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In the title of the pamphlet lately published by Mr. Weston, the pastor of the Universalist Church in this city, he professes to give the Teaching of that Church generalhj ; but in the structure or composition of the work, he has limited it to the subject of the punishment of the wicked, in the future state. Having, by his pamphlet, given a more precise and permanent form of publicity to the lecture he delivered on that subject, it is the more needful and proper that there should be an equally public exposure and refutation of the errors in that printed publication ; and an exhibition of di- vinely revealed truth on the whole subject in question. An effort, therefore, will here be made to fulfil both of those most important purposes. KECEXT ORIGIN OF THE UNIVERSALIST CHURCH. Mr. AVcston, in the commencement of his work, has admitted, that his Church " is a body which has had separate and independent existence less than a hundred years." He may be thanked that he did not leave the fact to be urged by an adversary, but voluntarily declared it. It is a most important one, for it immediately suggests the incredihiUty that the infinitely wise and benevolent Head of the Church would, for nearly eujliteen hundred years, have left all his spiritually enlightened and faithful servants, ministers and laity, in ntter ignorance, or rather grievous, if not ruinous error, on that deeply important point of future punishment. He has not left them in any such error, or in any uncertainty on the subject, but has given a sufficiently clear and full revelation concerning it, as all those en- lightened and faithful servants, throughout all ages of His Church, have seen and believed. The belief of that punishment has always ^ S V 3 c hocn held hy the Christian fh, , i)re«<.„f • "'" "'i«Tii)(i,,-,l T-„- ' ■"'•^"t the recent "cscnt organ,.ati„„. Thin reoonf f-. ""<■■•«"';«.« assumed it, "" "-Joed, ooneluMve a,:uZT ^"' ''' "'' "^'"•' ^^ -^'^0.! ? ,;;;f-<:- Its e.tensi„„ r:.',:!; ''-''^^ ''^--t the erro e";. ' r ^e„pt,„.e test i, the o,d, e ; ',:,' t"" j'™"'' "^^ '*^ validity '"-'.>• -^'lose who hnir? fi. , "''Ji^e or Jess ranidlv "--..HetCJ^^;--;;..t..t:;tL^^ iur. VVcston, verv fr'ii.M,^ i • o'-'.i^CWehi.thL':^;!!^'"" "- "-«- -! eo„fe.,ie„ ■^« We believe tJjif fj tr K^""'' We her Z '"'"""'^'^'^"''^^^'^ able unto ineu " r 4 Y 1,' ^''^' ^hese thina^ «?; ,*° manitain Thf . . . ^^^'^^P^< A. D., 1803.1 ^' ^'' ^«°^^ an^I profit- 'ensed and brief; but that i, of J t^ r""'«''"-«"'P"™gly con ~--on„fthe,.„.h;e::trti^::;fj~^^^^^ iu rile luture stafp »^- Weston proceeds ,W h tl ' ""'''*'^^^'^- r««^«■hosa nature sLe-Vr^-"^" "^"^ therein / ««««« character of the whole ^^'0 recent nuncd its ■stroijg, if D'Toiieous \'iJi(/itj. ■^ fJiurac- '"^'jccts. "i Mse ^a/jirjij are, ot to be 'n they 'laco of u ^^ ession Xe\v 'f tile 'OVe ; who nnd mr~ tain Q's n- be e. of his argument again^c future punishtncnt. He has not founded it and carried it out as he ought to liavc done, on the intbrniatiou which (rod liimsclf has given of all His attributes and perfections, compos- ing His holy and gh)rious nature and character, as contained in the Scripture revelation ; but has selected only this one attribute or quality of love, and from that alone goes on to infer, or rather to decide, what God ought to do in consistency with that nature : that is, to refrain from punishing the wicked, in a future state, and restore them to His favour, and to " linal holiness and happiness." The divine and glorious Being has not, in that revelation, left it to imbecile and corrupt man to define the real attributes, qualities and i)erfections constituting His character, but has himself, therein, fully and clearly disclosed them. He there says : — Be yo holy, for I am hoh/ (Lev. 11). Exalt ye the T;ord our Hod, and wor- ship at His footstool, for he is holy (Ps. 99). Niuuerous passa- ges throughout the scriptures — Old and New — set forth this attri- bute of holijies!^ ; and it is emphatically declared, " without holiness none shall see the Lord." His Justice is as clearly and frequently declared. He styles himself, "a just God, and a Saviour;" and mark here, the justice is even put before the saving mercy. " Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne." " He will by no means clear the guilty " (Ex. 34, 7). Mr. Weston himself has cited this. Again it is written: — " A God of truth, and without iniquity, just and right is He." (I)eut. 32, 4.) The attributes and perfections of jyoiuer, wisdom, Jinoivledc/e, mercy, and others which belong to the Divine nature are also clearly and repeatedly set forth in the sacred oracles. No one of the wliolo of them is greater or less than the others. They are all in perfect harmony ; no one of them ever being, or can be in conflict with, or in opposition to, the others. Mr. AVcston has said, that " God's justice is pledged finally to restore the whole family of r^iankind to holiness and happiness." He has not given, and cannot give, the slightest portion of Scripture to support or warrant the assertion. It is merely that of a frail and fallible man, and is in direct opposition to numerous passages of Scripture, as will be fully shown in a subsequent page. At present the follow- ing are given : — " Upon the wicked he will rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest, this shall be the portion of their I m 6 cup." (Ps. 11, G.) "Their worm sliall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched." (Is. 65, 25.) And by our Lord himself, thrice declared, " into hell, into the fire tiiat never shall be quenched ; where their worm dieth not, and the lire is not quenched.'' (Mark 9, 4:3,-8.) NOT IIU^IAN REASOX BUT IXSPIRED SCRIPTURE TO DECIDE. In further support of the fallacious mode INIr. Weston has adopted, ill carrying on his arguments, he thus writes : — "' We make Eeason the interpreter of God's word."' iS'ow, even if it were true that native reason alone, without the enlightening of divine grace, is a suflScient guide and authority for fully comprehending and under- standing all the truths of that word, — wliich, however, is not admit- ted, — yet, a judgment or conclusion on this subject of future pun- ishment, does not depend on any process of reasoning whatever. It depends entirely on the meaning of certain words addressed to, or placed before, persons who understand at once the meaning of the words, being those of their own language. If a person says to an acquaintance, I will to-morrow go to the town of D ; or, I will immediately call upon E. F. for the fifty pounds he owes me, and if he does not pay it I will commence a suit against him ; the acquaint- ance knowing the meaning of the words in each case, they being in his own language, ho requires no exercise of reason as to their mean- ing. They convey facts, or statements, which he at once understands. In like manner, when God has declared that the " wicked shall go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched," those who know the meaning of the words, being in their own language, need no process of reasoning on the matter, as the meaning is. to them, per- fectly intelligible. In all the languages in which the statements are made, those who respectively speak or use the language — whether Hterary or illiterate persons — will, without any reasoning, know directly the meaning of the words. On this point, therefore, of the meaning of the certain or precise words of Scripture regarding the future and everlasting punishment of the wicked, Mr. Weston's test of a process of reasoning is altogether needless. It rests for deter- mination entirely on the meaning of the words, employed in the Scripture passages on the subject. I ^ Neither does this doctrine of the final happiness of tlio wicked, as Mr. Weston assumes, depend solely on the exercise of one divine attribute of love ; but all the others must be taken into considera- tion ; and it is not what man may think of that love, and its exer- cise, but, as on the point of reason just mentioned, — it is what Goil has expressly declared regarding- future punishment that must deter- mine the whole subject. 