but they shall not find me."7 'Said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them, Strive to enter in at the strait gate; for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. When once the master of the house hath risen up, and hath shut the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are ; then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. But he shall say, I tell you I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.” The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ; who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power.' The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb. of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever and ever; and they have no rest, day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.23

These and all similar texts relate directly, it is affirmed, to the future world; and on their au

1 Lake xiii. 23-27. 3 Rev. xiv. 10, 11,

2 2 Thess. i. 7-9.

7 Prov. i. 24-28,

thority, when so applied, is the notion of endless misery maintained." Take these away, and it would no longer exist, as a part of the Christian faith. It might, indeed, be still cherished, possibly, and offered as a mere philosophical conjecture, like the theory of Burnet concerning the earth's creation and changes, or that of Darwin concerning the origin of the moon and planets; but it would cease from our pulpits, our creeds, and our courses of religious instruction, and retire to the closet of the student, and the brain of the speculatist.

Now, it is manifest that a doctrine which claims to be founded immediately on these texts, must, in order to preserve any consistency, be carefully modified according to the tenor of their testimony. If they teach the fact, they just as authoritatively teach the mode. And indeed we

find that the notion of endless misery, such as it is in the common vulgar acceptation, is, for the most part, well enough conformed to the language of these passages, admitting that they refer at all to the subject. After death, or at the end of time, there is to be a general judgment; when all nations, all mankind, are to stand before the tribunal of Christ, and be judged and sentenced with regard exclusively to the characters formed, and the deeds done, while in the body. Those who shall be found to have led lives of wickedness, or to have died without saving repentance, will be consigned to eternal torment for the sins they committed in this world. Though the intenseness of their sufferings will vary according to the magnitude and number of their past transgres

sions, yet the very smallest degree will be unspeakable and unconceivable, such as almighty wrath alone can inflict. Then will the miserable wretches seek to return to God; but no place for repentance will be granted. Then shall they cry aloud for mercy; but they have entered a world of retribution, not of trial; their day of grace is past; and Jehovah mocks at their pain. They have incurred an infinite debt of vengeance; eternity itself is but sufficient to punish the irremissable guilt.

Such is a faithful though rather moderate statement of the popular doctrine of endless misery. And it is apparent, at first glance, that its several particulars have a general correspondence with the respective representations in those scriptures which are relied on for its support, and which, for the sake of the argument, we must now take it for granted, relate to eternity. Let the reader look back, and consult them again, and he will see that they assert the alleged process of a general judgment, the retrospective reference of the decision and of the succeeding punishment, and the terrible vehemence of the torment, together with the implacable character of the wrath of Heaven. This, then, is the proper, genuine state of the doctrine. So it has been taught, urged, and declaimed upon, for ages; and so it is held, at the present day, by the common mass of its believers.

But in this state, it is so manifestly the doctrine of infinite cruelty, that many of its staunch advocates themselves quail before its diabolical aspect. They cannot shut their eyes to the immeasurable

Hisproportion between eternal, almighty torture, and the sins of frail mortals in this momentary life; and if they attempt to cover the injustice of such an infliction, under the plea of divine sovereignty, conscience has something to say of the base and damning malignity of a spirit that perpetuates its revenge on a helpless dependant. In such a dilemma, is has been felt, that there remained but one way to rescue the favorite hypothesis from certain condemnation: and that was, by amending it, by prudently sacrificing a part to preserve the general whole, and by shifting it from its native principles to others less shocking to our common sense of propriety.

Accordingly, when pressed upon this point, its defenders now tell us that men will indeed be punished eternally; not however, for sins of this life; for that, it is acknowledged, seems unreasonable; but for sins which the victims will persevere in committing, through the boundless ages of the future world. And since it is right, and even inevitable, that they should suffer so long as they continue transgressors, divine justice is, on this principle, fully vindicated in its everlasting retributions.

"The American Tract Society, the best authority, perhaps, for the present fashion of Orthodoxy in our country, have resorted to this principle. In answer to the objection, that endless suffering, inflicted as a punishment for sin are unjust, they demand, Can you see any injustice in God's leaving creatures, who have voluntarily rebelled against him, to continue in sin forever; and if they continue to sin forever, may not

God justly punish them forever? To this appeal they subjoin the following note: "Sinners will deserve to be punished as long as they continue to sin. If they sin during the whole of life, they will be exposed to suffering during life: if for a thousand years after death, they will deserve to suffer during that time; if eternally, their punishment will have no end. To disprove the justice of future endless punishment, then, it must be shown, either that sinners will cease to sin, or that God is under obligation to reclaim to obedience beings who are voluntarily engaged in rebellion against him.' (Tract, No. 224. pp. 44, 45,) Before taking leave of the last sentence in this extract, we must, in justice, commend to competent casuists the question, how much strong er is the moral obligation to torture a sinner, than to reclaim him, when both courses are equally practicable?

Dr. Lyman Beecher, a gentleman of some influence among the Orthodox of New England, is reported to have used the following language, in defending the justice of endless misery: Again, we are not punished forever, for the sins of this short life. This is a mistake. Man is a free agent; and free agency extends through eternity. If there is such a thing as free agency, it may exist beyond the grave. The Universalists admit that sin is punished here, if not hereafter. The law, and the subjects of the law, must, in either case, be alike. For if sin exists, it must be punished while it exists; and if it exist forever, the punishment must be endless. The punishment of the eternal state treads upon the heels of eternal transgression. If the soul rebel in its future