^^ ^ PRINCETON, N. J. *^ Presented byTVavid said this ? Yes, it is. " Great is thy mercy, O Lord ; for thou hast delivered my soid from the laivest helV^ Is it possible he had been in the lowest hell, and had been delivered from it ? Was he in this world, or in another world, when he wrote thus ? He was in this world. He was flesh and blood ; but he had been in the lowest hell! God had been merciful towards him, and had delivered him from it. " But," says the objector, " I do not know that that is making a right use of the text. Perhaps all he meant was, that he was prevented from going there. If the pains of that awful torment had seized upon him, he could not have been delivered." In the one hundred and sixteenth psalm and the third verse, he says, " The pains of hell gat hold upon me." Now there is no need of the first words. Here is testimony direct. He says, first, that God had delivered him from the lowest hell ; and then, he says, tlie pains of hell gat hold of him. He had not only been in the lov.est Ij^ll, but the pains of hell had seized upon him ; and y^ he was delivered by the merey of God! God did ^np^ accept of hig HELL THE PUNISHMENT OF SIN» 147 going into hell as an atonement, but by his repent* ance he was delivered from hell. In addition to the testimony of David, I will give you that of Jonah; who, when speaking of his deliverance from the belly of the fish,^ says, " Out of the belly of hell cried I unto the Lord, and thou heardest my voice." He must have been there when he cried unto God, and when he cried God heard him. Now, here it is evident that it was possible for Jonah to be in the belly of hell, and for God to hear him when he cried to him. The Bible contains a great many other things, with respect to hell, which prove that it is in this world. Solo- mon, in his ninth chapter of Proverbs, says, " A foolish woman is clamorous: she is simple, and knoweth nothing. For she sitteth at the door of her house, on a seat in the high places of the city, to call passengers who go right on their ways : whoso is simple, let him turn in hither ; and as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him. Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleas- ant. But he knoweth not that the dead are there : and that her guests are in the depths of hdi:' 0, * See Note B. 148 HELL THE PUNISHMENT OF SIN. my friendly hearers, most assuredly, according to this testimony, every individual who listens to the voice of folly, and deviates from the paths of wisdom and righteousness, finds himself in the lowest depths of hell !=^ Once more, I will give you an instance of the use of the word " hell," and then shall suppose that I have given you enough. St. James says of the tongue, — that "little member," which "boasteth great things," — " The tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the whole course of nature ; and it is set on fire of hell." t Did you never see men join together, and with their tongues kindle up a fire ? Yes. St. James calls that hell. They did it with their tongue, that unclean member, full of deadly poison. 0, the tongue, ungoverned, will turn you into hell, and bring you into sorrow and trouble ! I cannot believe that my subject now remains obscure. You must now, I think, understand the true application of this subject, " The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget Ck)d." Every individual who walks in the paths of ♦ See Note C. t See Note D. HELL THE PUNISIiMENT OF SIN. 149 wickedness goes into hell; for trouble, perplexity and misery, are the inseparable companions of sin and transgression. All the nations of the earth that practise wickedness are involved in trouble and wickedness. I ask now whether hell is in this world or in another ? You must say, in answer, " In this world." Read the history of the Jewish nation. What exalted her? A wise and equal policy, a judicious line of conduct and administra- tion of government, consistent with the laws of righteousness. What threw this nation down from her glory ? What blotted her name from heaven ? Her transgressions ; it was because she sinned against God, and did not do justice towards his Son. What exalted the house of Israel ? Their righteousness and piety. What degraded that people lower than any other people ? Their disobedience to Heaven. And when our blessed Saviour spoke of their destruction, he said, " For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled." And what was written in the law of Moses, with respect to the people who should sin against God, has been accomplished upon that peo- ple. Can you read the Scriptures, and know that 13# 150 HELL THE PUNISHMENT OF SIN, the house of Israel was not punished for their sins ? No. And now I will ask you a question which comprises what has passed under your own obser- vation. It is contended, by a deluded ministry, that God does not reward virtue and holiness in the earth, but keeps back the reward until his children shall enter another world. Is this true ? I appeal to your own observation ; and look away from yourselves, if you are not pleased to observe yourselves. Look at those who are wretched and miserable, destitute of friends in the world, — the most degraded, who have not even the consolation of a good conscience, nor the esteem of society at large. I ask you, have they got into this miserable situation by their well- doing ? Do honestly answer me this question. Is it their well-doing which has been the cause of all this misery ? No : you know to the contrary. You know it was their idleness, their want of econ- omy, giving themselves up to their blind passions, and following after sinful pleasure. When you look at a dissipated young man, do you not feel an emo- tion of pity and grief, as you see him ruining him- self? What is the cause of this ? His vain appe- HELL THE PUNISHMENT OP SIN. 151 tites. He will soon be by the wall, and he is seen staggering about the streets. Can there be a worse hell than this ? If you want to see a worse hell, go into that dear family where distress is heightened by family broils, where misery is brought on by the disobedience of children to parents, and the unkindness of parents to children. I ask you, is it righteousness that breaks up the peace of families ? Is it well-doing ? No ; evil conduct. I wish to ask you, now, is it religion, is it virtue, that gives so many inmates to the penitentiary ? Is it right- eousness that drives so many wretched victims to the gallows, and to confinement for life? No. Now, that is hell ; all such misery is hell. The world is full of it. Some are just turning in, some are just turning out ; and we pray, and fervently pray, God to keep them out of this condition. It is the inevitable consequence of transgression; and I tell you, old and young, if you transgress, if you do wrong, you must suffer for it. The way to avoid being wretched is to love God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength, and your neighbor as yourself. Let me read a passage of scripture, and you will understand this. 152 HELL THE PXJNISHMENT OJ? SIN. " By grace are ye saved, througli faith; and that not of youi'selves, it is the gift of God," " Then," says the hearer, "it is not necessary for me to do good works for the purpose of being saved." No : " Not of works, lest any man should boast ; for we are his workmanship, created in Jesus Christ unto good works, which God hath before ordained, that we walk in them." Now, my friendly hearers, observe that our Saviour saves us " to " good works, not " for " good works ; and a man who is saved is only saved from wrong-doing to right-doing. " Thou shalt call his name Jesus ; for he shall save his peo- ple from their sinsy The thing they are saved from is sin ; and the thing they are saved to is righteousness. And now, lest I should weary your patience, I shall submit what I have said to your dispassionate consideration. I appeal to your understandings whether I have perverted the text in any way. I ask you to look, and see if I hold up any doctrine that naturally leads you to do wrong. Do you live lives of virtue, and agreeably to the commands of God, — then you will live in the enjoyment of God, HELL THE PUNISHMENT OF SIN. 153 and of virtue ; but, if you pursue a contrary course, you can neither enjoy God nor virtue. 0, may the good will of him who hedgeth up the ways of the wicked with thorns hedge up your way, my hearers, so that none of you go in sin and trans- gression ! Then will you be free from misery, and woe, and wretchedness. And let me persuade you to deal justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God ; for this is what God requireth of you : and, if you examine the economy of human life, you will per- ceive that every inconvenience, and every infelicity, is the consequence of wrong-doing. Is there any poor, wretched soul present, who cries out, in the agonies of his heart, and, as it were, from hell, " I have despised God, — I have given myself up to folly, and wandered so far that I cannot get back " ? To such a one I would say. Remember David's case; and remember that he was delivered from the lowest hell. If there be such a one among you, I pray God he may be delivered from sin ; and let us all remember that " blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness." May the Lord give you an appetite for truth, and a hunger and thirst after righteousness ; and may 154 HELL THE PUNISHMENT OF SIN. his spirit lead you to walk iu a way that you may enjoy the presence of God, and the approbation of your own conscience ! For, in keeping God's com- mandments, there is a great reward, — a reward of peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, and comfort and consolation of pure and undefiled religion. And may God grant, my friends, that this reward, this joy, may be yours ! SERMON IX Herein is love, not that wb loved God, but that HE LOVED us, AND SENT HIS SoN TO BE THE PROPITI- ATION FOR OUR SINS. Beloved, if God so loved us, WE ought al&o to love one another. — 1 John 4 : 10, 11. There are several very important subjects con- tained in the passage read for consideration. The first that invites our attention is this : that Tnan did not lave God, " Herein is love, not that we loved God." This was not the case. A question is framed on this subject, which is this : What was the reason, what was the cause, of man's not loving God ? There has been a great deal said upon the criminality of the want of love in man towards the Deity. It is our duty, in approaching this subject, to investigate it with caution, — to look into its nature, that we may be capable of judging of it, aa we are capable of judging of any other subject of consequence to us. 156 god's uncaused love to man. In order to understand this question correctly, we ask the reason why we do not love anything else ? For it is observable, in common life, that there are some things we love, and there are some things we do not love ; and, if we can ascertain the cause that leads us to love any object whatever, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, the reason why we do not love other objects, we get data by which we can answer our question. What, then, is the cause of our delighting in and loving certain objects ? " Be- cause," says the hearer, " I see in those objects that which is lovely, or, at least, lovely to my apprehen- sion, — that which is agreeable to me, and the possession of which is calculated to render me blest." Very well. On the other hand, why do you look on other objects with a disgusted eye ? " Because," you answer, " there is no beauty in such objects, — there is no loveliness in them. I see nothing in them agreeable to me." I ask you, is it not in your power to love a disagreeable object, as well as an agreeable one ? " Why, indeed," you respond, " it is impossible ! " Could you not, my friends, love that disagreeable object, if you were threatened with some punishment if you did not love it ? Suppose ood's uncaused love to man. 157 I stated to you, if you would love sucb an object of disgust, you should receive great preferment ; but, on the other hand, if you did not love that object, you should suffer great deprivation, and, at last, miserable destruction. Then would you not love it ? " Why," says the hearer, " to be honest about it, I would become a hypocrite, and say I loved it, when I did not ; but, if it was disagreeable to me, I could not love it, though I lost my life if I did not." This is all true. This is simple nature. There is no mystery about it. Then I ask the same question relative to my subject. Why do not men love God ? The answer is simply this : because they see no beauty, no loveliness, — they see nothing in him that is agreeable. This is the reason, and all the reason. Let us be careful how we proceed. Does this suppose that there is no beauty, no loveliness, no worth, in the object ? No, it does not ; but it sup- poses we do not see these qualities. To render this more simple, I will suppose that I had the confi- dence of your little children, and I should tell them that you were their implacable foes, who had planned their destruction, and that they were by no means safe while in your hands. If they should believe 14 158 god's uncaused love to man. all this, and look up to their parents throTigh the medium of this misrepresentation, they would see no beauty, no excellence, that they could admire ; but they would leave the door of your house, and your children would be gone at once. In this situation, knowing the cause that led them away, what would be your feelings towards them ? Would you hate your children because I deceived them, and through the medium of this deception caused them to dislike you ? No, my hearers, you would love them still, knowing them to be deceived, and that this decep- tion was the only cause of their not loving you. But what would you think of me, who came into your house, and deceived your children in this way, and turned their tender hearts from having any affection, any love towards you, by representing you as their enemy ? My fiiends, I do not suppose any man would be so wicked as to tell your children such a story, unless he was deceived himself. But, if I were so deceived as to think your children unsafe in your hands, I might honestly deceive your children. And it was just so with our teachers. They really thought that we were unsafe in God's hands ; they represented god's uncaused love to man. 159 him as our enemy ; and while man believes this of God, it is impossible, in the very nature of things, for him to love his Maker. The result of this, reasoning is simply this : that the whole reason why mankind do not love God is, because they do not know him to he a lovely being. They do not un- derstand his true character ; they have fixed on God a character which does not exist; but, when you know his character, you will love him, as, when your deceived children are undeceived, they will love you. Unless they know your true character, it is impossible for them to love you. When we make this discovery, we will suppose we have answered the question. What is the reason why we do not love God ? Our answer is, because we do not know his nature, because mankind have been deceived as to his character. They believed him to be their enemy, whereas he is, in fact, their friend. I will not consume the precious time in describ- ing to you the impropriety that your humble servant discovers in the labors of so many men, who have come forward and preached to the world that man- kind were not safe in the hands of their Maker. My hearers, it makes my heart bleed to think how 160 GOD'S UNCAUSED LOVE TO MAN. many sorrows and miseries are endured in conse- quence of this deception ! But I have a sweet truth to console you. For God loved us when we were entirely destitute of love to him ; when we knew not his divine character, he was engaged in one steady, invariable action of divine benevolence; and the bosom of God, our author and our creator, was cher- ishing all his offspring. " Herein was love ; not that we loved God, but he loved us." 0, that you could hear the sentence, and understand its full import. Then would you let God have an everlasting obedience in all your hearts; then should I hear you exclaim, " In every situation and under every circumstance, my God loves me." What indescrib- able peace, what confidence, what rest of soul, would you constantly enjoy ! The next proposition in our text is, that God loved 7is when we did not love him ; and a question necessarily arises concerning the justice of such a love. I name it because our opposers insist this is against his mercy, and even deny that he is disposed to save us. I ask you to come then to the consider- ation of this question, — Is it right for God to love mankind, when man