him from the evils of this prefent | world, he had nothing more to fuffer. He was removed from all evil forever, and placed high above its reach, in a state of reft and comfort, joy and happiness without alloy. Such, fo vaft and infinitely interefting is the difference between the present and the future state of the wicked, and of the righteous. At death, the one paffes, on a fudden, from all the comfortable enjoyments and fond hopes and expectations, which are here experienced, into a ftate of as infupportable pain and torment, as if he was plunged into a flaming fire and fupported in existence with all his fenfes in full vigor, and capable of recollecting and reflecting upon his paft life, privileges and enjoyments, and knowing that they are completely gone forever, whilft the leaft alleviation to his present torment is utterly unattainable.

The other is at once removed from all the evils-from all the fins and forrows, doubts and fears, trials and temptations, afflictions and fufferings of the prefent life, and lodged with fafety in the manfions of peace and comfort, reft and happiness, far above the reach of every evil forever. Nor is there any room for the latter to fear, that at fome future period he may lose his present happiness, or exchange it for the oppofite ftate of torment; or for the other to alleviate the anguifh of his heart by the diftant hope of paffing, at fome future period, from his present state of torment to the bleffed abodes of the righteous. For when Abraham had informed the rich man that he had received his good things in his life time, and Lazarus evil things; but now Lazarus was comforted and he tormented,-in language most naVOL. IIL No. 9.

turally and evidently importing, that the one in his life time received the whole of his portion of good, all that he was ever to enjoy, and nothing but torment remained for him; and that the other likewife received in his life time all his evil things, and nothing more of evil remained for him, but unmingled comfort or happiness; for the more explicit and unequivocal declaration of this folemn truth, the more deeply to imprefs it on the mind, and to cut off all hope of relief, or of ever paffing from the state of mifery to the oppofite state of happinefs, he added, " And befides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: fo that they who would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us that would come from thence."

The feparation between the righteous and the wicked, the happy and the miserable, in the future state, is fixed, eftablished, so as to render all paffing from the one to the other utterly impoffible. This is reprefented by the figure of a great gulf, a vast chafm, over which no creature can poffibly pafs, fixed between their refpective places of refidence. By the unalterable decree and irreversible fentence of God, the line of feparation is fixed and impaffable; fo that if we might fuppofe any of the happy to have fuch compaffionate feelings towards their fellow creatures in torment, as to be willing to go to them to adminif ter fome alleviation to their pains, it is not in their power to do it. Nor, on the other hand, is it poffible for those in the place of torment, tho they should be ever fo defirous of it, to pass over to the bleffed abode of the righteous, to partake in their happiness. This

X x

The gulf which feparated between the two ftates was fixed-a word very emphatical, in the original, importing unalterably and immov.

appears to be the inftruction moft directly held forth in the wordsas tho they had been uttered on purpose to guard us against the vain and impious doctrine of pre-ably eftablifhed. Therefore, to infumptuous men, that the wicked, finuate, furmife, or pretend the after fuffering a while in hell, or meaning might be, that for the in purgatory, will be released from prefent the gulf is placed there, their torments, and go over to and renders the paffage impoffible, partake with the righteous in the tho at fome future period it may everlafting happiness of heaven. be removed, and a paffable highHowever finners in their life time way established out of hell into may fondly hope or imagine, that heaven, is manifeftly to pervert fuch an event will or may poffibly and wreft the words of fcripture. take place; yet, when they enter the other world, they will find it a vain, prefumptuous, delufive imagination, iffuing in the horrors of complete defpair.

Further: The fcriptures bear a uniform teftimony to the fame truth, in a great variety of ways, and terms and modes of expreffion, all moft naturally and clearly importing, and teaching in the moft forcible manner, that the punishment of the wicked will be fria

But how do we know this? By the plain declarations of the word of God, the only medium by which we have any certainly without end. "When a wickknowledge of a future ftate and its important concerns. But what if there is a great gulf fixed between heaven and hell, which is now impaffible? Abraham did not exprefsly fay it would always be fo he did not affirm that the time would never come, when this gulf fhould be removed or filled up, and a paffage opened from hell to heaven. How then do we know but that this may yet be the cafe -The whole that Abraham is here reprefented as faying, according to the moft plain and obvious import of his words, was adapted and defigned to teach the rich man in torments, that his cafe was defperate-that his good things were all paft and gone forever that he was now to look for nothing but unceafing torments, without the fmalleft conceivable alleviation-that all hope of getting out of the state of mifery, or paffing from it to the oppofite ftate of happiness, was vain and groundless, for it could not be.

ed man dieth, his expectation fhall perish." According to the plain declarations of scripture, when fome, who fleep in the duft of the earth, awake to everlafting life, others awake to fhame and everlafting contempt.-Hell, into which the wicked are to be caft, is the fire which never fhall be quenched; where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. Accordingly, when the righteous, after the final fentence of the fupreme Judge, enter into life eternal, the wicked will go away into everlasting punishment.-It had been good for Judas if he had not been born-which could not be true if he went to heaven at his death, or gets there at any future time, to inherit endless glory and happinefs. There is a fin which never fhall be forgiven, neither in this world, nor in the world to come.-There are fome, to whom the mift of darkness is referved forever to whom is referved the blacknefs of darkness

and not a tittle of it will fail of its accomplishment. Heaven and earth may pafs away, but every declaration of the divine word will continue eternally true. Every promise will be punctually ful

forever. They who know not God, and obey not the gofpel, fhall be punished with everlafting deftruction.-There are fome, the fmoke of whofe torment ascendeth up forever and ever.-In the lake of fire and brimftone, all the final-filled, according to its true and ly wicked and impenitent are to have their part, which is the fecond death a death from which the fcriptures no where intimate any redemption or deliverance. The beaft and the falfe prophet, as well as the devil [bafanisthefontai] fhall be tormented, in the lake of fire and brimftone, day and night forever and ever. Rev.

