"neceffity of his present fentence of condemnation"as will fo far overbalance their natural self-love, as "to oblige them to justify God's character, conduct, "and judgment in word and mind; and forever "filence all murmurings, injurious reflections, and hard "Speeches against him, and all blafphemy and curfings "of their maker: Their rage will then turn inward against themselves-This is the view which he who "knew gives us of the final condition of loft fouls: "There shall be weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth, "he tells us, but not a word of blafphemous rage against God. No: hell will at laft, in this refpect, be as filent as the grave." * ་་ << I have quoted this long paffage, because it appears to me an extraordinary one, and the thoughts quite new, for which,however, I do not fault them, but because they are very abfurd, which muft fufficiently ap pear from the paffage itself and the notes upon it. Yet I must remark on those words, "But it is a great "mistake to fuppofe and teach that things will re"main in this horrid confufion in wicked minds forever, as too many do." On this I obferve, 66 1. That the damned, if we believe Mr. H. will not be in fo great and fuch "horrid confusion" always as they now are. No! The happy time is coming when their confufion fhall not be fo horrible and dreadful; but if minds fhall be calmed, and every murmur filenced, their minds fhall be fuited to their state, and hell will at laft" with refpect to any blafphemy against God," be as filent as the grave"-Happy æra -But it will never come !The fcripture reprefents the damned as referved to greater confufion after the judgment of the great day; and this is the current opinion of divines. 2. I believe no one, befides Mr. H. ever taught that "a weak fenfe of God's righteoufnefs in oppofing the finner in his evil way; and a low and dull * D. p. 60, 61. L " fenfe "fenfe of the finner's own faultinefs" or ill defert, was, is, or can be the caufe of their rage, blafphemy or curfing God; or that the devil and the damned are thus infenfible of these things in their prefent ftate.I believe Mr. H. is alone in this opinion, and devils are and ever have been incapable of confufion from this quarter; yea, that their confufion arifes from a clear and strong fenfe of God's righteoufnefs and of their juft defert of his wrath, tho' thefe will doubtlefs be more fully manifested at and after the day of judgment, which manifeftation will compleat their confufion, and their wicked hearts will flame out more maliciously in blafphemy and curfing, in proportion to their clearer view of God and themselves-May fovereign mercy rescue us all from this direful and eternal confufion ! I fhall only observe farther, that the scripture he brings in this cafe, is nothing to his purpofe. The text he cites certainly proves that they are full of rage; gnashing of teeth implies this; but then he fays it is not against God: but how does this appear? Why, because the text does not say that it is against him; true, neither does it fay, it is not against him, or that it is against themselves. This text therefore only proves that the damned will be filled with rage: but it says nothing about the object against whom it will be exerted; and fo is nothing to his purpose. What may we not prove from fcripture if we play with it thus ? This extraordinary paffage affords further proofthat Mr. H. believes that natural confcience includes in it a tafte for God's true character, fince the damned, on a full discovery of it at the day of judgment, will so ap prove and love it, as to "filence all murmurings and injurious thoughts of their Maker." And if it be, as he fays, that it "holds univerfally true in fact, viz. "Men who hate God, his ways, &c.—always mifre"prefent their characters to themselves-as either "morally evil or contemptible"; and if it be true that "God cannot be the object of hatred to any mo"ral being confidered fimply in himself "¶; yea "can't "but be approved by the mind of man and by all "moral beings". I fay if these things are fo, then the devils and damned, when they fhall fee God's true character, (as they will at the day of judgment,when not a falfe, but a true character of God will be difcovered to them, as he acknowledges) will neceffarily love, and cannot hate him. But is not this too grofs to need any confutation? Yea is not the abfurdity fo glaring as to baffle every attempt to make it more ftriking! 5. If this doctrine is true, there never was, never will be any fin in the universe. Let us attend a moment to Mr. H's affertion; "God cannot be the object of hatred to any moral being, can't but be approved by the mind of man, and by all moral beings confidered fimply in himself."