man; and by parity of reasoning, neither can any being inferior to God, restore to the human nature that image of righteousness and true holiness in which it had been created; and that eternal life to which it was the heir apparent in its original nature, and which it had forfeited and lost by its fall. That the Scriptures do abundantly prove that a remedy had not only been pre-ordained, but had also been actually applied; that the Holy Being who condescended in the infinity of his love, to manifest himself to his rebellious creatures, and to take into union the human with the divine nature; that the human nature, thus sanctified, thus fortified with eternal life, might in the second Adam be restored with all his posterity to himself, was no less than God in his invisible nature, but clothed with flesh as with a garment, he is made manifest and visible, in all the fullness of the Godhead, as the only wise God our Saviour.*

That the remedy which the power of God and the wisdom of God had predetermined, and afterward applied, is indisputably both ample, appropriate, infallible, and Universal; because, the character of the sacrifice and atonement is said to be, not only a propitiatory sacrifice for our sins, evidently addressed by the Apostle to the elect, or believers, but also for the sins of the whole world, including all mankind. We therefore believe and maintain, that the Atonement was Universal, and its efficacy is infallible.

4. That common observation proves the grace of God to be free for all men; and that it is also, in many instances obviously and undeniably irresistible, but in a qualified sense of the term. "The grace of God that bringeth salvation, hath appeared to all men."+ We prefer the marginal reading, as being the more correct translation of the text; not, indeed, because it is more favorable to our Universal doctrine, more confirmatory of our faith; for that, as we have already shown, is supported by all the Scriptures, when properly understood; but because it is more ob

* See Section V. Axiom 3, to the end. Titus ii. 11.

viously expressive of the truth of the fact, as the reading and its application will prove:-"The grace of God, which bringeth salvation to all men, hath appeared." That the graces of the Spirit in Christ and in the Gospel, are intended for all men, is a glorious Scripture truth; that it has been manifested, or has appeared, but not yet to all men, is a truth not to be denied. The text, therefore, which speaks of its having appeared to all men, is literally incorrect, while the marginal translation, which speaks of "the grace which bringeth salvation to all men," must be acknowledged to be literally correct. That the grace of this Spirit is operative, convincing the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment: teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; that truth, to the honest, the candid, and unprejudiced mind, is in fact irresistible; the Spirit, taking the things of Jesus, and showing them to the people, they are convicted, convinced, constrained to receive the truth in righteousness. Here the grace may be said to be irresistible, because it reproves the individual to his conviction, convincing him of sin, of righteousness and of judgment; and thus agreeably coerces the mind to a willing and joyful acknowledgement and acceptance of the righteousness which is of faith in Jesus Christ, and of the gift of eternal life in him. And this, preceded by the previous operations of the Spirit, producing contrition of heart, and sincere repentance towards God, is what we understand of conversion, regeneration or the being "born again of the spirit"-of being "baptized with the Holy Ghost and with fire."

That some men may, and do, resist this grace, to their own condemnation, is no less lamentable than true: the moral imperfection of man, the prejudices of education, or the want of it, the force of habit, and the deep-seated love of the world and its enjoyments, operate with strong, renewed and increasing force against this heavenly grace; and we thus resist, even contrary to our reason and better judgment. The grace is nevertheless free for all; and

we believe in the fullness of time it will prove irresistible in all men, and finally effect the salvation of all.

5. "That the Spirit, in the word of God, speaks of the salvation of God; which salvation was begun, carried on, and finished by the Redeemer. But again, the same word speaks of our salvation, which is consequent upon our believing what the word and spirit declares, respecting the salvation wrought out by Jesus Christ." That the salvation of God is of that character which renders it infallible and universal in time and in eternity; that it is specially, manifestly, or visibly applied to believers in this life, as a consequence of their faith in this grace; "and is that peace which is preached to those who are nigh, and to those who are afar off." That our salvation "is that knowledge which fills the heart of the believer with peace and joy in believing." That both are, however, the work of God-the one accomplished in and by Jesus Christ, the other begun and carried on in the heart by the Spirit of God, and completed when we are admitted into the Divine presence, "where faith is lost in sight, and hope in full fruition."