1 DIVINE FATHERHOOD. Mr. AV^eston's further ground for his doctrine is his asserted fatJurJwod of God to all r'.aukind, the wicked and the righteous alike. Here, again, he is in opposition to Scripture, which evidently shows that the word Father as used towards mankind in their re- lation to God, has a meaning according to the character or nature of the persons to whom it has reference. In several passages of Scripture He is called " the God of the spirits of all flesh," the word Fathtr not being used, and in Heb. 12, 9, He is called " the Father of Spirits ;" but in all these places the words are merely synonoraous with that of Creator. There is not a passage of Scripture which mentions God as the Father of wicked men, or names them the " children of God," but directly the reverse appears in several passages. The Sci'ipture clearly shows in many places how persons, in a religious sense, become the children of God, and he is named their Father, In John 1, 11, 13, is written: — " But as many as received Him to them gave He power to become the sons of God." This agrees with what the Saviour said to Nicode- mus, '' Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." "Ye must be born again'' (John, 3, 5). " Ye have received the spirit of adoption whereby we cry Abba Father. The spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God." (Horn. 8, 15.) Surely none of this can apply, or belong to an unregenerate and wicked person. The prayer called our Lord's was given for his disciples. One of them said to Him, " Lord teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples. And he said unto them, when ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven," &c. (Luke 11, 1, 2.) No person not desiring and en- 8 'hu> m deavoring to forsalve his wicked ways, but wilfully coutinidiij^ them, has a right to call L\, '* and run with patience the race that is set before us." And in V. 28. he writes : — " Wherefore, we receiving a kingdom which can- not be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God accep- tably, with reverence and godly fear ; for our God is a consuming lire." Here we again see that the children of God's kingdom are meant and exhorted, and not the unregenerate and wicked. SCRII'TURES CITED BY MR. WESTOX ON THE FIXAL IIArPIXESS OF THE WICKED. He gives first the words of our Lord, in John 10, 16 ; — "There shall be one fold and one Shepherd." Now, is it possible that Mr. Weston has so misunderstood these words, and the whole passage with \Aliifh they are connected. The whole verse is as follows: — " And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold, them also I must bring, and they shall hear niy voice ; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd." It is perfectly evident that he is not here speaking of the wicked as a class, but of those of the gentile world, who should believe on him as distinguished from the Jewish believ- ers ; and according to what had been declared in Isaiah 49, G : — " It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel : I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth." There are many similar predictions in other parts of the Old Testament Scriptnres. His next citatiim : — " I will draw all men unto me," is equally void of suj)])ort to his arguii'.f^nt. The word draw means to " allure,'" " attract^ And so the Saviour has always been alluring and inviting men to accept the tiflbrs of his mercy and salvation ; but the vast majority of them, in all ages, have rejected liis allurements and oflers, and have lived and died in their sins ; and similar multitudes, in the countries called Christian in the present day, are living and dying in a like manner. They have been like the Jews, to whom he said : — " Ye will not come unto me that ye might liave life." lie will not violently force or compel men to accept his salvation. The next citation : — " As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive," is equally inapplicable. The preceding and connected verse says : — " For since by man came death, by man came also the 10 resurrection from tlic dead," (1 Cor. 15, 22) which passages evidently show, as docs tlie whole chapter, that the Apostle was treating of the resurrection of all mankind, from natural death, and of that onhj. Did Mr. Weston fail to see this ? IFe next writes : — " Christ must reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet; * * * 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 ; tliat God may be all in all," wrote Paul. (1 Cor. !">, 22.) " As the same word is used to express the way in which all enemies are to be subject to God, it follovA-s that the enemies, when subjected, shall be friends." (Dr. J. F. Clarke.) Was Mr. A\''eston unwilling to give this strange, or rather monstrous comment as his own production, and therefore gave one Dr. Clarke as its real author ? I hoi)e no reader will suppose that he is the very learned and eminent scholar and commentator. Dr. Adam Clarke. There are very many in these days, perhaps several named Clarke who are called Dr., but who are anything and everything but real Doctors or Eabbi's in true Scriptural divinity, or theology; and this J. F. Clarke appears to be one of them. No\<^ let us examine on Scripture authority the true meaning of the Acrses above cited. The present Christian dispensa- tion of religion is a mediatorial kingdom, committed by God the Father to our Lord Jesus Christ, as its Head and Kulcr, according as was previously and frequently prophesied, and as he declared : — " All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth." (Math. 28, 18.) " And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the Church, which is his body." (Fph. 11 , 22, 23.) Now in this capacity of mediatorial ruler, the Father says to him in Ps. 2 concerning the heathen who should not submit to him : — " Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron ; thou shalt dash them in pieces, like a potter's vessel." And again : — ''^lla shall rule them with a rod of iron ; and he treadeth the wine press of the fierce- ness of the wrath of Almighty God." (Hcv. 19, 15.) Such is the sub- jection, putting under feet, and final wrath and destruction inflicted on those wlio contiiuie to be the enemies of Christ aiui his kingdom. Now, is Christ, in like manner, to be ruled by God with a rod of iron ; to be made subject unto llim and the fierceness of his wrath. Of course both Dr. Clarke and Mr. AVeston will abhor the thought 4 i es evidently treating of 1' that onhj. -lirist must * * and le Son also, ; that God same word ) subject to e friends." give this )roduction, [ hojie no nt scjiolar ly in these , hut who si in true ears to be the true dispensa- Gud the according: -dared ; — Hath. i>8, dm to be Eph. n, ther sa_ys idjmit to alt dash ball rule le fiercc- the sub- iullieted iugdom. rod of bhought 11 of any such profanity ; but those unguarded words of the former would boar that meaning. The real meaning of the word " subject " as relating to Christ is evidently this : that when this world's history comes to an end and our Lord surrenders his present mediatorial rule, he will, in his human nature, become subject imto God, who ever was, and ever will be, " all in all," as the text declares ; but still " the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, (his saved people) and shall lead them unto living fountains of water ; and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." (Rev. 7, 17.) Mr. Weston next writes : — " Again Paul declares (Eph. 1, 9, 10) God has " made known to us the uiystery of bis will according to his good pleasure, which he hath purposed in himself; that in the dis- pensation of the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and on earth." No (lilHculty here a^ to mi'an'wugh the , (I .'^ay) \v, here, hat the receding ifesHioii. " under rth, hut ) in this l1 salva- erefore, ig Ood, Why idently all are earth ; and in I says : an his mercy J forth . 