1. From the fact that God is the Creator of all men. Acts 17: 26, "He giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; and hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth." Rev. 4: 11, "Thou (God) hast created all things." If God is the Creator of all men, he created them for wise and benevolent purposes. He has conferred on us an unasked existence, and he will see to it that that existence does not result in a curse.

2. God is the Father of all men. In Num. 16: 22 and Heb. 12: 9, he is called the "God and Father of the spirits of all flesh." In Matt. 6: 9, we are instructed to call him " our Father." In Mal. 2: 6, the prophet asks, "Have we not all one Father? hath not one God created us?" In Matt. 23: 9, Jesus says that, "one is our Father, which is in heaven." In Acts 17: 22, Paul calls the idolatrous heathen "the offspring of God." And in Eph. 4: 6, he says, "There is one God and Father of all." A good father would never make the existence of his children a curse. If, therefore, God is the Father of all mankind, he will never make any portion of them miserable, any further than is for their ultimate good.

3. God is good, and his goodness is universal. Ps. 145:9, "The Lord is good to all, and his tender mercies are over all his works." Ps. 119: 68, "Thou art good, and doest good." If God is good to all now, he always will be; and, hence, he will do good to all now, and in all coming time. Consequently, he will never inflict any positive evil upon any.

4. God is wise. Ps. 104: 24, "O Lord, how manifold are thy works; in wisdom thou hast made them all." Rom. 16: 27, "To God only wise be glory." If God is wise, he can devise the best possible plans; but to devise a system of moral government, which would result in the endless sin, rebellion and misery, of the subjects of that government, would not be the best possible plan; therefore, God has devised no such plan.

5. God is holy. Lev. 19: 2, "For I the Lord your God am holy." Rev. 4: 8, "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty." If God is holy he must be opposed to evil any further than that evil can be made subservient to the production of good. But endless evil could result in no good; therefore, God will not permit endless evil to exist.

6. God is just. Isa. 45: 21, "A just God, and a Saviour." If God is just, he will punish and reward all moral agents according to

their works.

But endless punishment would not be according to
Therefore, God will not inflict such punishment

the works of men.

upon any.

7. God is merciful. Ps. 62: 12, "Unto thee, O Lord, belongeth mercy: for thou renderest to every man according to his works." Ps. 107: 1, "His mercy endureth forever." In the 136th Psalm David asserts no less than twenty-six times that the mercy of God "endureth forever." The same thing is asserted more than fifty times in the Bible. For God to inflict endless pain upon any of his creatures, would leave no room for the exercise of mercy. Therefore, as he is merciful, and always will remain so, he will inflict no such pain on any.

His

8. God is omnipotent. Rev. 19: 6, "The Lord God omnipotent reigneth." If God is omnipotent, there is no power in the universe which can be arrayed against him which he cannot overcome. plans and purposes, therefore, cannot be defeated. plans are wise, benevolent and good, hence good must be the final result to all his creatures.

And as all his

and only good

Love prompts

9. God is love. 1 John 4: 8, "God is love." its possessor to do all that lays in his power to promote the good of the objects of love. God has an abundance of power to promote the good of his creatures, for he is omnipotent. He has the disposition to do so, for he is love. Hence, good to all must be the final result.

10. God is impartial. Ps. 145: 9, "The Lord is good to all." In James 3: 17, it is said of the wisdom which cometh down from above, that it is" without partiality." If God is impartial, he has never purposed the endless happiness of some of his children, and the endless unhappiness of the rest.

11. God is unchangeable. Mal. 3: 6, "I am the Lord, I change not." James 1:17, "With whom (God) is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." If God is unchangeable, he will endlessly remain what he has been in all time past, and is now. And as he always has, and does now, seek the good of his creatures, therefore he always will.

12. We infer this doctrine from the representation which is given of the Gospel by the inspired writers. The term Gospel signifies good news. The angels who announced the birth of the Saviour, said, Luke 2: 10, "Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be unto all people." The Gospel is called "the ever

lasting gospel," Rev. 14: 6. The "gospel of the grace of God," Acts 20: 24. The "gospel of peace," Eph. 6: 15. The " gospel of God," Rom. 1: 1. The "glorious gospel," 1 Tim. 1: 11. And, the "gospel of our salvation," Eph. 1: 13. It is called the new covenant," Heb. 8: 8. Said to be "better than the old," Heb. 8 6. To be founded on better promises, Heb. 8: 6. Said to be "the ministration, not of condemnation and death, but of life and peace," 2 Cor. 3: 6-11. If this is a correct representation of the Gospel, certainly such a glorious system could not reveal nor contain the doctrine of unmerciful wrath and never-ending cruelty.

