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you are entitled to the meed-well done, in view of this testimony.

"How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him, of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent, as it is written? How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

Yours in the Gospel,

CANDIDUS.

NO. 13.

To Rev. Joel Hawes,-Hartford,

SIR--In perusing your "Reasons for not embracing the doctrine of Universal Salvation," I pause to examine the following paragraph, found in the second Letter;

"2. That I fear to embrace that doctrine becauseit would oblige me to regard Christ and his Apostles as incompetent or dishonest teachers of religion; and the Bible itself as fitted and designed to lead men into error."

Permit me to inform you, Sir, that your apprehensions, in this instance, are entirely groundless. Those who credit the doctrine you attempt to refute," regard Christ and his apostles as competent and honest teachers of religion; and the Bible itself as fitted and designed to lead men into truth." They also believe that no other system exhibits the perfections of God, or the consistency of the scriptures.

You appear to have bound yourself, in this citation, utterly to reject the scriptures, should they be shown

to countenance the doctrine of Universal Salvation. Whether they do, or not, shall now be tested, by your own rule. In Letter 5th you say,

"A single plain and direct declaration of the word of God is as decisive on the question before us as a thousand." The preceding Number contains more than sufficient for the present purpose, but to show that we are not straitened for proof on this point, more will now be adduced. See Psalm 36.

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"All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O LORD; and shall glorify thy name. The Psalmist here describes the worshippers of God as co-extensive with the human race. Whatever limitation is implied in respect to the wor shippers, is also implied in the creation of God. To show that God's grace is limited, will be sufficient proof that his power is limited also. If to worship, and in that worship to glorify the name of God, do not imply a state of blessedness, the converse side of the proposition is left to you to sustain. This, Sir, is one "plain and direct" passage.

Another testimony from the same book is offered for your consideration. Ps. 146: 9. "The LORD is good to all; and his tender mercies are over all his works." Without spending time to nullify the senseless cavils on the word all, I shall now merely show the folly and weakness of the common attempt to evade the force of this testimony. It has been said, that the tender mercies in the text, designate the common and manifold bounties of a temporal nature, of which we are the constant recipients. That this is not the meaning of the phrase, is gathered from the following scripture, found in the same book;

"Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy loving kindness; according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. O remember not against us former iniquities; let thy tender

mercies speedily prevent us; for we are brought very low. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits; who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with loving-kindness and tender mercies."

These passages appear to me sufficiently luminous to set the question at rest; but a passage will be produced from the New Testament, which ought to settle the point beyond controversy. In the first chapter of Luke, the father of John the Baptist, thus speaks; "And thou, child shalt be called The Prophet of the Highest; for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways; to give the knowledge of salvation unto his people, by the remission of their sins, through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the day-spring from on high hath visited us, to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace."

These texts serve to exhibit the sense in which the term tender mercies was used by the inspired penmen. Should you furnish a better rule, to determine the sense in which words and phrases are used in the Bible, than the comparison of scripture with scripture, the use of this method ought in future to be considered as obsolete. But until that better rule be discovered, I shall argue from the best rule yet discovered, that the text alludes to spiritual blessings. That the quotations, already made, show the text, Ps. 145, to signify the remission of sins through the tender mercy of our God, is too clear to controvert; and if this be not salvation, even on your own hypothesis, you are left to give your own definition in words better suited to the subject. On the first text I argue, that the language is without limitation. If all nations whom God has made are to worship before him, and if in this worship they shall glorify the name of their Maker,

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even orthodoxy run mad must be unable, by the most sublimated sophistry, to separate the Universality of spiritual worship, from the universality of the creation. On the second text, the same argument may be repeated. But I proceed to further testimonies.

The author of the Apocalypse, after stating the number of the sealed to be one hundred and fortyfour thousand, says; "After this I beheld, and lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; and cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, saying, Amen; Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thankgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen."

In the 3d verse of this chapter, (the 7th) we learn that those who were sealed, are 66 the servants of our God." But the sealed, the chosen, are but the first ripe fruits, the earnest of a plenteous harvest. After these, came the innumerable multitudes, the all nations, and families, and kindreds, and tongues, and people; yea, the every creature in heaven and earth, and all which can be comprehended by the term universe, which are all included "in the fulness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ." Rev. 21: 3, 4, 5..

"And I heard a great voice out of heaven, saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the

former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write; for these words are true and faithful."

On this I shall merely remark, that if "there shall be no more DEATH, neither sorrow, nor crying, nor pain, endless suffering is not revealed in the scriptures, it is a mere figment of the imagination, an ignis fatuus "which leads to bewilder," and like that in the natural world, ever eludes the grasp.

I have thus, without attempting to give the strength of our testimonies, produced no less than four passages in proof of the doctrine, which, being found in the Bible, will oblige you to doubt the competency of Christ and his apostles, as teachers of religion. You may soon be satisfied, that the testimonies in favour of Universal Salvation are as direct, and more numerous, than those in favour of Universal Creation. If you hesitate in giving credit to the one, you will be under the necessity of doubting the other, for I hold myself bound to prove by scripture, that God is not the sole author of Creation, the moment you adduce proof that he is not the Saviour of his creation, of all his creatures.

I shall now examine a charge brought by you against Universalists in the following sentence of your ninth Letter; "With a view to disprove the doctrine of future punishment, Universalists are very fond of appealing to the sympathies of our nature, especially to parental feelings."

It is needless to deny this charge; we plead guilty, and shall quote scripture and orthodoxy in justification. Isaiah represents the unbelieving Jews as saying, "The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me." But what is the answer! Does it not furnish proof that the prophet was also guilty "of appealing to the sympathies of our nature, especially to parental feelings?"

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