"and be their God. And God fhall wipe away al "tears from their eyes; and there fhall be no more "death," &c. If the word tabernacle do not mean the fame as the New Jerufalem, yet there can be no doubt but that the Tabernacle will be pitched in the New Jerufalemn. The men, therefore, with whom is the Tabernacle of God, muft be the inhabitants of that glorious city. And it is to them exclufively that the promife in ver. 4, belongs: "God fhall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there fhall be no more death," &c. The question, therefore is, whether all the human race, and all devils will be citizens of the New Jerufalem. The Apostle has furnished us with a fufficient reply to it. "He that overcometh "fhall inherit all things, and I will be his God, and “he shall be My fon. But the fearful, and unbe"lieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and

whoremongers, and forcerers, and idolaters, and all "liars, fhall have their part in the lake which burn"eth with fire and brimftone: which is the fecond

death." The promife, made to fuch as overcome, that they fhall inherit all things, muft mean all the bleffings of the New Jerufalem ftate, which our Lord had just fhewn the Apoftle. The adverfative conjunction BUT, fhews the connection of ver. 8, with what goes before,-forms a contraft between the fate of be lievers and unbelievers,-points out, in the most striking mauner, their difference,-and demonftrates that the fearful, and unbelievers, &c. will not be farers with thofe that overcome in the privileges of that happy place.

After a defcription of the city the Apoftle returns. again to this fubject; Chap. xxi. 27, "And there fhall in no wife enter into it any thing that defileth, "neither whatfoever worketh abomination or maketh a lie: but they who are written in the Lamb's Book "of life." And all men and devils are not written in the Lamb's Book of Life. For whofoever was

66

not found written in the Book of Life, was caft "into the lake of fire," chap. xx. 15. It is in vain that the Univerfalifts endeavour to pull them out of the fire, and conduct them to the New Jerufalem; for the Apofile declares, they fhall in no wise enter into The poor fubterfuge, therefore, about the re ftored entering into the city occafionally is entirely

it.

cut off.

After a further defcription of the city, the Apoftle refumes this fubject once more: chap. xxii. 14, 15, "Bleffed are they that do His commandments, that "they may have right to the Tree of Life, and may "enter in thro' the gates into the city. For without 66 are dogs, and forcerers, and whoremongers, and "murderers, and idolaters, and whofoever loveth "and maketh a lie." The fituation of thofe without, is defcribed by our Lord in Luke xiii. 25,—28. "When once the Matter of the houfe is rifen up, and hath fhut to the door, and ye begin to fland WITHOUT, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, "Lord, open unto us; and He fhall anfwer and fay unto you, I know you not whence ye are:

Then

fhall ye begin to fay, we have eaten and drunk in "Thy prefence, and Thou haft taught in our streets.

But He fhall fay, I tell you, I know you not "whence ye are; Depart from Me, all ye workers "of iniquity. There shall be weeping and gnashing "of teeth, when ye fhall fee Abraham, and Ifaac,

and Jacob, and all the Prophets in the kingdom of "God, and you yourfelves thruft out." Now if it be faid to the men of the New Jerufalem only, that there fhall be no more death,-if many fhall ftand' without the city, and fhall in no wife enter into it,if thofe dogs, &c. without, fhall have their part in the lake of fire, and will there be weeping and gnasking their teeth, and if, at every attempt to enter the city, they fhall be ordered to depart, and be thrust, out, then I hope it is abundantly proved, that

this vifion is fo far from affording any fupport to the Refioration-fcheme, that it fully overthrows it.

As I have fhewn above that the fecond death will not be deftroyed when the New Heaven and New Earth are created, Mr. Winchefter must be mistaken in believing, that the earth when on fire will be the lake into which the wicked will be caft; and that as the earth will be purified by the fire and be made a New Earth, fo devils and finful men will be purified by it alfo, and be made new creatures. Mr. W. refers to 2 Pet. iii. 7, in fupport of his opinion. It is only neceffary now to obferve, that in the parallel cafe, which the Apoftle introduces in ver. 5, 6, we find that the bodies of the antediluvians perished by the flood, and not that their fouls were purified; fo "the heavens and the earth are referved unto fire, against the day of judgment, and Perdition of ungodly men," not their Refloration. It appears from this pallage, as well as from Rev. xx. 9, that the wicked will be devoured by fire juft before the day of judgment; but this fire will no more be a foul-purgatory, than that. was which confumed the inhabitants of Sodom. In fact, we may as well talk about washing fouls white with water, as purifying them by fire.

