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SERMON II.

MATTHEW, XXV. 46.—“ And these shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal."

IN my discourses of last Sunday, I proved to you that the doctrine of endless punishment, was clearly revealed in the Holy Scriptures; and from the consideration of the nature of the punishment, and the only sin which could incur it, that it was the strongest possible proof which heaven or earth could furnish, of the infinite mercy and love of God towards every created being. Because the sin was of that nature which even Omnipotence could not prevent, and having been committed, could not pardon; and the punishment. though everlasting destruction, the lightest which even unbounded mercy could inflict.

Almighty power will not effect a contradiction.— The only sin for which man can be punished hereafter, is the wilful rejection of the offers of God; a crime which even he could not prevent; for if he did so, he must destroy free will, and then man could not be an accountable agent, or capable of moral happiness; and the sin having been committed, the condemnation is but the choice itself, and the punishment, the result of that choice. These, therefore, even Almighty goodness could neither prevent nor mitigate, nor pardon, unless he should effect a contradiction, viz: make man a free agent, and control his will at the same time.

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But, my brethren, this doctrine is confirmed by the Almighty himself; for he assures us, that "the carnal mind is enmity with God, because it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." God, therefore, has, through Christ, pardoned every sin which he could pardon: "All manner of sins shall be forgiven unto man, but the sin against the Holy Ghost;" the willful rejection and denial of the knowledge, and truth, and love of God, will not, because it cannot, be forgiven; neither in this world nor yet in the world to come. The choice of life or death, is offered unto man; and if he chooses death rather than life, the punishment of death is the necessary consequence of the commission of the crime; and that death must be endless, (even if the Scriptures had not given us the positive assurance that it will be so,) unless there remaineth another sacrifice for sins.

But, it is contended, that if there were any other punishment annexed to this crime, than its own necessary and unavoidable consequence, then, whatever arguments might be used with regard to the justice of such a punishment, it certainly would not be the strongest possible proof of His love and mercy, which the Almighty could have given to the sinner. If, for instance, the punishment is to be endless life in endless torture, how then, it is asked, does it prove the Almighty's love and mercy?

Our Universalist brethren are too ready to suppose, that those who dissent from their doctrine, and believe in future and endless punishment, must believe likewise, that a God of love will, for the manifestation of his own glory, preserve in existence a large proportion of

those whom he has created, that he may torture them throughout eternity. Let us see then, my brethren, whether the Scriptures are consistent with themselves; . whether there is any punishment threatened there, differing from that which they declare in express words, shall be the eternal doom of the sinner, namely, "everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power."

The first and only penalty of sin, under the law, was death. "In the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die." "The soul that sinneth, it shall die." And the only sentence passed was, "dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return." Now it is contended, that if the penalty of sin under the dispensation of grace, is any thing more than this, accompanied by the assurance that there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, and that therefore it must now be endless; then mercy and love would have inflicted a severer punishment than justice.

The word hell, occurs frequently in the sacred writings, both of the Old and New Testament. In the Old Testament, it is invariably expressed by the Hebrew word scheol, which literally translated, signifies a state of death, without any reference to endless duration. You will particularly observe, my brethren, that now, as before, we must be cautious not to blend together the dispensation of the law and that of grace. In the Old Testament, there is but one word which is translated hell, and that word literally signifies nothing more or less than a state of death. In most of the passages in which it occurs, this meaning is so obvious, that it needs no explanation. As for instance, "I will

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go down into the grave (or hell,) to my son, mourning." "Let them go down quick into hell." pains of hell gat hold upon me." "The sorrows of hell compassed me." "Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell." That these, and many other expressions of the same kind, mean nothing more than death, and the pains and sorrows of death, is so obvious, and so universally admitted by all commentators, that I need not waste your time in proving it.

There is one passage in the Old Testament, in which this word is used in connexion with future punishment. This occurs in the 9th Psalm, 17th verse.

"The wick

ed shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God." Now, it is allowed I believe, by all commentators, that in this passage the word scheol, implies nothing more than a state of death. It was indeed the sentence of the Almighty, under the law, that all the nations that forgot God, should enter into a state of death, or be turned into hell; and there was not one who could escape this condemnation; for all forgot their Maker and all were destroyed. But, if it were meant to state, that this death was to be a state of endless punishment, it would impugn the truth of the Almighty, for He had pre-determined that those who were thus dead, should be recreated: that all who died under the law should be restored: "that as in Adam all died, even so in Christ should all be made alive." Not one word about torture, of any kind, is mentioned: why then should we suppose that this word hell or scheol, which every where else in the Old Testament confessedly implies nothing more than a state of death, should here alone mean endless torture? which, if it did do, it

would be in direct opposition to the assurances of God. There can be, my brethren, no reason to believe it, whatsoever; for there is not the most distant implication of the kind. You will observe, then, that there is in the Old Testament, only one word which is translated hell; and that, unless that word can be construed to have a variety of meanings, even when applied to the same objects, and in the same way; it does and can mean nothing more than a state of death. Such is the explanation of every commentator.

And you will perceive, if you recollect my discourses of last Sunday, that this is perfectly in unison with the whole tenor of the Scriptures; for you will remember that I there proved to you, that Christ came to redeem them that were under the law-all that were under the law-that he was the mediator of the New Testament -that by means of death, for the redemption of transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called, might receive the promise of eternal inheritance-that he came to seek and to save that which was lost; namely, all who had sinned under the lawand "that as in Adam, (or under the law) all died, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." If then, there was any expression in the Old Testament which implied a state of endless torture, or even endless punishment, it would militate against the truth of the Almighty, and against his pre-determined purpose. But there is not.

Let us now then, proceed to examine the meaning of the word hell, as it occurs in the New Testament; and here we shall find that it bears a very different explanation. In the New Testament, are two words, which

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