3, 8.) Again He declares, He " will render to every man according to his deeds. To them who by patient continuance in wxdl doing, seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life. But unto thorn that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, he will render indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that doeth evil.'' In these texts, as in many other passa^^es of 8cri[)turc, we find the meaning of the speciality of salva- tion mentioned in that text in Timothy. The last Scripture cited by Mr. Weston, in this connection, is the following, in the Epistle to Titus, ch. 2 : " The grace of God that bringeth salvation to all men hath appeared." It is indeed brought and offered for the acceptance and salvation of all men, but vast multitudes will not accept it and be saved, because they will not obey but reject the instruction in the succeeding and connected passage, which says, " Teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts wc should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world." Why did not Mr. Weston give this latter part of the sentence? Was he afraid it woidd mar or defeat his purpose in citing the first part of it, as the latter portion certainly does. Now it may here be confidently said, that every candid and intelli- gent person, will readily see, that not one of those many texts, which Mr. Weston has cited gives, the least countenance, or support to his assumed theory and belief, that the wicked, who die in their sins, will ultimately be pardoned and admitted to heaven ; or to use his own words, that " God would linally restore the whole family of man- kind to holiness and happiness." Now, after that selection and array, of irrelevant and unsupport- ing texts, Mr. Weston proceeds to what he is well aware, is, by far the most dilHcult part of his task ; but which he cannot ignore^ or avoid discussing namely, — to show, that there is some ground or reason to think, or suppose, that by some means, or processes, of a gentle and benevolent description, in the future state, those who die in their sins, even the very worst, and also the whole of them, will be softened, regenerated, made holy, prepared for heaven, and admitted there. He does not attempt to shov^ any scrij)ture describing or giving the least intimation of any such regenerating or saving pro- cess, for the plain reason, that nothing of that kind is hinted in any 14 pari of divine revelation. This is tlie great bar which cannot be removed, the diJJlcuUij which no speciousness or plausihility can over- come. But like others before him, Mr. Weston has attempted the work. It may be mentioned lierc, once for all, that ho has not in any place intimated that punishment of any kind is to be indicted for the sins committed while here, or is to form, as such, any part of that future regenerating process. The following are Mr. AVeston's words on tliis part of the subject, " We agree at once that many men die in their sins, but who is to say that God cares for his sinning children only while they are in the body." It has been already fully shown that those who live and die in their sins are not the " children of God." lie next states, " Paul says, ' whether we live or die we are the Lords.' " Paul said this of himself and fellow-cbristiaus, nut of those who are unconverted and die in their sins. He then proceeds, " Why undertake to hedge God in with the narrow bounds of time and earth ? ' In the Father's house are many mansions.' Are we to suppose that his love does not fill them all, that its strength is exhausted in this little world, where wo live for a day ? AVhat if his workings beyond the grave are hid from us a while, must we therefore deny its existence and its power there ? It seems to me nothing strange, that Inlinite Love should take the poor spiritual beggar, covered though he be with the leprous sores of siu and pollution, and stripping him of that nature, whose passions and appetites have overmastered and degraded him, bear him away from a life with which he has proved unfit to cope, a life whose tempta- tions ho was too weak to couquer, and tenderly place him where holier associations and purer influences shall cure his loathsome malady, and make him an obedient and loving child of God."' In remarking on the foregoing novel and fanciful production, the first part for notice is, the misapplication of the passage, •' In the Father's house are many mansions." That house, as Mr. Weston must know, is the high and holy heaven, where the Divine Majesty is present, and Scripture declares, that nothing which dejileth or is unclean, or nnholi/, can enter there ; that " Without holiness no man shall sec the Lord.'' (Heb. 12). The Saviour added, ** I go to prepare a place for you," meaning all his disciples, not for leprous sinners who die in their sins. The method intimated in the extract for curing 15 li cannot be ty can over- empted the s not in any inflicted for jart of that ton's words men die in ng children ully .shown children of die we are ian3, not of in with the e are many 11 them all, wo live for I from us a there ? It le the poor ores of siu issions and away from se tempta- lim where loathsome •d."' iction, the >, •' In the r. Weston Majesty fih'th or is ss no man to prepare nners who for curing these guilty beings is truly a surprising specimen of imaginative in- vention. Mr. Weston does not attempt to offer, or intimate any Scripture to give it countenance, for he knows there is none. lie does not oven venture to fully declare it as his own settled belief, but says of it, " It seems to mo nothing strange," etc., and yet he makes it the ground of his arguuicnts on the subject in succeeding pages. He has said something about the justice of God, as being pledged to renovate and make these lepers " holy and happy," in the future state, by means and processes then and there employed. Now waiving, for the time, all consideration and notice of the express declarations of Scripture, which will presently be shown, contrary to that noval and fond theory of future renovation, let us, on the ground of divine justice, or justice of any kind, examine and ascertain whether it would indeed be just, or the opposite, to place those per- severing sinners " tenderly," as Mr. W^eston says, under that gentle and kind process he has figured out, and when the beautiful change was thus happily and fully accomplished then place them among and in equality with the great, holy, and happy host, who had through persecutions, tribulations, and varied alllictions, served their God and Saviour faithfully to the end; and multitudes of whom many of those persevering sinners had persecuted to tortures and violent deaths. Would that be just or equitable ? No, but directly the o])posite, every candid and unprejudiced person will at once declare. Mr. Weston has applied his tender renovating process to all the classes of those dying in sin, and to all degrees of criminality. Now let us look at the earthly career of only a few, ancient and modern, of the notorious, cruel, and persecuting characters among those per- severing sinners. And first, Pharaoh, who decreed the drowning cf all the male Hebrew children, and who so long held that whole nation under cruel bondage and toil. Next, Antiochus Epiphanes, the Syrian monster of cruelty and profanity, who persecuted, tortured and murdered such myriads of the Jews, many of them faithful servants of God. Then the tyrannical and impious Herod, who CcUised all the infants under a certain age, iu and around Bethlehem to bo slaughtered. Further, the diabolical Nero, who tortured and destroyed so many Christians and others, causing the living bodies of many of the former to be covered with inflammable matter and then M 16 set on firC; for the nightly illamination of Rome. Next followed the long continued and most cruel and torturing persecutions of christians by Domitian, Galcrius, Caligula, Bed us, and several other imperial monsters of tyranny and cruelty, during which periods even millions were put to death, many in the mos t agonizing forms. Even in countries called christian, both in former and later periods, similar royal and other atrocious characters have appeared, who have tortured, and