John, iii. 16, 17. But it is not so much my business now to shew, that the sentiment is scriptural, as to shew that it is not of a dangerous tendency. The following words, however, are so beautiful, that I take the liberty to mention them:-"but thou hast mercy upon all; for thou canst do all things, and winkest at the sins of men, because they should amend. For thou lovest all the things that are, and abhorrest nothing which thou hast made; for never wouldest thou have made any thing, if thou hadst hated it. And how could any thing have endured, if it had not been thy will; or been preserved, if not called by thee? But thou sparest all; for they are thine, O Lord, thou lover of souls. For thine incorruptible Spirit is in all things: therefore chasteneth thou them, by little and little, that offend, and warnest them, by putting them in remembrance wherein they have offended, that leaving their wickedness, they may believe on thee, O Lord. For thy power is the beginning of righteousness; and because thou art the Lord of all, it maketh thee to be gracious unto all. But thou, O God, art gracious and true; long suffering, and in mercy ordering all things. For if we sin, we are thine, knowing thy power; but we will not sin, knowing that we are counted thine:" Wisdom of Solomon, xi. 23, 26. xii. 1, 2, 16. xv. 1, 2. "Jehovah is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and of great mercy. Jehovah is good to all; and his tender mercies are over all his works. All thy works shall praise thee, O Jehovah; and thy saints shall bless thee." Psal. cxlv. 8, 9, 10.

3. Another great principle upon which the Restoration depends, is, that Christ died for all; We see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that he, by the grace of God, should taste death for every man.' (or all) Heb. ii. 9. "If any man sin we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous. And he is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world." 1 John, ii. 1, 2.

"For

there is one God, and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus; who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.” 1 Tim. ii. 5, 6.

I need not multiply passages to prove that Christ died for all; for though the universality of his death is not expressly asserted, in every text where it is mentioned that he died, it must always be understood; because it is never denied in any place, and is plainly, and pointedly declared in those I have quoted. And, besides, it is evident that in the apostles' time, the universality of the death of Christ was a first principle, universally acknowledged, and therefore, St. Paul reasons from it as such; which it would have been highly preposterous for him to do, if that had not been the case: as, for example, "For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all," (which is not disputed by any, and which we know to be a truth) "then were all dead: and that he died for all; that they who live, should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him that died for them, and rose again." 2 Cor. v. 14, 15.

Friend. But have you never heard it argued that Christ did not die for all, because he did not pray for all?

Minister. I remember, when a lad, I was sent to a neighbor's house, and overheard the good man, the master of the family, read in a book after this manner: "Christ did not die for all, because he did not pray for all; I pray for them; I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me, for they are thine." St. John, xvii. 9. And I then thought the argument conclusive; but I am now at a loss whether the author of that book meant to deceive his readers; or, whether he had never read the chapter through critically. For had he read the 20th verse, he would have found these words, which would have overthrown his hypothesis: "Neither pray I for these alone; but for them also, who shall believe on me through their word." If Christ had prayed for all, in the 9th verse, for whom he died, he could not have enlarged his prayer so much in the 20th verse, as to take in not them only, but all who should believe on him through their word. Neither does

he stop here, but goes on to pray for those that believe in these words: "That they all may be one; as thou, Father art in me, and I in thee: that they also may be one in us:"-And why is all this unity prayed for among unbelievers? Surely, it hath never been accomplished; but it shall be, for this great and admirable purpose: viz. "That the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me, I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one; I in them and thou in me; that

they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me." v. 21, 22, 23. Friend. But when shall the world believe, and know that Christ is sent from God?

Minister. When all that believe shall be one, as the Father and Son are one. When the great marriage of the Lamb shall be celebrated, and his bride shall be one, in the bond of universal love and fellowship, as the Father and Son now are: when the church shall be perfected in one; shall dwell in love, and dwell in God, as the Father dwells in the Son, and the Son in the Father: when Zion's watchmen shall see eye to eye: when all believers shall speak the same thing; when there shall be no more divisions among them; when they shall be perfectly joined together in the same mind, and in the same judgment.

This was the state that St. Paul besought the Corinthians to press after, and wished them to attain; but he had the mortification to see them fall short of it, as all the Christian churches have, from that day to this. But when Christ shall give that glory and honor to his bride, which the Father gave to him, and shall thus unite her to himself, in an indissoluble union, and the several members of his body the Church, shall be as much united one to another, as the members af the natural body are; or, to express it in his own words, "As thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee." When thus the church shall be one, in spirit, love, design, judgement, &c. as the Father and Son are; then shall the world believe, and believing, have life; then shall the

world know him, whom to know is life eternal. See verses 2 and 3. But as this great cause has never yet existed, the effect has not yet followed; but when the first shall be, the last shall take place in consequence.

The petitions in that most excellent prayer, that may, with great propriety be called the LORD's prayer, may be divided into four classes. 1. For himself, verses 1st and 5th. 2. For his apostles, 9, 19. 3. For them that should believe through their word, 20, 21, 22, 23. And 4. for the world, verses 21, 23: as I have just observed, and need not add any more upon so plain a

matter.

Friend. Proceed, if you please, to show, that the doctrine of the universality of the death of Christ does not lead to licentiousness.

Minister. It is evident that it doth not; but on the contrary, it is the strongest motive to all who believe it, to love and live to him who died for them, and rose again. We are not our own, but are bought with a price; therefore, we are exorted not to be the servants of sin, slaves to our passions, and servants to men; but to glorify God in our bodies and spirits, which are his; and the apostle beseeches us by the mercies of God, to present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God; which is our reasonable service. Forasmuch, as we know that we were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver & gold; but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a Lamb without blemish, and without spot. See 2 Cor. v. 15. Rom. vi. 12, 13. 1 Cor. vii. 23. vi. 19, 20. Rom. xii. 1. 1 Pet. i. 18, 19.