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" I esteem nil thy precepti concerning all thinu;s to be ri-^lit ; ami I hiie every false way." I'sal-mist. " With lies ye liave innde the heart of the ri;.'hteous sad, whom I have nnt nifidc sad, and strengtliened tlie hands of tlu- wicked, tliiit he shonM not n'turti I'loin his wicked way, by j)ri..iiii.sing him life." Jishovah. " Tlie subject before ns ii not one of cold, useless speculation; it involvm the intereMta of our eternity, aiul ought evf-r to Ije npiiroaciied under a deep iiuiireshiou, that conseijuences of everla.ning moment dejK'iid oa the i^eiili- ments wa eJojit rcdpcotinu it." Ano.n. oOo HALIFAX, N. S. iRLNTED JiV WILLIAM CUNNABELL,~AIIGYLE STilFKT, 1837. I f PREFACE. •oOo- TiiE present work is committed to the Press with the professed desi-n of opposing the pro- gress of a doctrine, the most insidious, delusive, and fotal, of all the heretical doctrines, with which the Christian church has ever been infec- ted.— Opinions of a heterodoxical character, may be broached and disseminated, and, in some in- stances, from their comparatively harmless ten- dency, may be allowed to pass without public objurgation; and no especial or important evils follow from such silence. But to allow a doc- trme, which strikes a blow at the root of Christi- anity, and is subversive of the very fundamental truths of Divine Revelation, to pass unnoticed, ^^•lthout some public expression of condemnation, IS an act of aggravated criminality in those who are the guardians of morals and Religion, and are " set for the defence" of the truth. Such a doctrine is Universalism, both in its Modern and Ancient form ; and to the present ^ittempt to arrest it in its course, and caution the I ^ o "^^ 2^ unwary, the ^Vriter lir.s been impelled by n seiiise of imperative obligation. Most conscien- tiously believing Universalism to be at once, the most plausible, and ruinous to the souls of men, of all the schemes invented 'ny the agency of the Infernal Spirit to deceive the nations, and peo- l)le the regions of everlasting woe, — and painful- ly conscious of the actually sad worlvings of this diabolical system in the utter ruin of the hopes and happiness of many of his fellow-men, — he looks upon it as a duty he owes to his God, to the Christian church, and the jjublic generully^ to expose the fallacy of the boasted doctrine of Universal salvation or Universal Restoration, by exhibiting its absolute irreconcileabity with the entire system of Revealed Truth, — Others, before him, liave toiled in the same honorable employment; but as their publications are not in general circulation in these Provinces, some- tiling of a popular character to meet the exij^en- ties of the community is still deemed necessary, — to supply which the present work has been prepared. In the course of his enquiries, it v;Ill be seen, he has availed himself of the liclps, which other ^Vriters on Universalism, and commentators, ge- nerally, afford; — the assistance tlius derived is duly acknowledged. Their remarks are cpioted,. sometimes to confirm the writer's own opinion, and at other times, to place subjects of doctrine and criticism in new, varied and imprc^t^ive 111. points of view, so that in the mouths of nume- oils witnesses the truth may be established. In a few instances he has yielded to a little playfulness of fancy ; with no intention, how- ever, of exciting a s],irit of levity on so solemn a subject as tl.iat which involves the eternal destiny of men, but solely, to expose the extreme folly of the lofty pretensions of the Univeroalist system. To convince of his error a thorough Univcrsa- ist, so as to cause him to abandon it, is almost a hopeless task. In not a few instances, it is to be feared, persons of this faith, are given over to *^stronc^ delusion that th y should believe a lie " Cy such, Truth, tho' supported by the whole vveiglit of scripture-testimony, is despised: on their wdfully perverted understandings and ob- durated hearts it makes no deep, no permanent inipression:-the consequences of such perversit' and obduration, feai fid and dismaying as they are, must be borne by themselves under circum- stances of liopeless remedy—Sufficient, however It IS tliought, is contained in the followincr nacres' to satisfy the enquiries of every sincere seele,' nfter truth and to assure him of the falsity of Umversahsm. To all such, and the community generally, tlie present j)ublicaLion is now com- imtted,with an earnest desire, that it may beren- dered mstrumental, under the Divine llessin., of reclamung, ,f possible, such as have wandered A 2 IV. in the [ubyrinlJis of this deslructivc error — set- tling the doubts of those who arc about to over- step the Rubicon of scepticism — and conlinniii*; others in the all-iinporlant verities of the Gos- j)el, which they have aheady embraced. As a considerable portion of this work was written under circumstances of bodily indij:posi- tion, and the remainder amid the incessant calls of ministerial duties, the writer a])peals to the candour of the reader, and requests him in form- ing his opinion of the merits of the performance,, to bear in m'lnd tlie great disadvantages under wliicli it was composed. WINDSOR, N. S. i'cb. Vtti, 18a7. hiTn ii l°o' n • fif--* ^°^- ^^'- 26.-CoIo8s. i. 20- J hilip ,,. 10 ii.-i Johniii. 8.~Rev. v.l3.~Rev. xxl 4 — conciusion.163— 163. — N. B Tho reader will observe that the tirsl line page 107 is placed first pngc 111. ggc Errata. ■ fie 1)1- ad do hf ve li« all on B(] pe R'v fro the nn. iiw 1 VNIFERSJLISM UNSCRIPTUIldL. Chapter I. On Hell, As a place of future punisiimknt. This MEANINGS OJf SheOL, HaBES, AND GeUENNA, CONaiDEUED. As this work professes to contain a refutation of iMo- flern and Ancient Universalism, it will be necessary briefly to state, that the Ancient Universnlists were the advocates of u /m/7e^/ future punishment, embracing the doctrine of the final restoration to eternal happinels in hcav(3n of all lapsed inlelligcncies ; but the Modern Uni- versalisis, as contradistinguished from the for.-ner, Ite- lieve in no fiUure punishment wlcnlever, asserting that all men are punished in this v.'orZ^^ for their sins^ and, on death, are immediaiehj received to everduringfelicili/. Both opinions, hawever, arc entertained by numerous persons at the present day .-—the tern) "modern" ^s given to distinguish the liter modification of Universalism from the fonnsr,—not >vith the intention of conveying the idea that all the Universalisls of the present age arc unanimous in their rejection of u future limited punish- WKMlt. For the sake of method wc shall commcnco with th« opinions of the moderns. w I:i 9 The rea.ler must not be surprise.! to learn that the Modem Un.versalists" boldly and roundly afllrm that the words rendered Hell in no one place, either in the Old ov JSew Testament, signify a place o^ pwiishment. The boldness with which they make the assertion is doubtless equalled only by the ignorance which gives it birth. The fact IS, they go hero on a principle of extremely errone- ous interpretation :_because the wo.uor words, now la question, do not in every instance, mean a place of fu- ture misery, they at once conclude they have this mean- ing in no one instance. The folly of such a mode of in- terpretation need scarcely to be remarked upon. By the same method, we might prove that man has no soul, no immaterial, immortal, intelligent principle; for the word soul, in the Scriptures is sometimes used for animal life; -thus the Psalmist says, «« Let the enemies persecute my soul and take it»-let him take away my life; and it has been well observed, that, •' by the same mode of reason- ing. It might be proved, that there is no place of happi^ ness for the righteous in the future world, fur the term heaven is often used to denote only the reQ;ions of the at- mosphere. Thus the Scriptures speak of the fowls of heaven; the rain of heaven; and of J\lou?U Sinai burning in the midst of heaven." Nothing therefore can be more fallacious than this mode of interpretation; for [)y it a per- son may make words speak whatever he please, as almost all words have various meanings. The words translated '' heW^ in the Scriptures arc S.icol, Hebrew; Hades, also Gehenna, Greek. The word Shcol is derived from the verb Shal, which eignifies to ask, require, dcure, and has different meanings. Sometimes it signifies the grave. Thus Jacob says, " I will go down into the grave, unto my son, mourning-" Gen xxxvii. 35. And the Psalmist - Let death seize upon them, and let them go down quick into Ac//," into th« grave. Ps. 1. J 5. urea are ft in also used as a general name of Ihj invisihle world, the place of departed spirits, whether good or evil, hap- py or miserable. '' With respect to the Hebrcsv terui Sheol, the learned Vitiunga remarks on the celebrated passage in Isaiah, (xiv. 9:) wluch Lowth translates "ITrules [vSIieol] from boneath k moved, becauso (M tl)ce. to mnct thee at thy coming; Ife rouseth for iheo the mi'-^lity dead, all the (irt-at cliicfs of tlie earth; [the Reiyhaim, kshadts or Manes ;Y' that though (he word is u>ed, for the grave or sepulchre, it. cannot be so taken in this passage, that it is here the place of the souls of men released from tiie body by death; nnd that tiii^ entire region was called by the Jews Shcol] by the Greeks Hades, and by the Latins Liferi." The word Sheol, likewise denotes a place of future punishmc7iL If not, why should it he something jjre- dicated exclusively of the future state of the wicked ? Or why should it be something threatened only to those who live and die in a state of disobedience ? When used to signify the grave, or the general abode of departed spirits, it may be applied to the righteous with the same propriety as to the wicked. But there are passages, in which it is applied to the wicked onhj, and thCs also 111 the way oi' threatening, or emphatic declaration of their awfid condUion, and in sucii pr.ssnges the word Sheol, inu.t have a meaning beyond either of the two rir>t »issjgned,—a meaning expressive of the future punish- mcnt and v.iscry of the wicked, so reperite.lly asserted in other portions ,^i' the word of Cod. Thus, Xhe wicked ^hall be turned into hdl, Sheol, and all the nations that forget God.- Ps. ix. 17. This verse we apprehend fully JM-oves our poitit. Certain characters are here specified, the " wickc.i" and ''the nations that forget God"-a cer- tn.n threatening is denounced as bearing cxclusivrlv on their future state, i!.ey '<^hall be turned inm flu >> ; Now, if the wor<1 Shcol, hell, means here only tho sepul- chre or tho place of separate spirits, then there is nothirij? more said of the characters mentioned, than mi^Mitbesaid of the most holy and obedient. The latter as well ns the former go to thci grave, the house appointed for all livinfj, and their souls enter into the future, spiritual and invi^- ble world. On this principle of interpretation, what ob- ject had the Psalmist in view in uttering this solemn de- claration ? If he only referred to the common lot of men, whether good or evil, why fix his attention exclu- sively on the " wicked ?" Why single out " the nations ihtii forget God?" Why use, in this case, the very strange expression, "shall be turned into hell," evidently im- plying something more than the mere placing the body in the grave, or the entrance of the soul into the futuro world ? Was a similar form of expression ever em- I)Ioyed in reference to the good ? Can a passage bo found in the whole range of revealed truth to this effect. '' The righteous sbaW be turned into hell and all the na- tions that obediently remember God?" No: but we read, as marking an essential difference between them,— '' The wicked is driven away in his wickedness : but the righteous hath hope in his death." Prov. xiv. 32.— Psalm IX. 17, therefore, if it have any meaning at all, must re- fer to the future miserable locality of the characters de- scribeil. " Her feet go down to death, her steps take hold on hell, Sheol." Prov. v. 5. Now this also is spoken of a wicked character ;-is something which peculiarly and exclusively belongs to this character, and cannot, with the tjie least truth or propriety, apply to its opposite. But It Sheol means here only the grave, or place of departed spirits, n will apply with the same force to the most vtrfnons, as to the most abandoned character. Agreeably to this rendering, there is nothing here but might, with equal truth, be affirmed of every daughter of Eve, whe- llicr ;,,„„, or othenvi,c ; for each and every one orthom .s icn.ling ,0 iho tomb and ,o the eternal woMd . If t"l ,vereal . a "Wise Man" intended to say, why eautio^ Ins Son" agamst the "stranse woman" bv the moli„e. ho ha. employed ?-0„ the Modern Univet-salist beUef •bat there ,s no hell, of .ni.cry, but all are happy the mo .>.ent they enter futurity, there is no force, no p'ronri"; n these mot.ves; but Solo.non, if possessed of the LdL of our modern Un.versalist Divines, should have o.hori- ed h,s "So„"diree.ly the reverse; for speedy demh would be speedy glory. Sheol, tb-refore, in this verle iias a/„,tf«r meaning than the two first assigned, and is expressive Ota plape of /Ktere (orraraf. The same reasoning will apply to Prov. ix. 18. <■ But he (lbes,mple)k„oweth not that the dead (^ho,ts) are Prov x.xiii. 14. is equally explicit, " Thou shalt beat I'M. Here 'hell" cannot mean the g-ra« or „to „f deparM .puits. No. the gr^e ,■ for the <.„ife Tan" .peaks no. of the body, but of the soul, and none w II contend that the «„< is buried and remans in iTelomb and tho' we acknowledge, tha, when, in the p e d n.^ lot a,e, he meaiis, that correction may be the means of ■n, mavcn —why was the case of Dives contrasted, with tlii-t of Lazarus :-Whyl,s it said, thnt m (his life, Lazarus re- ceived hi.q evil things (sufTcrings) and the '« Kich Mair' his good things, (worldly comforts and pleasures) and that in the future state Lazarus is comforted, and the rich man tormented ? And why, on the modern Univer«a'i«t principle, was Dives so very solicitous that b\, five bre- ihren, should not " also come into this place of" happi^ ness 7 Did he wi.h to enjoy all his comfort alone ^ Or had he shut up the bowels of his compassion against ihrn. and hardened his heart with ravishing delights ' Jf there he no distinction oephce in the future world,~if no hell ot suffering, if when sinners die, they, with the ri^hteou^- are immediately enwrapped to the -Paradise" of God' where then, we ask, would the " five brethren," find -u' death, their -destined place :"-Dives wished them not to be in the same place with him ;-i. c. acconfing to the modern interpretation, m heaven 7-hno what o//... place then could they go. on the termination of natuni! life, .f there be but one place of happiness hereafter T'u- extreme of happiness and of infelicity is not more op: posite than this entire passage is to the notions of Mo- slem Ln.versalism, and if it prove not the reality of a place of nuure misery, there is not a verse in the" Bihl. proves the realitv of n nl; ^r r. D place o{ future happine:^* Gehenna, is another term used by the Sacred wriierg mid translated hell; und here we may remark, that it commonly, if not invariably, denotes the place of Ihd damned. 'Ti is a corruption of the two Hebrew words Gc, a vulley, and lUnnom, the name of a person who vas onco Mio i)ossc3sor of it. This vcdley of Ilmnom lay near Jerusalem, and had been the place of those abominable sacrifices in which the idolatrous Jews burned their chil- dren alive to Molech, Baal, or the Si!n.''~{"') It after- ward became the receptacle of the filth of Jerusalem, which was consumed by continual fires. Now when punishment in Gehenna is threatened, the Modern Universalists refer it to an actual suffering in tho valljy of Ilinnom, an.' assert that no future suflBiing Avhatever is intended. This is a very easy, but a very fallacious method of setting aside future punishment. It is evident, that neither the Jews, nor our blessed Lord, nor his Apostles, undertood the term in this way, nor did they give it this application. That they looked upon the valley of Hinnom, with its abominations and fires, and worms, as a striking emblem of hell, with its quenchless fire and deathless worm, is acknowledged, lint that they regarded the one as synonymous with the other may well be denied. " From this valley's having been the scene of those infernal sacrifices, and probably too from hs continuing after the time of king Josiah'a reformation, (2 Kings xxiii. lO) a place of abominable f,Uhiness and pollution ; the Jews, in our Savioui's lime, used the compound word Ge Ilmnom for hell, iheplace of the damned. This appeals from that word being thus »[)plied by the Chai.dee Takgums on Ruth ii. 12.1's. cxI. 11. Isa. xxvi. 15— x.vxiii. H. &c. and by the JiiRcsALiM (3) Fiirkhur«t'» Greek Lex. sul vote Cehsnna. it m acred wriier** mark, that it place of tht ivords Ge, a v\\o vas oiicG om lay near 3 alioininuhle Jtl their cliil- {') Itafter- r Joruaalcm, eatcncfl, the [Fering in tho ire suflBiinsr ', but a vcrjr ishnjcnt. our hlcs.jed in this way, they hjoked inutions aud ell, with its inowledgod. 3US with the L^y'd haviiijf nd probably n<^ Josiah'a abominable 'ioui'ri lime, \\\Q place of being thus . UM's. cxI. Tart.um, and that of Jonathan Ben Uzier,, on Gen. iii. 24— XV. 17. Conp. ii. Esdras, Apocryph. ii, 20." (*) Speaking of gehenna, a sensible writer observes,— " This word, I know, has been frittered away by u'ni- versulists, to mean only a valley in the vicinity of Jeru- salem. But how was it used by our Saviour ? and how was it understood by the Jews who heard his discourses > I answer, with no fear of contradiction from any intelli- gent student of the Bible, that the Saviour always use wh'jthcr , or punish- it be possi- , or inflict tii'e applied 11 to tho I,o,ly ? Or in any other words can an immaterial pnncrpie receive punishment from the operation of a natural agent ? You might as ^vell attempt to horse- whip a spirit as to burn it with fire ; or to drown it 'in water as to suffocate it with smoke. Observe-the con- rasr, m th.s verse, is between the body and the soul, and he power ofman and the power of God. Man may kill tl.e body, but cannot touch the soul: God can destroy, vnilov ' Ar" ""• ""''' '''''''''''' ""''' °"'y '-^n t^: l^ltJ r"' '"^^ '' '''' 'Here suflering there con- titute hell, vvhy may not man destroy both body and soul there as well as God ? Again :-It is evident that tho command of our Lord, and the motives by which been, forced ,t d.d not refer to the first disciples exclusively but to others of succeeding ages to the end of time. N '; wo would asktheUniversalists, \^ gchenna here onlV mean the valley of IJinnom, whether persons of U present day svho fall under the displeasure of God .1 lsr:'ir .;rV"'r"'' ,,,H^a..oyof HiVno:' rh! 7 I u *"° '^'' """" ^'-^""^t J^i'I the soul, and the fu'cs of the valley can onkj kill the body, thon omo her pun,..hn.e„t is referred to than th.u of burZ! there ; ecau.e it is expressly said, God is able to del ' he soul as well as the body, in hell. Hell therefore in ''Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites ' l^or ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte .ll when he ,s made, ye -ake him tvvo fold nC e'lw of hell, geennes, than yoursclves.^^ Matt xviii % if f the latter part of the verse aecordin. t" U U i vV/ r ^ystem, and admire its profundity o? n ^T^T^' yourselves'' I Poor Poole I L:r^T^^^r^:.^^'\ I^oddndge I Benson ! Scott ! Clarke Mv.^ '^^.^ ' pity it is, vf> h.,\ .,.. .._ ,. . ^^'^ • ^V'tson • what • •• '"'' ""' y;'.r^^nu wisdom oif ^ome of our 12 MoDSR.v Divines! What discoveries ye might have made! now in valuable might ye have rendered your now, Alas' no longer learned Commentaries! -A child of hell, uion gecnnes, 13 one like Satan in his disposition, and doomed to the same i)unishmeut.»(6) Were the Scribes and Pha^ rm'f» children of tho valley of HinnomP-fur they aro included in the condemnatory sentence as well as tho proselyte. " Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can yo escape the damnation of hell, gccnncs.'' Matt, x.xiii 33 According to the Universalist Commentators, this would read, " how can yc escape the damnation of the Valla, of Hinnom^U Now our Lord is here addressing the Scribe, and 1 harisecs, and his question is equivalent to the de- claration, Ye cannot escape. We ask, then, our learned Jnends, it all, to whom our Lonl on this occasion addres. sed himself, were really damned in the Valley of Hijinom^ Can they show satisfactorily that even one individual of tho respected and honored orders of the Scribes and Pha- risees suftered in this valley any punishment to which tho ^vord damnalion can with propriety apply?— Let them produce their proof, or acknowledge the folly of sayin- that, when punishment in hell is asserted in the New Testament, all that is meant is, suffering in this abomi- nublc valley. /' Here, too, the punishment is stated- it is that ofg-eenna, the fire of hell, ^yhichfig■ural^vcbJ denotes the ternbleness of that visitation which overwhelmed their City and nation in unheard of calamities, and liter- ally the punishment to which they individually rendered themselves obnoxious ma future state. Thejjhrase," ih • judgment of damnation of hell, ^' often occurs in the Tal- God ''^' ^"^"''' torment, and the everlasting wrath 'of Our remarks on this subject might be extended to a greater length; but what has been advanced, we appre- (6) R. Watcoa. (7) R. Watson in he. It have made! ir now, Alus! of hell, uion . nnd doomed Oes and Pha- lor they aro well aa tlio 13 hcnd, contains a aulTicioncy of Scripture and argument to refute the fdlacioud anddan^reroua notion, that, the word ♦' he'.!," in no one instance signifies a place of future pun- tshment. Tu the advocates of this opinion we would take the hbcrty of duying, " it ii easier aniU than proued." how can yo tt. x.xiii. 33. •s, this would :ho Fulleij of g the Scribea nt to the de- our learned ision addres- lofHinnoml individual of jes and Pha- to which iho * — Let theni y of saying, in the New this abonii- '' staled: it is vehj denotes ^erwhelmed s, and liter ly rendered hrase," iL: in the Tul- g wrath of ended to a we appre* n he. Chapter II. T«b: Questiox considered whether mbic nscEir. IW THIS WORLD ALL THE PUNISHMENT WHICH THEIR SINS DESERVE. That Sin deserves punishment of some kind is univcr- sally acknowledged: but as to the place and duration of th.s punishment a difference of opinion exists. Tho modern Universalists. as we before remarked, believe in no future punishment whatever, but confine the punish- ment of smners altogether to this world. Adverse Pro. vtdenres, and remorse of conscience, they assert, are all the hell, all the punishment men are required to suffer- and as these are endured in this life, no further demands of divme justice await them hereafter; but death is to a!I men tho entrance into everlasting felicity in heaven. Hence, on this system, future punishment can have no ex.stence:-uisa noncntity.—men never were exposed to H, and, .f inflicted, it would be an act of the most flagrant mjusiice. The question we now propose to consider is- IJo men so receive in this world the punishment of their Mins, as to render future punishment altogether uncalled for and unjust? The Modern Universalists answer this query affirma- tively: we deny it and appeal to th^ Scriptures. WHICH id is univer- duralion of cists. Tho I, believe in the punish- dverse Pro- ert, are all fl to suffer; IT demands ith is to all in lieaven. n have no exposed to )st flagrant nsidnr is — •nt of their r uncalled i*y affirma- 15 Our uhimate appeal in the settlement ofthi. importmt question niust bo to the decisions of the Sacred Scrip- tures, for God alone can decide upon the criminality of eip. and tho nature, dcorree. and ^Juration ofjts pun'ish- ment; and as He is a God of Wisdom and Justice, Ho cannot inOict any punishment on guilty offenders which IS traly unnecessary and unjust. To suppose the con- trary, would be to suppose that God is at one and tho same time both infiuitely wise and infinitely foolish, inti- Jiitclyjust and infinitely unjust,-a supposition, whioh i;, ^lot only absurd but blasphemous. The Bible contains th,t revelation of God'd will; hence, if we find, in his written word, that there is ^future punishment, and that the con- trary belief is opposed to all i\xo fundamental doctrines o the Christian Revelation, then we must believe, on the Ihvme Authority, that, not only the afiirmative side of the question at issue is positively untrue, but also that future punishment is both necessary and just. These ob- servations the reader is requested to bear in mind as he proceeds in the discussion. It may not be unprofitable to give the reason of the case m favour of our position. The following is from a Mas- tershand, and is with confidence submitted to the rea- der's careful attention :-the inferences arc borne out by the Sacred Volume. - JNIen are capable of committing sin, and sin is pro- ductive of misery and disorder. Those positions cannot he denied. That to violate the laws of God, and to des- p.se his authority, are not light crimes, is clear from con- sidering them in their general effect upon society, and upon the world. Remove from the human race all the edects produced by vice, direct and indirect; all the in- wan! and outward miseries and calamities which are en- tirely evitable by mankind and which they wilfully brio- "pou the.m.lves and others; and scarcely a sigh would be heaved, or a groan heard, except thooe extorlod by ■ 16 Tu It'll- ,"■, '•;'^"=\^'""'"' \<=sisMo„ .0 es.i.nate .ho emit o( „„l,v„|u,| acts l,y ,|,ei,. general ten.lencv «„,! .,! tu„ the ,„,„» reason oftlie ca. o h in favour of tim ,"il oipl., »a found in Scripture; and ,hu, considered ,', Cd culJde Nor ,s ti.ere any foundation to suppose tli.it the pun,3l„„ent assigned to sin l,v the i„ , • ' DointnieiK «(• .!,„ c „ ^ " judicial ap. ;:;.r;:sr;.'r;.ri:'.™r:vr"F «!»*p!<3as„re against their conduct bu. .hom „ "^"™ '" "'" >™''l'l terminates. From the rir euuw.auees ,v„ have just enumerated to indicate the\1 1 of government which is exorcised over I m , ra w 1.1. reason can possildy bo given for .hi m ^d „im, ^f «.l™n,stra.ion, but that the moral improvem ^ of L ■' .li'^ o'.ject iutendeJ by it? The Tvelf/ri' ."''