does not love him ? " Why," god's uncaused love to man. 161 says the hearer, " no doubt it is right." That, however, does not answer the question, though it may serve to assist us. It does not discover, you perceive, the nature of the justice of God, in loving us when we do not love him. But we can see the answer in the case I have already stated, of a child who is deceived, and who, because he is deceived, does not love his parent. Is it not perfectly right for you to love the child, notwithstanding this decep- tion? You would look upon the child and say, "That child is deceived; it does not know my heart, — it does not know that my real will and pleasure is to guard its welfare." Certainly, in this case, you would love the child, and it would be per- fectly right for you to do so. I ask, would it not be wrong for you not to love it ? Very wrong. Then, my hearers, it is just in the nature of the thing for God to love his creatures. He knows that none would hate him, if they knew him. If they knew his real character, it would tend to put a confidence in him; it would tend to enlighten every under- standing, and bring all to the knowledge of himself ; and this is declared in the Scriptures to be eternal life. For, saith our divine Teacher, " This is life 14* 162 god's uncaused love to man. eternal, to know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent." There is the perfect justice of God's loving the world. We are under obligation to take care of our childi-en, never remov- ing the hand of oiu' providence from them on account of any imperfection in them, but always act- ing for their benefit. And so does our heavenly Father act towards all the creatures he has made. I ask you, does not this reasoning in the result come to this, that the cause of our not loving God is, that we take him to be an enemy to the works of his hand ? Do we not reduce him below the creat- ures of the earth, and disallow God in heaven the virtues which we boast ? Thus we tear the beauti- ful garment of our heavenly Father's character, and represent it as unlovely. Thirdly. Love is always an active principle, and delights to manifest itself to the beloved object. So a parent who loves his child is always doing good to that child. If you love your neighbor, you will sig- nify that love by some act of kindness, of friendship, of affection. If any want, if any misery, is endured by the object of your affection, how soon do you fly to her relief ! how soon do you administer what is requi- god's uncaused love to man. 163 site and necessary ! So it is with God. " Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us." What did he do ? Did he manifest his love by any act ? Yes, he " loved us, and sent his Son to be a propitiation for our sins." Mankind were enveloped in transgression, were covered with a veil of sin ; yet God's love was such that he sent his Son to be a pro- pitiation for our sins. Here, then, observe, the text entirely disproves the doctrine that Jesus came here to suffer and die for us to appease God's wrath, to satisfy his justice, and to reconcile God to mankind. All such doctrine is lost forever, when we come into the light of the text under consideration. How so ? Because the love of God was the occasion of Christ's coming into the world. It would be an egregious error to conceive that God sent his Son into the world to die for the purpose of appeasing his wrath towards the world. Can I state an absurdity greater than to say God sent his Son into the world to die for the purpose of appeasing his own wrath against the world ? There is no sense in it. It is direct contradiction. It is abusing the use of our reason most perniciously. The coming of Christ into the 164 god's uncaused love to man. world was a consequence, not a cause, of God's love to us. Fourthly. God loves us, " and sent his Son to be a propitiation for our sins." What is meant by pro- pitiation? He does what is stated by St. John, when he says, " Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." He does not take away God's wrath, for there is no such thing ; but he takes away the fault. Where is the fault ? In the creature. He takes away the sin. Where is the sin ? In the creature. The remedy is applied where the defect is. " The whole need not a physician, but they that are sick." Medicine is not necessary to remove the wrath of the physician, but to remove the disorder of the patient. I think you must under- stand this subject. It is difficult to conceive that the creature is to be tormented in order to be saved. Therefore, our Saviour says, " To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, to bear witness to the truth." Will that take away the sins of man ? Yes. And I will show you the idea in the sin of your little children, which I have adduced. In what way is the sin of your child to be removed, when, in consequence of god's uncaused love to man. 165 being deceived, it is brought to hate its parent ? By letting the child know your real character. The moment the child knows your real character, that is the death of all its hatred. The child then loves you ; it delights in you, by coming to the knowledge of your real character. Sin would be removed, this moment, from all mankind, if they knew the char- acter of God ; we should put our whole trust in him, and there would be no hatred in the human family towards God. Hence Paul says, " God commended his love towards us, in that while we were yet sin- ners Christ died for us." He died to manifest the love of God to his creature, man. And, when we see in Christ the character of our heavenly Father, it is then we adore him, then we love him, then we are disposed to honor his name. Now, what is the result of this ? Is it what our enemies say ? " No matter what we do ; religion is not worth possessing, if God loves us all ; and if God loves us all, we would not worship him, we would not read the Scriptures, we would not obey his commandments, we would not love one another." Is this the result ? Our enemies, never having been undeceived, really suppose that this doctrine has 166 god's uncaused love to man. such a tendency ; but we have the true result before us. If we believe that God so loved us as to send, his Son to die for us, we ought to love one another. This is the result. This is the consequence of the doctrine ; and we, who have discovered his love to us, if we know that he loves those who do not love him, how reasonable is it that we should be led to love one another ! Shall I not love those objects whom my God loves ? Shall I not love all those for whose sins he sent his Son to be a propitiation ? Most assuredly. This is a consequence naturally to be expected, and necessarily, from the proposition we have laid down. In fact, it is impossible it should have any contrary effect upon our hearts. I do not say that all who profess the doctrine do love one another as they ought ; but I have the confi- dence to say that no one who possesses the real sen- timent, the real principle, in his heart, can do other- wise than love all mankind ; and here you will easily perceive that all the commandments of the gospel are to be obeyed. For when you love one another, and love God, what duty is there that will be neglected ? what duty is there that will not be fulfilled ? what is there that will not be done god'b uncaused love to man. 167 which ought to be done ? If this will not lead us to our duty, what will ? Will terror make us do our duty ? No ; for (referring once more to the simili- tude), what drove your children away ? It was believing the story they were told of your character. What brought them back ? Knowing you were good. And know you not that it is " the goodness of God that leadeth you to repentance " ? Why, then, should not his goodness be preached to sinners ? Why should we be told such awful stories with regard to eternity ? Why should we be told that there is an everlasting state of burning, in order to induce us to love our Father in heaven? 0, in- congruous doctrine ! Let it be banished from the world, and let the angel of the covenant proclaim the love of God to mankind ; and may the world be converted ! Man will then love his fellow-man. You will all see that you are the children of God, that you are all the objects of God's love, and all the objects of our Saviour's grace. Believe this truth ; treasure it up in your hearts, let your aflfec- tions move with assent ; love God and love one another, and the God of love and peace shall be with you ! SERMON X. Then shall he sat to those on his left hand, De- part FROM ME, YE CURSED, INTO EVERLASTING FIRE, PREPARED FOR THE DEVIL AND HIS ANGELS. Matt. 25 : 41. ~ It is impossible that the audience can contemplate this subject without feeling sensibly the solemnity which such words naturally inspire. "When we take into consideration the common use which divines make of this passage of scripture, when we are seriously called upon to consider it as a subject of discourse, it is expected that every mind will regard it as a subject of the very first import- ance. My friends, we feel no disposition to enter into a discussion of tliis portion of scripture with the spirit of a sect or party. Such a spirit would take from the importance of the subject ; and we would deprecate nothing more. If the common explanation of this ERRONEOUS VIEWS OP A JUDGMENT. 169 passage be correct, it is no matter of party. It is an awful calamity, proceeding from heaven; and every individual in the world is concerned in it. Party has nothing to do with it ; sect, name and denomination, are entirely out of the question. It is no better for one denomination than it is for another ; it is no worse for one denomination than for another. Our interest lies entirely in knowing what it truly means. We have no interest in explaining it to mean something that it does not really mean; we' have no interest in withholding from it the application which the Saviour designed for it. You will permit me to state, what you are very well acquainted with, namely, the common doctrine supposed to be supported by this text. The common use of this passage is to apply it to what is called the last judgment ; and the last judgment, it is supposed, will take place when all mankind, who have lived in past ages, shall be raised from the dead. At the same time, the inhabitants of the earth that are then alive will be brought to judg- ment, with all those who then shall be raised from the dead. Then there will be a dissolution of this 15 170 ERp,0NE0U3 VIEWS OF A JUDGMENT, material system, — of the sun, the moon, and stars, — and mankind will then and there be judged — all of them — exactly according to their conduct here in this mortal state; and if they are found justified, they will be saved in eternal glory ; while all the rest — supposed to be vastly the greater part — will be turned off to eternal misery. I have only stated this subject in its summary ; there is not time to go into its ramifications, or to consider it with regard to the pernicious bearing it has upon society. But, my friendly hearers, I feel disposed to invite your serious and candid attention to this question, namely, Does this passage of scripture justly apply to such a subject ? And, if our Saviour intended it to apply to such a subject, is it not to be expected that, somewhere in the connection, these things will be indicated ? Certainly. Now, if, upon examina- tion, we find none of these things indicated, what must be our conclusion ? This : That, whatever it might mean, it could not mean what has been gen- erally supposed. Now, that these words relate to no such subject, we infer from the following con- siderations ; ERRONEOUS TIEWS OF A JUDGMENT. 171 First, there is no intimation, in all the connection, that this judgment is the last judgment that ever will take place. You cannot consider this fact as a matter of indifference. Upon what authority have our divines declared this to be the la^t judgment ? I do not make this inquiry invidiously, with any desire or design of casting reflections on my fellow- creatures. I make it because the subject demands it. By what authority have they told us that this was an account of the last judgment ? There is nothing said about the last judgment here, nor first judgment, nor any judgment numerically. So much, then, we must dispense with, and say they do this without authority. In the second place, I wish to inform you that there is no hint given, in this connection, with regard to the dissolution of this material system. There is no indication whether this earth will remain afterwards as it is now, or not. There is nothing of the kind suggested. Upon what authority, then, is this all declared ? In the third place, there is not one word said, in this connection, about the resurrection of the dead. Is it said that any of the human family will be raised from the dead, to come to this judgment ? Not a word about it. 172 ERRONEOUS TIEWS OF A JUDGMENT. Now, is it possible that men of learning, of piety ^ and of honesty, can make such an application of this subject themselves ? No, my friends, they do not even dream of such things ; but men of piety, learn- ing and honesty, have made this mistake by the force of tradition and education, influences little understood by the common mind. They never thought of asking themselves the question whether these things were true. But all these questions must be asked, all these queries must be put, and all these subjects must be looked into and canvassed, before we can consent to anything so incongruous. Is it such a trifling thing to throw down the works of God, that it may be done with impunity, without proof, without evidence ? No ; it is too weighty a subject to be treated in this light and incautious manner. These sentiments have done too much mischief already to be treated with superficial observation. Now, that tMs passage does not apply to such a subject as has been mentioned, we consider to be very fairly proved by the total silence, through the context, with respect to such a subject. But I shall prove, my friends, another thing, to put the matter ERRONEOUS VIEWS OF A JUDGMENT. 173 beyond all doubt and scruple in your minds. And I have confidence in saying as much as this, that I shall now prove, by the connection in which this passage is found, that the fulfilment of what is here stated took place in the city in which it was spoken, and in the lifetime of some then present. If we prove this, we overthrow all the use our divines have made of this text. If we do not prove it, we fall short of what we undertake, and you are to go away dissatisfied. My friends, I do really regret this subject is so long as to lead me to be appre- hensive of tiring your patience before we shall get through it ; and yet I feel encouraged on account of the plainness of it. The subject under consideration commences in the twenty-third chapter of this gospel, and continues through the whole of the twenty-fourth, and through the whole of the twenty-fifth; and no man ever understood it as it ought to be understood, unless he had carefully read all the connection. At the conclusion of the twenty-third chapter, our Saviour was speaking, in the temple, to the Jews, concern- ing the awful calamities which were coming upon them, when they had filled up the measure of their 15# 174 ERRONEOUS VIEWS OF A JUDGMENT. iniquities. In this discourse, part of which is re- corded in the conclusion of the twenty-third chapter, our Saviour had given the people to understand that the city and temple would be destroyed. At the conclusion of that address, he expresses the feelings of his heart for the wickedness of the city of Jerusa- lem ; and breaks out, " Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not ! Behold, your house is left unto you, desolate. For I say unto you, ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say. Blessed is he that com- eth in the name of the Lord." He droppeth this hint, that the time would come when they would see him, and should say, " Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord." Now he leaves the temple, and goes out of it, and is going out of the city. His disciples come immediately to show him (mark the little calculation they had !) how the temple was con- structed. It was as much as to say to him, " You prophesy the destruction of this temple. Look at these massy rocks, this immense pile, and consider ERRONEOUS VIEWS OF A JUDGMENT. 