hath said of the one, that it had been good for him if he had never been born, and God hath told us, he raised up the other, that his name might be declared throughout all the earth. Hence the supreme and ultimate ends of the Deity in the creation of the world, afford no evidence in favor of the universal salvation of the human race. It may be consistent with God's original and eternal designs, for aught we know, to continue the miseries of the damned to all eternity.

We often hear the infinite love and mercy of the Deity pathet ically urged, as an irrefragable argument against the eternity of future punishments. It is said, "This doctrine represents the divine benevolence as far below the pity and compassion that are found in the human heart. A parent's love cannot endure the thought that the dear offspring of his own bowels should be made fuel for quenchless flames. And the most malevolent man on earth does not even wish that his worst enemy should lie down in eternal sorrow, and dwell with everlasting burnings. Much less can the kind Parent of the universe, who is good unto all, and whose tender mercies are over all his works, find it in his heart to doom any of the human race to the pains of hell for ever."

This objection appears to be rather an address to the soft and tender passions of human nature, than an appeal to the cool and impartial dictates of right reason. The weaker passions of our animal nature recoil in the view of those acts of public justice, which our reason, our conscience, and our real benevolence approve, and which the divine authority hath absolutely required. But who would hence conclude that our love and compassion transcend the tender mercies of the Deity? Did not Noah preach an hundred and twenty years to a stupid and impenitent world? Did he not offer up strong prayers and cries to the Father of mercies, that he would graciously avert the dire destruction which hung over their guilty heads? And did he not rise in fervor and importunity, as the period of their day of grace and space of repentance drew nigh? How then must he have felt when he stood a spectator of their final doom! Who can describe or conceive the tender emotions of his heart, the painful conflicts and tumults of his breast, when the tremendous scene opened to his view; when he beheld the rains falling, the fountains of the great deep breaking up, and all nature in convulsions; and heard the waves roaring, and a guilty world, day after day, crying and praying, and rending the heavens with their last expiring groans! But shall we imagine that God was equally shocked on this solemn occasion? No. He, (if we may be allowed the comparison) stood like Brutus, with stern justice on his countenance, and beheld

his beloved but guilty offspring receive the due reward of their deeds.

With what fervent importunity did Abraham beseech the Most High to spare the devoted cities of Sodom and Gomorrah? And next morning, when he repaired to the place where he had stood and prayed before the Lord, and looked towards Sodom and Gomorrah, and towards all the land of the plain, and beheld, and lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace; how did it awaken every tender feeling of humanity and benevolence? But who will hence conclude, that the Father of mercies had less love and compassion towards the workmanship of his own hands, than Abraham? Hence nothing but our danger can equal our delusion, if we imagine the Divine Being to be altogether such an one as ourselves, and judge of the divine clemency by our own. What if Noah, what if Lot had done so? What if Noah had said, "I know the world is become universally corrupt. I know the earth is filled with violence. I know God hath told me his patience is limited to one hundred and twenty years. But I know my own heart recoils at the thoughts of their destruction, and it is my sincere desire and prayer to God that they might be saved. And I also know God is infinitely more kind, and gracious, and merciful than I am. I will therefore neglect the ark, and build my house on the sand, and fear no evil." But behold, the floods come, the winds blow, and the storms beat on his house, and it falls, and great is the fall of it! What if Lot had considered the divine threatenings as a mere mockery, like his sons-in-law, would he not have perished with them in the ruins of Sodom? And is it not equally dangerous to reason in the same manner now, against the threatenings of the wrath to come?

But still, says the objector, Is not God a God of love? And is it the nature of love to punish, especially its beloved objects? I answer, Yes; it is the genuine tendency of true love, under certain circumstances, to punish. True love to his child, induces the kind and indulgent parent to use the rod of correction for his good. So says Solomon, "He that spareth the rod, hateth his son, but he that loveth him, chasteneth him betimes." So," Whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth." "But this reaches not the case," replies the objector. "I can easily conceive that love should punish its beloved object for its good; but will it extend farther? Will it punish more than the benefit of the object punished requires? Will it therefore punish for ever?" No doubt it will, when the good of the object punished is not the end proposed by the punishment. It is not always the intention of punishment to consult the good of the object pun