destroyed myriads after myriads, many millions in all, of the people of God, and others. Among these cruelties may be noticed the long continued Arian and other heretical per- secutions, those against the Albigenses and AValdenses, the tortur- ing and the murder of vast multitudes under the powers of the Inquisition, the Bartholomew massacre by the atrocious Charles IX., of France, and his male and female colleagues, the cruel atrocities by the bloody Mary of England, and numerous others which might be mentioned. Now will any soripturally enlight- ened Christian, or any person having an unprejudiced sense of justice, say that it would be just and right to exem])t such diabolical characters, such monsters of cruelty from all punishment in the future world, and place them in heavenly mansions of the divino Father, and merely put them " tenderly " for a period, perhaps, but brief, under mild and gentle restoratives, " holier associations, and purer influences," as Mr. Weston calls them, and thus iiiake them " obedient and loving children of God," and on an equality with those whom they had tortured and murdered. By the " holier associations and purer influences," he doubtless means, the companionship, teach- ing, and example of the angels and saints in the heavenly and holy mansions. But here he may again be reminded of the numerous Scriptures which solemnly declare, that the " unclean " and *' unholy " cannot enter there. Where then are those holier associations and in- fluences to be found in the future state ? There is, as to that state, only one other place than heaven mentioned in Scripture, and that is called " hell," the " furnace of fire," the '* lake of fire," where wicked angelic and guilty human beings will continue to dwell as the Scrip- tures so repeatedly declare, and surely there will be no such asso- ciations and " pure influences " there, but only pains and blasphemies as is plainly revealed. to nci sol iu(| GUI 5/ id thi ;n ^ followed the of christians hcv imperial !veu millions «. Even in iod.s, similar , who have millions in ie cruelties sretieal per- the tortur- rers of the )us Charles , the cruel •ous others Ij enlight- d sense of ■h diabolical ent in the the divino orhaps, but itions, and nake them with those ssociations up, teach- ■ and holy numerous ' unholy " )is and in- hat state, nd that is re wicked the Scrip- uch asso- 'asjjhemies 17 The Univcrsalist doctrine or scheme as disclosed by ^Er. AV., of tenderly placing the sinner in some mansion of purity and happi- ness in the future state, for his spiritual regeneration, is of a most seductive and pernicious character. Native humanity is ever fully inclined to sensual gratifications and ways of evil, in^stead of righte- ousness. The belief tlicrcfore of this doctrine, if not an encouraendent of, or contrary to that revelation on the point, are not only presumptuous and worthless, but manifestly impious. It is here appropriate, and possibly may be useful to remind Mr. AVeston of some very solemn declarations and warnings of Scripture concerning the presumptuous reasonings snd speculations of men, regarding the works and dispensations of the infinitely wise and glorious Creator and lluler. 18 The following are only some of those warnings : — " Tlio Loril answered Job and said, shall he that contendetli with the Almighty instruct him ? He that reproveth God, let hiin answer it." Job 40, I. " Thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself." Ps. oO, 21.—" Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker. Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioned it, what makest thou V — (Isaiah 45) — •' O man, who art thou, that repliest against (lod ? Shall tlie thing formed say to him that formed it, why hast thou made me thus ?'' (Eom. 9.) " The secret things belong unto the Lord our God ; but those things which are revealed, belong unto us, and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law." (Deut. 29, 29.) After all Mr. Weston's tender schemes and arrangements for the transformation of the guilty in the future state, and his bold and irrelevant reasonings, as to what the infallible lluler and Judge is pledged and ought to do with them, he still sees and fears that there are certain words and declarations in the Scriptures which con- front his argument, and so stand in his way, that he must en- deavour to CA ercome their force by so explaining them, that they will not apply to that argument and destroy it. He therefore says, regarding those words : — " We have given them all patient and con- scientious study, as men anxious to know their real import ; and we tind in them nothing which is inconsistent with our faith." Now here wc approach the real point or question on the subject, and the onhj authority by which it must be decided — the inspired and infallible Scriptures. the G. as (•hi wo of Tal bul thi REMARKS COXCERXING CERTAIN THEOLOGIANS. But before proceeding to state and comment on the two original words merely, which Mr. AV^eston has cited as relating to future punishment ; and before giving the numerous other passages of Scripture which declare that punishment, — it is proper to remark on some of the notes in his pamphlet, and the sa^^ngs of the theologians (dted as his authorities. Some of them in their ignorance or care- lessness have spoken as others before and since have done, regarding the laws and institutions under the precediny dispensation, — as if they were devised by Moses and given on his authority ; whereas, 19 Tlic Loril ? Aliniglity ' Job 40, ^ thyself." il•» ue th Ciod ; but ' eliildren fc. 29,29.) ts for the bold and Judge is hat there lich c'on- nust en- hat they for e says and con- ; and we J subject, ^ired and original 3 future jages of mark on ologiauK or care- sgarding I, — as if r^hereas, llioy were all, —as is most pointedly declared, — decreed and given by (iod himself. Not even the least of them, was framed by Moses, but as to each and all of tliom, the Lord charged him, — " say to tlie children of Israel,"— or sjieak to them and command them, or similar \vt)r(l>: : and then f)llo\ved the divine laws or injunctions. Not one of them or the least j>irtic;iKir, even t) a [)in or curtain of the Tal)eru:u'lc was loft to t'lc juilgincnt or arrangement of Moses, hut the divine command t > him was : — " Sec that thou make all things after ihe pattern s!i )\voA to thee in the mount." Some of tliese supp j^c 1 wi-io ones of modern times have said that those Israelitish laws did n »t set forth '* rewards and punishments in another life." And wliit il' it be so, is that any defect in that divine system? They seem to li:ive hail the presumption to hint it. Every (.'hristian and really candiil and intolligont person will see that to the vast multitudes of those ignorant iiuil degraded Hebrews, just come out of a long ami severe bondage, it was not at all needful to give precise information on those points ; and that the freedom and bles- sings of the promised land ought to have been thought quite sufficient to induce them to confide in God and worship and obey him. But it will presently be shown that in subsequent times inspired prophets and writers of their own nation did give not merely intimations but sufficiently precise information as to those future rewards and pun- ishments. One of those authorities cited by Mr. Weston of the name of Jahn (probably one of the German sceptics) has said : — " We have not authority, therefore, to decidedly say that any other motives were held out to the ancient Hebrews to pursue the good and to avoid the e\il than those whicli were derived from the rewards and pmiishments of this life." It is perfectly a])parent that in some way or other they had acquired a knowledge on those points, and were influenced by motives relative to a future state; for in Heb. 11 Moses himself is described as, " Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt : for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward." And in the same chapter, on the mention of Abraham, it is said : — " Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore, innumerable. These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having 