175 whether it is reasonable that all these will be thrown down." Our Saviour says, " There shall not be one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down." He then goes out of the city, to the Mount of Olives, which commanded a prospect of the whole place; and there he sat himself down. His disciples come privately, and ask him, " When shall these things be ? What shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world ?" The Teacher pro- ceeds directly to answer this question. My friends, it has, no doubt, already struck your minds that we have made a mistake. It is very evident, from the question the disciples stated, that they had the end of the world in view ; and, therefore, when Jesus answered them, he answered that inquiry ; and, therefore, he must have had the end of the world in view. It is grauted. They did ask him, and he did answer them concerning the end of the world. But, mark one thing. The end of the world here means nothing concerning what people generally mean by that phrase. It has no reference to any such subject. I am now going to intrude upon your patience, with a design of showing you that our Saviour, in 176 ERRONEOUS VIEWS OF A JUDGMENT. answering this question, alludes to nothing which did not actually take place in that generation in which he lived. " What ! do you mean," says the hearer, " that the end of the world then took place? " Yes, I mean the end of the world, as here men* tioned, did then actually take place. " Why, it is impossible," says the hearer : " the world still ex- ists ! " Let your humble servant read, and you will see the world was at an end, but not in the sense in which these words are generally applied. This I am to make plain by reading. See chapter twenty-four. Jesus wishes them to take heed ; and he says, " Take heed that no man deceive you ; for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars, and rumors of wars ; see that ye be not troubled ; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet." The end of what ? The end of the world ! The end of the world is not yet ! It is evident he meant the end of that world they asked him about. " For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom ; and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrow. ERRONEOUS VIEWS OF A JUDGMENT. 177 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you : and ye shall be hated of all nations, for my name's sake. And then shall many be of- fended, and betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and • shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved." The end of what ? The end of the world ? Yes, the end of the world. " And this gospel shall be preached in all the world, for a witness unto all nations ; and then shall the end come." What ! the end of the world ? Yes, the end of the world ! The end of the same world which the disciples mquired about. Now, he goes on: "When ye, therefore, shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place (whoso readeth let him understand), then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains." What ! will it be possible to flee into the mountains when the world shall be destroyed ? " Let him which is on the house-top not come down to take anything out of his house : neither let him which ifl in the field return back to take his clothes. And 178 ERRONEOUS VIEWS OF A JUDGMENT. woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days I But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day." I wish to have you judge whether our Saviour here was speaking of what our divines mean by tlm end of the world. What good would it do them to flee into the mountains, if it were such an end of the world as they describe ? What good could it do not to be obliged to flee in the winter, or on the Sabbath ? Is there the least possible meaning in all this, according to the common understanding of our divines ? But, if our Saviour meant by it the destruction of Jerusalem, by its being environed with the Roman armies, — if he meant that the Roman standard should be in that temple, — it is all per- fectly well understood. Then, it would be awful for females, and particularly those in such circum- stances as he mentioned, to be overtaken with such usage as might be expected from the soldiers. " For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time ; no, nor ever shall be." See Matt. 24 : 22—27. "For wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be jaiRONEOUS VIKWS OF A JUDGMENT. 179 gathered together." That is, the Roman eagles. "And immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven ; and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet ; and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other." Remember this language is all in the connection, and all relates to the same subject. " Now learn a parable of the fig-tree : When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh ; so likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, this GENERATION shall TLOt paSS TILL ALL THESE THINGS BE FULFILLED. Hcavcn and earth shall pass away, but my word shall not pass away." My hearers, do you now understand ? Here is given an account 180 ERRONEOUS VIEWS OF A JUDGMENT. of the end of the world ; and, as our Saviour de- clared, these things took place in that generation. *' But," says the hearer, " what does it mean by say- ing that it was the end of the world ? " My friends, it means nothing more nor less than the end of the Jewish dispensation and hierarchy, in which the Jews received the law by Moses. This is doing no violence to the passage. The very meaning of the original is dispensation. The same word is used by our Saviour, when he says to his disciples " I will be with you always, even to the end of the world." This is the same word, and it here means the end of the gospel dispensation ; and in the passage un- der consideration it means the end of the legal dis- pensation, at the destruction of the house of Israel. Did not our Saviour show that it was in his power to fulfil all his words on that subject? and have they not been completely fulfilled ? for the Jews, as a people, have been in everlasting torment ever since their destruction. And, if you will turn over the historic page, you will see how awfully those cul- prits have been visited, — exactly with all the curses that have been pronounced by Moses, and also with all our Saviour denounced against them. The Jews ERRONEOUS VIEWS OF A JUDGMENT. 181 were placed on the left hand, when they were to be miserably destroyed by the Komans ; and, if we go further, we find this their calamity limited and con- fined to the present state of existence. Turn to the twenty- sixth chapter of Leviticus. Read all that occurs there; read also the twenty-eighth and twenty-ninth chapters of Deuteronomy, and you will find that Moses never alluded in any of his writings, he never suggested, that the Jewish peo- ple should be punished in another world. He told them that they should be punished by captivity, by famine, by pestilence, but he never alluded to anything beyond this state of existence; and per- mit me here to observe, when upon this very sub- ject, what St. Luke says (Luke 21 : 22), — " For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled." Our Saviour never denounced any curses that were not written in the law. He never denounced any judgment in another world. He came not to destroy the law or the prophets, but to fulfil the law. " But," says the hearer, " if this language mean only the misery of the Jews, why is the word fire made use of? " " Everlasting fire, prepared for the 16 182 ERRONEOUS VIEWS OF A JUDGYiENT. devil and his angels." The word fire is frequently made use of in scripture to represent misery, de- struction, and torment. Particularly as we read in Ezekiel (ch. 22; 18—22, inclusive), — « Son of man, the house of Israel is to me become dross : all they are brass, and tin, and iron, and lead, in the mi^st of the furnace ; they are even the dross of silver. I will gather you, and blow upon you in the fire of my wrath ; and ye shall know that I the Lord have poured out my fury upon you." (See the passage in full.) And, in the language of our Saviour under consideration, spoken to the Jewish people, he no doubt alludes to the same thing, and means they shall be gathered together, and suffer all the torments and afflictions which were written in their law against them by their lawgiver. Now, turn again to the twenty-sixth chapter of Leviticus, where God promises, after this destruction, after this visit- ation, if their hearts repent, and they turn to him, and acknowledge him, that he will fulfil his cove- nant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob ; and our Saviour, in the conclusion of his denunciation, says, " Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord." ERRONEOUS VIEWS OF A JUDGMENT. 183 We shall not much longer detain you. We shall say one word more before we close, and that shall be said to remove any objection which some may sus- tain in supposing that we have not comprehended the whole subject. Now, the hearer may say, " I cannot understand why Christ should allude to his coming with his angels and in the glory of his Father, before that event took place, if it did not mean when he should come at the end of the world." I have an answer to this, which I am persuaded will be satisfactory to every one who shall understand it. We see that our Saviour said, all these things shall take place in that generation. And in the six- teenth chapter of St. Matthew, towards the end of the chapter, he says, " For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father, with his angels ; and then he shall reward every man according to his works. Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here which shall not taste of death till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom." That is to say, it would be in the lifetime of those who were present. This is represented exactly in the same way in the last part of the eighth chapter and in the first part of the ninth chapter of the gospel according to St. 184 ERRONEOUS VIEWS OF A JIIDGSIENT. Mark, — "Whosoever shall be ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful genera- tion, of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels." The same will be found in the ninth chapter of the gospel according to St. Luke ; in all of which we have the assertion that some of those standing there should not taste of death till they saw the kingdom of God. Now, all this, if carefully gone over, will show you that the time to which our Saviour alluded was the generation in which he lived. I will only refer you to these passages : Read the latter part of the twenty-third chapter of St. Matthew, the whole of the twenty-fourth, the eighth and ninth chapters of Mark, the twenty-first chapter of St. Luke, and the twenty-third chapter of the prophet Jeremiah. Look carefully into these passages ; study them in your families ; and you will be satisfied with this one truth, namely, that the subject under consid- eration was never designed by our blessed Saviour to record the awful doctrine taught us by Christian divines ; and I cannot help congratulating you on feeling a conviction on this subject. What a reKef ERRONEOUS VIEWS OP A JUDGMENT. 185 will it be to your souls to be delivered from such an awful foreboding! The calamities our blessed Saviour alluded to were calamities which would fall on Jerusalem in that generation ; and they did so. But he never did utter one word about the awful punishments hereafter which are supposed by our divines to be threatened in this passage. When he was going to the cross, multitudes of ten- der females followed him, weeping for his fate ; and he turned and said to them, " Daughters of Jeru- salem, weep not for me, but weep for youi-selves and for your children. For, behold the days are com- ing, in the which they shall say. Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bear, &c. Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us ; to the hills, Cover us." Why did he not tell them to weep for themselves and children, for that they must be banished from God, and burnt in thejlames of hell as long as heaven should exist ? AVhy did he talk about the approach of the enemy and the destruction of their temple, and say nothing about the torments that awaited them in another world? It was for this very good reason, — the former was in his mind, the latter was not. He never thought 16# 186 ERRONEOCS YIEWS OF A JUDGMENT. of any such thing. No, blessed be God, there is no eternal destruction for the children of men ! Will you say, " He uses particularly the word everlast- ing " ? If you will read, you will find that many of those things which are called everlasting had their whole existence in time. The land of Canaan was an everlasting possession to the house of Israel, the covenant of Levi was everlasting ; but they were not endless. Everlasting means duration for a long time. There is nothing said here about a future state of existence. You can examine this, and make the subject familiar to yourselves. Do not believe those who tell you that it is dangerous to do this. It is dangerous only to BIGOTRY. There is no danger in inquiring after the truth. Those who disobey God's commandments, who abuse his word, who trample his precepts under their feet, shall meet with trouble and sorrow ; and then this passage is fulfilled, — " All transgressions and diso- bedience must meet with a due recompense of re- ward." This we know by experience, and we need not go into eternity for it. It occurs in the present time. Those who do well are blessed, and those who do evil are cursed. Those who believe the ERRONEOUS VIEWS OF A JUDGMENT. 187 truth DO enter into rest ; but those who ivorship the BEAST and his image are ivretched and misera- ble. But, my dear friends, when you hear the word of God, you will treasure it up and obey it ; make it dear to your souls, follow the religion of Christ Jesus, and you will be blessed in the same. SERMON XI * And I WILL GIVE you pastors ACCORDIXG to MIXE HEAItT, WHICH SHALL FEED TOU WITH KNOWLEDGE AXD UNDER- STANDING. — Jeremiali 3 : 15. In this text is contained a divine promise that the gospel shall be preached to men ; and by this prom- ise we are informed that our heavenly Father, in the gift of this ministry, would not make it subject to the wisdom of the world which cometh to naught, but would regulate it according to his own wisdom, as in the text, — "I will give you pastors according to mine heart." Thus it is understood that the ministry which God appoints i.^ appointed not only by his wisdom, but is endowed with that wisdom, that temper and that grace, which is according to the will and disposition of God, — "I will give you pastors according to mine heart." According to the * This discourse was preached in the saloon of Wash- ington Hall, to an audience of about seven thousand per- sons. FEAST OF KNOWLEDGE. 189 text read for consideration, the ministry itself, and its pastors, being appointed after God's own heart, shall feed the people with knowledge and under- standing. It implies that the pastors should preach those things which they know to be true, and which the people can understand ; for we learn from the text that they shall be endowed with understanding and with knowledge ; — and, being thus endued, they must know that they never feed the people with understanding, unless they preach to them what they can understand. Now, in the first place, my friendly hearers, when God appoints pastors to the people according to his heart, they are educated by his wisdom, they are actuated by his will, and they are employed en- tirely in the promulgation of that which is consist- ent with the mind of him that sent them. When the wisdom of the world appoints a ministry, it ap- points a ministry according to its own heart and its own wisdom. If any church appoints a ministry, it appoints it according to its own heart, and ac- cording to its own interests. Thus we may say (and I hope without giving offence), that if any par- ticular theological school appoints a ministry and 190 FEAST OF KNOWLEDGE. sends fortli ministers, both the ministry and the ministers will be according to the wisdom, the will and disposition, of that theological school. Such a school as the theological institution at Jerusalem, where Gamaliel was the doctor or teacher, would furnish such a ministry, and such a minister as Saul of Tarsus, the person who was an enemy to Jesus Christ, an enemy to the gospel, an enemy to all that named the name of Christ ; and yet Saul was faith- ful to the theological school that appointed him, and endeavored to promote the honor, dignity and au- thority, of those that sent him forth. None but Grod himself, through the mediation of his blessed Son Jesus, could make such a minister as St. Paul, who was converted from the school and doctrine in which he tiad been educated, and was adopted as the child of Jesus Christ, — adopted into the school of our great Redeemer ; and, as before he had no other interest but the interest of the church that ap- pointed him, so now he has no other interest but the interest of the Almighty, who converted him and appointed him to the labors of the gospel, whereby he now becomes a disciple of the meek and lowly Jesus. He has no interest to promote or serve but FEAST OF KNOWLEDGE. 