That the whole human nature being the property of God, he only had the right of their disposal. "Behold, saith the Lord, all souls are mine; but all that the Father hath, he hath given to the Son. Indeed, all things were made for him, as well as by him, and he is the heir of all things. The heathen is his inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth his possession." Thus, the whole human nature is the property of God. It is true, the individuals of this nature have sold themselves for nought; but they are redeemed: the price, the ransom price, is paid for them. True, they have made a covenant with death, and an agreement with hell; but the right of disposal not being in themselves, their covenant with death shall be broken, their agreement with hell shall not stand. The Saviour of the world, will lead captivity captive. In the first and most glorious sense, he hath already accomplished this divine purpose, when he ascended up on high, leading captivity captive, and receiving gifts for men,

yea, even for the rebellious, that God might dwell among them."(Murray.)

That, although a failure on the part of men, in consequence of unbelief, is a proof of their lost condition, as it respects their salvation in this life, and subjects them to the pains and penalties consequent thereupon, it is nevertheless certain, that the salvation of God, which, from its very nature, design and character, and as a remedy provided for the worst consequences of the fall, is still universal and infallible; and will finally accomplish its gloriously benevolent object, the salvation of all men. That the doctrine of universal redemption, or the final restoration of all men to holiness and happiness, is so frequently and forcibly implied, so strongly indicated, and so clearly and distinctly expressed in the Scriptures, that we have been constrained to believe in, and to accept it, as the most glorious feature of the gospel doctrine, as every way worthy of, and honourable to God, as the "Father of the spirits of all flesh," and as a doctrine of the Primitive Apostolic Church of Christ.

Having thus given a brief but candid outline of the doctrines and tenets of our Church, together with an equally brief outline of the propositions comprehended in them, we now earnestly invite our readers of every sect or denomination of Christians, to a serious investigation of this important subject, as a duty which they owe to God, to themselves, to us, and to the human family at large. We entreat them to consider,

1. That to belong to an Established, a Presbyterian, a Baptist, or a Methodist Church, is no positive proof of Christianity, any more than being of the Universalist faith is a proof of Infidelity; that there ever has been, is, and, we confidently believe, ever will be, as devout and holy Christians among Universalists, properly so called, as among any other class of professing Christians, however high their claims to pre-eminence in point of Evangelical religion may seem to place them, in their own opinions, above Christian Universalists: and that, although we profess, and rejoice in the profession, of being Bible

Universalists, we are aware, that the name of Universalists, devoid of vital piety, will no more entitle us to salvation, than any other name, whether Churchman, Presbyterian, Baptist, or Methodist; some of which denominations have not been sparing in their unqualified abuse of Universalists; not having as much Christian candour and charity in their zeal, as to consider and allow, that all are not Christians who are called Universalists, as they themselves well know that all are not Christians who have numbered themselves even among either of the foregoing denominations.

We turn from this unpleasant subject, lest this intended rebuke of ours, should be construed into a desire of rendering "railing for railing ;" and proceed to say, that, to reject this doctrine, will be, in truth and in fact, the rejection of a very large portion, and a very prominent feature of the entire Scripture doctrines, and renders them, not only inconsistent and contradictory, but absolutely irreconcilable; that by accepting this as a gospel doctrine, these contradictions are proved to have been only apparent, and they are made to harmonize in all their parts and constructions, as doth the glorious attributes of their Divine head and founder.

It has been already remarked, (page 39,) that the words rendered in the English versions of the Bible, "everlasting, eternal, for ever, and for ever and ever," have been proved by the very ablest Biblical critics and lexicographers, to be derived from a Greek word that has, in its original, a meaning, that (depending upon the subject with which it is connected in the Scriptures,) is either definite or indefinite. The Greek word, in the singular, is "aion," the literal signification of which is, "an age." In the plural, it is "aions," or "ages:" consequently, the adjective "aionion," is literally "an age of ages," a period, or periods of the world, such as the Adamic age, whose period may be computed from Adam to Moses; the Mosaic age, or dispensation, which lasted from Moses to Christ; and lastly, the Christian age or dispensation, whose precise limits, or period, is yet in futurity.