trine of Univerfal Salvation." Now as I conceive fuch an opinion to be totally fatal to you, and poffibly may be fo to your children, I have thought it to be my duty to write to you on the fubject. For, fhould I meet you at the bar of God, a final castaway, I am confcious it would be juftly exacted of me why I had not given you a timely warning? And I could not answer for the neglect. Whether it will have any good effect in leading you to a re

originally intended to be prefented to any eye but his to whom it was addreffed. I intended that God fhould be the only witnefs who fhould ever behold it, except my correfpondent. But fome months fubfequent to the time when it was written, a particular occafion, rendered it proper, (as I thought) for me to read it to a confidential friend, on whofe judgment I place great reliance; and he advifed me to forward it to you for publication. With diffidence I complied. To you, Gentlemen, it is now fubmit-nunciation of your error, must be ted, and you will publish it or not, as you may judge beft. My fincere prayers are offered up to the Throne of Grace, for the fuccefs of your benevolent undertaking, as, I truft, thofe of all good people are; and may you have the pleasure to behold the work of the Lord profper in your hands.

A LAYMAN.

Dec. 5th, 1800.

A

left with a Holy, a Sovereign, and Merciful God, with whom is the refidue of the Spirit; to whom my prayers are daily offered on your behalf; that he would be graciously pleafed to enlighten your mind in the knowledge of Chrift, and lead you home to himself, thro' the merits of a glorious Redeemer. I frankly confefs to you I have not much hope that you will attend to what I write; for people, who once adopt that error, have fo many temptations to continue in it, both from the wiles of Satan, and their own depraved hearts, that I have rarely heard of any one who has left it. But, having quieted themselves in a finful course, they ufually go on, with that blindness of mind, which they have voluntarily chofen, until death overtakes them, and convinces them, when they would give worlds to repair their error, that they have been fatally deceiving themselves. Such, I fear will be your fituation.

MY DEAR FRIEND, N obfervation which I heard you make, when I laft faw you, has, from that time to the prefent, dwelt upon my mind, and given me great anxiety on your account. It was on the fubject of falvation. I think you will recollect it, on my repeating it you, and noticing the place where it was made. In July 1798, you and I were returning from a journey up Connecticut river; and, as we were paffing through Hadly mead ow, you advanced a fentiment which I did not perfectly compre- I prefume I may, without arhend. I enquired whether you rogance, fay, that I have paid pretended to Atheism? You re- much more attention to this fubplied No. But you went on to ject than you. My employments, obferve that "neither you, (mean- and fituation in life, have regularly ⚫ing myself) nor any other perfon, led me to do it. I have read large'would find any thing in the New-ly upon it, the ableft champions, Teftament, but what went to both for, and against it. I have ⚫ confirm, (or establish) the Doc endeavoured to weigh all their ar

guments coolly. I have attended| to the lives of thofe of my acquaintance who have profeffed to believe it; and the best opinion which I can form, relative to it, is this; viz. that it is one of the moft fuccefsful schemes that the great adversary has ever devifed, to lead men away from the truth; that thofe who do imbibe it, are induced to do it to quiet their own consciences in their wicked courfes; and that those who adopt it, do it with a particular view to their own exemption from the punishment denounced against finners who die impenitent.

ftate of uncertainty refpecting thefe very important, and interefting, enquiries. It is from the bible only, that we get the true account, and there we are taught our duty plainly. There we, alfo, learn, that men can wreft fcripture to their own damnation. Is not the character of man, as he exhibits it in this life, truly drawn in the bible! Is not man quarrelfome, malicious, profane, luftful, thievifh, false, and deceitful? So fays the bible. Muft not all of us die? We know we muft. Now we come to the important question, what will be our end, or fituation after death? This question you have to settle for yourfelf; and if you fhould mistake, I wish you to carefully remember, that miftaking in your folution of it, will not mitigate the dreadful horrors of your fiteation, because there is a fufficiency of ev idence on the fubject, amply within your reach. And if you, either through prejudice, or too much anxiety to obtain worldly poffeffions, through indolence, or careleffnefs, do not attend to it according to its importance, and judge aright refpecting it, the dreadful confequence must be yours, and yours only. For every one flandeth or falleth for himself.

I am not about to treat this fubject argumentatively. The limits ufually affigned to a letter will not admit of it. But I fhall fuggeft a number of things, (and with plainnefs) with a view to induce you to examine the subject thoroughly, before you rifk your intereft for eternity upon it. The arguments for, and against it, you may find in Doctor Edwards' reply to Chauncey, much more ably and clearly flated, than I could do it, fhould I attempt. And in in my own opinion, if you examine, with that candor, which your intereft alone ought to produce, you will find the arguments perfectly conclufive against Univerfal Salvation. Let us look at our fituation. You and I did not make ourselves, but we are here in life. There is but one book in the world, (befide those which are copied from it) which contains any rational account of man's origin. The wifeft, and most learned, of the Heathen Philofophers, have written much, and with great anxiety, re-declared that profane swearers fhall fpecting the origin and deftiny of have their portion in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone.What language can be plainer, or more exprefs? I fhall make only two enquiries of you respecting

man.

