and feel and hate the folly of which they have been guilty, to excite in them a deep sorrow for it, and a real love of goodness; and if, when thus fitted for pure enjoyment, he mercifully permit them to participate of it, every difficulty vanishes, every thing is consistent, every thing is glorious, every counsel is benevolent, and every perfection harmonizes with the event. His justice, his holiness, his wisdom, his power, his goodness, will have been exerted, and exerted successfully, to bring about a result truly exalted and glorious. Then, indeed, may the universal acclamation of praise burst from his intelligent creation-Alleluia, for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth!

CHAPTER II.

OF THE ARGUMENT IN FAVOR OF THE DOCTRINE OF UNIVERSAL RESTORATION, FROM THE NATURE OF MAN.

A SKILFUL artificer, in constructing a piece of machinery, modifies and combines its various parts so as to make them subservient to a particular purpose, and we estimate the perfection of the mechanism by the completeness with which every thing is included necessary to secure the intended result, and every thing avoided which may impede it. In the external frame of man, there is the most exquisite adaptation of different parts to each other; the most beautiful results are designed and accomplished by contrivances, at one time extremely simple, at another wonderfully complicated, but at all times perfectly wise and efficient. The external frame of man, however, is only a part, and a very inferior part of this wonderful microcosm; and since such inimitable skill has been exerted in the construction of it, we must conclude that the whole nature of man is designed to answer some purpose, and if it be right to judge of the importance of the object, by the magnitude of the means employed to secure it, a purpose truly excellent.

If we examine the higher faculties with which man is endowed, and judge of the purpose for which they are imparted, by that to which they are adapted, we cannot mistake the ends they are designed to answer. All the nobler properties by which he is distinguished, may be arranged with sufficient accuracy for the present purpose, under his intellectual powers, and his social and moral tendencies. He can observe the beauty and order of the world in which he is placed; he can investigate the causes of its phenomena; he can ascertain the laws by which it is governed; he can penetrate into the secret recesses of nature, and contemplate the process by which many of the wonders which surround him are formed; he can extend his view beyond the boundaries of his own world, calculate the distances of the worlds above him, ascertain their magnitude and trace their movements: he can perform a still more difficult task; he can retire into himself, investigate the principles and propensities of his own nature, and reason respecting the very faculties by which he conducts the astonishing process of thought. Endowed with affections which lead him out of himself, and attach him to his fellow-beings, he can rejoice in their joy, and weep for their woe; he feels bound to them by tender and endearing ties; without their society, he is gloomy and sad; so long as he cherishes the generous affections in his intercourse with them, cheerfulness smiles upon his features, and happiness dilates his heart. He can sit in judgment on the nature of his own conduct, distinguish between good and evil, and while he glows with admiration at the contemplation of every generous and sublime affection, he feels indignation and disgust at the selfishness which considers only its own good, and the vice which pursues it at the expense of the general happiness. He can hold intercourse with the Great Being who gave him existence, and who crowns him with good; and though a mysterious veil, which he cannot pierce, shroud the Sovereign Spirit from his mortal vision, yet he can feel a solemn and endearing consciousness that he is continually present with him; that he is above him, and beneath him, and around him; he can hear his voice instructing him in his duty, and perceive his hand directing him in his course, and rejoice in his promise, that he shall re-awake from the sleep of death, burst the fetters of the tomb, enjoy immortal youth, and pursue with unwearied step, through the countless ages of eternity, attainments which rise higher and higher in infinite progression, and which perpetually fill and enlarge his capacity. Forgetting the enjoyments of the present life, which is but as a moment of time compared with eternal duration, he is capable of acting with a view to his immortal dignity and happiness, and of resigning all which he now holds dear and valuable, if necessary, to promote his future felicity.

For what can a being thus wonderfully endowed be called into existence? For what are such faculties given him? To be for ever misdirected and abused; to be wasted on littleness and devoted to folly; to adorn and secure the triumph of evil, and to afford to the universe an eternal spectacle of majestic desolation, and fallen and perverted grandeur? Or, to add to the beauty of the fair creation, by proving that one principle pervades it; that one Almighty power directs its operation; that in the higher, as well as in the lower part of the works of God, nothing is made in vain; that the means are universally adapted to the end, and the end invariably secured by the means?

If this be not the case, how singular is it that man should furnish the only instance in the creation, of a complicated adaptation of means which answer no end, or rather of an admirable and exalted provision, entirely perverted from its purpose! If we examine any other part of the world, if we look beneath us or above us, we can perceive nothing analogous to it. All the inferior animals fulfil the object of their