191 the interest of the crucified lledeemer ; and, being brought into his service, he boldly proclaims the gosjDel of the Son of God. I would add, it is very practicable and possible, from motives which have a peculiar influence on the human mind, for an indi- vidual to appoint himself to the work of the minis- try, and set himself up as a teacher ; and he will tell you it is dangerous not to believe and not to receive his preaching as truth, because he is a minis- ter after God's heart. How shall we know whether he is or not ? Remember the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, — "He that speaketh of himself seeketh his ow7i glory." My friends, you may always knovi^ a false teacher from a true one. It is the easiest thing in the world. How will you know him ? He will always set himself up above God. He will always represent himself to be more lovely, if possible, than he will allow our Saviour to be. He will tell you how much he would do to save you. He would lay down his life to save one poor soul ; but he will not allow the Redeemer, who did lay down his life for us, the power of saving you. Now, which is best, the preacher, or his master ? Why, according to his own account, the preacher. Yes, 192 FEAST OF KNOWLEDGE. he is the best himself; because, in the room of be- ing in the cause of his Divine JNIaster, he is in his own cause. And, instead of endeavoring to get people to love the Lord Jesus Christ, he is inter- ested in making them love himself; for he is holding himself up as being more interested in their salva- tion than he will allow the Redeemer to be. My hearers, there is no difl&culty in determining this question, in distinguishing a minister of the Lord from a minister of the wisdom of this world. The minister of this world's wisdom has not the cause of Grod, nor of our Redeemer, to promote. Mankind, in their carnal hearts, have not the interest of the gospel to promote. They will persuade you to believe that in God's hands you are not safe ; that all God has done, that all Jesus Christ has done, for you, will not secure you, but, if you will subscribe to their creed, you will be secure. Now, really, these people stand directly between God and the human family ; and they try to direct all our attention to themselves, and not to God. I will name a few things, which I humbly ask you to hear, and charitably to consider ; for I call God to witness, I feel no enmity towards any name FEAST OF KNOWLEDGE. 193 denomination or sect, under lieavcii ; but I have a certain object in view, which comes in contact with their errors. I shall lay before you some of them. I shall present to your notice certain things preached and held up as doctrine in the Christian church, and as the doctrine of the gospel, which are indispensa- ble articles of faith. I will not undertake to prove them false, but will only ask. Do those who preach them know them to be true ? I will ask, at the same time, this question, Do they understand them, and are the people capable of understanding them ? and if we are convinced that no man can understand such doctrines, then we know that they never could give people knowledge. In the first place. What is so difficult to believe as what is called in Orthodox divinity an indispens- able article of the Christian faith, namely, the fall of man through Adam's transgression, the conse- quence of which extends to all posterity ? The offence of Adam was not visited upon himself alone ; but all the generations that existed, or shall exist, are made liable, not only to all the miseries of this life, and death itself, but to the pains of hell for- ever. My friends, I say I have not now an oppor- 17 194 FEAST OF KNOWLEDGE. tuiiity to disprove this doctrine. I will not now labor to disprove it ; I shall only ask, Was this doc- trine ever known to be a fact by any man living ? Bid ever any man possess such a knowledge as to come forward and say he hiew this doctrine to be a fact ? I ask again, Was there ever a man in the world who could understand it, if it were a fact ? Was it ever explained that God, who is not the friend of sin, made all his human creatures, from the transgression of Adam, liable to sin to all eter- nity ? Because, without a miracle, it could not be that the fall of Adam would entail misery on all mankind. It must be by a miracle. But was it ever understood by any human being ? " No," says the hearer, " I never could understand it." No, my hearers ; and those who preach such a doctrine do not understand this doctrine better than you. There never was a man who did. I am saying nothing, at present, about its not being true ; but I say all those who preach it never knew the fact themselves ; they never understood it themselves, nor made anybody else understand it. It is just as much in the dark now, as when it was invented by the wisdom of the world. FEAST OP KNOWLEDGE. 195 Anotber doctrine, or point of doctrine, considered as indispensable, is that which is termed particular election and reprobation ; in which it is taught that God from all eternity elected a few individuals here and there, and ordained that they should enjoy everlasting life and happiness in the world to come, while, by his own wisdom, he dooms far the greater part to everlasting misery ; and all this was fixed and determined in his own mind before man was created. I will not attempt to prove such a doc- trine false, because it would be a kind of reflection on. your good sense. If such a doctrine were true, was there ever a man that knew it to be so ? and I ask again. Was it ever explained to the understand- ing of any person, so that he could understand it, as a matter of fact ? No ; for those who proclaim it tell you that it is one of the hidden mysteries of Almighty God. I should rather say, it is one of the mysteries of iniquity. I say it is a proposition which no man could ever understand ; and no man who ever preached it to the people fed them with knowledge while he was preaching it. Another doctrine, that has been held in equal esti- mation in the Christian church by doctors of divin- 196 FEAST OF KNOWLEDGE. ity, is this : that we, as we come into the world, are naturally opposed to our Creator, and all his com- mands. My friends, if this were a fact, is there a man in all the world who could say he kneiu it ? Is there a man who could say he understood it ? No. Were such a doctrine a ti*uth, it is impossible that it should be known or understood by man. I will call your attention to the consideration of the testimony of the blessed Jesus, who, on account of a certain controversy, called to him a little child ; and he said to his disciples, " Except ye be converted, and become as this little child, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven." What was the condition of the child ? According to the doctrine I have just mentioned, it was opposed to God. It was a being entirely deprived of communion with God. And yet, my dear hearers, our Saviour was speaking of his disciples' being converted, and becoming like a little child, in order to enter the kingdom of heaven. I ask you. Can you reconcile such testimony with the common doctrine of the depraved disposition of little children ? No, it cannot be reconciled, and people are not fed with knowledge or understanding when they are taught FEAST OF KNOWLEDGE. 197 such doctrine. It will not be dou])ted that little children are in a state of simple nature ; and yet our Saviour says, "Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not ; for of such is the kingdom of heaven." Another doctrine that has been held in equal estimation by the Christian church, which has been taught by doctors of divinity, and which, of course, demands our notice here, is concerning the exposure of all mankind to the pains of hell forever, in con- sequence of the transgression of Adam ; and yet the eternal security of some, according to the election of dox divines, that God from all eternity elected only a feio to be saved, and decreed that by far the greater portion of the human family should be sent to endless misery, as long as his throne should endure ? You must know yourselves that this is -dishonorable to God, — it is dishonorable to man. In the result, it is the very design of the gospel to introduce mankind to peace and happiness. The coming of our Saviour was not to appease the wrath of Heaven towards man, but to introduce to us " love to God, and good will towards man." This is the doctrine of God ; this is the doctrine of our Saviour ; and I charge you never to believe any doc FEAST OF KNOWLEDGE. 207 trine dishonorable to God. Any doctrine wMcli can be reconciled with God's universal goodness is safe to be believed, because it gives peace and comfort in believing ; but a doctrine which cannot be reconciled with the goodness of God give^5 no peace to the believer, and therefore cannot be true, May God grant, then, that you, my friendly and much-respected hearers, may be fed with knowledge and understanding ; and that you may use them to the glory of God, to the honor of Jesus Christ, and to the peace and happiness of yourselves ! 4^rtr7^. ^^/ C ■\-. ^ ' V- X 'ir^. NOTES. Note A. See page 79 The Mighty God, the everlasting Father, arid the Prince of Peace. — Some have regretted that there Lad not been a critical explanation of these phrases, as applied to the Messiah, or Son of God ; but, not being contained in the words selected as the subject of dis- course, it could hardly have been expected, especially as the sole object of the discourse was to show that this Son, in whatever light he may be considered, was given for the benefit of mankind ; and it must be obvious to all, that in every gift there is implied the giver, the thing given, and the recipient ; and it would be no more absurd to say that the gift and the recipient are one, than it is to say that the giver and the gift are numerically onk. It is not because we discover the least difficulty in these appellations given to the Messiah that we express a doubt concerning them, but because they are all wanting in the Vatican, which is considered the most authentic copy of the Septuagint ; and in the last printed edition they are left out of the text, and placed only m the margin. Nev- ex-theless, as these appellations are all found in the Hebrew text, we are not disposed to reject them. But they are, after all, by no means indicative of the nature of the being to whom they are applied, but only to his 18=^ 210 NOTES. character. " His name shall be called," ' &c. , — not that **\x\9, nature shall be,"' &c. Calling a person by any name whatever adds nothing to his nature. But it may be said the nature of the Messiah was such as to render all these appellations proper, or else they would not have been given to him. To this we do not object. Let us now^ examine the names, and see what they imply. Let us see whether they necessarily imply a different nature from that of INIoses and the prophets. " Wonderful.''" What is there in this that will not apply to Moses, as well as .Jesus ? It will not be pre- tended but that the works of Moses were equally wonder- ful with those of Jesus ; for, if they were not so, how will it be maintained that they were of God ? " Counsellor.'''' If Christ be our counsellor, was not Moses also a counsellor to Israel? This will not be denied. " The Mighty God."" The word here rendered God is not Aleim, which is rendered God Gen. 1:1, and which is applied to Moses Ex. 7 : 1 ; but it is Al, a word of very extensive meaning. Mr. Parkhurst, in his Hebrew Lexicon, says, " This is one of the most diflBcult roots in the Hebrew language, and various methods have been taken by learned men to account for its several applica tions. After the most attentive consideration, I think the notion of interposition, intervention, or the like, bids the fairest for the ideal meaning of it, and best reconciles its diiferent uses." Suppose, then, we call this Son given *' The mighty Inter poser,"" how much would this differ from the " Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus " ,? 1 Tim. 2:5. In an ancient folio Bible, in five volumes, entitled, *'£ibla Sacra Hebraice, Chal' daice, Grace, et Latine,"" the Hebrew of this phrase is NOTES. 211 rendered in Latin Dcus fortis, and the Greek is rendered in Latin JDeus fortis, potens. The first of these phrases we should render the valiant God ; tlie second, a God pre- eminently valiant, or, the valiant God, having pre- eminence. If we examine, also, both the Hebrew and the Greek, we find that this is the most that can be made out of either ; and any one must perceive that the phrase is more applicable to one whom God has raised up and exalted to be a Prince and a Saviour, than it is to God himself ; yea, such a phrase, while it highly exalts the dignity of man, would, if applied to the Supreme God of the universe, certainly lessen the dignity of his character. " The Everlasting Father.''^ The Hebrew word here rendered everlasting in its general import "denotes beyond, farther , or besides somewhat else. As a particle of time, yet, still, moreover, a long while, until, whilst, driving the time that, all along, perpetually.^^ It is used Isa. 47 : 7, where it is rendered forever. The words under consideration are rendered by the LXX, pater tou mellontos aionos, and in the Latin of the Bibla Sacra, referred to above, pater futuri seculi, the father of the future age ; and, admitting the passage to be gen- uine, this is what we take to be its true import. " Tlie Prince of Peace.' ^ These words certainly can- not imply anything more than may be justly applied to man. Yates, in his vindication of Unitarianism against the attack of Wardlaw, takes pai-ticular notice of the two passages Isaiah 7 : 14 and 9 : 6. His remarks are worthy of repeated perusal. If the title God belonged to all ** unto whom the word of God came," John 10 : 34, 25, these two passages would present no obstacle to our belief in the Unitarian L__ 212 NOTES. doctrine, even though it were certain that in each instance the original text is uncorrupted, the English translation cori-ect, and the designations " Immanuel " and " Mighty God" really intended to be descriptive of the nature of Christ. These titles would only convey the same ideas which were expressed by the inhabitants of Jerusalem, when they exclaimed, " A great prophet is risen up among us," and by the two disciples (Luke 22 : 19) who described Jesus of Xazareth as " a prophet MIGHTY in deed and word.^' In order to perceive the true meaning of Immanuel, it is necessary to consider the singular manner in which proper names were formed and applied to the ancient Hebrews. It was common among them to give to their children names which were in reahty short sentences, expressive of some divine favor conferred at the time of the child's birth. Thus Hagar called her new-born son IsHMAEL, which is, being interpreted, God hath heard ! an exclamation expressive of her joy that God had heard her affliction (Gen. 16 : 11). Agreeably to the same idiom most other Scripture names are to be understood. In the third verse of the chapter in which Immanuel occurs, mention is made of one of the sons of Isaiah under the name of Shear-jashub. This name is a complete sentence. Literally translated, it is, A remnant shall RETURN. The son of Isaiah was called by this singular appellation in order that the great and consolatory fact of the return of a remnant of the Jewish nation from cap- tivity, which was the frequent bm^then of his prophecy, might, by the appearance of his son, bearing this express- ive name, be often recalled to his mind, and to the minds of his countrymen. Also, in the next chapter, which is a continuation of the same prophecy, and relates to the NOTES. 