terms, declare and affirm, that the punishment of the wicked n hell will be eternal. The firft paffage I would produce is

from the prophecy of Ifaiah- And they, that is the faved of "the Lord, fhall go forth and look upon the carcafes of the men "that have tranfgreffed against me; for their worm fhall not "die, neither shall their fire be quenched." No words can be more express than thefe in afferting the perfect, compleat and everlasting deftruction of tranfgreffors; nor any declaration of this doctrine be plainer in prophetic language. It is the genius of the prophetic ftile to exprefs fpiritual and eternal things in bold figures, and by fenfible and material images. Daniel affords another authority in point:-" And many of them "that fleep in the duft of the earth fhall awake, fome to ever. "lafting life, and fome to fhame and everlafting contempt." Here the affertion is explicit, that the fhame and contempt of fome who fhall be raifed at the laft day, will be everlafting or eternal. The next authority is in Malachi :-" Behold the "day cometh that fhall burn as an oven, and all the proud,

yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble; and the day "that cometh fhall burn them up, faith the Lord of hoits, that "it fhall leave them neither root nor branch." The declaration here is defcriptive and strong. It exhibits the greatness of God's jail indignation against the proud and all that do wickedly. God will bring total and abfolute deftruction upon them. They fhall be burnt up root and branch. Their ruin fhall be perfect and compleat as of that which is wholly confu med. Now contemplate the nature of this ruin, root and branch, and the fubjects of it, who are defigned for an eternal duration, and it affords an undeniable proof of the doctrine, that the miseries of the daraned will be unmixed and everlasting.

The new Teftament abounds with authorities to the fame purpofe. How particular is our Lord's affirmation in this matter. Three times he repeatedly declares, “The worm di"eth not, and the fire is not quenched." He files their tor

ment unquenchable fire, and defcribes their anguifh by "weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth. And the final fentence

he pronounces on the wicked is, "Depart from me ye curfed "into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels." To which may be added the folemn reflection he makes in our text, "and thefe fhall go away into everlafling punishment." Can any words more exprefly hold forth the endless duration of the miseries of the finally impenitent.

Various are the objections brought forward againft this doctrine, fuch as that God is too good and merciful a being to punish his creatures with eternal mifery. Such perfons may be asked, is not God too good and merciful to punish his creatures at all? Is it not cruel to afflict them with pain, mifery and death? This we fee conftantly before our eyes; and there is certainly no cruelty in the one cafe more than in the other. Cruelty cannot be attributed to God. All the punishment which he inflicts both in this world and the next is perfectly juft. Juftice and cruelty never dwell together. Therefore there can be no injuftice with God in the everlafting fufferings of the wicked-But it is alfo objected that the word everlasting is used to express a limited duration, as alfo the words forever and ever, &c. This is true, but in all thofe places, it is obvious to the feebleft mind, that the nature of the fubjects spoken of evidently show, that they are temporary, changeable, and their continuance limited. But is this the cafe in any one instance when they are used to express matters of an unlimitted duration? Surely not. Is this the cafe, when they are employed to express the duration of God, his perfections, government, dominion, heaven and the happiness thereof? If not, why should they be limited when applied to the duration of hell and its torments? If they exprefs a limited duration in the latter inftances fo likewife in the former? If hell be temporary so also is heaven and the divine existence itself, for the very fame terms are used to exprefs the one as the other. And they are often

M3

contrafted and the one fet over against the other, to teach u the equal duration of both. This verse 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 te inftruct us in the equal duration of both. If the one be

eternal fo alfo is the other. These 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 easy to adduce a multitude of others; as, "They fhall be punished "with everlasting deftruction from the prefence of the Lord, "and the glory of his power. They fhall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. And the smoke of their tor"ment fhall 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 fhall be finished in a few reflections.

First, we are here taught to magnify the love and grace »f God displayed by Jesus Christ in contriving, and executing a plan of falvation, whereby guilty finners may thro' faith in the blood of the lamb, efcape from all this endlefs wee. This doctrine fets the mercy of God and the compaffion of the Saviour in a most confpicuous light. Oh, let us praise the Lord for the offers of eternal life in the gospel. Let the love of God the Father and the Son conftrain us to relinquifh the old apof tacy, to forfake our fins, and turn unto him with our whole heart, so that we may live and not eternally perish.

Secondly, we here learn the preciousness 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 everlafting and unchangeable ftate of happiness or mifery. If penitent and united to Chrift, 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 filled with the most consummate felicity. Bleffed and happy are all they who have entered in. to the fate of glory, for heaven will never come to an end. This works up the pleafure to extacy that it will be everlasting. 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 scene be wrought up by the ftrongest imagination, they fall infinitely fhort of what every unholy perfon 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 flee from the wrath that is to come; lay hold on the hope which is now-offered in the gofpel, that you may efcape 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 Jefus Christ our Lord, to whom be all glory, honor, dominion and praise, forever and ever. Amen and Amen.

SERMON XLII.

The nature and felicity of the Celestial State.

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

AFTER the refurrection, in the clofe of the general judgment 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 chapter difplayed before us. The glorious appearance of the judge, the fplendor of his advent, and the magnificence of his atten dants, are defcribed in all the glowing beauties and ftrength 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 theep from the goats. This feparation will be as exact as it will be juft. The most in