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and will close with all sinners at the end of time, when all the watchmen shall be gathered in from Zion's walls, and all sinners be called to an account. Heb. iii. 13. "But ex

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hort one another while it is called to-day, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin." Verse 15. "While it is said, to-day, if you will hear his voice harden not your hearts as in the provocation." By the expression, to-day," in these passages are understood the present state of gospel privileges and gracious overtures, in opposition to the state which is to succeed. In literal phraseology, today, distinguishes the present period of time from the future, which is called to-morrow; hence, when applied to the time of preaching the gospel, or to the time of God's gracious call to sinners through the gospel, it distinguishes the present time, that is, this life, during which" it is said to-day," as a time of gracious probation, within the limits of which sinners may hear the voice of God, in opposition to a time or state to come, when it will be too late to hear effectually unto salvation. Luke xiii. 25. "When once the master of the house is risen up and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us, and he shall say unto you, I know you not whence ye are." Matt. xxv. 11, 12. "Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, verily I say unto you, I know you not." Here the case of sinners is brought to view by representing them in the condition of persons excluded from a marriage feast, in consequence of being too late in their application for admittance. The door is represented as being open only for a given period during which admission may be obtained, at the expiration of this period the door will be closed when it will be too late to enter. Now, if this serves at all to illustrate the impending destiny of sinners, and the principles of the divine administration as revealed in the gospel, of which there can be no doubt, it follows, that there is a limited period, during which the door of gospel salvation is open to all who will enter in and be saved, and that a time is coming when this door will be shut, that is, when the offers of salvation will no longer be held out to the sinner, and, consequently, when it will be too late to seek and obtain salvation.

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If the texts above quoted do not mean this, they can have no bearing at all on the sinner's condition, and consequently, can have no meaning. It would be worse than trifling to pretend to deny, that the closing of the door and the shutting out of certain characters represents an exclusion from gospel blessings, and to suppose that it relates merely to a temporary exclusion here in this world. This would be false, for sinners are not shut out, in this sense, in this life: no sinner knocks at the door of the gospel church, or at the door of mercy and salvation, and receives for an answer, "I know you not whence ye are.' Even the Jews, of forlorn condition, are not excluded in this sense; to them the door of gospel salvation is open; hence, this exclusion from the benefits of religion, must be a future and a final one, when it will be too late to seek and obtain salvation. Rev. xxii. 11, 12. "He that is unjust let him be unjust still, and he which is filthy let him be filthy still. And behold I come quickly, and my reward is with me, to give unto every man according as his work shall be." This text clearly teaches that there is a time coming when our moral characters will be forever settled; when it shall be said, " he that is filthy, let him be filthy still," it must be too late to seek and obtain salvation; and when it shall be pronounced, "he that is holy, let him be holy still," there will be no more apostacy. Should it be said that this text has no reference to the final judgment, or to the fixing of our final condition, it is replied that were this granted it would not destroy the argument. The text clearly speaks of the coming of Christ, with his reward with him, to give unto every man according as his works shall be. Now, to make the least of this, it relates to some temporal calamity which threatened the destruction of the wicked; and if it be said of the wicked in view of a temporal destruction, that is, temporal death," he that is unjust, let him be unjust still, and he that is filthy, let him be filthy still," it follows that it will be too late to reform after death-that those who die morally filthy, will be filthy forever. If the text relates to the destruction of the Jews, as universalists suppose almost every threatening relates to this event, then, it follows that those Jews which were destroyed, are filthy still. At least, the text proves that some sinners, at some time, either in this

world or the world to come, have been, or are to be, unalterably confirmed in their injustice and pollution, and with these it must be, at such time, forever too late to seek salvation. We think we have now shown from scripture, that there will come a time when it will be too late to secure salvation; from which it must follow, that all who do not repent and obtain salvation, within the limits of this probationary state, must be forever lost.

