act of destruction, or the fire of consumption will be perpetual and eternal, but the effects will be.The destruction which will never be reversed may with strict propriety be called an everlasting punishment.

Passages are selected from the books of Revelation in support of the doctrine of eternal punishinent.-"If any one worship the beast or his image, the same drinketh of the wine of the wrath of God; and the smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever and ever."-In the original for ages of ages.Again." And fire came down from heaven and devoured them, (the armies of Gog and Magog) and the devil, that deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where is the beast and the false prophets; and they shall be tormented forever and ever;" for ages. Whether these passages do or do not refer to the punishments of men in a future world, to them will apply the observations made upon the words everlasting, eternal, &c. In the original language, the words translated forever and ever express an indefinite period of time, and from them the perpetuity of the misery of the wicked in a future world cannot be proved,

From a serious and close review of the various passages which have reference to the future punishment of the incorrigibly wicked, do we find that the doctrine of endless torment is clearly contained in the scriptures? Do not these passages more obviously signify destruction, annihilation?

One consideration I wish in this place to present to your minds-of its weight you will judge. The original threatening made to Adam as the punish

That is, as I unFrom this penalty

ment of disobedience was death. derstand it, extinction of being. all men are redeemed by Jesus Christ. We are all made candidates, on new conditions, for the rewards of immortality. The penalty of a neglect to comply with the conditions of salvation is death. That is, the impious and the abandoned of all nations and ages will be made to suffer the miseries of the second death, and their sufferings will bear an exact proportion to their guilt.

In our present state, it must be difficult to form adequate apprehensions of the condition of being in a future world. With our present senses it may be impossible rightly to conceive of a new mode of existence. The language of scripture, on this subject, is figurative; and even in respect of the righteous, we are told, that it doth not yet appear what they shall be. But, on the one hand, it is clearly revealed to us, that the righteous shall be made happy in heaven, and that this happiness shall be endless in duration; and, on the other, that the wicked shall be made miserable as long as they exist as wicked characters. No reflecting, sober man can, on the authority of the Christian revelation, expect to escape the wages of sin, or promise himself future fe licity, unless he acquire the Christian character. This is enough for all the purposes of piety and virtue. Who that reflects will, for the profits or pleasures of sin, incur the penalty of the second death?

SERMON XXIX.

ON THE FUTURE HAPPINESS OF THE RIGHTEOUS.

1 CORINTHIANS xiii. 12.

For now we see through a glass darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then I shall know even as also I am known.

THIS passage of scripture I have selected as the theme of a discourse on the rewards promised by Jesus Christ to the pious and good in the kingdom of heaven. The changes which death will produce cannot with precision be ascertained. Intimately associated with objects of sense, we can but imper. fectly conceive of the capacities, the employments, or the happiness of just men inheriting the promis. es. But the future life, it is presumed, will be a continuation of the present: personal identity will be preserved men will exist in heaven with intellectual and moral faculties like those they possessed on earth; and their employments and happiness will be adapted to the dispositions which they here

formed, and the habits here established. The enjoyments of the next state, therefore, must be active in their nature, and proportioned to improvements made during the life of probation. The enjoyments of heaven will not consist of any determi nate and fixed degree of felicity. Saints in the kingdom of light will make progressive improvements in knowledge and virtue, and rise to ever increasing attainments in happiness. This happiness, then, must consist in the constant progress of our intellectual, moral, and social faculties towards perfection.* In this relation let us contemplate it.

1. The rewards of heaven will consist in the progressive improvement of our intellectual faculties.

The intellectual faculty of man is capable of great improvement in the present limited state. By its vigorous exercise, individual men have risen to worthy apprehensions of the character of God, and have acquired an extensive acquaintance with his works and ways; and the knowledge thus obtained has been applied to the most useful purposes of human life. But by the influence of animal passions, by the prejudices of a corrupt education, and by the necessary business of the world, the intellectual improvements of most men have been confined within narrow bounds, and the knowledge of the most cultivated minds much circumscribed. Even Christians, with their superiour advantages, have entertained debasing opinions of the perfections and government of God, and inconsistent views of the religion of his Son, Jesus Christ. Some bewilder

*See Dr. JAMES FOSTER on future rewards and punishments,

themselves in metaphysical subtleties, and others are blinded by false zeal. Some, forming their apprehensions of divine attributes from the constituent principles of human nature, in their conceptions of God debase his character; and others cherish those superstitious views of Divine Providence which disturb their own minds, and destroy the peace and happiness of their lives.

Such are the weakness and imperfection of our present state of intellectual agency; but in heaven animal propensities being purified, and every worldly bias removed, men will be better disposed for intellectual pursuits. Reason will there possess its full strength, and the understanding its extent of comprehension. There, saints will have worthy and exalted views of God in all his attributes and administrations, and their conceptions of moral truth and duty will be without confusion. They will clearly understand those divine dispensations, which now perplex their moral inquiries; and perceive that now apparent irregularities of Providence all tend to promote one wise and benevolent purpose. To the view of the citizens of the heavenly Zion the natural and moral system of the universe will open its now concealed glories, and they will survey innumerable beauties and innumerable excellencies, which at present lie beyond the reach of human faculties.

Can we stretch our imaginations so far as to anticipate the delight we shall receive from the contemplation of the brighter displays of divine wisdom, power, and goodness? The most languid view of this enjoyment will convince us of the dig.