pletely attained, his doctrine and predictions fulfilled, the whole world redeemed from sin, purified in the blood of the Lamb, rendered holy and happy, and glorious forevermore, and the reconciled kingdom delivered up to God the Father, that God may be all in all. Not one word of all he predicted shall fail; not one for whom he died shall eternally perish; but all, reclaimed and restored, shall shout, "Salvation to God and the Lamb forever."

13-As a Prophet, Christ predicted both the fact and manner of his own death, his resurrection from the dead, the destruction of Jerusalem, the woes coming on that generation, and many other events that have been literally and fully accomplished, and thus gave us evidence both of his prophetic character and veracity, insomuch that we have every reason to believe every other prediction and declaration which he inade relative to the object of his mission and the salvation of the world, shall, in God's own good time, be fully verified. His resurrection and exaltation to glory, is the sure pledge of the resurrection and salvation of the world-the earnest that, because he lives, we shall live alsothat as the head of every man, the first born of every creature, the first begotten from the dead, hath arisen, so his body, (every individual of the human family constituting a part thereof,) the fulness of him that filleth all in all, shall eventually arise to glory, incorruption, and endless bliss.

14-I shall now proceed to consider the more direct and positive testimony of Scripture in favor of the final salvation of all mankind. I take the Bible as the only correct, safe and all-sufficient rule of faith and practice. "To the law and the testimony; if we speak not according to these it is because there is no light in us.' I profess to receive no doctrine but what can be proved by a "thus saith the Lord." But if reason, common sense, philosophy, correct logic from allowed premises, benevolence, the prayers of all good beings in the universe, and last and best, the general voice of revelation, all unite and harmonize in attesting the doctrine of universal salvation, then must this doctrine indeed be worthy of all acceptation. This is my firm belief. The following are some of my reasons for regarding this doctrine as eminently scriptural.

15-Because the Scriptures not only represent God as the universal Creator and Parent of all mankind, who created, not to curse and torment, but to bless and make them happy; (Isa. xliii. 6, 7; Mal. ii, 10; Acts xvii. 25--28; Wisdom of Solomon xi. 24--26;) but they also describe him as the only rightful Lord, owner and proprietor of all men: and if he be so, he can never suffer his property to be irrevocably lost, and fall into the hands of an enemy. "Behold all souls are mine," saith God, "as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine." "For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things, to whom be glory forever." Ezek. xviii. 4.; Rom. xi. 36. This last text is thus beautifully paraphrased by Dr. A. Clarke: "Of him, as the original Designer and Author; and by him, as the prime and efficient Cause; and to him, as the ultimate end for the manifestation of his eternal glory and goodness, are all things in universal nature, through the whole compass of time and eternity-to whom be glory. And let him have the praise of all his works from the hearts and mouths of all his intelligent creatures forever, throughout all the generations of men. Amen, so be it: yet this be established forever." Com, in loco.

16-Because God, in the covenant of grace, hath given all mankind, and power, dominion and authority over them, into the hands of his Son for the express purpose of effecting their salvation. "Thou art my Son: this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen thine inheritance and the uttermost parts of the earth thy possession." "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth." "The Father loveth the Son and hath given all things into his hand." "Thou hast given him power over all flesh that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him." Psalm ii. 7, 8; Matth. xxviii. 18; John iii. 35; and xvii. 2. Moreover, the Faithful and True Witness declares, “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.' 99 If, then, all mankind, without exception, are given to Christ for the express purpose that he should give them eternal life, and all shall so come to him as not to be cast out, shall any be doomed to endless misery? And shall not all be saved?

17-Because God wills the salvation of all men, and inspires the hearts of all good men to desire and pray for the same glorious end. "I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men; for kings and all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; who will have all men to be saved and come unto the knowledge of the truth." "Thy will be done." 1 Tim. ii. 1-4; Matth vi. 10; xxvi. 39. Would the Apostle exhort, or would God inspire mankind to pray for that which is in opposition to his will? or for that which he determined never to grant? or does man possess more benevolent feelings towards his fellow-beings than God does?