213 same events, we are informed that Isaiah had another son, concerning whom the Lord said to him (ver. 3), Call his name Mahee shalal hash baz. This signifies. The spoiLiNa hasteneth, the preying cometh quickly. The Divine command was intended and understood as an intimation that soon after this child's birth the Jews would be victorious over their enemies, and the tune of spoihng their vanquished foes would arrive. Accordingly, the reason for giving this name is assigned in the next verse in the following terms : " For before the child shall have knowledge to cry My father, and my mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before the King of Assyria." In consequence of this smgular custom of giving names to children descriptive of the circumstances of their birth, it became usual with the prophets to denote an event, which was about to accompany the birth of a child, by Baying that the child would have a name descriptive of that event. Among the Jews this remarkable mode of speaking was well understood, although it is little adapted to the habits of our age and nation. These facts must be borne in mind as leading to the exact interpretation of the title Immanuel, which signifies Gor> is with us. It was intended to signify that, at the time of the child's birth, God would be with his people by extraordinary mani- festations of his favor. Hence the prophet, in the next chapter, foretelling the defeat of the enemies of Judah, assigns its cause by repeating the affirmation, God is WITH us, or Immanuel, which a little before he employs as the name of the child (ver. 9, 10). " Associate your- selves, ye people, and ye shall be broken in pieces; and give ear, all ye of far countries : gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces ; gird yourselves, and ye shall 214 NOTES. be broken in pieces. Take counsel together, and it sball come to naught ; speak the word, and it shall not stand : FOR boiANUEL ! God is with rs ! " It is generally agreed that, in its primary application ^ this passage related to the biith of a child within a few years from the publication of the prophecy. Bishop Lowth remarks that, though " not excluding a higher secondary sense, the obvious, and literal meaning of the prophecy is this : that within the time that a young woman, now a virgin, should conceive and bring forth a child, and that child should arrive at such an age as to distinguish between good and evil, — that is, within a few years (compare ch. 8 : 4), — the enemies of Judah should be destroyed." As a sign of the destruction of Judah, the chUd to be born at that time was to be called Imman- UEL ! God is with us ! and all that was meant by the exclamation God is with us ! was, that God would at that time appear in a remarkable manner as the protect- or and benefactor of his people. When applied according to the " higher secondary sense " of the prophecy, it had the same meaning. It signified that when the Messiah arose God would bestow great blessings upon mankind. In this sense all serious Unitarians entertain the most grateful conviction that God was, and, so long as the gospel of his Son shall continue to illuminate, console and reclaim mankind, that He is with us. Thus, I have no doubt, the passage of Isaiah was understood by the writer, who has applied it to the birth of Jesus Christ. At the same time, I am aware that this interpretation is by no means obvious to those who have not paid much attention to the idioms of the Scriptures, and that it may easily be held up to ridicule by the inconsiderate. NOTES. 215 Bishop Lowtli observes, concerning this portion of the prophecies of Isaiah (eh. 7—9 : 6), that there are in it *' many great difficulties." The verse which is quoted to prove the Divinity of Christ, on account of the phrases *^ mighty God,'' although produced by the ignorant with the most triumphant and unreflecting confidence, will probably be allowed by all competent judges to be attended with as great difficulties as any other verse in this confessedly obscure portion of sacred Scripture. I am sensible that it would be highly presumptuous in me to attempt to decide the various questions relating to it, about which the most eminent critics, both in foreign countries and in our .own, have differed, and continue to differ ; such as, whether the word Al, translated God, to which there is nothing corresponding in any of the ancient Greek versions, be a gentxine part of the Hebrew text ; whether, supposing it to be genuine, it ought not to be translated a " Ruler," since this is a very common acceptation of the term ; and whether the titles con- tained in this verse were not intended to describe, at least according to their primary signification, the charac- ter of Hezekiah, or some other distinguished person, born at the time when the prophecy was uttered. Without endeavoring to settle questions upon which those men who are the best qualified to decide speak with the great- est diffidence, I shall only say that our firm belief in the sole Supreme Divinity of the Father, and the subordina- tion of Jesus Christ, ought not to be shaken by the evi- dence of a passage which is allowed to be attended with many difficulties, and in which, at the very utmost, the application of the title '^mighty God " to Jesus of Naz- areth would only prove him to be a person unto whom the word of God came. — Boston Edition, 185 — 189. 216 NOTES. To the same j)urport are the remarks of Rev. John Sherman, in his work entitled, " One God in One Person only," one of the earliest treatises in favor of the strict unity of God ever published in America. He says, " That this passage really respects the Lord Jesus we shall not here undertake to dispute, though there is no certainty in our minds that it has any such reference. Be this as it may, the passage is very far from asserting the supreme and independent divinity of Christ. For, " 1. You will please to notice that he is declared to be a child born, a son given. This is the description of his nature. This is what he actually is. *' 2. The passage does not say that the government is now upon his shoulder, but that it shall be ; which im- plies that he is about to be raised to an authority he does not now possess, " 3. You will observe the passage does not say that he is the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, &c., but that he shall be thus styled; he shall have these titles when the government shall be upon his shoulder. "4. If you ask how he who is a child born and a son given shall rise to the eminence of having the government upon his shoulder, and the high titles mentioned, the passage explains this matter, and says. The zeal of the Lord of Hosts will perform this, — that is, will see that these things be conferred upon him. " In fulfilment of this prediction, if it really respects Chi-ist, the Scriptures inform us that the zeal of the Lord of Hosts has actually performed all that is here declared, — 'TTie God of our Lord Jesus Christ has put all things under his feet, and given him to be head over all things to the church.* God hath made that same Jesus whom * Eph. 1 : 22. NOTES. 217 ye have crucified Lord.* Him hath God exalted with his oivn right hand to be a Prince^i and given him a name above every name.^X Pray, is the supreme and independent deity of Clirist to be inferred from tiie state- ment made in fulfilment of this prediction ? If not, as no one will pretend, then why make this inference froni the prediction itself? " It is strange that this passage should be adduced, on every occasion, in proof of the deity of Christ, seeing it only predicts that the childy the sony should be elevated, by the power of the Lord of Hosts, to the govei-nment of his people, and have bestowed upon him high and exalted titles. "§ Note B. See page 147. •' The belly of the fish.''*— If Jonah was in reality swal- lowed by a, fishy whether by a whale or any other sea monster y he might truly consider himself in the bowels of * Acts 2:36. t Acts 5 : 31. t Phil. 2 : 9. § It may not be improper to remark here that the passage is capable of a different translation. And his name shall be called, a Mighty God, the Father of the everlasting age ; that is, of the Christian dispensation, which is to continue to the end of the world. The noted Lowth translates it as above, excepting that he uses the article the, ir stead of a, before mighty God. Further, it ought not to be omitted, that the seventy interpreters, according to the Vatican, have given a very different account of this passage. They make no men- tion of these titles, but render it thus : And his name shall be called (megales boules angelos) the messenger of the grand design. This translation is confirmed by the versions of Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion. 19 218 NOTES. hell ; not, however, according to the most obvious and literal meaning of the Hebrew word sheol, but according to a most easy and natural figure. He was cast out into the deep, he was concealed in the bowels of the fish, the floods compassed about him, and all the billows and the Vaves passed over him. This would fully justify the use and application of the word sheol, hell, and differing but very little from a literal sense. The learned have differed very much in opinion as to what kind of fish this must have been. That it could not have been the common whale is evident, as the gullet of the largest of that species does not exceed four inches, — yea, it is stated in the Encyclopaedia that "their throat is so narrow that an animal larger than a herring could not enter." This, and other considerations which might be mentioned, have led some to doubt whether it could have been any live animal ; but suppose that the same Hebrew word, dag, might have also been applied to something else. *' Dagh, in Persia, signifies a mountain " (or rock). Pink- erton, part xxix., p. 493. Some have thought that the word might have been applied to the hull or wreck of some vessel which might have been providentially there to receive Jonah, and on which he might have been driven to the shore. Others have supposed (and what, perhaps, is equally probable) that Jonah might have been cast upon a floatmg mass of sea-weed, to which the Hebrew word, without much difficulty, would apply, and which are often very large and extensive. " Sea-plants, finding in the water a sufficient quantity of saline particles, oils, and all such spirits as are requisite for their vegetation, Stand in no need of roots in the earth to feed them with proper juices." Nat. Delin., vol. lu., p. 168. See *' Facts Authentic in Science and Religion," p. 497. NOTES. 219 The Hebrew word dag, when used as a verb, signifies to multiply or increase exceedingly. Hence, as a noun, it is the general name for fish, from their great increase. As a noun, da gen, which comes from the same root, sig- nifies '* corn of all sorts, so named from its great increase^ Gen. 27: 28." See Parkhurst's Heb. Lex., under the word dag. It would not have been, therefore, a vei-y far-fetched figure, to call one of those floating beds of sea- weed, which are driven together by the wind, a great fish. The text itself seems rather to justify such an idea. See Jonah 2: 5. " The it'ce./s were wrapped above my head." This idea will undoubtedly appear very novel to many, and we do not feel disposed to give any decided opinion on the subject ; we only ofier these ideas as con- taining a more rational solution of a difficulty which is in itself calculated to stagger the faith of some honest minds, who may thmk that a miracle of such an extraordinary nature requires more proof than the testimony of any one man for its support, — and especially tlie man who was the subject of it, and for whose preservation it was wrought, — before it can be rationally believed. "We have no dispo- sition to call in question the existence of miracles, but firndy believe in them ; but, at the same time, to under- take to maintain a miracle, where it cannot be maintained beyond all reasonable doubt, so far from strengthening the Christian religion, only serves to weaken it, or, in other words, to give the enemy the advantage. For this reason, therefore, we think that miracles ought never to be contended for whenever the material facts can be accounted for in any other way. But, whatever be supposed to have been the literal facts, one thing is cer- tain, namely, that the hell which Jonah experienced, and out of the belly or bowels of which he prayed unto the 220 NOTES. Lord, Tvas certainly in time, and during the period of Ms natural life. The history of Jonah, though by some carped at and turned into ridicule, contains nothing inconsistent with the soundest philosophy and experience ; for, 1. Though a whale, properly so called, has so small a gullet that it coidd not possibly swallow a man, yet we ought to consider that the word ketos does not necessarily mean a whale, as distinguished from other large fishes, but only a gi-eat sea-monster, of which there are some — the shark among the rest — very capable of swallowing a man whole, and wliich have often done so. A very remarkable fish was taken on our own coast, though probably it was not of the full size, and therefore could not contain the body of a man. But others of its species very well might, A print and curious description of it, by Mr. James Ferguson, may be seen. Philosophical Transactions, vol. Tin., p. 170, from which even this small one appears to have been near five feet in length, and of great bulk, and to have been merely, as it were, one vast bag, or great hollow tube, capable of containing the body of any animal of size that was in some small degree in- ferior to its own. And, unquestionably, such a kind of fish, and of still larger dimensions, may, consistently even with the most correct ideas of any natural historian, be supposed to have occasionally appeared in the Mediter- ranean, as well as on our coast, where such an one was caught, having come up so far as into the British Chan- nel and Kmg's Road. 2. A man may continue in the water, in some instances, without being drowned. Derham tells us (Phisico-The- ology, 6, 4, cap. 7, note p. 158, 12mo.) that some have the foramen ovale of the heart remaining open all their NOTES. 221 lives, though in most it is closed very soon after birth ; and that such persons as have the forame^i ovale so left Open could neither be hanged nor drowned; because, when the lungs cease to play, the blood will nevertheless con- tinue to circulate, just as it does in a foetus in the womb. Though Mr. Cheselden doubted of this fact, yet IMr. Cow- per, the anatomist, says he often found i\\e foramen open in adults, and gives some curious instances. Mr. Der- ham mentions several persons who were many hours and days under water, and yet recovered ; and one who even retained the sense of hearing in that state. And Dr. Piatt (History of Straffordshire, p. 292) mentions a per- son who survived and lived after having been hanged at Oxford for the space of twenty-four hours before she was cut down. The foot is notorious, and her pardon, reciting this circumstance, is extant on record. See Ray on the Creation, p. 230, who observes that having the for ayn en ovale of the heart open enables some animals to be am- phibious. Where, then, is the absurdity of conceiving that Jonah might have been a person of this kind, having the foramen ovale of his heart continuing open from his bii'th to the end of his days, in which case he could not be drowned, either by being cast into the sea or by being swallowed up by the fish ? 3. Neither could Jonah be injured by the digesting fluid in the fish's stomach ; for Mr. Jo. Hunter observes (Phi- losophical Transactions, vol. lxii., p. 449) "That no animal substance can be digested, by the digesting fluid usually existing in animal stomachs, while life remains in such auimal substances. Animals," says he, "or parts of animals, possessed of the living principle, when taken into the stomach, are not in the least afl"ected by the powers of that viscus so long as the animal principle 19# 222 NOTES. remains Hence it is that we find animals of various kinds li ving in the stomach, or even hatched or bred there. But the moment that any of these lose the living principle they become subject to the digestive powers of the stomach. If it were possible for a man's hand, for example, to be introduced . into the stomach of a living animal, and kept there for some considerable time, it would be found that the dissolvent powers of the stomach could have no effect upon it ; but, if the same hand were separated from the body, and mtroduced into the same stomach, we should then find that the stomach would immediately act upon it. Indeed, if this were not the case, we should find that the stomach itself ought to have been made of indigestible materials ; for, if the living prin- ciple were not cnpable of preserving animal substances fi-om undergoing that pi'ocess, the stomach itself would be digested. But we find, on the contrary, that the stomach, which at one instant — that is, while possessed of the living principle — was capable of resisting the digestive powers which it contained, the next moment — namely, when de- piuved of the living principle — is itself capable of being digested, either by the digestive powers of other stomachs, or by the remains of that power which it had of digesting other things." Consistently with which observations of Mr. Hunter, we find that smaller fishes have been taken alive out of the stomachs of fishes of prey, and, not having been killed by any bite or otherwise, have survived their being devoured, and have swam away well recovered, and very little affected by the digesting fluid. Two instances of this kind are mentioned by Dr. Piatt (History of Straf- fordshire, p. 245), and others might be added. There appeal's, therefore, nothing unphilosophical or absurd in supposing that Jonah (having the heart open, NOTES. 