13. From the character, conduct and teachings, of Jesus Christ. He was the great founder of the Christian religion. He was benevolent, and even mindful of the physical wants of man, Mark 8: 1-9. He was tender-hearted and sympathizing. He wept at the grave of Lazarus, John 11: 35; raised the widow's son, Luke 7: 12-15; healed the physical maladies of men, Matt. 12: 10—13; and mourned and wept over Jerusalem, Matt. 23: 37-39, and Luke 19: 41. He was mild, forgiving and forbearing to Peter, who denied him, Luke 22: 61, 62; to Thomas, who would not believe him, John 20: 24-29; to the woman taken in adultery, John 8: 3-11. He taught that we must love and forgive our enemies, Matt. 5: 44, and 6: 14, 15. He taught that we must forgive, not seven times only, but seventy times seven, Matt. 18: 21, 22. He prayed for his enemies and murderers, Luke 23: 34. And, at last, he freely offered up his life as a sacrifice on the altar of humanity. The whole conduct, and character, and disposition, and teachings, of Jesus was in accordance with the spirit of universal love and benevolence. He was actuated by none of the spirit of revenge, wrath or cruelty. How, then, can it be supposed that he believed and taught the cruel and unmerciful doctrine of endless' hell torments?

14. From the influence which the Gospel exerts upon the character, conduct and feelings, of its recipients. What a mighty and an astonishing change it wrought in Paul! His partial and exclusive sentiments and feelings were exchanged for the utmost liberality of opinion and feeling. The Gospel changed his enmity to love, his bigotry to charity, and his Partialism to Universalism. It wrought the same happy change in all who received its truths into

good and honest hearts. A belief in the Partialist God, and in the Partialist doctrine, could never have produced such effects. Hence, Partialism is not the doctrine of the Gospel.

15. From the nature of God's law and its requirements of man. It is the great law of love. It requires that we love God with all our soul, might, mind and strength, and our fellow-men as ourselves, Matt. 22: 36-40. But how can we love God in the manner required, unless he is a lovely being? And how can he be a lovely being, and at the same time inflict unending pain upon his own helpless and dependent offspring? Again, how can we love our fellow-men as ourselves, if we believe God hates a portion of them? We are bound to imitate God. We are commanded to imitate him as dear children, Eph. 5: 1. If, therefore, God hates a part of mankind, we are bound to do so likewise. The very fact, then, that we are required to love our fellow-men, universally, proves that God loves all, and will do good to all.

16. From the effects which the Gospel produced on those who believed it. They were saved, Rom. 8: 24, and 1 Cor. 1: 18, they were blessed, Gal. 3: 9; they had peace and joy in believing," Rom. 15: 13; they were enabled to rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory, 1 Peter 1: 8; their joy was full, John 15: 11; and they entered into rest, Heb. 4: 3. A belief in a partial God and in a partial salvation could not produce such effects Nothing short of a belief in God as the Father, Friend and Saviour, of all mankind, could do it.

17. From what the Scriptures teach respecting faith. It is the substance of things hoped for, Heb. 11: 1; and it works by love, and purifies the heart, Gal. 5: 6. But no man can hope for endless misery to be true; and, hence, that doctrine is not the substance of things hoped for. Therefore, a faith in that is not the faith of the Gospel. All hope for the truth of Universalism; hence, Universalism is the substance of things hoped for, and, therefore, a faith in Universalism is the faith of the Gospel. Again, Partialism, or a faith in the doctrine of endless misery, does not work by love, but by fear; hence, it is not Gospel faith. But Universalism does work by love, and not by fear; therefore, to believe in Universalism is to believe the Gospel. Once more; a belief in Partialism does not purify the heart, but serves rather to harden it and to blunt the finer feelings of human nature; hence, it is not the true faith.

Universalism does purify the heart and beget a principle there of universal benevolence and philanthropy to man; therefore it is the true faith.

18. From what the Scriptures teach respecting hope. It enables its possessor to purify himself even as God is pure. 1 John 3: 3. It is an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast. Heb. 6: 19. On the purifying nature of this hope the remarks made above on faith will apply equally as well here. They need not, therefore, be repeated. This hope is called "an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast." But how could it be so if the thing hoped for depended on the fickleness of man? Man is too frail, and erring, and helpless a being to found such a hope upon. And nothing short of a belief in God as the Saviour of all, and the absolute certainty of the accomplishment of the thing hoped for, could impart a hope to man which would be as an anchor to his soul, both sure and steadfast.

19. From what the Bible teaches respecting the confidence which we ought to repose in God. We are repeatedly commanded to trust -in God. To do so, is enjoined upon us as a sacred and imperious duty. Prov. 3: 5, "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart." Ps. 62: 8, "Trust in him at all times, ye people; pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us." Ps. 40: 4, "Blessed is that man that maketh the Lord his trust." Prov. 29: 25, "Whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe." Isa. 26: 4, "Trust ye in the Lord forever." Ps. 9: 10, "They that know thy name will put their trust in thee." Job 13: 15, "Though he slay me yet will I trust in him.” In Job 22: 21, we are required to "make ourselves acquainted with God, and be at peace." Jesus enjoins upon us to repose the most unlimited trust in God, and to take no anxious thought for the future. Matt. 6: 25-34. But if God is as he is sometimes represented to be by the believers in endless misery, how could we trust in him? And if that doctrine is true, how could we help being anxious in regard to the future? The fact is, nothing but a belief in the universal paternity of God, and that he is the Friend of all, will enable us to repose that trust in him which he requires at our hands.

20. From what the Scriptures teach respecting prayer. We are commanded to pray for all men, 1 Tim. 2:1; to pray for our enemies, even for those who despitefully use us, and persecute us, Matt.

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