.""" her,) through, inan mi^so v is ^incij)le in the 3 estimate iho (lency, and to lat considera- r of this prin- lered, the do- Sod becomes 1 to suppose, 5 judicial ap- iifined to tho t, we must be 'ul transgres- », v'hich, as 3f feeling or e within our in favour of y is there an the presput ugh the pre- f the Divine are also 3J in a state the result of e ourselves Junishment om the cir- te tho kind uman race, 1 Governor are neither pt. Now, ed kind of nt of man liSvOUiUOil- 17 »ncc, «„d restrains vice : th, annexation of inward feli- f..> m all cases, (and ouuvurd in all ,h„.,e insuu , wine , tho result depends upon tho conduct of , „ I .dual.) ,„ ,,„,, ,,„,,,, „„„ ^^,^^ „,„,„,„,„j^ °" «h,ch Go• 'lit, ancj ir so, he is accountahlp for the u-hoe course «f hU life, and his ,.,'(,•„,„,, ^.Za'r :::"[;r ""■ '^ •'" " ^'^'^ ^■"''»-»' '" •>- 1-- The certainty of future punishn.ent is rendered induhi- >o by the positive declarations of Scripture. T , , " va !..» proposmon ,t is not necessary to adduce all the p" ,! ^^ges winch teach this in,p„rta„. truth: a few are uffi . ent fur our purpose. ="»uti ml;l"'i to";!,':.'";' '"'";; '!"" '"'""'■ "■°' "'" '-■<■'-' i» mcrtc^ o the day nfdestruclion'! they shall be brou..ht forth to the day of wrMi." Job. „i .9 30 The testi.nony of Job, on this sul,ject,'is worthy of., pccal regard, as he was contending against the erv d" Tine we are opposing, that is, that signers receive the r run,sh,nent in this life. Hi. friends supposed he h, hcet, gudty of sotne aggravated crimes otierw ^ the D liy had never suffered him .0 ho so afflicted; and iL- vunred convince hitn of the truth of their'accu.:;;:; (c) \» llteQO'l loilitnfoa I'^I 1 n«^ 18 by a reference to the Providential government of God uhich llicy contended invariably punishes the guilty in this world. Job repelled the charge and alleged, that the righteous were not always prosperous, nor the wicked in a state of adversity; but that whilst the former were to look forward to another state for their reward, the latter, though now in prosperity, were reserved to the day of destructwn, and. should, in a future stale, receive the nu. nishrnent of their sins. "And these" (the wicked) "shallgo away into ever- lasting punishment." Matt. xxv. 46. We lay no stress, in our present argument, on the ad- .lective "everlasting'- but quote the passage to show that the wicked after the " Judgment day"/ "go away into pj^n^.A;«,n/," consequentlyjnto/a^wr. punishment. 1 he rich man also died, and toas buried, and in he'l he lirt up Ins eyes, bei?ig in torments." Luke xvi. 22, 23,' This passage is very expres.s:-it was not until he had died, that his soul was turned info hell, and was tor- menlcd. His enjoyments in this life,nxy,\ his suflerings in the future world, are also contraUed in the 25ih verse-— so as toevclude all idea of his having been punished in this world for his sins. " But after thy hardness and impenitent heart trea'^ur- est up unto thyself tcToiA against the day of wrath an.l revelation of the righteous judgment of Go.l, who" will render" (in the day of judgment) - to every man accord- ing to his deeds."— Rom. ii. 5. 6. The scene of this day of wrath, and rendering nnto men according to their conduct, is removed beyond the period ut this life; and the punishment of tho wicked must therefore he future. " Tho Lord knoweth how to dpliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve tho unjust until the day of jiKlgment to be pvnished.'' 2 Pet.ii. 9. " But these shall utterly peri.h in thc'irown corruption; I nnient of God, GS the guilty in lleged, that the 1* the wicked in briner were to aid, the latter, i to the day of receive the pu- way into ever- cnt, on the nd- sagc to sho\y "j "go away punishment. i, and in hell, kexvi, 22, 23, >t until he had and was tur- ssuflerings in 25lli verse: — • n punished in cart treasur- )/ wralh and 0(1, who will man accord- Tdering nnto 1 beyond the wicked must godly out ot* I the day of > corruption; .1 •ind shall receive the %vhom ijie mist of darj. reward of unrighteou sness.- (o i3, 17. " Wandering stars, to wh. .. of darkness forever." Jude \S kness is reserved reserved the blackn om forever." Jb. 12 ess 'J'h iced passages nc«l no commont. vve woulil imvvcvor observe .h„t ,1,0 fu,„,.„hn„pi„css of the pions is spoke, <.n ^''"" "ui anvnys escape with mi- *: 20 Vumty from Providential calamities, but shall sometimes receive in this world particular demonstrations of the Di- vine dispIeasure;-not at all. hoT^over, in either case, su- I^erscding thcfuiuve reward of thconc and the/M/«re pu- i.ishment of the other? 'J'he latter is doubtless the true JKcanin- of the passage, harmonizii.jnr with other parts of hcriplure, the actual providences of God, and the experi- ence of mankind. If the former meaning be contended for as the true one, tlien this verse i)roves too much, and therefore proves nothing at all. The verse must be taken as a whole, Hud on the assumed principle of the Universalists, it proves, that the righteous receive all their rccompence of reward in this life, and have no interest in any future in- heritance, as much as it proves, that the wicked and the sinner receive all their recompence of punishment in this life, and have no future sufferings to endure. They must take the verse with all its consequences: or give up their principle of interpretation as being fz!,e, or this verse ia.ls to serve the cause fi.r the support of which, it is ad- duccd. Let us test the Univcrsalist construction of this passage by Scripture and experience. We first observe, that if there be any meaning in this view of it, this verse proves that the righteous are, in this world, free from all kinds oi: sufferings and distress; that God, in his providence, ahoaijs smiles upon them; that they are continually prosperous, and have at all limes, the advantage of the wicked: all this, and much more, enters into the idea of their being " recompensed in the earth." On the contrary, this verso, on the principle of con- struction above assumed, proves, if it prove, what it ia called to do, that the wicked are ahoays in siiflVring and distress; that God in his providence, ahcays frowns^'upori ihem; that they are continually in adversity; that their Circumstances are o\\\ ays inferior to those oftherigh- 21 teous; and that they mr suffer, nhilo life lasts, ex- treme a^ronies of mind, by reason of a guilty, and condemning' conscience : all this at least, is included in the idea of their being '' much viore recompensed iu the earth"-for it must be acknowledged, that bein- wicked", unrenewed, they sin continually, and deserva punishment continually, and, that, wherever inflicted ''tndtgnation and wrath, tribulation ^m\ anguish shall be upon eyery soul of man thatdoeth evil." Let us then bring this doctrine to the test of the Scrip- tures. Thequestionis, do the Scriptures teach it' Do they g,ve us such account of the righteous and the wick- ed? By no means. They give us other views of the present state of tho righteous :--The Lord trieth the righteous," Ps. xi 5 " Many are the afflictions of the righteous. Ps. xxxiv 10. In the world ye shall have tribulation." John xvi S3. "We must through much tribulation enter into the kmgdom of God." Acts xiv. 23. -If en this life only we have hope in Christ, xoe are of all men most miseru- ble." 1 Cor. xv. 19. The Scriptures give us other views of the present state of the wicked. " Wherefore do the wicked live, become old, yea, are mighty in power? Their houses are safe from fear, neither is the rod of God upon them.'' Job xxi 7, 9. " I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the pros- perity of the wicked. For there are no bands in their I eath. Fhey are not in trouble as othermen; neitherara tliey plagued like other men. They have more than heart could wish. Behold these are the ungodly who prosper ,n the world, they increase in riches." P« Ixxii. 8—12. . Zl'^ ^^"<^»''ng passages bear also upon the argument. 1 bere be just men unto whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked: again there be wickeS men, to wnnm \t I, or, .,-.„„. u „ ^ !• u aa[-pc-netti accoruing to the work of ! ; I i I ' 22 tlic rjgliteoiis." Eccl vii: ii hi. ,„„ ,o rise on ihe evil „ ::,iu::.ri:;:^ -f "■ ■■»'" »- .^^ j... «./:;: :: ■■„,fh ".,''"*"'■'','";'' "='"»■" °/™»'«^n«,er,i,l.o bo endu- red by .be w,cke,l in .bia life, „s a ,,„nishn,ent of te r ».»., wo wonb! observe ,ba, ,be S.rip,ures represen e„ giving heed .0 seducing spirits, „„,, doctrines of dov,ls; speaking lies in |,yp„erisy ; Having eiZon. science seared with a hot iron." ] Tim iv . Z So fur f,om suffering re,„o,se of eonseiene;, the vick': cd cry ,0 ,be,nselve. "peace and safety,- tho' "s.-djon -lostrucon come.h np„„ ,he„,"; frofn ''hich " .hey „ .,0. escape " I Tbess. v. 3. I„s.ead, also, of re, .^-s >"g.bow,ckedofbisduy, as snffering for .heir b X "go„,es of conscience, Jere.niab reprc^en.s t e,"„ be, • lappy, wh,cb, a. leas, bnplies the absence of ^.nw 'l= Where ore doth .he way of the wicked prosp "- „n,!"T" "•' °" ""^ '"P^'J ">"' ''"''> very .reacher- ol a dccei,fuUm\ hardening na.ure; and conscquen.ly ,|,o longer a person lives in .b, practice of sin, his hearU,e! cc-tncs the ,no,-e banlened, his .noral sensiLili.ios are I e more benn,ned, and his conseieneo is .he less snscepti- ble of pa,n. " £^|,o,., one other daily, while i. is ,o d^y • les.any of you be hardened .brougb .be rf««7/-„.'„„/„f " vbn, • '"• "■ """"" "''= "'■'' i"fo,n,ed of some. >vbo be.ng pasljcelins liave given themselves over unto 23 Insciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness." Eph. iv. 19, Whilst such passages as these, are on the sacred page, we cannot embrace the unfounded dogma, that remorse of conscience in this world, constitutes the punishment of sinners; — for remorse of conscience is not a punishment at all, at least not one proceeding directly from God;— remorse of conscience implies the commission of sin, and the reception of divine light; without this light consci- ence could not discover sin and be sensible of pain. An awakened or alarmed conscicjice in this world, proves the existence of divine influence instead of the presence of punishment. Hence this remorse of conscience exists more or less in every penitent; and, in nine cases out of ten, it is this state of mind, produced by the Divine Spirit, that leads persons to enquire " What must we do to be saved7"~h cannot therefore be a punishment. But this tenderness of conscience may be slighted; tho Spirit that produced it may be grieved; the light may b« withdrawn; and tho heart may lose its moral feeling, and be render&d increasingly obdurate hy long habits, and con- tinual practice, of sin. Hence we reject the above dogma, as being unscrip- tural, as it leaves the punishment of the ofl^ender in hia own hands, and not in God's. If remor-3 is awakened, by sin he may immediately allay it; he has the remedy in his own power, and may escape the alledged punishment altogether. Nor must it be forgotten that, on this princi- ple the greatest offender is oftentimes the least sufferer, and the punishment is proportioned not to the greatness but to the smallness of the crimes. For the smallest of- fender oftentimes from the tenderness of his conscience suffers more anguish of mind than the greatest adept iji wickedness, who has been long hackneyed in the ways of vice. Now the scriptures represent the punishment as com- ing from God, and that men are punished " according to C 2 24, to^c«.nc. The U.nversah.t dog.na is therefore unscrip- /^x/,m.nc., also, is as fatal to the doctrine now con- durnned as the Scriptures are. That the no-A/.oi,, do not receive their reward here or even that they are not always /..e from suffering Z yy umnterrupted prosperity, is a fact attested by the ever hved Reft^rence to individuals is not necessary:- he knowledge of the reader can supply innumerable p. stances in proof of our assertion. Experienced equally against the supposition that sin- ners receive the.r/«// punishment here, or, as the verse iM question is supposed to imply, that the Providential government of God invariably indicates the Divine ds I easure against the wicked. Admit that some particular c. imr. or indulgences may be productive of bodily suffer- ing; yet that all sins are not thus visited is a m'atte7of Aeefiom bodily d.seaseand pain.^-Are there none bask- ing n the beams of an external prosperity, surrounded by every thing that can minister to their gratification, Avho are strangers to God, and enemies of the Cross' Are all prosperous persons pious persons, those who « fear God and work righteousness"? Let experience decide. iSor will the actual state of the world sustain theasser- t.on that sinners receive their punishment in the agonies cf their consciences. Where, we ask, are our Pharisees, who while they - pay tithe of mint, annise and cummin ijeglect the weightier matters of the law," and so far from suffering distress of mind on this account, enjoy a high degree of self-approval and think they are doL God service.' Hear St. Paul :-- Men and brethren, I iiave ived in all good conscience before God until this day. Acta xxiii. {, But he '« was a blasphmer ami aper- jno now con- I 25 secutor- during a great part of the time ho possessed this good conscience ! Where was his punishment for these of- ence8?-Notin hisiorfy, for ho di pose David Hume will be held up as a victim of the co!- cruciahns torments of a suilty conscience! Where like- wise IS that part of our Modern Universalists them- selves, whose amusements are the card-table the ball room-who take God's name in vain by common swear- ing-who desecrate the Holy Sabbath by parties of plea- sure by business, by the ordinary occupations of the week ---who drovyn their intellects in the intoxicating cup and not m forbidden pleasures? What is their present puni.h- rrJ' ri .r '' '^ ^ «"«tained? Do they suffer nl consci- enccl Let them answer. Yes! we call upon the very per- sons who so stoutly aver that remorse of conscience con- stitutes the punishment of sinners, to declare if they suf fer m this way any thing in proportion to the demerit of hen. sms^-whether in fact they have ever hereby lost then appettteheen rendered unfit for business, deprived of an hours sleep, or for a moment nauseated the plea- sures of the .arid. If they have any conscience aVall, the.r answer, we are persuaded, will be in the negativo And, indeed, why should they suffer? Do they not rfdiculo ^no'h^v :r/f "^^^ ^r- ^^^ ''^^ "°^ ^-'-- ^'-' IS no hell--no future punishment whatcvcr-that the mo^ ment they die, whatever have been their charac..r« I "! 11 I 2G thor murderers, or thieves, fornicators or drunkards Bwearera or sahbath breakers, contemners of Christ or desp.sera of religion, they will enter the abodes of purity and blessedness? If all this be true, of what then should these persons be afraid? Of what use is conscience? For what should it mourn? Or on what account should it suf- fer. All they have to do is, to go on as smoothly as they can~to enjoy as much of carnal delights as possible-! and sdence the voice of conscience;-then heaven will re- compence their crimes !-Before we noallow this camel, let us read with prayerful attention the following words' And ,t come to pass, when he heareth the words of this curse, that he btess himsdfinhis heart, saying, / shall have peace, though I v,alk in the imagination of mino heart, to add drunkenness to thirst; the Lord will not spare h.m, but then the anger of the Lord and his jealousy shall smoke against that man, and all the curses that are wntten in this book shall lie upon him. and the Lord shall blot out his name from under heaven." Deut. xx\s. ly, 30. il Chapter III, Same subjkct continued. Tjie as.sektion, that men ARE FULLY PUNISHED IN THIS LIFE FoH THEIU SINH PHOVED TO BE FALSE BECAUSE IT IS OPPOai:^ TO SOME OF THE FUNDAMENTAL D0CTKINE8 OF DIVINE REVE- LATION—SUCH A3 SALVATION BY THE GRACE OF GOD THROUGH A MEDIATOR— THE PROBATIONARY CHA- RACTER OF THE PRESENT LIFE-A FUTURE JUDGE- MENT AND FUTURE PUNISHMENT- AND THE MOTIVE TO PERSONAL GODLINESS DERIVED FROM FEAR^Mo- DERN UnivERSALISM ,8 THEREFORE NECESSARlLr DESTRUCTIVE TO THE SOULS OF MEN. We have already shown that there is a place of future punishment; aUo a future punishment ilseff ^ and thit inen du not receive their punishment in this life in the endurance of adverse providences and remorse of con- science. Other reasons are not wanting to prove the ut- ter lulsity of the contrary notions ;~reasons, which must imve a powerful weie forbearance of God ; to declare, I say, at this time his righteousness : that he mi-ht lie just and the justifer of him which believeth in Jesus " Rom. iii. 24-26. But the salvation, as it is termed, of the Modern Universalists, is by the endurance in this life of the punishment of sin to the whole extent of the penalty of the Ln-oken law. They do not profess to be pardoned, but to suffer the whole amount which their fiins deserve. What then has the ''grace of God" to do with this species of salvation ? If a man be sentenced for an hour to the pillory for the commission of crime, nnd he endure the penalty, it is no act of favour to liber- ate him :— he claims his liberation on the score of jus- tice. So with the person who suflers in this world the whole penally of the violated law :-it is no act of grace thatdelivers him from suffering.— he claims his de- J.beraiion as his right. The grace of God,- therefore, on this principle, has no part in the salvation of men. Quere— How can such a state of things be reconciled with the following declarations ?— '' If thou Lord shouldest mark iiii.iuities, Lord, who shall stand ?" Vs. cxxx. 3. " Enter not into judgment with thy servant : for in thy sight shall no man living be justified." lb. cxliii. 2 " How should man be just with God ? If he will con- tend with him, he cannot answer him one of a thousand." Job. ix-. 2.3. " By grace ye are saved." Ej)h . ii. 5. Nor does this salvatioa proceed from the merits of Christ. On the supposition the death of Christ as a Divine Sacrifice, was unnecessary, and on his part only i--i-^.v.g,»,,.ju. i ui lUu t taversalists profess ^■% I £9 e propitiation, Wc quote otio grace throu<,rh hoin God hath I his bloody to on of sins that i ', to declare, : he rni,t;ht lie eth in Jesus. " is termed, of ice in this lifo ixleiit of the profess to be t which their f God" to do be sentenced on of crime, ivour to liber- score of jus- his world the is no act of ^hiiujs his de- therefore, on ion of men. conciled with ird shouldcst ' Ps. cxxx. vant : for in lb. cxiiii. 2. he will con- a thousand." •h. ii. 5. he merits of Christ as a his part only liists profess w. I 10 siimjr without the least reference to his atonement, I -diidu) be made happy forever without any applicaiioii to God, thro' him, for mercy— without any scriptural faith in his sacrifice or experience of its eflk-acy. If this be the true state of the case, we must exjiungc from our Bibles passages like the following ;— " Jesus saith unto liim, I am the way, the truth, and the life ; no man Cometh unto the Father, but by me.'' John xiv. 6. " Neither is there salvation in any other : for there is none other name under heaven given among men, where- by we must be saved." Act iv. 12. » He that believeth not the Son shall ?iot see life ; but the icrath of God ahideth on him." John iii. SG. " He that believeth not shall be damned.'^ Mark xvi. IG. Many of the Modern Oniversalisls are rank Socinians; who believe that Christ was only a man of like passions Mith themselves; equally peccable with other men; and ns a natural consequence, unqualified to atone for sin. Why, then, should they believe on Christ? Why not, with equal propriety, be required to believe on .Moses? Or on Cab) id? In rejecting salvation thro' Christ they act eonsistenlly w ith their soci?iian belief but at the saino time, in oj.position to the Scriptures and at the hazard of their eternal happiness.— Either therefore, the doctrine of a full punishment ofsins in the present life must be given up, or the doctrine of salvation by graie thro' a media- tor; for, they are utterly irreconcileable. The Univcrsa'ist dogma now animadverted upon is false as it destroys the probationary character of the pre- sent life. VVhat does a state of probation imply .> A state, in which men are forming characters for another world— a state, to which they are on trial, acting in reference to a jjcriod when their contJdct will be judged, and awarded ac- cording to its character— a state, evidently implying, thut -jctivccn the prescni aciions of men and their future Uesli- 1' s I ! i - ! 30 n.V ihcro exists an iiulissoluble union. Rut the docfrinp that M.cn receive in this world all tiieir piini.h.ncnt, and at death wdl enter into immediate lblicity,sui)vcits the very idea of the prohationary character of the present life. Ac- '•nrdin- to this belief, men arc not now on trial— are not ■•ictmg in reference to n period when their conduct will be scrutinized, and awarded agreeably to its character— nor is iliere any connexion between their present artion.s and their future de.tiny. On our ..ystem salvation ii,to heaven, as well as salvation on earth, is condiUojial ; I'lit, on the opposite scheme, salvation is uncondiiional. Men must sutler here; and men musth^ happy hereafter. There is no;joss/i»i7% of the soul'.s being "Zoif", or "ban- ished "/;-om Uicp ,c7ice of GoiL'> All are as cc fain ol^ being at death immodJately received into the kin-dom of heavi, , as it is certain they nni^t die:— and' thi:5 xvithout the least regard to previous character or beha- viour. 'IMie impenitent, the unbeliever, the filrliy, the unclean, the abominable,thcmid-fiiirht assassin, the bloody tn- self-murderer, and llw vilest of man(:ind, are, on this R-stem, as sure of heaven as persons of an opposite and most pious character. iS'co^l we say that these opini- ons are hostile to the word of God.? For proof, rear! the following, passages; to which others, in the same strain, might be added in abundance. Unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and anoiherone^ to every man according to his several ability— " Occupy till I come"— ".After a long time the Lord of those servants cometh and recknnclh with then)." ISFat. xxv. M-.'30. Luke xix. 13. " But and if that evil servant shall begin to smite his fellow servants, and to eat and '' Modern Universalist-CHti'isn, ehapte, of Matthew, respecting the final judgment, to the d ub'th" tf-"' "•^"""™' of "- Chapter, can have no doubt I at their ,,resent niterpretation of it is onlv a shift avotd the awful truths it flashes upon a g ihy •cenco. F„.s,, they would have it, that by the Zsl .re to understand the de.i,s , next, the »,iof tnlk „ s. „f all, „e„her ; but the J«„-yes, thep^eJ™ ^ th goat, who, eighteen hundred years a,o. were .Z there w,th the rf.«; „„,, u, , (.j, „,/;"/ acc„rdn.g to Universalists are n,erc pcl-son^JlZZ' "'"'*""""' """'"o'. Well, all this i, about a/w>.„ " .' 'gment. If nil and are inva- iiniediate par* future ju(!g- ! judgment La 5 full amount to vindicatej system, it ia ccn formally ether, and to iJng to judgo nanifesiution ft is acknow- fimes spoken to some ilius- vvorld, eppe* lo give the bsurd in the latter part of of scripture ming !>y iho st-CriiJeism. in the 25th ment, to the knows the ;an have no 1 only a shift guilty con- he goats we f mankind ; •or Jcios are , were sent in suffering hy the way, m?ficationa, &S wisp aa 53 tvhen they tell us that the Rich Man stands for the J9aronie High Priest, and the pious beggar for the Gentiles ; or that Judas' hanging himself, means only that he died h^ excess of pious grief ; and his going to his own place, signifies only that he went to one of the twelve thrones on which the Apostles were to sit to judge the twelve tribcB of Israel." ! ! ! Truly, this original interpretation of these passages is worthy of the other profound discoveries of the nineteenth century ; and we are not sure, but that, for its belter preservation, it ought to be carefully folded in gold leaf, placed in a casket of mother of pearl, and sent to the land of curiosities and deposited in the British Museum ! Seriously, can rational beings, with the en- lire Scriptures in their hands, really and sincerely believe this most ridiculous nonsense,— stuff, which would tlis- grace the intellect of almost the greatest simpleton that ever existed ? The man, who can give credence to these more than Jeioish Tales, and "prophane and old wives' fables," must have proclaimed a divorce between himself and his understanding, or is under the influence of that *• strong delusion," which ♦' because he will not believe the truth," leads him to " believe a lie." We utterly deny that there is, in the whole of the 25lk Chapter of Matthew, and especially in the last sixteea verses, the slightest reference imaginable to the destruc- tion of the Jewish City and polity. In the latter event there is nothing to correspond with the description of the event wtiich the Saviour predicts. " The Son of man shall come in his glory and all the holy angels with him." But, when Jerusalem was destroyed, did our Lord comt in his glory, and were all the holy angels with him ? *' Then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory : and before him shall be gathered all nations." Did ths ''great white throne'' appear in the heavens i And wai Jesus seated upon it .? Were all nations gathered befor« ~ •"'^^ "^^ vT^ij iiin^uom uxiu i^inurcu and iQnu;u lived under Were all the the Saxons — •ns, tdsialics, 'e of the pre-- ves, that we d destruction isnlists recoJ- casion, thoy moncs ; and Tiiijht favour seige and itii oitnesses ! — ge-.erations 3 of calanii- aart of " all lered before n theChap- Jerusalern, en present: ranted con- lother as a nd he shall •n the left." nd place to Pi-ay, on ik with the unto them ir, inherit tion of the lall he say m me, yo ^5 cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels :— For I was an hungered, &,c." Now wag there any thing in the destruction of Jerusalem to corres- pond with this part of the scene ? Was there any such judicial scrutiny entered into, or judicial sentence passed at the event just mentioned ? What was the '' hint^donV* which the " righteous" were to " inherit :" The king- dom of grace 7 This they possessed before. The king- dom of glory 7 But 2nark, to enter upon this, they mutt be butchered by the Roman soldiery ; We thought, however, that the righteous were to be " recompensed," not destroyed, " in the earth." What was the '• ever- lasting fire,'* into which the " v/ickcd" were to ^'de- part 1 The death, of the body according to Modern Uni- versalism. If so, then the devil and his angels must hav«i had bodies ; for this *' everlasting fire" was originally "prepared" for them ; and, as this punishment has been visited upon them, our opponents are consistent when they say the devil is dead ! and that both he and his angels are nonentities! But if the death of the body be ail that is meant by "the everlasting fire," why is this part of u sentence passed exclusively against the wicked ? Is not death the portion of the righteous also 7 must they not die before they can inherit the kingdom of glory > Would it not be equally proper to say to the righteous, " depart from me into eve. lasting Are .?" Again" if the death of the body be all that is intended by this denuncia- tion, and if innnediate happiness await the wicked here- after, why does the Judge say to the wicked, depart from me ye cursed! Death does not cause them to be separat- ed from Christ under his malediction, but brings them into his immediate presence to rejoice in his" smile? When both the righteous and wicked must pass throufrh death, and equal felicity awaits both in the fulure worhJ we certainly find it difiicult, on the iModern (Jniversalist princitlle. tOfirrprmnf fnr tFiQ moi.l^r^.i „„»:(.! • • , I X ; -V-. s...... ...ttir.ttu antituuucal phruiie- h 2 ;::.