SOME THOUGHTS ON THE GLOOMY CLOUD THAT HANGS OVER NEW-ENGLAND.
SOME say, because Christ died for ALL, that ALL will be saved; because the scripture saith ‘that the LORD will have ALL men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth’ And as GOD is a Being of power, to perform his will, so consequently none can be lost.
[Page 4] HOPKINTO'S. Say, CHRIST died for the Elect only, and they only can be saved: That altho' God calls upon all men to turn, repent, and be saved, that he doth not intend they shall, for he hath before decreed, their sin and damnation, and that God intended sin should come into the world and make a part of the creation eternally miserable: and to prove it, they say, God had power to save all, of he pleased; and that he delights as much in the damnation of those that are damned, as in the salvation of those that are saved.
The Armenians says, children are born free from sin, and if they do as well as they can, God will have mercy upon them, and save them.
Shakers say, that men will be damn'd, if they lodge with their own wives, and that they must believe God through the mother, and the elders, or they cannot be saved, and that they must obtain victory over sin and lust, by dancing and shaking.
Many school masters say, the bible is not a suitable book to bring into our common schools, but after children have learnt to read, they say it is more suitable for them to read in some history, idle tales, or novels.
Answer to Universalists.
WE read of the last judgment, "That the dead small and great, stand before God, and that the Sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and hell delivered up the dead that were in them; and they were judged according to their works: and death and hell were cast into the lake of fire, which is the second death; and they that were not written in the book of life, were cast into the lake of fire, which is the second death", and we read of no restoration after that in the holy scriptures.
Answer to Hopkintonians.
IF God has chosen the sin and destruction of those that are damned, then the scriptures must be read that God hath long chosen the sin and destruction of the old world, instead of its being read, That the long sufferings of God, waited in the days of Noah.
Answer to Armenians.
"BEHOLD I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me." And the scripture saith, "Not unto us, not unto us; but to thy name be the glory".
Answer to Shakers.
"THE angel of the Lord, said unto Joseph, fear not to take unto thee, Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived of her, is of the Holy Ghost". And afterwards we read of Christs mother and his brethren.
Answer to School-Masters, Who would neglect the bible in Schools, with such excuses as these, That it belongs to ministers to teach them religion, and that it is not suitable to teach the bible in schools, because the schools will make a mock of it.
IS this thy care, O vain school-master? to neglect the bible in thy school, and teach mockery and novelty; wilt thou render thy schools so much like a company of swine, that pearls should not be cast before them? wilt thou teach them so much abomination, that they will abominate those who insist on their attention to the scriptures, and require them to neglect their mockery, now in their youth.
When ministers and school-masters set in the scorners seat, how hard it is for religious parents to restrain their children, and to bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
When America has so manfully fought for liberty, shall they now breed and nurse up a [Page 7]serpent in it, to enslave them; and must the church be driven to the wilderness, to be nurished from the face of the serpent. Must evil customs bring on evil laws. Shall we believe selfish men, that are nursing up young lions to devour. Shall we hear their voice on the mountains of America?
Blest is the man that trusts in God, knows his holy word, and turns his eyes from vanity, whose soul alone on God relies.
Let us learn to despise the vain flatteries of men, and trust in God. Can men pray to the God of truth, for his blessing on their novelties, or on their exhibitions and plays, do such ministers pray to God to lead them in the way of holiness, when they are going to the place of wickedness, are they turning off their eyes from beholding vanity, and meditating on the law of God. Can a fountain at the same place send fourth salt water and fresh?
"Can a man serve God and his own lusts" Wo to them that call evil good, and good evil.
Be not of them that do evil, that good may come, whose damnation is just. Must we not give an account for every idle word, at the day of judgment? Some are saying, this new mode of learning is to make them great men.
[Page 8] The scriptures saith, "the merchants are the great men of the earth, for by their sorceries were all nations deceived".
Some say, that children will learn faster, to teach them vanity, than to teach them that which is good. Shall school-masters, because children choose the way that leads to destruction help them along? are such teachers friends or enemies to the children?
"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and to depart from evil is good understanding".