Flatter not yourselves with the vain hope, that there is one solitary thrill of joy in the indulgence of sin.  He, who indulges in dissipation and vice—­he, who slanders his neighbor, who wrongs his fellow men, or even utters one oath against the unsullied name of his Maker, is a most profound unbeliever in the sentiment we proclaim.  He, who possesses a hope so full of immortality as to believe, that God will finally save from sin, and bless him and all his fellow men, will cleanse his hands and wash them in innocency.  Tell me not that you are a Universalist, when the very oceans of God’s goodness do not affect your heart, nor lead you to repentance.  He, who is satisfied that there is no happiness in sin, will abandon it.  He, who deliberately pursues a vicious course, expects to find happiness in it; and it is impossible that he believes in God’s universal grace.  It is absolutely impossible in the very nature of things, that he can be a UNIVERSALIST. A salvation from sin is the doctrine of the Bible, and holiness itself heaven.  He, who believes such a salvation to be happifying, will abandon sin, as the enemy of his peace, and seek righteousness, which alone can afford him tranquillity.  Jesus says, the kingdom of heaven is righteousness and peace.  If you wish to satisfy men that you really desire the whole human family to meet in heaven, then show your sincerity by being righteous yourself.

A sincere Universalist believes sin to be the cause of many mental woes that darken the world, and the principal cause of the greater proportion of sufferings that fall to the lot of man.  He believes that a virtuous course of conduct, guided by the burning lamp of revelation, leads to those joys that time cannot sully, nor the hand of death extinguish.  A conviction of this truth leads him to hate sin, to forsake its dark dominions, and enter those fields of felicity, where the brilliant beams of virtue shed a cloudless day.  Here he walks and enjoys an antepast of heaven.  Its paths are the paths of peace.  All its ways are pleasantness and delight.  Its crystal streams are pure and sweet; its breezes healthful and its fruits delicious.  He believes God to be the father of his creatures—­that he governs the world in wisdom and mercy—­that he created with a benevolent intention, and that he is not disappointed in the workmanship of his hand, but presides over just such a world as he designed it should be.  He believes that this order of things, though dark to him, is designed for good, and shall terminate in the happiness of all.  He believes that all rewards and punishments are instituted for some benevolent end, and that this end, will be brought about in such a manner as to manifest to all, the divine perfections in the clearest light, and shed unfading glory on the supreme Majesty of heaven.  This faith gives him confidence in his heavenly Father, and fills his heart with gratitude and veneration.  It leads him to look upon the human family as his brethren, and to do them good.  He seeks their happiness, and thus chooses and merits a good name.