{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_17122/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_17122","id":"gutenberg_17122","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/17122","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Philosophy & Ethics","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Christianity","Sermons, American","Universalist churches -- Sermons"],"text":"Produced by Sperry J. Russ\n\n\n\n\n\nTWENTY-FOUR SHORT SERMONS ON THE DOCTRINE OF UNIVERSAL SALVATION\n\nBy John Bovee Dods Pastor of the First Universalist Society, in\nTaunton, Massachusetts.\n\nBoston: Printed By G. W. Bazin....Trumpet Office 1832.\n\n********************************************************************\n\nSERMON I\n\n\"What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days that he may\nsee good? Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile;\ndepart from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.\" Psalm\nxxxiv:12-14.\n\nSelf-preservation and the desire of protracting the momentary span of\nlife is the first principle of our nature, or is at least so\nintimately interwoven with our constitution as to appear inherent. So\npowerful is this desire, that in defiance of pain and misery, it\nseldom quits us to the last moments of our existence. To endeavor to\nlengthen out our lives is not only desirable, but is a duty enjoined\nupon us in the scriptures, and is most beautifully and forcibly\nexpressed in our text.\n\nWe might here introduce many observations of a philosophical character\non _air_ and _climate, meat_ and _drink, motion_ and _rest, sleeping_\nand _watching, &c._ and show how sensibly they contribute to health;\nand we might furnish many examples of long life, but we pass these,\nand proceed to notice the affections of the mind upon which our text\nis grounded.\n\nThe due regulation of the passions contributes more to health and\nlongevity than climate, or even the observance of any course of diet.\nOur Creator has so constituted our natures, that _duty, health,\nhappiness_ and _longevity_ are inseparably blended in the same cup. To\nsuppress, and finally subdue all the passions of malice, anger, envy,\njealousy, hatred and revenge, and to exercise (till they become\nfamiliar) all the noble passions of tenderness, compassion, love, hope\nand joy, is a duty that heaven solemnly enjoins upon us, and in the\nperformance of which our years will be multiplied. But we must guard\nnot only our moral natures from the ravages of the corroding and\nrevengeful passions, but also our physical natures by observing the\nstrictest rules of temperance in _eating, drinking, cleanliness_ and\n_exercise_.\n\nThe book of God commands us to \"be temperate in all things.\" The\nobservance of this duty gives us a firm constitution, robust health,\nand prepares us to participate in all the innocent and rational\nenjoyments of life. Here we may witness the goodness of the Divine\nBeing in uniting our duty, happiness and interest in one; and so\nfirmly are they wedded together, and so absolutely does each depend\nupon the other that they cannot exist alone. They are alike laid in\nruins the moment they are separated. If we trace this idea still\nfurther, we witness the same wise arrangement, and the same\nincomprehensible skill and goodness of the Author of our being in the\nconstitution of our mental natures. In these also he has wholly united\nour duty, happiness and longevity in one. Jesus says, \"Love your\nenemies; bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and\npray for them that despitefully use you, and persecute you, that ye\nmay be the children of your Father in heaven.\" Paul says--\"Let all\nbitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and evil speaking be put\naway from you, with all malice, and be ye kind one to another, tender\nhearted, forgiving one another even as God for Christ's sake hath\nforgiven you.\"\n\nHere then is our duty plainly pointed out. If we will exercise this\nspirit of benignity to our enemies, subdue all our revengeful\npassions, and indulge a spirit of love and friendship, of meekness and\ncheerfulness towards our friends and neighbors, we shall not only be\nhappy as our natures can bear, not only revel in all the rational\nenjoyments this life can impart, but we shall in the common course of\nprovidence live to old age. All those, with very few exceptions, who\nhave lived to 80, 90, and 100 years, have been remarked for their\nequanimity. They were mild spirited, kind, cheerful, and of such a\ntemperament, that neither misfortune, nor any outward circumstances,\nthat agitated the world, could disturb their heaven-born repose.\n\nThus we see that the path of duty, enjoined in the sacred scriptures,\nis not only the path of peace and joy, but conducts to a good old age.\nThe goodness of the Divine Being is most strikingly exemplified in\nuniting health and temperance, happiness and longevity, and our duty\nto our fellow creatures, all in one.\n\nLong life and good days, however, depend more upon the state of our\nminds than upon almost any other circumstance. He who lives in fear\nand trouble arising from any cause whatever; whether from\ncontemplation of endless misery in the future world, or from the\napprehension that his earthly prospects will be blasted and his\nfortune laid in ruins--or if he is continually involved in quarrels,\nbroils and tumults with his neighbors, has but little prospect of\nliving to old age, and certainly no hope of seeing good days. He is in\na constant hell. Here then we see the beauty and propriety of our\ntext: \"What man is he that desireth life and loveth many days that he\nmay see good? Keep thy tongue from evil and thy lips from speaking\nguile; depart from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.\"\n\nThe first _condition_ for a long life is, \"keep thy tongue from evil\nand thy lips from speaking guile.\" But the question arises, in what\nsense can the violation of that _condition_ have any effect upon the\nlength of life? The answer is at hand--the slanderer is ever a busy\nbody in other men's matters. He is secretly endeavoring to injure his\nneighbors. He circulates falsehoods about them from house to house.\nOne and another hears the reports put into circulation. They call upon\nthe author for an explanation of his conduct. Involved in trouble,\narising from fear, guilt and mortification, he tells a thousand\nfalsehoods to clear up one. All this preys upon his inmost vitals,\nwhile perhaps with another, whom he has slandered, he is involved in a\nquarrel, and it terminates in a settled hatred; and a third case\nbecomes an incurable distemper of rancour and revenge. Here is a man\nwho by slander has rendered his existence wretched. He is like the\ntroubled ocean whose waters find no rest.\n\nThere is but little hope of his reaching the common age of man.\nInstead of seeing good days he is walking in the regions of night and\nwo. Says the wise man, \"where there is no fuel the fire goeth out, so\nwhere there is no tattler, strife ceaseth.\" Yes, \"where there is\nenvying and strife, there is confusion and every evil work.\"\n\nViolent anger excites powerfully the caloric in the human system,\nboils the blood, and in this state throws it suddenly upon the brain.\nThe powerful shock propels it instantly to the exterior surface, and\ntorrent-like contracts it back again in redoubled fury upon the brain,\nand leaves the countenance pale and ghastly. It deranges in a great\nmeasure the mind, and unfits it for useful action. It darts its\nelectric fire of vengeance along the optic nerve, expands the retina,\nand gives to every object a magnified and false appearance, while the\nvery eye-balls by a wild and savage glare proclaim the dreadful storm\nthat is raging within, and pouring the poisonous streams of premature\ndeath through all the healthful channels of existence! It suddenly\nbraces the nervous system, and then on the opposite extreme leaves it\ndepressed and weakened. It gradually brings on rheumatic complaints,\nand lays the whole system open to the most formidable and painful\ndisorders that afflict the human race. It cannot have escaped medical\nobservation that fevers and consumptions are much more frequent among\npersons who are very irritable and exercise little or no rule over\ntheir passions, than among those who are of a mild temperament, either\nnaturally, or from early restraint and education.\n\nThere is a connexion between the mind and the body so subtle that it\nhas hitherto eluded the eagle-eye of Physiology, and will perhaps\nremain inscrutible forever to human comprehension. But that this\nconnexion exists is fully demonstrated by medical experience, and\nobservation. Many bodily disorders derange the mind, and have in many\ninstances totally destroyed it. So on the other hand diseases of the\nmind effect the body in return, and _grief, despair_ and _melancholy_\nhave so preyed upon the vitals as to emaciate the body, and bring it\nto the grave. It is not uncommon that consumptions are brought on by\n_trouble_ of mind, by _guilt_, and by _melancholy_ and _grief_. And\nmany instances have occurred, where persons in excessive violent anger\nhave dropped down dead. What is so dreadful, when carried to extreme,\nmust be very injurious to health, and long life, when indulged\nfrequently and even moderately.\n\nThere being then such an intimate connexion between the mind and body,\nand so many thousands of ways in which one alternately acts upon, and\neffects the other, and brings millions to an untimely grave, we see at\nonce the propriety of not only guarding our health by temperance in\neating and drinking, but more particularly by avoiding troubles of a\nmental character. These are generally brought upon individuals,\nfamilies and neighborhoods, by the bad use of the tongue. Would you\nlive long that you may see good days? Then keep thy tongue from evil,\nand thy lips from speaking guile, seek peace and pursue it. Avoid\nevery species of iniquity that would have a tendency to blast your own\nor the peace of others. Avoid it as you would the poisonous\nexhalations of the Bohon Upas, and fly it as you would the dreadful\nSamiel of the Arabian desert.\n\nSERMON II\n\n\"What man is he that desireth life and loveth many days that he may\nsee good? Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile;\ndepart from evil and do good, seek peace and pursue it.\" Psalm\nxxxiv:12-14.\n\nWe have shown in our last number that the truth of this text is based\nupon philosophy, and verified by experience and observation: that\nnothing is more destructive to health and longevity than to indulge in\nthe revengeful passions of our nature; and that constant fear, grief\nand melancholy are also destructive to the human constitution, and\nwithering to the dearest joys of life. We have shown that violent\nanger, revenge and most of the malignant passions originate from the\nbad use of the tongue; and that if we would live long and see good, we\nmust give heed to our ways by following the injunctions of the text.\nWe now propose a further discussion of this subject, addressed\nparticularly to the young.\n\nA single spark of fire has often wrapped a city in conflagration.\nGreat effects not unfrequently flow from small causes. The apostle\nJames says, see chap. iii--\"Behold also the ships, which though they\nbe so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet they are turned about\nwith a very small helm whithersoever the governor listeth. Even so the\ntongue is a little member and boasteth great things. Behold how great\na matter a little fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a world of\niniquity; so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the\nwhole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature, and is set on\nfire of hell. For every kind of beasts and of birds, and of serpents,\nand of things in the sea is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind. But\nthe tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly member full of deadly\npoison.\" The apostle, in the above quotation, has reference to those\nwho have so long indulged in evil speaking that it has become, as it\nwere, an incurable habit. If any man makes a practice of slandering\nhis neighbors, and disturbing the peace of the community, it is\nimmaterial to what church he may belong, or what os-tentatious\nprofessions he may make, he is, notwithstanding all this, destitute of\nchristianity.\n\nIt is a painful fact that the religion of the present day is too much\naccommodated to the fashions and customs of the world. Let a man, for\ninstance, use profane language, or get intoxicated, and he will\nreadily be suspended from the communion of the church. But let him\nslander his neighbors, and little or no notice is taken of his\nconduct. And let him slander other denominations; and it becomes, as\nit were, a virtue; whereas the fact is that the latter, according to\nthe book of God, is much the greatest crime. It is therefore wise to\nlay, in early youth, a foundation for a tranquil, virtuous and long\nlife.\n\nThus you see my young friends that virtue and happiness, temperance,\nprosperity and longevity are inseparably connected by the Author of\nour being, who has made them to depend in a great measure upon our\nconduct. You have also seen that sin and misery, intemperance in body,\nand also intemperance in mind, such as evil speaking, violent anger,\ncommotions, griefs and troubles, and a premature grave, are likewise\ninseparably and wisely connected.\n\nAnd now, my young friends, which will you choose? If you love life and\ndesire to see many days, let me exhort you to choose the _former_, and\nto drink freely out of that golden cup in which every earthly joy of\nunbroken felicity is mingled by the unerring hand of divine mercy; and\nlet me warn you to reject the _latter_, for in it are mingled the\nbitter drugs of misery. Be temperate in eating and drinking. Be\ntemperate in all your pursuits in life, and in all your desires. Be\ntemperate in your conduct; and (as an able writer observes) pitch upon\nthat course of life which is the most excellent, and habit will soon\nrender it the most delightful. Avoid not only every word and action\nthat may lead to discord and contention, but, as our text says, depart\nfrom evil and _do good_, seek peace, and pursue it. Let us do good to\nall our fellow creatures, and endeavor to overcome their hatred with\nlove, and their evil with good.\n\nYes, my young friends, affectionately and solemnly would I urge you to\nbegin early to curb your passions, and to study sweetness of\ndisposition. It will soon become to you perfectly natural, and thus\nyou will lay the foundation for a virtuous and tranquil old age. But,\nasks the youth, shall I live longer for subduing my passions and doing\ngood, for seeking peace and pursuing it? Certainly. Our text teaches\nthis; so does philosophy, and the scriptures generally. Jesus Christ\nsays, \"Blessed are the _meek_, for they shall inherit the earth.\" That\nis, they shall long enjoy it. \"Blessed are the peace-makers for they\nshall be called the children of God.\" The fifth Commandment says,\n\"Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long upon the\nland which the Lord thy God giveth thee.\" By honoring our parents, we\nare to understand a filial and submissive obedience to their precepts\nby not departing from that way in which with many exhortations,\nprayers and tears, they sought to train us up. In this case, honoring\nthem would of course require us to walk in the paths of virtue and\ntemperance, and to live an honest, quiet and peaceable life which\nwould ensure the promise, and give us many days.\n\nNot only do the scriptures promise long life to the peaceable,\ntemperate and meek, but they on the other hand just as solemnly\ndeclare that \"the wicked shall not live out half their days.\" This\npassage has occasioned much dispute among religious denominations; one\naffirming that every man's time is appointed in the counsels of heaven\nby the decree of God, who \"declares the end from the beginning;\" and\nanother affirming that _it is not_, for the above passage teaches that\nthe life of man may be shortened. But there is no occasion for dispute\non this point, for they are both right, as we have seen in the course\nof our remarks. This passage is but the counterpart of our text. It is\nthe decree of God that the wicked, the abandoned shall not reach the\nextreme of human life, because they indulge in those very crimes,\nwhich, in the constitution of things, must inevitably carry them to an\nearly tomb. Of the truth of this we see thousands of instances in the\nworld. And God has decreed that the meek, the peaceable shall reach\nthe extreme of life, because they pitch upon that happy course of\nconduct which naturally leads to it. All that we are to understand by\nhis _decree_, is that he has inseparably connected the _end_ with the\n_means_ by so constituting our natures, and so ordering his providence\nthat _sin, dissipation, anger,_ and _revenge_ shall not only destroy\nhappiness, but shorten life, so certain as men pursue such a wretched\ncourse. And that the opposite course of conduct shall not only\ncommunicate happiness, but protract life so certain as they engage in\nit.\n\nHere then, my young friends, you may readily perceive how God punishes\nvice and rewards virtue. He does not do it by any abstract law, or\narbitrary mode of procedure, but lie has in infinite wisdom\ninterwoven, the whole in the very constitution of our natures, so that\nthe wicked cannot go unpunished, nor the righteous unrewarded. To\nteach that man can indulge in vice, and yet escape its punishment by\nfuture repentance, is not only dangerous to the morals of society, but\nis a direct impeachment of the divine administration, as it must in\nsuch case, be defective. And to teach that men may live righteously\nand godly and yet go unrewarded, is equally dangerous to the morals of\nthe community, as it is but discouraging them from engaging in a\nvirtuous course of conduct. To teach that men are to be rewarded in a\nfuture world for their _goodness_ here, is but in substance saying\nthat virtue is attended with mental misery, and so far as it fails of\nrewarding its possessor _here_, the balance is to be made up\n_hereafter_. And to teach that men are to be punished in a future\nstate for their _badness_ here, is but in substance saying, that vice\nis attended with some mental joys, and so far as it fails of punishing\nits possessor _here_, the balance is to be made up _hereafter_.\n\nIt is readily granted that the righteous may suffer. But we ought ever\nto make a plain distinction between afflictions and punishments, for\nthe Bible does this. It is impossible in the nature of things that\npunishment can exist except in connexion with guilt. Paul and Silas\nwere cast into prison and fastened in the stocks, on account of their\nreligion. But nothing could disturb their mental peace--their heaven-born\nrepose. They joyfully sung psalms, and lifted up their voices in\nprayer to God in the calm enjoyment of a pure unsullied conscience.\nThey suffered afflictions that were, under the government of God, to\nwork out for their good. There were no doubt others in that prison\njustly suffering for their crimes. To them it was punishment. Because\nthe _former_ were suffering _affliction_, the _latter, punishment_.\nThe scriptures say, \"Great peace have they that love thy law; and\nnothing shall offend them.\" \"There is no peace, saith my God, to the\nwicked;\" and he who says there _is_, contradicts Jehovah.\n\nIf you would, my young friends, avoid punishment, avoid sin. If you\nwould be happy, and enjoy a long and tranquil life, follow carefully\nthe directions of our text; for rest assured that a contrary course of\nconduct will not only involve you in misery and wretchedness, but\nbring you to a premature grave. Let us then take warning, and not\nbecome our own executioners. Let us make the most of life we may, and\nnot turn our present existence, which is one of heaven's choicest\nblessings, into a curse. Let us do good in our day and generation, and\nrender ourselves blessings to mankind, by living soberly, righteously\nand peaceably in the world? Let us do justly, love mercy, and walk\nhumbly with God--visit the widow and the fatherless in their\naffliction, and keep ourselves unspotted from the world.\n\nSERMON III\n\n\"And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with\nthe beasts of the field, and they shall make thee to eat grass as\noxen, and seven times shall pass over thee until thou know that the\nMost High ruleth in the kingdom of, men, and giveth it to whomsoever\nhe will.\" Daniel iv:32.\n\nThat reason, as well as revelation, teaches an overruling providence,\nvery few deny. There must exist in nature an omnipotent and benevolent\nBeing to keep all her works in harmony--to touch the most secret and\nsubtle springs of the vast machinery of the universe--to regulate seed\ntime and harvest, summer and winter, day and night; and to throw the\nenrapturing charms of countless variety not only over the landscape,\nbut over all that we behold in the heavens above, or in the earth\nbeneath. Globes roll in the paths assigned them, and by some unseen\nhand are wisely kept from interfering in their orbits, and disturbing\neach other's motions. These facts demonstrate the existence of an\nomniscient, omnipotent, and Benevolent Being; and every event,\ntranspiring in the government of the world, proclaims an omnipresent\nJehovah.\n\nHe not only works in the majesty of the lightning, and in the grandeur\nof the storm regulating and directing the whole in its sublime career,\nbut he notices the fall of a sparrow, and numbers the very hairs of\nour head. Events, the most trivial in their nature, are the objects of\nhis notice, as well as those of the most momentous character. Were not\nthis the case, universal disorder and ruin would soon find their way\ninto his works, break the chain of events, and reduce all, that we now\nadmire, from its present harmony and glory, down to its general\nconfusion and chaos. This conclusion is unavoidable, because some of\nthe greatest events that have transpired in the world, owe their\nexistence to something of a very trivial nature.