now.

all men, for he commands it; God's will must be done; therefore all men are penitent and holy." But, sir, I deny that God either wills or commands the immediate penitence and holiness of all men; and I know that you cannot prove that he does. Acts xvii. 30, is not to your purpose, for that word was spoken many centuries ago; and if it were then immediate in its application, and exclusively so, it certainly cannot be so The continued force of this text, shows plainly, the sheer sophistry of your argument. The Lord seeth not as man seeth; for what.is time with him but one continued Now? Suppose your argument sound :-then God wills to make the believers happy as Christ is happy; therefore they are so now, or they never will be! God wills to take the saints to heaven; therefore they are in heaven now, or they never will be! You say (p. 4) he will send the unbeliever to hell! Again, God wills to sanctify and save all the elect; now all the elect are neither sanctified nor saved; therefore they never will be! Now, "what concludes against facts is delusion." Are you not deluded?

"It may be well for me to remind you, that we do not affirm that the world is reconciled unto God; for there would be no more work for the ministry of reconciliation, if this were already accomplished. What but obstinate blindness leaves you to treat as you do, Paul's words, 2 Cor. v. 19, "God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself"? and why did you not give us the remainder of the verse, "not imputing their trespasses unto them"? Your argument

is this because all men are not reconciled to God; therefore they never will be. By the same kind of logic, I might say, If brother Barnes be not a lover of truth now, he never will be! Such palpable fallacy is too contemptible to be made use of by a man professedly learned. The character of your arguments is similar to that stated above, till you come to notice 1 Cor. xv. 24, 25: " Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule, and all authority and power. For he must reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet."

66

We, also, think that this passage relates “to the defeat of the kingdom of darkness," by the victorious truth of the Gospel; "for the last enemy, death, shall be destroyed." But in what manner are the enemies of Christ to be put under his feet, or subdued unto him? You answer, "that some shall be crushed beneath the Almighty's feet, in the manner that an Eastern despot puts his feet upon the necks of his vanquished foes." But what says verse 27?"For he hath put all things under his feet." how do you get along with this? on Col. i: 20, (p. 8.) "To say that all things here, denote all mankind, is to appropriate to the wicked what belongs exclusively to the righteous." Take notice: it is the same author, using the same phrase, all things, which you say, "belongs exclusively to the righteous." According to your sermon, then, the righteous, and exclusively such, "are to be crushed be

WellYou tell us

neath the Almighty's feet;" and this, too, in the sam meanner that an oriental, despotic conqueror places his feet upon the necks of his vanquished enemies! Now let us see you feign to be shocked at the idea of "ascribing cruelty to the great Jehovah," by saying the Jews" had received double for all their sins"! (p. 5.) What candid man is to be won by such manifest contempt of the word of God, as this? Instead of reasoning as you do on this subject, the apostle goes on to say, "the last enemy shall be destroyed, death. For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith, all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him. And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all." Such, sir, is the conclusion to which the enraptured apostle comes on this subject; (how different is his conclusion from yours!) and no marvel, for he had once been an enemy to Christ himself; but he had been subdued to him by the power of his And what was the effect of his subjecWas he made wretched by it? No: far

grace. tion ? from it. When subdued to Christ, he was no longer the hating enemy; but he became the willing subject, faithful servant, and loving friend. God is no respecter of persons, and when all the enemies of Christ are subdued unto himall, like Paul, will become the willing subjects and loving friends of their Conqueror."

Mr. Fuller always referred to this controversy with evident satisfaction. He felt confident that

he triumphantly vindicated the truth of God against the attacks of a zealous enemy; and had probably been the means of convincing many that God is the Saviour of all men." Though his language may seem tinctured with severity, the provocation which called it forth should be borne in remembrance; and it should not be forgotten that Paul, in speaking to Titus of certain perverse opposers of the truih, said, "Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in faith." He knew no enmity; and he was not only a faithful friend, but also a generous opponent. He had confidence in the excellence of his cause, and knew the strength of his arguments too well to employ mere slander and vituperation in his "defence of the Gospel."

Perhaps many other important incidents in the life of Mr. Fuller occurred during his residence in Boonville; if so, they have not come to my knowledge. It appears from his own records that his labors were steadily continued there, while he improved every opportunity to visit the surrounding villages, and make known the good things of the kingdom of God. gained the approbation of all his ministering brethren and the entire confidence of the Universalist public; and perhaps no man in our denomination was ever more generally respected and beloved, and none has finished his course on earth more deeply and sincerely lamented.

He

CHAPTER V.

Visits Philadelphia.-Results of his Visit.

IN 1832, the Second Universalist Church of Philadelphia being destitute of a Pastor, Rev. S. R. Smith, who had formerly been associated with this Church, recommended Mr. Fuller to their favorable regard. The recommendation coming from such a source at once created feelings of interest to hear the stranger. It was be

lieved from the accounts received that he would be a very suitable man to supply the destitute Church. He was accordingly sent for. And in June, 1832, he made his first visit to this city.

Here I saw him for the first time. He had come a long journey and was much fatigued. And being at that time afflicted with weakness of the eyes, his appearance was far from prepossessing to a stranger. I feared that the friends who had invited him hither, with the view of securing his constant services, had perhaps received exaggerated accounts of his qualifications for the misistry, and would suffer much disappointment. But he was not long in making himself acquainted; and he soon gave evidence of a well cultivated mind within an nnpromising exterior. He regarded all "of like precious faith" as friends, with whom an agreeable intimacy might