some, if any at all, and not to be for ever; which is greatly to depreciate the efficacy of this work of Christ.

3. According to the universal scheme, the death of Christ, with respect to multitudes, for whom he is said to die, must be in vain; for if Christ died to redeem all men, and all men are not saved by his death, so far his death must be in vain: if he paid a ransom for all, and all are not ransomed; or if he has paid the debts of all, and they are not discharged, the price is given, and the payment made, in vain. According to this scheme, the death of Christ is no security against condemnation: though the apostle says, Who shall condemn? It is Christ that died! so that there is no condemnation to them whose sins are condemned in Christ: and he has condemned them in the flesh, and yet there is a world of men that will be condemned, 1 Cor. xi. 32, and therefore it may be concluded, that Christ did not die for them, or otherwise they would not come into condemnation; or else Christ's death has no efficacy against condemnation.

4. The universal scheme, separates the works of Christ, the work of redemption, and the work of intercession; and makes them to belong to different persons; whereas they are of equal extent, and belong to the same; for whom Christ died, for them he rose again from the dead; and that was for their justification; which is not true of all men : for those he ascended to heaven, to God, as their God and Father, for the same he entered into heaven, as their forerunner, and appears in the presence of God for them, and ever lives to make intercession for them; and for the same for whom he is an advocate, he is the propitiation; for his advocacy is founded upon his propitiatory sacrifice now those for whom he prays and intercedes, are not all men, himself being witness; I pray for them; I pray not for the world, John xvii. 9. Yet, according to the universal scheme, he died for them for whom he would not pray; which is absurd and incredible.

5. If Christ died for all men, and all men are not saved, Christ will not see of the travail of his soul and be satisfied; as was promised him, Isa. liii.; for what satisfaction can we have to see his labour with respect to multitudes, all lost labour, or labour in vain? it was the joy that was set before him, of having those for whom he suffered and died, with him in heaven: but what joy can he have, and what a disappointment must it be to him, to see thousands and millions whom he so loved as to give himself for, howling in hell, under the everlasting displeasure and wrath of God?

Other arguments against universal redemption, may be taken from the uselessness of it to great numbers of men.

1. To those whose sins are irremissible; whose sins will never be forgiven, neither in this world, nor in that which is to come; that there are such sinners, and such sins committed by them, is certain, from what Christ himself says, Matt. xii. 31, 32; and the apostle speaks of a sin which is unto death, unto eternal death; which he does not advise to pray for, 1 John v. 16; and surely Christ cannot be thought to die for such sins, for which there is no forgiveness with God, and no prayer to be made by men for the remission of them; to say that Christ

died for those, is to say that he died in vain: besides, there were multitudes in hell at the time when Christ died; and it cannot be thought that he died for those, as he must, if he died for all the individuals of mankind; as the men of Sodom, who were then, as Jude says, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire; and the inhabitants of the old world, the world of the ungodly, destroyed by the flood; those that were disobedient in the times of Noah; whose spirits, as the apostle Peter says, were, in his time, in the prison of hell, Jude 7, 1 Pet. iii. 20; if he died for these, his death must be fruitless and useless; unless it can be thought, that a jail-delivery was made at his death, and the dominions and regions of hell were cleared of their subjects.

2. Redemption, if for all, must be useless to those who never were favoured with the means of grace; as all the nations of the world, excepting Israel, for many hundreds of years, were; whose times of ignorance God winked at and overlooked, and sent no messengers, nor messages of grace, unto them; and since the coming of Christ, though the gospel has, in some ages, had a greater spread, yet not preached to all; nor is it now, to many nations, who have never heard of Christ, and of redemption by him, Rom. x. 14.

3. The universal scheme, affords no encouragement to faith and hope in Christ: redemption, as it ascertains salvation to some, it encourages sensible sinners to hope in Christ for it; Let Israel hope in the Lord, for with him is plenteous redemption, Psalm cxxx. 7; a redemption full of salvation; and which secures that blessing to all that believe. But, according to the universal scheme, men may be redeemed by Christ, and yet not saved, but eternally perish: what hope of salvation can a man have upon such a scheme? it requires no great discernment, nor judgment of things, to determine, which is most eligible of the two schemes, that which makes the salvation of some certain; or that which leaves the salvation of all precarious and uncertain; which though it asserts a redemption of all, yet it is possible none may be saved.