-TBf "f 3G wicKec ) shall go away ,nto everlasting punishment -hut the nghreous into life etprmi » w ' """*"">ent . but onl» ,„ h 7 "^ ""'"'' ''"-'"ibcd be ma,lc to refer ;;ti:?;r;::r;:,itr:t;'L™:e::::;r Sonp,„ro /oc:^ of V F„x rr '^^'7 "■"■ '"^ ''I behold till fh« .1 ,"^'^"^*^^^^ Judgment. -.ne „.as ,.„ .e He, «r ji^^^tre.r Jurt on thousand .imes "en .housan.U.oo.l before hi'. T' Tro'"r;„Vr •"" """"^ 'vero„,e„e„."""D: " that «; „„ i, r^ ' f'" " e"""' "I'i'" 'l"-one, and hi„, -w .he dead smal, and great, stall before Gd • Id he books were oponed-atul the dead were juled out of .bo.e ,h,„,. which were written in the boo , „or „, lU me VE BLE3- d these (the ishnieni; : but lame remarka solemn wordi itlly acknow- iciite to per- tence, either etl upon " afi nade to refer ■ (ill nations" ed their sen- -the wicked everlasting he righteous rnal life, in sen hundred and falsity, ter of Mat- roof of the m with the Judgment. "j and the 3 white as ! wool : bis ?ls as burn- th from be- iiini, and 3 him : tho 1" Dan. '■> and him he heaven lem. And C^od ; and Igedoutof according 37 to their works." Rev. xx. 11. 12. " The Lord Jcsu» Christ — shall judge the quick ini\Ci dead at his appearing and his kingdom." 2 Tim. 4. 1. Observe — Jerusalem was taken and destroyed by Titus A. D. 70. St. John wrote the Apocalypse A. D. 96 ;— so that in the verse quoted from that book, he cannot possibly refer to the destruction of Jerusalem ; and yet his description of the day of Judgment is in perfect harmony with that of Daniel's and Our Lord's. The doctrine, under condemnation, subverts also the Scripture doctrine o^ future punishment. The Judgment will decide upon the characters of men in order to decide upon their future and everlasting state. This, at least, is the view the Scriptures give of this solemn subject. "We must all appear before the Judgment seat of Christ: that every one may receive the things done in his body ac- cording to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad." But if men receive all their punishment in this life, there can be no punishment hereafter. But we have already shown from the Scriptures that there is a future punish- ment; and thus the Universalist system is brought into direct collision with the oracles of God, and must there- fore be essentially erroneous. For further proof that the wicked are to be punished hereafter and eternallv, we refer our readers to the sixth Chapter passim, and to the subsequent pages of this work. The doctrine that men receive all their punishment in this life, i^ false as it destroys the powerful motive toper- scmal godliness drawn from a fear of the future conse- fjuences of transmissio7i, thereby g-iyi,ig- the most effectual countenance to the practice of sin, and is therefore neces- sarily destructive to the souls of those xoho submit to its deception. The necessity of personal godliness in this life in order to personal declaration in n future state of being, can- not well be denied bv tho^n wUn Uc^Victra :., ♦!,„ „,,^u^„.; "SraiC 33 city of Divine Rovolation. «« Let not sin th.r r "» your mortal body, that vo .h .V ? "'"'^'^^"''^ '^'Sn tlioreof. Neither vihlT ^ "^ ""^'^ " '" ''^« '»'«'» or unri,.ueo: ' ^'^r ::.f; -; '7'"^;7 - "— .nt. God. a« those that ar::, n "^^^''''7 ""^ live." lb. viii 13 Ti, ' f ""-" ''°''>'' y ^hall of go,ili„o;I re '; difj C"'- " "' ^'" """ ""^ •"-«"- •ny docnne wWch a i ' Ic'.ic.:: ' °""' ^ """ Poscl 10 llie puriiy „f ,,,„ cZ, ^ """'• '" "P" c."i.-e.ys,e,„'„fcl.;:U,X "'"""" ""^ '" "" M to restrain from -C . "■"''" """•" I'"""- of godliness is Z,, ^ * "'" '""^ ""'' P'"""'' othe, .s:itz t '::.:"^ '^i'^-- /-«•«.■ ^^' fi-r. as a ,„„tivc to serve God ,1,. « '"■'"""'" °^ "I'l'eal. .. Fear net t r„^,ieL HI I'TT "''''"'"' "ot able ,0 loll tl,e sou T bu rath f ,'' '.'" "" able to aes,:y both »o„, ': t n^;:/"'";;, /"" '^ were nect' hut are ^i which is Unless it ppealed to ist schema 3 suflering s now 6us- 39 tuincd; men may live as they think proper,und die in tlieir sins, yet certain happiness is immediately and eternally theirs ; God cannot and will not make them miserable. Who does not perceive that such a doctrine opens upon men the flood gates of vice, dispenses with the necessity of personal godliness, and grants them an indulgence to sin as ample as their desires. All the powerful moiivea to an obedient life, derived from the certainty of a future state of punishment, arc, at one blow, destroyed; and men are left to indulge their sinful propensities with the only check, that they will suffer here, perhaps, some tem- porary afflictions of body, or, at most, some remorse of conscience;-— motives these, which are rendered nugatory by the consideration known to the guilty, that affliction of body may be greatly relieved, if not removed, and un- easiness of conscience assuaged by numerous palliative?. A person, therefore, who really believes this doctrine, and discredits that of a future punishable state, is prepared to commit any crime, however heinous, to the perpetra- tion of which he may be tempted, by the wickedness of his own heart or by the instigation of the Devil, for all restraint, as regards future consequences, is gonej; and if there be honorable or virtuous individuals, in the train of Universalism, they are virtuous and honorable, on other principles than those of Universalism. But it may be asked, will not '« gratitude and love ~the pleasure of doing right and the remorse of doing wrong," be sufficient motives to " engage obedience and prevent transgression".?-— The affirmative of this question we are aware is strongly asserted by tho Univcrsalists. But " try the experiment in regard to human government. Let it be proclaimed throughout the community, and among all classes of rogties and riV- lai7is, that there are no courts of justice, no prisons, no places or instruments ofjustice; what, suppose you, would be the effect.'* would the pleasure of doing right engage t I 1 1 i j 40 ol ».« ct;,. \V„ul,| .1,0 inr.,>nvc„ion,-« of ro.nom „rovert :'' "ir ;''°":^''''''"^ " "■ "• ""■'-■'":, of V mue, and suffenn.-, of vice, as ,um,.i.„, „ s.curo «^"u , 1,0 altogether tnonicaoiou^ and nuLory whr w™ld no. tho s„,„o he true of .ho divine govern,, ent- In .p|>e„hng to tho motives of /„„. „„,*; g,Ml7e\ho prated prone ,o IHut ,.,,M i, ,„•,, rf,,,„,,„.„„ -^Tl^J' tl.n. us, .0 love and revcrenoe Him; or if ,hoy think of I nn .t ,. only .o ask, .. What is .ho Al,„i..|„y I ifw. •hould servo Hi,„? and „ha. profit shonid wo Le if 1 P ■ unto !,„,?.. and to sny, "depart from „° fo ". f^- Let us fear lest a promise bein^r left n« nf Pnr ,.• p ca»e God, ha. they ,n.,y he accounted worthy ,o esca, e ...e^^cond^^^^^^^^^ But, .akins men as they are naturally, we mi-ht i„ mno ,nsta,,ces out often, as well whittle to ,he win i " ehanso ,ts d.rec.ion, and .ing ,o the moon ,o increl« her anil good order c.norso prevent nndcoiivort hII od men? Why escnt [dcnsuroii ;iont to securo -If a system of 1 puni.shinentg lugatory, why nvernriu'tit?" gratitude, iho ) naturally de- gin forbidden icirthoii<;hts;'» ' they think of iglity that we vc have, if we m us; for W9 b/xxi. 14. 15. atitude would esc alone aro ing the "peo- ' hy an appeal r." Rom. xi. Js of entering B short of ii.»' pying here in c here incul- ' goiUy fear,*' ep concern to hy to escape lie heavenly ''e might, in the wind to increase her 41 light, ns to expect to " turn them from the powerof Salnn unto Go/t7/"-from np- prehensions of his dan-cr the Jailer/t// prostrate at tht .'}postlcs\fctt—nnd the common enquiry then was, " ichat must we do to be saved?'' Edoct.s these, which, to us con- vincingly show, that the supposed Gospel of iho Univer- salists, is not the same as the real Gospel of Jesns Christ and his Apostles. Wus it ever known that suck results followed the preachiwr of any Modern Univcrsalitit divine? Under such preaching, as assures persons, that they may walk in the sight of their own eyes, and follow the imagi- nations of their own hearts— that there is no future puni^h' ment, no hell of torment,— that they receive all their pun- ishment here, and have nothing hereafter to dread, hut the gate of death will he the gate of heaven,— were sin- ners ever pricked to the heart, did they ever tremble under a sense of their sins and danger, n\u\ v.xi-UxUu what must tee do to bcsavcd?~hu\)o^H\U\c\ Ves, the very idea of Ruch a state of mind is scouted at hy Modern Universa- lists; and, indeed, there is no reason for it on their system. They preach, then, «' another Gospel," than that deli- vered hy our Lord and his Apostles. The latter preached the doctrines of a future judgment—a future hell—a stale of endless torments,— and used them to alarm the consci- ences, excite the fears, and influence the conduct ,of men. But the Modern Universalists decry a future judgment —a futu e hell, a 8tat« of endless torment, and asser* i» ^ i r 42 " 81" IS suffered ,„ this woildj-and hcrcliy We-ik low., every bar.-ier for the preservation of vi ^e „nd .enco t.,o„ to "continue in .in". " Universa i" ne." u .''T,'""""' "" "''^"■-- '-"»-^ of their do' nnj ■ fluence over the opinions of men, they will conti,"ue .e I lH.,e take off every restraint from vice, and strike at ■1.0 dearest tn.erests of religion audhotnan 1 ap , s ° And ,s not the end of this he.-esy OemalruM Su' h ac- cordu,. ,0 the Wor,l of God, n.ust be the inevitable con equenceto all who embrace, and live and .lie" , d r ,hJ nllneneeof, such a docfine. " The,e is a way wh ch 0... safety. then-^Jdde'n- des^:. .I're ^ .Z' E" "..a Ley shall not escape." I Thess, v. 3. "The „%ked »l.all be turned into hell." The wicked Tl M rtlfnr.ll'Jr''"'-'""" """'^'""-'"-Tl.oir the wo4 .l.eth lot, the In-e is not quenched." " They which do -oh th,n,s shall not inherit the kin.don, of God." g1 . v 21 I. or many walk, of whom I have told you often "heir bet *■'■:'•■ 7'""" ""^ " JcHruCion. who.se God n^i;."! 'th-iU'^Phf nf ;; ;- "t fr- "'"- ^on.thereforc of'the T.:.^':.^^^,^^^::::::::: niedy the evil, will be swept awav-in all thTJ . , ::^^=:r2:::b^;nir"^F^- r 1 'vtipueu HI tile balances t lev will do found wanting, an.l their portion will be appoi ted "with cy of Modern Um.enalUm. VV. acknowledge. ,b»,many punishment due hereby break 1 of virtue, and livcrsalists may icy of their doc- lon sense have cy will continue scntimcntj' like 'G, and strike at I happiness." 'uin? Such, ac- ineviiable con- a//y saved. This s one ofthcir grand arguments. • -i nis is Now we grant, that, The Divine Being assuredly wilh ' o-s,res the present and eternal salvation of all men, vvith- ""^I'm'tar.on or exception: the following seripturos are ■n pent, » G,, ,, ,,,,, ,,^ ^^.^ ^,^^^ « I - -e l>ogotten Son, that ^okosoever believeth in him should nl' perish, but have everlasting life. For Gorl sent not his ^on into the world to .on^mn the world, but that the u^orld thro' him might be saved.'' John iii. 16. 17 .'cod our Saviour-will have a« men to be saved and 'to come "no the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one Medmtor between God and men, the man Christ Jesus ; who gave himself a ransom for all to be testified "-luo tjme." . Tim: ii.3-6,-«.But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor • that he by the 45 grace of God should taste death for every man," Hob. ii. 9. " The Lord— is long suffering to us-\vard, not wil- Hni; tbsLtawj should peri-sh, but that a// should come to repentance." Pet. iii. 9. If, therefore, there be any sincer- ity in God— if any reliance to be placed upon His truth — if His WORD be not a mass of contradictions and ftil.^e- hoods— if infact, the passages quoted have any meaning whatever— they must mean what they plainly declare— salvation, in its scriptural acceptation, is provided for, and sincerely offered to, all men without exception :— God is «' the saviour of all men," as he has rendered the salva- tion of " nil men^^ possible. But we object to the inference drawn from the premises by the Universalists, because — l,_God wills men to be saved, as He has constituted them, moral agents, and not as pieces] of passive mechan- ism;~x\o\. absolutely, but conditionally ; which conditions, He himself, by communicated grace, enables them to per- form. These conditions are Repentance;—" Repent, and turn yourselves from oil your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin." Ezk. xviii. SO. •« God now commandeth all men everywhere to repent." Acts xvii. £0. Faith, - " He that believeth on the Son hath ever- lasting life ; and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life ; but the wrath of God abideth on him." John iii. 36. "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved ; but he that 6e/tev«/A7ioi shall be damned." Mark xvi. 16. Eeseneration,—'^Veri\y, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God — Marvel not that I said unto Hi »' * *1 Holinetty — - Obedience—^ 46 thee, ye must be born again.'^ John iii 5. 7. " For in Christ Jesus neither circum- c.Sion availeth anything, nor uncircMim- cision, but u new creature." 2 Cor. v. -"Follow peace with all men, and Ao/». «e., without which no wan shall see the Lord." Heb. xii. 14. . " And there shall in no wise enter into jt (heaven) anything that defUeih, «c. Rev. xxi. 27. -"For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all me„ teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live so- I^erly, righteously and godly in this present world." Titus ii. 11, 12, "The Lord Jesus shall be 'revealed from heaven with bis mighty angels, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them hat know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ- vvho shall be punished with everlasting' .iestruction from the presence of thl « ,^„ ^'^' 2Thess.]. 7—9. ^el/.Denial.;^^^ Then said Jesus unto his disciples Ff any man will come after me, let him ^.ny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save ii.=J (natural) life, shall loose it (his soul): and whosoever will loose his (natural) life for my sake shall find it (h.s everlasting happiness). For what »^ a man profited, if he gain the whnfe :ain 1) John III either circum- nor uncircum- re." 2 Cor. v. nen, and holi- man shall see 10 wise enter \ that defileih, that bringeth to all men, I ungodliness 'uld live so- oJJy in this 11,12. be revealed ty angels, in nee on them hat obey not sus Christ; everlastinff ence of the of his pow- I'sciples, Ff lie, let him 3 cross, and ' will save ose it (his I loose his hall find it l^'or what the whole 47 world and loose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" Matt. xvi. 24— 26. God, therefore, to ills all men to be saved ; but in ac- cordance with these conditions. The conclusion, then, is irresistible, that without repentance, failh, regeneration, holiness, obedience and self denial, they cannot be actually saved. To substantiate, on scriptural authority, the doctrine of universal actual salvation, the actuality of universal repentance, faith, regeneration, holiness, obedi- ence, and self denial must be first established. Bntfacls arc sufficiently in opposition to such a state of things; and the man, who asserts the contrary, must have arriv- ed at the inglorious distinction of the ne plus ultra of moral impcrccptibility. Many, notwithstanding the will of God to the contrary, live and die impenitently and destitute of all the other requisite qualifications above enumerated ; and living and dying thus, they are accord- ing to God's word, irretrievably and eternally "lost." " Wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadcth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat : be- cause strait is the gate and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life, and/eiw there be that find it." Matr. vii. 13. 14. To the conclusion of the Univcrsalists, we reply 2. By opposing their own wills to the gracious inten- iion$ of the Deity, men may deprive themseh s ofthesa'- vntion, which it is the good pleasure of God they should enjoy ; and, therefore, conclude, that the ivill of God, re- lative to human salvation, conditionally expressed, docs not necessarily imply actual accomplishment. Two or three scriptural proofs of the truth of this pro- position possess greater weight than ten thousand plausi- ble or fallacious argiimnnls urged to the contrary. " Open thy mouth wide and I will fill it. But my i^.r,- ])le (the .Tows) xjrm*^ not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me.'' Ps. ixxxl, iO, ii. E 2 y ,.>'*a 11 I i^ ^ m 48 " Because / have ea.V.rf anc! ye refused ; I have stretch - o.. .„ hand ana no n^an re.ardo., ; ;,ut 7^^^ at nough all .ny counsel and v^ould none of niy reproof 1 al... w.l n.ock at your calamity, &c. Prov. i'oZso ' \^.i they have cAos.« /A.eV o^omoays-~\ also will :::: x t'T^T'^^r^^ -hen //«..., .i:;: ««.vw.e, , when i spake they did no< A.ar; hut they did evil sl.n.n r '^'^ ;' -^"''"^ '" '^'"'■'^'^" '-^"^^ P""e^l away the /'foj. ica, they made their hearts as an irlnninM stone ^.nhey....^...,.,e law and^;r^^^ he Lonl o Hosts hath sent in his spirit by the foru e Ho.ts. rherelore it .s come to pas., that as he cried and they would not hear ; so they cried and I would no hea sa.th the Lord of Hosts." Zeeh. vii , j__,^"'^ "°' ^'^^'•' vvh- T'' ^'"^"■'^'"' -^ ^''''''' '« ''^'^ "'^^« '-^ certain kin. vvh.ch made a marriage for his Son, and sent forth ?s' se..ants to call them that were bidden to the v | nl " and they would not come'' &c. Matt, xxii o-7 '•- O Jerusalem, Jerusalem-how often' tfozJc/ / have ' 50 '-Kins fur U,.ubi;,,„,,5po'^,'„,":, ''•"'""' "''^''' ' «".l v.cous, «„„ of ll.ou,,a„,J,;o r" ' i" ' worhj, so called m;,r^^ • ^"^ christian '""'. a"'l ro hi^ cLT fr T^'r '" ™"'"™"' ous instances ofwilfni oi ,• ' **' '" '-"fner- ■■on ,„ lo,-ms)_tl,en, as Go,l " vvil „» ' ^ ^"'""'"^"'■ «- ncually saved, i„ i, sc,i„„ n, e ^o of Z - "' wH.ofG„djs;:r:rr:;:;:f::::rt:°-v''= not nPcossa,-ily ensu,-e thei.- absolute a«,!,l f, "' ■ut ,„„y ,.„ defeated by ,|,eir o,v,.p;.o :':,:':";'"" ' ful eondue,. As, ,l,e,ofore, his wm n LT """ »;"™",™ -y "0 f,.„s.,.a.ed so ; ;„' Tr"' ■■on regards then, in nn „,■ ,' clctmlmhn- o ru. uicui ,u no otner charaetor tl,an that of i. ..-ii 51 moral agents. To admit ilic former and deny the latter, in the climax of irrationality. *' A great deal of contusion has arisen upon this subject from not considering in what cases the will of God may ho opposed with success, and in what cases it cannot. 'J'he wii! of Gud, so far as it is made known to us is irresistible in every thing, except where the co-operation of the human will is necessary to bring about his purposes. God cannot make man virtuous and happy without tho concurrence of his will, and no violence must be done to it, for there can be no moral virtue without moral liberty. Man may therefore, by continued resistance defeat the will of God concerning his salvation. The word of God is very express on this subject. Matt, xxiii. 37. •* Jerusalem ! Jerusalem ! Stc." (quoted before page 48.) Here the will of man and the will of God are represented as opposed to each other, and the will of man prevail- ing."(') From the foregoing discussion, we are justified in draw- ing the following inferences : — 1. God wills all men to be saved. 2. He vjills their salvation, not absolutely, but nondi- tionally. S. The conditions, as previously stated, are Repentance , Failh, &c. 4. Tho'' God has, thro' Christ Jesus, opened up "a ncvi and living way,*' by which " all men" may return to him and obtain salvation, — yet, many "willnoV^ return, but persist in sin, "neglect the great salvation''^ — " resist the Holy Ghost,'^ and eventually ''perish.''^ Or in other words, God declares his willingness to save them consis- tently with His own gracious arrangements, but they will not be saved— they " will 7iot come'" to Him, thro' His " Son" " that they might have ///e"— they will not re- pent, believe, &,c. — they ''judge themselves unworthy of (1) D. Isaac. 52 c^erlaMns life" and provoke .l,„ Hoi, One of Israel „ («.-., Joi,{; » T^^; *'r '"■ "."'■''"" '■'■'"" ■■''">■ 7. I'yie,, ',. .; I ' "i'"-""" of thousand.. ». i/ie " u'itl of God '' rpli»i,.» f, .1 • , . inrnl ,7 1 ,- ^" "^ provin- which, by srr/»- <"•« is given on',;! ,r ' ', "''' "'" >"""""' of >•'<- a IS given on y to rt,;m, „lio, in this life, by nei-foi-m rel':*::;':""::^' 'r"°' '"■""""^^'y "«•"»',. Join, ii'i^ 301 "'™"S'"»" <""""}-. " «4<*M 0, (/„,„.„ !•' ClIy\PTER V. PilELIMINAUIES WHICH THE ReSTORATIONIST S MUST first establish before they ca7i derive ad- vantage from criticism on disputed terms - Absurdities involved in their belief. In endeavouring to establish their doctrines, the Rc- storationists lay great stress upon the Greek words aion, aibnios, Ike ; and because these words are sometimes used in an accommodated sense to point out a limited period, ibey very illogically conclude, that these terms, when applied to future punishment, never imply strict eternity, but are employed, and are invariably to be understood, in their limited meaning. But all the passages, in which these terms are used, might be surrendered, and yet the doe- trine of the eternity of future punishment shown to be perfectly scriptural : — its truth depends not upon the controverted meaning of one or two words, but is inter- wo'/en with the very texture of the Scriptures, and placed before us in numerous and various forms of ex- pression an«l illustration, which, in the estimation of all can In fact, if the contrary of tho above be maintained, we must yield up our Bibles into the hands of deriding Deists, or scof- fing Infidels, as a book, full of inconsistencies, and un- worthy the credit of any reasonable man. But other views, than these, have we of the Sacred Volume :— it ia divinely inspired—perfect Truth without mixture of Error— and consistent and harmonious in all its parts. " Jll Scripture is given by inspWation of God, and is profitable for doctrine for reproof for connection, for in- struction in righteousness : That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works." 2 Tim. iii. 16. 17. Now tho doctrines of future limited punishment and future eternal punishment, are in direct opposition to each other; both ciximoi be true, nor can the Bible con- tain them both ; and one or the other must of necessity be false and anti-scriptural Hence, if, on examination, we find the doctrine, of a strictly ceaseless punishment in- culcated in the Bible, then it follows as a natural conse- quence, that the doctrine of a limited punishment is both false and anti-scriptural. With these observations, we now address ourselves ta the examination of the four points previously stated. First Point. Is the future state of punishment a state of Disciplins or Trial ? To this question we unhesitatingly append the most unequivocal negative. Our reason for so replyin'>- is briefly this — " The Scriptures are not only silent as to this being the case but contain passages at utter variance with the doc- trine of a Juture state of trial .—the contrary doctrine, therefore, must be true. The following propositions are self-evident and require no proof ;— The present, christian dispensation camiot be the last merciful dispemation, if another, in which J I- 61 3 .'' In fact, if ive must yield eists, or scof- •ies, and un- «. But other olume : — it ia I mixture of all its parts. God, and id ection, for in- ^ God may be d works." 2 lishment and opposition to he Bible con- »f necessity be imination, we inishment in- latural consc- unishment is 3 ourselves to y stated. hment a slate nd the most > replying- is Ihis being thg with the doc- •ary doctrine, t and require lation camiot uld never • pay." 5. 3 same, if libirakdf G3 but must forever lie under the displeasure of his Lord; V. 3-1 — a circumstance, which certainly proves this tn be the on'y dispensation, in xohich forgiveness can be obtained^ and that the future stale is not one of trial. Nor must it be supposed that this parable was not one of universal concernment to men generally. To prove the contrary, that the truths contained in the parable were intended to have a practical bearing on the conduct and experience of men generally, our Lord adds, in the way of solemn application,— so likewise shall n)y heavenly Father do al- so unlo you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.'' There s no foundation here fur the figment of future restoration. St. P\ul, teaching the same doctrine as bis Divine Master, commences the Epistle to the Hebrews with the subiinje declaration: God, who at sundry times, and in divers manners spake in times past unto the Fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son" &c. The phrase '' last days'' certainly im- plies that no other merciful dispensation will follow this; ("•) and from the consideration of thi3 all important truth, as well as from the Dignity of Christ, the Apostle con- cludes: " Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. For if the word spoken by an- gels was stedfast and every transgression of disobedience received a just recompence of reward; How shall we es- cape if we iiei^lect so gvevLtsii\vixi\oni'' W. 1 — 3. A question tantamount to the strongest affirmation, that we cannot hereafter possibly escape, either by skill or force, the ag- gravated punishment merited by aggravated guilt — guilt contracted against infinite love and infinite obligations. The apostle proceeds:- -He that despised Moses' law (4) " Last days}. The Gospel dispensation, called the last days, and the last time because not to bo followed by any other disfenjation." Dr. A, Clarke la !oc. mi I III k n m !