20 seen them afar off; and were persuaded of tliein ; and embraced them; and confessed that they were strangers and [)ilgrims on the earth. For they that say such tilings declare plainly that they seek a country. * * * Hut, now, they desire a better country, that is an heavenly; wherefore, (rod is not ashamed to be c.illed their God ; for he hath prepared for them a city." Surely these Scriptures arc suflli'ient to confute that Oerman " Jahn,'' Arnauld, and all others like them; aiul to show that the ancient Hebrews had higher and better motives f h* their conduct, and for enduring patiently the persecutions and allliction>< through which they were passing, than merely " those which were derived from the rewards and punishments t)f this life' MEANING OF CERTAIN WOKDS OF SCIIIPTURE. In introducing the Hebrew word " Sheol,'' Mr. Weston says : — " That word occurs in the Old Testament sixty-four times, and is translated hell thirty-one time; grave tliirty times; and pit three times." Well, if these numbers be correct, it does not support, but actually condemns his position that there is no such place in the other world for the punishment of the wicked, for it shows that in nearly half of the whole number the word is translated so as to mean such place of punishment. There are many words in our language, and in most, if not all others, which convey different meanings, ac- cording to the subjects, or things, to which they are applied. Every Lexicon will show this. He refers to •' our translators " in unfa- vorable terms on this point. There were upwards of fortif appointed for the work ; and they were among the most learned men in the ancient Scripture languages then living, and equal, for that purpose, to any later scholars in those languages. In referring to translations it must be borne in mind that the various ancient and later version and other standards, — the Itala, the different editions of the vulgate, and many others, in various languages have given to the original words '* Sheol " and " Hades,** in many parts of Scripture the same meaning of a place of punishment of the wicked in a future state as is given in our translation. The Saxon and old English Bibles gave the same meaning of the words. Is it therefore at all probable or possible that all the great number of the learned men employed in different ages f ■i!^ •1 eiiiI)raecJ ■'•iiiis (HI the 111 ihvy seek eoiintry, that c.illed their hat (lerinaji "JW that the c'oiuluct, and ir>>ii<,di whieh ed froii) the u:. stoii sav.s : — lines, and is id pit three support, but place in the lows that in ) as to mean ur language, eanings, ac- ied. Every fs " in unfa- '// appointed men in the at purpose, translations or version the vulgate, the original re the same ire state as les gave the or possible fterent ages M 21 in making tliose translations and composing those versions were Mil-taken in i^iving such a meaning to the words, or in any way, on this point, corriiided or talsified the originals or tlie versions? Any •^^'.ich siipj)v)sitit)ns would 1 e altogether incrediMc. ^fr. Weston has given the explanations of several learned men on •lie meaning of the words Slwid and //rt'/^'s-, and some of them, rightly understood, are a1">out a-? much against him as in his favor. Here is another explanation, more explicit than the others, civen by that very learned and eunnent divine and critical commentator, Dr. Adam Clarke. In his reiuarks on the word fhH, in v. 23. in ^lath. 11, he -ays : " 'J'lie ori'j;inal woril is JlnrJcs, the invmhle receptacle or man- •-ion of the dead, answering to SJifol in Hebrew, and implying often, iirst, the grave : secondlv, the state of Rcpirat^: souh, or xnseen world of spirits, whether of tonncut, Luke, 10, 24, or in general, Ecv. 1., i8--(5, 8." Now here is a \ovy sensible and even satisfactory expla- nation of the meaning of the words, and if borne in mind and api)lied wherever either of the words is nsed in Scripture, will serve to show its meaning, according to the subject or person mentioned, or referred to, in the text or context wherein it is used. This is the oidy proper and true mode of judging of its meaahvj in oxQry instance. Wo see that in Luke 10, concerning the rich man, i^r. Clarke considers the v.'ord to mean a place of misery and punishment. Xo unprejudiced person can think otherwise when he fees the added and connected words, " being in torments," and " tormented in this flame." The texts in Ke\elation, having the same meaning, as signified by the Dr., will hereaftar be given in the proper place, and explanations and remarks a])])lied. An examination will now be made as to the several passages of ^'cripture, in which those solemn words Slicol and Had^s are employee^, and also of many other texts, in which other words are used denot- ing the future punishment of the finally guilty, and its everlasting duration. They will be given in the regular order in which they ap- pear in the Scri])tnres. The first text for notice is the following in Ps. 9, 17. " The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God." Dr. Clarke gives here for hdl, the original word, lisholali — and says it means, " lieadloiuj into hell^ down into hell. The original is very em- 22 1 A phatlc." It cannot surely mean fji-arc^ or merely plttce of separate apirka, for the righteous and all others go to the grave and to that sqHiratc state, as well as the wicked. The iuHuitely wise Being cai) never ntter nonsense, or absurdities, or totally useless or irrelevant expressions, lie has given the word speciallij for the tricJced, and the others sinners described. And here it may once for all be mentioned that not only the Jews, but all the heathen world have ever held, that the wicked would be punished in a future state, though there were many difterences of opinion as to the modes of that punishment. The following text in Ps. 11, 0, relates to the subject: — " Upon the wicked "lu shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest ; this shall bo the portion of tlicir cup.'' This cannot be applied to Sodom and Gomorrah, for they had been destroyed hun- dreds of years before this psalm was composed. It evidently relates to the punishment of the wicked in the future state. Next is V. 13. in Ps. 86 : — " Thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell." This evidently means that Gud, in his mercy, had converted him to hiuisclf, and thus saved him from going down to that place of misery and despair. On this verse Dr. Clarke has written : — " This must mean more than the (jrave. — a hell below hell, — a place of perdition for the sonl, as the (jrava is a place of corrup- tion for the hoihj." In Prov. 7, 2t is the following passage : — " Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death." Evidently something more than the grave is here meant, for the righteous also go there. The same learned commentator says, " /SVtro/, the pit, the We have next the following in Prov., I), 18, " But ho knoweth not that the dead are there, and that her guests arc in the depths of hell." It may confidentially be said here also that the word ^Sh'"'l, translated hell, means not the grave, but a place of punishment. Surely it would be foolish and absurd to suppose that it means that the graves of those guilty persons would bo dug deeper than those of the righteous, and other persons. The inlinitcly wise (Spirit could I al 23 (^f separate md to that ' Boinir can ' irrolovant ''A and the 'mentioned t^er held, i'i?Ii there inishineiit. :— " Upon t:i liorrible cannot be :)yed hun- tJy relates 1 iVoin the lerey, had l down to 'hirke has M.OW hell, i' corriip- ' the way ^iiicthiiig ?o there. 