We also are but a fragment of that great army of pilgrims, travelling to the better country-the "city whose builder and maker is God." We should much distrust our doctrines, if we did not believe that something of the same hope and the same love inspires the earnest and the devout, in all churches and in all lands. Let us then hail our brother pilgrims wherever we may meet them, and inquire of them, "What of the night?" And the oftener we thus challenge the watchmen, the oftener shall we hear the grateful response: The morning cometh; yes, the morning cometh, foretold by prophets, poets, and sages-promised also by the Son of God, the morning that shall look upon a world redeemed from sin and sorrow. Z. H. H. ART. III. Our Helps and Hindrances. A TOPIC that claims attention annually before our ecclesiastical bodies, and monthly in our religious journals, though seldom heard from our pulpits in the ordinary course of ministration, is, "The condition of the cause of Universalism." This includes, of course, our numerical gains and losses, in churches, societies, Sabbath-schools, ministers; in all the outward material of a religious sect. It includes also our helps and hindrances, present and prospective; union or division-activity or apathy-growth or decline of religious interest; our moral position before the world -the fervor with which our religion kindles our hearts with zeal for every noble enterprise, and every holy duty, whether to God, our neighbor, or the human race. includes, in short, all the elements of our denominational growth or decline. It The frequent discussion of this topic, if it do not end in mere words; if it serve to inspire us with a more earnest appreciation of our real necessities-will not be in vain. The first step towards the correction of our faults is, to know what they are;-a philosophy equally applicable to business or religion, morals or mathematics. If a merchant finds his business in disorder; if he is surprised by losses, where he most confidently expected gains, he will not need to be told that there is a fault somewhere; but, to set himself intelligently to the correction of that fault, he must know what it is. So, in our religious affairs-in our hearts as individuals, in our churches and societies as religious organizations, in our large ecclesiastical bodies, associations and conventions;-if there are impediments in the way of our prosperity-an abatement of interest in our denominational affairs, a falling off in our numbers, or even a marked decline in the rate of our increase-it betrays a fault somewhere; and the first rational step towards its correction is to know where and what it is. Numerical statistics are of little value in estimating religious vitality and moral power. Measured by such a standard, when all its avowed disciples were gathered in a single room with closed doors for fear of the Jews, the gospel would have given but a very dubious promise of obtaining the dominion of the world and redeeming the human race from sin. Its power consisted in something besides the number of its teachers, converts or churches. So, the power we possess as a religious sect cannot be estimated by any statistical tables. The "Register" may inform us with some approach to accuracy, of the number of our churches, Sunday-schools, societies and ministers ;-the results, rather than the causes of our prosperity. But the christian devotion, the individual consecration of heart and life, fidelity to the whole gospel as a sufficient and authoritative rule of faith and duty, these nerves, arteries, and sinews of spiritual life and power, are found in no tables but the tables of christian hearts. And these are elements without which, though our numbers are as the sands upon the sea-shore, we could not succeed, and we ought not. Whether we have a few more or less churches, societies and ministers now, than five or ten years ago, is a question of little comparative importance; of much more vital consequence is the question, "What are the causes of our prosperity or adversity?” We will omit, then, the chapter of statistics, so generally anticipated with such an article as the present, and proceed at once to consider some of the obstacles that stand in the way of our denominational growth. As a religious body, the hindrances of our outward prosperity and numerical increase, may be presented under two general heads: External and Internal ;-those for which we are not, and those for which we are, responsible. There are many obstacles in our way that do not originate among ourselves; such as the controlling power of early education, excessive sectarian zeal, long cherished social habits. are not responsible for such influences, and, however seriously they may impede our progress, we cannot control them. They are obstacles which every new sect or party must encounter, and which gradually disappear with inincreasing numbers, influence and age. We The most important place in this division of our subject, must be assigned to the power of early education. No man can easily shake off the bonds of early habits, change the current of early thought and feeling, or obliterate the early impressions upon his religious nature. Even when compelled by mental necessity, this is not an easy task. Though assured by the most undoubted evidence that our early convictions rested on no sufficient ground of truth, the heart still clings to whatever we loved in childhood. Though doubting its worthiness, we are loth to renounce what our father and mother taught us to revere. Instructions re ceived by a father's knee, or in a mother's arms, stay long in the heart. It is no