then, by a flourish of authorities, and a fearful degree of the satire and cunning of hell, destroying it.

Again, he took some prophecy relating to the future glory and extension of Christ's kingdomor to the richness and freeness of salvation or to the final triumph of the Prince of Peace over his enemies, and told his gaping hearers that they all taught the doctrine of Universal Salvation. Then he poured out a vial of indignation upon the heads of partialists, bigots, &c., &c., meaning the people of God. Then he commenced a tirade against revivals of religion, and the tyranny of the clergy, meaning all the true ministers of God's gospel. Then he gave a passing thrust at protracted meetings, and temperance societies. Then he ridiculed the missionary, Bible, tract, and education societies.

Again, he stumbled upon the doctrine of election, and said some hard things against the duty of striving to make our calling and election sure. Then he denied the depravity of man. Then he said that Jesus Christ was not God. Then he said that the Holy Spirit was not one of the persons of the Godhead, but only the spirit, or life, or energy, of truth itself. Then he talked a little while on the abominable sentiment of the damnation of infants. Then he told you that there was some who believed that God had created some men on purpose to damn them. Then, when he found himself hard pushed, he referred you to other authors, and requested you to read them, and so he went on to

the end. Now, what kind of a sermon is this? What good can a sermon do, which contains such a strange commixture of heaven, earth, and hell. Does it not look like a dodging of the truth? Does it not appear like a man who has lost his way in a dreary wilderness, and is labouring in vain to find his way out? It is true, they sometimes appear in earnest. They sometimes bring out some truth. They cull here a little and there a little, but never any that will endanger their system? The impression which they leave on the mind is a confused one-like the remembrance of a dream. Their hearers never go away weeping for their sins, and crying, "Men and brethren, what shall we do to be saved?" They never come up to their teachers, and, with agitated minds, ask, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? But they go away pleased with themselves, and applauding the ingenuity of the man who appeared to grapple successfully with the truth of a holy God.

NINTH REASON.

Universalism cannot be true, from the manner in which they pray. Did you ever hear one pray? Did you hear him confess his sins? Did he tell God what dreadful sinners he and his people were? Did he confess, as Daniel did, "O Lord, the great and dreadful God, we have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have

rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts, and from thy judgments, neither have we hearkened unto thy servants, the prophets. O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, because we have sinned against thee. We have rebelled against him, neither have we obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants, the prophets." This was a part of Daniel's prayer. And Daniel offered up acceptable prayer, for he informs us, while he was yet speaking, and confessing his sins, Gabriel appeared for his deliverance. Who ever heard such confessions of sins come from the mouth of a Universalist minister? We have sinned, says Daniel, we have committed iniquity, we have done wickedly, we have rebelled. He repeats the sentiment again and again, as if he could not sufficiently deplore his vileness before God.

But listen to that Universalist minister, and hear his prayer.

He begins, by telling God how powerful he is -how long he has existed—and how long he is yet to exist. Then he thanks God for his great mercy in sending Jesus Christ into our world, (not to atone for sin,) but to assure men of unconditional salvation. Then he thanks God for life, liberty, and the sweets of friendship. Then he thanks God for the dignity of human nature, and for the immortality of the soul. Then he prays that the enemies of the Universalists may be forgiven, and that the time may soon come, when their doctrine shall have spread over the whole

globe. You listen in vain for Daniel's or the publican's confession of sin. It is all thanksgiving, from beginning to end. His prayer is a short sermon, in fact, setting forth the doctrine of Universal Salvation. This he aims at as he goes along. If you will watch narrowly, you will be astonished at the want of confession of sin which characterizes their prayers. Their prayers are deemed eloquent, in proportion as they set forth the dignity of man -the glories of the material creation, and the doctrine of Universal Salvation. Did you ever go into a Universalist prayer-meeting? I never did, for I never heard of one-but if there ever has been one, and if you were there, you have noticed this same want of confession. Did you ever happen to be in the family of a Universalist, when he was conducting family worship? I never did, for I do not know of a Universalist family in this city which maintains family prayer morning and evening. But if there is one solitary instance of the kind, and you were there, you must have been struck at the hasty manner and at the want of confession which characterized it. Now a prayer, where there is not much confession of sin, is not an acceptable prayer. It does not come from a contrite heart. A man who can pray, time after time, and never confess that he is a rebel—that his heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked-that there are depths of pollution within him unmeasurable by man-such a man is yet a stranger to his own heart, and therefore a stranger to God and God's truth. Indeed, the practice of Uni

versalists in this respect, is in entire harmony with their faith. They deny the total depravity of the heart, and therefore it is that you never hear of any thing like it in their confessions. Why should they confess their sins, as Daniel did-and loathe and abhor themselves, as Job did, if they do not believe that they are at enmity with God? They will often confess sin in the general-they will confess Adam's sin, and they will deplore some of the effects of sin in our world-such as sorrow, sickness, and death, the widow's sighs, and the orphan's tears-but never, like Daniel, do, they confess "We have sinned, we have committed iniquity, we have done wickedly, we have rebelled." Never, like Job, "Now my eye seeth thee, wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes." Never, like the publican, "God be merciful to me, a sinner."

But the man whose prayers are not right, is not right in heart or in faith. If he is a stranger to the depravity of his own heart, how can he know the truth of God. Prayer, if the lips do not belie the heart, will tell a great many secrets of the heart and of the life. Find a denomination that prays much, and you find a denomination who are holy, and who understand the truth of God. But find a denomination who have no prayer-meetings -whose members do not maintain family prayer, or secret prayer, and you find a denomination who are on the great highway of infidelity and ruin.