought thy brother? for we fhall all ftand before the judgment-feat of Christ. So then every one of us fhall give account of himself to God,” ver. 10, 12. But in the epiftle to the Philippians, Paul appears to have in his eye fuch a bowing of every knee in the name of Jefus, and fuch a confeffing of him to be Lord, as shall be to the glory of God the Father, when all the ends of the earth fhall look unto him and be faved, as exprcffed by the prophet. It may be fulfilled in both fenfes, though at different periods. If every knee fhall bow in homage to the Son of God, and if every tongue fhall confefs, by the Holy Ghoft, that Jefus Chrift is Lord, to the glory of God the Father, how fhall it be proved, from the word of truth, that unknown millions of knees shall never bow in loyal homage at or in his name, and that as many tongues shall never confefs, by the Spirit, or in a gracious manner, that he is Lord to the glory of the Father? When with the heart man believes unto righterusness, with the mouth such con

* Men fometimes advance truths that far exceed the bounds of their own fyftem. A well known author, speaking of Chrift, fays, "His compaffion is as unbounded as his power." Is it fo, if it does not extend to one in many thousands of his miferable créatures? This author has fome juft reflections on the paffage prefixed to this letter." The contemners of God's law are ordinarily mad with zeal for the traditions and ceremonies of men-a certain mark of deteftable hypocrify! All human inventions in religion invade the authority, and pollute the worship of God; and mislead the hearts, and corrupt the practices of men. May God root them out of his church, and out of our hearts, that we ourselves may not, on their account, be excluded from his kingdom! Nene are farther from the light of God's truth, than implicit votaries of minifters, and fpecially preachers who are puffed up with a conceit of their own wifdom. How dull, how flow of heart to conceive the things of practical religion, are even real faints!" What applies to inventions in worship, holds alfo of errors in doctrine; and indeed there was no leprofy more dangerous and incurable than that in the head. It is not eafy to stoop fo low as to own that we have been wrong, and are willing to retrace our path.

feffion is made unto falvation. Do we ufe no undue liberty with fcripture, when we make a few ambiguous terms and phrases, moft of which are indeed made fo only in our translation, an axe to hew down fo many of the trees of Paradise, with all their precious fruit? Cuftom and prejudice will reconcile the mind to any thing, and fortify it against the plainest truths, and the most obnoxious conclufions.

In looking over the following paragraph, I find I have already partly antici. pated it, But as the fentiment is fomewhat diversified and enlarged, to save myself the trouble of writing the whole over again, I permit it to remain as it flands. Similar thoughts may occafionally recur; but fomething of this nature is to be often met with in fcripture, and an apoftle, who was at no lofs to diverfify both fentiment and language, yet faid," Brethren, to write the fame things to you, to me indeed it is not grievous, but for you it is fafe," Pail. iii. 1.

That apoftle reasons, "If, or fince, the firft-fruit is holy, the lump is alfo holy and if, or fince, the root is holy, fo are the branches, Rom. xi. 16. Meffiah, the second Adam, is the ereating, preferving, and redeeming root of mankind, and they are the branches; for all things are of, from, or out of him, and he is the firft-fruit of his elect, as they are of the rest of God's creatures. Now fince he, as the first-fruit, and the root, and his people in him, as the first-fruit of the rest of creation, or of the creatures, are holy, and set apart for God, have we his authority, fpeaking by Paul, for giving the far greater part of the branches, and of the lump or mafs, to Satan, to be his undifputed prey and portion world without end? Where the Lord makes no exception or limitation, and has pointed out the extent of his truth by fuch plain fimilies, have we any right to make an exception, or to abridge and confine the obvious latitude of fuch expreffive figures? Mankind may feel little fcruple in giving one another to the devil, as his perpetual prey, because there is little of brotherly attachment among them; nay, they may find fome of the very worst paffions of the human heart gratified by fuch conduct, pride, felf-conceit, refentment, and contempt of others, But let them not prefume to measure their Maker by themselves, as if he approved of fuch conduct, or would act in conformity to fuch infernal principles. Parents of a religious profeffion have been found wicked enough to facrifice fome of their helpless children to Moloch, and ignorant enough to think this would promote the intereft of the reft. Men would do fo ftill with regard to their brethren, and that from fimilar reasons; but let them not think that God fo treats any of his children, or approves of their fo doing. He had need to be wife indeed, who comes after fuch a king to correct, amend, and qualify his language, and preferibe the mode of his procedure.

Was God's theocracy, or divine polity over the Jews an epitome, or outline of his government over the whole church, and, indeed, over the world at large; and fhall the outline or rude draught be never filled up? An eminent expounder of fcripture admits this, at leaft fo far, in his comment on Palm Ixxviii. 2, 3. and the citation of them in Mat, xiii. 35- "Thus much at least is evident from it, that the history of old Ifrael fomewhat refembles the letter of the gospelparables, and contains fhadowed out under it, the hiftory of a correfpondent

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ftate of things in the new Ifrael, or church-chriftian." Dr. Horne on the book of Pfalms.

