heaviest of all punishments. This was the distress of Jonah. One sees in him also, in his darkest state, a tenderness of sinning against God, by being any otherwise accessary to his own death, than as owing what was his desert. Some men, if they had felt half his burden, would have plunged themselves into the sea; but be, humiliating as it must be, pronounces his own doom, and submits to be cast away by their hands!

But we have now arrived at the period of his dejection. Lo, when he was just giving up all for lost; nay, when he had actually pronounced his doom; when death had laid hold upon him, and he seemed already in his grave; a thought glances across his mind; a gleam of hope accompanies it: yet, before I die, I will look again toward thy holy temple! The thought proves a resurrection to his soul.

But, let us observe what it was on which his hope, at this affecting crisis caught hold. Was it the temple, the material building, to which he looked for relief? Surely not. An Israelite in name only, might have indulged a superstitious confidence in the place : but Jonah looked farther. It was to the temple with respect to Him that dwelt therein, and the manner in which he dwelt therein, namely, upon the mercy seat, or propitiatory, that he looked. If expressed in New Testament language, it would be looking to God through a Mediator, who is our Advocate with the Father, and whose advocacy is founded on his having been made a propitiation.

The encouragement which the prophet felt to look toward the temple for relief, appears to have arisen from two sources, namely, seripture and experience. The prayer of Solomon at the dedication was recorded in the scriptures, and must have been familiar to every godly Israelite. After having enumerated divers particular cases, he adds, What prayer and supplication soever be made by any man, or by all thy people Israel, who shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and shall spread forth his hands toward this house, then hear thou in heaven thy dwelling-place, and forgive, and do, and give. This was doubtless a directory for Jonah, when other help failed; and the answer given to Solomon, I have heard thy prayer, and thy supplication that thou hast made before me,

turned all his petitions into promises. Here therefore was rest for the soul of every distressed Israelite, throughout all their generations; and for Jonah, though in the most deplorable state. I will look, saith he, toward thy holy temple; and hear thou in heaven ▾ thy dwelling-place; aud forgive, and do, and give. To scripture direction was added former experience. The language implies, that this was not the first time that Jonah had looked to the temple for relief. He had looked before, and would now look again. It had long, no doubt, been his practice, under every load of guilt or sorrow of any kind, to repair to the mercy-seat, where Jehovah had promised to commune with his people. This, to Old Testament believers, was as common as coming to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help us in time of need, is to believers under the New Testament; and having formerly found relief in looking, they would be encouraged to look again. It is a good use to make of past experiences, to take encouragement from them to make renewed applications for mercy. They are not designed for a pillar of repose under the load of a guilty conscience; nor the source from which our comfort is to be derived; but a directory to point us to the Saviour, and an encouragement that we shall not apply to him in vain.

From the whole, we learn the following important instructions:-First: The great evil of departing from God, and of flying in the face of his commands. The story of Jonah leaves an impression behind it of the justness of his own reflection, They that observe lying vanities, farsake their own mercies. ✓ What are all, the reasonings of the flesh against God's revealed will? Vanities, lying vanities; the end of which, if grace prevent not, will be death. Secondly: Yet if any one have sinned, let him not despair. While there is a propitiation, an Advocate with the Father, to despair were to add sin to sin. Thirdly: If through sin we have lost the light of God's countenance, and would recover it, it must be sought in the same way as that in which we first obtained it. If ever we regain rest to our souls, after having backslidden and lost it, it must be by applying to him, as guilty, unworthy, and perishing sinners, entreating to be forgiven through the bloodshedding of the Saviour. This was

the manner in which we first looked; and in this manner we must look again. Fourthly: Draw no positive conclusions of the state of the dead from what we see in the last hours of life. There may be no ground to conclude any thing in their favour ; yet the cause of Jonah is sufficient to deter us from concluding that they are lost. Had we been present when he was convicted and cast away, and seen the manner in which he went down to the watery grave, we might have drawn an unfavourable conclusion of him. All that took place of a favourable kind, was after every human eye had left him. Such a case proves the possibility of a penitent and believing look to the mercy-seat, when the party is removed beyond the ken of human observation; and this is sufficient to teach us our own ignorance; and incompetency to judge of the future state of any individual.