\n\nIf God did not, in the general government of the world, direct also\n_small events_, then he could not be the author of those great events\nwhich flow from them. On this principle there might transpire\ncountless events of the greatest magnitude without the direction and\nsuperintendance of Deity. The admission of _this_ is but practical\nAtheism. It is acknowledging a God in words, but in works denying him.\nIt alike makes _chance_ the governor of the world to those who\nacknowledge such a God, as to those who wholly deny his existence.\n\nIn our text a presiding Deity is solemnly recognized by the prophet\nDaniel, and his supremacy over the affairs of men is throughout the\nwhole chapter most strikingly set forth before the Assyrian king. He\nhad dreamed a dream which none of the wise men of Babylon were able to\ninterpret. Daniel was called to him; who after making known to that\nproud monarch his destiny involved in that dream, expostulates with\nhim on his conduct. He did not threaten him with endless punishment in\ntile immortal world, but informed him that there was a God that ruled\nthe heavens, and presided over the affairs of men; and exhorted him to\nforsake his iniquities. This is his language: \"And whereas they\ncommanded to leave the stump of the tree roots, thy kingdom shall be\nsure unto thee, after thou shalt have known that the heavens do rule.\nWherefore, O king! Let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break\noff thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by showing mercy\nto the poor, if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity. All this\ncame upon the king Nebuchadnezzar. At the end of twelve months, he\nwalked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon. The king spake, and\nsaid, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of my\nkingdom, by the might of my power and for the honor of my majesty?\nWhile the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from\nheaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar! To thee it is spoken; the\nkingdom is departed from thee. And they shall drive thee from men, and\nthy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field; they shall make\nthee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until\nthou know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth\nit to whomsoever he will.\"\n\nNebuchadnezzar was the Son of Nabopolasser, and the second king of\nAssyria. He was Regent with his father in the Empire 607 years before\nthe birth of our Lord, and the next year, he raised a powerful army,\nmarched against Jerusalem, and took Jehoiakim, king of Judah,\nprisoner. While making preparations to carry him and his subjects into\ncaptivity, in Babylon, Jehoiakim solemnly promised submission, and\nbegged the privilege of holding his throne under the sceptre of\nNebuchadnezzar. This favor was granted, and he was permitted to remain\nat Jerusalem. Three years after this, he made an unsuccessful attempt\nto throw off the Assyrian yoke and regain his former independence.\nThis brought on the general captivity of the Jewish nation, which\nlasted 70 years.\n\nNebuchadnezzar extended his conquests till he subjugated the\nEthiopians, Arabians, Idumeans, Philistines, Syrians, Persians, Medes,\nAssyrians, and nearly all Asia to his sceptre. These splendid\nconquests, and being now king of kings, lifted up his heart with\npride, that he caused a golden image to be reared on the plains of\nDura. He issued a royal edict, and commanded the princes and rulers of\nall these nations as well as their principal subjects to assemble; and\nbeing assembled, he commanded them to fall down and worship his golden\ngod. Daniel's companions refused to do this, and were cast into the\nfiery furnace.\n\nFrom this circumstance he was brought to acknowledge a Supreme Being,\nand even issued a decree that any one who spoke amiss against the God\nof Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego should be cut in pieces. But as he\nwas gazing upon the massy walls of Babylon--a work of gigantic\nachievement; as he was surveying, from the height of his palace, the\nhanging gardens and lofty towers, (an aerial world!) as he was\nadmiring his own magnificence, by the sentence of that God whom he had\nglorified, he was driven from men, and in the Hebrew style of\nexpression, is said to have eaten grass like oxen. By this we are to\nunderstand that he was suddenly seized with a disease called by the\nGreeks lycanthropy, and which is known among physicians at the present\nday by the name of hypochondria. It is a species of madness that\ncauses persons to run into the fields and streets in the night, and\nsometimes to suppose themselves to have the heads of oxen, horses,\ndogs, or fancy themselves to be like some other animal, and doomed to\nfare like them. And some have imagined themselves to be made of glass.\nAt the end of seven years Nebuchadnezzar's understanding returned to\nhim, and he was restored to his throne and glory. He died 562 years\nbefore Christ in the 43rd year of his reign.\n\nIt is our intention to consider this text in a moral point of view, as\napplicable to all men of all ages, and in all conditions in life.\nWhile pursuing the various occupations to which our inclination, or\nfancy may lead, we are too apt to lose sight of that Being who holds\nour destinies in his hand; and more particularly so in seasons of\nprosperity, when blest with health and other sublunary enjoyments.\nStrange as it may seem, yet it is substantially true, that in\nproportion as man is successful in the accomplishment of his plans, he\nbecomes arrogant and haughty in his feelings, and instead of\nacknowledging his dependence on God, and feeling the bursts of\ngratitude for the favors and enjoyments heaven scatters in his path,\nhe loses sight of the benign hand that blesses him, and, like the\nproud Assyrian monarch, ascribes all his prosperity to his own plans,\nand to the effect of his own peculiar management. He surveys the lands\nhe has purchased, the beautiful buildings he has erected, the wealth\nhe has accumulated, and in view of these achievements of his hand, as\nhe is floating on the full tide of prosperity, he is ready to breathe\nout in exultation,--\"is not this great Babylon which I have built for\nthe house of my kingdom, by the might of my power and for the honor of\nmy majesty.\"\n\nWhen success becomes common, man forgets his dependence on Him who\nrules in the armies of heaven, and over the affairs of men. It is our\nduty as intelligent creatures to exercise our reason in viewing things\nas they really are. He, who will not do this, but goes through life\nthoughtless, so far resigns the man, and assumes the brute. Even some,\nwho bear the christian name, proclaim against reason, call her carnal,\nand prostrate her as it were at the shrine of enthusiasm. They lean\nupon certain frames and feelings of the animal nature. They are so far\ndriven from men. I say it is our duty as rational intelligences to\nhold our station in the scale of being, and to exercise our reason in\nviewing things as they are. We ought candidly and solemnly to weigh\nthe blessings of God, and consider the relation in which we stand to\nhim as our Creator and Benefactor. Who can tell the value of\nexistence, or number its countless joys? What a wonderful production\nis man! He has given us the most beautiful symmetry of parts,--has\nmoulded our limbs with accuracy, and freely bestowed these admirable\nlineaments of form! He has formed the ear for sound, and awakened in\nits vocal chambers the flowing charms of music, the harmony of\nrejoicing nature, the dear voices of parents and children, and the\nsweet whisperings of love and friendship! He has moulded the\ntransparent eye, bedded it in its bony socket, and on its retina\npainted the universe! He has bid it not only to disclose, all the\nvaried passions of the soul, but to roll with softness and affection\non the fond companion of our ways, on the countless beauties of\nnature, and bid it with infinite ease sweep the entire vault of\nheaven. He has set in motion the warm current of life that rolls\nthrough our veins, pouring nourishment, health and animation through\nall the channels of existence. It is he who throbs the heart, who\nheaves the lungs, and who bids the ten thousand complicated parts of\nthis organized frame move on. In all this, his goodness is every\nmoment felt, and yet we are thoughtless of these manifestations of his\nloving kindness. They are so common that we have ceased to prize them.\nWhen sickness and distress come upon us, it is then we learn the value\nof health and ease, and are often awakened to the reality that the\nMost High rules.\n\nIn view of the trials incident to life, we hear the Psalmist exclaim\n\"Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now have I kept thy word.\"\nThis seems to be the lamentable condition of man. When rolling in the\ncalm tide of uninterrupted prosperity, and rejoicing in the vigor of\nhealth, he forgets there is a God, or becomes thoughtless that the\nheavens do rule, and begins, like the king of Babylon, to ascribe all\nhis success to his own power, foresight and management, and is\npractically an atheist. But however thoughtless men may be, yet there\nis a God who governs the world, and will so order and direct his\nprovidence, that every one who goes counter to the principles of\nrectitude is _doomed, inevitably_ doomed, to suffer the consequences.\n\nThere is too much practical atheism in the world. By this we mean that\nthere are too many of those who acknowledge a God in words, that deny\nhim in conduct. Every one, who lives upon the bounties of heaven, who\nenjoys the sweets of existence, and remains thoughtless of God, is\npractically an atheist. As saith Paul, \"They profess that they know\nGod, but in works they deny him, being abominable and disobedient, and\nunto every good work reprobate.\" He, who goes on in the ways of\ntransgression and multiplies his iniquities, must either believe there\nis no God, or else conclude that he does not rule over the affairs of\nmen; and on this ground flatters himself that he shall escape\npunishment. And not only so, but in opposition to the express\ndeclaration of Jehovah, he believes that he shall enjoy a degree of\nhappiness in the indulgence of sin. All such are driven from those\nrational reflections and moral principles, which virtually constitute\nthe man, and have yet to learn, \"that the heavens do rule.\"\n\nSERMON IV\n\n\"And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with\nthe beasts of the field, and they shall make thee to eat grass as\noxen, and seven times shall pass over thee until thou know that the\nMost High ruleth in the kingdom of, men, and giveth it to whomsoever\nhe will.\" Daniel iv:32.\n\nEvery man, who believes that the path of virtue is thorny, and that of\nvice is pleasurable, is not only deceived, but has not yet learned\nthat the Most High holds the reins of government, and dispenses to his\ncreatures their rewards and punishments. It is evident, if every man\nsolemnly believed that a course of sin would bring upon him certain\nand unavoidable misery--and that every species of dishonesty would\nlessen his fortune in the world, he would abandon his course, and turn\nhis feet to the testimonies of God. The transgressor is therefore\ndeceiving himself, is resting under a strong delusion, and is yet\nignorant that the Almighty rules throughout his vast dominions.\nCertain it is that a wicked man was never happy while remaining in\nthat condition, and it is equally certain that no one ever yet went\nunpunished.\n\nTo this point we intend to invite your serious attention in this\ndiscourse. The expression in our text, \"till thou know that the Most\nHigh ruleth in the kingdom of men,\" does not only imply a knowledge of\nthe existence of a Supreme Intelligence, who governs the world, but an\nobedience to the moral laws of his empire. On this proposition we\npurpose to offer a few rational, and not only rational, but\nirresistible arguments. We will first notice the condition of those\nwho are guilty of heinous crimes, and then come down to the common\nwalks of life, and bestow a few remarks on those who are indifferent\nabout their condition, and only guard their conduct so far as comports\nwith the customs and manners of that portion of the community, who\nhave no higher principle of action than to be considered respectable\namong men.\n\nThough we come before the public to defend the doctrines of Christ,\nyet, my friends, you will bear in mind that it is also our duty to\nenforce his precepts, and exhort to the obedience of the gospel. That\nwe should point out the road of sin, error and misery, and also\nendeavor to throw the light of heavenly truth on the pathway of human\nlife.\n\nWe will begin with the murderer, who wantonly embrues his hands in the\nblood of his fellow. So far as he has violated the laws of his\ncountry, he is a subject for public execution, and has nothing to hope\nfor, at the tribunal of human justice. His misery, whether it arise\nfrom the contemplation of an ignominious death, from the fear of\ndetection, or from the consciousness of having violated the moral\nprinciples of his nature, is alike insupportable, as well as\nindescribable.\n\nIs he detected? Shut out from the world and confined in his loathsome\ncell, he is left to his own reflections, and to all the horrors of the\ngathering storm. But even admitting that he should escape detection,\nand be left to his own meditations on his deed of blood, he would,\nlike Cain, breathe out in agony of soul, \"my punishment is greater\nthan I can bear!\" He might, indeed, mingle with the busy throng--he\nmight even smile, and wear a face of pleasure, but behind this mantled\nmask he would conceal a heart of pain. He might, indeed, gaze upon the\nlandscape, listen to the songs of the grove, and contemplate the\nglories of nature, but the charm, that once gave him ecstatic delight\nand solid joy, is vanished from his sight; and all, that once was fair\nand lovely, wears the frown of darkness and indignation. He gazes upon\nlittle children, and hears their artless and innocent prattle,\nreflects what he once was, and every joy, that sparkles in their eyes,\nsends a dagger to his heart. The rustling of a leaf strikes him with\nterror and alarm, and every passing breeze bears to his tormented soul\nthe groans of the dying man, and conscience forces him to listen to\nthe heart-rending tale of wo. Fain would he fly from himself, and\nenjoy one hour's repose; but alas! That God, who rules in the kingdom\nof men, has written a law in his heart, where he reads and feels his\ncondemnation, and where conscience sits on the judgment seat,\nconstantly holds him arraigned at her tribunal, and fans up in his\nbosom the burning flames of hell! He may lie down on his pillow, but\nspectres haunt his brain; and awake, asleep, at home, abroad, he finds\nthat he has rendered his own existence a curse. He lives in misery,\nand in darkness expires.\n\nLet us next notice the thief, who plunders our property. His crime is\nof less magnitude than the above, but his guilt is in proportion. No\none by such means has ever enriched himself. He, who obtains property\nby dishonorable means, is ignorant of its value, and will dishonorably\nspend it. He has forgotten that God governs the world. Our\nstate-prisons and penitentiaries not only (so far as human laws are\nconcerned) reveal his fate, but speak his woes. But suppose he escape\ndetection, and is only exposed to the naked and fearful grandeur of\nthat law which God has written in the heart. He hears its thunders,\nand he feels its fires. He his taken from some fellow being his hard\nearnings; and sees him and perhaps his children mourning their\nmisfortune and suffering the miseries of adversity. Guilt takes\npossession of his soul, and misery, which the hand of time cannot\nextinguish, rolls its dark waves of damnation upon him, and drowns his\ndearest joys, while poverty marks him for her own.\n\nGod has so constituted his plans in the government of the world that\nthe plunderer cannot prosper. Inward horrors and fears of detection\nabstract his mind from the proper duties of life, so that misfortune\nand defeat find their way into his plans, which might otherwise by\ncalm deliberation have succeeded, and disappointment and misery,\nsatiety and disgust, and all the evils that are the offspring of his\niniquity, commingling in a thousand ways, render his existence\nwretched. Relying upon dishonesty for support, he becomes but a\nmidnight beggar. His slumbers are haunted by frightful dreams; and\nfear of detection, prisons and dungeons are torturing his imagination\nand incessantly sporting with his broken peace. He is a stranger to\nthose solid joys arising from the practice of virtue, is doomed to\nencounter all the miseries that attend his ill-chosen career, and to\ndrink every drug of wormwood and gall that heaven has mingled in the\ncup of dishonor. He lives a nuisance and pest to society, and dies\ncovered with infamy.\n\nIn all this we shall see the truth of our text exemplified, that God\nrules in the kingdom of men, and brings punishment, not only upon a\nhaughty monarch seated on the throne of nations, but upon every\ntransgressor however obscure may be his condition in the walks of\nprivate life. The sovereign decree of his empire is--\"THOUGH HAND JOIN\nIN HAND, YET SHALL THE WICKED NOT GO UNPUNISHED.\"\n\nBut we take our leave of flagitious crimes and proceed to notice men\nin the common walks of life. Every man who makes riches, or public\nhonors the chief end of all his pursuits, and gives all his attention\nto the attainment of his object, and over-reaches in bargains whenever\nan opportunity offers, or sets various prices on his merchandise,\naccording to the person with whom he deals--such a man will never feel\nhimself filled with riches, nor satisfied with honors. The reasons are\nobvious. He commences his career under the impression that happiness,\ncontentment and all the rational enjoyments of life consist in wealth,\nand in human greatness. He soon finds himself in possession of as\nlarge a fortune as he first supposed would make him happy. But his\ndesires for more, having imperceptibly expanded, he finds within an\nincreased restlessness, and even greater desires for _more_ than when\nhe first set out. He still believes, according to his original\nimpression, that happiness lies in gold; and that the only reason why\nhe has not obtained those solid joys in possession which he first\nanticipated, is because he still needs more. But though wealth may\nflow upon him in oceans, his cravings for more will ever swell beyond\nwhat earth can give, and leave him a more wretched being than he was\nat the commencement of his course. Here is his loss--here is his\npunishment. God has not placed happiness in wealth. _\"A competence is\nall we can enjoy, O, be content where heaven can give no more.\"_\n\nOr let him rise to that station of honor, which he now believes will\nsatisfy him, and his ambition would aspire to one more exalted. Let\nhim govern one kingdom, and he would desire to subjugate another till\nthe whole world bowed to his nod. And were every star an inhabited\nworld, and did he possess means to invade them, his ambition would\ncontinue to soar till he ruled the universe, and were there no object\nleft to which he might still direct his ambition and continue to soar,\nhe would set down in despair, and, like Alexander the Great, weep and\nsigh for more worlds to conquer.\n\nAll this restlessness and misery arise from false notions of:\nhappiness--from not realizing that the Most High rules in the kingdom\nof men--and from a want of confidence in his word, which points the\nrich and the poor alike to that noble path of virtue and religion,\nwhere true happiness and unbroken peace forever reign. By men\nembracing virtue, and in their feelings and actions ever acknowledging\nthe supremacy of Jehovah, inevitably leads to happiness and\ncontentment. But in doing this we are not to deprive ourselves of the\nenjoyment of honest gotten wealth, nor of the rational pursuits and\ninterchanges of social and domestic life. Religion was not given to\ndeprive us of the common comforts and conveniences of life, but to\nsweeten them. Our Redeemer says, \"seek first the kingdom of God and\nhis righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.\" Sin\nand misery in this world are inseparable: so are righteousness and\nhappiness. If they are not, then it remains for the advocates for a\nfuture retribution to show how men are to be sufficiently rewarded and\npunished in the future world.\n\nThere is my friends no solid happiness, no permanent satisfaction only\nin the contemplation that God governs the world, and in the practice\nof pure and rational piety. This you may know by studying your own\nbosom. Have any of you thus far spent your days in striving to find\nperfect bliss in the various pursuits of life? Have you aspired to one\nobject, abandoned it, and taken up another? If so, can you say that\nyou have found the happiness you anticipated, and so earnestly sought?\nNo! What is the reason? There is one thing needful. Whatever may be\nyour pursuit, if you are thoughtless that God governs the world, and\nif instead of rendering him the homage of a grateful heart, you\nblaspheme his name, or are selfish and regardless of the happiness of\nyour fellow creatures, you must, according to the established laws of\nhis empire, remain in that same restless and dissatisfied condition\ntill you know by experience that the heavens do rule--till you bow to\nthe sublime requirements of his word. _That dissatisfaction_ varied\naccording to the condition of moral character is the punishment God\nsends upon us for our indifference. From this indifference we may rise\nto that unquenchable thirst for riches, already noticed, and our\nsufferings will receive new accessions according to our moral light.\nAnd from this we may rise to a desire for honour and power, till we\nare hurried on by ambition to conquest and slaughter where we are\ndoomed to suffer all the miseries a Buonaparte endured. From this we\nmay rise to dishonour, fraud and theft; and as we rise in crime, our\nmiseries increase in degree, till we imbrue our hands in innocent\nblood, and thus render our bosoms a hell and our very existence a\nburthen.