farther necessary, will be to produce some reasons, or arguments, against universal redemption; and to give answer to such scriptures as are brought in favour of it: It should be observed, that it is agreed on both sides, that all are not eventually saved: could universal salvation be established, there would be no objection to universal redemption; the former not being the case, the latter cannot be true; Christ certainly saves all whom he redeems.

1. I shall give some reasons, or produce some arguments against the universal scheme of redemption. And, the first set of arguments shall be taken from hence, that universal redemption reflects highly on the perfections of God, and what is contrary to the divine perfections, cannot be true; for God cannot deny himself, nor say, nor do any thing contrary to his nature and attributes. 1. The universal scheme, greatly reflects on the love of God to men; it may, at first sight, seem to magnify it, since it extends it to all; but it will not appear so; it lessons it, and reduces it to nothing. The scriptures highly commend the love of God, as displayed in the death of his Son, and in redemption by him; but what kind of love must that be, which does not secure the salvation of any by it? it is not that love which God bears to his own people, which is special and distinguishing; when, according to the universal scheme, God loved Peter no more than he did Judas; nor the saints now in heaven, any morę than those that are damned in hell; since they were both loved alike, and equally redeemed by Christ; nor is it that love of God, which is immutable, invariable, and unalterable; since, according to his scheme, God loves men with so intense a love, at one time, as to give his Son to die for them, und wills that they all should be saved; and afterwards this love is turned into wrath and fury; and he is determined to punish them with everlasting destruction. What sort of love must this be in God, not to spare his Son, but deliver him up to death for all the individuals of mankind, for their redemption; and yet, to multitudes of them, does not send them so much as the gospel, to acquaint them with the blessing of redemption by Christ; and much less his Spirit to apply the benefit of redemption to them; nor give them faith to lay hold upon it for themselves? Such love as this is unworthy of God, and of no service to the creature.

2. The universal scheme, highly reflects on the wisdom of God: it is certain God is wonderful in counsel, in contriving the scheme of redemption; and is excellent in working, in the execution of it: he is the wise God, and our Saviour; and is wise as such. But where is his wisdom in forming a scheme, in which he fails of his end? there must be some deficiency in it; a want of wisdom, to concert a scheme, which is not or cannot be carried into execution, at least as to some considerable part of it, Should it be said, that the failure is owing to some men's not performing the conditions of their redemption required of them; it may be observed, either God did know, or did not know, that these men would not perform the conditions required: if he did not know, this ascribes want of knowledge to him; which surely ought not to be ascribed to him that knows all shings: if he did know they would not perform them, where is his

wisdom, to provide the blessing of redemption, which he knew beforehand, would be of no service to them? Let not such a charge of folly, be brought against infinite Wisdom.

3. The universal scheme, highly reflects on the justice of God: God is righteous in all his ways and works; and so in this of redemption by Christ; and, indeed, one principal end of it is, To declare the righteousness of God, that he might be just, or appear to be just, and the justifier of him which believed in Jesus. But if Christ died for the sins of all men, and the punishment of their sins is inflicted on him, and bore by him, and yet multitudes of them are everlastingly punished for them, where is the justice of God? It is reckoned unjust with men, to punisht wice for the same act of offence: if one man pays another man's debts, would it be just with the creditor, to exact, require, and receive payment again at the hands of the debtor? If Christ has paid the debts of all men, can it be just with God to arrest such persons, and cast them into the prison of hell, till they have paid the uttermost farthing? Far be it from the Judge of all the earth to do so, who will do right.

4. The universal scheme, reflects on the power of God: as if he was not able to carry his designs into execution: whereas, The Lord's hand is not shortened that it cannot save; but, according to this scheme, it seems as if it was; for if Christ has redeemed all men, and all men are not saved, it must be either from want of will in God to save them, or from want of power: not from want of will; for, according to this scheme, it is the will of God that every individual man should be saved: it must be therefore for want of power; and so he is not omnipotent. Should it be said, that some men not being saved, is owing to evil dispositions in them obstructing the kind influences and intentions of God towards them; to the perverseness of their wills, and the strength of their unbelief. But, what is man mightier than his Maker? Are the kind influences of God, and his gracious intentions, to be obstructed by the corrupt dispositions of men? Is not he able to work in them, both to will and to do, of his good pleasure? Cannot he remove the perverseness of their wills, and the hardness of their hearts? Cannot he, by his power, take away their unbelief, and work faith in them, to believe in a living Redeemer? Far be it to think otherwise of him, with whom nothing is too hard, nor any thing impossible.

