gy and people will have a hell somewhere, though they know not where, and the devil takes souls as soon as they leave their bodies, and flies away with them to hell, full of wrath to torment them, and God follows them with his wrath and vengeance; and thus God and the devil unite in tormenting them; only with this difference, that "God torments with his great wrath and vengeance as much as ever he can," i. e. infinitelywhich must be much more than the devil can do. I wonder he does not give the devil power, that he may do all the cruel, abominable work himself, for it is just like him, as he has no love nor mercy. Nor indeed God neither, for he torments them as much as ever he can, infinitely more than the devil can do! Ohorrid! I think

our divines might have a little more regard for the character of God, than to represent him in such a most cruel, ridiculous, and indeed blasphemous manner. Horrid, beyond all description: but let us have patience and hear a little

more.

"Thou shalt have his wrath, not by drops, but by whole showers shall it come-thunder, thunder upon thy body and soul so fast and so thick, that thou shalt be tormented out of measure."

Reader, what dost thou think of all this-of charging a good, a merciful God, with such a disposition? who has declared himself to be a lover of souls; and that He will not cast off forever; will not contend forever, nor be always wrath; for if he was to be, he has said, the Spirit would fail before him, and the souls which he has made. (Isa. Ivii. 16.) And after all these declarations, and many more of the same import,

we are told by those called divines, (than whom, with a few exceptions, there are no creatures that walk or crawl on the earth, further from divinity,*) that God will thunder, thunder down his wrath upon his poor creatures in an endless hell: the very creatures he made on purpose to partake with him of his happiness, and to enjoy and glorify him forever, and whom no power can disappoint. On these very creatures "he will thunder, thunder down his wrath," and at the same time he is thus tormenting them, with the devil to help him, he must support the souls he made, he must exert his power for the continuance of their existence, else "the Spirit would fail before him, and the souls that he has made." It would be impossible for any creature to endure such torment, and live, unless

*This assertion may possibly give offence to some of my readers, as their are many who think much of the priests, and that we should mind what they say; then hear what a celebrated one, of the Episcopalian church, says, and afterwards dont censure me for what I have said, no less a character than the Rev. David Simpson, of whom many have said, if ever there was a good man, he was one-"What a curse," says he," have the priests of Christendom been to Christendom! How many precious souls have been led into the pit of destruction by an ungodly and superstitious and idolatrous priesthood? I was almost going to say, that we parsons have been the means of damning more souls than ever we were the means of saving" [I would say to friend Simpson, that there never was a priest that ever saved a soul, i. e. from an eternal hell; and that it does not lay in the power of all the priests that ever were, that are now, or ever will be, to eternally damn a soul.] "From our profession it is that iniquity diffuseth itself through every land!!! God forgive us! Instead of being a blessing, and spreading health and salvation through the nations, which is the undoubted design of the gospel of Christ and the christian ministry, we have been playing into each others' hands, have erected a huge fabric of worldly dominion for ourselves, and have brought down, and are at this moment bringing down the divine judgments upon our country," &c. &c. He has written considerable more of the like. It will be doing him justice to remark, that before his death he had concluded to separate from the Church of England, on account of several things in that church, which he considered to be anti-Christian.-See his work entitled "A Plea for Religion."

their living, or natural sensibility, were continually supported, and indeed increased, by the power of God. O Lord, wilt thou make creatures so susceptible of pleasure and pain, and continue them in existence on purpose to eternally torment them? Forgive, I pray thee, those who have thus calumniated thy merciful and adorable character. Having made these involuntary reflections, I now return to notice a little more from the same celebrated divine.

"O how fain would those who have lost their souls for a lust, for two pence, for a jug of ale, for a strumpet, for this world, come out of that hot, scalding, fiery furnace of God's eternal vengeance." [I must now stop again to make an observation "God's eternal vengeance" against his poor, fallible creature, man, whom the prophet Isaiah says, are but as grasshoppers in his sight. What would be said of a parent who would punish his little children, and declare that he did it out of vengeance, or as taking revenge of them? Such conduct would be detested and despised by all people. To say that God punishes his poor creatures in vengeance, or as taking revenge of them for the wrong they had done, is abominable, and nothing short of blasphemy. For what is blasphemy, but speaking evil of God, and charging him with such a disposition and conduct as all men despise and detest in a fellow-creature? To say that God punishes or corrects, in love and mercy, and for the good of the punished, is quite different. And all parents and guardians, who have the care of children, may herein imitate him. Only remember to keep in the spirit of love and mercy, and

then there will be no danger of doing wrong. But it is well known, that most of professed Christians imitate their God, or act according to their erroneous ideas of him, for they generally correct their children in wrath and anger, and pour their vengeance upon them till it becomes cruelty, which I have often seen to my sorrow; and probably almost every reader has seen more or less of the same. Well, it cant be said but that they act consistent with their faith; so they believe of God, and so they do. But did people believe that God never punishes any soul, but in pity, love and tenderness, and that "he ever reinembereth mercy-that he is rich in mercy-"plenteous in mercy," and not only merciful, but of "TENDER mercy," and that "his TENDER MERCIES are over all his works." I say, did people believe all this of their God, they might imitate him, or endeavour to be like him, and we should see more mercy,love and kindness among mankind, and cruelty would become detested. I will now return to the orthodox raving, altogether the reverse of what I have said-a complete contrast.] "But ye ungodly fathers, how are your ungodly children roaring now in hell ?" [Some innocent infants.] "But look to yourselves, for here will be damnation upon damnation; damned for thy own sins, and damned for being partakers with others in their sins; and damned for being guilty of the damnation of others." [i. e. damned, and double, double damned. Thus, after dealing out damnation by wholesale, without any pity, mercy or compassion, he says,] "Friends, I have only given a few short touches. of the torments of hell." My God! If those be

only his short touches, what must be his long ones? Why, no doubt, what all the orthodox preach in the present day, that the torments of hell are greater than can be expressed or imagined. To a clergyman, who dissented from him in some doctrinal points, he said, "Ah friend, will it not grieve thee to see thy whole parish come bellowing after thee in hell, crying out, This we may thank thee for!!!" This horrid production of Bunyan's has passed through ten editions in London, which shows how much people are pleased in hearing or reading about hell and damnation. A certain humane writer, speaking of this work of Bunyan, says, “We seriously question whether the devil himself could exceed, in hellish and abandoned description and metaphor, this impious production!It is more than enough to disgust the rational and humane of all sects and parties." But it is no more than what is still believed and preached, that the torments of hell are beyond all description; therefore, Bunyan, Edwards, and others, have only given us some short touches.Search throughout creation, not only through this world and our planetary system, but throughout millions and billions of other worlds, that float in the immensity of space, and I am bold to declare, that not a greater contrast could be found to the true character of God, than has been given in the above extracts. And can it be possible that any poor, fallible, finite creatures, as men are, can do any thing to deserve such punishment? Is there any thing that has the least appearance of benevolence, love or mercy in it? But the worst of all is yet to come.