> ' 64 died without mercy, under two or three witnesses: of how much sorev punishment suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God and hnlh counted the blood of thecovenant wherewith he was Banctifie.l an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the &pint of grace? For we know him that hath said, Ven- geance belongeth unto me, I will recompense saith th« Lord.-It is a/fiflr/u/ thing to fallinto the hands oftho Living God." Heb. x. 28-Sl. Not surely if Universal- i.sm be true, and there be another state of probation ! To fall into the hands of God, is to full under his displeasure; and He, who lives forever can punish forever. How dreadful to have the displeasure of an eternal Mmighty Being to rest upon the soul forever! Apostates, and ali the persecutors and enemies of God's cause and people may expect the heaviest judgments of an incensed Deity- and these not for a time but through eternity" (*) Tha expression of the Apostle is among the strongest that can be used to import the strictly punitive character of the state ot future punishment in opposition to its being a Rrac.ous dispensation. First. The despisersof the law of Mose. d.ed ^ithoul mercy»-then the contemner, of Chnst are to have a still sorer punisfiment-hsth, tho most awful aspect is given to this punishment in the ter- ^o' m"T^'""."?''''"" -'' '^ '' ^ -^^"'^"^ '^^^S to fall tnto the hands of the living God" I Reader ! may you never realize the import of these truly " fearful" words in your own experience! From a rtrm conviction of the truth we are advocating. that the present ,s the /a.^ dispensation in which mercy can be obtained, the Apostle exclaims, "behold, Now is ihe accepted ttme, behold, Now is the day of salvation-^ 2 Cor. VI, 2. A passage, which, whilst it offers mercy freely now, and guards against presumption, presents the dark side of the cloud to the camp of the Universalists, (5) Dr. A, Clarke. 65 and frowns upoa their doctrine, as to the future inridibla Btate being a state of moral discipline, an "accepted lime" to seek the Lord, and a "day of salvation." We arrive at the same truth, that this is the last dis- pensation for the acquirement of salvation, from the fact oHhis life being represented as the only time allotted for preparing for the future. " Whatsoever thy hand fmdeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor de- vice, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave'' (the place of departed spirits) '« whither thou goest." Eccl. ix. 10. With no show of propriety can the former part of this verse be confined exclusively to temporalities; for whilst the Scriptures inculcate "diligence in business," they require us, as a matter of greater importance to be fervent in spirit, serving the Lord." Not until, therefore, it can be proved that the service of God and a preparation for eternity, form no part of the employment which our '* hands should find to do," or which the Deity has as- uigned us to perform, can we allow these momentous sub- jects to bt excluded from the passage; and these being in- cluded in the range of the requisitions of the '« Preacher" the latter part of the verse is sufficient to decide the question, under discussion, againstlhe Universalists. The whole force of the exhortation to present activity in ''work- ing out the salvation of our souls,'' &nd preparing for an eternal state of existence, is founded upon the solemn fact that there is " no work" of salvation, " nor device," no contrivance^ no means for acquiring salvation, " nor knowledge", "nor wisdom", no theoretic or practical re- ligion to be obtained, " in the grave," in the receptacle of the dead, the world of spirits, "whither thou goest" "into which all men certainly enter." If the conduct of men can at all be rescued from the charge of absolute folly, it Beems to be founded on the presuniption that at death, the term of their probation does not expire, and that soma means fiball be employed in on intermediate state, for th« 66 removal of guilt and tho attniiimnnt of purity. The folly of such an expectation '. is ijiiiti:' uiinecessiiry to prove in nn address to those whv» profess the Protestant fuith, or who have studied the sacred volume with minds unfetter- ed by impartialities, and open to conviction. It is an ex- j)ectation wiiich the whole spirit and tendency of revela- tion declares to be delusive and ruinous, which the text contradicts in the most unequivocal, the most solenm, tho most decisive language, when it asserts, * there is no work, nor device, iior knowledge, nor wisdom in the grave.' " (^) Our Lord himself inculcates the same truth, whon with- out giving the least hint of the possibility of "working out the salvation of the soul" in the intermediate state he says •* I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day : the night cometh when no man can work." John ix 4. The terms " day" and "night" here used are n^eta- phorical; the former is very frequently used to point out the brcvitxj of human life, the latter, its closer or death; so by our Lord. " I must accomplish the work for which I came into the world while it is day; while the term of this life of mine shall last." (0—" All the work he had to do in his own person here on earth was to be done before his death; the time of his living in this world is the day spoken of. — When the night comes we cannot work, be- cause the light afforded us to work is extinguished, the grave is a land of darkness, and our work cannot be done in the dark. And besides our time allotted us for our 'jork will then be expired; when our master tied us to duty, he tied us to time too; when night comes call the labourers, we must then show our work, and receive according to the things done. In the world of retribution '^•e are no longer probationers." C') This passage, with the one preceding it, affords proof " strong asdemonstra- (6) Dr. G. Burns' Sermons,/. 247. (7) ^. Clarke, in Iffc. (^9)Mo.lUiciJj Ilcnrv y, v, M, in !o.c. •ity. The folly ary to prove in ;stant fuith, or minds unfettcr- n. It id an ex. lency of rcvcla- uhich the text ost solemn, tho , * there is no wisdom in the ith, whon with- f "working out ite state he sayi^ me, while it is cork.''^ John ix used are n^eta- ed to point out se, or death; so ork for which I the term of this rk he had to do done before \\\a rid is the day nnot work, bc- tinguished, tho cannot be done ted us for our later tied us to comes call the (, and receive d of retribution passage, with 5 as demonst ra- . Clarke, in Iffc, 67 tion*' against the opinion of the Univcrsallsts on the point at issue and in favour of our view of the case, .ificr death 710 wan cauwor/c:— no impenitent unrenewed jnir- aon can perform the least duty of a religious nature, whun " the night has come:" The future state of punishment therefore, is not disciplinary, but immutable and eternal. The point wo advocate is proved, likewise, from th« circumstance of the revtard or punishment of individuals -commencing immediately «//«• death, —which is incon- sistent with the idcaof a future state of probation. " Be- iiold I come quickly, and my reward is with me to give tvery man according as his work shall be." Rev. xxii I'i- The most satisfactory and elucidative comment on these words of Our Lord, is furnished by Himself in the case of LAZARUS and dives. (0 Luke xvi. 19-31. Lazarus - ' • - 'Abra- ^^ (« died and was immediately carried by angels into ham's bosom," another phrase for " paradise," or t\j)lac<. of happiness. The Rich Man, also, died and wa^-j buried; but in Hell he immediately lift up his eyes. The term " hell" had'a cannot here mean only the plact of separate apirits; as, it is immediately added, declara- tive of its painful and punitive character, " being in tor^ i.ient," and, as it is, also, a place widely differing and far distant from that where Lazarus then was ;— he " seetli Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his bosom:" and his application to Abraham was principally to obtain relief, if possible, to his agony. To this it may be replied, the punishment is the disci- pline itself, and is, therefore, very justly inflicted upon the subjects of it immediately after death. To this point w« (9) " This account of the rich man and Lazarus, is either a rnrahle or arcaZ history. If it be a parable it is what may be: _if it be a history, it is that which has leen. Either a man may live, as is here described, and go to perdition when he dies. or some have lived in this way, and are now suffering the tor- ments of an eternal fire. The account is equally mstructivc, m vvi.ichanovnr of tbfisfi liffhta it is viewed." Dr A. Clarke in loc G li m m I 1 , f i 5 !| 1 » [^ I. G3 ilosijjii hci'onftci' to tlraw tho attention of our rendera; (') hut ill tlio tncnn time olKscrvo, tho idea now brooehed id Olio of the inot^t dangerous notions that ever found u lodg- ment ill tho hruiii of a rational aecountablo being, and in eontrudicted by tho whole tenor of tho Haercd Scriptures both in th(!ir direct and iuduential coniniiinicntionfl, and especially by that portion of them last under considera- tion. VVo prncccd with the account:— From it, Dives, it ap- pear!?, whiLst ''inhcU^' became sensible of his misery, und with cries supplicated thd^xercise nf mercy ;—h\ii IIe»r iv — He WAS Ukkuskd! Yes! IIk was Refused! "And he cried and said Father iVbraham, have mercy on me, ond send fia/arus that he may dip the tij) of his Ihiger in water and cool my ton;;ue; for I am toniienled in this (lame. Hut Abraham said, Son, remembor that thon, in thy life time, vcce'ivcih t thy p^ood things, and likewise Liv/Axrus evil things; but 7iow he is comforted and Tnov luitormented.'' '24, 25. V. This wos truly oppallin<,'; but appalling as it ■was, it would be endurable were there any prospect, however distant, of his beinj» delivered from his torments, restored to tho divine favour, and blest with subsecjuent and eternal happiness. Says tho Univers'li.-;!, this will assuredly bo tho case. God is merciful; hell is discipli- nary ; and when the soul has suHicicntly atoned for its sins by suQuring, or is purified by some other means, it shall 1)0 delivered from its misery, restored to tho appro- val of God and admitted to heaven. These opinions are asserted with as much confidence as if they peered forth from every verso of Sacred Writ. But what said Abra- ham on this subject.? What was his reply.? Now let it be especially remarked, that were tho doctrine of future restoration true, or did it form a part of tho creed of tho " Father of the faithful," he had a most favourable op- portunity of stating his belief and comforting the lorment- (1) See licit Chapter. ir rentiers; (') )w bronchetl id r found u lotlg- bein^, and in red 8cripturoa iiientioiifl, nnd Jcr con'sidcra- , Dives, it np- is misery, and — but IFe»k ir eo! "And ho 7 ofi me, nnd (Ingor in water in llii.s ilanie. on, in thy life c La/.iirus crnl n tormented.^* ppalling as it any prospect, I his torments, th subsejjuent !i?t, this will ell is discipli- atoned for its ler means, It to the aiipro- opinions nro ' peered forth at said Abra- Now let it bo ne of future I creed of the Livournble op- 5 the torment- 69 cd mind of Divos with considerations f nnlogou to the following; -Tis true you justly suller fot your sins, nnd although alleviation is with-hold fur the ,.•. uti yet take this not ns an ill omen — dospiir not but ' cnco.^) age your- self in the liord thy God" — You are not " / , ' or aban- doned of God — Ho has designs of mercy towuulyou — "for a stnall moment," compared to eternity, has ho fursaUea thee; but with great mercies will he gather thee" — after "you have suflerod awhile," you shall be brought out of those " doleful regions," blest with divi/ie fiivour, receive, with Lazarus, whom you formerly despised, ati unfading crown of glory, and " so shall you be for ever with tlio Lord" — for the Lord will not bo wrath for ever. But, we ttsk, was this the languago of Abraham — tiie friend of God? Did he, on this occasion, preach Universulism? Diil ho hold out any such prospects: — Let him answer for himself: " And besides all this, between us nnd vou thcro is a great gulf fixed; so that they which wow/t/pass from HENCE to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from hence.^^ 2(i. v. We may here remark, 1. 'J'his case contains the opinions of our Lord upon the sub- ject of future punishment. 2, It shows that the benevolcnet of God, on which the Universalists lay so much force to confirm their views, has no operation in hell — not even a drop of water, the smallest alleviation, is allowed to, cool the tongue, to mitigate the most excruciating pain. 3. The cer/aiu/j/ of e/crna/ punishment is here expressed, in the most forcible, aflfecting and solemn manner, without the wse of ai07u'os, or any other disputed term, 4. If a person wished of set purpose to point out the strict eternity of future torment, stronger expressions or figures, for this purpose, could not be employed than are here employed by our Lord. 5. Our Lono does, in the case before us, most unquestionably teach the strict eternity of future punishment, — otherwise words to point out this doctrine cannot possibly be found. S. The whole case is uueriy i'l m rr^—^~-- I 70 incompatible with the doctrine of a future state of proba- tion and modt convincingly proves our proposition, tliut this is tho lust disipcnsution m which mercy or salvation call be obtained. Again:— The same truth la arrived at from the fact, that, nt tho Juogment Day, men will be jud!s:ed and awarded for tiic deeds done in the body; o. circumstance, iM the highest degree inconsistent with the idea of the in- termediatc state being one of moral discijjline or trial. — ■'For we must all appear before the judgment scat of Christ that every one may recoive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad." 'J Cor. v. 10. Aware of the formidable array, which this verse prr- .sonrs to their pysteu), the Modern Universalists have cm- ployed all their force to weaken its impression. 'l"ho words, '"done," and " his," marked in italics, are not in tho original, but are sujiplied by the translators;— hence they would read the passage thus, — that "every one may receive in his body," thereby endeavouring to confine the award of punishtnent to this life only. But the mere mention of this criticism carries with it its own refutation. Vov supposing we read the passage, receive in his body, yet, it nmst be remembered, that ive are all to stand before THE .TirDGMENT SEAT OP GoD for this purposc ; and as we believe in the punishment of the " body" as well as the "soul," after the resurrection, we do not see what ad- vantage they can derive from their rendering, if they bear in mind the fact just stated. liut there is reason to believe that the translators, l)y tho n-ords they have su[)plied, have given the true idea of tho passage. One general rule of construction — a rule fami- liar to every classical Scholar— is, "By a most elegant elipsis, any finite verb may he understood, and inferre^d i>y reflection from another verb of the like import, actually expressed within the periods' — Examples, demon.itratin^j tare oi pruha- ipusitiun, that •y or salvation roni the fact, B judu^ed and circumstance, dea of the in- ne or trial. — Ljment scat of >s> done in his her it be good his verse prr- ists liave ciii- •essioii. The rs. are not iu [itors; — hence very one may to confine the Jut the mere vn refutation. in his hodij , STAND before e; and as we IS well as the see what ad- ring, if they ilators, l)y the le idea of tho -a ruh) fami- most elegant d inlerre^d i>y )ort, actually emon.3tratin:r 71 not only the |)ropriety but the necessity of this rule, might be multiplied from the Classic Authors, but a few will suffice. 1. Impius haec tarn culta novalia miles hahebitl Barbarus has segetes.'* — Virg. Ed. 1. 71. 72. " Habebit,^^ expressed in the first line, must be supplied in the second. Thus the translation — "Shall a rufliari soldier possess these so well cultivated lands ? Shall a bar- barian /possess these fields of corn," — 2. Quern mortis timuit gradum, Qui siccis oculis monstra natantin; Qui vidit mare turbidum, et Infames scopulos Acroceraunia? HoR. Carm. Lib. I. 8. 17—20. Translated thus; — "What form of death conld terrify him, who beheld unmoved the rolling monsters of the deepj who beheld unmoved the tempestous swelling of the sea, and the Acroceraunians — infamous ro^ksi" — " VidiV^ expressed in the latter, must be supplied in the former \iM'i of the sentence. In the following example the word *:o be supplied must be in a different tense from the word expressed: — 3. IIos tihi dant calamos, en accipe, Musae, Ascra)o (ptos ante scni. Viur, Eel. vi. 69, 70, Thus translated; — "The Muses g^'ue to you these pipes, (here, take them) which before (supply dederant) they hady;ioen to the As(!rean sage," viz. Hcsiod. The ad- verb ante (before) shows that the verbsu])[)lied must be in the past tense. The word supplied, in the verse in question, is actually expressed, in the latter portion of the verse; and, we re- peat it, the Venerable Translators, in their mode of ren- dering, have violated no rule of construction, but have been governed by a rule of universally acknowleilgcd G 2 fl M Ir^ ' ! 12 propriety--.- that everyone may receive the things, (.up- Piy) doncv^ h.. body, according to that he (verb actually -xpres^ed) hath done; S.c. which is, doubtless, a prop/r '•ondenng, and most certainly in perfect harmony w th he general scope of the Scripture.. Wh.xbv paraphrases lie passage thus;-- For we must all appear be/ure the !ndgn.ent-seat of Christ, that every one may (then) r.- •c.ve the th.ng« done in his body; (or by the body;) ar- cord.ng" .^e. WKsr..v renders it-'^ that every one L' y .oce.ve according to what he hath done in the body, wh. rher good or evil." With this, the translation of Chuu.es ^HOMPso^^ Es^. substantially agrees;-- ^j,,, every one nay receive according to what he hath done in this bo.'i- y ^^tato whether good or evil." We have been mor. part.cuiar m vuidieating the authorized translation than >c cav,l of the Universalist., in itself, really deserves:- ^hu stiong holds, ,t was necessary to wrest it from th-n, by shovymg.ts utter destitution of all foundation. li.e orce of the argument from 2 Cor. v. 10, may he tv no ' 'r'r~r^''''''^ '" '''' «-»« character in L? ";?'' "'?" '^''' ^''' '''' ^"^'3^' ^f^--" 1-- l-en , change of character for the better-if no chan-^e of Hn racter A.r the better, then, this ntlbrds a strong^a Lf. n rf':i:'''^'"r""^^''''^^^ ,,,,. ,,,, ^^i ^^,^j. no of a gracious change of character-the wicked appear ..t the judgment seat unforgiven and unrenewed-makin. t.c.r appearance at the judgment seat of Christ in an tnc w.ath of God abidmg on them":-in f-u-t rhi^- v.-v o the case destroys the very idea of a future int .' .n duue ^ue of pr<^K^tion-f;,r if probationary, the thin.. 'lone'MA.,.. would be as liable and a.s proper to bo iJ>oi.ght into judgment as those " done in the ho.\y^^^-.hut I e things, (riuji- (verbactualiy loss, a proptr mony with ih.' Y paraphrases )eur before ih!!t 73 the passage in question cuts off every notion of the kind. In the day of " Judgment'' each "one will receive ac- cording to that he hath done in his body, whether it be ;,'ood or bad."— Q,uere; — What description of sentence will be passed at the " Judgment Day" in the case of one who died m his sins and in the intermediate state, was forgiven, — if he will bejud:^'ed and aivarded according to the deeds do7ie in the body? The description, given by our Lord himself, of the Judgment Day, and the alleged grounds of acquittal Jind condeLvination, corroborate the above view of the case. Turn to the '25i.h of Matthew, and read from the Jlst verse to the end of the cha])ter, and you will find that the righteou.5 anil the wicked v^ere judged for deeds done, or which ought to have been done, in the l)ody: — that the righteous the truly piou?, whose '•' faith" wrought "by love,'' were justified by their works; "fori was an hun- gered, &,c. — and the king shall answer, — inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brelhrc n, ye have done it unto me" — and that the wicked, these, whose faith was dead and who were not regenerated and sanctified but lived and died in their sins, were coiidemned f)r their svorks, or rather more properly, for their not do- ing — " Then shall he say unto them on the left hand, De- part from me, cic. Fori was an hungered, &.c. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee a;i hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or m prison, auii did not minister unto thee? Then shall he an- swer them saying, Verily I say untoyi v forasmuch a; ye did it nnt to one of the least of these, ye di i U not to me." Consistency must oblige the Universaiists to say that the " righteous" were in the interir^ Uate state, and that the " wicked'- having it in their \,)v,^^r, did not " feofl" the rig-hteou?!, nor "give them drink," nor '■ clothe'' them, nor " visit them in prison,'' whilst they were in their dis- embodied state; for they contend that ihe wicked will not 'ie judged for the deeds done or not done in the body-^iho ■'-n •K: \>| m 1 i 74 only alterative on this scheme, is, that they neglected their duty ,n the interniediate state,-for it must have been neglected in some place-and our Saviour decides tho point that it is for the want of the performances before specified, that the wicked shall at las. condemned. But turning away f-om sujh absurdities, we remark, that the acts previously mentioned are properly the acts of time, and can be performed and neglected only lohen the ri.'h- teousare in the boclij .--hena the wicked will receive their final sentence of condemnation for duties ne^-lected, as well as for sins committed, whilst in the body! The force of this passage is irresistible. Again: " Rejoice, yonng man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the waysot thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou for all these things God will brin- theo into judgment." Eccl. xi. 9. Now are not all the acts here mentioned the acts of the " Young man" whilst in this world, " in the bochf^l Andyet for - these things" so done by him whilst " in the body" he will be brought into judgment— a decision this as plain as words can make it. God— who will render to every man according to his deeds; For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law, shall be judged by the law-in that day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my Gospel." Rom. ii.:6, 12, 16. The phrases "deeds" —"sinned without law" — " sinned in the law"— un- doubtedly refer to the transactions of this life, which con- sequently must be done in the body :-and yet /or ^^ese men are finally to be judged and awarded. So forcibly have the Universalists felt the doctrines contained in the above passages to press against their system, that to escape their force, some of them, with equal audaciousness and criminality, have denied a/w^wre general judgment altogelher-thcvoby affording another proof of the utter iniquitousness of the system— declaring; icglectcd their 1st have been r decides tho nances before idemned. But lark, that the ! acts of timet '}hen the righ- vvilJ receive ics neo-lected, ! body. The outh; and let , and walk in f thine eyes: ill bring theo i all the acts m" whilst in se things" so brought into can make it. ordi ng to his aw shall also linned in the y when God St according ses "deeds" law" — un- i, which con- jQi for these le doctrines gainst their them, with lied Vi future ing another — decidiing; that men arc judged and awarded in this life, so as to have notliing to answer for hereafter !—(•'-) This opinion, miserably wrt:cho(i and erroneous as it is, is as much opposed to the futur .-jwar'! of the rii^hto- ous, as they suppose it makes against I'lc future puiiisii- nient of the wicked. If men arejud,^'ed and avv;irdedin this life, then the righteous are judged and awurdcid in this life} and consequently, if by the judgment of God p/ussed upon tiieir conduct, they receive ^^ir reward hero, they are excluded from all reward he -lor. But, to this, it may he replied, —tho' judged and awarded, they are rewarded in this life only partially,— the promise of " eternal life" is still given. But we answer, why may not the count")-- part be truo, — that, tho' judged and awarded, tiie wickfid are in This life only partially punished, the threatening of " everlasting punishment" is still held out? — The assump- tion refutes itself. Our principal objection ta this unblushing error i? tha*. it is decidedly unscriptural. To prove our assertion \\» neeci not adduce the many passages, which the Sacred Volume contains upon tho subject; one or two v/ill suf- fice. Let it then be observed, that the " Day of .Judg- ment" is a day sclemnly appointed by the Deicy. "He hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath or- d,.ined, whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead." Actsxvi. 31. Now couple with this the following declaration of tho same Apostle — " it is appointed unto men nnce to die, but , fier this (afr.cr death) the judgment;" Hob. ix. 27. and there is the strongest assurance of a Futurf, Generxf, JunrrMEN'T, which words can possibly convey- How im- pound, how radically wrong, how extremely dangerous tho system, which can be maintained only by such a sweeping (2) This Rii|n!.»ct t,!ic read<^rwill remeniber is discussed in <'"liap- tcri ,'dnrM 3d; but Is agaui introduced to atiengthen o'lr argum^Mit. N-^ ..ll add unt„"h^,: paL: ttu"'; "'" "'"""'■ ^°^' l'ook:andif„„vmi„,hlT,r "'''""" '" ""i^ .>.o book of thif :: d e ct :zi !:r '"" r'- ■"■ ei " »■„ If ■ ■^'" ""^ '""'""^ "passed, themck- «" S'^'opfms/JMCTC declared In I,. .< ' "'^ "'"'- not the sn,duest hint i. given of it r fi„ T, '" """^ -a.circuntstanee this, „t,e:,;:u ut:,:t^^''"' position of the Uuiversniists. " ^"''• Hefer again to the latter part of ihe o«,i, , Matthew, and i, will be seen ,1° r V '°P'" °^^'- the ri.rhteoi5. and .' , , ' ' "'^'" "'<' •''""■•.