4. Hence, even to those who are redeemed and saved, it lays no foundation for, nor does it furnish with any argument to engage to love Christ, to be thankful to him, and to praise him for the redemption of them; since the difference between them and others, is not owing to the efficacy of Christ's death, but to their own wills and works; they are not beholden to Christ, who has done no more for them than for those that perish; they are not from any such consideration obliged to walk in love, as Christ has loved them, and given himself for them; since he has loved them no more, and given himself for them no otherwise, than for them that are lost; nor are they under obligation to be thankful to him, and bless his name, that he has redeemed their lives from destruction, since, notwithstanding his redemption of them, they might have been destroyed with an everlasting destruction; it is not owing to what Christ has done, but to what they have done themselves, performing the conditions of salvation required, that they are saved from destruction, if ever they are,

according to this scheme: nor can they indeed sing the song of praise to the Lamb, for their redemption; saying, Thou art worthy-for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us, &c., since, according to this scheme, Christ has redeemed every kindred, every tongue, every people, and every nation.

OF THOSE PASSAGES OF SCRIPTURE WHICH SEEM TO FAVOUR
UNIVERSAL REDEMPTION.

THERE are several passages of Scripture, which, at first sight, may seem to countenance the universal scheme, and which are usually brought in support of it, and which it will be necessary to take under consideration; and these may be divided into three classes.-Such in which the words all and every one are used, when the death of Christ and the benefits of it are spoken of.-Those in which the words world and the whole world occur, where the same subjects are treated of.And those that seem to intimate as if Christ died for some that may be destroyed and perish.

I. Such in which the words all and every one are used, when the death of Christ and the benefits of it, particularly redemption and salvation by him, are spoken of.

1. The declaration of the angel in Luke ii. 10, 11, Behold, I bring good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people, &c. Let it be observed, that Christ is not here said to be the Saviour of all men, but to be born for the sake of some, that he might be the Saviour of them; unto you is born a Saviour; to you, the shepherds, who appeared to be good men, waiting for the salvation of God, and the coming of their Saviour, and therefore praised and glorified God for what they heard and saw; the words fully agree with the prophetic language, in which the birth of Christ is signified, To us a child is born; indeed it is said, that the news of the birth of a Saviour would be great joy to all people, or to all the people; not to all the people of the world, many of whom never heard of it; nor to all the people of the Jews, who did hear of it; not to Herod the king, and to the scribes and Pharisees, and to many, at least, of the inhabitants of Jerusalem; for when he and they heard the report the wise men from the east made of the birth of the King of the Jews, Herod was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him, Matt. ii. 3; but to all the people of God and Christ; to the people Christ came to save, and does save; on whose account his name was called Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins; the people given him in covenant, and for whose transgressions he was stricken, and for whose sins he made reconciliation, at most, the birth of Christ as a Saviour can only be matter of great joy to whom the tidings of it come; whereas, there are multitudes that come into the world and go out of it, who never hear of the birth of Christ, and of salvation by him; and where the gospel, the good tidings of salvation by Christ, does come, it is only matter of great joy to them to whom it comes in power, and who are by it made sensible of their lost, perishing estate,

TO FAVOUR UNIVERSAL REDEMPTION.

of their want of a Saviour, and of the suitableness of salvation; such as the three thousand convinced and converted under Peter's sermon, and the jailor and his household, who cried out, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? To such, and to such only, the news of Christ as a Saviour is matter of great joy.