And the writings of Socrates, who was, confeffedly, the wifeft, and greatest of them all, manifeftly shew that he was in a

The vulgar, and ungentlemanlike habit of profane fwearing, I am informed has greatly increafed upon you. Several perfons, not very fcrupulous on the fubject themfelves, after having been in your company, have spoken of you, to me, as being fingularly addicted to it. This is a vice, exprefsly forbidden in the bible; and it is

that practice, and fhall leave you! Inftances there are, I acknowlto answer them to yourfelf. What edge, but they are very uncomreal good have you ever derived mon, of people's ever reforming, from profane fwearing? Have you when they are paft the age of thirnot adopted the fyftem of Univer- ty-five years. Atleaft, my expefal Salvation, merely that you may rience witneffes to this truth. If indulge yourself in that vice, and you will look back upon your past others which are exprefsly forbid- life, you will find it has been short den in the word of God, with and troublesome. Yet in all problefs compunction, and more case of ability, you have lived much the confcience? I am perfectly fatish-greateft part of it. If, during the ed, in my own mind, how you greatest half of your life, you have will answer thefe queftions if you indulged yourfelf in finful practianswer them truly; and truly you ces, and in purfuits condemned muft anfwer them before God; and by the law of God; and if you that not many years firft. You are have hitherto reaped nothing from now confiderably paft middle age; them, but vexation and difapand if you were fure you fhould live pointment, (which I am perfectly to seventy years, (which few of your fenfible is the fact) 1 afk you, as ancestors have done) it will still be one who is concerned for your fubut a fhort time, before you will know ture peace, whether you had not betwhether you have adopted a wrong ter try a different kind of princiand ruinous opinion, or not.- ples and practices? I fhould think Should it prove that you have, that selfishness alone would prompt think, O think, my friend, what you to this, were it not for the must be your fituation! All your deceitfulness of fin. enjoyments will be past-all your hopes of eafe and pleasure utterly at an end. Many of your friends of this world; thofe with whom you have taken pleasure in this life; those with whom you, perhaps, now flatter yourself, you shall spend an eternity of happiness, will then be feparated from you; they on the right hand, and you on the left, of your judge-and, while you are beholding them reaping the bleffed harvelt of the good feed, fown on the fruitful foil of true faith in the Lord Jefus Chrift, carefully cultivated with all the Chriftian graces, you will be neceffitated to view a profpect of mifery, interminable, of woe, forever increafing, from which you can never efcape, and upon which you must enter as foon as the awful command is given, "Depart from me ye curfed into everlafting fire prepared ⚫ for the devil and his angels." VOL. I. No. 9.

You must accept of a Saviour on Chrift's own terms or you must reject him. He now offers himfelf to you; but it is in his own way. If, when you come to the bar of God, you find that Chrift rejects you, and configns you over to torment without end, your telling him that you understood the gofpel otherwife, and that you thought all would be faved, will do you no good. Will the thought, that you have deceived yourself then give you any consolation? O! no. It will only increafe your mifery; for you will then recollect, that you once had the offer of falvation as well as others that they embraced it in truth, but that you were deceived by Satan, who is now to forever exult in your blind credulity, with which he led you on to deftruction. I repeat it. Chrift now of fers himself to you; but it is on Tt.

Accidentally hearing of your illness, I thought it might, with the bleffing of God, afford you a favorable opportunity to reflect; which your hurry in business, when in health, might preclude. And alfo, with a hope that you. may have had eternity more strongly depicted to your mind, during your fickness, than when your at

his own terms. If you accept of him, on thofe terms, he will fave you from fin, as well as from misery; and no one was ever faved from mifery, who was not firft faved from fin: Because mifery is a neceffary and inevitable confequence of fin. They are infeparably connected. But if you will not accept of him as he fays, you will fail of his benefits, and betention has been much engroffed caft into outer darkness, until the by the cares and business of the great day; when you, and I, and world, I have forwarded this to your connections, and friends, and you. And I pray God, of his all others, must come forth to give infinite mercy, through our blefan account of ourselves and be fed Lord and Saviour Jefus Christ, judged. If it then appears that to guide you in that straight and you rejected Chrift, because you narrow way, which will lead you loved fin, as it will appear, if you to himself," where the wicked do finally reject him, you will be ceafe from troubling, and where hut out; while you may proba- the weary are at rest." bly fee your parents, your wife, fome of your brothers and fifters, (I hope all of them) many of those who are now your friends and acquaintance, feated at the right hand of their Judge, and preferved from thofe dreadful torments which will await you and all others who do reject the Sayiour.

I beseech you to think of thefe things as they are-do not deceive yourfelf in fo important a concern. I have endeavoured to ftate these things truly, and plainly, to you. Not to wound your feelings; for

have done it, because I am extremely anxious that you fhould determine aright, that you need not mourn at the laft, a fatal obftinacy and blindness, which is the certain ruin of every one who retains it to their end. I have done it, because I am confcious that it is my duty to warn you, if I fee you in danger, that I may not have the neglect charged to my account, to fwell the multitude of my crimes.

I am, &c.

An Account of a work of Divine grace in a Revival of Religion, in a number of Congregations in New England, in the years 1798 and 1799, in a series of Letters to the Editors.

[Continued from page 314.]

LETTER XV.

Second letter from the Rev. Am
R. ROBBINS of Norfolk.
GENTLEMEN,

given

rative and brief sketch of the wonderful work of God among us; after requesting a remembrance in your prayers and thanksgivings to the God of fovereign grace on might have stopped there perhaps Our behalf; I rather than add any thing further. But my feelings dictate that fome remarks and obfervations concerning the aforementioned difplay of the power and grace of the king of Zion may be useful by his bleffing, to comfort and encourage the

people of God, and animate them | the leaft claim on God, and if he