quired to give us the most consoling trust in God through eternity, and the most cheering hope for man."

There are, indeed, passages which speak in a lively and emphatic manner of certain general bearings and broad results of the atonement of Christ. These, pressed to the extreme of their literal and independent meaning, and unqualified by the specific and definite limitations elsewhere made, give plausibility to the theory in question. The most common argument in the early stage of modern Universalism was from the numerous texts which declare the universal relations of the death of Christ, suffered for "all men," for "the world," &c. But the distinction between the efficacy of Christ's death as placing all men in a salvable condition, and as actually saving them, is so evident, and is so sustained by all the texts which annex conditions of repentance and faith, that the argument has nearly dropped from use, especially as the Universalists have ceased to believe in a vicarious atonement at all!

But what shall be said of Romans xi, 32? "For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all." Does not this assertion point to his ultimate purpose, and the final result? Not as regards all men individually. The Apostle is stating that the Jews are for a time cut off, in order that the Gentiles may be grafted in; and that, at a later period, the Jews will be reclaimed, and thus mercy be shown to both sections of mankind, and the salvation of Christ come to all without exception of race. That the benefit of the salvation was conditional, however, and suspended on personal faith, is put beyond doubt by a precisely parallel passage in the same Apostle's epistle to the Galatians, in which he thus makes plain his meaning: (iii, 22.) "But the Scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe."

A stronger appeal is made to the language of the fifth chapter of Romans, in which a contrast is drawn between what the human race lost in Adam, and what it gained in Christ: "For if through the offence of the one the many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by the one man Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto the many.' "Therefore as by the offence of one, judgment came upon all

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men to comdemnation, even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the obedience of the one shall the many be made righteous. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound; that as sin reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life, by Jesus Christ, our Lord." It may candidly be admitted, that if we had no other instruction in the Bible respecting the final results of the redemptive scheme, a ground of hope might be afforded, by these expressions, of a universal human salvation. But in their interpretation we are limited (1) by the plain and express declarations of Scripture to the contrary, which we are yet to consider; (2) by the opposing language of the Apos tle in this very epistle, in the second chapter, where he restricts eternal life" to them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honor and immortality;" (3) by the conditional nature which he invariably ascribes to salvation by Christ; (4) by the personal act of appropriation which the very parallel and contrast between what we derive from Adam and from Christ imply in each case, seeing that "death passed upon all men because all have sinned," (verse 12), or made Adam's transgression their own by voluntary lives of sin-a fact which calls in the parallel for a similarly personal appropriation of the redemption through Christ; which possibly may be meant by the form of expression that, "much more they who receive (that is, by personal, voluntary act) the abundance of grace, and of the gift of righteousness, shall reign in life by the one, Jesus Christ." (verse 17.) Nor when this limitation is thus made, are the assertions of the passage rendered weak and meaningless. They still abide in truth and force, showing a superiority in the salvation over the ruin; (1) in that the vast majority of the human race will be found at the end among the redeemed, the lost being but as the inmates of our prisons compared with the virtuous community; and (2) in that God, through the work of Christ, will have turned the fact of sin into an occasion of the divine glory, otherwise unparalleled.

Another passage often cited to sustain the theory of resto

For as in Ad

There is cer

ration is, 1 Cor. xv. 21, 22. "For since by man came death, by man also came the resurrection of the dead. am all die, so in Christ shall all be made alive." tainly much to be said for the explanation (favored by DeWette) that the "all" in the two members of this comparison are not identical, but represent two classes with their respective heads-all men dying in Adam, their natural head, and all saints as surely made alive in Christ their spiritual head; especially as in this whole chapter the Apostle is specifically discussing the future life of the saints. Yet in view of the parallel passage in Romans, just considered, we think the argument exegetically probable, that the two "all "s correspond, and refer to the whole human race, respecting whom it is true that they become subject to bodily death through Adam, and receive a bodily resurrection through Christ. But this latter, like many other things procured for us through Christ, may be made a curse, instead of a blessing by an impenitent life. Hence Christ himself alludes to a double resurrection: "The hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation." That Paul did not develop this latter truth is explained by the specific purpose which he had in view, in comforting the saints. Yet we do seem to have a hint of a distinction, and of the reference of the glorious resurrection only to Christians, in the very next words: "But every man in his own order-Christ the firstfruits, afterward they that are Christ's at his coming." The whole usage of Paul in his writings, in his constant characterization of the saints as "in Christ Jesus," and as "Christ's," forbids us to understand such a specific phrase as including all

men.

