plies that personal effort which we have to make for ourselves in order to secure eternal salvation, as saith the Apostle. 1 Tim. vi. 12. "Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life ;" and if this be the meaning of the text, it clearly teaches that there is danger of coming short of salvation.

1 Cor. ix. 27. "But I keep under my body and bring it into subjection, lest after I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway." The only question on which there need be any controversy, in relation to this text, is, What does the Apostle mean by being a castaway? That he contemplates some evil or punishment in this expression, cannot be doubted, but the question is, what is this evil? That it could not be the loss of character or fortune that he feared is evi-' dent, for these he had already sacrificed at the altar of christianity. Nor could it have been the temporal judgments which befel his nation that he feared, for he so perfectly understood this coming event that there could have been no necessity of his suffering himself to be surrouuded in Jerusalem by the Roman army. We say then that St. Paul feared being a castaway by coming short of a crown of glory in the future world, which is evident from the connection. Take the last three verses in the connection and this is the only consistent construction that it will bear. The Apostle refers to the publick games, in which men contended for a prize, from which he takes occasion to advert to the effort which the chris

tian should make for an immortal prize. He says "every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible. I therefore run, not as uncertainly, so fight I, not as one that beateth the air, but I keep under my body lest after I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway." From this it is clear that the apostle was contending for an INCORRUPTIBLE CROWN, and that by being a castaway he meant being rejected as not having won this immortal prize; hence, it is clear that St. Paul really supposed that there was danger of his coming short of salvation, and that he acted in view of this danger, 1eally contending in his christian and ministerial career for an incorruptible crown. Universalism confines every motive, and the consequences of every act, to a period which lies this side of our

final destiny, but from this subject we see that the Apostle's motives were more lofty, lifting his aspiring soul to the unfading glories of the heavenly world. This class of proof texts might be multiplied to almost any extent, but as we have extended our remarks on those already adduced to such a length, we shall add no more on this point. We think we have now clearly shown that the scriptures teach that there is a possibility and even danger of coming short of salvation, and if so, the doctrine of the certain salvation of all men cannot be true, and the doctrine of endless punishment follows

of course.

V. The scriptures teach that sinners can and do actually resist the means which God employs to bring them to repentance and salvation, and if the means of salvation are resisted, their object is defeated and the unyielding soul cannot be saved. No reliance can be placed upon any means or mode of salvation, only such as are revealed in the scriptures, and if it can be shown that these means are all resisted by some sinners, it will be clear that the salvation of all men cannot be proved as a matter of certainty, and that the endless punishment of such as do resist is, to say the least, a possible issue. The only debatable question, in this argument, is, whether or not the means which God employs to bring sinners to salvation may be resisted, and rendered ineffectual by the sinner, and this point we propose to prove from the

declarations of God's own word. So far as God has revealed his own modes of operation, (and no argument can be founded on what he has not revealed,) the following are the principal means which he employs to reclaim and save sinners, viz. the force of truth, the striving of the Holy Spirit, the influence of mercies, and the restraining force of judgments or punishment, all of which are sometimes resisted.

1. The sinner resists the force of truth, and thereby renders the word preached ineffectual, so far as any saving benefit accruing to himself, is concerned. The prophet exclaims, Isa. liii. 1. "Who hath believed our report, and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?" The Apostle declares, Heb. iv. 2. "The word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it." iii. 16. "For some when they had heard did provoke." Acts xiii. 46. "Then

Paul and Barnabas said, it was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you, but seeing you put it from you and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles." Here the unbelieving Jews are said to put the word of God from them, which clearly proves that they resisted its influence. 2. Tim. iii. 8. 'Now, as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses so do these resist the truth." Matt. xiii. 58. "And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief." Matt. xxiii. 37. How often would I have gathered thy children together but ye would not." These quotations clearly show that sinners do resist the force of divine truth as brought to view in the gospel of the Son of God. This truth indeed is matter of every day's experience, with universalists as well as others; for notwithstanding the boasted reasonableness and attractive charms of their theory, which they pretend to be commissioned from God to preach, to the overthrow of superstition and priestcraft, they after all find as much difficulty as others in bringing community under the iufluence of their doctrines. This could not be the case, if they are right, did not men resist the force of divine truth.