\n\nEvery man is in a condition of uneasiness, suffering, guilt, hardness\nof heart and blindness of mind exactly in proportion to his moral\nconduct. Let us then be wise;--and if we desire happiness, let us seek\nit in that course where the unerring word of God assures us it can\nalone be found. Let us acknowledge \"that the heavens do rule,\" and\nrest assured that He, who notices the fall of a sparrow, will not wink\nat our evil doings.\n\nSERMON V\n\n\"For what if some did not believe, shall their unbelief make the faith\nof God without effect? God forbid; yea let God be true, but every man\na liar.\" Romans iii:3, 4.\n\nThe doctrine of salvation by Jesus Christ, is worthy the solemn\nconsideration of all men. It is this, that rendered a revelation\nnecessary. It is this that kindled the flame of transport in celestial\nbosoms, and raised that triumphant song, \"glory to God in the highest,\non earth peace, good will towards men.\" Salvation is the doctrine of\nthe Bible, and ought ever to be the theme of the pulpit. Salvation is\nthe oracle of heaven around which all denominations assemble, receive\ntheir instructions, and believe according to the force of evidence.\n\nPrefaced with these remarks, we will now proceed to state what we\nconceive to be the _law and gospel_--point out the distinction between\nthem, and defend the gospel doctrine of salvation of faith.\n\nThe law was a conditional covenant between God and man. It was\npredicated on works. Under this covenant, if a man were strictly moral\nin his external deportment--if he lived up to its letter, he was\nconsidered righteous. This covenant was imperfect, because it could be\nkept externally without reaching the heart. They could exclaim like\nthe young man, who came to Jesus--\"all these things have I kept from\nmy youth up,\" and still lack the one great point, charity. Therefore\nby the deeds of the law no flesh could be justified in the sight of\nGod. The law, being temporary in its nature, had nothing to do with\neternal things.\n\nPaul says, \"sin is the transgression of the law. Where there is no law\nthere is not the knowledge of sin.\" From this it appears that sin,\nbeing a transgression of that law, which was given us for the\nregulation of our conduct in this life, can receive no punishment in\nthe future world. If sin should be committed in the future state, then\nin the future state it would be punished. The same argument will apply\nto our obedience to the law, which can receive, for the same reason,\nno reward in that world. \"No flesh shall be justified by the deeds of\nthe law.\" \"Eternal life is the gift of God.\" If so, then it cannot be\n\"of works, lest any man should boast.\" God, being infinite in wisdom,\ncould not have failed to enact a law so perfect, and so exactly\nadapted to the nature of man, that _obedience_ would render him a rich\nreward, and _disobedience_ a condign punishment. The wise man says\nthat \"the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth; much more the\nwicked and the sinner.\"\n\nWe now turn to the spirit of the law.--\"To love the Lord thy God with\nall thy heart, and thy neighbor as thyself is the fulfillment of the\nlaw;\" and if we are not to be saved by the law, then our _love_ to God\nand each other cannot save us; for that is the law. By what then are\nwe to be saved? Answer: by the gospel, which is God's love manifested\nto his creatures. The conclusion then is that we are not to be saved\nby our _love_ to God, but by God's _love_ to us. This, I presume, no\none will dispute. Here then we discern the difference between the law\nand the gospel. God's love is the _cause_ of salvation--human love is\nthe _effect_. \"Herein (says John) is love; not that we loved God, but\nthat he loved us.\" \"We love him _because_ he _first_ loved us.\" How\nmany did he love? He so loved the world who were dead in trespasses\nand sins, that he freely delivered up his Son for us all--he by the\ngrace of God tasted death for every man. This is the gospel-love that\nGod commendeth towards us, and the love that will finally save us.\n\nMany persons contend that we must love God and do certain duties, or\nwe cannot be saved. This is preaching ourselves. It is preaching the\nlove of man as the cause of his salvation, instead of the love of God.\nAnd while thus preaching, they will perhaps at the same time tell the\nsinner that God is his enemy. But will the sinner's love make God his\nfriend--will it cause his Creator to love him? No; right the reverse\nof this is the doctrine of Christ. \"We love God because he first loved\nus.\" If we deny God's _first_ love to the sinner, we then destroy the\nvery _cause_ by which _alone_ the sinner can be made to love God. If\nwe make men believe that God is their enemy and hates them, then we\nuse all the means in our power to drive them from the bosom of their\nFather, and keep them in darkness and sin.\n\nThe sinner, in this situation, can never be made to serve God, only by\nbeing driven to it by terror, the same as some wretched slave is made\nto cower and submit in fear and dread to some revengeful tyrant. But\nthis is not the service God requires. He requires a service which is\ndelightful, and in which his creature feels an abundant reward. We\ngrant that men, under the first covenant, were called upon to fear\nGod. The reason of this obvious, when we reflect that God had\ncovenanted to bestow certain blessings upon them, providing they would\ndo their duty. If they failed, then he would execute the temporal\njudgments upon them, which the law points out, and threatens. Under\nthis covenant men had just as much reason to fear, as they were liable\nto transgress it.\n\nBut when an angel announced the dawn of a better covenant; he said\n\"fear not, for behold I bring you glad tidings of great joy.\" In this\nis nothing to be feared. All the fear lies in the first, and thunders\nout to ever sinner, \"cursed is every one that continueth not in all\nthings written in the law to do them?\" But John, speaking in view of\nthe second covenant, says, \"there is no fear in love; but perfect love\ncasteth out fear, because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not\nmade perfect in love.\" The _first_ covenant is founded on works, and\nis _conditional_;--but the _second_ is founded on the immutable\npromise of God, and is _unconditional_. In the law, we are commanded\n_to do_ according to the reasonableness of its requirements; but in\nthe gospel we are exhorted _to believe_ in view of evidence and fact.\nAnd as no man can believe, or disbelieve what he pleases, therefore\nconditions are excluded.\n\nWhat is the meaning of gospel? It is good tidings of great joy. It is\nlife and immortality brought to light at the appearing of our Lord and\nSaviour, Jesus Christ, who has abolished death by giving us the\nassurance of a resurrection from corruption to incorruption and glory.\nIt is news. In view of news, what is the first thing necessary?\nAnswer, _belief_. It is impossible to work news; therefore the gospel\nis not of works. In the law, the first requirement is _to do_;--but in\nthe gospel the first requirement is _to believe_. The law-covenant is\ntherefore temporary, fallible and uncertain; but the gospel-covenant\nis eternal, infallible, and in all things well ordered and sure. The\n_first_ rests on the obedience of the creature, but the _second_ on\nthe promises of Jehovah. Paul therefore calls it a better covenant\nestablished upon _better_ promises.\n\nPerhaps someone may feel disposed to ask--whether faith is all that is\nnecessary? We reply that it is the cause which produces its effect.\nPaul answers this question thus--\"We conclude that a man is justified\nby faith without the deeds of the law, Do we then make void the law\nthrough faith? God forbid; yea we establish the law.\" Here let the\nquestion be asked;--how do we establish the law by _faith_? Answer,\n\"Faith will have its perfect work.\" But what is that perfect work,\nwhich faith produces? Ans. Faith works love in the soul; and if we\nlove God, we will keep his commandments. And _faith, love_ and\n_keeping_ the commandments are the three exercises, that form the\nchristian character. Faith is the foundation; works are not. We cannot\nbegin to build on works. Instead of being the _first_, they are the\n_last_ christian grace. They are the visible _effects_ of an inward,\nliving faith.\n\nFaith and faith _only_ is the seed rooted and grounded in the truth,\nand (to use a Bible figure) it becometh a tree, and produces all the\nfruits of the spirit-love, joy, meekness, temperance, long-suffering,\nforbearance. This is what the apostle calls the \"righteousness of\nfaith\" in contradistinction to \"the righteousness of the law,\"\nproduced by fear. Paul compares faith to a good olive tree. \"The Jews\nthrough unbelief were broken off,\" and \"thou (the Gentile) standest by\nfaith.\" Jesus says; \"if ye have faith as a grain of mustard-seed, ye\nshall say unto this mountain, remove hence to yonder place, and it\nshall remove.\" Here, in parable, faith is represented as removing\nmountains of sin. He further says--\"Thy _faith_ hath made thee\nwhole\";--not thy works. Paul exclaims, \"Faith works by love, purifies\nthe heart and overcomes the world.\" John says, \"and this is the\nvictory that overcometh the world even our faith.\"\n\nIt is a certain fact, that none of these salutary effects are ascribed\nto human works. The apostles in no instance say, that _works_ purify\nthe heart, or overcome the world--or that this is the victory, even\nyour _works_; The whole is ascribed to _faith_; because that is the\nliving tree on which the good fruits grow. Works are, in scripture,\ncalled fruits. \"By their _fruits_ ye shall know them\"--that is by\ntheir _works_. \"A good tree cannot bring forth evil _fruit_.\" To carry\nout this figure, we would remark that, fruit can have no existence\ntill the tree is first produced. Therefore in a gospel sense, no good\nworks, acceptable to God, can be produced without a true and living\nfaith. The apostle declares, \"without faith it is impossible to please\nGod.\" The gospel being good tidings, or news, are you satisfied that\nthing necessary? I presume all denominations will assent to the fact,\nthat faith is the first religious exercise of the creature. We shall\nthen obey the command of the apostle, and \"contend earnestly for the\nfaith once delivered to the saints.\"\n\nBut asks the reader, what matter is it which is first in order,\nwhether _love, faith_ or _works_? I reply that it is a matter of vast\nimportance, and without understanding this fact, we cannot come to the\nknowledge of the truth, even though we should be ever learning. If\nthese three christian graces _faith, love_ and _works_, are preached\nin a confused and mixed manner, we cannot arrive at a true\nunderstanding of a gospel salvation, neither can we tell the\ndifference between law and gospel. The law is of works, and the gospel\nis of faith. And no man can fulfill the spirit of the law without\nfaith in the gospel. When the sinner exercises faith in the love and\ngoodness of God in freely giving him eternal life, which infinitely\ntranscends all other blessings--that moment faith works love in his\nheart, and causes him to rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of\nglory. He then loves God because God first loved him. And when the\nsinner loves God, he is passed from death unto life, and that love is\nthe fulfillment of the law.\n\nWe are now led to see the consistency of faith being the first step.\nIt is the very _cause_ that produces _love_ to God, and _love_ induces\nus to keep the commandments. \"Faith works by love,\" and \"if ye love\nme,\" says Jesus, \"ye will keep my commandments.\"\n\nWe will now introduce an example, which will plainly show the\ndistinction between the law and gospel and in what manner they affect\nthe sinner. Suppose a king sentences six of his subjects to\nimprisonment during life, and commands them to spend their days in\nhard labor. They are put in confinement, refuse to obey his commands--\nrefuse to labor, and in the midst of their miseries curse his name.\nThey are now in disobedience under the condemnation of the law.\n\nThe king says to his only Son, I love those subjects and I covenant\nwith you to set them free in three years. The Son says, Father I\ndelight to do thy will. Let me go and reveal to them, the glad tidings\nof this covenant promise. The king answers--my Son, in the fullness of\ntime I will send you. Let them remain, one year, under the law. But\nsays the Son, they are now transgressing your law, and need\ninstruction. The king replies, I will send my servant to enforce that\nlaw. Let him go and inform the prisoners, that I am angry with them\nfor their conduct; and if they will obey my commands, and labor\nfaithfully, they shall have excellent food and good clothing as a\nreward. But if they will not comply, they shall be chained, and kept\non bread and water as a punishment for their disobedience.\n\nThe servant goes and delivers to them this message. Three of those\nsubjects, for fear of the punishment and in _hope_ of the reward, obey\nthe king, and outwardly respect his commands, but perhaps have little,\nor no love for him. (Here we see the righteousness of the law which is\nnot acceptable to God.) They accordingly receive, day by day, the\npromised reward. But the other three prisoners despise these\nconditions and refuse to obey. They are chained, fed on bread and\nwater, and meet their deserts.\n\nHere, then, are six prisoners laboring under the law, and groaning in\nbondage with no hopes of deliverance. The law knows of no deliverance\n--no redemption. It simply serves as a school master to teach them the\ndifference between right and wrong--to teach them the will of the\nking, and thus prepare them to receive a better covenant, which is to\nbe revealed to them by the king's Son. But under the covenant they now\nare, they have no motives to prompt them to obedience, but the _fear_\nof punishment and the _hope_ of reward. In our next, this will be\nfully illustrated.\n\nSERMON VI\n\n\"For what if some did not believe, shall their unbelief make the faith\nof God without effect? God forbid; yea let God be true, but every man\na liar.\" Romans iii:3, 4.\n\nWe resume the argument, in this discourse, concerning those prisoners\nbrought forward in our last. We left them in bondage under the\nsentence of the law with no hopes of deliverance. The first year rolls\naway. The king says, my son, the time has come--go, and reveal my love\nto the prisoners by bringing the promise of their redemption to light.\nThe son flies on wings of love, enters the prison and exclaims--I\nbring you good tidings of great joy. My father, the king, is your\nfriend. He loves you; and that love has induced him to proclaim your\nliberation as a free gift. He has promised (and he cannot lie) that in\ntwo years from this day you shall be free. This covenant, so far as\nconcerns its fulfillment, is unconditional. Believe, and you will be\nsaved, by faith in the promise, from your present fears, and\ncondemnation under the law.\n\nThose stubborn prisoners see a sufficiency of evidence to believe the\npromise. They exercise unshaken faith in this second covenant between\nthe father and son. This faith works by love in their hearts, and\npurifies them from disobedience. Their souls melt in view of the love\nand goodness of the king revealed to them by his son. In fine, they\nlove him because he first loved them. They are now saved by faith in\nhis promise from not only all their miseries and sorrows, but from\ntheir disobedience, and look forward with joy to the day of\nredemption. Here we perceive the \"_righteousness of faith_,\" which far\nexceeds the \"_righteousness of the law_.\" They now delight to obey the\nking because they are under the influence of love.\n\nHere let the question be asked--are these three men to be let out of\nprison at the appointed time because they believe the promise, or love\nand obey the king? They are not. Their redemption depended on the\ntruth and faithfulness of the king's promise which he made to his son,\nand that promise would have been fulfilled, even if it had not been\nrevealed to them till the day of their deliverance. They are not to be\nset free as a reward for their _faith, love and obedience_. They have\ngreat peace and joy in believing that promise. They are in the happy\nenjoyment of a salvation by faith, and that is all the reward they\ndeserve, or have reason to expect. We here perceive that these three\nmen are made to establish the law of their king by faith in the good\nnews he sent them by his son, which is to them a gospel. We now see\nthe propriety of the apostle's language--\"We conclude that a man is\njustified by faith without the deeds of the law. Do we then make void\nthe law through faith? God forbid; yea we establish the law.\" We also\nperceive that these three men are not to be liberated from prison\nbecause they believe the promise, or love and obey the king. But on\nthe contrary it is the king's love and promise to them which sets them\nfree.\n\nLet us now notice the other three prisoners. One says I do not believe\nthat we shall ever be released from prison. It is too good news to be\ntrue. Well, shall his unbelief make the king's promise of none effect?\nThe king forbid; yea let the king be true, but that man a liar. But\nlet it be remembered that he cannot be proved a liar unless he is\nliberated. Would you now go and tell that man-sir, because you will\nnot _believe_, you shall never come forth from prison? But do you not\nperceive that by so doing you would give the king the lie? It would be\nsaying that his promise was good for nothing unless the man would\nbelieve it. It would be contending that the unbelief of this prisoner\nwill make the king's promise of none effect.\n\nThe other two prisoners exclaim--we believe this _second_ covenant,\nbut it must bear some resemblance to the first which is conditional.\nWe believe that we shall get out of this prison if we continue to\nserve the king as, we have heretofore, by keeping his commandments.--\nHere are two men trusting in the _first covenant_ for deliverance.\nThey are trusting in the law. They are depending on their own _love\nand faithfulness_ to the king for redemption, and not on the king's\n_love, promise and faithfulness_ to them. Here then we see the\nrighteousness of the law in those two prisoners; in another we see the\neffect of unbelief; and in those three who remained disobedient under\nthe first covenant, we see the righteousness which is of faith when\nthey heard the glad tidings of redemption in the second covenant.\n\nAt length the day of their redemption dawns. They are all brought to\nthe knowledge of the truth. Those three prisoners, who were saved by\nfaith in the promise during those two years of suspense, now find\ntheir faith lost in certainty. Their salvation, by faith has come to\nan end. And so has the unbelief, condemnation and doubtings of the\nother three prisoners. In one word--the _belief and unbelief_ of the\nsix are lost in knowledge, and they burst out in songs of deliverance\nSo we perceive that a salvation by faith, and a condemnation in\nunbelief can last no longer than till we come to the knowledge of the\ntruth.\n\nLet us now apply this to the scriptures. Man sinned, and not only\ninvolved himself in guilt and misery, but was sentenced to that very\ndeath with which God threatened him--\"Dust thou art and unto dust\nshalt thou return.\" Here was the end of the first covenant, and the\ntermination of all the miseries of life. It is evident from revelation\nas well as reason that man at death drops to a state of insensibility,\nand knows no more till he is made alive in Christ, who is himself the\nsecond covenant. The language of scripture is, the dead know not any\nthing--they sleep--and the apostle (in 1 Cor. xv Chap.) reasons that\nif there be no resurrection, then there will be no future existence--\nthat they which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished--that\npreaching was vain--faith was also vain, and that the christians were\nyet in their sins. On such language as this, I can put no other\nconstruction than that the resurrection is our salvation and eternal\nlife, our deliverance from sin and imperfection. Under the first\ncovenant the resurrection in Christ was not revealed to the human\nfamily, and they remained of course under the sentence of condemnation\nwith no hopes of a future existence. \"By the offense of one judgment\ncame upon all men to condemnation.\" Obedience to the law was enforced\nby threatenings on the one hand, and promises of temporal rewards on\nthe other, which were communicated to the fathers by the prophets.\n\nBut God has in these latter days spoken unto us by his Son, and\nthrough him revealed the second covenant in which he \"gave him the\nheathen for an inheritance, and the utter most parts of the earth for\na possession,\" and declared him to be the resurrection and life of the\nworld. If in the divine counsels no Christ had been provided, the\nhuman family it appears would have remained in eternal slumber. They\nwould have known but one covenant, which would have rewarded and\npunished them according to their deeds, and consigned them to the\nregions of the dead. \"But since by man came death, by man came also\nthe resurrection of the dead.\"\n\nGod saw fit to keep the human family for four thousand years under the\nfirst covenant, without the knowledge of eternal life through the\nresurrection of the dead. But it was, at length, \"made manifest by the\nappearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and\nbrought life and immortality to light through the gospel.\" Yes, he\nfirst brought it to light, and through his apostle declared \"In hope\nof eternal life which God that cannot lie promised before the world\nbegan, but hath in due time manifested his word through preaching.\"\nThis promise of eternal life, all men are called upon to believe. The\nmoment they believe, they are saved by faith, and are at peace; and\nthey that doubt are damned--they are already under condemnation. But\nshall their unbelief make God's promise of eternal life of none\neffect? God forbid; yea let God be true but every man a liar. \"For he\nhath concluded them all in unbelief that he might have mercy upon\nall.