part of the miseries of his melancholy abode has been told you.

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O think what it must be, to be consigned to a doleful dungeon,-to dwell in the fierceness of a scorching flame, -to be bound with eternal chains, to heave hopeless sighs, to shed fruitless tears,—to utter hideous groans and outbursting lamentations, and to feel the gnawings of a never dying worm and the bitter anguish of an unquenchable fire. But I sincerely pray that none of us may ever know by experience what these things mean, nor may we ever feel by losing our souls what is implied in the bitter pains of eternal death;" but purged in the Redeemer's blood, may we rise to the Paradise of bliss, join with the "multitude which no man can number?' who encircle the throne of glory, and with them swell the pealing anthem of praise, and dwell in the Divine presence for evermore, where we shall not only live, but, along the lapse of endless duration, shall live to be increasingly wise and happy. Amen.

Introductory remarks to the argumentative part of the Lectures.The evidence by which the immortality of the soul is supported entered upon.-The four sources, of argument stated from which this evidence is derived. The arguments which may be gathered fram the world. From the design of its origin,―the beauty, harmony, and variety which it possesses, and the changes through which it passes without any part being annihilated.

It has been frequently remarked, and I think with very good reason, that did men fully believe, and constantly remember, that they have a principle which will survive the dissolution of their bodies, and that, as conscious intelligences, they must exist for ever, the world and its trifles, and eternity and its incomparably important realities, would be treated in a manner far more agreeably to their nature and claims than they commonly are. Let a man be fully persuaded in his own mind, that, as a conscious being, he must continue through endless duration, possessed of nameless happiness or misery; that during the scenes of his future destiny, he must pass through many varieties of untried existence; that bliss divine, lavished upon him by the bounteous hand of infinite goodness, will be his portion; or that he must be banished from the comforts of his Creator's presence, and be eternally bereft of the enjoyments flowing from his smile, and know and feel what is meant by the terrors of his frown,

and we feel considerable difficulty in conceiving how such a man can be indifferent to the interests of his soul, and the issue of his life. Hence I think we may fairly conclude, that the prevailing indifference to these things, so visible in the conduct of many, arises either from for-1 getfulness of that vast eternity which lays before them, or from indulging their minds in some ill founded persuasion, that their souls are mortal, and that their thinking principle will not survive the corruption of the grave.

I fear that many persons are suffering themselves to be deluded by this destructive chimera. Though they are called by the christian name, and reside in a christian country, though they are surrounded with many proofs. tending to convince them, that they are responsible agents, and that their souls are deathless as the Being that gave them existence,-yet, with a degree of carelesness truly astonishing, they shut their eyes against the whole. Their senses are struck with the noise of visible and surrounding objects, and attracted with the flare of the vanishing meteors amidst which they are placed. These things having engrossed their whole concern, obliterated serious subjects from their minds, and tempted them into the commission of much crime, they become conscious of their moral unfitness for inheriting that world of purity and enjoyment of which we have information in the volume of Divine Truth. Under these impressions they conclude, that should there be any existence beyond the grave; their lot must be cast in a region of endless misery. But to them this mode of thinking is always gloomy, and sometimes distressing. Hence the mind instinctively revolts from the survey, and thus numbers endeavour to release themselves from the uneasy feelings arising from contem plating this subject, by indulging the idea, that there will be no hereafter. And, what is truly amazing, without ever seriously examining their situation, and weighing the

evidence with which they are furnished, some have treated this momentous subject with jest and ridicule. If there be a heaven of bliss for pious beings, they have declined the practice of that conduct which was in any way likely to bring them there; and while bewildered with folly, and loadened with sin, they have resigned themselves to the appalling alternative, of either loosing their being at death, and sinking into annihilation, or else of becoming the heirs of anguish, tribulation, and eternal woe.

This, however, is a line of conduct altogether indefencible, and is reprobated by every principle of good policy and rational proceeding. Why treat the concerns of your souls with less prudence and caution than those of your bodies? Why be more alive to the probable result of your worldly traffic, than the decision of evidence with which you are surrounded concerning the loss of your existence, or the eternity of its continuance? Why shut your eyes against the light streaming upon you, and persuade yourselves into obstinate unbelief? Would you not do well, at all events, to awaken and commence some serious enquiries and close investigation? And could I admit the immortality of your souls as doubtful, even in that case, would it not be the part of prudence to take the safe side, by practising that mode of conduct which is most rational in its performance, and promising to be most comfortable in its termination?

"When we look back,” says an eminent author, "into the inexplicable abyss of that eternity which has already past, when we look forward to the immeasurable extent and unfathomable depth of eternity to come, when we behold time and all its circling years, appearing only like a point on the surface of that boundless ocean, when we consider the immense spaces of the universe with which we are surrounded, and the innumerable worlds that lie dispersed in every direction, throughout the immeasurable

tracts of creation, when we consider that our existence, as thinking beings, may run parallel with interminable ages, and that in the revolutions of eternity, we may exist in regions of space immeasurably distant from our present habitation, associate with other orders of intelligent beings, and pass through new scenes and changes in distant worlds, and when we consider that our relation to time may be dissolved, and our connection with eternity commenced within the space of a few months or years, or even before the sun shall have described another circuit round the earth,—no enquiry can appear so momentous and interesting, as that which leads to the determination of our future and eternal destiny, and of those realities which await us beyond the tomb. To remain insensible to the importance of such an enquiry, and unaffected at the prospect of the result to which it may lead,-while we are feelingly alive to all the paltry concerns, and little ills of life, would argue the most unaccountable stupidity, in-consistency, and infatuation."

Let me then endeavour to engage your minds with this all important theme; let me persuade you to a line of conduct more rational and consistent; and, as you must admit, that, at the least, there are probabilities in favour of your soul's immortality, do enter upon a sober investigation of the subject, and cautiously examine those truths which are calculated to throw light on your future destination.

Having noticed a few of the leading particulars in the immortality of the soul, I now proceed to consider,ang

THE EVIDENCE BY WHICH THIS TRUTH IS SUPPORTED..

This evidence is very strong, the arguments in favour of the soul's immortality, are numerous. In or der that you may see the clearness, and feel the force of