must never be used in the kingdom of God, either to bring men into it, or to keep them in when brought. Every man now has his choice, and is at full liberty to continue in fin or come out of it. Sin indeed will not get out of him while the world especially is in its prefent difpofition in general. For how well difpofed foever any man is, and whatever improvement in the faith he makes, he ftill lives in an infectious world. Sin will appear to any man of attention and obfervation, of all things in nature, the moft infectious. A believer therefore, while in such a situation, labours under an impoffibility of being free from the inhabitation and operation of fin; he must then by faith at prefent nullify the things that are, and make them as though they were not, and give exiflence to the things which as yet are not, and make them present and real poffeffions.

But the whole world itself fhall become a christian. It will come, like the prodigal fon, to itself, and will make a rational choice of holiness and truth, and fin and all wickedness fhall be rooted out. It will dwindle, wafle and

wear

wear out, and men will be left in a pure and undefiled religion before God. All men will then help and encourage each other to be virtuous. And knowledge holiness and innocency fhall cover the earth, as the waters do the fea. It is afferted that then, they fhall not hurt nor deftroy, and the whole earth will be one common mountain of holiness. It appears in in fcripture that many circumftances will concur to bring about fuch a happy event. I fhall mention but one of them, that is, that the evil difpofition, by which men are fet upon hating one another, will become its

own cure.

I conclude then that when the nations of the world are weary of dafhing one against another, and fick of fhedding human blood: when by a very long and dreadful train of infupportable evils they fhall learn, that the mighty wars they are managing against each other, with fuch boast and glory, are nothing but the hurries of unbounded lufts which cannot be fatisfied, and the rage of fin and folly: when they fhall confider that the fpots of ground for which they are contending are not worth one drop of the rivers

of human blood they fhed in order to become poffeffors of them: when they shall confider farther, that they reduce great cities to ashes, lay the earth in ruin under their feet, and devour the world itself by fettling who fhall call it their own: when they shall remember properly, that the earth itself, the object of contention which they ftrive to poffefs by conquest, is entailed upon them as their birth right, and are in poffeffion of it previous to any disputes about it, and will furnish them all, if they will be quiet with more bleffings than they shall know what to do with when the grandees of the earth fhall be perfuaded that wealth and honor may be ac quired without robberies committed upon their neighbors abroad, or bribery and oppreffion at home: (alas they do not believe it as yet!) when therefore they have laid waste a great deal more, and by confequent plagues and judgments brought upon themselves and others, learned at laft that those whom they call brave officers and foldiers are only profeffed murderers and deftroyers of human lives and bleffings; whereas now they feem as if they did not know it: when innumera、 ble multitudes are fallen down dead by the cruel

hands

hands of each other: when in fine, they are fretted, when they are wearied down with almoft infinite toils and vexations, and spent out with disappointments: then fhall the nations of the earth lift up their voices and weep.

Hereupon the mistakes which gave rife to the quarrels will be seen through, the incendiary will be detected, human pity will flow, brotherly love will feel, reafon will speak, wicked paffions will be dumb, kind affections will bleed, envy will be excluded by fimplicity, jealousy by fincerity, and all men will throw down their weapons and each will furrender to his brother at discretion. Then iniquity fhall ftop her mouth and ungodliness shall be turned out of Jacob and banished out of the world. Heaven will look down and grant gracious and benign influences, and will rejoice over the fons of men now flowing together into a condition like that above.

Now human hearts will break in pieces, and will revenge paft injuries by falling into more tender paffions of kindness and love toward each other; conducting perfect good-will and kind

affections

affections with conftant reafon and wisdom.

In

dignation will rise against Satan the great deceiver, who will be obliged hereupon to retire into the bottomless pit, and keep himself out of fight, where by divine power and vengeance he is confined. And thus good sense, and an amiable mind and deportment will cement all men together in a state of fincere and fublime friendship.

They will then fall upon the weapons of war. And here I fee them in a paffion. They will not lay up the inftruments of cruelties in the tower, to be the wonder of pofterity and the boast of ages; no, nor will they fuffer them to be the objects of present fight.

Then a man, who officer, will take `a

has perhaps been a mighty parcel of fwords and fpears, and will bundle them up together; and, without confidering the polifh, fine handles, or great fums they had cost, will carry them to a common black-fmith, and in a fit of penitential paffion will help to beat them upon the anvil, till he has hammered them into a pruning-hook, or rather a ploughshare,

that he may wear out under ground the very iron which diftreffed and disgraced human nature;

and