'nive, tile Joy, wlio ^mhen of locks no ■eth not ^'pths of :l >ih>"'l, 'htnent. lis that hose of could licver mean such an ahsurditij. Deeper graves would be a favour and advantaye rather than injurious, for it is said that the \^"orms which consume bodies in the grave are not found deep in the earth- but are near the surface ; and further, if in deeper graves than usual, the bodies of those sinners would be more secure from those who might desire to have them for surgical purposes. On this passage Dr. Clarke in referring to the Hebrew, the Ghaldee, and the Vahjate, writes, '' In the editio princeps are the follo\Aing words, ' Qui enim applicabitur, illi descendet ad inferos, nam cpii abscesserit, ab ea salvabitur.' Tliese words were in the copy froui which my old M8. Bible has been made, as the following version proves : ' Who forsoth schal ben joyned to hir, schal falle down in to hell, for whi he that goth awai fro hir schal be saved.'" The next passage for notice is the following in Is.'., 33, 14 ; " The sinners in Zion are afraid, fearfulness hath surprised the hyjxicrites. Who among ns shall dwell with the devouring fire ? AVho among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings ? " On this Dr. Clarke has written, " See Chald. on Isai, 133, 14, where Mokedeij Olam is rendered. ' The Gehenna of everlasting fire,' '* and again he says, •' The Targum on this verse is worthy of notice, ' The sinners of Zion arc broken down, fear hath seized the ungodly, who are suftcring for their ways. They say, who among us shall dwell in Zion, where the splendour of the Divine Majesty is like a consuming fire ? Who of us shall dwell 'n Jerusalem, where the ungodly are judged and delivered into hell for an eternal burning V Everdurynge brennyngis. Old MvS. Bible.'" In remarking on the word Tophet, in Isai, 30,33, Dr. Clarke says, •' it is called the valley of Hinnom, or Gehenna, where the Canaanites, and afterwards the Israelites, sacrificed their children by making them pass through the fire, that is, by burning them in the fire, to Moloch as some su])pose. It is therefore used for a place of punishment by fire, and by our blessed Saviour in the gospel for hell-fire, as the Jews themselves had applied it." In Isai, 66, 24, referring to wicked men the prophet has thus written, " For their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be (pienched." In commenting on this passage the same learned Dr. has said, " These words of the prophet are applied by our blessed Saviour, Mark, 9, 44, to express the everlasting punishment of the 1 24 wicked in Gehenna, or in hell. He expressed the state of the blessed, by sensible images, such as Paradise, Abraham's bosom, * * * In like manner he expressed the place of torment, under the imaf!;c of ( irehenna, and the punishment of the wicked by the worm, which there preyed on the carcases, and the fire that con- sumed the wretched victims. Marling lunvever, in the stro)if/esf man- ner, the difference between Gehenna and the invisible place of tor- ment, namely, that in the former the suffering is transient, the worm itself which preys upon the body dies, and the fire which totally (•onsumes it is soon extinguished ; whereas in the figurative Gehenna the instruments of punishoient shall be evcrlasti.nr/, and the suiforing luithout end ; for there ' the worm dieth not and tlie lire is not (jucnched/ These emblematical images, expressing heaven and hell, vverc in use among the Jews before our Saviour's time. The son of Sirach, ch. 7, 17, has said, 'The vengeance of the Lingodly is fire and worms.' So likewise the author of the book of Judith, ch. 16, 17, ' Wo to the nations rising up against my kindi-cd, the Lord Almighty will take vengeance of them in the day of judgment, in putting worms and fire in their flesh,' manifestly referring to the same emblems." Lowth (Bishop)." I have examined those verses in Ecdesiasticus, by the son of Sirach, and in Judith, and have found them exactly as Dr. Clarke has given thein. His remark above, as to the belief of the Jews generally concerning heaven and hell, together with those cited verses, are quite sufficient to refute the assertion of Mr. Weston, that " there is no evidence that the Hebrews had any clear belief in rewards and punishments after death." The passages in Heb. 11, cited in a previous page, concerning Moses and others, show that they also had and believed the future rewards of heaven to encourage and sustain them in their course of piety and righteousness. A number of New Testament Texts will now be given to show the same Scripture truth of the punishment of the wicked in the future state: Math. 3, 12. ''He will burn up the chaff with vniquenchable fire."' The same is given in Luke 3, 17. This was said of our Lord by John the Baptist, and it evidently declares the future punishment of the wicked. Next is the following awful exhortation and command by our Lord himself, in Mark 10, 28 : — " And fear not them which kill the body, ' state of the liain's bosom, •e of torment, 10 wicked by fire that con- Uronrjest man- place of tor- nt, the worm wliich totally tive rTehcnna tJie sufTorincr i fire is not \cn and hel], The son of ^y is fire and , ch. 16, 17, rd Alim'ghty itting worms e embJcms." isiasticus, by :aetly as Dr. jolief of the 1 those cited Ir. Weston, ar belief in n Heb. 11, show tliat ) encourage iSS. ;o show the the future hable fire."' rd by John lent of the r our Lvjrd the bodv. 25 but are not iible to kill the soul : but rather fear hiui which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." Here the original wt)rd trans- lated hdl cannot mean the (jravp, for tlie soul does not go thevi', and be destroyed. The word manifestly means a place of punislimcnt in the future state. The connected word "destroy" shows that mcan- iiiff. The Universalists do not believe that the soul goes into the (jrnve, or is literally destroyed, or aninhilated. Xcxt we haAC these passages in Math. 13, 40-2 : — "As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so shall it l)c in the end of this world. The son of man shall send forth his angels, and they sliall gather out of his kingdom all things that ofl'end, and them which do iniquity; and shall cast them into a furnace of fire; there shall be wailing and giuishing of teeth." There is no SJieol or JIades here to give ri^e to any doubt, but the words in the originnl mean as they are translated, " a furnace of fire,'" and all who understand our EiujUsli know well what those words mean ; and they must relate to that kind of puiiishmcnt in the future state, for marl; it is as the Savii)ur says, " at the end of the world," that the dreadful event is to take place. Again, in Math. 1^, 8, 9 : — " AVherefore if thy h.and, or thy foot, offend thee, cut theui oif and cast them froui thee; it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rathor than having two hands, or two feet, to be cast into everlasting fire." In the succeeding verse the words are " hell fire." In the parallel passages in Mark 9, 44-8 are tJirice added the words, " AVhere their worui dieth not, and the fire is not quenched." In iMath. 23, 33, arc the following terrible words, uttered by our Lord, to the hypocritical and wicked Jewish Scribes and Pharisees : *' Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the dam- nation of hell," Here the original word translated hell cannot mean grave, or have any other meaning than that of a place of punish- ment, especially from being united with the dreadfid word " damna- tion ;" and both being applied to those wicked characters. Hero, it may surely be said, that persons compared to serpents and vipers cannot be the "sons " or " children of God," — of his spiritual FatJwrhood, as Mr. AVeston considers all mankind to be ; the wiclcect as well as the (jood. i' 26 111 Math. 25, 41 and 46, are the following fearful passages in the description of the final judgment and destiny of all the wicked of mankind, given by the Divine Judge himself: — "Depart from me ye cursed into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. * * * * And these shall go away into everlasting punishment." In his comment on the last verse, Dr. Clarke has thus written : — " But some are of opinion that this punishment shall have an end ; this is as likely as that the glory of the righteous shall have an end ; for tlie same word is nsed to express the duration of the punish- ment, (here he gives the original (rreek word) as is used to express the duration of the state of glory. I