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II. The account given of John's ministry, and the end of it; that all men, through him, might believe, John i. 7; from whence it is concluded, that all men are bound to believe that Christ came to save them, and that he died for them; and if he did not die for them, then they are bound to believe a lie; and if condemned for not believing, they are But John's ministry only condemned for not believing an untruth. reached to the Jews, among whom he came preaching; and the report he made of Christ they were bound to believe, was, not that he died for them; as yet he had not died; but that he was the Messiah: and their disbelief of this was their sin and condemnation; as it is the sin of the deists, and of all unbelievers, to whom the gospel-revelation comes; and they give not credit to it; for such are bound to believe the report it makes, and give an assent to the truth of it; and which is no other than an historical faith, and which men may have and not be saved; and which the devils themselves have: so that men may be bound to believe, and yet not to the saving of their souls; or that Christ died for them. And as the revelation that is made to men, so they are under obligation to believe if no revelation is made, no faith is required; how shall they believe in him, of whom they have not heard? The Indians who have never heard of Christ, are not bound to believe in him; nor will they be condemned for their unbelief; but for their sins against the light of nature they have been guilty of; see Rom. x. 14, and ii. 12. Where a revelation is made, and that is only external, and lies in the outward ministry of the word, declaring in general such and such things concerning the person and office of Christ, men are obliged to give credit to them, upon the evidence they bring with them, and for their unbelief, will be condemned; not because they did not believe that Christ died for them, to which they were not obliged; but because they did not believe him to be God, the Son of God, the Messiah, and the Saviour of men. Where the revelation is internal, by the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Christ; showing to men their lost estate, and need of a Saviour; acquainting them with Christ, as an able and willing Saviour ; setting before them the fulness and suitableness of his salvation; such are, by the Spirit and grace of God, influenced and engaged to venture their souls on Christ, and to believe in him, to the saving of them; but then the first act of faith, even in such, is not to believe that Christ died for them; for it is the plerophory, the full assurance of faith to say, He hath loved me, and given himself for me! Gal. ii. 20.

III. The words of Christ in John xii. 32; And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to me ; are expressive of the death of Christ, and of the manner of it, crucifixion; which would be the occasion of drawing a great number of persons together, as is usual at executions; and more especially would be and was at Christ's, he being a remarkable

and extraordinary person; some to deplore his case and bewail him, and others to mock at him and reproach him. Though rather this is to be understood of the great multitude of souls who should be gathered to Christ through the ministry of the word after his death, as the fruit and consequence of it; who should be drawn and influenced by the powerful and efficacious grace of God to come to Christ, and believe in him; in which sense the word draw is used by Christ in John vi. 44; but this is not true of all and every individual person; for there were multitudes then, as now, who will have no will to come to Christ, and are never wrought upon by the grace of God, or drawn by it to come unto him and believe in him; and will be so far from being gathered to him, and into fellowship with him, that they will be bid to depart from him another day, with a Go, ye cursed; and in the words before the text, mention is made of the judgment, or condemnation of the world, as being then come; as well as of the prince of it being cast out. But by all men, are meant some of all sorts, Jews and Gentiles, more especially the latter, that should be gathered to Christ after his death, through the gospel preached unto them; as was foretold, that when Shiloh, the Messiah, came, who now was come, to him should the gathering of the people be; that is, the Gentiles: and it may be observed, that at this time, when Christ spoke these words, that there were certain Greeks that were come to the feast to worship, who were desirous of seeing Jesus; with which he was made acquainted by his disciples, and occasioned the discourse of which these words are a part; and in which our Lord suggests, that at present these Greeks could not be admitted to him, but the time was at hand when he should be lifted up from the earth, or die; by which, like a corn of wheat falling into the ground and dying, he should bring forth much fruit; and should be lifted up also as an ensign in the ministry of the word, when the Gentiles in great numbers should flock and seek unto him.

IV. The passage of the apostle in Rom. v. 18, By the righteousness of one, the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life, is undoubtedly meant of the righteousness of Christ, called the free gift, because it was freely wrought out by Christ, and is freely imputed without works; and faith, which receives it, is the gift of God; but then this does not come upon, or is imputed to, every individual son and daughter of Adam; for then they would be all justified by it, and entitled to eternal life through it; and would be glorified, for whom he justified, them he also glorified; and being justified by the blood and righteousness of Christ, they would be secure from condemnation, and saved from wrath to come; but this is not true of every one; there are some who are righteously foreordained to condemnation; yea, there is a world of ungodly men, a multitude of them, that will be condemned, Jude 4, 1 Cor. xi. 32. The design of the apostle in the text and context is to show, that as all men are sinners, and are originally so through the sin and offence of the first man Adam; so all that are righteous become righteous, or are justified, only through the righteousness of Christ imputed to them to their justification; and those who are justified by it, as described by the apostle in this epistle as the elect of God; Who shall