righteousness." Daniel ix. 24. Surely Daniel was a very strong

Universalist.

Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea shore that cannot be measured or numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, ye are the sons of the living God." Hosea, i. 11. "And I will sow her unto me in the earth, and I will have mercy on her that had not obtained mercy, and I will say to them which were not my people, thou art my people, and they shall say, thou art my God." Hosea, ii. 23. Was not Hosea a Universalist?

"And it shall come to pass afterwards, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh," &c. Joel, 2. 28. "For I will cleanse their blood, that I have not cleansed." Joel iii. 21.

"In that day I will raise up the tabernacle of David, that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof, that they may possess the remnant of all Edom, and of the heathen, which are called by my name, saith the Lord, that doeth this." Amos, ix. 11, 12.

"And Saviours shall come upon Mount Zion, to judge the mount of Esau, and the kingdom shall be the Lord's." Obadiah, xxi.

"And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off, and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. But they shall sit every man under his vine, and under his fig tree, and none shall make them afraid, for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it." Micah, iv. 3, 4. "He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us, he will subdue all our iniquities, and thou wilt cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers, from the days of old." Micah, vii. 19, 20. Thus it is plain, the prophets were all Universalists.

But the angels of God are also Universalists. Let us listen to those messengers of heaven, while addressing the wondering shepherds of Judea. "And the angel said unto them, fear not, behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people, and suddenly there was with the angels a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, glory be to God in the highest, and on earth, peace and good will towards men." Luke, ii. 10, 13.

The devout Simeon was a Universalist. "For mine eyes have seen thy salvation which thou hast prepared before the face of all people, a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel." Luke, ii. 30, 31.

But that we may ascertain what all the evangelists and all the apostles were, in one view, let us hear the sentiments of our Saviour himself, upon this subject. "For I have given unto them, the words which thou gavest me, and they have received them." John, xvii. 8. "For I have not spoken of myself, but the Father which sent me; he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak, and I know that his commandment is life everlasting. Whatsoever I speak, therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak, John, xii. 49, 50.

Let us now attend to the ministry committed to the apostles. "God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing unto them their trespasses." 2 Corinthians, v. 19. "And he shall send Jesus Christ, who before was preached unto you, whom the heavens must receive, until the times of the restitution of all things which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets, ever since the world began."

It is plain, from these testimonies, and many more which might be adduced, that the doctrine of Universalism is the doctrine of God our Saviour; and while the Universalists can produce so many illustrious vouchers, they never can be discomfited, or even embarrassed.

OUR strong hold is the name of the Lord, which is indeed a STRONG TOWER. It is the glorious name which contains salvation. It is the life of the world-This strong hold has been attacked by mighty weapons, but they are not almighty. Hence these weapons will never be able to demolish our strong hold, nor to drive us from our lurking places.

Our lurking place is under the shadow of the great rock in the weary land; here we can rest unmoved during all the storms raised by the prince of the power of the air, or any of his most malignant agents.

Our Saviour told the Jews that all the blood of all the prophets, from Abel to Zacharias, should be required of this generation. Jesus Christ and his apostles were slain as preachers of universal salvation; had they confined salvation to the Jews, they would

thus have made their court to those monopolizers. When Paul hinted his purpose of going to the Gentiles, they passionately exclaimed, away with such a fellow, it is not fit that he should live.

I bless God, that in this day of light and liberty, we run no risk of stripes, or of imprisonment, but we are not indebted to our religious adversaries for our security; we know that he who murders our fame would, if he could with equal impunity, plant a dagger in our bosoms.

The Universalist always asserts, and unwaveringly believes, that God hates sin, that it is essential to his holy nature to punish offenders, else he would not have made Jesus under the law, bruised him for our transgressions, delivering him up to death for us all, that he may put away sin by the sacrifice of himself, and that his precious blood may cleanse from all sin.

The Universalist steadfastly believes, that justice is an attribute of God, and that punishment of sin is essential to the character or perfection of this attribute, otherwise an obvious conclusion would be forced upon his understandings, viz. that Jesus Christ suffered unjustly. But, say some partialists, "It is essential to the justice of God to punish the soul that sins, as long as it is just and expedient to manifest his hatred of sin, and essential to his truth to put in execution the sentence of condemnation passed upon sinners." Is it not always expedient and just for Godto hate sin? Yet if it be essential to the justice of God to inflict upon the sinning soul enduring punishment, how then can God be in any instance a just God and a Saviour, or be just, and the justifier of the ungodly? Is there a soul that liveth and sinneth not? Upon this principle, therefore, if it be essential to the truth of God to put in execution the sentence of condemnation upon sinners, how can any individual of the human race be saved? Surely this is carrying the partialists farther than they intend; it is damning themselves and all their brethren to all eternity; but this I am confident is not their design.