§ Here he fully aflerts this abfurd confequence. No, Mr. H. may reply, "I allow that men and devils too hate God relatively "confidered, and from interefted views." Very true. But it must remain an unalterable truth, that if they hate him at all, it must be either for what he is in himself, or for what he is not in himself, i. e. for fomething that is not in him, does not belong to him, and therefore fomething that is not God. Mr. H. has told us what this fomething is, viz. a character morally evil and contemptible falfely afcribed to him. This and this only can be hated, if we believe him. But to hate this implies love to the true God; and fo there is nothing but holiness, and can be no fin in the universe. 6. Another *D. p. 64. ¶ D. p. 57. + D. p. 54. Wicked beings can fee God's true character, and the only reafon why they do not fee the beauty of it, is, they have no tafte for the character which they fee, and in this want of taffe lies their wickedness. § D. p. 54, 57. 6. Another reason why I deny this doctrine is, that if it be true, all moral beings, men and devils, as well as angels,muft neceffarily be happy. (It may be, this is the reason why Mr. H. maintains it.) For if they all neceffarily love God's true character, God is fo neceffarily good and true that he cannot punish them. But if he fhould admit that devils may be miferable, (which however he can't allow on his principles,) yet it is certain that none of mankind can perifh. For tho' he should allow that men have finned, and have some fort of wicked enmity to God, (which however is not confiftent with his fcheme) yet the gofpel provides and promises eternal life to all who have the leaft degree of love to God's true character, even though there are many remains of enmity and corruption in the heart. Now according to the principle under cenfure, all men have fome love to God confidered fimply in himself, i. e. truly confidered, and therefore they all have the promise of eternal life thro' Chrift. There is then as great a neceffity of the final falvation of all men, on Mr. H's principles, as there is that God fhould fulfil the promises of the gospel. 7. This principle of Mr. H's appears to me entirely repugnant to holy fcripture. The Apostle Paul tells us, The carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not fubject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.* A little attention to this, and fome other paffages of fcripture, will be fufficient to prove, beyond any reasonable doubt, the total moral depravity of human nature in its lapfed ftate. The force of the argument from this text, to prove this point, lies very much in the phrafe, The carnal mind. For if by it the Apostle means corrupt, degenerate nature, or the nature of man as unregenerate, and as being the fpring or principle of all wicked exercifes of the heart and life, then this amounts *Rom. viii. 7. 8. amounts to a pofitive affertion, that human nature is totally depraved; and the words may with propriety run thus: The nature of unregenerate men is enmity against God, &c. because in this cale the carnal mind and the degenerate nature of man,mean the fame thing. But that this is the meaning of the phrafe, The carnal mind, is evident from the paffage taken in connection with the context, which runs thus: For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the fpirit, the things of the fpirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be fpiritually minded is life and peace: Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not fubject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then, they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the fpirit, if fo be the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Chrift he is none of his. * It is evident from this paffage,that to mind the things of the fpirit; to be fpiritually minded; to be in the fpirit; to have the spirit of God dwell in us, and to have the fpirit of Chrift, all mean the fame thing, viz. a hav ing the principle and exercife of holinefs. This is here fuppofed not to be in men by nature, but only as they have the ipirit of Chrift, without which they are none of bis. And it is equally evident that to be after the flesh; to have a carnal mind; to be in the flesh, and not to have the fpirit of Christ, mean the fame thing, viz. to be in an unregenerate ftate. A being after the flesh, is affigned, v. 5. as the caufe why men mind the things of the fefb, and their minding the things of the flesh is a clear evidence of their being after the flesh, i. e. carnal. This is the fruit by which the tree, the man, is known to be in the flesh or carnal, and his carnal or corrupt nature is the cause and spring of his carnal defires and pursuits; and this nature is fo powerful,that, while he continues in the flesh, be cannot please God, i. e. he is fo governed by this principle as invariably to act in a manner offenfive *Rom. viii. 5-9. |