2. Men resist the strivings of the Holy Spirit. Isa. lxiii. 10." But they rebelled and vexed his Holy Spirit." 1 Thes. v. 19. "Quench not the spirit." Eph. iv. 30. "Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God." Acts vii. 51. "Ye do always resist the Holy Ghost." These quotations show that men vex, quench, grieve, and resist the Holy Spirit.

3. Men resist the influence of divine mercy. This is implied in the preceding remarks, for as men resist the force of truth and the influence of the spirit, in so doing, they resist the influence of divine mercy; for the gospel, and the influence of the spirit are mercy's own gifts. But a few other instances shall be adduced. Isa. v. 4. "What could have been done more to my vineyard that I have not done in it? Wherefore when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes." This text teaches, beyond all dispute, that the mercies bestowed upon the Jewish nation, did not effect their intended object. The dying prayer of our crucified Redeemer for his wicked murderers, Luke xxiii. 34. was a most striking display of divine mercy and com

passion, and yet it failed to melt down their hard hearts. Nothing can be more plain than that goodness and mercy have followed sinners all their days; sinners who have lived in sin and blasphemy, and died unreformed. That sinners do resist the influence of divine mercy, and rebel against the filial regard of the hand that formed them, God himself bears testimony while he calls heaven and earth to witness the astonishing fact. Isa. i. 2. "Hear, O heavens! and give ear, O earth for the Lord hath spoken; I have nourished and brought up children and they have rebelled against me."

4. Sinners sometimes resist and harden themselves under the dispensation of divine punishment. Rev. xvi. 9. "And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God which hath power over these plagues, and they repented not to give him glory." Verse 11. "And men blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains, and repented not of their deeds." Verse 21. "And men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, for the plague thereof was exceeding great." We have now shown that sinners do sometimes resist all the principal means which God employs to bring them to repentance and salvation, and hence, the salvation of all men cannot be certain, on one hand, while, on the other hand, the endless punishment of those who resist the means of their salvation, is the most prob

able issue.

VI. The scriptures teach that there will come a time when it will be too late to seek and obtain salvation. Gen. vi. 3. "And the Lord said, my spirit shall not always strive with man." That the influence of the divine spirit is essential to salvation cannot be doubted by any who believe the Bible, and yet sinners are threatened with a withdrawal of this spirit, in which case it must be forever too late to seek salvation. On this text Dr. Clark remarks as follows: "It was only by the influence of the spirit of God that the carnal mind could be subdued and destroyed: but those who wilfully resisted and grieved this spirit,. must be ultimately left to the hardness and blindness of their own hearts." Psa. xxxii. 6. "For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found." This text clearly implies that there will come a time when God will not be

me.

found; hence, we read, Isa. lv. 6. "Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near. An exhortation to seek God, "while he may be found," most clearly supposes that a time is coming when he will not be found; and to "call while he is near," supposes that a time is coming when he will not be near. In accordance with this we read, Prov. i. 24, 26, 28. "Because I have called and ye refused, I have stretched out my hand and no man regarded; I also will laugh at your calamity, I will mock when your fear cometh; then shall they call upon me but I will not answer, they shall seek me early but shall not find Chap. v. 11. "And thou mourn at the last, when thy flesh and thy body is consumed." Isa. xxxviii. 18. "For the grave cannot praise thee, death cannot celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth." Whether the word, here rendered pit, signifies the grave or hell itself, will not alter the nature of the evidence, which the text furnishes, in proof that there will come a time when it will be too late to seek salvation. If they that go down into the grave cannot hope for the truth of God, it follows that the only time and place in which we have the proffers of divine truth, and consequently of salvation, are in this world, and that those who reject the truth of God in this life, and descend to the grave in unbelief cannot hope for the renewal of its proffers in the world to come. 2. Cor. vi. 2. "For he saith, I have heard thee in a time acceptable, and in the day of salvation have I succored thee; behold, now is the accepted time, behold, now is the day of salvation." This most clearly implies that the accepted time and day of salvation are limited, and that a time is coming which will not be accepted, and which will not be a day of salvation. What then is the accepted time, and day of salvation? We answer the time of preaching the gospel, as the apostle says, at the close of the preceding chapter, of himself and all other true gospel ministers, "we are embassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us, we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God." Now, while this ministry of reconciliation is holding forth in the name of God, offering terms of peace to rebel man, is the accepted time and day of salvavation; and this closes with each individual sinner at death,