Perhaps the weak argument derived from 1 Tim. ii. 4, "Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth," and the parallel words, in 2 Pet., iii, 9, "Not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance," ought not to be passed by. When it is said that God is surely able to carry out his will, as here expressed, and that consequently all men will be saved, it is as

sumed that the words refer to his decretive will, and announce a purposed result. But the context-which in the one passage is an exhortation to prayer for all classes of men, and in the other is an explanation of the delay of wrath,—as well as the whole drift of Scripture, points us rather to his benevolent will or desire, which urges all to be saved, and makes it our duty to labor and pray for all. It is thus simply parallel to the words in Ezekiel xviii, 32, “For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God; wherefore turn yourselves and live ye," and in xxxiii, 11, "Say unto them, 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; turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?"

An attempt is made to press into use, Phil. ii, 9-11. "Wherefore God hath highly exalted him (Christ Jesus) and given him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things (beings) in heaven, and things (beings) in earth, and things (beings) under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." This sets forth simply the "Lordship" of Christ, as a fact to be universally recognized in heaven, earth, and the underworld, or by angels, living men, and the departed, or, as some prefer, by heaven, earth, and hell. Olshausen, himself a restorationist, says: "Jesus is not here acknowledged as Mediator, but as Lord, and the true interpretation of this passage, as also Rom. xiv. 11, and Is. xlv. 23, show, that it is not a willing acknowledgment of Jesus that is here spoken of." "Those knees which till then were not willingly bowed to him, shall then be forced to bow." Even now, James tells us, "the devils believe and tremble," and when Jesus was on earth the demons recognized his authority, and feared that he was come "to torment them before the time," knowing that eventually they were to be stripped of power, to be humbled beneath his judgment seat, and to be cast into hell forever.

A somewhat favorite proof-text for the doctrine of restoration has been the language of Peter in Acts iii. 21, "Whom (Jesus) the heaven must receive, until the time of the restitu

tion of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began." Not to lay undue stress on the fact that the word "restitution" (droxatαordσews) may mean "full establishment," and thus the idea be only that Jesus is to tarry in heaven until all has been accomplished on earth which the prophets have predicted, we may claim that such general phraseology simply imports the final victory of the kingdom of Christ over Satanic opposition, and the renewal of earth's allegiance to her rightful king, as constantly foretold by the Jewish prophets. This by no means teaches or implies, that Satan and all the other defeated enemies are transformed into saints, and made inhabitants of heaven; a result of which surely the "holy prophets since the world began "have not continually spoken, while the Old Testament is filled with predictions that the Messiah would crush his foes. But, at his second coming, Christ will inaugurate his holy and blissful kingdom for the reward of his redeemed ones, and will institute a second paradise, of which he has said, (Rev. ii. 7) "To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God."

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But the chief reliance of the restorationists is on Colossians i., 19, 20. "For it pleased the Father that in him (the Son) should all fulness dwell, and having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven." This had influence with Neander to make him say; (Planting, &c. B. vi, cap. I.) "This passage we shall interpret in the simplest and most natural manner, if we can admit such a reference to the reconciling and redeeming work of Christ on the fallen spiritual world. A magnificent prospect is thus presented of the final triumph of the work of redemption, which was first opened to the mind of the great Apostle in the last stage of his Christian development, by means of that love which impelled him to sacrifice himself for the salvation of mankind." Eilicott, also, while not quite venturing to affirm the same idea, comes so close to it as to write: "This, and no less than this, it does say, that the eternal and incarnate Son is the "causa medians" by which the absolute totality of created things shall be restored into its primal harmony