223 or such a coustruction ()f his frame as those persons men- tioued by Derham had) might be cast into the sea, and be swallowed up whole hy a great fish, and yet be neither drowned, nor bitten, nor corrupted, nor digested, nor killed ; and it will easily follow, from the dictates of com- mon sense, that in that case the fish itself must either die or be prompted by its feelings to get rid of its load ; and this, perhaps, it might do more readily near the sliore than in the nudst of the waters ; and in that case such person would certainly recover again, by degrees, and escape. I acknowledge there must have been a miracu- lous divine interposition, in causing all the circumstances of the presence of the fish, of the formation of Jonah, and of the nearness of the sliore at the time of his being thrown up, to concur rightly to eifect his deliverance ; and how much further the miraculous interposition might extend, we cannot nor ought not to presume to ascertain ; but solely to show the fact to be philosophically possible, even according to the experience we are permitted to be acquainted with, is sufficient to remove and fully to answer tlie objections of scofters. — Erskine's Sketches of Church History, voL ii., pp. 299—302. Note C. See page 148. 3^e lowest depths of hell. — A critical explanation of the original Hebrew word here rendered hell will at once remove fi'om the human mind all that misapprehension which has heretofore been attached to it. The term is often used figuratively, as it is in the passages referred to in the discourse ; and whenever it Ls so used it always represents a state of fig;iirative darkness, — that is, trouble l.__ 224 NOTES. and affliction, let tlie cause be -wliat it may. But, when- ever it is used in this sense, it is always applied to the miseries of the present state of existence. The original HebreAV word sheol, as used in the Old Testaments when applied to the dead, never represents it as being a place of torment, but as being an unknown place of silence, darkness and death. But, as the Greek word hades, cor- responding to the Hebrew sheol, is once used in the New Testament as a place of torment, — namely, in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, — it will be necessary to say something further upon the subject. In the first place, we shall state what we conceive to be the literal application, or rather the literal facts stated in the parable ; and then we shall state what we conceive to be the real meaning, as intended by our Saviour. It will be necessary, in the first place, to give a more full explanation of the Greek word hades, here rendered hell, than we have yet given ; because hades is here represented as being a place of torment, and it is the only passage in which it is so represented in the Bible, — that is, except when the word is used synonymous with death, and the pains are applied to the living ; as David saith, " The sorrows of death compassed me, and pains of hell gat hold on me." Psalm 116: 3. Though it maybe said that this implies that there are pains endured in hell, and that David felt these pains by anticipation, yet the pains of which he spake were in the present tense. Let this, however, be as it may, whosoever will examine this subject as he ought will be satisfied that the souls of all, both good and bad, were supposed to be in hades, and that this is the first and only intimation in the Bible of there being any separation there between the righteous and the wicked ; for the Old Testament is entirely silent NOTES. 225 on the subject. We cannot express our ideas better on this subject than to give them in the -words of Dr. Camp- bell, taken from Ms Preliminary Dissertations, vol. ii., part II., page 273, and on. ** As to the word hades, -which occurs in eleven places in the Ne-w Testament, and is rendered hell in all except one, -where it is translated grave, it is quite common in classical authors, and fx'equently used by the LXX in the translations of the Old Testament. In my judgment it ought never in the Scripture to be rendered hell, — at least, in the sense wherein that -word is now universally vmder- stood by Christians. In the Old Testament the corre- sponding word is sheol, which signifies the state of the dead in general, -without regard to the goodness or bad- ness of the persons, their happiness or misery. In translating that word the LXX have almost invariably used hades. The state [of the dead] is always repre- sented under those figures which suggest something dread- ful, dark and silent, about which the most prying eye and listening ear can acquire no information. The term hades is well adapted to express this idea. To this the word hell, in its primitive signification, perfectly corresponded ; for at first it denoted only what was secret or concealed. " First, in regard to the situation of hades, it seems always to have been conceived, by both Jews and Pagans, as in the lower parts of the earth, near its centre, as •we should term it, or its foundation (according to the notions of the Hebrews, who knew nothing of its spherical figure), and answering in depth to the visible heavens in height ; both which are, on this account, oflener than once contrasted in sacred writ. ' ' Dr. Campbell, after reasoning pretty largely on this subject, adds, " So much for the literal sense of the word 22G NOTES. hades, which, as has heen obserTed, implies properly neither hell nor the grave, but the place or state of departed souls. I know it has been said, and speciously supported, that in the Mosaical economy there was no express revelation of the existence of souls after death. Admitting this to be in some sense true, the Israelites were not without such intimations of a future state as types and figures and emblematical predictions could give them ; yet certain it is that life and immortality were in an eminent manner brought to light by the gos- pel. But, from whatever source they derived their opinions, that they had opinions on this subject, though dark and confused, is manifest, as from many other cir- cumstances, so particularly from the practice of witch- craft and necroDiancy, which prevailed among them, and the power they ascribed to sorcerers, — justly or unjustly, it matters not, — of wakmg the ghosts of the deceased." These opinions, it is true, in the first place, might have been all bori'owed from the pagan philosophy, and, through the lapse of time, they might approximate nigher and nigher to that hypothesis, imtilthey adopted the idea of separate apartments for the righteous and the wicked in hades. Agreeably to these ideas, one part of the scene of the rich man and Lazarus was laid in hades, and no doubt perfectly congenial to the popular notions of the day. For " the opinions neither of the Hebrews nor heathens remained invariably the same. And from the time of the captivity, more especially from the time of the subjection of the Jews, fii-st to the Macedonian empire, and afterwards to the Romans, as they had a closer intercourse with the pagans, they insensibly imbibed many of their sentiments, particularly on those subjects whereon their law was silent, and wherein by consequence they NOTES. 227 considered themselves at a greater freedom. On this sub- ject of a future state we find a considerable difference in the popular opinions of the Jews, in our Saviour's time, from those which prevailed in the days of the ancient prophets. As both Greeks and Romans had adopted the notion that the ghosts of the departed were susceptible both of enjoyment and suffering, they were led to sup- pose a sort of retribution in that state, fur their merit or demerit in the present. The Jews did not, indeed, adopt the pagan fables on this subject, nor did they express themselves entirely in the same manner ; but the general train of thinking in both came pretty much to coincide. The Greek hades they found well adapted to express the Hebrew sheol. This they came to conceive as including different sorts of habitations, for ghosts of different char- acters. And though they did not receive the terms Elys- ium, or Elysian fields, as suitable appellations for the regions peopled by good spu'its, they took, instead of them, as better adapted to their own theology, the gar- den of Eden, or Paradise, a name originally Persian, by which the word answering to garden, especially when applied to Eden, had commonly been rendered by the LXX. To denote the same state they sometimes used the phrase Abrahain's bosom, a metaphor borrowed from the manner in which they reclined at meals. But, on the other hand, to express the unhappy situation of the wicked in that intermediate state, they do not seem to have declined the use of the word tartarus.'" See 2 Pet. 2 : 4, where the word rendered hell is tartarus. These things being premised, it is very obvious that both Abraham and Lazarus, as well as the rich man, were all represented as being in hades, the general receptacle for departed spirits, or the dead. They are all repre- 228 NOTES. seuted as being aliye and active, susceptible of happiness or misery ; lience Abraham and Lazarus are represented as being happy, and the rich man as being in torment. They are far distant from each other, and a gulf between. All this accounts for their being in sight and in hearing, "which can hardly be reconciled upon any other hypoth- esis. In the original all the verbs which signify motion in the parable are such as always denote motion on the same ground or level, or nearly so. Thus Lazarus, when dead, is said to be carried away by angels, not carried up into Abraham's bosom ; and so with the vei-bs wliich signify passing from Abraham to the rich man, or from thence to him, the verbs employed are such as always denote motion on the same ground or level ; as passing a river or lake, passing through the Red Sea, or passing from Asia into Macedonia. But, when heaven is spoken of as the termination to which, or from which, the pas- sage is made, the word is invai-iably different. '* Thus both the cii'cumstances of the story and expressions employed in it confii-m the explanation I have given. For, if the sacred penmen wrote to be understood, they must have employed their words and phrases in conform- ity to the current usage of those for whom they wrote. ' ' Thus, this account, if taken literally, and not consid- ered as a parable, would prove a state of condemnation or punishment after death, though it would not prove a punishment after the resurrection. But then the truth of the whole account, as a literal fact, depends on the truth of an intermediate state of consciousness between death and the resurrection ; which state requires direct proof before it can be consistently believed. Considering the account as a parable as it is generally considered by most commentators, admitting the language to be con- NOTES. 229 formable to their views of things, it contains all the instruction that it could contain, whether the literal facts be true or not. On this point Dr. Campbell, who was an advocate for the doctrine of an intermediate state, says, *' I am not ignorant that the doctrine of an intermediate state between death and the resurrection has been of late strenuously combated by some learned and ingenious men ; amongst whom we must reckon that excellent divine and firm friend to freedom of inquiry. Dr. Law, Bishop of Carlisle. I honor his disposition, and have the greatest respect for his talents ; but, at the same time that I acknowledge he has with much ability supported the side he has espoused, I have never felt mjself on this head convinced, though sometimes perplexed, by his reasoning." Having shown what we conceive to be the literal facts represented in this parable (for a parable we shall con- sider it, until the literal facts can be proved from other scriptures to be at least probably correct), we shall now briefly state what we conceive to be its figurative ap- plication. 1. By the rich man the high priest might be par- ticularly intended, as a representation of the Jews in general. 2. By the beggar the Gentile is represented as ex- cluded from the privileges which God's covenant people enjoyed. 3. By the death of Lazarus and the rich man, and the circumstances which follow, we are to understand the close of the legal dispensation and the opening of the gospel day ; when the Gentile, through faith in the Messiah, died to all his idolatrous religion, and, being absolved from the same, was carried by angels^ messen- 20 530 NOTES. gers of the covenant, into tlie iRiith of the gospel, aa preached to Abrfiham, figuratively represented by Abra- ham's bosom; and, by a firm reliance on the promise made to Abraham, is comforted. The rich man died a political death ; and the judgments of God denounced in the law and the prophets against the Jews roll on upon him. In this situation he sees fulfilled the words of Christ, Luke 13 : 28, 29, which see. He sees the Gen- tiles flocking to the light, while he remains in the dark- ness of unbelief, in which he is tormented. The great change of circumstances preys upon his mind like a burning fire. 4. In this situation the dialogue is supposed to take place between this representation of the house of Israel and Abraham. Finding no relief for himself, he solicits for his five brethren in his father's house ; by which we may understand that part of the house of Israel which were represented by five virgins, in the twenty-fifth of Mitthew. They are those who made void the law by adhering to the traditions of those who taught for doc- trine the commandments of men. The gulf is the bai'rier between the two dispensations, which cannot be removed until the present dispensation is closed ; when out of Sion shall come the deliverer, and turn away ungodliness from Jacob, and so all Israel shall be saved. Note D. See page 148. And it h set on fire of hell. — It will be necessary for the reader to understand here that the word rendered hell in the New Testament, wherever it is connected with fire, or with damnation, is in the original gehenna, which, both in its literal and figurative signification, differs materially NOTES. 231 from that of hades. It is frequently used by St. Matthew, as also by St. Mark. It is used once by St. Luke. But it is not used by St. John; not in the Acts of the Apostles; not in any of the Epistles, or in any other part of the New Testament, save this once by St. James, who used it figuratively, and his meaning cannot be misunderstood. This word, as every person of common biblical science knows, signified the valley of Hmnom, near Jerusalem. It is a compound of two Hebrew words, ge, the land or the valley, and Hlnnom^ the name of the owner. It was there the cruel sacrifices of animals, and sometimes chil- dren, were made to Moloch, the Ammonitish idol. This place is sometimes called Tophety as some think from Toph, a word which signifies a drum, because drums were beat to drown the cx-ies of the sutiering children; or, according to others, from a particular fire-stove in the place. In the reign of the good king Josiah, the idolatrous worship into which the Jews had been led was broken up, and Gehenna was defiled and made the receptacle of the filth of Jerusalem. A continual fire was kept burning, to destroy carcasses thrown in ; and, in a word, Gehenna became as abominable under the reign of Josiah, as it had been sacred during the idolatrous worship of the Jews. In process of time, as all writers agree, Gehenna came to be a place of punishment where criminals were caused to suffer death by burning ; and in this sense the Saviour uses the word, when he says, " But whosoever shall say thou fool shall be in danger of hell fire," that is, the fire of Gehenna.* With such abhorrence and dread, under * On this passage, the learned Parkhurst, a strict believer in endless misery, observes, " Gehenna of fire does, I appre- hend, in its outward and primary sense, relate to that dreadful doom of being burnt alive in the valley of llinnom." 232 NOTES. all these circumstances, did the Jews regard this place, that they used it as a figure of dreadful woes and judg- ments ; and so we find it used both in the Old and New Testament. Thus, in Jer. 19, the destruction of Israel is foretold ; and, in summing up what he had said, the prophet adds, ver. 12, " Thus will I do unto this place, saith the Lord, and to the inhabitants thereof, and even make this city as Tophet.'