•'cters of fom,e°r on ,„e hL""';,::' Z ''""''''' """ •""«''' ""■ J".i.e!.he sfnteitc 'i^'p s'T "^J U '"" "r" "' '"^ hand" the kin^ shall snvT ^^^ "'o^' »" ^ is "n^A/ i"herit the ki„:d,™„"f'r;'''^'' '-'""'' "'■"y Fatter, of the world "' 3? Iph: 7 T. ''"•" "-^ ''''""'''"i™ tf >\i.. » vis s of the Sacred lie most solemn 'le sacred Pen- e Holy Ghost f ) either realJj' (i use their ut- •es! "J testify le prophecy of se things, God ritten in this 1 the words of aioay his part 'ity, and from " Rev. xxii. ■3 the last, in tion from tho ^ed, the wick- eterna'," and deliverance^ on the sup- lapter of St, haracters of placed, the land of the his "right my Father, ■ foundation ► unto them J into evor- 3ls." V. 41. Does the 'li have an- h you are iful, but it 11 isprobationary-and, if you are not wanting to yoyf. selves you may be released and yet enter into my k'n. kTth ' ' .'""'^'""-^ Universalism true.someth" ^ like th.s would naturally escape the lips of the Jud.e. Bui IS th.s the case.^ Did he give them any hope? So L from lh.s being the case-so .far from giving them any hope- he closes then- awful history by these still more a vful words- - And these," the persons last addressed, ,he ^^ckecl «^shal! go away into everlasting punishmen he nghteous anto life eternal": And here the cu.tai" drops not a word, as to their future restoration, break, he .ilence-the last sounds which die upon the ear, are, A«D THESE SHALL GO AW.V ,..to EVERLASTINO PUN- ISHMENT: but the righteous into life ETER^^A,"' St. Paul teaches tho same alarming truth- " Or de- sjusest th,ou the riches of his goodness, and forbearance and long suflenngj not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance.^ But after thy hardness and impen.tent heart treasures! up unto thyself wrath against he day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; who will render to every man according to his Ueeds: lo them who by patient continuance in well doing •seek for glory and honour and immortality eternal life- «ut unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, upon evevy soul of man, that do- eih evil, of the Jew first and also of the Gentile. For Jfiere is no respect of persons with God." Rom. ii. 4-9 fii Here also the punishment of the wicked is threatened- but not one word, that they shall ever be saved from il and rank with them, to whom is rendered "glory, honor and peace." o j> , Another quotation, on this point will suffice. " And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dearJ. smn.i If' d 78 nnd great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the 6togavc up the dead, which were in them: and thc> were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake ofjlrc This is the second death. And whosoever was not lound written in the book of life was cast into the lake of lire." Uev. xx. Il- ly. Here several things deserve attention. 1. The Apostle is here speaking of the GeneralJudginent. 2. The persons who are to be judged are mentioned; " the dead, small and great"— persons of all ages and condilions— those not excepted who ''are alive" at "the coming of the Lord," for they " shall be changed,'' which chango will be e(iuivalpnt to death. 1 Cor. xv. 51, 52.— J. Thi; different receptacles yielded up the dead they possessed : the sea gave up those who had been drownod-(Zea werw •ks. And death lid is the second written in the ' Rev. XX. II- antion. 1. The dgnieut. 2. The led; " the dead, nd condiliontf— ' " the coming of " which change 51, 5'i.— iJ. Th(: they possessed : h'owned— death , ies of men — and its, good or evil, at they may he to their work-, hades, therefore, rih give up the ; into the lake iit and the ptace dn dead bodies an 1 more separation ;e; conseciuently 2r necessary. ' 3e eternal world, 1 that from whicli eath, is that from ! first, the body is ody and soul are it also be noted, 79 that, the "second death". is something Aom which tbt righteous are to be preserved—" be thou faithful unto death and I will give thee a erown of life— lie that over- Cometh shall not be hurt by the second death." Rev. ii. 10, 11. Here "the crown of life" or the eternal reward and "the second death," are set in opposition,— neces- sarily causing the latter to mean the oj)posite of " eternal life," i. e. an eternal punishment. Again; the "second death" is something to be inflicted upon the wicked ex- clusively. " But the fearful and unbelieving, &c. and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death." Rev. xxi. 8. 7.— G. After the abolishing of death and hades, the place of separate spirits, for reasons already assigned, then, we are informed, that, '' whosoever was not {ouud written in the book of life," i. e, was not prepared for heaven, "was cast into the lake of fire," consigned to the '■'second death;" and there they are letl without the slight- est intimation of future recovery or restoration. When "they that are ready enter" in to the marriage supper of the Lamb,"the door is shut;" and to all subsequent appli- cations by the unprepared, however importunate or loud- ly expressed, for admission to the felicities of heaven, the unvarying answer of the Lord, is, "verily I say unto you, I know you not;" "I approve or regard you not and therefore disown you." (■») On the supposition of the Uuiversalists, it is improbable— it is incredible— it is im- possible—that the Scriptures would use such unqualified language, as above quoted, on man's final destiny, and not give us some explicit information on the subject of the ulterior designs of the Deity respecting his future deli- verance from the place of suffering. A more erroneous— a more misguiding book than the Sacrfd Scriptires, on the Universalist scheme, never was penned and given to the world; for, in regard to the eternal world, they ja- (4) R. Watson's Exposit. in Inc. H m f tt II 80 variii!)ly tiac such terms as necessarily exclude the very supposition of a future stale of probation, and final re- covery of those that loose their souls." Unite the three last particulars, — That 1. The reward or punishment of men commences immediately after (loath; 2. That, attheday of General Judgment men will nppear in the same character as they possessed on leaving the world, and shall ha judged and rewarded according to i!io "deeds done in the body;^'' 3. That after the sentence of condemnation is passed the "wicked" go into "ever- la.^ting punishment," without the least intimation of their future deliverance; — and what becomes, we ask, of the in'iin pillar of Universalistn, that the future state is one of moral trial? It resembles the "house which the foolish man Imilt upon the sand." The preceding rcniarks receive confirmation from the fact, that heaven and hell, future happiness and future misery, future reward, and future punishment, are, in the Sacred Oracles, set in opposition to each other,--the one necessarily excluding the other. "Say ye to the righteous that it shall be iccll with him: — Woe unto the wicked it ^hall be ill with him." fs. iii. 10, 11. "And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake some to exferla What reason, on principles, can they assign against this state of """g». Ihe one is as reasonable as the other; for the ion rfTf °""' "' "'" """^ '" P°"" »"' 'he dura- I'ut. "hat becomes of the express, the positive, the une .^>i — ?— - "" " w i a a wa i '%• ".^Ta IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I |50 "^^ III =^ ■^ 1^ III 2 2 H^ 1^ iiio 1.8 1.25 1.4 1.6 — = < 6" ►■ <^ w /2 /a m &2 ^ .'^^v > .>^ /A '^'^1^ c^ > ^'^ '// O 7 Photographic Sciences Corporation f^ ,\ d ;\ oi^ % 33 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 \ z^ ^ ) ^^O C/u )^r^ :<(^ m 7 i 82 quivocal assurrance of Holy Writ, respecting the eternal perpetuity of heavenly happiness? The future state can- not be probationary. Finally — If the present be not the last dispensation of mercy, in which salvation can be obtained; the commands warnings, and threatenings exhibited In the Word of God, and employed to induce men now to "repent" — now to " believe on Christ" — now to "consecrate their service to God'* — now to "strive to enter in at the strait gate," — to cut off the right hand sin" and "pluck out the right eye sin," — that they may be "saved," — that "iniquity prove not their ruin,"— that they be not "cast into the fire whose flames are quenched not and where the worn never dies," that they avoid His "anger who has power to destroy both soul and body in hell," that they "come not into condem- nation," have "their portion with hypocrites and unbeliev- ers" and be " cast into outer darkness," where is weeping, wniling, andgnashing of teeth," — are all senseless jargon, without foundation, without meanings merely intended to excite fear where no fear is, real deceptions , positive un- truths. Nor is this all — The Ministers of the Sanctuary, who urge their flocks, by the above truly awful sanctions to "seek the Lord now while He is to be found and call upon Him while He is near" — to "flee from the wrath to come" — "escape the damnation of hell" — to "work out the salvation of their souls with fear and trembling," — so that they may not "perish," "loose their souls," "be- come cast away," fall under the "power of the second death" and "be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of God and from the glory of his power," — APPEAR WITH A LIE IN THEIR MOUTHS, tho'fof thoSB SaUC- tions and expressions they plead, "Thus saith the Lord," and tho' by these lies, or by God's blessing upon the delivery of these lies, they "turn many to righteousness" and "save souls from death;" and, to complete the climax, Our SiviouR and his Apostles take the "pre-eminence" ing the eternal ture state can- lispensation of the commands Word of God, >ent" — now to heir service to •nit gate," — to t the right eye iniquity prove the fire whose n never dies," to destroy both t into condem- i andunbeliev- jre is weeping, useless jargon, dy intended to t, positive tin- the Sanctuary, wful sanctions found and call nti the wrath to to "work out trembling," — r souls," "be- of the second istruction from his power," — for these sane- it h the Lord," sing upon the ■ighteousness" ete the climajr, pre-eminence" i .'• 83 among the number of False Witnesses ! ! ! From such a system of Christianity, — a system productive of such results — "Good Lord Deliver Us!" If Universalism, either Ancient or Modern, can con- front, and wage war with the passages of Scripture, ad- duced in this Chapter,— and, if, in opposition to their plain, undeniable import, it can hold out the assurance of a stale of future probation, or deny a state of futuro punishment in toto, — all we can say, is, Universalism is possessed of un panelled eftrontery, and displays the most daring and blasphemous presumption. It shows that it is the legitimate offspring of him, who "said unto the Wo- man, ye shall not surely die." The plain matter of fact is — His Imperial Satannic Majesty preached Univer- salism TO Eve! She believed it — was deceived — induc- ed her hi'sband to disobey — and thus " Brought death into the world, and all our woe." From the wide-spreading-, age-continuing, and soul- destroying effects on mankind of the first embracement of Universalism, men should be extremely jealous of that soft, smooth phrase, "ye shall not surely die" eternally, from whatever quarter it may proceed, whether immedi- ately from the Devil himself, or mediately from any of his human emissaries; and when presented for their re- ception, they should spurn it from them with utter .'^bhur- rence and holy indignation, saying, ''Get thee behind me Satan : thou savourest not the things that be of God.^* To any, who are inclined to admit'the shining, insidious serpent to their bosom, we would say, in the language of St Paul, Beware — "lest by any means, as the serpent be- guiled Eve through his subtelty, so your mind should bo corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ." 2 Cor. xi. S. Having thus proved from the Scriptures, that the pre- H 2 Hi hi •1' 84 sent is the last dispensatiou, in which mercy can be ob- tained, it follows as a necessary consequence, that the future state, to condemned spirilSj cannot be a state oi discipline or probation. ^ ,-rf Chapter VII. Means are not used xn the future state for thr purification of damned spirits and for their restoration to THE FAVOUR AND IMAGE OF GOD — HOT THE PUNISHMENT ITSELF — PENAL SUFFERING* NOT CORRECTIVE BUT THE CONTRARY. Second Point. Are means employed in the futui state for the purification of damned spirits, and for their restoration to the favour afid image of God ? Answer No. The negative of tliis question, we feel ourselves in duty bound to advocate: — Our belief is, the Scriptures, when considered in their textual and contextual meaning, are perfectly silent as it respects meavn to be hereafter used for the purposes mentioned in the question, and contain passages at utter variance with the opposite belief. The discipline, or means used, if any, must be either, 1. The punishment itself . 3. The Word of God read or preached. 3. The sanctified efforts of the righteous. 4. The mediatorial and Intercessory offices of Christ. Or 5. The influence of tLc Holy Spirit leading to repentance and faith in Christ, and promotive of holiness and obedi- ence. Except the first particular, the means specified, are the means, which we know are appointed by the "Head of the Church" to be used for the obtainment of salvation in thia lifej and aa God is a being that changes not, and y. -^'H so as lusplan of salvation is as immutable as himself the only fair conclusion is.-if means are indeed employed hereafter for salvable purposes and unless he has inform- ed us to the contrary-ihat the means in the future world will be the sa7ne as those in the present. But the Scrip- turcs are silent as the grave as to other means;-ihere- fore, .f any bo employed, they must be the same as those already specified, with the one exception. All present means, tho' there may be others, of a strictly instrumental nature, besides those to which we have just referred, such as providential circumstances, &c. do, in point of fact, reso ve themselves into the four last general ones above mentioned; but to meet the Univeralists we have includ- ed the punishment itself :-if, in our examination of the bcnptures, we find these wanting, we may justly con- elude that the absence of these implies the absence of all other means. ii!}lfT''7^'*'' 'tr ^"">'»««»'y ^^<*^^ be the punishment inetj t >nnawer No. 1.1 replying negatively to this question we quote the ob- servatious of a distinguished Divine - nl'lr""^" 'u"'" "^ '"'"" '■'" 8™""'' """t there wa, nomff„,ng ,„ the world previously to the introduction of i^^ 'Tl"? 'T- '■"?«'•'"<'"'»" '» """"-e; and a creature, creature °f;''«^""«' '' ""P"'-'. because a miseraWo ZTZ- "" ,'"'!"'«"" '=«=""™ be found in a state of suffenng and of suffering evidently proceeding from "" ^buseof ,1, power,; i, necessarily supposes that such creature has offended God, and that its sufferings a e he consequence of its offence, whether springing" i™,„en- •tely trom the cnoie itself, or whether by Divine Justice « a p,,„,shn,e„. for that crime. As sufferings n 1 ea e "I Tf "n "' <^<"-"-« of derangeme'n . or dis- ease m the bod.ly organs, they argue a state of mor<««(!,; .nd expenence shows that they are predisposing cause, «faeathuudd.«olu.ion. Derangemetit and disease, by 3 himself, tho leed employed hie has inform- 3 future world But the Scrip- leans;— ihere- same as those All present ' instrumental referred, such point of fact, al ones above 5 have includ- nation of the ly justly con- ibsence of all ■e punishment quote theob- lat there was itroduction of id a creature, 3 a miserable ad in a state seeding from ses that such rings are the ing immedi- ivine Justice 'ings in the ment or dis- :>f mortality f Dsing causes disease, by 87 which the regular performance of natural functions is prevented, and the destruction of those functions ulti- mately effected, never could have existed in animal beings is ibcy proceeded from the baud of an all-perfect and in- telligent Creator. They are, therefore, something that has taken place since creation; and are demonstrably contrary to the order, perfection, and harmony of that creation; and consequently did not spring from God. A* it would be unkind, if not unjust, to bring innumerable multitudes of innocent beings into a state of suffering or wretchedness; hence the sufferings that ars in the world, must have arisen from the offences of the sufferora. Now if am have produced suffering, is it possible that suffering can destroy sin? We may answer this question by asking another : Is it possible that the stream produced from a fountain can destroy the fountain from which it springs ? Or, is it possible than any effect can destroy the cause of which it is an effect? Reason has already decided thes»^ questions in the negative. Therefore, suffering, which \b the effect of sin, cannot possibly destroy the sin of which it is the effect. To suppose the contrary, is to suppose the grossest absurdity that can possibly disgrace the un- derstanding of man. "It is essential, in tho nature of all effects, to depend on their causes; they have neither being nor operation but what they derive from those causes ; and in respect to their causes, they are absolutely ^assiye. The cause may exist without the effect; but the effect cannot subsist with- out the cause: — to act against its cause is iinpossible, be- cause it has no independent being, nor operation; by it, therefore, the being or state of the cause can never be affected. Just so sufferings, whether voluntary or invo- luntary, cannot affect the being or nature of sin, from which they proceed. And, could we for a moment enter- tain the absurity, that they could atone for, correct, or destroy the cause that gave them being, then we must *i if 88 conceive an elTect, wholly dependant on its causa for ita toeing, rise up against that cause, destroy it, and yet still continue to be an effect ^vhen its cause is no more ! The »un. at a particular angle, by shining against a pyramid, projects a shadow, according to that angle, and the height of the pyram.d. The shadow, therefore, is the efJui^ the tnleroepUon of the sun's rays, by the mass of the pyramid. Can any man suppose that this shadmo woulc! conunue we 1 defined, and discernible, tho' the pyramid were annihilated, and the sun extinct? No. For the ejfecl would necessarily pcruh with the cause. So sin *u^d surtering; the latter springs from the former.- sin can- not destroy suffering, which is its necessary effect ; and ^.irtenng cannot destroy sin which is its producing cause: rherelore sa vation by suffering is absurd, contradictory and impossible.** ' Tho above reasoning will apply with equal force to suf- erings ,n the future state, as to those which arc sustained in tins world, and as much of the sufferingsin the eternal world is the natural effect of disobedience in this life, «o the suffering so endured can never be the means of destroy- ing «,n and purifying the soul-unless we are disposed to 'namta.n the absurdities which have been so powerfully proved necessarily to spring from the contrary belief. otWwoi"r ''""'" ^'^^--^^e of ;,.««/ sufferings in tho Au!uT\ '''^"''''^'^ '" ^ ^"^"'•e state," continues tho hcently efaicac.ous to purge the soul from the moral stains contracted in this life; and to make an atonement for the offences committed in time. This system is liable to all the objections urged against the preceding, and to several o hers peculiar to itself: for, if there bad not been sin. here had not been punishment. Penal sufferings, inflicted '>y Divuie Justice, are the desert of the crimes whicH re- Uun-e justice to inlliot such punishments. If the suffer- ts causa for ha t, and yet still ) more ! The nst a pyrainidj ami the height id the eff'ect of 5 mass of tho shadmo would i>' the pyramid No. For the use. So, 8»a micr: sin cati- T efleci J and ducing cause: contradictory il force to 8uf- aro sustained in thoeternal 1 this life, so, ns of destroy- "e disposed to 50 powerfully ry belief, brings in the ontinues tho CAN WORK WITHOUT AS WELL AS WITH MEANS, ANSWERED. Having shown that the means for the salvation of the (liuuned, cannot be the punishment itself, we come now to consider whether they are to be found in the particulars iricnlioncd in a preceding png-e. (^ The word of God read or preached, was stated to be one means of present salvation. *' I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto sal- vation to every one that believeth." Rom. i. 15. " So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Id. X. 17. »'In whom ye also trusted after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation." Eph.i. 13. It should also be remembered, that it is the gospel as it now is which is the power of God unto salvation, and not another. " But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed." Gal. i. 8. {\\ Sfin Vanf, .;h| ) iint r- 1 10^ Again :— According to the present economy of grace, preachers of the Gospel are necessary, as instruments, to accomplish the Divine purposes respecting the salvation of men. "And he said unto them. Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth, &c. Mark xvi. 15. ll>. «' Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed.' And how shall they hear without a preacher.? «' Horn. x. 13. 14. Quere :—WiU the damned be favoured with the Word OF God for their own perusal—ov with the Ministry of that Word ? Answer No. Not for their own perusal: — In the intermediate slate, it is probable, they could not -ead it, if they possessed it; and we know of no spirits that take with them into the other world, a copy of the Sacred Volume. If the Uni- versalists do, they have, we acknowledge, over us a de- cided advantage. After the Judgment, it is probable, if not certain, that all the Bibles and Testaments will be no more, as doubtless they will have been destroyed by the great and general conflagration, when "the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up." 2 Pet. iii. 10. In the day of dread decision itself, it is also more than probalde, that the "wicked" will be too busily employed in "hiding themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains, and crying to the rocks and mountains to full on them and hide them from the face of him that sitteth on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb,"— to secure, were it possible, from the general wreck, the precious Bible, ^^'^ich in this world, they ne- glected, and perhaps, discredited. Nor is there any certainty of their being favoured with the Ministry of the Word. All, who in this world, ministered "in the word and doctrine," will at the close f I-,' ii^-,~t f —- t\-'r.;r' inKniire" nnri rpr.eive their eternal Oi iiic, "rcsi iiuiu iii^s' ,^^.j^.,..^ - ill II ly of grace, truments, to he salvation into all the •e. He that loever shall How then ot believed? <' Horn. z. h the Word VllNISTRV of ediate slate, |)ossessed it; icm into the If the Uni- )ver us a de- probable, if ts will be no royed by the B earth also tied up." 2 If, it is also )e too busily 5 and in the J rocks and 1 the face of wrath of the the general Id, they no- voured with this world, at the close their eternal 103 "reward." They shall be " ever with the Lord"— (not ill hell) and "pillars in the tcmjjlo of their God, and shall go no more out"— nml "they slinll reign (not preach) fur over and ever." Rev. iii. 12 : 22. 5. The point is fully decided by the declaration of our Lord, when, in descrilj- ing the absolutely hopeless condition of Dive.«j, he says, "and besides all this, between us and you (that is between heaven and hell) there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot- neither run thev pass to us, that would come from thence." Luke xvi. 26. Thi«« passage is sufficient to satisfy the minds of all who believe the Bible. .^n<^els as well at glorified men are hereby prevented from overstepping th« impassable gulf on errands of mercy : From hence, means, "heaven"— angels are inhabitants of heaven— angol.s, therefore, cmnot pass from heaven to the abod«^!« nf eternal misery, to drop the least alleviation IVom their wings. We stated, that the sanctified efforts of the pious were another means of present salvation. The righteous ar« the silt of the earth. Matt. v. 13. "The effectual fer- vent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." Jarnei V. 16. "Let him know, that he which convcrteth the Finner from the error of his way, shall save a soul from fleath, and shall hide a multitude of sins." Id. 20. v. Qmre '.— Will the miserable outcasts from the mercy of Ood have the society, the examples, the exhortations, th« prayers of the righteous, which they despised in thii world .? JInswer No. Not one solitary "Child of God" will ever walk that land of darkness, lamentation and woe, with the message "f reconciliation, to entreat them to be at peace with God, or to supplicate on their blasted, cursed spirits th« refreshing dews of heavenly grace. Hell ! how cheer- less are thine abodes ! The gulf is still fixed; and nona that nriighi desire to go as a messenger of consolation, m I. A f Ji^ 104 can paas iho bounds, which the decree of God has esta- blished and declared to bo iiniiassai)lo to saint or sinner. The Mcditorial and Intercessory offices 0/ Christ were mentioned as another mean? ol' salvation ; and so neces- sary arc these, that, without them no flesh living can be saved. "Christ also hath once suflered for sins, the just for the unjust that ho might bring us to God." 1 Pot. iii. 18. "Wherefore ho is able also to suvo ihem to tho uttermost that con»o unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth 10 make intercession for them." lleb. vii. 25- "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby wo must be saveil." Acts iv. 12. Qiiero '.— yVilly then, those, who in this life, contemned the Saviour, esteemed and loved him not, hut contumeH- ously and perseveringly rejected his salvation, be blest, in Hell, with an interest in the mediation and intercession of Christ 7 Jlnswer No. For such, "there remnineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery i jdignation, which shall devour the adversariee." Hcb. x. 26. 