that, by Christ all shall be made alive. He tasted death for every man. He is the propitiation for the sins of the whole world. He is the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world.

On this we observe first, You admit then, that the Univer salist is in error, when he asserts that God never threatened any punishment after death-and that he is in error, when he says, we have no more to fear from the justice than from the mercy of God. You admit then that endless future punishment has from the beginning been threatened against impenitent sinners; but maintain that it is, after all, a mere bugbear, because God's mercy in Christ delivers the wicked as well as the righteous from all punishment after death. And you maintain, that though God uses the same language, both in the Old and New Testament-language in which he threatens endless future punishment to the wicked, yet God will break his word, contradict himself, and even be guilty of false swearing, in order to save the wicked! All these consequences flow from your admission and your doctrine. But these consequences cannot possibly be true, and therefore your doctrine cannot be true.

II. We have already shown from reason, from history, and from revelation, that the doctrine of the Universalist cannot possibly be true: but we may add here the following argument:-St. John in the Revelations says, He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death. Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. On such, (viz. the souls of martyrs,) the second death hath no power. Death and hell (Hades) were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life, was cast into the lake of fire. The fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. There shall in no wise

9 Rev. ii. xx. xxi, and xxii.

*

enter into it-(viz. the new heaven and new earth-the new Jerusalem, the heavenly city, where God, and the Lamb, and their faithful servants, reign in bliss for ever and ever)—there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie; but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life. He that is unjust, let him be unjust still; and he that is holy, let him be holy still. Behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man as his work shall be. Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have a right to the tree of life; and may enter in, through the gates, into the city. For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.

St. John here speaks of what is to take place after the first death-after the resurrection-and indeed in the day of judgment. He mentions two descriptions of character-those who overcome sin, who keep God's commandments, who are holy and faithful unto death, and whose names are written in the book of life-and those on the other hand, who are unholy, and whose names are not written in the book of life. To these two different descriptions of character he assigns two different places, and two different conditions. The holy receive a crown of life-they have a right to the tree of lifethey enter into the new heaven and holy Jerusalem, where God and the Lamb reside, and where they reign with him in bliss for ever. The unholy are excluded from this blissful place they are cast into the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone-they die the second death. Thus God rewards every one according to his works.

Now could life and death, future happiness and future punishment, be set before us in plainer or stronger terms? Is the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone a place of enjoyment? Is it a desirable thing to be shut out from heaven, from the presence of God and the society of the blessed? O Universalism, how shockingly dost thou pervert the oracles of truth! O sinner, how shall you escape, if you neglect the

great salvation! If the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the sinner and the ungodly appear?

But the Universalist alleges that he brings direct proof from Scripture in favour of his doctrine, when he quotes those passages which state, that, through Christ, all shall be made alive that he taketh away the sins of the world, &c. Answer: The whole system of Universalism, like all other he resies, is built upon equivocal passages of Scripture-those passages that admit of two different interpretations, either natural or forced. In interpreting all such passages, it is a universally admitted rule, that we must give them that signification which agrees best with the general character and design of Scripture-that we must never interpret one passage so as plainly to contradict another; for the Scriptures cannot possibly contradict themselves-and that of different meanings, that which is the most natural, and has the least difficulties to contend with, is to be preferred. Now we have already proved, that the leading doctrine of the Universalist is both unreasonable and unscriptural; and cannot possibly be true, if the Scriptures are true. Should, therefore, any equivocal passage admit of one interpretation which was favourable to the Universalist doctrine, we should still, according to the above rule, be obliged to reject it as anténable, and give to it that other signification which agrees best with the analogy of faith, and the character of Scripture and of God. Thus, all shall be made alive again, through Christ, may have two meanings at least we will admit this for the present, as we cannot stay here to dispute it may either mean that all shall be made happy for ever through Christ, or that all shall hereafter be raised to life again, and at the resurrection have their souls and bodies reunited. But the first of these interpretations cannot be the true one, for it contradicts other parts of Scripture; and neither God nor his word can contradict themselves. The other interpretation then must necessarily be adopted, and be the true one; for it agrees perfectly with other parts of holy writ. We shall all be raised from

* 1 Pet. iv. 18.

the dead. There shall be, says St. Paul, a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust. But after the resurrection to a state of eternal existence, our souls and bodies having been reunited, we shall all be rewarded or punished according to our characters and our works. Many of them, says Daniel or rather, according to the original; the multitudes of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And our blessed Saviour declares, that the time is coming, in which all who are in the graves shall hear the voice of the Son of man, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation."

From all this it is manifest that Daniel in the Old Testament teaches the doctrine of future punishment; since everlasting shame and contempt, as contrasted with everlasting life, can mean nothing less. It is manifest too, that though Christ tasted death for every man, and all are made alive again at the resurrection by him, still this only is for the purpose of rewarding or punishing every one according to his works, and bestowing upon them salvation or damnation accordingly as they have done good or evil.

In the same manner we understand the Scriptures, when they say that Christ taketh away the sins of the world, and that he is the propitiation for the sins of the whole world. He has delivered the whole human race from their state of wrath by nature he has redeemed them from that curse which subjected them to eternal death he has removed all those original disqualifications which made their salvation impossible he has placed them under a new and gracious covenant, better suited to their fallen nature he has restored to them the immortality they had forfeited and furnished them with those influences of the Spirit which are sufficient to sanctify every sinner with that atoning blood which cleanseth from all sinand in fine, with all the means of

3 Acts xxiv. 15.

t See Parkhurst and Gesenius on the original word. Dan. xii. 2; John v. 28.

grace and salvation. But after all this, final salvation is an inheritance we may forfeit. If we live and die in sin, God will disinherit us. All who do not by personal, wilful sin, that is unrepented of, forfeit the immortal life and happiness purchased for them by the mediation and atoning blood of Christ -all such shall be saved with an everlasting salvation in heaven. And this, as our Church teaches, is the case with all idiots, all who die in infancy and early childhood, and with all moral agents, who, though they sin, do nevertheless repent, and are found in a state of holiness at death. But to all who are moral agents-all except infants and idiots, final salvation is offered upon certain conditions: and if, while God works within us to enable us to will and to do according to his plea sure, we do not give all diligence to work out our salvation by a life of holy obedience, our awful portion and inheritance must be all that endless future punishment which is set forth in Scripture under the appalling expressions of the second death-the worm that dieth not-the fire that is not quenched -everlasting destruction and everlasting burnings!

Universalism pretends to bring many other passages as direct witnesses in its favour; but they all admit of two differ⚫ent interpretations. The above principle and remarks, therefore, are a sufficient answer to them all. According to the ordinary rules of construction, the Universalist interpretation is necessarily wrong, and the orthodox interpretation is the only one that can be true.

We have thus then again proved, by a separate chain of reasoning, that a future state of endless rewards and punishments was made known from the very beginning of the world; and that the doctrine of the Universalist is therefore at variance with the language and the meaning of Scripture, from Genesis to Revelations. For throughout God's word, eternal life and happiness are promised conditionally to all moral agents. We have, however, said enough upon this first head; and we proceed therefore to our second proof from Scripture. 2dly. That those who do not comply with the conditions upon which salvation is offered in the Gospel, cannot be admitted to eternal life and happiness, is manifest from