the whole human race, and received by all who were conscious
of the need of them: so that the Gospel was truly what the aged Simeon
declared it, 'the salvation which God had prepared before all people; a
light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of his people Israel.'

Yet there were many among the people of Israel who were blind to this
glory, and many of the Gentiles who rejected this guiding light. This
rejection was not caused by any restrictive quality in the revelation,
any provision in the Gospel itself for the limitation of its privileges:
nor was it caused by any previous arbitrary decree of the ordainer of
salvation, that on account of some very ancient event, totally
unconnected with the present dispensation, a large majority of the human
race should be rendered absolutely incapable of participating in the
blessings of redemption. It was occasioned by the prejudices of narrow
minds, by the ignorance of darkened minds, by the spiritual pride of
presumptuous minds, by the petty hopes and fears of selfish
minds,--prejudices, ignorance and selfishness naturally arising in the
then state of the world, and not to be immediately or speedily got rid
of but by miracle: a mode of agency which the Divine Being has
frequently made use of to sanction his revelations, but never to prepare
the human mind for their reception. Thus spiritual ignorance and moral
blindness are, we apprehend, the only obstacles to universal redemption;
and we firmly believe that these obstacles are only temporary. The
Gospel itself bears such an indisputable character of permanence and
universality (as we shall hereafter show), and so evident a provision is
made for the gradual dissipation of darkness and error, that we may
confidently anticipate the time when the hope of the Gospel shall be the
rich possession of every individual of every nation.

That it will be so we conclude, not from the persuasion of our own
hopes, or at the bidding of our reason in opposition to the declarations
of Scripture; but because every principle derived from the Gospel
sanctions the commands of our reason and affords a warrant of our hope.
There is in no Gospel, History, or Epistle, a hint of any restriction or
limitation of the blessings of redemption. Christ is ever spoken of as
having died for all; there are thanksgivings in the name of all,
invitations embracing all, and anticipations of the ultimate bliss of
all. Those who are mourned over, reproached, ent