SECTION XIII.

On the EXPERIENCE of Chriftians.

MR. WINCHESTER, in his Third Dialogue, en

not

deavours to fhew that Chriftian Experience naturally leads to a belief of the Doctrine of Reftoration. He asks his friend, (p. 104.) "Did you fee yourfelf loft and undone, and that you were "vile before God, unworthy of his mercy, and to"tally unable to deliver yourself from your fin and "mifery?" His friend replies, "I certainly did.” Perhaps

Dialogues, p. 10.

Perhaps I am fhort fighted, for when I faw that I was loft and undone,-that I could not deliver myself, and that I was unworthy of the mercy of God, I concluded that as I had no claim on mercy, God might juftly withhold it for ever.

Mr. W. enquires of his friend again, "And were 66 you not brought by the power of God to refign your. "felf into his hands without referve, to do with you, "and difpofe of you, according to his will and plea"fure, being convinced that he neither would nor "could do you any injuftice. O yes," (fays his friend,) and then I found peace." According to this experience, it feems, that when a man is perfuad. ed God will do him no injuftice, he will refign himfelf into the hands of the Almighty with peace and compofure. But I afk, Does not every man, who has juft views of his condition, fee thet God would do him no injuftice by fending him to hell? does he, therefore, feel himfelf refigned to go thither? Is a conviction that God will do no injuftice fufficient to fill the mind with peace? Why then, to be fure, the inhabitants of hell are full of peace; for they can have nothing to object to the juftice of God in fending them thither. I never yet was willing to be damned; I could not be fatisfied till I received power to refign myself into the hands of God under a perfuafion of His mercy towards me thro' Jesus Christ.

After this refignation into the hands of juftice, Mr. W. and his friend both "faw into the fulness, fufficiency, and willingness of Chrift to fave;" and then they were "conftrained to venture their fouls into his arms." p. 106. And there may they reft for ever!

But Mr. W. afks, p. 108, the following queftions: "Did you not fee and feel yourself the vileft of finners? Did you not view the love of God infinitely "full, free, and unmerited? Did you not behold in "Chrift an infinite fulness, fufficiency, and willing"nefs to fave all without exception? Did you not

love all, and wish that all might come and partake

"of his grace? Did you not earneftly defire the "falvation of all your enemies, and of all mankind? "Did you not find it in your heart to pray for the ❝ falvation of all mankind as for your own? If you "had as much power as good-will, would you not "bring all to bow to the fceptre of grace, and to be "reconciled to God through Jefus Chrift? Would you bring all to fubmit to God and be happy if 66 you could, and will not he, to whom nothing that "he pleases to do is impoffible, bring all his crea"tures to be reconciled to himself at laft? He has "infinitely more love to his creatures than all the "faints and angels in glory have."

I will take the liberty, in my turn, to afk a Uni-verfalift a queftion or two. Would you fend a perfon to hell for an age, if it were in your power to do or not to do it? Would you not put an end to fin and mifery immediately, if you poffibly could? Would you not have prevented the existence of fiu and mifery if you poffibly could? Tell me now, in Mr. W.'s language, that, God, to whom nothing, that "He pleafes to do, is impoffible, has infinitely more "love to His creatures than all the faints and angels

in glory have," and then fay, whether these queftions do not argue as truly against an age of mifery, or even against its introduction, as Mr. W.'s queftions do againft its endlefs continuance?

But the fact is, the queftions prove juft nothing in either cafe; for fince creatures do not stand in the fame relations to each other that they ftand in to God, they must not prefume to transfer their feelings to Him, and then make them the teft of his procedure in the government of the Universe. In all these questions not a hint is dropped about man being a Free Agent, and God a Moral Governor, for fuch a reprefentation would have prevented that influence on the paffions which they feem defigned to occafion. Sin flows from K

an