VII. The scriptures speak of rewards and punishments in a manner which clearly implies the doctrine of endless punishment. These scriptures are various, some restricting salvation to certain characters, and others speaking of the punishment of the wicked. Matt. v. 8. "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." This text most clearly speaks of the future blessedness of the saints. Note, the condition, purity of heart, is in the present tense, and the blessing is in the future tense. "Blessed are the pure in heart," those who are now pure in heart, "for they shall see God" hereafter, not do now see God. If seeing God then relates to the admission of the saints into the divine presence hereafter, to ever be with the Lord," it follows, that the impure in heart will be forever excluded from the society of the blessed. The text marks the blessedness of seeing God as peculiar to the pure in heart, which cannot be true if all are to see God, which must be the case if universalism be true; it would be equally true to say, blessed are the impure in heart, and wicked in life, for they shall see God. Herein universalism differs from the doctrine of Christ. Christ says, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God;" but universalism says, in effect, the impure, as well as the pure, shall see God. But it may be said, in reply to this, that all will become pure, and then all will see God. True, if all become pure all will see God; but this is what the text does not assert; indeed, it implies directly the reverse. To promise the pure in heart that they shall see God, implies that some may remain impure, and not see God. Not only so, but to take it for granted that all will become pure, is to beg the main question at issue. 2 Tim. iv. 7, 8. "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith; henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord

the righteous Judge shall give me at that day; and not to me only, but to all them that love his appearing." There can be no doubt that this text refers to eternal life in the future world, or to the final salvation of St. Paul. The expressions in the text, "that day," and "his appearing," cannot be applied to the destruction of Jerusalem; for St. Paul did not participate in the scenes of that event, but closed his career in Rome, from whence he wrote his epistle just before his death. Indeed it is clear that sentence of death had been pronounced upon him before he wrote this epistle, and that it was in view of this sentence, which was soon to be executed, he penned the text under consideration, exclaiming, "I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand, I have fought a good fight," &c. This clearly shows that the apostle had reference to a reward in the future world. Now, nothing can be more plain than that the apostle looked upon his fidelity in this world as a condition of the reward in the world to come. He says "I have fought a good fight," &c. " henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness." This clearly implies that there would have been no crown laid up for him, if he had not fought a good fight, kept the faith, and finished his course. Now, if St. Paul's crown was secured by his fidelity, it follows that all those who do not, like him, fight the good fight, such as make shipwreck of faith, and run off the course of the christian race, must come short of a crown of righteousness in the future world; that is, they will come short of heaven. In perfect agreement with this, is Rev. ii. 10. "Be thou faithful unto death and I will give thee a crown of life." That this text promises a reward in the future state there can be no doubt, for faithfulness unto death is stated as a condition. Now, as the condition extends up to death, and as the crown must be received after the time of complying with the condition, it follows that this crown of life must be received after death, and in the future state. Here, then, is a plain promise of a crown of life, in the future world, to all such as are faithful unto death, in this world, which implies, beyond all doubt, that such as are not faithful unto death, shall not have a crown of life in the future world. To suppose that all are to have a crown of life, would make the scrip

tures speak the following absurd language; "Be thou faithful unto death and I will give thee a crown of life;" and I will give a crown of life also to all such as are not faithful unto death. Matt. x. 39. "He that findeth his life shall lose it, and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it." Mark viii. 35. "For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life, for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it." Luke ix. 24. "For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it." John xii. 25. "He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal." Here are two kinds of life and death referred to; the first is the life and death of the body, or natural life and death; the second is the life and death of the soul, or moral or spiritual life and death. On no other plan can these texts be true; "he that loseth his life shall save it," cannot both be true of the same life, but it may be true that whosoever will save his natural life, by betraying the cause of truth, shall lose his moral life or life of his soul; and that he who shall lose his natural life, as a martyr, shall save the life of his soul, or preserve it unto life eternal." Here then are two cases s; one person thinks more of this life than he does of the life to come, and the other thinks more of the life to come than he does of the pres ent life. Now, it is said that he who seeks to preserve the present life shall lose the future life, and he who is willing to sacrifice the present, shall preserve the future; which clearly implies that some will not enjoy spiritual life in the world to come. One man is said to preserve his life unto life eternal, and another, in distinction from this, is said to lose his life, the same which the other preserves unto life eternal, by endeavoring to save his present life. Nothing can be more plain than that both kinds of life here spoken of, cannot be enjoyed, in the sense of the text, by the same person, and yet one is represented as saving the one, this life, and another as preserving the other, eternal life; hence, it is clear that the person, who would have eternal life, cannot preserve or enjoy this life, in the sense of the text; and that he who does preserve this life in the sense of the text, cannot have eternal life in the future world. 1 Tim. vi. 12. "Fight the

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