ON THE DANGEROUS TENDENCY OF THE DOCTRINE OF UNIVERSAL SALVATION.

As the scriptures abound in representations of divine truth, and of its influence in sanctifying and saving the souls of men, so they are no less explicit in declaring the unholy and destructive influence of error. It is said to increase into more ungodliness, and to eat as doth a gangrene. The same divine writer speaks of strong delusion; or the energy, mighty working, or effectual operation of error. It is often alleged in behalf of the advocates of certain doctrines, that allowing them to be in an error, yet there is no reason to question their sincerity; and if so, it may be only an innocent mistake. If by sincerity be meant no more than that they really believe what they teach, there is no reason

to doubt their being possessed of it; but the same was true of the persons described by Paul. Their doctrine was a lie, yet they believed it. Paul, however, was far from reckoning their error on this account, an innocent mistake. On the contrary, he represents it as leading to damnation; and its abettors as righteously given up of God, on account of their not having received the love of the truth, even while professing to embrace it.

Without taking upon us to decide how far, and for how long a real Christian may be drawn aside from the simplicity of the gospel, or what degree of error may be found after all to consist with being of the truth,—It is sufficient that the natural tendency of these things is destructive. Every man who sets a proper value on his soul, will beware of coming within the sweep of that by which multitudes, in all ages of the church, have been carried into perdition.

Under the fullest conviction that what has been said of error in general, is applicable to the doctrine of universal salvation, or the restoration of men and devils from the abodes of misery to final happiness, we wish, in the most serious and affectionate manner, to caution our readers against it. To this end, we shall point out a few of its dangerous consequences; which, if clearly ascertained, will be so many presumptive proofs of the falsehood of the principle.

First The violence which requires to be done to the plain language of scripture ere this doctrine can be embraced, goes to introduce a habit of treating the sacred oracles with levity, and of perverting them in support of a preconceived system. If he who offendeth in one point of the law is guilty of all, in that he admits a principle which sets aside the authority of the lawgiver; he who perverts a part of the scriptures to maintain a favourite doctrine, in the same way perverts the whole, and thus renders the word of God of none effect. Hence it is that Universalism leads to Socinianism, as that does to Deism. One of the leading advocates of this system was warned of this on his outset; and by his late publications, and those of his party, they appear to have given full proof of the propriety of the warning.

Secondly: To explain away the scripture threatenings of eternal damnation, is intimately connected with light thoughts of sin; and these will lead on to a rejection of the gospel. The whole doctrine of redemption by the Son of God, rests upon the exceeding sinfulness of sin, and the lost condition of sinners; for the whole need not a physician. If these, therefore, be given up, the other will follow; and this is another reason why Universalism will be almost certain to end in Socinianism. The benevolence which is ascribed to God by the advocates of both, is in reality, connivance; it is that which must induce him to pardon the penitent without a vicarious sacrifice, and to punish the impenitent only for a time, and that for their ultimate advantage. The Socinians openly renounce the atonement; and though some of the Universalists may at present retain the name, yet they have abandoned the thing.* The corruption of Christian doctrine among the Galatians, went to introduce another gospel, and to make Christ to have died in vain. But what would Paul have said of this? Let those who have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil, judge.

Thirdly If the scripture threatenings of eternal damnation be set aside, and light thoughts of sin admitted, sinners will be more and more hardened in their impenitence. The greatest object of desire to a wicked man is, doubtless, a heaven suited to his inclinations: but if this cannot be, his next object is to be exempted from punishment; on which principle he would gladly be. annihilated but if this cannot be, he would next prefer a punishment of short duration; and if God be supposed, notwithstanding what has been said of eternal damnation, and of sinners being never forgiven, to intend nothing more than this, he will naturally conclude that the degree of it will be abated, as well as the duration shortened. The same kind of reasoning from the divine benevolence, which brings him to believe the one, will bring him to believe the other. It cannot be a very fearful thing, he will suppose, to fall into the hands of a being who will inflict nothing

* See "Letters on the Atonement," by the Rev. C. Jerram; a piece in which the real opinions of the Universalists, concerning this all-important doctrine, are clearly developed and answered.