18-Because Jesus came to fulfil or accomplish the will of God. "I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given ine I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day." "Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me) to do thy will, O God." "My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work." John iv. 34; vi. 38, 39; Heb. x. 7.

19-Because none can defeat the will of God-it shall certainly be accomplished. "He doeth according to his will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand, or say unto him what doest thou?" "He worketh all things after the counsel of his own will." "I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do." Dan. iv. 35; Eph. i. 11; John xvii. 4.

20-Because God has no other will than that above expressed and clearly revealed; and he will never have a different will. "He is in one mind, and who can turn him? and what his soul desireth that he doeth." "He is without variableness or the shadow of turning." Job xxiii.; James i. 17. Seeing therefore what God's will is, considering also its immutability, and the means employed for its accomplishment, why should we doubt the salvation of all men?

21-Because it is God's pleasure, as well as his will, that all should be saved and come unto the knowledge of the truth. "For thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created." "As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live." "For the Lord taketh pleasure in his people; he will beautify the meek with salvation." Rev. iv. 11; Ezek. xxxiii.; Ps. cxlix. 4.

22-Because God's pleasure shall be accomplished. "My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure." Christ came to accomplish the pleasure of the Most High, and the Prophet declares, "The pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand." "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 1 sent it." Isa. xlvi. 10; Îiii. 10; and lv. 10, 11.

23-Because God's fixed and unalterable purpose accords with his will and his pleasure; and that purpose shall certainly be accomplished.Having made known unto us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he hath purposed in himself, that in the dispensation of the fulness of times, he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth, even in him." "The Lord of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have PURPOSED, So shall it stand-for the Lord of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?" "I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it-I bring near my righteousness; it shall not be far off, and my salvation shall not tarry; and I will place salvation in Zion for Israel my glory." Eph. i. 9, 10; Isa. xiv. 24, 27; and xlvi. 11-13.

24-Because God “hath spoken of the restitution of all things by the mouth of all his holy Prophets since the world began." Acts iii. 21. Now God would never have foretold this event by the mouth of all his holy Prophets if it were never to be accomplished. And it is certain that the fulfilment of the predictions can only be accomplished by the salvation of all men. The learned Dr. Adam Clarke, forgetting his creed when he comes to this text, writes thus on it: "As the grace of the gospel was intended to destroy the reign of sin, its energetic influence is represented as restoring all things, destroying the bad state and restoring the good; taking the kingdom out of the hands of sin and Satan, and putting it into those of righteousness and truth. This is done in every believing soul: all things are restored to their primitive order, and the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keeps the heart and mind in the knowledge and love of God The man loves God with all his heart, soul, mind and strength, and his neighbor as himself; and when such a work becomes universal, as the Scriptures seem to intimate that it will, then all things will be restored in the fullest sense of the term." If all theologians could lose sight of their creeds when they read this and similar passages, it ap pears to me they would come to the same conclusion with this eminent Yours in all faithfulness,

commentator,

D. SKINNER.

Mr. Campbell to Mr. Skinner.

No. XXVIII.

BETHANY, Va. July 12, 1838. Sir-YOUR two last letters appear to have been designed for making up the number. Like mortar, they only fill up space, without strengthening the wall. When I consented to protracting the controversy to forty letters in all, or twenty letters each, it was on your allegation that you could not do justice to the subject in less. But really, sir, for

some time past you seem to have exhausted the subject and to be intent on making up the complement, rather than proving your propositions. Your proof was nearly all in your first letter: it was then in the solid form-since you have given it to us in its liquid state-and now you are exhibiting it in its gaseous phenomena. It becomes still less feasible the more speciously you elaborate it. Your allegations require direct proof; yet you have not attempted to give us a text, not even a single text, that says all men shall be finally holy and happy-not one verse that says any thing about your post mortem purgatorial repentance, sanctification, and salvation.