\"\n\nWe have now noticed the two covenants--the _law and gospel_--have\npointed out the distinction between them--shown that all _conditions_\nare confined to the law, and that the gospel is _unconditional_, and\njustly requires our faith and confidence. We will now bring to view\nthe scripture doctrine of salvation by faith, and show that divine\ntruth must have an existence before we can be called upon to believe.\n\nAll scripture is given by inspiration of God and is based upon eternal\nand unchanging truth. Truth is one of the attributes of Jehovah and\nthe unshaken pillar that supports the throne of eternity. In truth and\nrighteousness he governs the world, and by an omnipotent arm wields\nthe destinies of men. Truth is the sun of divine revelation pouring\nits beams on intelligent creation and calling upon all men to believe.\nIf a man assert that which does exist, it is a truth; but if he assert\nthat which does not exist, it is a falsehood. Whatever has an\nexistence in the compass of reality is a truth to be believed, and\nwhatever has no such existence is a falsehood not to be believed. It\nis beyond the power of man to create one solitary divine truth. All\nthat he can do is to declare the existence of that which may be hidden\nfrom others, or relate some circumstances respecting that which does\nabsolutely exist. An absolute truth must, therefore, be presented to\nthe understandings of men before they can be called upon to believe\nit, or before they can be called believers for embracing it, or\n_unbelievers_ for rejecting it. No man can be an unbeliever for\nrejecting that which does not exist.\n\nWe now commence plain argument by using great plainness of speech. In\npreaching the gospel of Jesus Christ truth must be the foundation. If\nthen truth must exist before men can be called upon to believe, the\nquestion arises what is that truth which the second covenant reveals\nfor the belief of mankind? Answer, it is the record God hath given of\nhis Son. But what is the _record_? Let John answer--\"this is the\nrecord, God hath given us _eternal life_, and this life is in his\nSon.\" It then follows that we are to believe that God has given us\neternal life in his Son before the world began, and unchangeably\npromised it. Paul says--\"In hope of eternal life which God that cannot\nlie promised before the world began.\" If we believe the record, we are\nin the scriptures recognized as _believers_ and are saved by faith,\nand will of course exhibit in our life and conversation the\nrighteousness of faith.\n\nThe great error of any who read the Bible, consists in supposing there\nis but one salvation. But there are two. The _first_ is a special\nsalvation by belief in the promise, and the second is our eternal\nsalvation beyond the grave, where we shall be brought to the knowledge\nof the truth involved in the promise, and to _know_ shall be life\neternal. Faith shall then be lost in certainty. Now if we disbelieve\nthe record will that make it false? No; our unbelief cannot alter the\nfact. Let the record then be proclaimed to every creature--saying God\nhas promised and given you eternal life in Christ before the world\nbegan, and calls upon all to believe it. But suppose they should all\nreject it saying we do not believe one word of it, would their\n_unbelief_ make the promise or record false? No. Would not then the\nrecord prove true? It would. Then the whole world would, of course,\nreceive that eternal life which is promised and given them in Christ.\nNo, says the objector, they will not believe. But can their unbelief\nmake God's promise of none effect? Can it put that truth out of\nexistence and make it a falsehood? We would ask the objector, what\nwill they not believe? Answer; they will not believe that God has\ngiven them eternal life in his Son. Very well,--then the whole amount\nof the objection is that God has given them eternal life in Christ,\nbut they will not believe it, and because they will not believe it,\nthey never shall obtain it! Then we must contend (if they never obtain\nit) that it was never given to them, and if not given, then the record\nis false; because the record declares that God has given them eternal\nlife in his Son. It then follows that their unbelief can make the\nfaithfulness of God without effect by rendering the word, he has\ngiven, false.\n\nBut says the objector it ought to be stated conditionally as follows--\nGod first calls upon men to believe, and if they will believe, then\nChrist will become their Saviour, and then they will receive eternal\nlife in him and not before. But does not the objector see that he has\nstated no fact for them to believe in order to make Christ their\nSaviour? I ask what does God call upon them to believe? There must be\nsome truth presented before men can be called upon to believe. God\ncalls upon men to believe, what--That Christ is their Saviour? But you\nsaid he was not their Saviour till after they believed. It then\nfollows, according to the objector's statement, that he is not the\nSaviour of unbelievers. Now do you not perceive that if you should\ncall upon them to believe that he was their Saviour, you would call\nupon them to believe a lie--that you would call upon them to believe\nwhat did not exist? And what does not exist cannot be true. Grant says\nthe objector that he is the Saviour of the world, still as many as do\nnot believe in him shall never be saved. But how can he be the Saviour\nof a man, he never saves? Two individuals are drowning in the water;\nyou exert all your power to save them, but fail. Can you call yourself\nthe saviour of those two men from temporal death? Impossible. In order\nfor Christ to be called the Saviour of the world, he must save the\nworld; otherwise there is not a shadow of propriety in giving him that\nname. And John says \"We have seen and do testify that the Father sent\nthe Son to be the Saviour of the world.\"--\"We know, indeed, that this\nis the Messiah the Saviour of the world.\"\n\nIn our next, we will conclude this subject, and trust we shall do it\nto the satisfaction of our readers.\n\nSERMON VII\n\n\"For what if some did not believe, shall their unbelief make the faith\nof God without effect? God forbid; yea let God be true, but every man\na liar.\" Romans iii:3, 4.\n\nWe now resume the argument in reference to Christ the Saviour of men,\nas we proposed in our last. We here inquire of the objector--do you\nthen grant that he is the Saviour of all men--the Saviour of the world\nas the scriptures declare? If so, we assure you that, he will save the\nnumber of whom he is declared to be the Saviour. But, replies the\nobjector, he is not the Saviour of any man till he believes. We ask--\ntill he believes what? Why, replies the objector, till he believes\nthat Christ is his Saviour--if he believes so, it will be so. Let us\nunderstand this--you say _he is not_ the Saviour of an unbeliever,\nstill he must believe that he is, and that will make him so. Then he\nmust first believe a lie and that will create a truth. This is (as\nPaul says) \"turning the truth of God into a lie.\" But let us notice\nthe record. \"This is the record, God hath given us eternal life, and\nthis life is in his Son.\" Do you grant, that God has given eternal\nlife in Christ to every man? No, says the objector. Very well, then\nthey cannot be called upon to believe it. Finally, says the objector,\ngrant that he has. This being granted, we would ask, whether they will\nnot come in possession of it, if God's promise stands? Certainly. But,\nreplies the objector, it is not theirs, till they believe. Then the\nrecord is not true till they believe it; because, on this principle,\nthey must first believe, that they have eternal life in Christ before\nit exists, and believing this lie will create it.\n\nBut, replies the objector, it is impossible that any man has eternal\nlife given him in Christ, till he believes. We then ask, what truth do\nyou wish him to believe, so that he may obtain this eternal life? The\nfact is, there is none. He must believe _this truth_, itself because\nit is the record, but this, you have taken from him. You cannot call\nupon a man to believe, till you admit the existence of that very truth\nyou wish him to believe. In order fully to expose the inconsistency of\nthis conditional salvation, we will introduce an example. Suppose a\nfather tell his servant, I have a son in London, nineteen years of\nage, who is in poverty and distress. I have given him in my will five\nthousand dollars, and I promise that it shall be put into his\npossession in two years. It is recorded and that record is true. Go my\nservant, and proclaim to him glad tidings of great joy, and call upon\nhim to believe, so that he may enjoy a salvation by faith during those\ntwo years of suspense, and be made happy even amidst his wants by\nlooking forward to when it shall be put into his possession.\n\nThe servant sets out on his mission, and believes that he understands\nhis errand. Being arrived, he addresses him as follows--Son, your\nfather is very rich, and he has not willed you five thousand dollars,\nnor given it to you on record; and he never will, unless you _first\nbelieve_ that he has. But, replies the son, according to your message,\nif I should believe that he has given me five thousand dollars, I\nshould believe a lie. Let my father give the money, deposit it in some\nbank; send me evidence of the fact, and with joy I will believe him.\nWell replies the servant you are a disobedient, stubborn unbeliever!\nBecause, if you would only believe so, it would be so, and you would\nhave the money in two years.\n\nYou perceive (dear reader) that this servant has presented no truth\nfor this son to believe. He wishes to give this son the impression\nthat the obtaining of this fortune depends on his _believing_, and not\non the _testament record, and faithfulness_ of his father. In fact, he\ndenies the existence of the father's _will_, and the _record_, and\nrequires the son to believe a lie so as to create the truth. The\nservant does not understand his message, and the son does not know on\nwhat certainty to rest for the money.\n\nIn the same manner we are called upon to secure an _interest_--an\neternal life in the Saviour. They will not admit its existence till we\nbelieve. Then _belief_ must create it. But may we spend our last\nbreath in convincing poor sinners that it is already secured in Christ\nfor them, so that they may believe, and live by faith on the son of\nGod.\n\nThis father sends another messenger. He tells this son of the goodness\nof his father, and that he has _willed_ him five thousand dollars,\nthat the _will_ is put on record, and that this fortune will be put\ninto his possession in two years. The son does not believe it. Now he\nis an unbeliever. But does his unbelief alter the truth of the _will_\nor of the record. No. The certainty, of his obtaining the money, rests\non the faithfulness of his kind parent. This servant perseveres, uses\nconvincing arguments and the son at length believes he is saved by\nfaith from all his miseries, and he rejoices with joy unspeakable. But\nhis _believing_ does not make the record any more true than it was\nbefore he believed it. It simply alters his present condition by\nkindling in his bosom the joys arising from faith and anticipation.--\nWe have now answered the objections that would naturally be brought\nforward by those who believe that our eternal salvation is predicated\non conditions. As _works_ are not the requirements of the gospel only\nso far as they flow from faith in the truth, and as _faith_ must\nprecede works, therefore the truth of our eternal life in Christ, must\nexist previous to our believing. Consequently all conditions are\nexcluded from the gospel covenant.\n\nWe will now meet the objector on the doctrine of election and\nreprobation, the substance of which is as follows--After man fell, God\nwas pleased to provide a Saviour for a part of the human family. That\nelect number he chose in Christ before the foundation of the world,\ngave them eternal life in him, and for them only he tasted death. The\ngospel is now to be preached to the whole world, and as long as they\nreject it, they are unbelievers. But the elect shall sooner, or later,\nall be brought to believe.\n\nWe will examine the foundation on which this statement rests. To bring\nit clearly before you, we will take an example. Suppose there is a\ncongregation of one hundred persons. Fifty of them were elected to\neverlasting life before the foundation of the world--were secured by a\nSaviour, and the rest were reprobated to endless wo. For them no\nSaviour was designed, and no eternal life ever has, or ever will be\ngiven them in him. Suppose a sermon is preached to those one hundred;\nand the fifty, who are elected, believe the record of their eternal\nlife, are brought to the obedience of faith, while the other fifty\nremain unmoved. The preacher turns upon them and pronounces them\n_unbelievers_. But In what sense are they unbelievers? There has been\nno truth presented to them, which they disbelieve. Must they believe\nthat Christ is their Saviour, or that they have an eternal life in\nhim? But they would in such case believe a lie. If they believed right\nthe reverse of the elect,--_believed_ that God was their enemy and\nthat Christ was not their Saviour, they would be _believers_. But if\nthey believed what the fifty converts did, they would be\n_unbelievers_. We here repeat one premise laid down in our last\ndiscourse--viz. In order for any man to be styled a _believer or\nunbeliever_, there must first be presented some truth for him to\nembrace or reject.\n\nNow either God has given us eternal life in Christ before the world\nbegan, or he has not. If he has, then we are _unbelievers_ if we\nreject it. If he has not given it, and should we still believe that he\nhas, we would then believe a lie. But neither our _belief, or\nunbelief_ can ever alter the fact.\n\nGod has \"chosen us in Christ before the foundation of the world that\nwe should be holy and without blame before him in love; having\npredestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to\nhimself according to the good pleasure of his will.\" * * * \"Having\nmade known unto us the mystery of his will according to his good\npleasure which he hath purposed in himself; that in the dispensation\nof the fullness of times, he might gather together, in one, all things\nin Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth, even in\nhim.\" Some apply the above to the elect. But it embraces all things in\nheaven and earth, which are to be gathered together in Christ, and be\nnew creatures. In addition to this we will introduce two more passages\n\"Who hath saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according\nto our works, but according to his own purpose and grace which was\ngiven us in Christ Jesus before the world began.\" \"In hope of eternal\nlife, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began.\" In\nthese scriptures we are assured _first_, that God chose us in Christ,\nbefore the foundation of the world--_second_, that he saved us\naccording to his own purpose and grace before the world began, and\n_third_ that he promised eternal life before the world began. These\nthings being embraced in his original plan, and purpose, their\nperformance is therefore certain as that the whole plan of God will be\ncarried unto execution.\n\nThere is, in my humble opinion, a strange inconsistency in the common\ndoctrine. They contend that on account of the transgression of our\nfirst parent, all mankind were fallen creatures and even came into\nexistence totally depraved. To show the justice of God in the\nconstitution of our nature, they contend that Adam was our covenant\nhead, and had he maintained his original purity, we would also have\nstood perfect in holiness, and no one would have had any reason to\ncomplain. Now since Adam has fallen, and involved us in ruin, it is\nequally just in God that we should share the fate of our covenant head\nin the one instance as in the other. But if we make use of this same\nargument in relation to Christ, the second Adam--if we contend that he\nwas the covenant head of every man, that the covenant was not made for\n_this_, but for the _future_ world--that this covenant of grace being\nmade between the Father and the Son, was to stand independent of man--\nthat eternal life was promised and given us in him before the world\nbegan--that as our covenant head, he resisted all temptations, and\nperfectly fulfilled the law--that he died, and appeared alive beyond\nthe tomb free from temptation, and in a holy and immortal\nconstitution. If we contend for this, making use of their own\narguments, saying that it is just as rational that we should appear in\nthe image of Christ in the future world as that we should come into\nthis world in the image of Adam, they will pronounce the argument so\nfar as applicable to Adam, _sound logic_, but so far as this same\nargument of theirs is applied by Universalists to Christ, they\npronounce it perfect jargon.\n\nBut, says the objector, there is one point you have not settled, and I\nwill here rest the whole of my argument upon it. It is this--God has,\nin no instance, promised eternal to _unbelievers_; and unless you can\nprove that the promise does extend to them, your arguments must fall\nlike rottenness to the ground. We have certainly proved this, and to\nattend to the objector's request would but be, in some measure, going\nover the ground already occupied. We will, however, just touch this\npoint again. We will introduce the following words of Paul to Titus.\n\"In hope of eternal life which God that cannot lie promised before the\nworld began.\"\n\nIf God promised his creatures eternal life before the world began,\nwill they not obtain it? They will for this passage says that he\n_cannot lie_. But says the objector, he has not promised it to the\nunbeliever. We would then inquire, what is it that constitutes him an\n_unbeliever_? Why do you call him an _unbeliever_? Do you say because\nhe disbelieves the truth of God's promise? Then you must, of course,\nadmit the truth of God's promise to him. If so, it must stand, for God\ncannot lie. You cannot call upon a sinner to _believe_, until you\nadmit the existence of _that very truth_, you wish him to believe,\nGod's promise of eternal life in Christ, is the gospel we are called\nupon to believe with a sincere heart. If you contend that it is\npromised to an elect number only, and not to the reprobates, then if\nthey should all be brought to the knowledge of the truth, what would\nthey believe? Ans. The elect would believe the promise of eternal life\nwas made to them, the reprobates would believe right the reverse of\nthe elect, and all would be believers. No, says the objector, the\nreprobates ought to believe just as the elect do. But in this case,\nthey would believe that they also have the promise of eternal life.\nThis would be believing a lie, because you say that God has not made\nthem that promise? How would you preach to such persons? If you called\nupon them to believe the truth of the gospel, which is eternal life,\nyou would call upon them to believe a lie. How can you extricate\nyourself from this difficulty? But inquires the objector, how do you\nknow that God has promised eternal life to all? Ans. Because the\nscriptures do call all men either _believers_, or _unbelievers_, in\nview of the promise that God has made. Take away that promise and\nbelief or unbelief respecting it can no longer have an existence--\n_Believers and unbelievers_ would be no more.\n\nBut says the objector this is not proof that eternal life is promised\nto an _unbeliever_. Well I am surprised at this assertion of my\nopponent! First, I ask, what do you call a believer? Ans. One who\nbelieves that God has promised, and given him eternal life in Christ\nbefore the world began. Then, of course, an _unbeliever_ must be one,\nto whom God has also promised and given eternal life in Christ before\nthe world, but will not believe it. But says the objector this cannot\nbe. I would then ask whether eternal life was not promised, and given\nin Christ to the _believer_ before he believed it? Certainly. It must\nhave been the truth before he could believe. Well, what was he at that\ntime? An _unbeliever_ of course. Then eternal [life] is promised to\nall, because it is the lack of faith in _that never failing promise_\nof Jehovah that constitutes an unbeliever. But says the objector--a\nman \"must do so and so,\" or he cannot be saved. This is not correct;\nhe must _believe_, or he cannot be saved. We are saved by faith in the\npromise and are permitted to look forward with satisfaction and joy to\nan immortal existence where we shall be free from sin, sorrow and\npain. This faith and hope fill the soul with love to God, and induce\nus to break off our sins by righteousness. So a salvation by faith can\nonly be enjoyed in this life, and is to end when faith and hope are\nlost in certainty and in joy. Though only few are saved by faith, yet\nall shall know the Lord from the greatest to the least, whom to know\nis life eternal.\n\nSERMON VIII\n\n\"Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee,\nExcept a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.\" John\niii. 3.\n\nAs we have in the last three sermons dwelt particularly on a salvation\nby _faith_, we will take the liberty to introduce the subject of the\nnew birth next in order, as it will be, more readily, retained by the\nreader, in this connexion than otherwise. Indeed, it hears a strong\nresemblance to them so far as the subject of faith is concerned in our\npresent exposition. But whoever is a careful reader of the New\nTestament, will discover that the subject of faith, and the genuine\nrepentance which that faith produces, is not of trivial moment.\n\nThere is no subject of divine revelation, on which more has been said,\npreached and written than the one, which we are now about to consider.