of his character must be conformable to it—that is, it must be most benevolent, and of all possible plans, the wisest and best-the best suited to exhibit his true character, and effect the greatest possible general good. And can we say, that the punishment of the finally impenitent, is unnecessary to the honour of the divine character-that the destruction of a part of the human race has no place in the government of God, and that the general good of his system does not require it? Yet, Sir, you assert that you can find no representation of this kind in Scripture:-What, when every threatening of God's word, every expression of his unchangable determination to punish and destroy the impenitent, is an unequivocal declaration of it? what, when he tells us that he hath made all things for himself, and the wicked for the day of evil? Prov. xvi. 4. What, when the heavenly host are represented as rejoicing in view of the final and everlasting destruction of the wicked actually accomplished, and striking anthems of the highest praise and thanksgiving to God for this most glorious display of his justice, saying, "Alleluia, salvation and glory and honour and power, unto the Lord our God, for true and righteous are his judgments." Rev. xix. The whole book of God is replete with the most clear and pointed declarations of his holy anger against sin, and his inflexible justice.His law is sanctioned with the most tremendous penalty. It threatens eternal death to the offender-"Curs ed is every one that continueth not in all things written in the book of the law to do them." Deut. xxvii. 26. The soul that sinneth it shall die." Ezekiel xviii. 4. God will by no means clear the guilty. Exod. xxxiv. 7. He that believeth not shall be damned. Mark xvi. 16. These shall go away into everlasting punishment. Math, xxv. 40. And this is a stamp of divinity upon the Bible. It is a distinguishing beauty and glory of God's word, and a glowing evidence of its truth, that it expresses the divine displeasure at all kinds and degrees of moral evil-that it uniformly represents wickedness as the object of the divine hatred, and the anger of God against sin to be in proportion to its demerit. Were it otherwise we never could rationally believe

that the Scriptures came from a good God-for they would not evidence his regard to the happiness of being. They would not exhibit the divine character as a lover and rewarder of righteousness, and a hater and punisher of iniquity. All the threatenings of God's word-all its awful denunciations against his enemies, evidence his infinite regard to the happiness of his moral kingdom and are so many declarations of that truth, which I am grieved to hear you deny--that both his holy character and the good of his general system absolutely require the display of his justice in the punishment of his enemies-or the destruction of a part of the human race. As God is love, his anger can be no other than his dislike and abhorrence of those actions in creatures, which are destructive of the happiness that his goodness inclines him to produce. God's love inclines him to do good, and to be pleased with that in creatures, which tends to promote happiness. His anger is his dislike and abhorrence of those moral actions which are subversive of happiness. The exercise of this love in God in opposing sin and the ways of the wicked, is his anger. His anger against sin is the exercise of his love to the happiness of being as much so as his approbation of righteousness, and his complacence in moral virtue. His anger is the displeasure of goodness, the necessary operation of goodness in abhoring and opposing that, which in its natural tendency is hurtful and destructive to the general welfare.

If then the divine anger against the wicked be the natural and essential operation of God's goodness, which none can doubt, we may hence safely, and without any danger of false deductions, conclude, that the fruits and effects of it will infallibly be made to appear in his government :-otherwise, the external evidence to his creatures of the perfection of his goodness, or his infinite regard to the happiness of being, must be defective;―Therefore both his character and the good of the general system equally require, that, the benevolent anger existing in the divine mind against sinners should be expressed by sensible fruits, in the

It is therefore, from the infinitely pure nature of God, and the perfection of his goodness, that the certainty of the sinner's destruction arises. Were the Deity less good, there would be more reason to expect, that impenitent sinners might escape :-but if God be infinitely good, this goodness excludes all possibility of it.

So far, therefore, are we from having any reason to be dissatisfied with that character of God, which originates the necessity, and certainty of the sinner's destruction, that we have every reason to love it, and rejoice in it, just the same reason, as we have to esteem the character of a civil ruler, which is the terror of thieves, robbers, murderers and destroyers of the public peace for were it not for this character of God, there would be no peace or safety under his govern

ment.

