BX 9941 сорог Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1846, BY B. B. MUSSEY, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. PREFACE. IN the following discourses we have endeavored to present, in a popular manner, the moral argument for Universalism. We have not declined to offer the usual scriptural arguments from any want of confidence in their strength, but rather from a conviction that this portion of the subject has been adequately treated by those more skilled in biblical criticism than ourselves. Indeed, it would indicate a want of confidence in the labors of the ablest men among us, which we do not feel, to recapitulate their forcible expositions. We have, therefore, confined ourselves to the argument from the Spirit of the New Testament, the Paternity of God, and the facts of Human Nature. In the latter department, we have presented trains of thought that have given to the doctrine of Universal Salvation a force of certainty to our own mind. Few will deny that such considerations are strengthening to their faith. We can never truly understand a precept or doctrine of Christianity until we approach it from the side of human reason. As religious experience intro duces us to the beauty and fitness of the moral code of Jesus, so does a true philosophy confirm his statements of doctrine. A theological system divorced from the facts and wants of our nature, will always rest upon a precarious foundation. We believe that Universalism rests upon the most profound analysis of the mind of man, and harmonizes with his best hopes and desires. All good men wish it were true, even when compelled by their theology to disbelieve it. The most accurate survey of the motives of human conduct, the most comprehensive view of history, and the most correct appreciation of the tendencies of society, all bear testimony to its truth. The moral operations of our time are strong by its power; nor is it too much to say, that the coming of God's kingdom upon earth must be the result of its general application. We dare not pretend to have explored the great field of the moral proofs of our faith. We have presented a few of the most apparent, knowing that they abound in all departments of human culture. May this feeble effort be received with the spirit of love in which it is offered. GLOUCESTER, Oct. 15, 1846. A. D. M. THE BALANCE. THE SPIRIT OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. "The letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life." 2 Cor. 3: 6. WE propose, at this time, to present an argument for our belief in the salvation of all men, from the spirit of the New Testament. And first let us define this term, "spirit of the Gospel," and show wherein it differs from "the letter." There are two methods of Scripture interpretation; the literal, and the spiritual. The former rests upon a verbal inspiration of the Bible. It recognizes no difference of time in the composition of works extending over a space of many centuries. It allows nothing for difference of style or temperament in the authors of these books. The lofty poetry of the Psalms, of Job and Isaiah, |