\nIt has been brought forward by men of talents and erudition as an\ninsuperable barrier against Universal Salvation, and their several\nadherents have taken it for granted, that it can never be explained in\nharmony with the sentiment, that all men shall eventually obtain\neternal life through the Redeemer of men. But these impressions have\narisen from the fact, that they have taken their own views and\nexplanations to be scripturally correct, and from these premises, they\nhave drawn conclusions utterly opposed to the final holiness and\nhappiness of God's intelligent creation. They have supposed the new\nbirth to be some mysterious change produced by some mysterious\noperation of the divine spirit on the mind, and that it is in\nsubstance a miracle.\n\nOne denomination has contended that if a man once obtained this\nchange, he was safe, could never \"finally fall from grace,\" but would\neventually land in the kingdom of immortal glory. Several other\ndenominations admit the new birth to be the same change already\nnoticed, but contend that the subject may fall from grace, and be\nfinally lost. Here then the man, who was, according to their views,\n_born again_, might still never see the kingdom of God beyond the\ngrave. On this principle the new birth would be no security, that any\none would obtain heaven. According to this sentiment, a man might be\nborn again, fall away, and be born again \"until seven times,\" and in\nthe end not see the kingdom of God. Those, who advocate this\nsentiment, believe that _faith and repentance_ prerequisites to the\nnew birth, and also believe in the salvation of infants.\n\nThis being so, it will come to pass that half of the world will be\nsaved, inasmuch as about that number die in what may be, justly termed\nan infant state. But of those, who come to years of accountability,\nthey believe but few will be saved. So the greater proportion of\nthose, who will finally surround the throne of God, will be those, who\nhave never been born again according to their views. It will not, I\npresume, be contended, that infants who, they believe, are totally\ndepraved, ever exercise _faith_, or experience the _new birth_ in this\nlife.\n\nFrom the above views, I shall take the liberty to dissent, and may\nprobably differ some from the expositions given by others. It is\nevident that Jesus Christ in his instructions frequently brought\nforward some natural facts plainly understood by those whom he\naddressed, in order more clearly to illustrate his subject, and then\nmade his illustrations so nearly resemble that natural fact, that no\nman could possible misunderstand him, unless he had been led into\ntradition by blind guides. In the context, he makes allusion to\nnatural birth, of which every man knows the meaning, and says to\nNicodemus, \"that which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which\nis born of the spirit is spirit.\"\n\nNatural birth pre-supposes the perfect formation of the human body by\nthat secret energy of nature, God only can comprehend. But that\nformation, itself, is not birth. Birth is that operation, that\nintroduced us into this world. We are now flesh and blood, which\ncannot inherit the kingdom. What is born of the flesh is flesh. We\nmust now be born again from mortal to immortality, otherwise we could\nnot see the kingdom of God.\n\nMust not man be born of a woman in order to see this world? Can he\nlook upon the beautiful objects of creation, or contemplate these\ncountless wonders of the Almighty before he is born into being? He\ncannot. All without exception will admit, that it is impossible for\nany man to enter this natural world, in which we live, without birth.\nSo it is equally impossible to enter the kingdom of God without being\nborn _again_ in the strictest sense of the word. A man cannot \"be born\nagain\" ten, or twenty years, nor even _one day_ before he sees the\nkingdom of God, any more than he could be born twenty days before he\ncame forth out of the womb. As natural birth cannot take place any\ngiven time before we enter this world, but is the _circumstance_ that\nintroduces us, so a _second birth_ cannot take place any given time\nbefore we enter the kingdom of God in the next world but is the _very\nthing_, that shall introduce us into it; and the moment we are born\nagain, we shall see it,--we shall be spirit, and beyond the dominion\nof death and sin. He that is born of the flesh, _is flesh_, so long as\nhe lives; and he that is born of the spirit _is spirit_. As we now\n\"bear the image of the earthly\" through a _natural_ birth, \"so we\nshall also bear the image of the heavenly\" through a _spiritual_\nbirth. And as no man in this world is a spirit, so no man has in\nreality passed the new birth. When we were born into this world, we\nwere brought from insensibility to an existence entirely new. So in\norder to enter the kingdom of God, which is not of this world, we must\nbe born again from the insensibility of death into a new and happy\nexistence beyond the grave.\n\nThe question now arises, when does this new birth take place? We reply\nwhen this mortal puts on immortality through a resurrection. When we\nshall be aroused from the sleep of death to a precipient existence in\nheaven--when we shall awake satisfied with the likeness of God. Paul,\nin the xv. Chap. 1 Cor. Plainly states that the spiritual body is\nprepared and put on after death. Birth then must _follow_, not\n_precede_ that spiritual body. It is impossible that birth should take\nplace, till the body is first prepared. Man's natural body is\norganized in the womb, and then born into this world. He drops to a\nstate of insensibility in death, a reorganization of the spiritual\nbody takes place to the natural eye imperceptible, and its nature\nindestructible. It is gradually brought forward through a resurrection\nsimilar to the grain of wheat to which Paul compares it, is awakened\nto a conscious existence, and bears the image of the heavenly as it\nonce bore the image of the earthy. The resurrection is therefore every\nmoment progressing, and every man is raised in his own order of time.\n\nBut says the reader, if the resurrection be the new birth, then\nChrist, himself must have been born again, in order to enter the\nkingdom of God! Certainly. But inquires the reader, where do the\nscriptures teach that Christ was ever born again? In Colossians chap.\ni:15. are these words--\"Who [Christ] is the image of the invisible\nGod, the _first born_ of every creature.\" This cannot mean that he was\nthe first born into this state of existence; but he was the first one\nwhom human eyes ever saw alive beyond the destruction of death to die\nno more, and the only one that mortal eye will ever see, for he arose\nin his natural body, (being the only true witness, appointed of God,)\nto bring life and immortality to light through the gospel.\n\nBut that passage, says the reader, does not satisfy me, that Christ\nwas born again. Then listen once more--verse 18--\"who is the\nbeginning, the _first born_ from the dead that in all things he might\nhave the pre-eminence.\" Rev. chap. i. 5. \"Jesus Christ the faithful\nwitness, and the _first begotten_ from the dead.\" Here it is plainly\nstated that he is the \"first born from the dead\" \"the _first begotten_\nfrom the dead\" These scriptures in connexion with several others, that\nmight be quoted, prove that Christ was born again, and that the\nresurrection is called birth.\n\nIt is evident that man falls to a state of insensibility in death, and\nremains in sleep while the spiritual body is forming out of those\nsubtle materials, that at death pass into _hades_; and when the\nreorganization is completed, the new being is born into the kingdom of\nimmortal glory. A drowning man, we know, falls to a state of\nunconsciousness. Fainting--yes, even a night's sleep proves that the\nmind is susceptible of falling into insensibility, or suspending its\nmental operations, and disproves the notion of its entering a future\nstate, only through a resurrection of the dead. This fact is not only\nsubstantiated by reason, but it is the doctrine of Revelation. The\nwise man says, \"the dead know not any thing.\" Paul, in the xv. Chap. 1\nCor. Predicates the truth of our resurrection on the fact that Christ\nrose from the dead; and on this ground he reasons, that if there be no\nresurrection, then preaching is vain, faith is also vain, the\nchristians were yet in their sins, and they that were fallen asleep in\nChrist were perished, and concludes by saying, \"let us eat, drink, for\ntomorrow we die.\" Suppose a christian should this moment die, and,\naccording to common opinion, enter immediately on an immortal\nexistence. Could we now say--if there be no resurrection, he is fallen\nasleep in Christ and perished? No, because, instead of being perished,\ni.e. _Annihilated_, he would remain in infinite happiness and glory,\neven if there should, never, be any resurrection. So you perceive that\nPaul did not believe any one could enter eternity only through a\nresurrection. He believed, they would fall asleep in Christ, and in\nthat sleep remain till in Christ they were made alive. He embraces the\nwhole in the following words--\"Since by man came death, by man came\nalso the resurrection of the dead.\"\n\nWhen the sentence of death was pronounced upon Adam, which was to pass\nupon all men, the promise of a Saviour then made, was, it appears, not\nunderstood. Their posterity looked forward for a temporal king, and\nhad no idea of an immortal existence beyond the \"narrow house.\" Death\nthe king of terrors, was not yet disarmed of his sting by the\nresurrection of our triumphant Redeemer. This truth was not yet\nrevealed to men. Here the human family were without hope, and\ntrembling at the darkness--the seven fold darkness of the tomb. No ray\nof light and joy beamed from that cheerless mansion to ease the aching\nheart, or dispel that melancholy gloom, which pervaded the parental\nbosom when gazing for the last time upon the struggles of a dying\nchild.\n\nHere was a world born into existence under the certain sentence of\ndeath, and groaning in the bondage of corruption, without any hope of\nbeing delivered from it, by an immortal birth, \"into the glorious\nliberty of the children of God.\" In this period of anxiety and\ndistress, the glad tidings were proclaimed to the shepherds on the\nplains of Judea, announcing the birth of the Saviour of the world. A\nnew birth, which is not mentioned in the old Testament, was at length\nproclaimed by a Saviour in the _new_. He died on the cross, and was\n\"the first born from the dead.\"\n\nHe is the head of every man, by the grace of God tasted death for\nevery man, and rose again for their justification. The scriptures\ndeclare that \"we shall be saved by his life\" that he is \"the bread of\nGod that cometh down from heaven and giveth life to the world.\" He is\nour way, our truth and life, and \"because he lives we shall live\nalso.\" \"As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made\nalive,\" or born from the dead. And he that is made alive in Christ is\na new creature, old things are passed away--all things are become new.\n\nBut says the reader, though the resurrection of Jesus is set forth by\na birth from death, yet the resurrection of the human family is never\nso represented. You mistake. Out of the many passage that might be\nadduced, we have room, in this discourse, for only one. It shall,\nhowever, be satisfactory. In Romans, 8th chapter, Paul says, \"Because\nthe creature itself also, shall be delivered from the bondage of\ncorruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God; for we\nknow that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together\nuntil now.\" [We would remark, that the word _creature, is ktisis_ in\nthe Greek, and is the same that is rendered _creation_ in the next\nverse.] In this quotation, you perceive, that Paul represents the\nwhole creation as groaning in travail pains, and declares that the\nwhole creation shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into\nthe glorious liberty of the sons of God. He compares them to a woman\nin pain ready for delivery; and that they are delivered from\ncorruption to incorruption at the resurrection is certain. [See 1 Cor.\nxv:42.]\n\nYou now understand what I mean by the new birth. It is to pass from\ndeath to life and immortality, in Christ, beyond the grave, where\nflesh and blood can never enter. For that which is born of the flesh\nis flesh, and that which is born of the spirit is spirit.\n\nWe have now pointed out the new birth, and shown that it bears some\nresemblance to the natural birth, with which Jesus compared it. And\nhow truly sublime and cheering the thought, that the great family of\nman, who are all born into existence under the certain sentence of\ndeath, are to receive a second birth into an existence entirely new,\nand the whole of his dying family are to be made the children of Jesus\nChrist by adoption.\n\nIn our next, we shall notice the change we experience in this life,\ncalled in scripture the new birth, and explain the term, \"kingdom of\nGod.\"\n\nSERMON IX\n\n\"Jesus answered and said unto him, verily, verily, I say unto thee,\nexcept a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.\" John\niii. 3.\n\nIn our last, we have shown, that the _spiritual_ birth bears some\nresemblance to a natural birth with which Jesus compared it--and as\nthe _first_ introduces us into this world, so the _second_ will\nintroduce us into the future and immortal world at the resurrection,\nwhere we shall be as the angels of God in heaven, and \"be the\n_children_ of God _being the children of the resurrection_.\" There we\nshall be completely free from sin and pain. There the gushing tear of\nsorrow shall cease to flow, and the brow of disconsolate humanity be\nruffled no more.\n\nWe will now attend to the present effects that the truth of this birth\nhas upon us here, and notice at the same the phrase, \"_kingdom of\nGod_.\"\n\nThe question now arises; do not some experience the new birth in this\nlife? They do. But in what sense do they experience it? Ans. By\n_faith_. In this world we pass from death to life: not that we have\nactually been in the grave and brought to life beyond it; but the\nbeliever experiences this by faith. And _this faith_ has a most\npowerful and happifying influence on his affections, and consequently\non his life and conduct. All, that God has revealed for the salvation\nof the world--our justification, our sanctification, our new birth,\nour heaven, our all--yes, all these important and heavenly changes are\nsummed up, and embraced in our immortal resurrection, will actually\ntake place through death; and while in this world we can embrace them,\n_only by faith_.\n\nThe scriptures declare that \"we walk by faith and, not by sight.\" Paul\nsays, \"the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of\nthe Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.\" Paul knew that\nhe had eternal life given him in Christ, before the world began, and\nfaith in that glorious truth produced a happiness--a divine life in\nhis heart, called the kingdom of God within. Let us notice these\nseveral points.\n\n1. First; \"Christ rose again for our justification.\" Our justification\nthen exists in our resurrection state, and will _there_ in all its\nreality take place. But cannot a man be justified _here_? Yes; he can\nbe justified _through faith_ in that truth.\n\n2. Second; \"By the which will, we are _sanctified_ through the\noffering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.\" Our\n_sanctification_ then, by the will of God, will take place through\ndeath. But cannot a man be _sanctified_ while _here_? Yes; he can be\nsanctified _through faith in that truth!_\n\n3. Third; Christ was \"put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the\nspirit.\" So in his resurrection he passed from death to life, and thus\nrevealed the truth that we shall also pass from death to life by the\npower of God, and be like him who is the \"first fruits.\" But cannot a\nman pass from death to life while on earth? Yes; he can pass from\ndeath to life _through faith in that truth_. Jesus says--\"He that\nheareth my word and believeth on him that sent me hath everlasting\nlife and shall not come into condemnation but is passed from death\nunto life.\"\n\n4. Fourth; our eternal life will be realized beyond death. \"The things\nthat are not seen are spiritual and eternal.\" But can we not enjoy it\n_here_? Yes; \"He that believeth on the Son _hath_ everlasting life;\"--\nthat is, he enjoys it faith.\n\n5. Fifth; Christ was the \"first born from the dead.\" So we also shall\npass the reality of the new birth by faith. But can we not enjoy it\nhere? John says--\"For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world,\nand this is the victory that overcometh world _even our faith_.\"\n\nThus it is evident that a man may in this life be _justified,\nsanctified_, pass from _death to life, may enjoy eternal life_, and be\n_born again_ through faith in _these several correspondent facts_. His\nfaith, however, can make them no more _certain_; because they _must\nexist_, and be solemn and unalterable facts before he can be called\nupon to believe them. The truth of the above _five facts_, we\nperceive, are embraced in our resurrection. If we are not, in our\nresurrection, to be _justified, sanctified, born again_, and obtain\neternal life, then we cannot be _justified, sanctified or born again\nhere_ through faith in those truths;--because there would be no such\ntruths in existence for us to exercise faith in. If the objector will\nnot allow these facts unalterably to exist _previous_ to believing,\nwhat then will he call upon us to believe? Will he call upon us to\nbelieve that we have an eternal life in Christ when no such fact\nexists, and contend that our believing this lie will create the fact?\nThis would be the most ridiculous absurdity.\n\nBut the truth exists, and the believer by faith enjoys it before hand.\nHe enjoys it by anticipation, not in _reality_. It can be brought to\nhis understanding or experience no other way, only through the gospel\nmedium of faith. I challenge the objector to show me between the lids\nof the new Testament, any regeneration, new birth, justification, or\nsanctification, that has already taken place in any other sense than\nthrough faith. All these things in their _reality_ are to take place\nin our resurrection, when we shall be like the angels of God and by\nfaith we bring them present to our minds and enjoy them _here_. Dr.\nWatts says--\"Faith brings distant prospects home, Of things a thousand\nyears ago, Or thousand years to come.\" Paul, therefore, exhorts us to\nforget the things that are behind, and reach forward to those that are\nbefore--to press to the mark &c. because the reality--the object of\nour faith lies before us. But persons, who do not understand the\noperations of faith on the mind in view of its correspondent truth,\nand who honestly believe that the new birth has in reality already\ntaken place with them, are always looking back to the time they were\nborn again, and telling over their \"old experiences\" Now this is right\nin them, if they have passed through the _reality_; for every man\nought to look to the substance in which he exercises faith and hope.\nBut certainly the scriptures exhort us to look forward, and anchor our\nfaith and hope within the vail, where our forerunner hath for us\nentered. It is therefore certain that the reality exists there, and is\nyet to come. Such persons then, in looking back to their experience,\nare mistaking the birth produced by faith for the real birth itself.\nThis is just as unreasonable as it would be to suppose that the\nforetaste, we sometimes enjoy of immortal life, was that life itself.\nIt is true we at times enjoy a heaven on earth. But as it respects the\nkingdom of immortal glory, \"eye hath not seen, ear heard, neither hath\nit entered into the heart of man to conceive the glory that shall be\nrevealed in us.\" The reality is therefore yet to come, and by faith we\nreceive only an antepast of its joys.\n\nFrom the above observation we infer that, the resurrection is the only\ngospel faith and hope of a future, happy conscious state of being.\nWhen our minds are enlightened to see the mighty changes, that we\nmortals are represented, in the scriptures of truth, as destined to\nexperience by being raised in a holy and deathless constitution, we\nare then led to consider the resurrection of embracing all those\nrealities that we are called upon by Jesus Christ and his apostles to\nembrace by faith and enjoy in this life. So great and sublime is the\ngift of God, and so far surpassing thought does it magnify the\nperfections of the divine character, and in so amiable a light does it\nmanifest his love to the children of men, that a living faith in its\nreality cannot but obtain a salutary influence on our life and\nconversation. So much stress did the apostles lay upon its importance,\nthat they went every where preaching the resurrection of the dead, as\nthe gospel of Christ.\n\nThere is one point we will here notice. All denominations acknowledge\nthat for any man _by faith_ to pass from death to life is a change for\nthe better. If so, then the _reality_, namely to pass from the sleep\nof death to an immortal existence, must be a change for the better.\nBecause it is by believing that future reality we are said to have\npassed from death to life here. The conclusion is unavoidable that the\n_reality_ must correspond with its antepast _by faith_. To understand\nthis let us reverse it. Suppose it should be an established law in the\nnature and constitution of things that all mankind should pass from\ndeath to immortal misery in the future world. Let this be revealed and\nproclaimed as an unchanging truth. As many as believed it would of\ncourse pass from death to immortal misery in _faith_, which would lead\nthem to curse the being who made them, and destined them to this\nunhappy end. It would be a change for the worse.\n\nOur subject is now so far plain (according to our views) that the\nphrase \"_kingdom of God_\" will be readily understood. Though it has,\nby different writers, been made to bear many different significations,\nyet we shall take the liberty to contend that it simply means as\nfollows--1. First an immortal existence beyond the grave brought to\nlight by the resurrection of Christ;--and 2. Second a belief in _that\nreality_ is the kingdom of God we here enter and enjoy _by faith_.