XX. IQ.

It is moreover worthy of Rotice, that the fcriptures in fpeaking of the future punishment of the wicked, no where reprefent it as defigned for their good. They never intimate that it is intended, like a wholesome medicine or falutary difcipline, to purge and purify them, and fit them for future happiness; but they reprefent it as defigned for their perditionfor their deftruction-for their utter and endless ruin.

moft obvious meaning and import; and every threatening will be in like manner fully executed; and the future and eternal state of mankind just such as the fcriptures are plainly defigned to teach and declare it shall be.

Here then, let us open our eyes, and look at our fituation.The fhort and, to us, uncertain period of our prefent life, is our only probationary state for an endlefs eternity. In this short period our characters will be formed for endlefs blifs, or endless woe.— In this life, tho subject to numerous croffes and difappointments, calamities and afflictions, we experience many comfortable enjoyments, and the fympathy and kind affiftance of numerous friends. And here, under the most trying circumftances, there is generally room for hope of an alteration for the better. Yea, if as yet we bear the character, against which the awful denunciations of eternal wrath are made in the fcriptures of truth, there is ftill a poffibility that our character may be changed-that we may come to repentance, and pass from a ftate of condemnation to a state of pardon and acceptance with God, thro faith in Chrift Jefus.

It is not eafy to conceive how the divine teachers of chriftianity, and infpired writers of the new testament, could well have declared and inculcated the doctrine of endless punishment of fuch as die in their fins, by the language then in ufe, in a more clear, explicit, unequivocal, determinate and decifive manner than they have done. To their decifions we must render an implicit and full belief, or re- But the moment our eyes are main in the utmoft uncertainty a-closed in death, and our fouls quit bout the infinitely important con- their present tabernacle of the bocerns of a future ftate. For we dy, our preparatory state will be have no certain knowledge re at a final end. No effential specting them, but what is deriv. change of character or ftate will ed from divine revelation. But be any longer poffible. When whether we believe or disbelieve, death hath brought any under its the word of God abideth forever, power, whether they have lived

feventy years or more, or are cut down in the meridian or prime of life, or in childhood or youth, their character and ftate are fixed for an endless eternity. If they die in the Lord, united to Chrift and partakers of his fpirit, they will partake with him in the glory to which he is exalted. But if they die out of Chrift, whilft dead in trefpaffes and fins, their state will be fixed in hopeless mifery.

In what a critical and alarming fituation is every impenitent Chriftlefs finner, whether old or young! On what a dreadful precipice doth every fuch perfon ftand, expofed and liable, every moment, to take the tremendous leap into the abyfs of mifery, from which there will be no redemption forever!

Is it poffible, that rational creatures, in this fituation, with their eyes open, fhould pafs a day or an hour, without great and earneft concern, to obtain or find fecurity against falling headlong into complete and interminable mifery?Whilst there is an opportunity to efcape, from which they are conftantly liable to be completely and finally cut off, if they do not immediately improve it, how is it poffible that they fhould be fo infatuated, as to attend to any thing elfe in preference to it?

ASTHENES.

doctrines of religion, it may be generally ufeful to profeffors, and especially to the churches in the new fettlements, to have the divine rule of church difcipline, as taught by our blessed Saviour, in the 18th of Matthew, fo explained as to be eafily understood by every well difpofed perfon. For tho the rule, on the first reading of it, appears to describe a line of practice not to be mistaken; yet, when churches have been brought to act upon it, a diverfity in opinion has frequently arifen, concerning the real extent and import of the rule; an unhappy divifion in the church has been the confequence, and brotherly love has failed of exciting to that perfevering watchfulness over every member of the church, which is effential to the honor of Christ, in the world; to the refpectability of the church; and to its growth in real holiness.

Chrift has given the rule, on the principle, that in the most perfect gospel church, which can be formed on earth, offences will ordinarily come. Real Chriftians, at the beft, are weak, imperfect creatures, expofed to error; and from the remaining lufts of the flesh and of the eye, the pride of life and the infinuating temptations of the great adverfary of fouls, to fall into fin, and pierce with fresh wounds

The means for reclaiming a back- the dear Redeemer. fliding brother.

The glori

ous Son of God, therefore, ia mercy to his church, has provided a remedy, for the recovery of fuch weak, inconfiderate backfliders, honorable to himself, and peculiarly adapted to humble the offender, all his days, before God, for his fin and folly. This remedy confifts in the faithful brotherly watch of all the members of the church over each other, never fuffering a fcandalizing fin to pass, in a