^ Here Gehenna is cei'tainly used as a figm-e to represent Jerusalem under its tribula- tions. We recommend the reader to peruse the whole of Jer. 19. See, also, 7 : 31—34. Jesus used the word in the same sense. Of this we think there cannot be the shadow of a doubt. He said to the Pharisees, " Ye ser- pents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of Gehenna ?" Matt. 23 : 33. He imme- diately adds, " Verily I say unto you, all these things shall come upon this generation.'" Ver. 36. Whatever Jesus here meant by the " damnation of Gehenna^^ he certainly confined to that generation ; and can there be a question, in the mind of any judicious person, that he referred to the judgment impending over Jerusalem ? He refers to these judgments again in Matt. 24 : 21. " For then shall be great tiibulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be." But here he is particular to say, ♦' This generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled." Ver. 34. From these quotations from the Scriptures, the subject must, we think, be regarded as settled, that Gehenna was used by the prophets and by Jesus Christ as an emblem of the calamities which befell the Jews in the destruction of the city and overthrow of the nation.* Under this * On the word Gehenna are staked the last hopes of those who defend the doctriae of piinishment in the future state. NOTES. 233 view of the subject, the "hell fire" spoken of in the parable forms a perfect contrast to the "kingdom of God;" — the one was the happy portion of the believer in Their zeal in contending that this word was used by Christ to favor that doctrine is certainly proportioned to the desperate- ness of their cause. But can there possibly be any dispute that Jesus meant by the "damnation of Gehenna," in Matt. 23 : 33, the judgment with which God was then about to visit the Jewsl " Verily I say unto you," said he, " all these things (this *' damnation of Gehenna" being the most important he had mentioned) shall come upon this generation." Ver. 36. And to what did Jesus refer. Matt. 5: 22, by the "fire of Gehen- na," except to the fire of the valley of Hinnom, in the literal sense 1 The learned Parkhurst, an eminent Orthodox critic, as we have already quoted, takes this view of the sub- ject. Lex. sub voc. Gehen. Adam Clarke, another believer in endless misery, took the same view. Com. on New Test, in loco. We cannot perceive why the "judgment" and the •'council," mentioned in the passage, may not be applied to the future state with as much propriety as the " Gehenna of fire." Now, in reference to the ten other passages in which Ge- henna occurs, they should be explained by the help of these. In the Old Testament the valley of Hinnom is made a figure of the temporal punishment of the Jews. This is unques- tionable. "When Jesus spoke of Gehenna to his disciples, would they not understand him as using it in the same sensel "When he threatened the unbelieving Jews with the " damna- tion of Gehenna," would not they understand him to use the word in the sense in which their own prophets had used it 1 Jesus never intimated, nor is there a single intimation thrown out by any New Testament writer, that this word is to have a widely different signification in the New Testament from what it bore in the Old. To us it seems highly probable that when Jesus threatened, the Jews with the "damnation of 20=^ 234 NOTES. Jesus ; the other -was the sad lot of those who were regardless of hia teachings and admonitions. Gehenna," he had in his mind the declaration of Jeremiah that God would make Jerusalem like Topbet. To this it may be replied, that, notwithstanding Gehenna never bears the sense of future punishment in the Old Testa- ment, yet in the time of Christ it did have that signification, as used in common language among the Jews, and by their theological writers ; and therefore, it is asked, would not the Jews have so understood Christ in his use of the word 1 We answer no, even if this had been the case ; for did he not say, concerning the " damnation of Gehenna," " all these things shall come on this generation" 1 "Whatever, therefore, their views of Gehenna were, they could not have misunderstood him in his view of it. But it is far from being a settled question, that the Jews in the time of Christ did under- stand by Gehenna a place of punishment in the invisible world. That the Pharisees believed in punishments after death we do not deny ; but Jesus explicitly admonished his disciples " to take heed and beware of the leaven (that is, doc- trine) of the Pharisees and Sadducees." Compare Matt. 16 : 6 with 12. If Jesus regarded the doctrine of future punishment, in which the Pharisees believed, as of any importance, why did he not make an exception of that sentiment, when he gave the above admonition '\ But that the Jews in the time of Christ used the word Gehenna to apply to future punishment, has never been proved. That word, as Mr. Balfour has shown (Inquiry, 2d edition, pp. 239, 240), does not occur in the Apocrypha. The Targums have not been sufficiently exam- ined by any author who doubted the common opinion. " Be- fore we ought to be satisfied with regard to their bearing on this subject," says a careful writer, " it appears to. me that the following points should be clearly ascertained : 1. "Whether the oldest of them, those of Jonathan, Ben Uzziel NOTES. 235 Note E. See page 202. In addition to the doctrines of men, mentioned in the sermon, which it is impossible either to know or understand, we would mention in this place that of a trinihj in unity with respect to the Deity ; or, in other words, the doctrine of the trinity. It is impossible that such a doctrine should be known to be true, since there is nothing in divine revelation to support it ; and it is not even pretended by any one that such a doctrine can be understood. Why, then, must it be believed ? The doc- trine cannot be expressed in Scripture language. The words Trinity, Ti-iune God, Three Persons in One God, God the Son, God the Holy Ghost, Holy and Blessed Trinity, Glorious Trinity, Blessed and Adorable Triuity, and the like, are not in that connection ; neither is the word Trinity in the Bible ; neither is the doctrine made up or supported by Bible language. Yea, we hazard nothing in asserting that it is impossible for any man to express either of the above ideas in the language of Scripture. And yet this is considered the most essential article of the Orthodox creed ! and Onkelos, do in fact use the word Gehenna to denote a ■place of future torment ; for all the others are of too late a date to be used as evidence. 2. Whether it is probable that even those Targum's are as old as our Saviour's time ; for I understand that this is a disputed question among critics, and that the celebrated Bauer and Jahn bring them down to the second or third century." On the whole, there is no evidence yet ascertained that the Jews ever used Gehenna in reference to future punishment, as early as the time of Christ. LIST OF BOOKS PUBLISHED AND FOR SALE TO THE TRADE, BY JAMES M. USHEK, 37 CORNHILL, BOSTON, MASS. THE LIST COMPRISES mSTORICAL, THEOLOGICAL, MISCELLA- NEOUS, JUVENILE, TEXT, SERVICE, AND CLASS BOOKS. THE SAME TO BE SOLD AT THE LOWEST PRICE AT WHOLESALE OR RETAIL. THE LIST MAILED FREE TO ANY ONE WISHING IT. BOSTON: BAZIN & CHANDLER, PRINTERS, ST^CORNHILL. 1856. H I SXO R I C AL THE TORNADO OF 1851 IN MEDFORD, WEST CAMBRIDGE & WALTHiM. MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASS. BEING A REPORT OF REV CHARLES BROOKS AND OTHERS. 1 vol. IGino., pp. 72, cloth, plain, price 25 cts. We have given in this work a general idea of the Tornado and its work of destruction, and many particular facts have also been stated. To those who desire such, this book will be particularly valuable, and we trust not altogether uninterest- ing to the people generally. Such a wonderful display of God's power, was never before seen in this portion of the country ; so great a destruction of buildings, trees, fences, and fruit, was never known in this State ; and we may add with gratitude to God, that such a miraculous preservation of life and limb, amidst this scene of devastation, was never be- fore known. This work such as it is, we give to public. THEOLOaiCAL THE PLAII GUIDE TO UNI VERS ALISM; DESIGNED TO LEAD INQUIRERS TO THE BELIEF OF THAT DOC- TRINE, AND BELIEVERS TO THE PRACTICE OF IT. BY THOMAS WHITTEMORE. 1 vol, 12mo., pp. 408. Price $L00. This work has been prepared for the benefit of inquirers after truth; for those that ask, 'Who are Universalists ? What are the points of their faith? What proofs can be found in the Scriptures of their distinguishing sentiments ? How do they explain the passages which others adduce to disprove Universalism ? How do they meet the common objections ? It is proposed in this work to answer these ques- tions, and thus to lead candid inquirers to the belief of the doctrine maintained by Universalists. NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE parabi.es OF THE NEW TESTAMENT ARRANGED ACCORDING TO THE TIME IN WHICH TIIEY WERE SPOKEN. BY THOMAS WHITTEMORE. 1 vol. 12mo., pp. 381. Price 75 cents. Tlie Parables are arranged in reference to the order of time in wliicli they were spoken ; a distinct exposition is <>-iven of each, illustrated by such helps as the best commentators and most approved eastern travellers have thrown in our way. As many of the Parables have been used to support the doctrine of endless misery, particular care was taken to show wherein orthodox expositors have agreed with Univer- salists in their interpretations of them. A full index is added to the work. LIFE OF REV. HOSEA BALLOU ; WITH ACCOUNTS OF HIS WRITINGS, AND BIOGRAPH- •ICAL SKETCHES OF HIS SENIORS AND CON- ' TEMPORARIES IN THE UNIVERSAL- IST MINISTRY. BY THOMAS WHITTEMORE. 4 vols; 12mo., plain, cloth, $4; full gilt, muslin, $6. These Four Volumes form a complete Magazine of spir- itual wealth. The Universalist who possesses and reads them, will be furnished with every fact and argument he needs to support his great and holy faith. This is the Life of a great and good man, who was beloved by all Avho knew him. The life of such a man is a model for the imitation of the world. It is the Life of a deep thinker, a sincere Christian the- ologian, a profound student of the Word of God, — a man who did much to bring out the true sense thereof. The Life of such a man, with faithful accounts of his writings, (such as we have in Mr. Whittemore's work is exceedingly instructive. The work opens the early life of Mr. Ballon, with the lives of his ancestors ; it shows him as a young man ; a convert among the Baptists : a member of the Baptist Church ; it shows how his mind struggled with the doctrine of endless misery, until he saw by the light of Revelation that it was not true ; how happily he became in the belief of LTniversal- ism ; how he commenced to jDreach in his 19th year; how faithfully he labored in all parts of New-England ; the im- pression he made upon the people; how he was settled as a pastor first in Dana, (then a part of Hardwick, Mass.,) then in the region of Barnard, Vt. ; then at Portsmouth, N. H. ; then at Salem, Mass., and then in Boston, where he lived as a clergyman for thirty-five years, and died at last honored and beloved, at the age of eighty-two. It gives Sketches of the Lives of Mr. Ballou's seniors and early contemporaries in the Universalist ministry. It states his doctrines very clearly and the arguments by which he defended them. MEMOIR OF REV. WALTER BALEOUR, AUTHOR OF LETTERS TO PROFESSOR STUART, AND VARIOUS OTHER PUBLICATIONS. By THOMAS WHITTEMORE, 1 vol. 18mo., pp. 224. Price 50 cents. The predominant moral qualities of Mr. Balfour were hon- esty, love of Scripture truth, a fearless spirit of inquiry, and independence to assert and defend what he believed. His knowledge of the Scriptures was extensive ; and the works he produced, were very valuable, and have exerted, and will continue to exert, a wide influence on the community. Such men as "Walter Balfour continue to live on the earth after they are dead. The influence of his life will be long felt. To assist in giving the proper influence to his life and char- acter, the foregoing work has been prepared. THE DOCTRINE OF ETERNAL HELL TORMENTS OVERTHROWN, In three parts, viz : Part 1st, of the torments of Hell, the foundation and pillars thereof, searched, discovered, shaken, and removed, &c. Part 2d, an article from the harleian miscellany on Universalism. Part 3d, Dr. Hartley's de- fense of Universalism. 1 vol. 12mo., pp. 1G7. Price 50 cents. It cannot be considered improper to introduce the following work, on the Torments of Hell, with a brief account of its Author. The first edition appeared in London, in 1658, and no secrecy was maintained in regard to its origin. It was avowedly the production of one Samuel Richardson, a writer of some note, if we may judge from the size and number of the works he wrote. Very little, however, is known of him. The following work, we believe, is the Fourth Edition. The original edition came out, as we have said, in 1G58 ; the sec- ond, in IGGO. The third was published many years after with a selection of scarce and valuable pieces that were entirely out of print, with a view to their preservation. This edition is from the third. It should be remembered that it is about two hundred years since this work was written. COMMENTARY ON THE REVELATION OF ST. JOHN THE DIVINE. BY TK03VEAS W^HITTEIVCORE. 1 vol. 12mo., pp. 388. Price $1.00. f This is tlie most popular, and at the same time profound and correct explanation of the Apocalypse which has yet ap- peared in tliis country. It has received the commendation of all classes of the community — it was reviewed at length, and with much favor in the Universalist Quarterly (by Dr. Bal- lon) and in the Christian Examiner (Unitarian). In this work the Bible is made to explain the Bible — the Old Tes- tament to illustrate the New, the familiar passage to illustrate the dark and difficult. WITNESSES TO THE TRUTH: CONTAINING PASSAGES FROM DISTINGUISHED AUTHORS, DEVELOriNG THE GREAT TRUTH OF UNIVERSAL SALVATION : WITH AN ArPENDIX, EXHIBITING THE ENORMITY OF THE DOCTRINE OF ENDLESS MISERY. BY J. W. HANSON, 1 vol. 16mo. pp. 185, Price 50 cents. The reader is presented with segregations from many au- thors — some of them of the very highest order of genius — which develop the grand idea of a final and universal de- struction of evil, and the triumph of goodness and happiness. It is believed that those whose thoughts have not been par- ticularly turned in this direction, will be surprised at the number and wealth of the quotations herein contained. It is dedicated to the Household of Faith. MEMOIR OF REV. JAMES M. COOK, BY THEODORE D. COOK. 1vol. 12mo., pp.430. Price, plain cloth, $1.00; full gilt, muslin, $1.50. This work has received the highest praise of the Press. It is the biography of a young, talented, and earnest minister of the Gospel. His life as presented in this book, furnishes a worthy ex- ample for the young men of our land to imitate. It should be read by all. UNIVERSALIST BELIEF; OR, THE DOCTHINAL VIEWS OF UNIVERSALISTS. BY ASHER MOORE. 1 vol. IGmo., pp. 216; price 50 cents. The first edition of this unpretending little volume met a more ready sale, obtained a wider circulation, and was re- ceived with more general favor than either the author or the publisher expected. To this (the second edition) has been added a chapter enti- tled " The Great Consummation," in which, we trust, will be found some facts and arguments which to the general reader may prove interesting and instructive, and seemed necessary to complete the plans and objects of the work. EEASONS FOR OUR HOPE: Comprising upwards of a thousand scriptural evidences, direct, illustrative, and collateral, of the doctrine of The Fi- nal Salvation of all the Human Family : demonstrating The Bible to be a Universalist Book : The selections being classified under a series of fifty distinct proportions, vari- sly expressive of " The Common Salvation." BY J. VICTOR WILSON. 1 vol. 18mo., pp. 313. Price 75 cents. THE UNIVERSiy:.IST'S BOOK OF REFERENCE. Coiitaifiiiig all the principal facts and arguments, and Scripture texts, pro and con on the great con- troversy between Limitarians and Universallsts. BY E. £. GUILD. 