\nInto this kingdom, infants, idiots and heathen and unbelievers do not\nenter, because faith is the only condition. This is the kingdom of\nheaven that men, blind leaders of the blind, shut up. They neither\nenter themselves, nor suffer those that would enter to go in. They\nkeep the evidence of the reality out of sight so that men cannot look\nbeyond the vail to its brighter glories and enjoy its peaceful reign\nin their hearts by faith. When faith is lost in certainty, _then_ this\nkingdom will be delivered up, and to know shall be life eternal. This\ndefinition we believe will hold good, and apply to any passage in the\nNew Testament where it may occur. Though some contend that it very\nseldom has reference to an immortal existence, yet we strenuously\ncontend that there is no propriety in the phrase only in connexion\nwith such an existence. We cannot enter or be born into the kingdom of\nGod by faith, unless we admit the reality in the first place to have\nan existence, any more than we could, by faith, enjoy eternal life\nunless there is such a reality as eternal life beyond the grave. The\nabove, the reader will please to fix in his mind.\n\nWe now perceive that man drops into the sleep of death, and that the\nresurrection, or new birth is his only hope of a future happy state of\nexistence, and is the only change that can free him from imperfection,\nand sin, and make him a new creature in a new and immortal existence\nbeyond the grave.\n\nWe will here introduce an example to make our argument so far plain.\nSuppose you were now in ignorance respecting the doctrine of life and\nimmortality through a resurrection. You know you must die, and\nsincerely think that death will terminate your existence forever. You\nsee your children one after another laid upon their dying bed, and\nwith distraction shake the farewell hand of eternal separation, and\nwith the most solemn melancholy and wo, look forward to the period\nwhen you must follow them down to the chambers of eternal silence, and\ncease to be.\n\nIn this moment of dread solemnity and gloom, suppose some kind angel\nshould appear at the bed-side of your expiring child, and kindly\ninquire, why are you troubled? You answer, because my children have\nfallen!--the last of my infant train lies panting for breath, and the\ndreadful hour has come when all those silken affections, that build\nour hearts love, must be rent assunder, and in the awful bosom of\ndeath, be extinguished forever!--Suppose your guardian angel smiling\nover the ruins of death, should point you far beyond these changing\nscenes, and with rapture exclaim, you shall meet this darling child\nagain and commingle with your little fallen flock in glory! You and\nthey and all mankind shall be born from the dead into the kingdom of\nGod, and be new creatures free from sin and pain, and \"be the children\nof God being the children of the resurrection.\" Jesus your Lord \"was\nthe first born from the dead,\" and you shall pass from death to life\nand live forever.\n\nNow suppose you positively believed his words; could you not say in\nthe scripture form of the expression that through faith you was\nalready \"passed from death to life?\"--that you was born of faith, and\nby faith was in the kingdom of God? You certainly could, and it would\nin every sense of the word be true. Through faith, you would be\njustified, through faith sanctified; through faith you would enjoy\neternal life--in fine, through faith you would be saved. This faith\nwould give love unmeasured to your Creator, and fill your soul with\njoy unspeakable and full of glory. \"Faith works by love, purifies the\nheart and overcomes the world.\"\n\nReader, do you not love the Lord for his wonderful goodness to his\nchildren? What glorious hopes are here! \"and he that hath this hope in\nhim purifieth himself even as he is pure\"--you now see why the gospel\nrings with the word _faith_ from one end to the other.\n\nThe world previous to the coming of Jesus Christ had no knowledge of\nimmortality through a resurrection, into the kingdom of God. The\nphrase \"_born again_\" is not mentioned in the Old Testament, and of\ncourse means something more than a _conversion_. This subject will be\ncontinued in our next.\n\nSERMON X\n\n\"Jesus answered and said unto him, verily, verily, I say unto thee,\nexcept a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.\" John\niii. 3.\n\nThe literal rendering of this passage seems to be--\"_except a man be\nborn above_.\" The word _above_ being substituted for _again_ more\nforcibly demonstrates the correctness of my views in the two former\ndiscourses.\n\nMany charge the Universalists with denying the necessity of a new\nbirth, or regeneration. But take from me my faith and hope in that\nglorious truth, and I must at that moment resign the salvation of\nevery human being. Convince me that not another child will be born\ninto this world, and you will at once convince me that this world will\nshortly be destitute of a solitary inhabitant. Convince me that a man\nwill not be born again, and you will not only convince me that no one\nwill ever enter the kingdom of God, but that the many worlds, that\nhave already passed from the stage of mortal being, and those that\nshall hereafter follow, will alike be consigned to eternal silence!\nEndless misery is out of the question. That could have had no\nexistence even had there been no resurrection in _Him_ who is the life\nof the world; but death would have terminated the existence of all.\nSuch a punishment is not threatened in all the writings of Moses and\nthe prophets. And we cannot reasonably suppose, if such were a\nprincipal truth in revelation, that God would suffer four thousand\nyears to elapse without warning his creatures of such an awful doom.\nUpon our first parents, for transgressing the law, he pronounced all\nthe miseries of life, and uttered the closing sentence, \"Dust thou art\nand unto dust shalt thou return.\" Here the doctrine of endless misery\n(if that be the sentence of the violated law) ought to have been\nclearly stated to the \"covenant head\" of our race, so that the same\nsentence might pass upon all that have sinned, unless they complied\nwith the conditions set before them.\n\nBut we leave this point, and will notice the 5th verse which may,\nperhaps, be considered as an objection to my views, and urged as proof\nthat the new birth is wholly confined to this life. \"Except a man be\nborn of _water_, and of the spirit,\" &c. What is here meant by\n\"_water_\"? Ans. Baptism by immersion. This, instead of being an\nobjection to my views, will strengthen them. Baptism in water is\nnothing more than a _figure_ of our death and resurrection, by _which_\nwe manifest our _faith_ in the resurrection of the dead, by which\n_faith_ our hearts are baptized into the spirit and truth of the\ngospel of Christ.\n\nPaul says, I Cor. xv:29 \"Else what shall they do, which are baptized\nfor the dead, if the dead rise not at all? Why are they then baptized\nfor the dead?\" Baptism being only a _figure_ of our death and\nresurrection, is perhaps, in a gospel sense, of but little consequence\nto christians in the present day.\n\nChrist went to John and was baptized of him in Jordan. His being put\nunder water signified his death, when the condemning power of the law\nunder the first dispensation should lose its force--and his being\nraised out of the water signified his resurrection from the cold\nJordan of death to immortal life in the kingdom of God, where the\nvictory shall be sung over _death and sin_; and over the _law_ which\n\"is the strength of sin.\" Having passed in figure through his own\ndeath and resurrection, and having manifested to man that he was\nbaptized by the Holy Spirit into the faith and \"powers of the world to\ncome,\" he perfectly lived up to his obligation, by never committing\none sin. He went through life free from transgression as though he\nwere already in eternity. When his crucifixion hour approached, he\nsaid, [Luke xii:50] \"I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how am\nI straitened\" [Greek--pained] \"till it be accomplished.\" Here he had\nreference to his being buried in death, (which was to be attended with\nextreme sufferings) and rising again from it, which would be the\n_reality_ of which his baptism in Jordan was but a _figure_.\n\nTo be put under water signifies our _death_, and to be raised out\nagain signifies our _resurrection_. A person, who is baptized, ought\ntherefore, to endeavor, as much as in him lies, to live as though he\nwere already in his resurrection state. Enjoying in faith the baptism\nof the \"Holy Spirit and of fire,\" he ought to consider himself as dead\nto the world and alive to God walking in newness of life.\n\nLet us introduce Rom. vi:3, 4. \"Know ye not that so many of us as were\nbaptized into Jesus Christ, were baptized into _his death_? Therefore\nwe are buried with him by baptism into death; that like as Christ was\nraised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also\nshould walk in newness of life.\" Here we perceive they were baptized\ninto his death, and were rejoicing in hope of the _resurrection_,\nhaving their hearts purified faith in the reality, Acts xxii. 16 And\nnow why tarriest thou? Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins,\n&c. Now, it is not only a scripture doctrine, but all denominations\nacknowledge, that baptism in water is an _emblem_ of the washing away\nof our sins. We then ask--are our sins to be wished in a stream of\nwater? No. Where then? The objector says, our sins are taken away _in\nthis life_ by the baptism of the \"Holy Spirit and with fire.\" This\ncannot be; because Paul told the believers that if there were no\nresurrection, their faith was vain, and they were _yet in their sins_.\n[See I. Cor. xv. 17.] This proves that believers receive the\nforgiveness of their sins in this life _by faith only_, not in\n_reality_.\n\nThe question returns, are our sins washed away in a stream of water?\nNo. Where then? Ans. Through death and the resurrection, for that is\nthe real baptism. And it is certain that the _reality_ must embrace\nall that the _figure_ in water teaches. We then solemnly ask the\nreader,--if baptism in water is a _figure_ of our death and\nresurrection, and if _that water baptism_ signifies the washing away\nof our sins, will not then our sins be washed away through death and\nthe resurrection? Yes; otherwise the figure in water has no meaning.\n\nThus we perceive that being born of the water is no objection to our\nviews of the new birth, but affords them an unshaken support. If any\none contend that the sins of our race are not to be taken away through\ndeath, we would then ask, where will the christian's sins be washed\naway? The scriptures declare that there is not a just man upon earth\nthat doeth good and sinneth not,--and if there is no change through\ndeath then there will not be a just man beyond the grave that doeth\ngood and sinneth not. But the baptism \"with the Holy Spirit and with\nfire\" in all its solemn and interesting reality will take place in\ndeath and the resurrection, and to exercise a living faith in that\ntruth, so as to influence our life and conduct according to the spirit\nof the gospel, is what the scriptures term being baptized with the\nspirit and with fire in this life. But this present enjoyment is not\nthe _reality_, but an antepast of _that reality_; because \"we walk by\nfaith and not by sight.\" It is immaterial whether the scripture speaks\nof _pardon, of justification; of sanctification, of redemption, of\nregeneration, or baptism_ \"with the Holy Spirit and with fire,\" it\nsimply means that those facts in the divine counsels unchangeably\nexist, and will burst upon the whole groaning creation in the\nresurrection world, while the believer only enjoys them in this state\nof being through faith, which baptizes him into the spirit of Christ.\nBut if there be no resurrection, and nought is presented to our\nanticipation but the dreary prospect of a beamless eternity, then\n\"preaching is vain,\" \"faith is also vain,\" \"christians are yet in\ntheir sins,\" \"and they that are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.\"\n\nThe taking away the sin of the world by the Lamb of God, who is the\nresurrection and the life, is through death. Through death, to our\nfaith and hope, he has destroyed \"him who hath the power of death,\nthat is the devil.\" The washing away of all sin, by the power of God,\nis through death and the resurrection. _Then_ and not till then shall\nthe song of triumph be sung by redeemed millions--\"O death! Where is\nthy sting? O grave! Where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin,\nand the strength of sin is the law\", &c.\n\nAll the figures of baptism point to _death_--all the sacrifices for\nsin, slain under the law for 4000 years, point to death, declaring\nthat without the shedding of blood there is no remission. There the\nreality lies. There we are called upon to anchor our faith and hope\neven within the veil. And it must be a _certain truth_ that our sins\nare to be washed away through the Jordan of death, before we can be\ncalled upon to believe it. It must be a _certain reality_ that sin is\nthere to be purged away, before we could, with any propriety, use\nbaptism in water as a shadow of it; because the _shadow_ cannot create\nthe _substance_.\n\nWe have now shown that as man is naturally born into this world, so he\nshall be spiritually born into the kingdom of God. We have shown by\ncomparison that except a man be born of a woman, he cannot see this\nworld; and as this does not mean that he must be born twenty days\nbefore he comes forth from the womb, as a preparation for entering\nthis world, so the expression, \"except a man be born again he cannot\nsee the kingdom of God,\" does not mean that he must be born twenty\ndays before death as a preparation for entering a future existence.\nThe new birth, no more means a _reality_ that is to transpire _here_,\nthan natural birth means some change we underwent prior to our being\nbrought forth into life.\n\nI believe in all the reformation or new birth here that others do, and\nbelieve in much more to come. That change _here_, which they call the\nnew birth, I call the new birth in faith, or being born of faith,\nwhile the solemn reality is yet to transpire, and that is to be born\nfrom the dead in Christ our head. These facts we will now make plain\nto every reader by the following example, so that our views on this\nsubject may not be misrepresented.\n\nSuppose that before we were born, we had been able to conceive ideas.\nAnd suppose it had been spoken to us by the Son of God--except you are\nborn of the flesh, you cannot see the natural world, which is most\nbeautiful to to behold, having sun, moon, and stars, and songsters,\nfields and groves. It has never entered your heart to conceive the\nglory to be revealed in you. Now suppose some of us had believed this\nrevelation, we would that moment, have been born of faith, and\nrejoiced in hope of the glory to be revealed in us; and by faith have\nlooked forward to the reality. This, however, would not have made our\nbirth any more certain, because it must have been an absolute truth\nbefore we could have, with any propriety, believed it. Suppose,\nfurther, that some of us had rejected it; would this circumstance have\nprevented our being born? Certainly not. All of us, who believed,\nwould have been born of faith, having an earnest of the reality, and\nthe unbelievers would have come short of that enjoyment by faith; but\ntheir unbelief could in no sense make the truth of none effect. The\nmoment we were born, belief and unbelief would be lost in certainty.\n\nNow suppose that some of had said--the Son of God has declared \"except\nwe are born of the flesh, we cannot see the natural world.\" This must\nmean some great change we are to experience in the womb--we must be\nborn some number of days before we enter the natural world, as a\npreparation, otherwise we can never see it.\n\nWe now ask the reader, whether it would not be folly to give to the\nword _birth_ such an explanation? The Conclusion is unavoidable. We\nthen ask, whether it does not involve the same folly to contend, in\nview of our text, (\"except a man be born again, he cannot enter into\nthe kingdom of God\") that it means, he must be born again in this\nworld, as a preparation for another? It certainly does.\n\nWe once more repeat it--that as natural birth was the _very thing_\nthat introduced us all into this world of imperfection, sorrow and\npain; so the spiritual birth will be the _very thing_, that shall\nintroduce us all into another, where, imperfection, sorrow and pain\nshall be no more.\n\nThe poor heathen, and infants, and all, will therefore be born again\ninto the kingdom of God, and \"be equal unto the angels, die no more,\nand be the children of God, _being the children of the resurrection_.\"\nThe only advantage we enjoy above them is, that we have heard the good\nnews, believed it, are \"born again, not of corruptible seed, but of\nincorruptible, by the word of God which liveth and abideth forever,\"\nand \"have entered into rest.\" We are rejoicing in hope of the glory of\nGod to be revealed in us, while they are groping in darkness,\ninasmuch, as they cannot believe in him of whom they have not heard.\n\nIn our next, we shall close this subject by urging the importance of\nthe new birth through faith in the truth.\n\nSERMON XI\n\n\"Jesus answered and said unto him, verily, verily, I say unto thee,\nexcept a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.\" John\niii. 3.\n\nIn our last three discourses we have endeavoured to lay our views of\nthe new birth thus far plainly before the reader, and wish him to bear\nin mind that the three sermons, preceding those on the new birth, are\nalso to be read, and carefully kept in view, so that, from the whole\nconnexion, the gospel doctrine of salvation by _faith_ may be made\nclear to his understanding. We dwelt so long, and laid so much stress\nupon _faith_, because it is the _first_ christian grace, we are\nexhorted to put on, and is the _first_ assent of the mind to the great\nand interesting _truth_ revealed in the gospel of Jesus Christ, which\nis _life and immortality_ for the human family.\n\nWe have shown that the new birth has a higher signification than\nsimply to be converted from the evil of our doings, as was required\nunder the first dispensation. The new birth, so far as it concerns the\npresent existence, embraces not only _conversion_, but the whole\nspiritual life of the christian's soul, denominated the kingdom of\nheaven within. This mental felicity--this \"weight of glory,\" cannot be\nenjoyed, but by the exercise of a living faith in Christ. Such a faith\nbegets a sincere obedience in our life and conversation. It is a faith\n\"that works by love, purifies the heart and overcomes the world.\" The\ngreat apostle to the Gentiles exclaims--\"the life that I now live in\nthe flesh, I live by the _faith_ of Son of God, who loved me and gave\nhimself for me.\" We therefore \"walk by _faith_, not by _sight.\"_\n\nWe have shown that Christ was the _\"first born_ from the dead\" to show\nlight to the people and to the Gentiles, and that the whole creation\nis groaning in travail-pains, and that it shall be delivered from the\nbondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of\nGod, and that we shall then be as the angels of God in heaven. We have\nshown that all mankind--infants, idiots and heathen, shall be brought\nto realize this birth, and that the believer, only, can only enjoy it\nin this state of existence through _faith_ in the truth, and that this\n_faith_ has a most powerful influence on his life and conversation,\n\"being born of incorruptible seed by the word of God that liveth and\nabideth forever.\" We have shown that neither this birth, nor any of\nthe spiritual changes, can be experienced in this life only through\n_faith_ in their correspondent truths, even as they are revealed to us\nin the gospel of Christ. We have shown that by the phrase, \"kingdom of\nheaven\" we were to understand, _first_, a holy, happy and immortal\nexistence \"beyond the grave, incorruptible, undefiled and that fadeth\nnot away, reserved for us in heaven,\" and which, with all its\nperfections and joys, was revealed to us by Jesus Christ; and\n_second_, a sincere and living _faith_ in this interesting _reality_,\nproduced that divine enjoyment, called \"the kingdom of heaven within\nus,\" the kingdom of heaven among men, &c. This kingdom the Pharisees\n\"shut up\"--they \"neither entered it themselves, nor suffered those\nthat were entering to go in.\" That is--they prevented the people from\n_believing_ those interesting _realities_--those sublime doctrines of\na future world that their Messiah had brought to light through the\ngospel for the present happiness of men.\n\nWe have shown that water baptism is but a _figure, a shadow_ of our\ndeath and resurrection, or of the washing of regeneration and renewing\nof the Holy Spirit, and that this figure is of but little consequence\nto us in this present day. In fine we have shown that if there were no\nfuture existence--if nought were held up to man but the dreary\nprospect of a beamless eternity, he could not be justified,\nsanctified, born again, pass from death to life or enter the kingdom\nof God through faith, because in such case the _objects_ of his _faith\nand hope_ would be annihilated, his faith would be vain, he would be\nyet in his sins. In this view of our subject, we perceive that Christ\nis but \"the author and finisher of our faith,\" having been ordained of\nGod \"to bring life and immortality to light,\" to set us an example for\nour imitation and happiness here below--and to die and rise in\nattestation of the truth involved in his mission. Consequently his\nkingdom will be delivered up when _faith and hope_ shall be lost in\ncertainty and joy.\n\nIt now remains that we urge the importance of the _new birth_ through\nfaith in the truth. And here we shall probably meet with one objection\nfrom the reader, viz. As we argued in sermons, No. 5, 6, and 7, that\nfaith was the first exercise of the creature, and that no one could\n_believe or disbelieve_ what he pleased, the reader may then ask, what\nnecessity is there of urging the importance of the new birth through\nfaith in the truth, in as much as faith cannot be exercised at the\n_pleasure_ or simply at the _will_ of man? And here we would remark--\nthat the guilt of unbelief does not consist in rejecting a fact after\npatient investigation, by collecting all the evidences in our reach,\nbut it consists in rejecting a fact without examination of its truth.