2d. You appear in the singular attitude of proving a question of fact by theorizing, or by remote inferences from premises that have no bearing upon the subject. Meantime, while you are elaborating a theory rather than proving a proposition, I shall proceed to summon a few witnesses in the case, whose testimony severally and collectively refutes all Universalism, both the genuine Universalism of New York and New England, and your unwritten indefinable Restorationism. Future judgment, future punishment, the everlasting destruction and perdition of ungodly men, or the ultimate difference between the righteous and the wicked in another state, are unequivocally asserted and fully maintained by the following witnesses, if their words have any meaning. Though written off as you now read them before I read your last letter, you will no doubt perceive that they reach the whole ground assumed in it, and in that which preceded it, and much more than anticipate and countervail both your quotations and reasonings. Do, sir, give, if possible, a candid hearing to the following cloud of witnesses, any one of whom has more authority than all the Rabbis, philosophers, and commentators that ever lived:

3d. Enoch's Testimony.-"Behold the Lord comes with ten thousand of his saints to execute judgment [krisis,* punishment] upon all, and to convince [convict] all that are ungodly amongst them, of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him." Jude 15.

4th. Abraham's Testimony.-"That be far from thee, O Lord! to do after this manner to slay the righteous with the wicked; and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee. Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" Gen. xviii, 25.

5th. Moses' Testimony. "The Lord God is merciful and gracious, long-suffering, abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon their children's children, to the third and to the fourth generation." Exod. xxxiv. 6, 7.

6th. Joshua's Testimony.-"As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord;" but "You cannot serve the Lord; for he is a holy God, a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins. If you forsake the Lord and serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you hurt, and consume you after that he has done you good." Joshua xxiv. 19, 20.

* Krisis, rendered judgment, often meaus condemnation, damnation, punishment Matth. xxiii. 3. "Vipers, how can you escape (krisis) the punishment of hell?" "The resurrection of damnation, or punishment," John v.29.

7th. Balaam's Testimony.-"God is not a man that he should repent, nor the son of man that he should lie; hath he said, and shall he not do it? Hath he spoken, and shall it not come to pass? He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel: the Lord his God is with him. Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his." Had Balaam been a Universalist he might as well have said, all punishment being in this life, 'Let me die the death of the wicked, and let my last end be like his.' Num. xxiii. 10, 19. 8th. David's Testimony. The ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous: for the Lord approveth the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish." Ps. i. 5, 6. "The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God." Ps. ix. 17. "Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and a horrible tempest. This shall be the portion of their cup." Ps. xi. 6. "Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle, who shall dwell in thy holy hill? He that walketh uprightly and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart," &c. Ps. xv. "Deliver me, O Lord, from the wicked, from the men of the world which have their portion in this life." Psalm xvii. 14. "Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord, and who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart; who has not lifted up his soul nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation." Ps. xxiv. 3, 4. "Evil shall slay the wicked. The face of the Lord is against them that do evil." xxxiv. 16, 21. The wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of lambs. They shall consume away." xxxvii. 20. "The end of the perfect man is peace, but the transgressors shall be destroyed together: the end of the wicked shall be cut off." v. 37, 38. "To the wicked God saith, Thou thoughtest that I was altogether such a one as thyself; but I will reprove thee, and set them [thy sins] in order before thine eyes. Now consider this, you that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces and there be none to deliver." 1. 26. "Behold these are the ungodly who prosper in the world: they increase in riches. When I went into the sanctuary of God then I understood their end. Surely thou didst set them in slippery places; thou castedst them down into destruction; they are brought to desolation as in a moment: they are utterly consumed with terrors. O Lord! when thou awakest thou shalt despise their image." lxxiii. 12--20. "In the hand of the Lord there is a cup, and the wine is red; it is full of mixture, and he poureth out of the same; but the dregs thereof all the wicked of the earth shall wring them out and drink them." lxxv. 8. "When all the workers of iniquity do flourish, it is that they shall be destroyed for ever." xcii. 7.

9th. Solomon's Testimony.—"Though hand join in hand, the wicked shall not be unpunished; but the seed of the righteous shall be delivered." Prov. xi. 21. The wicked is driven away in his wickedness, but the righteous has hope in his death." Prov. xiv. 32. "He that being often reproved, hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy." xxix. 1. "Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the hearts of the sons of men are fully set in them to do evil. Though a sinner do evil a hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be