ely
recall our faith, and exult in the divine glory which it so magnificently
brings to view, and against which his once blind and blundering reason has
now no more to say.

Chapter II.

Summary Of The Second Part Of The Foregoing System.

Having reconciled the existence of sin with the purity of God, and refuted
the objections against the principles on which that reconciliation is
based, we next proceeded to the second part of the work, in which the
natural evil, or suffering, that afflicts humanity, is shown to be
consistent with his goodness. This part consists of five chapters, of
whose leading principles and position we shall now proceed to take a rapid
survey in the remaining sections of the present chapter.

Section I.

God desires the salvation of all men.

The fact that all men are not saved, at first view, seems inconsistent
with the goodness of the Divine Being, and the sincerity of his endeavours
for their conversion. We naturally ask, that if God could so easily cause
all men to turn and live, why should he in vain call upon them to do so?
Is he really sincere in the use of means for the salvation of all, since
he permits so many to hold out in their rebellion and perish? In other
words, if he really and sincerely seeks the salvation of all, why are not
all saved? This is confessedly one of the most perplexing and confounding
difficulties which attach to the commonly received systems of theology. It
constitutes one of those profound obscurities from which, it is admitted,
theology has not been able to extricate itself, and come out into the
clear light of the divine glory.

By many theologians this difficulty, instead of being solved, is most
fearfully aggravated. Luther, for example, finds it so great, that he
denies the sincerity of God in calling upon sinners to forsake their evil
ways and live; and that, as addressed to the finally impenitent, his
language is that of mockery and scorn. And Calvin imagines that such
exhortations, as well as the other means of grace offered to all, are
designed, not for the real conversion of those who shall finally perish,
but to enhance their guilt, and overwhelm them in the more fearful
condemnation. If it were possible to go even one step beyond such
doctrines, that step is taken by President Edwards: for he is so far from
supposing that God really intends to lead all men into a co