The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1886-08-28

character; and they secure our trust, If
we believe in them. These character
istics Universalism, and no other body
of religious doctrine, attributes to God.
1t says he never changes, though his
methods of dealing with his children
may vary according to their necessity
and the purposes of his love. 1t says
that his love and mercy and justice
never fail. 1t says that his power is
adequate to every emergency and will
triumph, and that it will be exercised.
not by keeping mankind forever in sin
and chains Of vengeance, but by deliv-
ering them from their enemies and his
own. 1t says that never in the vast
cycle of ages will he fail to be the help,
shield, refuge of man, but his arms will
be forever open to receive the repent
ant, his wings outspread to shelter the
weak and suffering who seek their shell
ter. 1t sings:
Lord, thy mercies never fail:
HALL celestial goodnessl hail!'
Here is Being in whom the world
may trust, because his spirit never va
ries. His laws are steady and uniform,
his love abiding and impartial. And 1
would preach that God is love-love in
affecting, in Furnishing mankind, love
in his justice as well as his mercy, love
once and forever, and that he will finally
manifest that love, himself, to every
human soul, because 1 would have men
trust in him, rest their souls in his pa
tent and persistent love, and rely upon
the Development of his graciousness out
of all that seems dark and painful in
the experiences Of time. l would have
men say, not doubtfuliy, not blindly,
not desperately, but earnestly, intelli-
gently, confdingly, tenderly, 'He doeth
all things well.n
II. Universalism is a source of I'M
failing comfort in the time Of affection.
Teaching that no soul can possibly be
lost forever, that the Good Shepherd
will seek and save all those who wander
away for season, the believer relies
upon it for sure hope for those whom
death separates from him. His hope
enters into the future life, and as an
anchor grapples the throne of God.
Looking into collins and graves he sees
only decay and corruption looking to
the end, to the completion of Gods
purposes, he sees the beloved brought
.ia4O perfect accord with the Divine
Spirit, the whole family of man gath
cred into one fold and all his beloved
restored to his society. II called upon
himself to die, he knows that he leaves
behind him in his family and social
circle children of the living and loving
God. He is racked by no tormenting
fears lest they shall forever fail of the
grace of God. He believes the final
good of his dear ones is not contingent
upon their unforeseen experiences when
death comes, but for them as for him
self, hopes in Gods infinite love.
There are seasons when no other faith
than his will suffice to stay the soul.
There is no ons SO depraved that he has
ne one to love him. Those whose lives
are mainly accordant with Christian
principles, those whose faith is strong
in Jesus and in God, are often called to
mourn the loss Of relatives or friends
who have done wickedly, who have been
unmindful Of religion, who have given
no sign of repentance Of sin, or even of
regret for wrong doing.
What does current religion say of
such What word of comfort does it
bring to the believer? Where is the
consolation in Christ" Of which the
apostle wrote ? Preach to the widow
of the endless woe which awaits her
unrepentant husband E; preach to the
mother of the hopeless misery into
which her darling but proAigate son has
entered, and tell me if her signs are
softened, her tears sweetened, her bur-
dens lightened. Do you say that that
would be cruelp Then we have truth,
which there is not only no use in preach
ing, but it would be wicked to preach.
Or shall we leave our beloved with their
unrepented faults, as SO many vaguely
say, "in the hands of merciful God ?"
But that leaves their fate in mystery
more profound than that Of the earthly
life. The momentous question is, What
will divine justice and mercy do with
those in whom we have interest What
is the end of their existence Are they
to another sphere for good
Or for evil Will divine justice and
mercy be even as beneficent as they are
in this state of beingp Or will they be
7 These are questions which
a loving heart inevitably and earnestly
ponders.
There is love Of God which is sup
posed to blot ost the love of man. But
that is not Christian love. 1t is rather
the love of self than the love of God.
Men used to profess, in words rather
than in spirit, willingness to be damn
I'd for the glory of God. 1t proved how
words could be used without the sense
IF their meaning There are now soma