ished. This is never the case with respect to capital punishments in this life. It is love to his country, or a tender regard to the public good, that induces the civil magistrate to condemn the traitor or murderer to a painful and ignominious death. It was love to God that fired the breast of Phineas, when he rushed into the camp of Israel, and slew Zimri and Cosbi. And thus it was considered, approved and rewarded by the God of love. "And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Phineas the son of Eleazer, the son of Aaron the priest, hath turned my wrath away from the children of Israel (while he was zealous for my sake among them) that I consumed not the children of Israel in my jealousy. Wherefore say, Behold, I give unto him my covenant of peace," &c. It is love to the objects injured, and not to the objects punished, that dictates the nature, degree and duration of their punishment. Thus it is God's love to himself, to his Son, to his law, and to the general good of the universe, that induces him to punish the wicked after death. And as his infinite love to these objects will eternally remain, so it will induce him to punish the wicked for ever. His love will burn to the lowest hell. Hence we find that the most exemplary acts of divine justice are represented in scripture as the expressions of divine mercy. "O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever." "To him that by wisdom made the heavens; for his mercy endureth for ever." "To him that smote Egypt in their first born; for his mercy endureth for ever: And brought out Israel from among them; for his mercy endureth for ever;" "But overthrew Pharaoh and his hosts in the Red Sea; for his mercy endureth for ever." "To him that smote great kings; for his mercy endureth for ever: And slew famous kings; for his mercy endureth for ever; Sihon king of the Amorites; for his mercy endureth for ever: And Og the king of Bashan; for his mercy endureth for ever." Here the displays of divine justice are considered as the displays of the same goodness which first gave birth to the creation of the world. But to whom is the display of this justice a mercy? To the wicked? Nay, but to the Israel,-the church of God. Hence the degree and duration of the punishments of the wicked, will always hold proportion to the degree and duration of the divine love to the righteous. Accordingly God represents his punitive justice as the necessary fruit and effect of his infinite goodness and mercy. When Moses requested a special manifestation of his glory, he told him he would cause all his goodness to pass before him. And to do this, he proclaimed himself "the Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth-and that will by no means clear the

guilty." Thus it appears that divine goodness may, and infallibly will punish the wicked for ever, if the good of the universe requires their eternal punishment.

"The punishments of the damned," say some, "must disturb the joys of the blessed. For how can those pure and benevolent spirits behold, without pain, multitudes of their fellow creatures, whom they love as themselves, eternally weltering under the vials of divine wrath."

In answer to this it may be observed,

First, that the punishments of the damned are the displays of divine justice towards them.

Secondly, that they are the displays of divine goodness towards the blessed. Hence,

Thirdly, as displays of divine goodness, the heavenly hosts ought not only to approve of them, but to rejoice in them, and praise God for them. And hence,

Fourthly, The scripture tells us, that the pure spirits above do rejoice in and praise God for the eternal punishments which he inflicts upon his and their enemies. Upon the fall of mystical Babylon, it is said, "Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her." "And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; salvation and glory, and power unto the Lord our God: For true and righteous are his judgments; for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever."

It is said, "If God should save some of mankind and finally punish others, then he would be a respecter of persons."

To this it is sufficient to reply, that divine inspiration assures us that God's rewarding the righteous and punishing the wicked, is the very thing which demonstrates him to be no respecter of persons. "But if ye call on the Father, who, without respect to persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear." 1 Peter, i. 17." And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance; for ye serve the Lord Christ. But he that doeth wrong, shall receive for the wrong which he hath done; and there is no respect of persons." Colossians, iii. 23

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And the apostle tells the finally impenitent sinner, that "God will render to every man according to his deeds. To them, who, by patient continuance in well doing, seek for glory, and honor, and immortality, eternal life; but unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrigh

teousness, indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile. For there is no respect of persons with God." Romans, ii. 6-11.

It is farther urged against the eternal punishments of the wicked, that "though God is obliged to fulfil his promises, yet he is not obliged to fulfil his threatenings; and therefore, notwithstanding he has threatened eternal destruction to the finally impenitent, yet we cannot hence absolutely determine that he will make them eternally miserable."

This objection does in a great measure, if not entirely, defeat itself. For it supposes,

First, That God has really threatened eternal destruction to the wicked.

Secondly, It supposes that God may consistently with justice make them eternally miserable.

Thirdly, It supposes that it is utterly impossible for us to know and prove that he will not punish them eternally, because this cannot be known, unless God has promised not to fulfil his threatenings, which is absurd.

Fourthly, It supposes that it is probable that he will punish the wicked for ever. Divine threatenings must, at least, imply that it is in some measure probable that God will fulfil them, or else they imply nothing, have no meaning, and answer no end. And this probability is greatly corroborated by the many instances which the scripture gives us, of God's fulfilling his threatenings. He threatened to destroy the old world, in the space of an hundred and twenty years. And accordingly at the time appointed he destroyed them. He threatened to judge and destroy the Egyptians, after a period of four hundred years. And when the time of the promise and threatening came, he overthrew the Egyptians, and set the seed of Abraham free from the house of bondage. He threatened destruction to the Canaanites, and he destroyed them accordingly. He threatened a seventy years' captivity to his people Israel, and he fulfilled his threatenings. He threatened the total excision of the Jews, their city and temple, and they were cut off at the time predicted. He threatened the ruin of the seven churches of Asia, and his threatenings have long since been fulfilled. He threatened the utter extinction of Babylon and Nineveh, and his threatenings have had a most exact and punctual accomplishment.* These, and many other instances which might be adduced, afford a strong probability and presumption that God will fulfil all his threatenings according to their real nature and import.

* See Newton on the Prophecies.