1 vol. 12mo., pp. 381. Price $1.00. This work is designed to be what its title imports ; a book of Reference. That the subjects discussed in this volume are important, no one will dispute. We have expressed our opinions freely, frankly and boldly. These opinions are the result of years of careful, patient, persevering, and untiring investigation, We have long seen and felt the necessity of a work like this, and for years have been collecting together material for it, and now present it to the public. THIRTY SHORT SERMONS ON VARIOUS IMPORTANT SUBJECTS, BOTH DOCTRINAL AND PRACTICAL. BY J. B. DODS. 1 vol. 16m0., pp. 384. Price 75 cents. The above is the title of a book from the pen of a clear and strong reasoner, and the arguments are conclusive in favor of a world's redemption. THE DIVINE EFFICIENCY AND MORAL HARMONY OF THE UNIVERSE; PROVED FROM REASON AND SCRIPTURE, BY A PASTOR. 1 vol. 16mo., pp. 15G. Price 50 cents. This work shows that in the Efficiency of Gods works there is a moral harmony and beauty that commends the ways of God to the careful study of Man. THE UNIVEESALIST PULPIT; CONTAINING SERMONS BY HOSEA BALLOU, E. H. CHAPIN, THOMAS WHITTEMORE, O. H. TILLOTSON, T. B. THAYER, JOHN MUR- RAY, LEMUEL WILLIS, AND A. A. MINER, WITH A FINE LIKENESS AND BIOGRA- PHY or EACH. 1 vol. octavo, pp. 33.6. Price $1.25. This is a work of great value and no Universalist should be without it. The likenesses are excellent, the sermons able, and the subject discussed important. UNITED STATES COHVENTiOH SERMONS, CONTAINING THE TWELVE SERMONS PREACHED, IN NEAV YOPtK IN 1852. AND A LIKENESS OF EACH OF THE AUTHORS, VIZ., T. B. ABEL, O. A. SKINNER, A. A, MINER, W. H. RYDER, HOSEA BALLOU 2d., E, FISHER, I. D. WILLIAMSON, A. G, LAURIE, S. P. SKINNER, G. W. MONT- GOMERY, THOMAS -VN'HITTEMORE, AND MOSES BALLOU. . 1 vol. 12mo., cloth, plain, $1, cloth gilt extra, $2. The discourses composing this volume, we regard as pro- ductions fully entitled to the name of Sermons. They are not mere essays. The difference between an Essay and a Sermon is very marked, though it may not be easy to define exactly in what it consists. We feel therefore, that we are doing a good service to the denomination, in publishing this volume, for in this form, the Sermons can be read by thou- sands who were not able to hear them. In presenting a like- ness of each preacher, we think that we have given a great attraction to the volume. The engravings are well executed, and the likenesses are pronounced good by the best judges. THE KEY TO TRUTH: CONSISTING OF EXPOSITORY REMARKS ON TECHNICAL PHRA- SES, AND CONTROVERTED PASSAGES RELIED UPON IN SUPPORT OF ENDLESS PUNISHMENT. BY E. H. LAKE. 1 vol. 12mo., pp. 311. Price 75 cents. This work was written during the author's residence in the South. It is " multum in parvoT It consists of five parts. Part first embraces a Bible view of controverted phrases and passages. Part second consists of brief essays on a variety of subjects. Part third embraces the arguments for a world's salvation. ■ Part fourth presents the objections to endless punishment. Part fifth consists of extracts of sermons, to- gether with selections from the writings of eminent authors ! Let this work be read and circulated extensively among the opponents of Universalism. THE ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF THE DOCTRINE OF ENDLESS PUNISHMENT. By Thos. B. Thayer. 1 vol. 16mo., pp. 251. 75 cents. This work is designed to furnish an outline of the argu- ments by which it is shown that the doctrine of Endless Pun- ishment is of heathen origin. It reviews the Old and New Testaments, showing that is not found there ; and then exam- ines the theology of the Pagans, demonstrating its origin in this, and the reasons of its invention, as confessed by the Pagans themselves. It is then shown in what way the doc- trine found place in the Jewish religion — and finally how it passed from the Jews on one side, and from the Heathen on the other, into the Christian church. The author has collected a large amount of facts and au- thorities bearing on the subject, and the book is full of valu- able and interesting information, which ought to be familiar to every Christian believer. The present edition has been greatly enlarged and improv- ed, by the addition of new facts and testimonies. Several new sections and chapters are added, and others wholly re- written, making much of the volume entirely new. Tlie work has been remarkably successful, the first edition of 2000 cop- ies having been exhausted in three or four months without the help of a single advertisement. AN EXAMINATION OF THE DOeiBiNE OF FOTyRE BETBIiyTIOH, In connection ivith the Moral Nature of Man, the Principle of Analogy, and the Sacred Scrip- tures. By Hosea Ballon, 1 vol. 12mo. pp. 216. Price 03 cts. The object of the writer of the above work is to place his views, respecting the doctrine of a future state of retribution before the j^ublic, and to preserve his arguments on that sub- ject, that when the time shall come, as he believes it will, when people in general will number the tenet of future pun- ishment among those corruptions of Christianity, which will then be abandoned, it may be known that the writer disbe- lieved it in his day, and also that the arguments with which he opposed it may then be known. THE CKOAVN OF LIFE, A SERIES OF DISCOURSES, BY I. D. WILLIAMSON, D. D. 1 vol. 12mo. pp. 407, price, plain, cloth, ^1 00, gilt (extra) $1 50. The Author of this work says : — It has been my aim to present a hopeful view of the Divine Government, which can see signs of promise in every cloud, and stars of hope in eve- ry night, and thus, to win the soul to happiness and vii-tue. ELEVEN SERMONS ON IMPORTANT DOCTRI- NAL SUBJECTS, WITH CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES. BY IIOSEA BALLOU. 1 vol. 12ma., pp. 235. Price 63 cents. This work Ims been for a long time out of print, and many inquiries have been made for it. The venerable author never produced poor sermons. There is a peculiar originality in all he wrote. On all subjects he spoke with a clearness and force of argument that carried conviction to the minds of all unprejudiced believers. In regard to the character of the sermons, we have a word to say. They are all on important doctrinal subjects. No Universalist can read them without feeling a deep and lively interest in the matter before him. A VOICE TO UNIVEESALISTS, BY HOSEA BALLOU. 1 vol. 12mo., pp. 272. Price, plain cloth, 7o cents; full gilt, cloth, (extra,) $1.00. The work, here laid before the pul)lic, consists partly of original pieces written by Mr. Ballou for tliis volume, and ])artly of articles from his pen which have appeared in dif- ferent periodicals. To the former class belong A General Epistle to Univer- salist, Momentous Questions, Essay on Universalism, Advice to Young Men who design to enter the Ministry, The Doctrine of Universal Salvation, and The Utility of Evil. The latter class is made up of such selections, from his writings, as it was thouglit desirable to preserve in a more permanent form than tliat in Avhich they first appeared. A COLLECTION OF MISCELLANEOUS POEMS, BY HOSEA BALLOU. 1 vol. 12mo., pp. 208. Price, plain cloth, 75 cents; full gilt, cloth, (extra) $1.00. This collection of poetry from the pen of Rev. Hosea Bal- lon is made from his impromptu contributions to various pub- lications, and particularly from the Universalist Magazine, while the author was editor of its pages. When Mr. Ballon wrote verse or prose, he had a purpose in view ; not merely that of rhyme and musical construction, but the end of doing some good by the effort he made at composition. He never wrote a line without this incentive ; and to the discriminating these poems will commend them- selves, as characteristic of their author, who now sleeps in death ! THE VISION OF FAITH, A SERIES OF SERMONS ON THE DECALOGUE, AND THE lord's PRAYER. BY I. D. WILLIAMSON, D. D. 1 vol. 16mo., pp. 263. Cloth, plain, 50 cents ; mo- rocco, gilt, 75 cents. The discourses contained in this volume, were originally prepared in the ordinary course of sermonizing, and deliver- ed to the congregation of which the author is Pastor. The favor with which they were received, has induced the writer to publish them in a form suitable for preservation. They are now presented, (with some alteration) with the wish that they may be the means of doing good. AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF REV. ABEL C. THOMAS. INCLUDING RECOLLECTIONS OF PERSONS, INCIDENT AND PLACES. 1 vol. 12mo. (with portrait of the Author,) pp. 308. Plain cloth, $1.00 ; gilt, (extra,) $1.50. This book was written bj repeated solicitations of person- al friends, whose partiality for the author may have biassed their judgment in regard to the general interest of the publi- cation. Some of the incidents have before been published, a few have been recalled by persons acquainted with the facts, others have been revived by association, but chief reliance has been placed on a retentive memory. THE BOOK OF PROIMISES ; OR, THE UNIVERSALIST'S DAILY POCKET COMPANION, Being a Collection of Scri'pture Promises, ar- ranged under their proper heads, BY S. B. EMMONS. 1 vol. 32mo., pp. 128. Price 25 cents. To a class of believers nothing should be made so familiar as those truths that constitute the basis of their peculiar faith, By a perusal of these pages, it will be perceived that an ef- fort has been made to collect and arrange the divine promises so that at a glance, as it w^ere, we can survey the whole ground on which rests all our expectations of immortal good. MISCELLANEOUS THE LILY OF THE YALLEY, AN ORIGINAL ANNUAL WITH SIX SPLENDID MEZZOTINT EN- GRAVINGS. 1 vol. 12mo. Elegantly bound in morocco, gilt, $2.00 OUR COUNTRY; OR THE AMERICAN PARLOR KEEPSAKE. EDITED BY WM. H. RYDER. 1 vol. 12mo. Muslin, plain, $1.00 ; extra muslin, full gilt, 81.50. We have no apology to offer for presenting the above work to the public. If it does not prove its own claim to the approbation of the j^eople, nothing which it is proper for us to insert here will render it any more acceptable. This is truly an " American Book " of great merit, its contributors being some of the most talented men in our country. CYPRESS LEAYES. BY LOUISE J. CUTTER. WITH A BIOGRAPHY. BY MARY W. JANYRIN. 1 vol. 12mo., pp. 336. Price, plain muslin, 81.00 ; extra muslin, gilt, $1.50, (with portrait.) To gratify a sacred, dying wish, have the writings now of- fered to the public in their present form, been gathered. " If you think they are worthy, let them be published after I am gone, " said a young and lovely being, who lay resting under the ruthless touch of that Destroyer, who loves to mark Earth's fairest beings for his own ; and thus, with its merits and its faults — its beauties and its blemishes — goes forth this book. SABBATH SCHOOL EXHIBITION PIECES. Introductory Piece, for boys or girls, per doz. 25 The Spoiled Girl, for four girls, per doz. 25 The Rainbow, for seven girls, per doz. 25 The Messiah, for twelve girls, per doz. 25 Joseph and his Brethren, for thirteen boys, per doz. 38 Miracles of Christ, per doz. 38 May Day Songs and Choruses, for three girls, per doz. 38 Faith, Hope and Charity, boys and girls, an indefinite number, with banners, &c., per doz. 75 Alphabet Class, for 5 or 25 girls or boys, or both, per doz. 50 Resurrection of Lazarus, for 6 girls and 2 boys, per doz. 38 School Scenes, from 15 to 54 girls and boys, per doz. 50 Moses in the Bulrushes, for 4 girls and attendants, per doz. 75 Altars of Nature, for 9 girls and 3 boys, per doz. 5C The Saviour's Invitation, for 4 girls and 2 boys, and chorus, per doz. 50 Two Altars, or Heathen and Christian Worship, for 18 girls and boys, per doz. 50 Orders and Symbols, for 3 boys and 2 girls, per doz. 50 May Queen, for 17 girls and 2 girls, per doz. 50 Feast of Tabernacles, for 12 girls, per doz. 50 Sabbath School Oratorio, for 8 boys and 5 boys, per doz. 75 Crowning of Charity, for 13 girls and boys, per doz. 75 The Beatitudes, for 18 girls and 12 boys, per doz. 1 00 (pp. 11) The Silver Bell, for 4 girls, 1 25 ( " 6) The Mother's Gift, for 2 girls and 1 boy. ( " 22) Youth of David, for 2 girls and 13 boys. ( " 13) Tongue Bridle, for 5 girls and 1 boy. ( " 20) Festival of the Cherries, 5 girls and 5 boys. PAMPHLETS. Relley's Union, 12 "Winchester's Dialogues, 25 Jeremy White on Universal Restoration, 25 Seigvolk's Everlasting Gospel, 13 Pettipierre on Divine Goodness, 12 Universalism Against Partialism, 19 Streeter's Familiar Conversations, 25 Lake & Todd's Discussion, 25 Miner's Sermon on the Death of H. Ballon, 20 « « " " " Mrs. Ballou, 12 John Foster's Letter, with Sawyer's Preface, 50 Mrs. Soule's Letter on the Death of her Husband, €0 Ballou's Convension Sermon, 1847, 12 Truth to Make You Free, by J. F. Witherell, 17 Twenty-fourth and Twenty-fifth Chapter of Matthew, with Notes by H. Ballon, 2d. 6 1-4 Opinions and Phraseology of the Jews, concerning the Future State, by H. Ballou, 2d, 12 1-2 Answer to Paine's Age of Reason, by Elhanan Winches- ter, 25 The Danvers Discussion, a report of the Discusion at Danvers, Mass., between M. P. Braman and Thos. Whittemore. Price 25 A Sermon delivered in New York at the session of Gen- eral Convention of Universalists, Sept. 1847, by Hosea Ballou. Price 12 A Farewell Discourse preached in Taunton, Mass., Nov. 1851, by George ^Y. Quimby. Price 12 A Discourse delivered in School street Church, Boston, at the funeral of the Rev. Hosea Ballou, senior pas- tor, by his colleague, A. A. Miner. Price 20 A Discourse delivered in School street Church, Boston, the Sunday after the funeral of Mrs. Ruth Ballou, relict of the late Rev. Hosea Ballou. Price 12 Three Discourses upon Capital Punisment, by E. H. Chapin. Price 13 One Hundred Arguments in favor of Universalism ; a tract. Price 6 Two Hundred and Thirteen Questions without answers ; a tract. Price 6 Power of Truth or UniversaUsm: Good in Life and in Death ; a tract. Price 3 PORTRAITS. The following is a list of Steel Engravings of eminent Universalist Ministers. They are from the best artists in the country, and are considered good, viz , Price. Hosea Ballou, full length, on steel, Lidia impression, $10.00 Proofs before Letters, 5.00 Prints, 3.00 John Moore, lithograph, 1.00 Thomas Whittemore, lithograph, 1.00 John Murray, 20 Hosea Ballou, 25 Thomas Wliittemore, 20 Hosea Ballon, 2tl, 20 E. H. Chapin, 20 A. A. Miner, 20 O. A. Skinner, 20 T. B. Thayer, 20 S. Streeter, 20 W. H, Rjder, 20 A. C. Thomas, 20 A. G, Laurie, 20 J. D. WilliamsoiT^ 20 G. V. Maxham, 20 Moses Ballou, 20 E. Fisher, 20 W. A. Drew, 20 L. Willis, 20 G. W. Montgomerr,. 20 S. P. Skinner, 20 J.M. Cook, 20 E. M. Pingree,. 20 J W. Talbot^ 20 TEXT books: BiMe Exercises, by A. A. Miner, per. cloz. 2,50 Paige's Questions, by L. R. Paige, per. cloz. 2,50 Hudson's Questions, by Clias. Hudso-n, per. doz. 2,50 Bible Class AssistMit,. by T. B. Thayer, per. doz, 2,50 Our Saviour, by Julia, per. doz. 1,25 Lessons on Prayer, by Julia, per. doz, 1,00 Duties of a Day, by Julia, per. doz. 75 Things to love, by Julia, per doz. 75 "What I must try to be, by Julia, per. dos. 50 First Step m the Sunday School, by J. M. Usher, per. doz. 50 Child's Bible Book, by T. Whittemore, pen do2i. 50 Things to Love, (on cards) per sett. S8 What I must try to be, (on cai'ds) per sett* 25 Teachers Class Papers, per. doz. 06 SERVICE AND CLASS BOOKS, Eastern Harp, by John Boyden, per. doz, 2,50 S. S. Choir, by T. Whittemore, per. doz. 2,50 Conference Hymns, by T. Whittemore, ^xjr. doz^ 2,50 Teachers Class Book, per. doz. 75 JUVENILES. Yoimg folks at Home, 18mo. 50 Lectures to Youth, 18nio. 50 Not Rich but Generous, 18mo. 38 Small Means and Great Ends, 18mo. 38 The Rainbow, 18mo. 38 Never Give Up, 18mOr • 38 Autumn Blossom, 18mo. 38 The Twig, 18mo. 38 Angel from Paradise, 38 The Sunday School Present, 18mo. 13 The Little Organ Girl, ISmo. ^^ Flowers for all Seasons, 18mo. 25 The Rose Tree, 18mo. 25 No, and other Stories, 18mo. 20 Boys and Girls Gems, 18mo. 20 The Silver Bell, 18mo. 17 Uncle Johns Library (12 vols. ) each, 17 Little Hymns and Pictures, paper each, 08 Stories for Little Boys and Girls, paper each, 08 Little Presents, paper each, 08 SABBATH SCHOOL PAPER, " THE MYRTLE," A paper devoted to the Sabbath School interests, is pub- lished once in two weeks. Terms — Single copy, 50 cents per annun ; ten or more copies to one address 25 cents per an- num. And for every ten copies taken, one will be given as a premium. Note. — Any of the within named Publications will be sent by mail, post-paid, on receipt of the retail price. SABBATH SCHOOLS Furnished with all the Lesson Books, Class Books, and Papers, Cards, &c., published in the denomination, on the same terms as they can be had of the publishers. HYMN BOOKS, Of all kinds used in the denomination furnished on the same terms as tliey can be had of the publishers. BIBLES of all sizes, and styles of binding, and a GREAT VARIETY OF BOOKS, In rich bindings, suitable for presents. CASH ORDERS will be promptly attended to if the articles ordered are to be found in the city. ^ ^ J Date Due /C F 1 a '^^ . J i ^ ^_.- -- >yi^ . 'lA©**^ y^-" 'MAiUX^ M«yM« ^ - ' y- •%. ^ 4- J2 3^^*^ U \ ■' yj' ■f m^