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contrafted and the one fet over against the other, to teach us the equal duration of both. This verfe containing our text is an inftance of this contraft as well as many others. "Thefe "fhall go away into everlafting punishment, but the righteous "into life eternal." Here the word everlasting and eternal is precifely the fame in the original; and its evident intention is to instruct us in the equal duration of both. If the one be eternal fo alfo is the other. Thefe things fhow.us that the eter nity of hell is as abfolutely certain as the eternity of heaven. Wherefore let all beware how they believe and depend upon the dangerous principle, that the fufferings of the future ftate will come to an end.

But to the authorities already mentioned, it might be eafy to adduce a multitude of others; as, "They fhall be punished from the prefence of the Lord, They fhall be tormented day

with everlasting destruction "and the glory of his power. "and night for ever and ever. And the fmoke of their tor"ment fall afcend for ever and ever," &c. Let what has been faid fuffice for the prefent. If these things will not con. vince the ferious and attentive mind, there is reafon to fear their conviction will come too late.

The fubject thall be finithed in a few reflections.

First, we are here taught to magnify the love and grace. of God difplayed by Jefus Chrift in contriving, and executing a plan of falvation, whereby guilty finners may thro' faith in the blood of the lamb, efcape from all this endless woe. This doctrine fets the mercy of God and the compaflion of the Saviour in a molt confpicuous light. Oh, let us praife the Lord for the offers of eternal life in the gospel. Let the love of God. the Father and the Son conftrain us to relinquish the cld apof tacy, to forfake our fins, and turn unto him with our whole heart, fo that we may live and not eternally perish.

Secondly, we here learn the precioufnefs and ineffable value of the immortal foul. It is capable of and defigned for an eternal existence. The body muft foon drop into the duft, and: all the beauties and glories of the world will be no more. But then the foul enters into an everlasting and unchangeable state cf happiness or mifery. If penitent and united to Christ, it enters into that grand apartment in eternity, called heaven. Here is the throne of God and the lamb. This whole region is perfect light, love, grace and glory, and the foul entering into it, its capacity will be compleatly filed with the most confummate felicity. Bleffed and happy are all they who have entered in. to the ftate of glory, for heaven will never come to an endThis works up the pleasure to extacy that it will be everlafting.-But on the other hand, if the foul be unconverted, im. penitent and unrighteous at death, as foon as it is diflodged from the body, it plunges into that gloomy and tormenting divifion of eternity, where it is inftantly filled in every part and faculty with all the fulness of the wrath of Jehovah. Here they will blafpheme God, and rend and tear one another, and foam and gnafh their teeth, and bound thro' the burning furges for ever and ever. Whofe heart does not tremble at the thought! Let the horrors of the fcene be wrought up by the ftrongest imagination, they fall infinitely fhort of what every unholy person is liable to every moment. You ftand, O finners, on flippery places, and all beneath is hell. Let these things found an alarm to the heart of every unconverted finner, and awake him out of his deep fecurity before it be forever too late. O finners, awake to repentance and fiee from the wrath that is to come; lay hold on the hope which is now offered in the gofpel, that you may escape this direful mifery, and be introduced into the joys of Paradife. And that this may be the glorious habitation of us all throughout the unwafting ages of eternity, may God of his infinite mercy grant, through JesusChrist our Lord, to whom be all glory, honor, dominion anda praife, forever and ever. Amen and Amen.

SERMON XLIL

The nature and felicity of the Celestial State.

Matt. xxv. 34. Then fhall the king fay unto them on his right hand, Come ye blefed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

AFTER the refurrection, in the clofe of the general judg ment when the grand procefs fhall have been finished, then the final fentence will be pronounced upon all in perfect equity. and righteousness, according as their characters fhall be found: to be. The proceedings of this great day are here in this chap.

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ter difplayed before us. The glorious appearance, of the judge, the fplendor of his advent, and the magnificence of his atten dants, are described in all the glowing beauties and strength of janguage. When you read, you feem as if you faw Jefus feated on the throne of his glory and all nations affembled in his prefence. You behold him feparating this promifcuous throng one from another as a fhepherd divideth his fheep from the goats. This feparation will be as exact as it will be juft. The most in

confiderable faint will not be loft in the croud of finners, nor the most plaufible finner concealed in the throng of faints. Every one will be brought forward, and have a particular, open and fair trial, fo that all will be perfectly convinced, on which hand he must be placed. Thus fpeaks the prophet Ezekiel, "As for "you, O my flock, thus faith the Lord God, behold I judge "between cattle and cattle, between the rams and the he"goats." A perfect fcrutiny will be made, fo that it will be accurately determined, who are theep and who are goats. The feparation being compleated, the two grand divi fions of the univerfe will be fituated, the one on the right, and the other on the left of the glorious judge. In this tremen dous fituation, he will first address himself to those fixed in the moft honorable place. "Then fhall the king fay unto them, “on his right hand, Come ye blefed of my father, inherit the "kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.", Thus when the process is finithed, and the tranfporting sentence pronounced, all the heavenly arches will ring with joy, in the paffing of the righteous to everlasting life. Chrift Jefus, when he came in the feh, made a mean appearance in the eyes of a carnal world, was a ftumbling block to the Jews, and to the Greeks foolishnefs, was as a root out of dry ground without form or comeliness, rejected and defpifed of men; but now on the feat of judgment, he appears in all the fhining fplen for of a king, arrayed in all the regalia and effulgence of the celeftial ftate, beaming forth in all the radiancy of him, who was cloathed with the fun and had the moon under his feet. Earth. ly kings appearing in the robes of their dignity, fhed a fplendor around them on the gaping multitudes, but when Jefus the king of kings appears, the transcendant brilliancy of his glory will infinitely more outfhiue earthly royalty, than royalty excels the rags and mien of the molt abject flave. In all the grandeur of heavenly majesty the feutence will be uttered to the joy of all those who have made their peace with God. Their good works will be produced as the evidences of their appro

bation. Thus the judge enforces the rectitude of his decifion. "I was an hungered and ye gave me meat, I was thirfty and "ye gave me drink, I was a stranger and ye took me in, naked" and ye clothed me, I was fick and ye vifited me, I was in Ι "prifon and ye came unto me." And as a further evidence of their righteousness and that they had imbibed the fpirit of the gofpel, "Then fall the righteous anfwer, Lord when saw we

thee an hungered and fed thee? or thirty and gave thee drink? "when faw we thee a stranger and took thee in ? or naked and "cloathed thee? or when faw we thee fick, or in prison and "came unto thee ?" The king will then reply to thefe righte ous and humble dictates of their hearts, "Verily, I fay unto "you, inasmuch as you have done it unto one of the leaft of "thefe my brethren, ye have done it unto me." The sentence contains in it the complete bleffednefs and perfect felicity of all faints. Their happiness in all refpects will be adequate to their holinefs in this life, and their extenfive and growing capacitiesin the next. They will then pafs from glory to glory throughout eternity.

It may be obferved, this important fentence contains two principal things.

First, the acknowledging of the faints to be bleffed of the Lord. "Come ye bleffed of my Father."

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Secondly, the happiness of that glorious ftate into which they arc admitted. "Inherit the kingdom prepared for you, from: the foundation of the world."-In this fentence is contained

Firf, the acknowledgment of the faints to be the blessed of the Lord. "Come ye bleffed of my Father."

Chrift pronounces them bleffed and this declaration proves