27. The "barren fig tree" was spared year after year at the instance of the intercessor, anes all thingj, nomy ceasei», overning and >) quence, that •cede for sin- lal, either to ^formation in intercessions ging them to St their evil peedily, their »evil;'' Ecd. versity, their mercy, their great salva- urdened with 107 them, suffering justly for llieinggrnvated crimes, as ha 8md of ancient rebellious Israel-*' Pray not thou for thi« people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make mtercession to me : for I will «ot hear thee." Jer. vii. 16. The last means of salvation, which we mentioned, wo stated to bo, the influence of the Holy Spirit leading to repentance and faith in Christ and promotive of holiness and obedience. " He (the Comforter, or Spirit) will reprove (convince) the world of sin, and righteousnesa and judgment." John xvi. 3. «' But the fruit of tho Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, good- ness, faith, meekness, temperance." Gal. v. 2'2. 2S. "Ye are sanctified by the spirit of our God." I Cor. vi. 11. " Ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth thro» the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren." 1 Pet. i. 12. Quere i—Have V}e any proof that the influence, tho operation of this Divine Spirit extends to the "lost" in. another world ? Answer— none whatever, but much to the contrary. " My spirit shall not always strive with man," is tha knguageof Deity itself on this subject. Gen. vi. S. Now, if this were spoken of sinners in this world, haw absurd is It to suppose that he must necessarily strive hereafter v'ith obdurated offenders, who, in this life, resisted all hii < otions!--U the spirit of God, not unfrequently, aban- dons the wilfully hardened sinner in this world, befor* the term of natural life expires, and that as a judicial visitation, something more than the mere opinion or ipse dixit of an erring- mortal is required to satisfy our minds, that He will re-commence his operations on the hearts of persons in another world; especially, as the Scriptures are not only silent as to this being the case, but as the pwrsviia UieiuselvQs are placed in a state, by the direct iu- t !»•. I i 108 terference of God, in which they are said to have received "judgment without mercy." Again : — none can repent without the agency of tho Divine Spirit ; but of some it is said, " it is impossible lo renew them unto repentance" — Heb. vi. 6. With such there is no determination on the part of the Spirit to strive. If this were said of characters then in time, how unscriptural, is it to expect that they will be "renewed to repentance" in eternity ! Again : — We cannot obtain forgiveness^ but thro' the Mood of Christ, applied to the conscience by the Spirit; but there is a sin, of which it is said, " it shall not be for- given neither in this world, neither in the world to come." Matt. xii. S2. It is evident on the very face of the pas- sage, that the opinion, which makes the phrase "this world" mean the "old dispensation" and "the world to come" the "New," is unfounded. For 1. Christ is the, Speaker. 2. He could not, as a man of sense, laying aside a consideration of his Divinity, call a dispensation the7i PAST 'Hhis world," and a dispensation then present " the world to come.-' It is also carefully to be observed, that the phrase, " shall not be forgiven," cannot by any ])roper grammatical construction be made to refer to a di.spensation already past} for this would be to employ a future tense, to point out time past, which would be an absolute contradiction. But there is no grammatical im- propriety in applying that tense to the present dispensa- tion ; for, tho' at the time the words commented upon were spoken, it had but commenced, yet the greater por- tion of it was still future. Nor must it be overlooked, that the phrase ".shall not be forgiven" implies that the person guilty of this sin shall be punished, not by temporal death, or temporal visitations only, but by eternal death or suf- ferings; for, tho' temporal death or temporal punishments can be inflicted "in this world." ^hey cannot have exis- iencQ '-in the world to come"— to suppose iho couirary, have receivodi gency of tho impossible lo With such the Spirit to ill time, how ) "renewed to but thro' the by the Spiiitj ill not be for- rld to come." e of the pas- phrase "this 'the world to Christ is the, sense, layinj^ L dispensation then PRESENT I be observed, ;annot by any to refer to a e to employ a would be an mmatical im- 'eiit dispensa- tnented upon 3 greater por- jrlooked, that at the person nporal death, death or suf- punishrnenta lot have exis- iho couirary, 109 would be to suppose a contradiction, on impossibility — and yet, according to our Saviour, the non-forgiveness, or punishment extends to " the world to come" as well as to •'this world." With this view of the subject agrees tho l)nrallel passage in Mark;— "he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation." Mark iii. 29. " Thia phrase, II shall not be Jorgiven him, neither in this life, nor in the world to co;ne,'' is equivalent to "shall never at any future time be forgiven; hence Mark expresses it, 'is in danger of eternal damnation'. Nor is 'the world' or age ' to come' to be understood, with others, of the age of the Messiah; for that had already commenced. The expression, as appears from similar phrases in the later Jewish writers, was proverbial for never." (») St Luke, also, employs the most positive terms, and abso- lutely declares, that the person guilty of the sin in ques- tion, auk affesetai, "shall not be forgiven." Lukexii. 10. Here then, there is, at least, one undeniable instance of a sin unpardonable in either world, and punirfhable conse- quently "with "eternal damnation." To say that the Holy Spirit strives with an individual guilty of an un- pardonable sin, to lead him to repentance, or faith in Christ, and thro' these to forgiveness, is to assert the greatest absurdity. " Again ; the nature of this punishment excludes all those works to which the promite of heaven is made. These are, as has been proved, /at7/i and its fruits. No- thing is more clearly revealed in the book of God, than that faith is the medium thro' which a meetness for hea- ven is communicated to the soul. But what chance for faith in eternity ? 'Now faith,' says the Apostle to the Hebrews, 'is the substance of things hoped for; and the evidence of things not seen.' xi. 1. v. The certainty of sight and sense is perfectly incompatible witli/aith. But (4) R, Watson, in he. 1? iiJ.IL ^h l:Sll no iii eternity that record which God has given ofinvisibfe things, and which he requires us to believe as ncccssa.y salvation, will be known to be true by open vision I, he. who would come to God here, commanded to -believo that God ts, and that hois the rewarder of them that dili- gently seek him'? There, these truths will no longer be matters of faith, but of certain knowledge. He that has been judged at God's bar, will know that he is; and he that has heard the. righteous, in his presence, welcomed into everlasfng habitations, will know that God is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Must he, who would be «aved, bebeve that Christ is the Redeemer and Saviour ofthevvorld? In eternity, the sinner will know that he IS so; for he has seen the righteous admitted to heaven thro receiving hiui, and finds himself thrust down to Hell for rejecting him Is he called upon to believe in the HoLv Spirit ? He now knows that he is suffering 'sorer punishment,' for doing "despite unto that Spirit:^ In t^hort, every one must see, that at the Judgment, or af- ter, It IS impossible to exercise that faith, which we are here required to exercise in order to salvation. And as there IS no opportunity for faith so there is none for its fru, s. How can there be fruits when there is nothing to produce them ? Besides, it will be readily seen, that iTlH" ^'r "^'J'°''^""''^ '« 'fio-'^t the good fight of faith' in hell. 1 here can therefore be no operation of tho bp.rit ni hell to produce -faith" when faith ihere cannot exist. If no faith, there can be no ''love" in Hell. For love is a consequence of faith. In the first verses of the 5th Romans the immediate fruits of justifying faith are stated; a.nong these ,s mentioned love; and love is said to b« «hed abroad in the heart by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us " But if no love, there can be no Spirit t.erc to shed it abroad in the hearts of the damned. Ajjuiu :-. '\v« iyve God because hQ fifst loved us:" our "*>»• in en of invisible ! as ncccssUiy len vision. Is* led to "helievo them that dili- II no longer be He tiiat has is; and he that welcomed into is a rewardcr who would be r and Saviour know that ho ted to heaven down to Hell lelieve in the jffering 'sorer Spirit." Ill fmenf, or af- ^'hich we are ion. And a^ none for iu is nothing to y seen, that fight of faith' ration of tho there cannot I- For love ?s of the 5th tli are stated; is said Jo be )st which is be no Spirit he damned, ed us:" our love fio unparalled and immense, the Father might say of Jove of God results from an apprehension, an assurance of his love of us, obtained by faith; we cannot love God until we know that he loves us. But "God is angry with the wicked;" the damned are under wrath; therefore, whilst this is the case, it is utterly impossible, that they can love God. If no love there can be no holiness; for the perfection of love is scri{)tural holiness. Nor can there be in Hell any religious obedience; for love is the root of all religious and accepted obedience. "This is the love of God (the ef- fect of it) that we keep his commandments." John v. S. If then there be no love, there can be no obedience. Bo- fiides it is easy to show, that there are many command- ments, which cannot possibly be obeyed in another world. For instance; — " Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy" — "Honour thy father and thy mother" — " Thott ihalt not kill" — "Thou shalt not commit adultery'-"--«'T hou ehalt not steal" — Feed the hungry — Clothe the naked — Visit the fatherless and widows in their afflictions — Given to hospitality; &,c. and these instances might be enlarged. "Unless then," to use the words of the author last quoted, "the very constitution of the place of salvation is changed; unless the most essential principles of the Gos- pel are given up; in short, unless there is some other way of getting to heaven, beside the one revealed in the Bible, there is no hope that the future miseries uf the damned will ever be exchanged for the joys of heaven. "(*) To every unprejudiced mind, the above observation*, we apprehend, are sufficient to show, that the discipline in the future state, so strenuously contended for, by the Universalists, is not. I. The punishment itself 2. Th« Word of God read or preached. 3. 'i'ho sanctified efforts of the righteous. 4. The Mediatorial and Intercessory offices of Christ, or 5. The iufluence of the Holy Spirit, ij) x/r, jciiii s sermon* 11 lY'l' "■W •i; * 112 Idling to repentance, and ftith in Christ, and promotive of ove and obed,ence;-„„d a, these comprehend all .ho MKAKs that can reasonably be supposed to be emplovod h" ""Other state for savin,- purposes, we are „„ ranted concM^^^^^^^^^^^^ liut to this it n,ay be objected, God can work as well ". •"'li-e except t.1o hp,,,t m the future world being made :-then we I': '" ." """•'" f"'"' '^ "' i'^PO^'Me, as, in a physical ml?„r ," ' ".;.""" '" '" ""'' "»' '" '^ '» '"« -■"« mo- Godo 1 u haLtAa ! But it is "impossible for Gon ole" Heb.v,.8. Hence, if the case supposed be the real doctrme of the Scripture, which i, undoub.edris 7heSlr ' t"""" "^ ^"""' ■•'=»'o'-">io„ and tiswelf ir'^.b'"'*"""'^"'' '""' '»"'» Sround; and o. m. ''v Irl "''"'"''' •"■ '"' •■""■ i' O'-orwhelm, ..o. many „f ,he sons and daughters of Univer.,1 i„ im rums. ~ ' ' ond promofiVo ipreheiKj all tlio be employed in 'e vv a nan ted in lies the absence 1 work lis well ijection, whilst laracter of the ^ As to what [s not implying ii'acity, or any thin the range For reasons that no unholy le termination i determines to uid believe in believe except these fruits of 3 : — then, we liimself connof It, in this life, lade holy, and orified saints. I in a physical the same mo- ^ uld make the ^ sible for God jposed be the doubiedly is, ters of this toration and ground; and overwhelms iversalis'i! v.i 113 Again .--Admitting that the Deify can act ns the obirr- tion supposes, yet, a question of the greatest moment in the discussion, remains to be determined; and that is. Will God save from future torment without means, those, who m this world, wilfully »set at noupht his counsel and would have none of his reproof".? A mere possibility of this event, were there no obstruction, is surely not sufficient to satisfy the mind deeply concerned for its eternal well-being. Now to ascertain what the Lord Avill do in this matter, recourse must necessarily be had to his written word; for further then this word declares wo know not. " To the law and to the testimony, if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them." "For who hath known the mind of the Lord .'" Rom. viii. 20. Unless therefore it can be shown from the Word of God, that he has promised to save tho finally impenitent from future miserv, or to rescue them ml 0/ their "prison," without means, nothing of certainty can be drawn from his mere Power, to support the notion that, on the supposition of no obstacle inter^ vening, he will absolutely so exert his Power. But if the doctrine of the strict eternity of future punishment' be the doctrine of the Scriptutes, which, we have already shown, IS the case, then no such promise of future restora- tion, enharwith or without means, can be found in tho Sacred Oracles,-otherwise they wouhl contain the most paipabk contradictions, which we have before proved impossible. Again:— Fn confirmation of our views of the question now under discussion, we remark, there is reason to be- lieve, that God wills men to be actually saved in this bte, and for this purpose grants them every necessary asistance; but that if they improve not their present ad- vantages, his determination is, not to afford them any other. This determination nccessarilv arises out of the nreumsianee of this life being our'onlv p.-obationary :,i .i Si ! V; iii Bt.itc; and, as such, necessarily referring to a future stnfe, where all is fixed, unchangeable, and eternal. Wothinj fhort, therefore, is it of dovvnrigh presumption, to ex- pect other assistances in the future world; especially as the Scriptures exhibit not the slightest encouragement on which to build such an expectation, but employ the strongest language declarative of the reverse. " Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith,) To day if yo will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in tho provocation in the wilderness : when your fathers tempted me and saw my works forty years. Wherefore I was grieved with that generation and said, They do alway err in their hearts; and they have not known my ways. So I swear in my wrath, they shall not enter into my rest."" Ileb. iii. 7— 11. This passage, in its primary application, it is granted, refers to the coming short ofthe Israelites of Canaan, to the land of promise. But, in this particular, their history reads to subsequent ages, especi- ally to professing Christans, an awfully admonitory les- son. They came short of Canaan, a type of heaven : — to put them in possession of it no means were subsequently employed .-—they perished in the wilderness and their loss was irreparable. To caution us against comin* short of the heavenly rest, the Apostle seizes on this piece of history and holds it up to our contemplation as a most instructive lesson; for, intniscase, i. e. coming short of heaven, as well as in the other, no subsequent means will be employed to bring us to the promised land of pternal felicity, and th"* loss thus sustained can never bo repaired. If this be not the meaning of the Apostle in the verse just quoted, he means nothing in the following exhorta- tions.-— "Wherefore, take heed brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called To-day; lest any of you be hardened through tho I ■ I a future stnfe, al. Wothin^ iiption, to ex- especially aa icourageinent t employ the To day if yo ts, as in tlio hers tempted erefore I was ey do ahvay known my lot enter into n its primary ? short ofthe But, in this iges, esperi- nonitory les- heaven : — to subsequently IS3 and their linst coming sizes on this nplution as a coming short quent means lised land of :an never bo 115 deceitfulness of sin." Id. 12. 13. v. " So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief." 19. v. "Let ug therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem {doke, actually} come short of it." iv. 1. v. "Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same ex- ample of unbelief " 12. V. Now, why should they " tako heed" lest by unbelief they depart from the living God — why should they "labour" lest they "fall" — or why should they even "fear" (there is no /ear in the Universalist's creed) lest they "come short" of future and eternal rest, —if, after this life there are other opportunities, and other and more abundant means to secure an entrance "into the kingdom of heaven?" Are they thus exhorted on the principles of Universalism? No. They are exhort- ed thus, only on the ground, that living and dying in their sins, their departure from God, their fall from their up- rightness, their coming short of heaven, will be of an "eternal character. in the verse ing exhortn- est there be f)arting from Yt while it is through tho Chapter IX. Objection?, from I Pet. iii. 18—20—1 Pet. iv. 6. and 1 Cor. iii. 15, answered. To the general scope of the last Chapter, several ob- jections are urged, token professedly from the Scriptures; to answer which is the object of the present Chapter. Asks a self-confident Universalist, Docs not St. Peter, affirm that Christ by his Spirit "went and preached unto the Spirits in Prison," i. e. in Hell.? -We subjoin the whole passage. " For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but quickened by the Spirit; by which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; which sometimes were disobedient, when once the long suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the Ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is eight souls were saved by water." 1 Peter iii: 18, — 20. — The following comment, by a distinguished Divine, is very satisfactory and perfectly ag'-eeable to the Analogy of faith. — " By attributing the preaching of the Ancient prophets to Christ, the Apostle hath taught us that from the beginning the economy of man's redemp- tion has been under the direction of Christ. To the spirits in prison — that is, which were in prison when St. Peter wrote this Epistle. They were men in the flesh when Christ nrpno.hpd tn thpm hv Wio Sr>i»'»t onpnk'"'' in A ^k.. T. iv. 6. AND , several ob- le Scripturesj Chapter. )t St. Peter, md preached —We subjoin once suffered lit bring us to jkened by the hed unto the disobedient, in the days wherein few, Peter iii; 18, distinguiaihed "eeable to the idling of the th taught us an's redemp- ist. To the ison when St. . in the flesh t anoah'mer in 117 Noah; but after they were dead, their spirits were shut up in the infernal prison, detained like the fallen angels, Jude 6 V. unto the judgment of the great day : which sometime, pole, once, or formerly, were disobedient, when the long suffering of God waited, for their repentance, in the days of Noah; during the long space of 120 years, while the Ark was preparing; during which time Noah warned them all to repent, and flee from the wrath to come."(<') Adopting this view of the subject, the following propo- sitions are deducible from this passage. — 1. The persons here spoken of are the Jlntedeluvians. 2. God had threat- ened their destruction, and, that they might repent and avert their threatened doom, gave them the space of 120 years.— 3. To enable them to repent, and induce them so to do, Christ as the Head op the Church /iom^Ae be- ginning, " preached unto them by his Spirit" through Noah, who is on this account, styled" a preacher of righ- teousness.''^ 2. Pet. ii. 2. 5. — 4. This preaching must have taken place while they and Noah wore in this world ; for by preparing the Ark (an act of time) he is said to have " condemned the world ;^^ Heb. xi. 7. and accor- ding to the passage under consideration, it was, " whilst the ark was preparing," that the long suffering of God waited in the days of Noah." 5. In consequence of con- tinued and final impenitence and disobedience they were destroyed and their bodies being dead, their souls were placed in hell, the prison house of God.(^) 6. Their "spirits" had continued in hell until, and were in prison when St. Peter wrote ; and it was to their then present state he referred, when declaring them to be "in prison," and not to their past state when Christ went by his Spirit and preached unto them thro' Noah. (6) Benson in loc. ^ ^7) In proof that hell is set forth as a "prison" see Matt. v. 25. 2 Pet. ii, 4. &. Rev. xx. 7. 118 We are inclined to think t\mt apeithtsasi pote, rendered, vjhich were some time disobedient, should ho read paren- thetically: the passage then vvouhi read thus — '• by which he went and preached unto the spirits in prison (which were some time disobedient) when once the long suffering cf Ood waited, kc.^' By this method, the time of the j)rcaching in question would be more explicitly pointed out, limiting it to the time lohen the long suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, Our version places a semicolon at the end of the 19th v. thereby almost disjoint- ing the 'iOth from it, or at least destroying in a great mea- sure the intimate connection between them. In the original the punctuation is different: — in Griesbach's edi- tion and in the common editions, of the Greek Testament, it is well known that, the above phrase is placed between two commas, which circumstance very often has the force of a parenthesis; — and it is evident on the face of the passage, that, the design of the Apostle was not so much to inform us of the precise time of their disobedience, aa it was to inform us of the time in which Chirst by his Spirit preached unto them, which was, when they wero disobedient and the long suffering of God waited in the days of Noah. But if the almve passagebe not read parenthetically, the same object will be attained by rendering apeithesasipote, *'when they were disobedient." 'That pole will bear this translation is evident fromMark xiii. S3, 35. "Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye now not {pole) when the time is." *' Watch ye therefore: for ye know not (pote) when the master of the house cometh" &c. By this mode the time of our Lord's preaching to these persons will be limited to the period when they were [disobedient ; and consequently when they were in the body; and the latter part of the verse " when the long suffering of God waited, &c," will l)e exegetical of the time of their disobedience, or more te, rendered, 3 read paren- — " by which ison (which mg svffering time of the citly pointed suffering of sion places a nostdisjoint- a great mea- m. In the Bsbach's edi- : Testament, iced between iias the force face of the not so much Dedience, aa Ilhirst by his n they wero miled in the lielicallyj the Ithesasi pote , vill bear this 'akeyeheed, the time is." e) when the e the time of imited to the ionsequently part of the id, &c," will ce, or more o_..:-.,- 119 preached unto them by his Spirit. On either of these pro- posed plans of rendering, every difficulty will be removed, and the harmony of this passage with the whole tenor of the Sacred Scriptures on the question at issue placed in the strongest light :--not, let it be distinctly understood , that we for a moment suppose the present version in the least degree countenances the Universalist-belief of the use of future disciplinary means. For whatever becomes of the above criticisms, our proposition stands untouched — that the Apostle, in declaring these "spirits" to be *' in pri- son," refers to their state when he wrote, and not to their past state, when, as men in the body, Christ, by Hia Spirit, went and preached unto them.C^) On this princi- ple, this celebrated passage makes directly against Uni- versalism, instead of favouring its delusive and pernici- ous doctrines. These spirits had been "in prison," in pain and suffering, "in chains of darkness" and under condemnation from the time of the flood until the time in which St. Peter wrote his first Epistle :— a period of no less than 240S years,— a strange circumstance on tho restoration scheme !— At least, we might expect, that during 2408 years, the means employed for their libera- tion, if any there were, would ere that have opened the prison doors and set the Captives free ! But after 2403 years of suffering, an inspired Apostle decides they were still in prison, and even then not a hint is given of their final rescue. Again: — It is asked with triumph, Does not St. Peter say that the Gospel is preached to the Dead.'' The verse to which reference is here made, reads thus; — "For for thi;^ (8) After writing the above, we referred to the translation of tho New Testament by Charles Thomson, Esij. and were not a little pleased on reading his translation of the passage in question, which is as follows ; — "Brought to life by that Spirit with which he went, and to the spirits which are (noiw) in prison made pro- clamation at the time they were disobedient — when the long This sabstanUuily agrees with our views expressed above. L2 120 r.iusc trns (not is) tlio Cospol preached nUo to them ffint are clone), llmt tlioy might ho judged nceording tornen in the flosli, but live aceordinpf to Go«l in the Spirit." 