repentance and holiness upon all, because, without holiness no man shall see the Lord. Many will say unto Christ, even in “that day,"

"Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name," &c., but he will say unto them, though their hope be strong, "I never knew you," I never approved of you; "depart from me, ye that work iniquity," Matt. vii, 22, 23. To the same purpose is the application of our Lord's sermon on the mount, recorded verses, 24-27 of this chapter: "And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man that built his house, (his hope,) upon the sand: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, (that hope,) and it fell, (it was cut off,) and great was the fall of it." From which we infer the future punishment of these foolish builders.

2. God allows sinners a space to repent, and affords them a system of means and helps to enable them to work out their salvation; he admonishes them that their opportunities and privileges will not always last, and that when they end, their condition_becomes hapless. "The night cometh when no man can work," John ix, 4. Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will

Once

abundantly pardon," Isa. lv, 6, 7. Here it is intimated that God will not always wait to be gracious, that he will not always be found. And agreeably to this he says, "Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; but ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof; I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh, &c. Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer: they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me," Prov. i, 24-28. "Turn ye, turn ye, for why will ye die, O house of Israel?" Ezek. xxxiii, 11. more: "Exhort one another daily, while it is called to-day: lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin," like the Israelites in the wilderness; to whom God sware that they should not enter into his rest," the land of Canaan. “Let us therefore fear," says the apostle, "lest a promise being left us of entering into his rest," the heavenly Canaan, "any of you should seem to come short of it," Heb. iii, 13, and iv, 1. Those who wilfully go on, hardening themselves in sin, are in danger of being "given over" by God "to a reprobate mind," Rom. i, 28, and then he will "send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie, that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness," 2 Thess. ii, 11, 12. From these passages we learn, 1. That God will finally :( give over," leave to them

selves, abandon, the incorrigible sinner; and 2. That then their case becomes hopeless, and their damnation sure.

3. The future punishment of the wicked is clearly inferred from our Saviour's words to the Jews," Ye shall die in your sins." Again:-"I said, therefore, unto you, that ye shall die in your sins; for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins," John viii, 21, 24. The nation of the Jews did not believe that he was the Messiah, and shortly after these words were spoken to them, more than a million of them were cut off in their unbelief. The same may be said of thousands, and tens of thousands, in every land where the Gospel has been preached-they have died in unbelief, and of course have died in their sins, according to our Saviour's words. But the case of the Jews is sufficient for my purpose, and concerning these there can be no dispute they did not believe in Christthey "died in their sins." Let it not be said that they were saved from their sins in the article of death. To die in sin, and to be saved from sin, are phrases of different import; and he who says they were saved from their sins in the article of death, contradicts our Lord, who says that the unbeliever shall die in his sins. Beside, our Lord evidently intended these words, "If ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins," as an admonition to the Jews. But if you say they were saved from their sins in death, you do

away all the admonition, and give to his words the character and the effect of a promise,— "If ye believe not that I am he, ye shall be saved from your sins in death." Thus says Universalism. We however choose to believe our Lord, and that the words, "Ye shall die in your sins," exclude the possibility of repentance, of faith, of pardon, of regeneration in death; and of course they pass out of this world into the next, without any change, and with all their sins upon them. If this does not imply future punishment, I know not what does.

4. The Scriptures inform us of the enemies of the cross of Christ, that their "end is destruction," that they "bring upon themselves swift destruction," and that "they shall utterly perish in their own corruption," Phil. iii. 19; 2 Pet. ii, 1-12. I cannot see how it is possible to reconcile Universalism with these testimonies. That doctrine teaches that whatever may be the condition of the ungodly in. this world, they shall in the end be saved. But the word of inspiration tells us that their "end is destruction;" that they "shall utterly perish in their own corruption." If this testimony be true, that doctrine is false; because nothing can come after the end, and those who utterly, i. e. wholly perish, cannot be saved. Let it be observed, however, that to be destroyed, and to perish, is not to be annihilated, but to be punished.

5. St. Jude leaves an explicit testimony to

the doctrine of future punishment. Speaking of Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities about them, he says, "They are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire," verse 7. On this passage we may remark, 1. That it does not speak of the punishment of those ancient sinners as being passed, but as still continuing, they are “suffering," and he assigns a reason for it, viz., 2. “They are set forth for an example." 3. This example could not be in the literal destruction of those cities, for we know not that they have been an example in this sense. It must therefore be in their "suffering the vengeance of eternal fire." 4. He that denies this, makes that no example, which God "hath set forth for an example" unto all that should after live ungodly.

6. The argument for future punishment is equally conclusive, if not as explicit, from all those individuals, cities, and nations, which have been destroyed by the judgments of God. What is there in these cases to induce the belief that the progress of these was toward a state of consummate felicity? Does not every thing induce the contrary belief? They advanced in wickedness till their iniquity was full. So far from diminishing their liability to punishment, they were constantly increasing it. The anger of Heaven was revealed against them, and the tokens of his wrath were more and more visible. At length they were taken away by his judgments; and