have seen the best things that have been written in favour of the final redemption of damned spirits, but I never saw an answer to the argument against that doc- trine, drawn from this verse, but what sound learning and criticism would be ashamed to acknowledge. The original word is certainly to be taken here, in its proper grammatical sense, continued being — never ending." Next must be given the instance of the rich man, mentioned in Luke, 15, 23, 24, and described by our Lord as suffering torments in the other w'orld : " And in hell he lifted up his eyes, being in tor- ments, and seeth Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried out and said. ' Father Abraham have mercy on me and send Lazarus that he may dip tlie tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame.' " The Ecv. John AV^esley preached a sermon from one of the texts on this subject, at the commencement of which he says, " There was," says our Lord, " a certain rich man," was there not ? Did such a man never exist? " And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus." Was there, or was there not ? Is it not bold enough positively to deny what our blessed Lord positively affirms ? Therefore we cannot reasonably doubt but the whole narration, with all its circumstances, is exactly true. And Theophylact, (one of the ancient commenta- tors on the Scriptures), observes upon the text, " That according to the tradition of the Jevvs, Lazarus lived at Jerusalem.'' Dr. A. Clarke in his comments on the narrative, says : — '* If we take the reading of my old M.S. Bible, which is supported by several versions ; — " Forsotiie the riche man is tleed, and is buried in helle." 'ages in the 3 wicked of from me ye fiis angels, lishment." vritten ; -— 3 (in end ; e an end ; le punish- o express lings that clanined that doc- criticism certainly being — ioned in nents in in tor- And lid send 'ool my e texts B was," such a larus." ely to cannot ances, lenta- ng to ff we vera] elJe." '^ 27 And tills is also the reading of the Anglo Saxon, — " and was la hell f>nried." So that the passage reads thus: — " The rich man died also, and was buritd in hell, and lifting up his eyes, and being in torments, he saw," &c. No cavilling or quibbling as to the meaning of Sheol or /fails will be of any avail here, for the rvords " being in torments," and " tor- mented in this flame," completely lix the meaning of the word Jwll to bo a place of extreme anguisli. Quite a different fote from being tenderly placed as Mr. Weston has fancied, — in heaven the Father's house, under holier associations, &c. In 2 Thes. 1, 8, 0, 10, are the following awful passages : — " In flaming tire, taking vengeance on them tliat know not God, and that (jbey not the gospel of our hord .fesus Christ: Who shall be pu7i- ished with everlasting destruction from llio ])rcscnco of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; when lie shall come to be glorified in his saints." &c. Here it is positively declared, that the punishment of the wicked will be crerlnstiiKj. Jude T. — " Even as Sodom and Gomorrha and the cities about thein in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, sufiering the ven- geance of eternal fire.'' Here of course the people, — the sinners of those cities are intend- ed as " sufl'ering the vengeance," and no explanation is needed as to the natiu'e or duration of their punishment, for it is expressly de- clared to be by cteninljin'. In the book of lievelation, are the following passages, on the pun- ishment of the wicked, in the future state. — Ch. 14, D-ll. — *' If any man worship the beast, and his image, and receive bis mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured oui, without mixture, into the cup of his indignation ; and lie shall be tormented with Are and brimstone, in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb : Ai\d the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever." — ("h. 20, 13, 14, 15. — " And the sea gave up the dead which were in it ; and deatli and hell delivered up the dead which were in them : and they were Judged, every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire." I 28 The explanations and remarks on these last verses by Ihe same learned Dr. Clarke, before named, are so much more pointed and impressive than any which this writer coidd offer, that he will here transcribe them. They are as follows : — Hades, the place of separate spirits. The Sea and death have the hodics of all human beings ; Jiades has their S2)ints : That thev may be judged and punished, or rewarded according to their works. Their bodies and souls must be reunited: Juides therefore give uj) the sjnr Us, and the sea and the earth give up the hodles. Death hiuiself is now abolished, and the place for separate spirits no longer needed. T\\Q.Jii'st death consisted in the separation of the soul from the i)ody for a season. The second death is the separation of body and soul from God for ever. The first death is that from which there may be a resurrection ; the second death is that from which there can bo no recovery. By the firsi:, the hodij is destroyed during time ; by the second, bodi/ and soul are dc- stroi/ed through eternitij.'' In Kev. 21, 8, is the following comprehensive and awful announce- ment as to the future punishment of the finally imgodly and unrighle- ous : " But the fearful and unbelieving, and the abominable, and mur- derers, and whoremo]igerS| and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brim- stone ; which is the second death." There have now been here set forth, nc less than twentif-one \)aY- tions of inspired Scripture, contained in niiw. separate books of the 75ible, in which the future punishment of the finally guilty is clearly declared ; and in several of them, the everlasting duration of that punishment is as plainly revealed. AVliy did not Mr. Weston encounter some or all of these texts, and exercise his ingenuity in endeavoring to overcome or soften down or remove their obvious meaning and force. He has not made the attempt with any one of them, for the single reason, that he very well knew, that he would utterly fail to accomplish the task. It did not suit the plan of his essay. SEVERAL RELATIVE SUBJECTS, AND REMARKS. Our wise and gracious Creator has implanted in us not only the capacity or susceptibility of exercising hope for favours and blessings, 29 but also that o? fear, as to impending or possible danger, or injury. Yv^liy was this last quality given to us if it was not to be exercised as to the infinitely greatest evil that can possibly befall ns, — tlie eternal misery of both body and soul ? It is divinely and benev^'lently de- signed to alarm, restrain, and deter from all evil, especially tliat last and greatest of all. Accordingly we find in the Scriptures very many exhortations and commands for the exercise of fear, as to our reli- gious and moral feelings and conduct relative to both our present and our future and eternal state. Here are only a few of them : — " The fear of the Lord teudeth to life : " — *' Bv the fear of the J^ord men depart from evil.'' — " The secret of tlie Lord is with them that fear liim, and he will show them his covenant."' — '• Fear God and keep his commandments." Even our gracious and compassionate lledcemer commanded ; — "Fear him who is able to destroy both soid and body in hell : yea I say unto you, fear him." — And this was said to the disci- pies. The highly inspired Paul, who equally with John, the beloved dis- ciple, has fully set forth the love and mercy of God, has also said : — " Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men." "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God :" — " llov/ shall we escai)c if we i;egle't so great salvation." — If the righteous scarcely be saved, where sliall the ungodly and the sinner appear. But blessed be our still gracious and merciful God, that he has de- vised, and in his sacred revelation has set forth even more frequently than as to punishment, the plan and methods by which all may avoid that threatened future and eternal punishment, and become fully restored to