1 Pet. iv. G. Mr. Wcsloy'd note on this verso, tho' hricf, >vcll expresses iho menninpof tho Apostle. *^ For to this end vms the. i^ospel preached. Ever since it vvasj^iven to Adam: In them that arc now dead — In their severni gonerntions, thntthej- might ho judged — That though they were judged, in thejUsh accordinp^ to tho mnnnor of wen — with rash, unrighteous judgment, they might live according to the %vill and word of God, in tho Spirit; the soul renewed nfter his imago." To every person, it must he evident, on II lililc reflection, that tho time of the preaching was past — was, or has been preached. And that the period, to which the Apostio refers in stating tho persons to be "dead," was then present — "are," that is, now at ihc pre- sent, time, "doad." So that this verso has nothing to do with the doctrine of future restoration, or with means used for the salvation of tho "lost." Again: — Another passage, supposed to refer to the use r)T means for the deliverance of the wicked from a place of future punishment, is pressed into the service of Univer- Balism: — tlio passage is 1 Cor. iii. 15. We adduce the verses In connexion. " For other foundation can no man I'ly than tl'.at is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation, gold, silver, precious Htonos, wood, hay, stubble; every man's work shall be jnade manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it fdiall be revealed by lire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any nmn's work abide which he hath built thereupon, ho shall receive a reward." Then f((llows the verse in question; — " If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall })p. saved; yet so as by fire." Hence, the Universalists, at once, conclude, that all sinners, the veriest villains in the wo\-\i\, unll be saved by purification of fire: — with how much truth we shall now endeavour to show. 121 liio to ihcm 'ding to men I Spirit." 1 , tljo' brief, )r to this end in to Adam: ijoncrntions, vcro judged, —with rash, 'ding to the lul renewed evident, on inp was past 3 period, to rsons to bo V nt the pre- )thing to vith bei7ig saved i and, tho' many will seek, in a wrong way, or when it is too late, a view of the subject justified by the context, to enter into the heavenly state, yet, it ap- pears, that even they will not su reed;— what then must be the condition of those who live in gross violation of the divine law, and give themselves no anxiety whatever con- cerning their future destiny? The words we hav. quoted hold out not the slightest encouragement, that future means will be employed for the final salvation into hea- ven, of those, who gain not, in this world, an entrance into the kingdom of God. The text says, ''many wJIi seek to enter in but shall [will] not be able''— ami there it leaves them. But our Saviour proceeds— "when once the master of the house is risen up and hath shut to the door, nnd ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door saying. Lord, Lord, open to us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I k7iow ye 7iot whence ye are : Then shall ye begin to say, we have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. But he shall say, 1 tell you, I know ye not whence ye are; depart from me [rhis, in the Universalist's creed, means, come unto me] 7je loorkers of iniquity. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of God'». ( Qucre : Why is mention only made of seeing in heaven those who were known to bo pious on earth, and not of others, who having died in their sin», had been, according il r out of the uld be the estion — but ncileabiliiy unto them, I sny unto 6/e.'' The aven above, onomously in a wrong 5Ct justified yet, it ap- then must ition of the atever con- av. quoted hat future 1 into hea- n entrance many wilj nd there it m once the the door, It the door nswer and rhen shall 7 presence, 1 shall say, '/ from me zome unto ;eping and and Isaac, 1 of God". in heaven and not of according 129 to our opponents' belief, in the mcanlime restorcdrj — " And y m yourselves thrust out." Luke xiii. 24—28. Now can any design of restoring by the use of future dis- ciplinary means, the souls of the finally condemned to the felicity enjoyed by Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all the proj)hets, be discovered by this entire passajje, so fatal to the unscriptural and ruinous doctrine of Univer- salism.? VVhich ever way the Sceptic turns— under what- ever notions of false criticisms he may entrench himself —whatever excuses he may make or pleas he may urge, —the awful, unbending words of the Judge meet him at every point— «i know you not, depart from me, ye wor- kers of iniquity." Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and tho prophets, are in the kingdom of God, in the heavenly state; but these iniquitous characters are /Ar«*/ ow^ ex- cluded from the heavenly inheritance. They see the happiness of the righteous, but share not in their felici- ties—all hope of ever entering "thro' the gates into the City" expires ^despair, gloomy, fearful, frantic despair, seizes upon their minds— and whilst they think of mer- cies abused— of heaven forever lost, and of hell ever to be endured, —they weep and gnash their teeth—and hero closes their awful history. "And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed; so that they which would pass from hence «o you cannot, neither can they pass to ws that would come from thence.'' Luke xvi. 26. Is there any design of the above nature mentioned here ? So far from this, the utter impossibility of ever passing from hell to heaven is expressed in the strongest language :— and, how can there be such a design, when the absolute im- possibility of the realization of its object, is authorita- tively decided.^ This passage stands, "firm as a rock by surging tides unmoved," against all the attacks of Uni- versalism. In vain do men essay to bend its stubborness of truth to an unscriptural creed; and were there not iiM 130 another iiuimation in the Bil)le upon the subject, thfc* passage, in itself, is sufticient to support the doctrine of the eternity of future punishment. "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except n man he born njTuin, lie cannot see (enjoy) the kingdom of God.'* .lohn iii. 3. We have alrea :l jccf, thw jctrino of n be born of God.'* iie is no y; ihere- citles that y future emninetli with the their de- ibsequent iherit the is then a lators nor covetouH, xll inherit iuere : — Jerusalem because erring all 3 circum- enounced ic Jewish Univer- haracters il; and it tched by ly design ffering to^ t is pre- 3liver his )loy such ero he ti> 131 assure his audience that these characters shall eventually inherit the kingdom of God, St. Paul, were he within hearing, would say, "6e not deceived,''^ for tho' the preacher has assured you that these vile and abominable characters shall finally be admitted to heaven, yet, as an inspired man, I affirm, on the authority of God'd v/ord, " neither fornicators, &c, shall inherit the kingdom of God." •'Now the works of the ilcsh are manifest, which are these; adultery, fornication; unclcanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulation, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, cnvyings, murders, drunken- ness, revellings and such like r of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past" — (no nein doctrine, it seems, with the Apostle) " which they which do such things, shall not inherit the kingdom of God.^* Gal. V. 19 — 21. What, again, Paul ! exclaims an Uni- versalist. Shall not inherit the kingdom of God ! that is, you mean to say, that all those who "do such things," shall be eternally lost, eternally damned! You anger me much — my blood boils within me when I read such illiberal, uncharitable language, — language so much op- posed to the benevolence of the Diety, and such as is now used by tho greater part of the professedly christian world — I imagined you had been better acquainted with your Maker's Will than to fall into such errors— Give me leave, therefore, as one who am your superior in theolo- gical knowledge, and who have, with the rest of my bre- thren, discovered that all who embrace your opinions arc but learned ignoramuses, to tell you plainly that you lie — I say, that notwithstanding persons manifest the works of the flesh, they shall eventually inherit the kingdom of their Father (true, if you mean the Devil, John viii. 44)_for the design of their future discii)line is to bring them to hoaven. But wo imagine that we perceive Paul, moved with holy indignation, and " filled with the Holy U 2 il 1 1 132 Ghost," setting his eyes on liiin who withstands him and who seeks to turn away the people from the faith, — and addressing him as he did Elyinas the sorcerer — "0 full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to j)ervcrt the right ways of the Lord ?"Actsxiii. 8-10. Well; — we leave the present matter between Paul and the Uni- versulist. If we believe the latter, we must reject the testimony of the /ormer, and the Scriptures as a fable and n falsehood; but if we credit Paul, we must regard the Universalist doctrine as the most abominable piece of clfrontery and blasphemy ever invented by the Devil to accomplish his hellish purposes. " For this ye know" — (do the Uriiversalisls know?) " that 710 whoremongei, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the king- dom of Christ and ot God." Now we ask, is this "the truth as it is in Jesus.'' Do not many believe, or pretenti to believe, and teach another and an opj)osite doctrine .' Is there not a danger of incautiously opening the ear to their enticing words, and allowing them to steal softly like honey into the heart ? There is, and hence to the lust quoted words St. Paul immediately adds, — "Let no man" (not even an Universalist, with all his plausibility) " de- ceive you with vain ivords for because of these thi7igs com- eth the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience." Eph. V. 5. 6. If then there be a future probationary state, and means arc there used with a certain design to bring the children of disobedience to the kingdom of heaven, not the wrath, but the loving kindness, the tender mercy of God Cometh upom them. All, then, that, in this par- titMilar, teach differently from the Apostle, viz. that it is the design of future discipline to bring whoremongers &c. to a participation of the heavenly inheritance, are de- ceived: they are nothing more or less, according to the Apostle's decision, than positive, unblushing deceivers^ t> I li ] (Is him and faith, — and er— "0 full ' the devil, lot cease to 1-10. Well; id the Uni- ; reject the 1 fuble and regard the le piece of e Devil to 'sis know?) 3r covetouH n the king- 3 this "the or pretenti B doctrine ? ; the ear to steal softly 3 to the lust et no man" lility) " de- ihings com- )bedience." jnary state, gn to bring of heaven, nder mercy in this par- ;. that it is longers&c. e, are de- ling to the I deceivers^ 133 and their words are vam,havingno truth whatever in ihen>, "But the fearful and unbelieving and the abomina- ble and murderers and whoremongers and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone; which is the second death. And there shall in no vnse" (tho' ten thousand Universalists say to the con»r iry) enter into it, (the new Jerusalem) anything thatdefileth, neither what- soever worketh abomination or makcth a lie; but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life." Rev. xxi. S. 27. " Without arc dog?, and sorcerers and whoremongers, and muderers, and idolaters, and whoso loveth and ma- kelh a lie." lb. xxii. 15. In many of the previously quoted passages, it is stated plainly, without disguise or reserve, that certain specified wicked characters shall not, and never shall, enter into heaven. If, therefore, the Supreme Being declares they never shall be admitted into heaven, no person, not under the most inveterate prejudice, and obliquity of moral perception and obduration of heart, can, for a mo- ment, suppose, that, if the characters alluded to, enter into eternity in the state mentioned, they can or will, at any future time, whether longer or shorter it matters not, be received into heaven, and that God himself uses means with them for this very purpose. The person asserts, that they can and will be thus received, impugns the word of the Almighty and most blasphemously impeaches the veracity of Jehovah. Let such an individual tremble lest he be found contending against his Maker ! " Jldd thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.'' Prov. xxx. 6. In the following passage. Our Lord asserts the doc- trine we are advocating, as strongly as words can possibly do — " Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins: whither I gf> m 'I m m I 131 ye CANNOT come." John viii. Ql. Hero i.s not a Iiypo- tlicticnl ciisc stated, but a real one, which was suhso- qtieiitly realized hy the pordons concerned. •' Ye shall die in your sins" — this sct.s the question at rest whether or not persons can M>7;oscs,are, in themselves, sufliciont to over- throw the affirmative side of this question; and were we so disposed, we might here on this present enquiry, close our remarks, under the full persuasion, that sufficient has been advanced to convince every person of the utter falsity of tho system we have opposed. But it may not be a rewardless exercise to follow the Universalist doc- trine thro' nil its devious and darksome windings, and, by bringing its utmost fallacy to the light, leave its abet- tors without excuse, and under the influence of that sen- tence, which declares~-"Thi3 is the condemnation that light has ^ome into the world and men loved darkness i'ather ib.-j. i light, because their deods were evil. For I' It if') ; : ^ I !l: 'i i It 13G evcJ'y one that doeth evil hateth the lightj neither cometh to the light lest his deeds should be reproved." .John iii. 19. 20. Much of the supposed strength of the argutnents of the Ufiiversjilists, as to the certain efficacy of future means of salvation, is founded upon an obvious error, and that is, on the supposition that if means be employed, the damned will readily etnbracethem, or that the means by the direct interposition of Deity, will be made absolutely efficacious. Admitting, in this stage of the discussion for the sake of argument, that the finally condemned have not lost their moral agency, or their capability of choosing good, yet, considering the place of confinement, the nature of their I)uni.shment, the company with which they must neces- sarily associr.te, and the accumulated strength of sinful habits, their entire case lies directly against the acquire- ment and perpetuity of virtuous habits; their opiortuni- ties of seeking and obtaining good will be immo urably less than those they enjoyed in this world : and die pro- bability, that, under all the circumstances of their case, they will repent, allowing this to be possible, is so weak as not to sustain, in favour of their moral and spiritual improvement, the shadow of a hope. " If therefore, we grant that the gospel is preached in the intermediate state, the scheme of Universal Restora- tion is not helped by it, unless it can be proved, that every devil and every wicked spirit will improve the day of his visitation; but this is impossible. The probability re- specting men, is on the other side of the question. They are more depraved when they leave this world then they were when they came into it; there is, therefore, no like- lihood that the same means which are ineffectual to their recovery here, will be quite sufi^cient for that purpose hereafter. It is certainly the design of the Gospel to lead men to piety and righteousness in order to their h?.j>[!i- itlier Cometh ." John iii. iments of the uture means •or, and that fiployed, tlic ihe means by le absolutely )r the sake of not lost their ng good, yet, iture of their must neces- gth of sinful ; the acquire- ir opi'ortuni- nmc iirably and liie pro- >f their case, , is so weak md spiritual preached in rsal Restora- ;d, ihat every he day of his obability re- j5tion. They rid then they fore, no like- rtual to their that purpose ospel to lead I 137 ness. But is hell a situation favourable to the practice of these virtues? What saints will be found there to stimu- late the inhabitants by precept and example to the dis- charge of these duties? In shorty what room is there for virtue m Hell? Must sobriety be considered as a virtue Avhere there is not so much as a single drop of water? Is honesty a virtue where there is no property-no op- portunity of cheating, defrauding or stealing? Can the in- habitants of hell feed the hungry, clothe the naked, be tathers to the fatherless, and make the widow's heart dance for joy? And if they be incapable of practising the duties of Christianity, what claim can they have to its privileges?" (^) "Once more, concerning the nature of this puni..hment; It is said,—* Whatsoever a man sovveth, that shall he also' reap. He that soweth to the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption? That is, if sinners persist in their corrupt course, they shall reap a harvest of the same. Their corrupt propensities will be greatly increased and streng- thened. Now in hell their corrupt principles are unre- slramed. What chance then for consideration and re- pentance? In this world we find it difficult to convict men burning with lust and raging with passion. We must n'ait till the flame subsides. But then, what cessation? What check to the unbridled passions? What chance for ropentance? The very flame that torments is the flame of .^mful passions. This is a worm that never dies; this a fi'o that shall never be quenched. Stung by this worm, scorched by these flames, harrowed up to an infernal Iienzy by these fires, what opportunity for sober reflec- tion? What chance for repentance now? If, in this world, a burning fever, a rheumatic afFection, a violent fit of the JTOutor the stone, entirely disqualifies a man for sober j!iou|,'ht,and an understanding exercise of taith; how much icss suited will his mind be for those exercises, when ho <3)Z). Isaac's Treatise. ! I ■if 1^ h Ml 'il q IP > Ji;: I ■r ::■:.*; 138 is cast into ' outer darknoss,' where will ho * weeping, wailinortunities of amendment, they would still continue oh^ stinatc in thoir al)use of both; and render by their own j)erverseness, and hatred of good and love of evil, una- vailinis all the means, with which they might be favoured for their restoration. The statements of Scripture warrant this inference. We have already seen, that there are souls "- in prison,'''' which at the time of St. Peter, had been under punishment upwards of 'iOOO years, and no intimation of their reco- very. From this fact we conclude, either no means were employed for their restoration, or if employed, they were not embraced^ and consequently not effectual. One or the other of these consequences must of necessity follow from the premises; if either Universalism falls. Aaain, If men are saved in this or in the other world, they must be saved na free agents. This is the manner in which God deals with them here, and we have no rea- fion to think ho will deviato from this method, in the fu- ture world, without He has made a plain, unequivocal, undeniable declaration to that effect; but when and where such a declaration has been made remains to be shown. Free agency is in opposition to an unavoidable necessity vii ondjracing tneans. If, therefore, the Universalists con- (I) Dr.FisU's Discourse. )o * weeping, ihulation nnd )en«ed to the :ciul!yj when ire, in a great idled rage of o'pcnt! In this icre can be no lerefore there ) the finally re- e and with op- II continue oh- by their own 3 of evil, unu' [it be favoured his inference. 3 " in prison,'''' er punishment of their reco- no means were yed, they were lual. One or ccessity follow alls. e olher world, is the manner have no rea- hod, in the fu- I, unequivocal, ihen and where to be shown. hie neccssiUj of versalisls con- 139 tend for a ^ni\ivc probationary state, then the individual.s there must be moral agents, and being moral agents, their moral agency overthrows the affirmative side of the ques- tion now under discussion: and there is no certainty, that the means used, if any, will prove effectual in every in- stance. That the Deity has, in this life, used every means, con- sistent with his own gracious plan and their moral agency, to save individuals, cannot well be denied. ««What could have been done more to my vineyard that I have not done in it.?" Is. V. 4. Yet we often see the most highly favour- ed, notwithstanding all their advantages, living in sin — hating light and loving darkness— resisting the force of truth — grieving and quenching the Spirit— determinedly pursuing iniquity,— until overtaken by death, they un- forgiven and unrenewed, are launched into eternity. The means here used for their salvation were ineffoctual; and if ever saved, we must cither suppose they will prn- fil by means which under infinitely more favourable cir- numstances were absolutely inefficacious — an event which we have already shown to be highly improbable— or that other more efficacious means will be employed. But what more efficacious means can be employed? iMany of the persons, who have made "shipwreck" of their souls, had a liberal education — the Word of God— The death and intercession of the Lord Jesus Christ — The convincing and assisting power of the Holy Spirit — A faithful Ministry — the example, prayers and advices of pious parents and members of Christian Churches — awa- kenings of conscience — strong desires of salvation — time, opportunity and means to repent, and indeed every assi.s- tancc needful to their salvation. Bui thro' the abuse of their moral agency, all these proved without avail ; they sinned because the grace of God abounded, and refused to profit by any of their numerous adva-nta^es: "because sen- tence against their evil works was," for gracious pur- N li ill If ii If It h 1 iO po5C3," not executed speetlily, therefore their hearts were fully set in them to do evil;" and thus not perniitiing "the goodness and long suflering and forbearance of God to lead them to repentance, after their hardness and im- penctent hearts, they treasured uj) unto themselves wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God." Now what more powerful means than these could have been used for their present good — what more powerful means than these can be used for their future good ? Let not the Restorationi.sts deceive themselves; we do sincerely believe they will have great cause to congratulate themselves on their good fo,"tune if, in hell, they should be favoured with even one half of the fibove means, without contending for the possession of su{)erior privileges. Hence, if these means, numerous and, had they not been wilfully counteracted, adequate as they were for saving purposes were inefficient to pre- sent salvation, what reason is there to suppose, that, if used, they will be more eflectual hereafter.' May not the same abuse of moral agency, defeat, in another state, as it did in this, the intention of any means which might be etn- ])loyed for the recovery of lost and ruined men .'' To say Got! will employ similar or other means in a greater degree and make them more efficient in a future ptate, is to say something which requires proof and which receives no support from the word of God. It is a suf- ficient answer to this assumption, for an assumption it is, tit state, that if these or other means may and will here- after be used in a greater degree and made absolutely ("fTcctual, in every instance, to the salvation of lost sin- ners, they might and would have been, on the same j)rinciple, used thus in this world, and all the sin com- mitted in this life would have been avoided, and the suffering endured in the future state would have been escaped. The reasonableness of this statement, on the ground of the above mentioned supposition, must b« fl lii earts were pcniiitiing jce of God :ss and im- Ives wrath i righteous ful means ent good — ie used for .sts deceive have great fortune if, half of tile issession of numerous I, adequate icnt to pre- '0, that, if ^Iny not the ' state, as it ight be em- n ? neans in a in a future f and which It is a suf- nption it is, d will hcrc- ; absolutely of lost sin- 1 the same the sin corn- ed, and the have been lent, on tlia n, must be Ul granted; for God takes no pleasure in wickedness, or de- light in the misery of his creatures— "he doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men." But as these or other means were not used in a greater degree nor rendered absolutely effectual, in every instance, by a benevolent and holy Deity in this world; we very natur- ally and justly conclude that he will not employ them iu this manner to save the obstinately and porseveringly re- bellious in the future world ; and the assumption t°hat he will, is most gratuitous, unwarranted by any declaration of Divine Truth, and by any known mode of procedure on the part of the Deity. God will be justified when he speaks and dear when he judges. No man can lay the fault of his '^damnation-'' upon his Maker; for, in the administration of his go- vernment of grace, he gives to every person a measure of grace sutlicient, if improved, to lead to salvation: but more than this, even on the supposition of a state of fu- ture discipline none need anticipate. But as persons have rendered of no effect «n Time, the means of salva- tion, with which they were favoured, so we maintain it to be the very acme of presumption to expect they will he absolutely, and in evenj instance, effectual in Eternity. To affirm the contrary of this, that God will really makt them such, is really to make Him unmake what he ha^ made, i. e. destroy man's moral agency, (• j which is re- pugnant to all the knoion methods of God's dealings with men; and the scheme, therefore, which asserts the con- trary cannot be received as containing "the truth as it is in Jesus," until it prove its claims to this character by a (5) We only refer moral a?enoy, to Ileli, on the snppDsition of Its being a state of aioral discipline; and our argument is intended to meet the Universalistg on their own ground. We do not be- lieve hell to be a stale of discipline at all, as we have abundantly proved m the former Chapters. Let this one fact that hell is not disciplinary, but punitive, be borne in mind by the reader, and it will iii-nirp ip ;iT.„ir «„ 1 I r- . • !• I 1 •■.","' . !'