the children of men, and the chief physician to heal all our woes. They teach that all men are saved from sin by Christ, yet they reject the doctrine of the atonement, and brand with injustice the vicarious sufferings of Christ; they assert, that in view of the death of Christ, there is no redemption from the penalty of the law, or from any of the consequences of sin, but that all must be punished for all their sins deserve. Therefore, salvation is no deliverance from deserved punishment, for that would be unjust; nor can it be from sins that are past, or from the actual commission of sin; for millions sin until life closes, and they cannot be saved in the next world from sin; for, according to Universalism, there can be no sin there—thus salvation is a sham, a patchwork of antiquated divinity, and a word without meaning and of empty sound in the vocabulary of Universalism. They deny the doctrine of the divinity of Christ, and assert that he was essentially and only a man, that all his eminence consisted in his office, and the annointing of the Father, therefore, his death was only in attestation of the truth, and that men are not benefited and saved by the death of Christ, but by believing his truth and doctrine only that none would be lost had Christ never died; for hell is a fable and all future punishment is a relic of gross superstition. They deny that this life is a state of probation, and assert that all actions, whether good or bad, will confine their influence to this world, and that no deed, however good or bad, will effect in the least, the future destiny of man-all will stand up from the grave upon a perfect equality of character and blissful prospect, and walk forth upon a level, the highway of holiness, clothed with purity and immortality, and the delightful song of praise bursting from overflowing hearts of joy. They say that men ought to repent, have faith and be regenerated, but deny that these are conditions of salvation-they assert that no one will fail of

final happiness and salvation in heaven, for the want of repentance, faith and regeneration. They declare that there will be a judgment, they write and speak of judgment; but they believe that it will not take place at any specified period, but transpired at the destruction of Jerusalem or else dating from thence and continuing through all time. They believe in the resurrection of the dead, of the whole man, but deny the resuscitation of the identical bodies of the children of men-their reasoning would deny the immateriality of the soul, and that eternal being and well-being will depend exclusively upon the resurrection of the dead.They believe that Christ instituted the ordinances of Baptism and the Lord's Supper, but declare, that their observance is optional and of doubtful utility.

They believe that there is a devil, a tempter, but deny the existence of such a devil as orthodoxy inculcates, that he has a real and personal existence. Walter Balfour labors through two hundred pages to prove that all the Bible means by Satan, devil, tempter, &c., are lust or desire, such as Eve had, and Jesus Christ was tempted with; or any human adversary, or any thing in opposition; or the Sabean and Chaldean freebooters, the satan and devil mentioned in the first two chapters of Job. He denies all real and personal devil, and finds a consistent interpretation of the Bible, in considering the terms satan, devil, the old serpent, the prince of the power of the air, &c., as synonymous with lust, adversary, robbers and freebooters. But how is all this reconcilable with the fact.

1. That a personal pronoun is applied to the devil and he is described as a personal being, speaking and acting by voluntary choice? Lust is only excited as moved upon by temptation, and not voluntarily. A carnal mind could not be the tempter of Eve, or of Christ in the wilderness, they both were holy and without the defiling influences of sin.

The tempter could have been no other adversary than a distinct personal devil.

2. The representations of the Scriptures of the devil and satan are inconsistent with the idea of freebooters, a mere human adversary, or any inimicial thing, and the lust or carnal mind. The Scriptures represent the devil, as a fallen angel, (2 Peter ii. 4. Jude v. 6,)—he meets with the sons of God, walks to and fro and tempts to devour, (Job. i. 6— 8. 1 Peter v. 8, 9,)-as nourishing and disseminating the children of the wicked one, (Matth. xiii. 24-30,)—he takes up the word of God out of the heart, (Luke viii. 12,)-he takes advantage of the lusts and incontinency of men to present his enticements, (1 Cor. vii. 5,)—he is the father of the wicked, apostatized from the truth and the author of all lies and falsehoods, (John viii. 44,)—sinners are of the devil and he is called the wicked one, (1 John iii. 8. v. 18,)— the devil as the dragon and old serpent is cast out of heaven, (Rev. xii. 9,)-he enters Judas, the betrayer of Christ, (John xiii. 27,)-and all should resist the devil and he will flee. (James iv. 7. Eph. vi. 11, 12.)

3. The temptation of Christ in the wilderness, and the devils entering into the herd of swine feeding, can never be reconciled with the ideas of lust, or a mere human enemy as being all that is meant by the devil and satan. (Matth. iv. 1-11. Luke viii. 27-33.)

In the foregoing pages we have furnished the reader with abundant specimens of the gross errors and palpable inconsistencies of the doctrines and arguments of Modern Universalism; but it may not be amiss to give a few additional passages of Scriptures and their interpretation, which were passed by, to show that every passage of Holy Writ is perverted when applied to prove the system of Universalism.

Is. xxv. 6-10. "And in this mountain shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, &c.” By Universalists this text is looked upon as a promise assuring the final salvation of all mankind, inasmuch as it promises a feast provided "unto all people," and that the Lord will "destroy the covering cast over all people," and "wipe away tears from off all faces." Whether the text will prove the conclusion of Universalism, will admit of a doubt. All the text means, is, that the gospel and atonement of Christ are provided, for all the children of menthat the vail of darkness and idolatry shall be destroyed by the light of the gospel, and the people shall at all times and everywhere be under the obligation to repent-that the rebuke of His people shall be taken from off all the earth, and all tears, sorrows and discomfort, shall be wiped away from off the faces of the righteous-and that Moab, or all the wicked "shall be trodden down as straw is trodden down for the dung-hill." Though the gospel as a feast is offered to all, yet none are benefited except those who comply with the call of mercy and eat of the feast. None shall reach heaven except those who tread the narrow and heavenly way, though all are invited to walk the King's highway. The Lord has provided a rich banquet; the gospel is adapted to disperse as mist, the covering of ignorance; the promises to pour a stream of consolation into the hearts of men, and cause them that wait upon him, to rejoice and be glad: but whosoever shall excuse himself and rebel against the gospel of God shall be trodden down as straw for a dunghill. This is what Isaiah teaches-joy to the believer, and fearfulness and trembling to hypocrites and sinners.

Is. lv. 10, 11. "For as the rain cometh down and the snow, from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may

give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater; so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void; but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." This passage is adduced by Universalists as conclusive proof that the purpose and promise of God shall be fulfilled in despite of the agency of men; man can no more resist the effect of the word of God than he can counteract the influence of the rain and snow which come down from heaven. As the rains cause the seed sown to vegetate, to give seed to the sower and bread to the eater; so God's word shall not return void, but effect his purpose.

After all, these passages imply and the consequences spoken of are based, upon the agency of man. Though the rain, snow and sunshine are sent upon the earth without the agency of man; so it is with the word of God: but all these agencies will not produce seed to the sower and bread to the eater, unless man tills and sows his fields-here is the agency of man. The Lord God sends forth his word to enlighten, instruct and save the children of men; yet none will be benefited unless they come to the light, open the heart and cherish docility of mind to receive the engrafted word of God, and believe the truth and record of his Son. Behold then, the conditionality of this promise, and the purpose of God in the salvation of the soul based on the agency and faith of the creature, man.

Lam. iii. 31. "The Lord will not cast off forever.". This passage, in the eye of a Universalist, teaches the limitation of punishment and the consequent salvation of all men. This text has no application to the wicked in the future world, and to future punishment; but merely to the Jews, who then were in captivity in Babylon. The Psalmist rehearses the same sentiment when he says, (xciv. 14,)— "For the Lord will not cast off his people, neither will he