child's play to break loose from a religious faith to which we are bound by such bonds; and the longer we live, the more charity we feel for those who find themselves unequal to the task. The bond that binds us to such a faith is often woven of the fibres of our noblest nature; and to break it, one of the most painful duties we ever have to perform. To our mental convictions, that early faith may have become unworthy; its supporting evidences may have fallen away, one by one, like rotting shores from a hanging wall. In the light of broader investigations and more mature thought, its proofs may have become fallacious. The character it attributes to Deity we may see to be unworthy and inconsistent. Still we hesitate. That faith did not come to us through such channels; it was not commended by any such considerations. We received it implicitly as children; not for its harmony with the attributes of God, its adaptation to our spiritual nature, or because we thought it the highest expression of divine mercy and love. We accepted it for no such reasons. It was taught us by teachers for whom our love was as deep as the fountains of life. Those now of middle age or beyond, can well remember when religious instruction was not monopolized by the church and Sunday-school; when parents heard their children read select portions of Scripture, and recite the appointed lesson from the well worn "Westminster Catechism." Thus, too young to comprehend their meaning, children were required to repeat the most abstruse portions of Scripture; and, without ability to detect their monstrous absurdity, they were brought face to face with the most terrific doctrines that ever agitated the mind or agonized the heart of man. Such is the origin of our early faith. We received it before we knew what it was; and every step in its formation is impressed with the memory of a father, a mother, or some beloved teacher of our childhood. It is no wonder that we find it so hard to break the bonds which the most unselfish love has woven so imperceptibly around us. We never do break them, till it becomes a mental necessity; we never discard such a faith, till there is no longer any room for it in our hearts. That faith in which a mother lay down in peace and slept to wake in heaven; which brought consolation to a bereaved father and his mourning orphans; which cheered the lonely days and weary nights of the chamber where a beloved sister lingered long and painfully on her journey to her rest;-how obstinately does such a faith keep its place in the heart in spite of our clearest convictions. And this very tenderness of our love for a faith which has ceased to be a true symbol of our religious conceptions, is one of the most subtle foes that can beset Integrity that would face unblenching the fires of martyrdom, often falters in presence of such a test. us. It is easy to see how all this influence of early education may be made to promote, instead of retarding the cause of Universalism. It can be done only by faithfulness in the religious education of the young. The impression which our example must leave on their minds must be in behalf of fidelity to our highest religious convictions, and unblemished purity of life. Let them never find in our lives an apology for vicious indulgence, or for sacrificing mature conviction in behalf of early prejudice. The excessive animosity in which other sects indulge toward us, is another hindrance in the way of our progress. From this source spring various types of opposition. Sometimes it is open, relentless, unscrupulous; stooping to any means if they only promise success. This method succeeds best where our views are least understood. Where the people have had opportunities to hear and judge for themselves, such measures, like maddened elephants in ancient warfare, prove most fatal to those who employ them. We sometimes suppose there is no opposition where it does not assume this malignant type; when in truth the most effectual opposition we can encounter from without, is of a character entirely different. A favorite method, recently pursued by other sects with but too much success, is to attach a kind of odium to the name we bear, and to those who openly avow it, rather than to our peculiar doctrines. To be called a Universalist, or to connect one's self with a church or society of that name, is represented as a thing to be avoided at almost any sacrifice. But to embrace all our distinguishing doctrines, while belonging to other sects, is entirely respectable and Christian. To believe that in the fulness of time all men will be saved from sin, and be made happy through reconciliation to the divine will, is a privilege which both ministers and laymen of other sects highly prize and fully enjoy. But to acknowledge one's self a Universalist; to unite with others of similar faith in its support and defence, is a sin-at least against their standard of propriety-which hath no forgiveness. Being a Universalist is no offence; but being a consistent one"there's the rub." Remain in their churches, give your money and influence to their societies, and all is well. Then it is no reproach to believe as firmly as you please in universal salvation. You forfeit your reputation only by your honesty. You expose yourself to excommunication when you will no longer support doctrines which you disbelieve. This, modified as circumstances require, is really the most formidable opposition which others can now offer to our denominational growth. But while it prevents our numerical increase, it opens the door to the broadest acceptance of our doctrines. Hence, while we have gained but |