5. The universal scheine, reflects on the immutability of God, of his love and of his counsel: God, in the scripture, says, I am the Lord, I change not, &c. Mal. iii. 6. But, according to this scheme, it should be, rather, I am the Loid, I change; and therefore the sons of men, or at least some of them, are consumed, are lost and perish, though redeemed by Christ; for the love of God, as has been observed, is changeable with respect unto them: one while he loves them, so that he wills their salvation; at another time his love is changed into hatred, and he is resolved to stir up his wrath to the uttermost againt them. He is said to be in one mind, and who can turn him? and yet, according to this scheme, he is sometimes in one mind, and sometimes in another; sometimes his mind is

to save them; at another time his mind is to damn them. But let not this be said of him, with whom there is no variableness, nor shadow of turning.

6. The universal scheme, disappoints God of his chief end, and robs him of his glory. The ultimate end of God, in the redemption of men; as has been observed; is his own glory, the glory of his rich grace and mercy; and of his righteousness, truth and faithfulness: but if men, any of the:n who are redeemed, are not saved, so far God loses his end, and is deprived of his glory; for should this be the case, where would be the glory of God the Father, in forming a scheme which does not succeed, at least with respect to multitudes? and where would be the glory of the Son of God, the Redeemer, in working out the redemption of men, and yet they not saved by him? And where would be the glory of the Spirit of God, if the redemption wrought out, is not effectually applied by him? But, on the contrary, the glory of God, Father, Son, and Spirit, great in the salvation of all the redeemed ones.

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Another set of arguments against universal redemption, might be taken from its reflecting on the grace and work of Christ: whatever obscures, or lessens, the grace of Christ in redemption, or depreciates his work as a Redeemer, can

never be true.

1. The universal scheme, reflects on the love and grace of Christ. The scripture speake highly of the love of Christ, as displayed in redemption; and Christ himself intimates, that he was about to give the greatest instance of his love to his people, by dying for them, that could be given; even though and while they were enemies to him, John xv. 13. But what sort of love is that, to love men to such a degree as to die for them, and yet withold the means of grace from multitudes of them, bestow no grace upon them, and at last say to them, Depart from me, ye cursed into everlasting fire.

2. The universal scheme, reflects upon the work of Christ; particularly his work of satisfaction, which was to finish transgression, to make an end of sin, by satisfying divine justice for it; by putting away sin by the sacrifice of himself. Now, either he has made satisfaction for every man, or he has not: if he has, then they ought to be set free, and fully discharged, and not punishment inflicted on them, or their debts exacted of them: if he has not made satisfaction by redeeming them, this lessens the value of Christ's work, and makes it of no use, and ineffectual; and indeed, generally, if not always, the advocates for general redemption deny the proper satisfaction, and real atonement by Christ; plainly discerning, that if he has made full satisfaction for the sins of all men, they must all be saved; and so the work of reconciliation, which is closely connected with, and involved in satisfaction, is not perfect according to the scrip tures: Christ, by redeeming men with the price of his blood, has made satisfaction to justice for them, and thereby has procured their reconciliation: for they are said to be reconciled unto God by the death of his Son; and peace is said to be made by the blood of his cross which is the redemption-price for them; and he is pacified towards them for all that they have done; which is

meant by Christ being a propitiation for sin, whereby justice is appeased. But, according to the universal scheme, God is only made reconcileable, not reconciled, nor men reconciled to him: notwithstanding what Christ has done, there may be no peace to them, not any being actually made for them; and, indeed, the work of redemption must be very incomplete; though Christ is a Rock, as a Saviour and Redeemer, and his work is perfect, his work of redemption; and hence called a plenteous one; and Christ is said to have obtained, eternal redem tion for us; and yet if all are not saved through it, it must be imperfect; it cannot be a full redemption, nor of eternal efficacy; the benefit of it, can at most, he only for a time to 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 mul. titudes, 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 she works of Christ, the work of redemp. tion, and the work of intercession; and makes them to belong to different per sons; 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 ab surd 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, Isai. liii. for what satisfaction can we have to see his labour, with respect to multitudes, all jost labour, or labour in vain? it was the joy that was set before him, of hav ing 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

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millions whom he so loved as to give himself for, howling in hel!, 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 ve be forgi1 en neither in this world, nor in that which is to come: that there are such sinucis, 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 usciess; unless it can be thought, that a jail-delivery was made at his death, and the dominions and regions of hell wer cleared of their subjects.

2. Redemption, it 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, Psal. 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 redeemned 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