The Chriftian church has never yet prefented a state of things correfpondent to the jubilee; and we have no reason from feripture, that I can find, to expect a full realizement of that glorious fhadow of good things to come before the day of judgment. All debts were remitted--all forfeited or mortgaged inheritances reftored—all prifoners released-and all flaves, whether natives or foreigners, were fet at liberty, and received fome little gratuity from their master. All this however was but the fhadow of good things to come; but the body or reality is of Chrift, and fhall be realized by him in its feafon. May we not then adopt the remarks of a pious commentator, in his reflections upon Isaiah 42d• "Infinite is the excellency of Jefus Chrift! How glorious the nature and end of his mediation! What ground of gladness is this to finners, the wildest Arabs and most diftant iflanders not excepted!"

It may be granted, that the prayers and exhortations of fcripture are equivalent to predictions; that the church, infpired by the Spirit, never prayed for what fhall not be accomplished, and that God never exhorts to what he shall not realize. "Arife, O God, judge the earth: for thou shall inherit all nations,* Pfal. lxxxii. 8. " Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands," or all the earth, Pfal c. I. The original here, as alfo in Pfal. lxvi. 1. and elfe where in the book of Pfalms, denotes, to keep a jubilee, and the whole earth, or all mankind, are concerned in this jubilee. We know what the nature of the ancient jubilee was, yet was it confined to the Jews, and but a fhadow of this, which fhall extend to all nations. They are exhorted to obferve it with the pureft and most elevated joy; and will not the Lord give them abundant caufe to celebrate it in fuch a manner ! Let the whole earth be filled with his glory! Amen, and Amen,i' Pfal. lxxii. 19.

Above we are told, that God fhall inherit all nations; elsewhere, that Chrift is appointed heir of all things; but how to reconcile his heiring all things, and inheriting all nations which includes poffeffion, with the great ufurper's retaining power over the far greater part of them to all eternity, I am quite at a lofs to fay; for there is nothing more evident, than that, upon the common doctrine, Meffiah cannot heir all things, and inherit all nations. Will there be any intercommunity of poffeffions between Chrift and Satan; er will our Lord act like the Jews, who never conquered the whole of the teritory given in promife to their fathers; but fuffered the doomed Canaanites to retain poffeffion of much of it, or retake part? This was their fin, by which the type failed in its ap pointed extent, and the failure entailed its own punishment; but no fuch thing can take place with regard to Chrift's appointed and promised inheritance. will not fuffer the Canaanites always to poffefs any part of his land.

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In Pfalm cxlvii. "Kings of the earth, and all people; princes, and all judges of the earth, both young men and maidens, old men and children," are exhorted to praise the name of the Lord, whofe name alore is excellent, and his glory above the earth and heaven, ver. 11, 12, 13. Does not this include all men? Will not the Lord's words by the prophet, then, never apply to them, This people have I formed for myself; they fhall hew forth my praife," as

above exhorted? 1fa? xliii. 21. The book of Pfalms concludes with a more extenfive call till; "Let every thing that hath breath praife the Lord," which might be rendered in the future, "Every thing that hath breath shall praise the Lord." Agreeable to this, the Pfalmift fays, "All thy works fhall praise thee, O Lord, and thy faints fhall bless thee," Pfal. cxlv. 10. John faw and heard all this realized: "And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and fuch as are in the fea, and all that are in them, heard I faying, Bleffing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that fitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever," Rev. xiii. These are diftinguished from the faints, whom Chrift hath redeemed to God by his blood, out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation, and made to their God kings and priests, and who fhall reign with himself on the earth; things mentioned in the 9th and 10th verfes, as peculiar to them. They are faid to have fung a new fong, of which this is the burden. In the chorus the angels join, "faying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and ftrength, and honour, and glory, and blef. fing," Here, befides angels and faints, an universe of beings joining in a fong of praise to God and the Lamb. But how all God's intelligent works can praile him, in one cordial harmonious fong, while his faints blefs him, if all, but thefe are to lie for ever under his wrath and curfe, will be hard to fhew. What Hezekiah faid in his own cafe, with regard to' natural death and the grave, applies with ftill greater force to the second death and its prifon : "For the grave cannot praise thee, death cannot celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth. The living, the living, he fhall praife thee," Ifa. xxviii. 18, 19.

Here we are taught to believe, that the living alone can praise God ; and are therefore conftrained to conclude, that all the creatures whom John saw and heard praising God, as diftinguished from faints and angels, are made alive to him, and confequently, that they cannot mean beings under the power of the fe cond death, whose praise is paffive, extorted by punishment, and not the cordial fong of holy and happy beings. This paffage, of itfelf, is fufficient to determine the controverfy, were men difpofed to receive divine truth, upon the authority of him that reveals it; for no conclufion can be more just and obvious, than that univerfal praise is a token and proof of univerfal happiness and joy. Were any thing farther necessary to confirm this, it is this, "The Lord fhall rejoice in his works," Pfal. civ. 31. even in all his works together, as the metrical verfion expresses it. Here there is an evident allufion to his furvey of creation, when he pronounced all his works very good, even thefe fpirits that afterwards became devils. Will God fo rejoice in thefe his works that remain very bad, polluted with fin, and tormented with the curfed. So the fupporters of the common doctrine maintain; because, fay they, he derivee glory from their torment; but at the expence of truth; for he declares that he has no pleasure in their death, and that he has created all things for his own pleafure.

The state of future mifery is called, in the New Jerufalem, a great furnace of fire. Do men caft metal into a furnace that it may be melted and refined, and

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