Again, If the soul that sinned must be punished, so long as it is just with God to hate sin, what becomes of the justice of God to the Saviour, who in due time died for the ungodly? Did he die for our sins, and that by divine appointment, and is it still essential to the justice of God to execute the sentence of death upon the sinner, in his own person? Amazing! perfectly amazing!

The love of Christ constrained the apostle and his universal brethren, because they thus judged, that if one died for all, then

were all dead. This is sufficient, the Universalist joins issue with the prophets, with the apostles, and with the Redeemer of men, and is contented; reposing full confidence in the promises of an omnipotent and all-gracious God.

THE true spirit of Universalism breathes nothing but glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, and good will towards men. If Universalists, in their writings, or in conversation, discover any other spirit, it is not the spirit of Universalism. The Universalist uses only the sword of the spirit which is the word of God, this is his weapon, it is not a carnal weapon, it is spiritual; and having proved it, he has found it mighty through God to the full accomplishment of all those purposes for which it was designed.

The Universalist considers the whole of mankind divided into two classes, Universalists and partialists. The Unviersalist believes that Jesus is the Saviour of all men, especially of those who believe. The partialist confines the redemption of the Redeemer's blood to a very few, which few, being chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world, could possess no peculiar excellence to recommend them to redeeming grace, to the favour of the Almighty. It must be confessed the Partialist is with the multitude, the whole Jewish nation, a few Universalists excepted, are on his side; and these few Universalists, the Jews hated with an implacable hatred, putting to the most excruciating torture and ignominious death, their Teacher, the High Priest of their profession. The Heathen nations too, were all on his side; and in the Christian world, the Roman Catholicks as a body, are with him; the Episcopalians too, (although some of the articles of their faith declare for the Universalist,) yet, as a sect, they must be classed with the partialist; and from this denomination down to the Shakers, religious people, of every description, are opposed to the Universalist. Nor these alone many individuals, black with crimes, who have finished their course at Tyburn, or some place of equal notoriety, or who continue both the disgrace and abhorrence of their species, hesitate not to anathematize the Universalist. The Universalists are few in number, they are undoubtedly in the narrow way; while the broad way is thronged by persons of every description.

It is said, the Universalist will not admit that any are real Christians, who do not embrace their creed. Strange misrepresentation. If by a real Christian we understand an honest man, a believer in

Jesus Christ, one who is persuaded that his Redeemer, by the grace of God, tasted death for him, that Jesus is the propitiation for his sins, although he may be persuaded that Emmanuel did not, by the grace of God, taste death for every man, and that he is not the propitiation for the sins of the whole world; yet, if believing no more than he is able to believe, circumstanced as he is, he has so much of the spirit of God, as to enable him to come up from this wilderness leaning on the Beloved, adoring and loving God as his Saviour, and his neighbour as himself; it is the firm persuasion of the Universalist, that such a person, wherever he may may be found, is a real Christian, beloved and saved by the Redeemer.

On the contrary, should there be found among the people called Universalists, men who do not live by faith on the Son of God, who do not measure to every man the same measure they measure to themselves, who do not, and most ardently, wish to obey the commandments of their Lord and Saviour, although the doctrines they advocate are none other than the doctrines of God the Saviour, yet not living to adorn this doctrine in all things, they merit not the character of real Christians; and the Universalist is furthermore of opinion, that mere OPINIONS never yet made a man good or bad. If truth rested on the character of its professors, even truth would be convicted of crime.

The Universalist believes, that many may be in the broad way that leadeth to destruction, and lost therein; and that the Redeemer, who came to seek and to save that which was lost, may find, and restore them, by bringing them out of this broad way.

A doctrine may be pleasant as a theory to very despicable characters, and through the force of education and continued prejudice, it may also happen that some honest, well-meaning individuals, may be made to abhor the testimony of Father, word, and Spirit. It is an article in the creed of the Universalist, that God will reward every man according to his works. Yes, indeed, Universalists esteem the liberty of making prayers and supplications at the throne of grace, among the first and most glorious of their chartered privileges; they cheerfully conform themselves to the commandment of their God, by making prayers and intercessions for all men; they rejoice greatly when their divine Master assures them, that whatsoever they ask according to his will, they shall receive; and they know, for they are taught by the