\nFor instance; let the gospel be preached to a heathen, who rejects it\nwithout attempting to acquaint himself with the evidences upon which\nits truth is based. He is condemned for not believing, because he\nneglects the only means by which he might be convinced of the truth.\nHe declines searching for evidence. Of the truth of this remark we\nhave a striking instance in the scriptures. Paul preached at\nThessalonica, but they heeded not his words. He preached also at\nBerea, and the inspired penman says, \"These were more noble than those\nin Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of\nmind, and searched the scriptures daily whether these things were so.\"\nIt is our duty to search the scriptures prayerfully and \"labor to\nenter into that rest that remains to the people of God, lest any of us\nthrough unbelief should seem to come short of it.\" It is our duty to\nsearch for evidence of the fact, at least on all subjects relating to\nour present happiness, and particularly those that appertain to the\nfuture world. They are too momentous to be treated with indifference.\n\nThere is nothing more important than that we should exercise a living\n_faith_ in a future and happy existence beyond the grave. This alone\ncan afford the mind \"joy unspeakable and full of glory.\" There is in\nevery human bosom an unceasing uneasiness, an aching void that nothing\non earth can satisfy or fill. Old and young, ignorant and learned,\nheathen and christian feel the same dissatisfaction with the objects\nof momentary duration. The heathen, in the midst of all his\nself-denials and self-tortures to appease his gods, and in the\nconscientious discharge of all his devotional duties, is still a\ndissatisfied and miserable being. God has so constituted the human\nmind that it cannot repose in error, however sincere may be the faith\nit exercises. There is still a growing vacuum within that nothing but\nthe powers of truth can fill. Philosophy has endeavoured to search out\nthat system of moral duties, in the rigid performance of which, that\nhappiness, peace and joy might be found, for which all mortal beings\npant with the same aspirations of strong desire, but has sought in\nvain. From the earliest ages, one system after another has been\ninvented, and in succession abandoned, but all have come short of\ndiscovering any thing solid on which to rest their hopes of earthly\nfelicity.\n\nJesus Christ, the author and finisher of our faith, has alone\naccomplished what all the penetration of Pythagoras and all the moral\nlessons of Seneca and Socrates failed to discover. With a bold, firm\nand untrembling hand he has drawn aside the curtains of the tomb, and\npointed the human family to a second birth from the dark womb of death\ninto mansions of incorruptible felicity in the kingdom of God, where\nthey shall die no more, and where all the inquietudes, appertaining to\nthis fleeing existence, shall be unknown. This future state of being,\nhe has not only revealed, but has demonstrated its certainty by those\nincontestable evidences, which can never be shaken by all the powers\nof infidelity combined. He has burst the icy bands of death and risen\ntriumphant beyond its solemn shade, and begot in us those lively\nhopes, those fond desires, that ease the aching heart--that\ncommunicate unbroken peace amidst the various ills of life, and afford\nit divine consolation and joy in the trying moment of death. In those\ninteresting truths the believer confides, and in every condition in\nlife is enabled to rejoice in the hope that when \"this earthly\ntabernacle is dissolved, he has a building of God, a house not made\nwith hands eternal in the heavens.\" In this faith, man's countless\nwants are satisfied, inasmuch as God has secured his dearest interest.\nIn this faith the believer is entered into rest, is born of God, and\nis translated into his kingdom. He _knows_ that by faith he has passed\nfrom death unto life, for his soul is filled with love to God and man.\nThis love, this divine enjoyment, is the natural effect of _faith_,\ninasmuch as it works by love, purifies the heart and overcomes, the\nworld. He is not only at rest respecting himself, but at rest\nrespecting his children and dear friends, whom he may be called to\nfollow to the land of silence and the shadow of death. He stands at\ntheir dying bed and whispers to them consolation, in the joyful\nassurance, that he shall meet them again beyond the dominion of death\nand pain in the regions of glory. His bosom is the mansion of those\npure and holy affections and of those sublime hopes, that none can\nknow but those who are thus born into the kingdom of God.\n\nReader, you must die. How important then that you should faithfully\nand prayerfully examine the scriptures so that tormenting fears,\ndistraction and despair may not in that solemn moment rend the peace\nof your bosom to atoms. A sweet peace and composure of soul in that\ntrying hour, are of incalculable worth. It is enough to struggle with\nphysical pain without the addition of mental woes, which present\nneglect, and your ignorance of the truth and consolations of the\ngospel of Christ, are sure to bring upon you. Perhaps you are a\nfather, and may be called to stand at the death-bed of a beloved\nchild. That child may call upon you as a parent to administer\nconsolation to its departing spirit. He clings to life, or ardently\ndesires to live forever in the mansions of rest beyond the grave. But\nwhat consolation can you impart, if you are yourself ignorant of the\ndoctrines of the gospel of Christ? The heart-rending prospect of\nendless wo, or the gloomy horrors of annihilation, could afford no\nconsolation to that mind, which has the principles of glory deeply\nrooted in its nature and which nothing but the continuance of\nexistence can rationally satisfy. As you value unbroken peace in the\nhour of dissolution, and as you value the happiness of these dear\npledges heaven has lent you, study for the evidence of christian\ntruth, search the scriptures, and labor to enter into that rest that\nremains here to the believing people of God, who are born again and\n_specially_ saved through _faith_ in the truth.\n\nThis labor is not only important in view of the solemn hour of death,\nbut important in view of the life you here live in the flesh.\nHappiness is the ultimate pursuit of all mortal beings. They vainly\nimagine that it can be found in riches, honors and titles--yes, even\nimagine that it can be found in the hard ways of the transgressor.\nThough sensible that worlds before them have failed, and gone down to\nthe grave with the pangs of disappointed hope, yet man is so strangely\ninconsistent as still to believe, that these earthly pursuits contain\nsome hidden charm which he flatters himself he shall find even though\nall before him have failed. Here is the delusion, kind reader, of\nwhich you are cautioned to beware. There is no happiness but in the\npath where the hand of mercy has sown it--no happiness but in the\nobjects where God has placed it. It is no where to be found but in the\nenjoyment of the religion of Christ. This will sweeten every earthly\npursuit, make every burden light, afford solid enjoyment in life and\ndivine consolation in the hour of death. Flatter not yourself that\nthere is any happiness beneath the sun aside from this. \"There is no\npeace saith my God to the wicked,\" and, he who says there is,\ncontradicts Jehovah, and is yet \"in the gall of bitterness and in the\nbond of iniquity.\" A speculative faith is of but little consequence,\nso long as it does not influence our life and conversation for the\nbetter. We must believe to the saving of the soul from the evil of the\nworld. \"Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thy\nrighteousness shall go before thee, and the glory of the Lord shall be\nthy reward.\"\n\nSERMON XII\n\n\"A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving\nfavor rather than silver and gold.\" Prov. xxii:1.\n\nA good name involves all that can render man exalted and amiable, or\nlife desirable. The good opinion of mankind has, in all ages, been\nconsidered as a blessing of the first magnitude, and has, in various\nways, been sought for by all. There is no man so dishonest, but what\nlabors to impress upon others the conviction of his honesty; no man so\ndeceptive, but what wishes to be considered sincere; nor cowardly, but\ndesires to be reputed brave; and no man is so abandonedly vicious, but\nwhat desires to be considered virtuous by his fellow creatures. All\nchoose a good name in preference to a bad one. This being a fact the\nappearance of virtue is kept up where the reality is wanting, and the\nshadow is often mistaken for the substance.\n\nThere are many, that are, at heart, insincere and false, who pass in\nsociety generally for persons of sincerity, candor and virtue, while\ntheir real principles are known only in their own families and among\ntheir confidential friends. They desire a good name and outwardly\nmaintain it, while they in reality but little deserve it. In order to\nknow what a man really is, we must be acquainted, not only with his\npublic, but his private character. In his own family, every man\nappears what he really is. There the heart, word and action art in\nunison. They embrace each other. In public, they too often separate;\nand the word, or action, speaks what its divorced companion, the heart\ndoes not feel.\n\nSuch not only literally choose, but often bear a good name. But this\nis not the choice suggested by the text. All men, even the most\nvicious, in some sense or other, choose a good name. But the passage\nunder consideration has a higher, a nobler aim, than a mere choice\nunconnected with virtuous principle and action. It has a higher aim,\nthan to encourage men to be rotten at heart, and by an outward,\nhypocritical maneuver, maintain a good name among their fellow\ncreatures. By the text, we are to understand, that a man should early\ncultivate, in his heart, a virtuous principle, as the pure source from\nwhich all those outward actions spring that justly merit the esteem of\nmankind, force approbation even from the vicious, and thus entitle him\nto that good name which is far above all price. This will not only\nafford its possessor unbroken peace arising from the inward\nconsolations and joys of virtuous sincerity, but it will also open to\nhim another rich fountain of felicity, arising from the consideration,\nthat he enjoys the confidence and esteem of the great and the good,\nwith whom he is conversant in life, of his intimate friends, of his\ncompanion and children, and above all the smiles of kind heaven and\nthe approbation of his God. His life is calm; his sleep is sweet and\nassociated with golden dreams. No fearful spectres haunt his brain,\nbut the kind angel of mercy is ever at his side. He looks forward to\ndeath undismayed, yes, with satisfaction and composure looks beyond\nthat dark scene, to brighter worlds and more substantial joys. He\nfeels the assurance, that even when he shall be here no more, his name\nshall live in the hearts of those he left behind, be embalmed in the\nmemory of the just, and that it is beyond the power of rolling ages to\nsully it. This is what we understand by choosing a good name as stated\nin our text.\n\nOf the truth of this, there can arise no misapprehension when we\ncompare it with the subsequent phrase with which it is contrasted--\"a\ngood name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favor\nthan silver and gold.\" By the choosing of riches, we are to\nunderstand, not only a desire to obtain them, but that this desire\nshall be sufficiently strong to prompt us to use all the honorable and\nefficient means in our power to accumulate them. The wise man did not\nmean that every man had the offer of a fortune, and could possess\nhimself of it by simply making choice of it independent of means. No--\nhis choice must be manifested by industry and economy. The means must\nbe used to secure the end. Just so in acquiring a good name. The\nperson desirous of obtaining it, must pursue that upright and virtuous\ncourse of conduct, which alone could insure it. And just as well might\na man expect riches by being indolent and extravagant, as to expect a\ngood name by indulging in every species of vice. We are therefore to\nunderstand our text thus--A good name, through pursuing a virtuous\ncourse of conduct, is rather to be chosen than great riches, through\nthe plans and means by which they are obtained.\n\nMan is a being of many wants, and to supply them he is too much\ninclined to forsake the path of virtue and resort to dishonorable\nmeans to obtain wealth.\n\nIn view of this master-passion for earthly splendor and greatness,\nSolomon uttered the words of our text to recall the giddy mind from\nits chase of shadows, sad turn it to the only source of unmingled\nfelicity in the pursuit of virtue. This would afford the mind those\nrational delights that wealth, with all its dazzling splendors, cannot\nimpart. It does not possess the charm to convey unbroken peace to the\nheart.\n\nBut there is a strong inducement to engage in a virtuous course,\nbecause it is the surest road to wealth and honor. The thief and\nrobber were never rich, nor nor could they be happy if they were. An\nexcellent writer, observes--the importance of a good character in the\ncommerce of life, seems to be universally acknowledged. To those who\nare to make their own way either to wealth or honors, a good character\nis as necessary as address and ability. Though human nature is often\ndegenerate, and corrupts itself by many inventions, yet it usually\nretains to the last an esteem for excellence. But even if we arrive at\nsuch an extreme degree of depravity as to have lost our native\nreverence for virtue, yet a regard to our own interest and safety will\nlead us to apply for aid, in all important transactions, to men whose\nintegrity is unimpeached. When we choose an assistant or a partner,\nour first inquiry is concerning his character. When we have occasion\nfor a counsellor, an attorney, or a physician, whatever we may be\nourselves, we always choose to trust our property and lives to men of\nthe best character. When we fix on the tradesman, who is to supply us\nwith necessaries, we are we are influenced by fair reputation and\nhonorable dealing. Young men, therefore, whose characters are yet\nunfixed, and who consequently may render them just such as they wish,\nought to pay great attention to the first steps they take on entrance\ninto life. They are usually careless and inattentive to this object.\nThey pursue their own plans with ardor, and neglect the opinions which\nothers entertain of them. By some thoughtless action or expression,\nthey suffer a mark to be impressed upon them, which no subsequent\nmerit can entirely erase. Every man will find some persons who, though\nthey are not professed enemies, yet view him with an eye of envy, and\nwho would gladly revive any tale to which truth has given the\nslightest foundation.\n\nThough a good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and is\nthe surest road to wealth, yet there are thousands, who pay but little\nattention to possess themselves of so valuable a treasure. They turn a\ndeaf ear to that hallowed voice, which pleads with them in behalf of\ntheir dearest interest, and take the downward road to dissipation and\nvice, and, by their wretched example, lead other thousands to the dark\nabodes of sorrow, grief and pain. Enchanted by the siren voice of\nfalse and fleeting pleasure, they hurry to the tremendous precipice,\nwhere reputation and fortune lie in broken ruins. There they drag out\na wretched existence in disappointed hope, satiety and disgust. They\npay their devotions at the shrine of ignominy, where the dark and\nstagnant waters of guilt and condemnation roll. There the sweet voice\nof heaven-born peace was never heard, and the beauteous feet of\nreligion never trod. There dwells the family of pain--there is the\nhell we are cautioned to avoid. This is not an illusion of fancy--it\nis no reverie of the brain, but a reality too visible in the pathway\nof human life.\n\nThousands, in this condition, are hurrying to a premature grave, and\ngo down to that dark abode covered with infamy, having robbed\nthemselves of all the substantial joys, that a virtuous conduct, and a\ngood unsullied name are calculated to awaken in the heart. Dissipation\ndarkens the brightest prospects of life. It rolls its floods of misery\nindiscriminately over the dearest earthly hopes of companions,\nchildren and friends, and paralyzes every pulse of joy that beats in\nthe human bosom. Many a child has been spurned from the presence of\nits brutal father, and been beaten for asking bread to satisfy its\nhunger. Intemperance stupefies man to the moral impressions of the\ngospel, and hardens the heart with the touch of its benumbing powers.\nIt is the giant of human wo that slays his thousands and prostrates\nthe happiness of man. This champion of human war draws his sword of\nvengeance against the balmy repose of public and private life, and his\nfatal touch withers the brightest flowers of domestic hope and joy,\nand mingles the poisonous bowl with the bitter drugs of misery. His\ngovernment is absolute monarchy, and his subjects the most\ncontemptible slaves. When he lays upon them his cursed hand, they reel\nto the ground. When he strikes the stunning blow, they drop insensibly\nto the earth. The oppressions and scourges of the most wretched slave\nare enviable in comparison with those severe wounds inflicted by this\nmerciless tyrant, this infernal scourge of the human race.\nIntemperance is a monster that may well be personified. He frolicks\nthrough the blood, preys upon the vitals, ploughs up the brain,\ndethrones reason and laughs at the feeble resistance of the best\nconstitution, and finally bears down all opposition before him. Like\nthe devouring flame, he presses on with irresistible force, urging his\ndeadly siege, till he consumes all that is fair and lovely in the eye\nof virtue. His present gifts are poverty misery and distress, and his\ncapital prize, a premature grave.\n\nThis champion is ravaging our beloved country, and seducing her sons\nof freedom to the disgraceful ranks of slavery and oppression.\nIntemperance is that tyrant that has under his control many formidable\nevils that infest the world. His boasted labor is to hurry on\nthousands of victims to the commission of crime, and bring down upon\nthem the many misfortunes that attend man in this mutable world.\nIntemperance involves public broils, tumults and disturbances, and\ndomestic discord, misery and strife.\n\nWe trust the number among our readers is small, who are so regardless\nof a good name as to have abandoned themselves to the intoxicating\nbowl, or who have sundered all the ties of moral obligation,\ndetermined to tread the downward path of vice to a disgraceful tomb.\nWe hope they have a higher regard to the invaluable worth of a good\nname; and we pray that they may venerate its price far above the\nmomentary glitter of silver and gold. That shall live, when wealth\nshall have lost its lustre, and flourish immortal, when gold shall\nhave corroded to dust.\n\nBlasphemy is another unreasonable vice against which the public\nspeaker or writer should raise his voice. And let no one flatter\nhimself because we believe in the universal and unbounded goodness of\nGod, that a man may go on as he please. So long as a Being of infinite\nwisdom is enthroned in the heavens and governs the universe, so long\nhe can never fail to measure out to every offence its adequate\npunishment, and has all the means at his disposal to bring it\nunavoidably upon the head of every transgressor. He, who flatters\nhimself that he can sin with impunity, is ignorant of the government\nof his God, and has never reflected upon human life in all its varied\nlights and shades. Do you profess to be a Universalist, and yet treat\nwith irreverence the name of HIM who made you, and whom you\nacknowledge to be a faithful Creator--an indulgent Father? Your\nprofessions are nothing. \"He that hath this hope in him purifieth\nhimself even as he is pure.\" That very breath by which he inflates the\nlungs, can you breathe it back in blasphemies against his holy name,\nwhich angels never pronounce but with veneration and awe? Choose, O\nchoose a good name, which can only be obtained by choosing a virtuous\ncourse of conduct. However lightly you may treat your own station in\nlife, or however much you may disregard the dignity of your nature,\nyet remember the station you hold, however obscure, is stamped with\nresponsibility. You are surrounded by a generation of youth, among\nwhom are your own children, ready to imitate your example. Do you wish\nthem well! Then guard your heart and life by setting a reasonable\nvalue on a good name, and remember you cannot move without touching\nsome string that may vibrate long after your head rests on its cold\npillow of earth.\n\nSERMON XIII\n\n\"A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving\nfavor rather than silver and gold.\" Prov. xxii:1.\n\nIn this discourse we shall more fully show why \"a good name is rather\nto be chosen than great riches.\"\n\nThough wealth is desirable, and in many instances conducive to human\nhappiness, because it puts it in our power to relieve the wants and\ndistresses of our fellow creatures, yet it does not possess the charm\nto convey unbroken peace or solid joy to any bosom. The value, of\nanything within the range of human action, is to be estimated by its\nusefulness in promoting the happiness of man. That, which pours the\nmost numerous and refined enjoyments into the soul, is to be\nconsidered of the greatest worth; and that, which has a tendency to\nbring upon us the most alarming miseries, misfortunes and woes, is of\ncourse the most worthless. The one is to be fondly chosen and pursued\nin proportion to its worth in administering to our enjoyments, and the\nother is to be avoided in proportion to its unhappy effects in\nmultiplying our sorrows. This being an undeniable fact, the\nsuperlative value of a good name, procured by a virtuous course of\nconduct, appears, at once, to transcend all other considerations: A\npure unsullied conscience before heaven is the most permanent bliss\nthat a rational being can enjoy, and is of that enduring nature which\nno earthly power or misfortune can destroy. It supports us in the hour\nof adversity and trial; it comforts us in the dark hour of sorrow; it\nremains unmoved amids the storms of life, and lights up the smile of\nsatisfaction on the lips of the dying.