fiftently with the most perfect juftice, on whatsoever nations, or bodies of people, his infinite wisdom fhould fee fit. But from a total misunderstanding of the nature of the election, of which the apostle was speaking, he has been thought to mean, that God had arbitrarily elected a certain number of individuals to future happiness, to whom the means of falvation were given; whilft the reft were reprobated, and configned over to eternal mifery. And all that is alleged, in vindication of the moral character of the Deity, which so much suffers in this shocking representation of the divine conduct, is, that mankind incurred this fentence in consequence of Adam's transgreffion; by which he, and all his posterity, became objects of the divine wrath, and were fubjected to everlasting mifery: though the fcriptures no where represent any thing but death being entailed on mankind in confe Bb 4 Een the docti narian writers, that asure, antecedent to re, original or actual, - his fovereignty and al rejection and dam eft part of mankind, their unavoidable fin s the means." i, and univerfal na th, that GOD IS GOOD of justi as a pa Father inftitu penfati No roneous given they ar confift HIS TENDER MERHIS WORKS: but in can we reconcile this with doctrin It is d paffage with thefe doctrines? with the fuppofition, that he has devoted, by an irreversible decree, millions of his creatures to endless mifery, without even having given them a poffibility of avoiding it? It is indeed amazing, that fuch a doctrine, so totally repugnant to every idea, not only of goodnefs and of mercy, but even of equity and of justice, should ever have been confidered as a part of that divine religion, which the Father of mercies, the God of love, has inftituted as his last and most merciful difpenfation to the sons of men. NOTWITHSTANDING the abfurd and er roneous interpretations, which have been given of fome parts of St. Paul's writings, they are in themselves perfectly rational and confiftent; and entirely agreeable to the doctrine of Christ and the other apostles. It is only when fome particular detached paffages of his epiftles, are interpreted without a proper regard to the peculiar circumstances which attended his writing them, and to the whole scope of his reasoning, that he appears to differ from them, This apostle, in all his epiftles, inculcates the uniform practice of virtue with great force and energy. And the account, which he gives of the future judgment, perfectly agrees with that given in the gospels, "The judgment of God is according to "truth-who will render to every man according to his deeds; to them who by patient continuance in well-doing, feek "for glory, and honour, and immortality, "eternal life: but unto them that are con"tentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteoufnefs, indignation "and wrath; tribulation and anguish upon 16 every foul of man that doeth evil;-but "glory, honour, and peace, to every man "that "that worketh good for there is no res "spect of perfons with God"," THE epiftles of the other apoftles are attended with lefs difficulty. That of St. James is almoft entirely compofed of inftructions, for the regulation of the Christian converfation of those to whom his epiftle is written. This apoftle inculcates very forcibly the neceffity of PRACTICAL religion; and cautions them against imagining, that faith alone was fufficient for their final falvation. "Be ye," fays he, "doers "of the word, and not hearers only, de"ceiving your own felves:-What doth "it profit, my brethren, though a man fay he hath faith, and hath not works, can faith fave him?-By works a man is juftified, and not by faith only 4°." And the fame apostle represents the practice of benevolence, and perfonal holiness, 40 39 Romans li. 2—II, 40 James i. 22. and ii. 14—24. as |