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And now, my friend, I appeal to your candour and your conscience, whether this reasoning be not rational, scriptural, and conclusive. Is this to be set down, as one of those false deductions, which draw us away from the truth, and lead us to believe, that the good of the general system requires the destruction of a part of the human race. We may conclude with certainty, upon this principle, that if the good of the general system does not require the destruction of any part of the human race-God will never destroy them--but save all mankind--for his infinite wisdom and goodness are engaged to promote and secure, in the most effectual manner the greatest possible general good of his system. And he is a being too wise to mistake the best means for accomplishing that important end. He is a being too good to sport with the happiness of his creatures, or wantonly to inflict needless misery upon any part of his moral system.

But, you say, if there be such a necessity as you contend for, I am incapable of reconciling it to this declaration of Scripture, "That the Lord is long suffering to usward-not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."

This is because you misunderstand the passage, apply it in a sense contrary to its most obvious and necessary meaning. This will appear when we come to exame it in its connection.

The text is the words of Peter, (2. Peter iii. 9.)— But to whom, and of whom is the apostle here speaking? This was an important point of attention, which, however, you have quite overlooked. Who were

meant to be included in the word, us, must determine the question, and show how far the words any and all are to be extended. Is the apostle speaking to or of all mankind? This is not certain from the phraseologyfor the word, all, according to the occasion of the speaker or writer, may be as properly applied to a part as to the whole. This word all may as fitly apply to the inhabitants of New England, if no greater number of people were the antecedent subject-as when speaking upon a more extensive scale it is applied to the whole human race.

This and the former epistle of Peter are styled, Epistles general-yet they both have a particular direction-a limited address. The first epistle is addressed thus-"Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bythinia-elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father." The second epistle, which contains the passage before us, is introduced and addressed in the following manner. "Simon Peter, a servant of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us, through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.' So that it is most evidently the elect-true believershis beloved brethren in Christ, and those only, to whom. he directs his epistles. These, including himself, are the only persons, to whom and of whom he is speaking, and whom he means to implicate in the words us, any, and all, in the forecited passage. The chapter which contains it he begins thus, "This second epistle, Beloved, I now write unto you, in both which I stir up your pure minds, by way of remembrance." Here still he is addressing only the saints-his Christian brethren. The epithet, beloved, is never applied by

the apostle to any other. And this address without any apostrophe he continues throughout the chapter which ends the epistle. In the verse immediately preceding the text, he repeats the appellation-so that we cannot mistake. I will cite it at large, as it will cast still further light upon the passage-"But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise as some men count slackness-but is long suffering to usward, not willing that any [of us his elect] should perish-but that all [of us] should come to repentance." The words any and all refer only to the elect-they cannot be applied in any greater extent than the word us, with any propriety of speech, or without torturing the manifest sense of the passage in a very arbitrary manner. Us is the antecedent, any and all the relatives, in which the antecedent is necessarily understood.

The drift and design of the apostle in the whole passage, was evidently, to encourage his Christian brethren to whom he wrote, and arm them with motives of patience and fortitude, under the insults and reproaches of scoffing infidels, and the ungodly world, who ridiculed and mocked at the idea of Christ's second coming to judgment—"saying, where is the promise of his coming, for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were, from the beginning of the creation." But the apostle, in effect, exhorts them to wait with patience, and be neither moved, nor discouraged by the reproaches of their enemies, nor the delay of Christ's coming;-for a long time with us, is but a short time with God, who views not things as we do, by succession and parts. A thousand years are with him, but as one day, and one day as a thousand years. Eternal duration is constantly present in his view-iş one unending now. Peter, therefore tells his Christian brethren that they had no reason to faint, or doubt the divine faithfulness, because Christ did not immediately come to Judgment, for he would not delay beyond the proper time. In the meanwhile, this visible material earth and heavens was reserved in store as the place