-:'v..., an uiiiuiswcruuit; roiuunoa of the uusuu- ported hypotheisia of Universal Restoration. i 1 ■»f. I m p ill I, pi U2 higher authority than that which is derived from mer« Jiutuau opinion, and by stronger [arguments than confi- dent and vain declamation. As many, ,amid all their ad- vantages in this world, were incorrigible, there is a high degree of probability, that, on the supposition of iho future being a state of probation and of means being there used for gracious purposes, the same incorrigibleness will be evinced by some, in the dark abodes of misery; and be it remembered, that if one only remain incorrigi- ble, this single instance is sufficient to overthrow the whole ruinous system of Universal Restoration. It can- not bo doubted that many, perhaps thousands, in the days of Christ, committed the sin against the Holy Ghost, which is authoritatively decided to be irremissible in the futur^ world; and hence as many instances of this nature us can be produced, to leave, at present, other cases out of the question, so many instances have we of the utter ineflicacy of any means, however numerous or powerful, which may be employed for their salvation. The following quotations contain the very powerful reasoning of the Rev. Richard Watson on the subject under discussion. " It is also the doctrine ol Scripture, that this future punishment of the incorrigible shall be Jinal and unlimited. This is a monitory doctrine which ;i revelation only could unfold; but being made, it has no inconsiderable degree of rational evidence. It supposes, it is true, that no future trial shall bo allowed to man, the present having been neglected and abused ; and to this there is much analogy in the constant procedures of the Divine government in the present life. When many checks and admonitions from the instructions of the wise and the examples of the froward, have been disregarded, poverty and sickness, infamy and death ensue, in a thous- nm\ cases which the observation of every man will fur- nish; the trial of an individual, which is to issue in his P.^.-oMf hn>>"<>'>»aa i\f tn!«<^i'v i« fp.nninnted : and SO t&r ^ I 1 from mer« 1 than confi- . all their ad- ore is a high sition of the 5 being there orrigibleness s of misery; lin incorrigi- erthrow the ion. It can- 3, in the days Holy Ghosr, lissible in the of this nature her cases out 1 of the utter or powerful, sry powerful 1 the subject ot Scripture, Tible shall be ctrine which ade, it has no It supposes, d to man, the 1 ; and to this edures of the When many ns of the wise 1 disregarded, le, in a thous- man will fur- ;o issue in his 1 : and so far 143 from its being renewed frequently, in the hope of hid finally profiting by a bitter experience, advantages and opportunities once thrown away, can never be recalled. There is nothing therefore contrary to the obvious princi- ples of the Divine government as manifested in this life* in the doctrine which confines the space of man's highest nnd most solemn probation within certain limits, and be- yond them cutting off all his hope. But let this subject bo considered by the light thrown upon it by the fact, that the nature of man is immortal. With those who deny this to be the prerogative of the thinking principle in man; it would be trifiing to hold, this argument; but with those who do not, the consideration of the subject under this view is important. "The existence of man is never to cease. It follows then from this, thai either the future trials to be allowed to those who in the present life have been incorrigible, are to be limited in number; or, should they successively fail, are to be repeated for ever. If the latter, there can be no ultimate judgment, no punishment or reward; and consequently the Divine government, as implying these, (and this we know it does, from what takes place in the present life,) must be annihilated. If this cannot be maintained, is there suflicient reason to conclude, that all to whom trial after trial is supposed to be afforded in new and varied circumstances, in order to multiply the proba- bilities, so to speak, of their final recovery from rebellion, will be at length reclaimed? Before this can be answer- ed, it must be recollected, that a state of suffering which would compel obedience, if we should suppose mere suf- fering capable of producing this eflect, or an exertion of injluence upon the understanding and will which shall necessitate a definite choice, is neither of them to be assumed as entering into the condition of any new state of trial. Every such future trial, to be probationary at all, that is, iu ordur tu bring out the c^^isjivuce of a a«w N S iU i ■ M 4 11.4 moral principle, and by voluntary acts to prove it, mast substanlialbj be like the present, tliough its circumstanced niiiy vary. Vice must have its allurements; virtue must riiio from self-denial, anil be led into the arena to strug- gle with difficulty : many present interests and pleasures iiiust bo seen in connexion with vice; the rewards of obedience must, as now, bo not only more refined than mere sense can be gratified with, but also distant; the niind must be capable of error in its moral estimate of things, through the influence of the senses and passions; and so circumstanced, that those erroneous views shul| only be prevented or corrected by watchfulness and a diligent application to meditation, prayer, and the use of thoso means of information on moral subjects which Almighty God may have put within their reach. We have no right in this argument to imagine to ourselves a future condition where the influence of every circum- stance will be directed to render vice most difticult to commit, and virtue most difficult to avoid; for this would not be a state of irial\ and if, in this present life, men have obstinately resisted all admonitions from heaven^ obdurating themselves against all the aflfecting displays of the Divine kindness, and the deterring manifestations of the Divine majesty; it is most reasonable to conclude, that a part of them at least would abuse successive trials, and frustrate their intention by attachment to present and sensual gratification. What then is to become of them ? Jf we admit a moral government of rational creatures at all, tiieir probation cannot be eternal, -for that leads to no result; if probation be appointed, it implies accounta- bility, n judicial decision, and that judicial decision, in the case of the incorrigible, puiiishmcnt. Whenever then the trial, or the series of trials, terminates as to these immortal beings, the subsequent punishment, of what kind soever it may be, must be eternal. This doc- triiiP of Ssr»riMtiii'<» i-neta thprnPiirfi nnon nthprsi- nf U'hicll c it, mast inistanced irlue inuijt I to Strug- pleasures 3 ward 3 of fined than slant; the stiinate of I passions; iews shuU ess and a the use of cis vvhicii ach. We urseives a y circum- difficult tt> this would life, men m heaven J g displays ifestations conclude, sive trials, resent and of them ? eatures at It leads to accounta- 3cision, in Whenever ates as to ihment, of This doc- i. of which 145 tho rational evidence is abundant and convincing;— that Almighty God exercises a moral government over his creatures; that the present life is a state of moral discip- line and trial ; and that man ia immorlal. If these are allowed, the eternal duration of future punishment as to the obstinately wicked, nmst follow ; an»l its accordance with the principles just mentioned, is its rational evi- dence. "(«) Hitherto we have conducted our argument on the sup- position that damned spirits .have not lost their moral agency; but what, if moral LiBERTy, as implying a ca- pabilily of choosing, seeking, embracing, and retaining good, is not possessed by the inhabitants of Heli,, WHAT BECOMES OF UNIVERSAL RESTORATION! And yet, if the Scriptures be true, and our argumentation correct, they cannot possess moral liberty as above explained. There is even now no freedom of the will to that which is good, except thro' the received influence of divine grace or the Spirit of God; but there is no exercise of grace, no influence of the Spirit in Hell, (J) and the wills of persons there are only free to evil. There is there- fore, in hell, no freedom of the will to good, and conse- quently, in the sense above stated, there is there no moral liberty ; if no moral liberty, there is no moral obedience ; if no moral obedience, there is the existence of operative evil', where there is actual, operative evil, there the plea- sure of God and a saving or happy union with Him, are necessarily absent; " for thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness; neither shall evil dwell with thee;" Ps. v. 4. and where the pleasure of God, his gra- cious presence, and a saving or happy union with Him, are not, there, in the nature of things, there is no heaven, there is essential misery —there is Hell. From the very circumstances of their case— the withdrawment of tho Holy Spirit and their abandonment to the unchecked (0) laslitates vol. I 230---232. (7) See page 107. !♦ •"I. III ' (T I it li lllil 'I «way of their own perverse wills and diabolical passions their removal from a state of probation and incarcera- tion in the prison-house of Hell,— the damned are incapa- ble of moral improvement .-— " If »s impossibue to renew them to repentance.''' They are strictly speaking " loaV' ''cast awaif* '' destroyed :''— like water cast upon the ground, their moral liberty can never be gathered tip cifMjn:— it is gone— and gone— For Ever! i?fi} ■ IHR r ■ i - i M ' II Chapter XII. AnnUMENT FROM THE BENEVOLENCE OF GOB AS BEING INCONSISTENT WITH ETERNAL PUNISHMENT RE- FUTED — ANNIHILATION NOT THE PUNISHMENT OF THE WICKED, AND IS OPPOSED BY UNIVERSALISM — RECAPITULATION. The Benevolence of God is regarded by the Univer- ealists as affording in itself an unanswerable argument against tiie eternity of future punishment. But they should prove, what they never have yet done, 1. that God'd benevolence can be exerted in behalf of those under fu- ture suffering, who, in this world, contemptuously and continuedly rejected the offers of mercy, without doing violence to his other attributes, such as, holiness, justice, and truth. "A God all-mercy is a God unjust." We know Him who hath said, '• He that being often reproved, hardeneth his neck, shall be suddenly destroy- ed, and that without remedy.'' Prov. xxix. 1. 2. That it is either expressly or impliedly declared in Scripture, if other means fail, such an act of benevolence will be put forth. Without these points are satisfactorily estab- lished, all that can be said in favour of them is mere declamation— vain " as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal." Even could it be proved that God can act thuSi without un itrs'^'eachmerit of chariicter- a oositioii M 118 Ll ! ivliich wc l)ioa(lly deny, tho <|ijc.stion still remains to Ito netili.'il, will In.' pu.siiivtily and assuredly thus act? Is lli« cortaiiiiy of it so <;l(,'avly asccftaincd as to cxcludo every sliiidow of doubt' Njtiiiii^r ^liort of tho most un(|uali' fiud asHurancu of thi.'<, can satisfy thu mind tri'nd)lingly HJivo lo itH fnturo and eternal destiny, for tho Diety c«;» «lo many thing-*, not in ihu slightest degree inconsistent wiili any of his attrihutes, which we ourselves know llo does not thiid< proper to do. lIo\v utterly gioundless, how extremidy, presumptuous, then, is tho expectation, that He uhU do what lie has not only jwt promised, nor ^iven the least intimation that he is i^^iV/inrr] to do; but against the perfornnince of which stand in firm and fear- ful array his justice, truth and holiness ; and yet such \i tho expectation of l^niversalism as it regards tho exer- cise of Divine benevolenco iu the futuro restoration of the danmed. Hut wc object, on our part, to the use of this argument liy tho Universalists, because 1. It destroys tho very idea of the future stale being probalionary ; and they njust give up either one or tho other. 2. It proves that no means are used in the future state for snivable |)urposes, or that they are inetfectual; otherwise the benevolence of God would not be resorted to. S. It is only conjectural ; unwarranted by the conduct of Fhoviuence, which allows of sulIVring of various kinds m //its toor/^/, and even of pain or punishment of a limited duration in tho future trorld itself, according to the showing of a part of the ITnivcrsulirits themselves. Now the argument from the BKNEvof.KNCE of the Deity, if of any force at all, is as much against Untiled, as it is against eternal suttering. For if it would lead the Almighty to terminate the pains of the ilamncd, it would not have allowed pain ever to have entered into this world, nor to be inflicted in the slightest measure on the outcasts from Divine Mercy in the futuro world. But his benevolence did not preveat naina to \>a ri> la tlio •I lido every ml uiKiiiiili* reinlirmgly ) Diety can IICOIIsihtL'Ill d know llo t,M'OllIuli(.>SH, X|icciation, mised, nor to do; but 111 ami fear- yet SUull 121 Is ilio exer- sturutiun uf s nrgutnent very idea they must ves that no e |)uri)osefi, cvolenco ol' onjcclural ; hich allovra .nd even ot* tlio future part of the lit from tlic at all, is as U sutteriiig. te the [)aiii4 lain ever to ctcd ill the le Mercy in not prevent liO the Itilroduolion of misery into thirf world, nor will it pre- vent the infliction of ii, f.,r aa:cs of aires, on the /inally impenitent, as the Uestoratioiiidts tliemselvo.s allow. So that hy resortinj; to the mere henevolenee of God, with- out reference to the personal (inalifieatioiiH of the parties concerned, to uphold thijir nystem, they prove too much and so prove nothiiiff. The henevoleiice of God, there- fore, is not inconsistent with punishment, as facts suflici- ently demonstrate, and then ere duration of that punish- ment cnnriot alter the case. The following extracts place this sulij every candid mind. " I'ho known principles of God's administration, in the moral ;jovernmeiit of the world, involve suHering ; and thissiiilering, all ackn( • 'o^\gc, is in consecpience of sin. "IfsuHering for sin, in some degree, is not inconsist- ent with God's goodness, who can determine w Am and where that sudbring mun stop, l.jst it fchould cncronch upon that goodness.^ God has taught us, hy his adminis- triuion, that fiin deserves and receives punisliment; and lie alone can h i i III ■f "1 V 'i ?'* ! ii ;J Sf 15S *' Whom (Jesus Christ) the heaven must receive until the tiiTies of restitution of all things, which God hath spo- ken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began." Acts iii. 21. A similar meaning to that given above is forced tipon this verse. But the noun apokataa- tasis, rendered "restitution," comes from the verb men- tioned in the preceding paragraph, and signifies comple- tion or accomplishment; and the " completion of ali tilings" spoken of in this verse, means the accomplish- ment of all the promises or predictions, contained in the Old Testament, concerning the kingdom of Christ on earth till he shall come to judge the world; for of this have all the prophets spoken j but in no one instance have they spoken of the restoration to heaven of lost and miserable spirits:— to prove the contrary of which we utterly defy the Universalists. *' As by the offence if one, judgment came upon all itien to condemnation ^ even so, by the righteousness of one, the free gift came upon all men to justification of life." Rom. v. 18. This verse is triumphantly quoted as an irrefragable proof of Universal salvation. But the Apostle is not here speaking of ^naZ salvation ; but ia striving to uproot the prejudices of the Jews who con- fined the blessings of salvation to themselves alone, by proving that the atonement of Christ is as extensive as the original offence and consequently that it extends to all, Gentiles as well as Jews ; so that now none would he condemned for original sin, as that ha. been atoned for by the death of Christ :— in this sense, as all had been involved in condemnation by the oflfence of Adam, 80 by the sacrifice of Christ justification of life, freedom from the curse of the original transgression, had come upon all. But this still leaves men accountable for their personal transgressions ; and tho' the merits of Christ so "abound," as to extend to the pardon of the " many of- fences" of those who repent nnH believe, yet, the impeni' I eive until hatb spo- the world lat given apokataS' erb men- s comple- )n of all ompiish- led in the Christ on r of this instance ■ lost and vhicb we upon all usness of ication of y quoted But the I ; but is ivho con- ilone, by msive as (tends to le would a atoned all had >f Adam, freedom lad come for their Christ so Tiany of- j impeni- 159 tent and unbelieving are not only liable to future punish- ment for their many actual sins, but to aggravated punish- ment for "neglecting the great salvation." "We are un- to God a sweet savour of Christ in them that are saved, and in them that perish: To the one we are the savour c.f death unto death; and to tiie other the savour of life unto life." 2 Cor. ii. 15. 16. Some "perish for whom Christ died;'-' 1 Cor. viii, 11. and therefore Rom. v. 13, proved not the doctrine which it is brought to establish. Sec also Heb. X. 20. " For this end Christ both died and rose and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and the living." Rom. xiv. 9. What, we ask, has this to do with Universal salvation ? The verse is expressive of Christ's authority in both worlds ; but authority does not imply salvation. He will exercise h\a power and authority in punishing the wicked as well as in rewarding the righteous, 2 Thess. i. 7—10. "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." 1 Cor. xv. 22. But the utmost this cm» prove is that all men shall be raised from the dead ; but whether their resurrection will be to "life" or to "damna- tion," is another question, John v. 2S. 29. "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 authority and power." J Cor. XV. 24. The argument from this verse is that, as " Christ's kingdom," which is said to be " forever," is here declared to "come to an end," so will "future punishment," which is said to be "for ever" come to an end. But this verse says no such thing that Christ's king- dom will come to an end :— it says that, then cometh the end, the end of the present world, when he Christ, shall have delivered up the mediatorial kingdom to God, &c. Delivering up and coming to an end are, two distinct things. The mediation of Christ, after the termination of IGO this piesent system, will cease, but the kingdom will ba God'd forever and forever. The conclusion therefore forced from this verse entirely fuila. *' For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feel. 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." 1 Cor, XV. 25. 28. From this the Univ usul restoration or salvation of ail men is inferred, — but with as much pro- priety as if it had been inferred from Matthew xxv. 46. The phrases "put all enemies under his feet"— -"all things shall be subdued unto him,'' — are not expressive of the grace or favor of Christ, but of h'la power and authority in conquering^ defeating, overthrowing his foes. His, indeed, must be a lively imagination, that can perceive in these expressions any indications of the Saviour'5 mercy towards his subjugated enemies ! " The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.* 1 Cor. XV. 2t>. Hence it is concluded that Hell will be destroyed. But does the hell of fire rank among the num- ber of Christ^s " enemies .•"" Is it not his "prison" in which he will punish the wicked.' Can a "prison" be called an "enemy?" Is it not necessary for the execution of his righteous administration? The hell of fire, there- fore, is not included among those "enemies" which shall be "destroyed," the last of which is "death." In Rev. xx. 14. 15. we read, "and death and hell, (the term "hell" here being used for the place of separate spirits) were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." The "lake of fire," it appears will exist and persons will be "cast into" it, after the destruction of natural death by the resurrection of the body: — f,o that if the "death'* of the body is the ^^last enemy that shall be destroyed," the "hell of fire" will not be destroyed but have a subsequent and permanent existence. om will bfl therefui'o nies under unto him, » him, that in all." 1 ;oration or much pro- vv XXV. 46. 'all things ive of the 1 authority foes. His, )erceive in lur'a mercy is death.' ell will be g the num- prison" in prison" be i execution ire, there- k^htcb shall n Rev. XX. rm "hell" rits) were !ath. And ^f life was it appears after the lion of the } the "last fire" will permanent 161 •' And having made peace through the blood of the cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things, in hea- ven." Coloss. i. 20. But not one word is said about reconciling things in hell, and so the verse has nothing to do with Universal restoration. "That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Philip ii. 10. 11. Whatever may be understood by the " things under the earth" whether devils or damned spirits in the shades below, — the verses speak of them as still being '• under the earth," and not in heaven — a fact which must not be lost sight of— and it is not difficult to conceive that even these outcasts from the Divine mercy should be made to "boio at the name of Jesus," a strong figurative expression of his acknowledged authority over them, and "confess that he is Lord," the Supreme Governor of the universe. As applying to these miserable beings, the words " bow" and " confess," do not imply their volun- tary submission to his sway, or their restoration to his fa- vour; but the contrary. In the days of his flesh, devils confessed Jesus Christ to be Lord ; but they were not as a natural consequence restored to moral rectitude or spiritual happiness. See Luke iv. S3. 34. The whole passage is a highly figurative expression of the Univer- sally acknowledged authority and power of the Lord Jesus Christ, and has no connexion with the doctrine which the Universalists bring it to support. "For this purpose the Son of God was manifested that he might destroy the works of the devil." 1 John iii. 8. We briefly despatch this verse by observing, that it might serve the turn of the Universalists, if they could prove, that punishing sinners in hell is a work of the devil ! "And every creature which is in heaven, and on earth 162 I and under the earth, and such as are in the sen, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing and honor and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever." Rev. v. ] 3. This verse is quoted as a triumphant proof of future restoration. But it is evident there is no allusion, the most remote, to such an event. The ascription of hon- our, glory, and power to God and the Lamb by those '* under the earth," supposing by these are meant the damned, la nothing more than might be expected ; whilst they still abide under the divine wrath ond displeasure. See Philip ii. 10. 11. before explained. This verse there- fore is not expres!*ive in the least of future restoration. Quere : — If this be the song of the restored, why are they said to be still '^under the earth?^^ One would sup- pose if they were restored, they would be in heaven ! •• And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes ; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain : for the former things are passed away." Rev. xxi. 4. The "death," here mentioned as being "no more," is not the "second death," as the Universalists vainly endeavour to show, but the death of the "body" which will be raisecl and rendered immortal. It should also be observed, that the verse is expressive of the happiness of the righteous, of the inhabitants of the " New Jerusalem:" — to apply the declarations which are expressive of the happiness of the righteous to the wicked and accursed is just as pro- per as to apply the perfections of the Diety to the Old Serpent ; and yet it is a common practice with the Uni- versalists to appropriate the promises which belong to the "people of God" to those of an opposite character, — the "children of the Devil !" The above are the principal passages on which the Universalists found their system;— others of the like cha- racter might be adduced:— but on the whole they perpe- { the sen, and nil ig and honor and sitteth upon the ever." Rev. v. It proof of future I no allusion, tha icription of hon- ? Lamb by those are meant the jxpected ; whilst and displeasure. This verse there- ture restoration. stored, why aro One would sup- be in heaven ! rom their eyes ; her sorrow, nor 3 pain : for the !V. xxi. 4. The ore," is not the ily endeavour to ch will be raised B observed, that jf the righteous, lem:" — to apply the happiness of I is just as pro- )iety to the Old !e with the Uni- /hich belong to site character, — s on which the i of the likechn- ole they perpe- i 163 tratc the greatest perversion, contorting; thorn rom their plain and obvious meaning ; or no. harimuizing them wltli the general scope of the Scriptu s. The reader is seriously and affec^iomn '^ '•equested to weigh the preceding discussions in t'lebaJ-nce of a sound, impartial, and discriminating judgmc, • sparing scrip- ture with scripture ; and, under the abiding conviction, that the interests of an eternity are involved in the theoretic and practical results to which he may arrive, to adopt that system of religious belief and practice by which he is willing to die and to be awarded by the judge of (^uick and dead. Finis. f"J. ^^'^- ERRATA. irdtn JS," P?"'''" m"' '^"'",'"° •'^^ 1""°<^««'' ofprinting, upwards of fortv mi)P« ire u'i;, o't'^nvoVr I'tff;,Sipal of' Z^^T''" '-'' '^' -" " ^'- IbJIows ■ P"ncir!il of which he is reiiuested to correct lu J'age 6. 14. line from the top, omit "of." 8. 1. (Jo. read, by reference fo any. 0. J. read to be a propitiation. 18* (■ ^» '?nr o'fl-"'" ?'"'^ *^« ""'^ •■ea'^ claims his liberation. 13. . " for efferminaie read effeminate. 7. J. for transmission, read transgression. ^. i. " lor declaration road salvation. 1. 1. top, for that read the 10. 28. n 81. 37. •40. 43. CO. »i4. VS. t9. 74. 77. 5Jl. 87. >( 93. 101. 304. 100. 107. 111. 113. 118. 133. 20. 1. „ omit the. Two last lines, read « Ye shall die In your sins- cannot come." " 10. 1. top for connection read correction, last line Jbr lark read dark. whither I go yo 6 17. 1. 5. 13. 17. 2. 13. top for influential read inferential, bottom for hence read tlience. top for alterative read alternative. " for Did read Does " for sin read in " for term read terms 1. " for than read that 1. bottom for absurity read absurdity 1. " for mied read fitted in the note after page insert 85 5. 1. bottom, omit we. 17 1 top, for Tiieansthropos, read Theanthronos The ine, which ought to have been placed first on thr<, no.n • by mistake, placed lirst on page in. " "'^ ^'^5^? »s, The lirst lino here belongs to page 107 11. 1. tor, for then read than. 9. 1. bottom, for now read know. U. 1. bottom for The person asserN rpn