his favour, and be made glorious and happy forever. — In his previous and comparatively limited revelation, we have the merciful assurances : — " As I live saith the Lord, I have no pleasure in the death of the wielded, but that the wicked turn from his way and live :'' — " He that covereth his sins shall not prosper, but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy :" — " Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him, and to our God for he will abundantly pardon." — (Ezek. 33, — Prov. 28, — Isaiah 65.) The New Testament Scriptures abound with the most explicit, gracious and unlimited promises, entreaties and invitations, addressed 30 to sinners of every class and degree. Tlic following are but a few of the most ardent, stimulating, and encouraging character : — " God ho loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life :"— " When we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly :'' — ■" Who his own self bare our sins in his o\\n body on the tree, that we being dead to sins, should live nnto righteous- ness :" — ^" lie is the propitiation for the sins of the whole world." The Saviour has given the universal and enduring promises : — " Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."' " Him that cometli unto me I will in no wise cast out." " I will [rive unto him that is athirst of the foinitain of the water of life freely." " Ask and it shall be given unto yon, seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you." And f )r regeneration and full salvation, he has repeatedly promised to '' give his Holy Spirit to them that ask him;" and that " he that endureth to the end'' shall have "everlasting life,'' and "a crown of glory that fatleth not away." Every sinner and ungodly person who has those awful threatcnings and those gracious invitations and promises set before him and wilfidly rejects them or heedlessly disregards them, and lives and dies in his sin and guilt, will juslh' forfeit and fail of the bles- tiiiigs and incur and suffer the awful doom and punishment. But to them who forsake their sins, humble themselves before God, and seek and find, through faith in the Kedeemcr, pardon and acceptance, and persevere to the end in faith and obedience, those tln'eatenings and punishments can have no application or terrors ; but to them will be awarded and eternally secured "a fullness of joy in the presence of God," and " at his right hand pleasures for evermore." Mr. Weston has entirely misapprehendel and misapj)lied the meaning of the extract he has given from a writing of Mr. Wesley. That richly enlightened and eminent Christian minister was, in that writing, opposing the doctrine of personal election, and enforcing the truth, that the divine offers of mercy were universally designed and applicable ; and that all by embracing them and complying with the gospel plan, and terms of faith and obedience, might obtain present and eternal salvation. The writing had no reference to punishment or renovation in the future state. 31 The reference lie hag made to certain persons o hlgli intellectual powers and attainments in modern times who lield the Universalist doctrine is not of the slightest value. The only proper and suitable answer is, that there have always been some persons of that descrip- tion who, in their pride and self-conceit, have denied and rejected Scripture truth, or held hsretical opinions concerning it. Surely ]Mr. AVeston must know that high mental power and philosophical and political opinions or dogmas are altogether distinct and different from true Scriptural knowledge and spiritual regeneration, and that it is seldom indeed that all those qualities and attainments are found in union. In these modern times there has been formed, and is rapidly advancing, such an almost idolatrous admiration and homage for high intellectual powers, and their culture and public exhibition in various modes, that the public in many instances are, to a great degree, blinded as to a deficiency in corresponding religious sentiments and conduct, and sound, or even ordinary, morality. It is truly a strange opinion, or rather clunvje of responsibility, which Mr. Weston has advanced concernnig Scottish ministers, that their preaching Calvin- ism induced the two notable persons he has named to disbelieve Scripture revelation and reject Christianity, and live, as he has said, " without God in the world." One would be inclined to think that every nnprejudiced an(i sensible person will at once say that they ought to have prayerfully and diligently examined the Scriptures for thnnselues, and thus have become rightly acquainted with divine reve- lation. Their infidelity did not really proceed from their aversion to Calvinism, but froui their finding that Scripture revelation was not in agreement with their proud and self-sufficient notions of religion, and what they presumptuously thought revelations concerning it ought to be. Was Mr. AVeston really serious in his proposal or suggestion to " Evangelical and Catholic Christians," as he calls them, to give sanction and encouragement to the preachini> of his doctrine because there are persons outside of the churches who will not adopt any other religious belief? Surely he ought no: to think that any such evangelical persons, of sound and firm integrity in the true Christian faith, and of an upright mind and character, would for a moment hearken and yield to a proposal to encourage the teaching of what 32 llicv liekl to be unserlptural and pcrnioious doctrine. On tlio like [)lan of imfaitlifiil compromise, e\crv icind of heresy and error might he taiiglit, and tlien each one could say to all the others, — however diverse as to faitli or error, — I am right, and you arc right also, and thus, like the two Kings in Daniel, tlicy could all " sit and speak lies at the same table." CONCLUSION. In now bringing this writing to a close, the writer will frankly acknowledge that his very extended exhibition of inspired Scripture regarding the punishment of the wicked in the future state, has been giNcn, not miu'dj for refuting Mr. Weston's positions and iirguments, — for a small portion of those Scriptures would have su'ficed for that purpose ; — but in so extending his work, he has been actuated by other and more important considerations and motives, lie has long been well aware that there are, in all the churches and congregations, very large numbers of persons of both sexes who are living in a careless and most dangerous state as regards true spiritual and heart religion ; who are following, to a great degree, the maxims and customs of a vain, ungodly and foolish world ; indulging in the divinely forbidden ''lust of the flesh, and eye," and ''the pride of life ;'' and seemingly not aware of the necessity of personal regene- ration and holiness ; add of the indispensable duty of entire dedica- tion to the service of God and the Saviour. It is but too evident that such persons must be quieting their consciences, and soothing and composing their minds with thoughts of the universal love and mercy of God, without having a due knowledge and regard for his equally perfect attributes of holiness and justice, his hatred. of sin of every nature and degree, and his just claims of unreserved love, devotion and obedience by all his professed servants and followers. They are living, if not in any form of actual immorality, yet in neglect of the requisite and commanded earnest and diVigont persever- ance for obtaining that real spiritual conversion and holy and full consecration to the divine will and precepts which the Scriptures so clearly enjoin ; and which, as declared, is their " reasonable service." They do not estimate, as ^;hey ought to do, the weight and transcen- dant importance of the divine injunctions to "repent," to be frenuent ;j.'3 in prayer, in sourcliiiig the Scriptures and nieditatinp: thereon to be : " watchful," '• walk circiniispeetly. rodoemini; the time," " denvin^ themselves all uni,'odliness and worldly lusts to •' woH; out their sal- vation," with holy fear : (>\er <^Mving '-all diligence to make their calling and election