\n\nNor is this all. It affords us other unruffled streams of unmingled\nfelicity in the common intercourse of life. The approbation of the\nwise and the good, the confidence and esteem of our friends and\nassociates, and the good opinion even of the vicious, are\nconsiderations of no ordinary moment. They awaken emotions in the\nheart of the most pleasing gratification, and open in the soul all the\navenues of heaven-born felicity, imparting that peace, which this\nworld can neither give nor take away. But as it respects _wealth_, we\nwould remark, that though it may communicate happiness by enabling us\nto relieve the wants of our fellow creatures, and afford us many joys\nin the indulgence of our benevolence, yet it cannot of itself\ncommunicate happiness, but virtue can. A wicked and unprincipled man\nis wretched, though he roll in all the wealth and splendors that earth\ncan give. He feels in his bosom a _burning flame_, that all the\nstreams of wealth can never quench, and a _craving desire_, that\nnought on earth can gratify. If his \"great riches\" afford him any\nenjoyments, yet these are by no means permanent and lasting. The\ndesolating flame may lay them in ruins--the storms on the ocean may\nsink them in its waves--the famine or blighting mildew may wither them\nforever, and leave him stript of all his fancied joys. But nothing of\nthis can happen to virtue. That remains forever unharmed amidst the\nshocks of earth. A good name is, therefore, of inconceivably more\nvalue than riches and rather to be chosen than silver and gold.\n\nWe are formed for society. God in beginning said, \"it is not good that\nman should be alone.\" This being a fact, which all past experience,\nand the history of our whole race demonstrate, it is, therefore,\nequally true, that our dearest enjoyments flow from the social\naffections and from a sincere cultivation of the social intercourse of\nlife. There is, perhaps, not a human being in existence, who would\naccept of all the wealth of the Indies on the condition that he should\nnot be respected by a single individual on earth. This circumstance\nshows us, in noonday light, the superior value of a good name above\nall the glittering appendages of wealth. Every man is beloved and\nesteemed in proportion to his goodness and usefulness in the world,\nparticularly by those with whom he associate in life. If then to _love\nand be beloved_ depend on our conduct in the world, and if at the same\ntime, our happiness is derived from the exercise of reciprocal\naffection, we see the importance of pitching upon that course of life,\nwhich alone can secure those solid pleasures resulting from a well\nspent life.\n\nToo many persons suppose, they can be happy in sin; yes, even in\ncriminal indulgence. But that transgressor was never yet found, who\ncould point to a single wicked act in his life, the remembrance of\nwhich ever imparted one solitary gleam of joy to his heart. They may\nfancy there is happiness in sin; but here is the deception. It is\nimmaterial what some may preach about _the pleasures of sin_, and _the\nsatisfaction the transgressor often takes in a wicked course_, yet all\nthis amounts to nothing so long as the voice of heaven declares,\n\"THERE IS NO PEACE, SAITH MY GOD, TO THE WICKED.\" Infinite wisdom\n_must know_, and infinite wisdom, _has given_ the decision, and that\ndecision is stamped with immortality, and from it there is no appeal.\nIf we impress the sinner with the idea that he is not punished and\nrewarded _here_, but that the whole is to be settled in the future\nworld, then we, in the same proportion, weaken the force of virtue and\n_strengthen_ the cause of vice. And this is one obvious reason, why\nmen continue in sin, as long as they dare, expecting at some future\nday to repent and escape _all punishment_. They go on from day to day,\nand from year to year, with all the thunders of endless and immortal\npain sounded in their ears, and even believing it true, yet continue\nto indulge in sin. Would they run such an awful risk, unless, by a\ncertain course of education, they had been made to believe that there\nwas happiness in transgression? No. If they believed that sin had\nnought to impart but misery, they would abandon it for its _own sake_;\nbecause happiness is the object of all men. They have, therefore, by\nsome means or other, been led to the strange infatuation, that sin\npossesses some secret charm to communicate that happiness to the soul,\nfor which every bosom throbs. This fancied happiness, they vainly\nimagine, they can obtain by wallowing in the dark waters of iniquity,\nbe happy _here_, then repent at last, and be happy _hereafter_. As\nthey pass along in their wretched career, expecting every moment to\ngrasp the fancied pleasure, yet the fond, anticipated phantom flies\nfrom their embrace and leaves them in the ruin of their joy. Though\ndisappointed again and again, yet firmly believing that there is\nhappiness in sin, they again push on, and thus far attribute their\nwant of success to some miscalculation. Insensible of the nature of\nsin, blinded and self-deceived, they go on in pursuit of pleasure,\nwhile golden dreams of false felicity fire their imaginations, till at\nlast, age places them on the verge of the grave; their object no\nnearer attained than it was the day they set out, while habit has\nfixed them in a course, that has yielded them nothing but sorrow and\npain, and vanity and vexation of spirit. Stung with remorse, and\npierced through with many sorrows, they breathe a repentance, which,\nthe nature of their condition, forces upon them, are perhaps\npronounced _converted_, and they sink into the darkness of death!\nTheir names, covered with infamy, are soon blotted from the\nremembrance of the living!\n\nWe observed, a moment ago, that the idea, of holding up a retribution\nin the future world, weakens the force of virtue, and strengthens the\ncause of vice. This has, perhaps, been abundantly shown in the\narguments already offered as being manifest in the daily conduct of\nmen; yet we will, in a word, bring the subject plainly before you. To\npersuade a sinner that he is to be punished in the _future_ world for\nhis sins in _this_, is plainly saying that sin has many pleasures and\nconveniences _here_, and so far as it failed of rendering him his due\ndesert, the balance is to be made up in another state of being.\nBecause the balance of punishment due him _there_, is to make up the\n_deficiency_ of punishment, which sin did not pay him here. And\ncertainly, so far as sin did not pay him _here_, he must have been\nhappy in its commission. And the _expectation_, that he should be\nhappy in it _here_, was the _very cause_ that induced him to continue\nin transgression, with the expectation of repenting and escaping\npunishment _hereafter_. Thus he flattered himself, that he could sin\nwith impunity, and escape its punishment in this world and the world\nto come.\n\nAnd to satisfy a man that he is to be rewarded in the _future_ world\nfor his righteousness in _this_ but persuading him, that virtue is\nattended with misery, and that so far as it failed to reward _here_,\nthe balance is to be made up _hereafter_. Because the balance of\nhappiness due to him _there_, is to make up the deficiency of\nhappiness which virtue did not pay him _here_. And so far as virtue\ndid not pay him here, must have been miserable in its practice. And\nthe impression that sin is productive of many enjoyments, and that\nrighteousness is attended with misery, has a tendency to make him\nchoose the _former_ and reject the _latter_, and trust to a future\nrepentance.\n\nWe often hear it proclaimed by those, who profess to be the guardians\nof the public morals, that the righteous have a hard course in warring\nagainst the corruptions of their heart, in the service of God, while\nthe sinner goes on unconcerned and easy in the pleasures of sin. In\ndoing this they defeat the very object, they are striving to obtain,\nwhich is the _conversion_ of the sinner. These very impressions are\none obvious reason why so many continue in sin and reject the path of\nrighteousness and peace, which alone conducts to a good name, that is\nof more worth than great riches, and more durable than silver and\ngold.\n\nAs then there is no happiness in vice, as all its allurements are\ndeceptive and vain, how important that we should shun it, and pursue\nthat bright path of virtue and peace, which will lead to the\ninvaluable possession of a good name. Engaging in the cultivation of\nall the better affections of the heart, we shall by habit so refine\nour natures, that \"loving favor\" will take entire possession of our\nminds, and mould them into the spotless image of heaven. _This_ loving\nfavor is rather to be chosen than silver and gold, for these will\ncorrupt, and at last crumble into dust, while _this_ shall survive the\nruins of death, and flourish in those peaceful realms, where our\nfelicity will be unbroken and perpetual.\n\nFlatter not yourselves with the vain hope, that there is one solitary\nthrill of joy in the indulgence of sin. He, who indulges in\ndissipation and vice--he, who slanders his neighbor, who wrongs his\nfellow men, or even utters one oath against the unsullied name of his\nMaker, is a most profound unbeliever in the sentiment we proclaim. He,\nwho possesses a hope so full of immortality as to believe, that God\nwill finally save from sin, and bless him and all his fellow men, will\ncleanse his hands and wash them in innocency. Tell me not that you are\na Universalist, when the very oceans of God's goodness do not affect\nyour heart, nor lead you to repentance. He, who is satisfied that\nthere is no happiness in sin, will abandon it. He, who deliberately\npursues a vicious course, expects to find happiness in it; and it is\nimpossible that he believes in God's _universal grace_. It is\nabsolutely impossible in the very nature of things, that he can be a\nUNIVERSALIST. A salvation from sin is the doctrine of the Bible, and\nholiness itself heaven. He, who believes such a salvation to be\nhappifying, will abandon sin, as the enemy of his peace, and seek\nrighteousness, which alone can afford him tranquillity. Jesus says,\nthe kingdom of heaven is righteousness and peace. If you wish to\nsatisfy men that you _really_ desire the whole human family to meet in\nheaven, then show your sincerity by being righteous yourself.\n\nA sincere Universalist believes sin to be the cause of many mental\nwoes that darken the world, and the principal cause of the greater\nproportion of sufferings that fall to the lot of man. He believes that\na virtuous course of conduct, guided by the burning lamp of\nrevelation, leads to those joys that time cannot sully, nor the hand\nof death extinguish. A conviction of this truth leads him to hate sin,\nto forsake its dark dominions, and enter those fields of felicity,\nwhere the brilliant beams of virtue shed a cloudless day. Here he\nwalks and enjoys an antepast of heaven. Its paths are the paths of\npeace. All its ways are pleasantness and delight. Its crystal streams\nare pure and sweet; its breezes healthful and its fruits delicious. He\nbelieves God to be the father of his creatures--that he governs the\nworld in wisdom and mercy--that he created with a benevolent\nintention, and that he is not disappointed in the workmanship of his\nhand, but presides over just such a world as he designed it should be.\nHe believes that this order of things, though dark to him, is designed\nfor good, and shall terminate in the happiness of all. He believes\nthat all rewards and punishments are instituted for some benevolent\nend, and that this end, will be brought about in such a manner as to\nmanifest to all, the divine perfections in the clearest light, and\nshed unfading glory on the supreme Majesty of heaven. This faith gives\nhim confidence in his heavenly Father, and fills his heart with\ngratitude and veneration. It leads him to look upon the human family\nas his brethren, and to do them good. He seeks their happiness, and\nthus chooses and merits a good name.\n\nAt peace with all mankind, his mind irradiated with light and enlarged\nwith the most noble conceptions of the divine character and\ngovernment, bout, he at length lies down in peace and composure upon\nhis dying bed, and gently breathes out--\n\n\"Farewell conflicting joys and fears,\nWhere light and shade alternatedwell;\nA brighter, purer scene appears,\nFarewell inconstant world, farewell!\"\n\nHe sweetly sinks to rest, and leaves behind him a good name, that can\nnever die, and an example, for others to imitate, worth more than\nfortunes in gold. His memory shall survive, when the tomb, on which it\nis inscribed, shall crumble into ruin, and his example be a light to\nfuture generations.\n\nSERMON XIV\n\n\"Be of the same mind one towards another. Mind not high things, but\ncondescend to men of low estate.\" Romans xii. 16.\n\nThat mysterious and incomprehensible Being, who gave us existence, has\nsown in our nature the seeds of mortality. By the irresistible _laws_\nof his empire which he has, from the beginning, _established_ for the\nregulating of the animal creation, we are soon to be carried to the\nsilent grave. All, without exception, are formed out of equal clay,\nare subject to the same hopes and fears, joys and sorrows while on\nearth, and are all destined to the slumbers of death, where we must\nexhibit the emblem of perfect equality. Immaterial how far one may\nexalt himself above another while passing through this momentary\nexistence--immaterial how far he may rise above his fellow men in the\nscale of intellect and refinement--immaterial how exalted the station\nhe may have obtained--how brilliant the powers of his imagination may\nsparkle, or how soft and sublime his eloquence may flow--immaterial\nhow nobly soever he may dazzle in the sunny smiles of fortune, or how\nsecure he may repose in the fond embrace of friends, yet it is a\nmelancholy truth, that he must, sooner or later, resign the whole, let\ngo his eager grasp on all those pleasing joys, bid an everlasting\nfarewell to those exalted splendors, and descend to the dark shades of\ndeath, where the rich and the poor, the servant and his master, the\noppressor and oppressed, all lie mouldering and forgotten together.\n\nThis solemn consideration, it seems, when forcibly presented to the\nmind, ought to be sufficient to check the levity of man--to soften his\nbosom to his fellow beings--to moderate his desire in pursuit of\nwealth and greatness, and completely to unarm him of all hostile\nfeelings towards those with whom he associates, and with whom he is so\nsoon to lie down in death. This, it seems, is sufficient to make us of\none heart and mind in promoting each other's happiness and welfare in\nthe world, and to make us obedient to the exhortation of the text, not\nto mind the high things of earth, but to condescend to men of low\nestate. But such is the strange infatuation of man, that he acts as\nthough his residence on earth were eternal, and as though the whole\nerrand of life consisted in providing for an eternity below.\n\nWe are capacitated for enjoyments of a higher and more perfect nature\nthan we can attain to on earth. Of this we are sensible from the fact,\nthat there is no condition in which we can be placed here below, that\nis so adapted to our nature as to afford us permanent satisfaction.\nUninterrupted felicity is not a plant of earth. It cannot flourish in\na clime where the blighting storms of malice and envy wither all that\nis fair, sweet and blooming. And though we are sensible that such is\nthe fact, yet, deaf to all that experience, example and observation\nconspire to teach, we are exerting all our powers to obtain it here\nbelow, where the united voice of earth and heaven assure us it cannot\nbe found. We cast our eyes around us, and see the human family in\nevery varied condition of life from the beggar on his bed of straw, up\nto the king in regal splendor on the throne of nations; but in\ndefiance of this immense distinction, they alike breathe the deep sigh\nof discontent. We also cast our eyes over the historic page, and scan\nthe general fate of man in by-gone ages; but here too, we learn the\nsame lesson, that no _external condition_ has ever added to the\nrational enjoyments of the soul. We see the same uneasiness, the same\nlonging desires pervade every bosom. Our object is happiness; and\namidst all the various pursuits of life, what is the reason so many\nfail of obtaining it? The answer is readily given. We make riches,\nhonors and the high things of the earth our chief pursuit and aim, and\nfondly imagine that our happiness lies in them. Here is our error. Man\nis destined to a world of mental felicity, where those external\npursuits of fortune will be unknown; where all that he here pursues\nwith so much eagerness will be removed from his desires forever, and\nwhere all the channels of the soul will be opened to the true fountain\nof felicity and completely ravished in its flowing streams. In order,\ntherefore, to enjoy that happiness, in this momentary state of being,\nwhich God has placed within our reach, we must make mental felcity the\nmain pursuit of life, and the riches and conveniences of earth our\nsecondary pursuit. We must completely reverse our conduct in order to\nobtain those rational enjoyments, that flow from the virtuous habits\nand dispositions. We must, as Jesus says, \"seek first the kingdom of\nGod and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto\nyou.\"\n\nFood and raiment are all that we can enjoy of the external comforts of\nlife. All other enjoyments must be of a mental character. Secure first\nyour mental joys, a pure unsullied conscience in the punctual\ndischarge of all your social and relative duties to mankind, and be\nyou rich or poor, you will be happy. The righteous discharge of this\nfirst great duty will not embarrass you in obtaining the comforts of\nlife, but on the contrary aid you. A peaceable and honest course of\nconduct towards others--a condescension to men of low estate--a due\nrespect for the opinions and rights of others, will endear you to all,\nand not only foster in your bosom the seeds of peace and contentment,\nbut will conduct you in the surest path to wealth and honor. The\nmental powers of the soul are all that exalt our capacity for\nhappiness above a brutal creation. And if our chief happiness lies in\ngold, which can only minister to our animal wants, then the brutes can\nvie with us in all the solid enjoyments of life. In fact, they can go\nbeyond us. They graze the turf, and drink the unmingled stream free\nfrom anxiety and care. While man, the lord of this lower creation, has\nto toil and gain the same enjoyments by the sweat of his brow.\n\nBut what a groveling thought to bring our exalted natures and\ncapacities for happiness down to a level with theirs! On this\nprinciple, he who is the most wealthy is the most happy. Virtue is but\na name, and all the exalted principles of noble and godlike action are\nbut the reveries of fancy, and to practice them is but a visionary\ndream. No, my friends, wealth supplies our animal wants, and if virtue\nbe wanting, it leaves our minds in wretched starvation and our\nbrightest joys in night! Happiness is equally attainable by the rich\nand the poor. It consists in a union of heart among mankind, in a\nunion of action in the pursuit of virtue, and in the kindlier feelings\nof our nature. In fine, it consists in a willing obedience to the\nexhortations of our text: \"Be of the same mind one towards another.\nMind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate.\"\n\nTo each of these exhortations, we will give a candid and solemn\nconsideration. In this sermon, we will attend to the exhortation--\"_Be\nof the same mind one towards another_.\" By this, we are not to\nunderstand that men are to be of one heart and mind in pursuing the\nsame occupation or profession in life, but of one mind in endeavoring\nto promote each other's happiness in every condition in which they may\nbe placed--of one mind in the practice of christian duty, and in the\nexercise of charity. Selfishness produces many jarring interests among\nmankind, bursts the bands of brotherhood asunder, and weakens the\nstrength of that nation, society or family among which it exists, and\nin proportion to the opposition it produces among its individual\nmembers. \"United, we stand, divided we fall,\" is a maxim full of\nwisdom, and is not only applicable to nations, but to communities,\nsocieties, and even to families.\n\nA family in discord is a sight over which angels might weep, but when\nunited in one heart and mind, it is a picture over which heaven\nsmiles. The fond and doating father, the tender and affectionate\nmother, and obedient children, all united in peace and harmony,\npresent to the mind those pleasing conceptions of the reconciled\nfamily immortal, that cause us to feel all the burning emotions of\nwhich the heart is susceptible. In such society as this, are enjoyed\nthe happiest moments of our existence--moments unmingled with the\nbitterness of regret, unsullied by the corroding hand of time,\nunruffled by the perplexing cares of life, and undarkened by the\ntempests of indisposition. Is such a father absent--far distant on\nland or ocean where duty calls? The heart of his family goes with him,\nand he too leaves his heart lingering behind. His companion counts the\nmoments as they slowly roll--is faithful to his interests--makes\npreparation to receive him--sighs for his safe return, and welcomes\nhim home with those emotions of ecstatic joy, that cause him to forget\nhis past labors, toils and dangers. Is he stretched upon a bed of\npain? Unwearied she sits beside him, hushes every sound that might\ninterrupt his broken slumbers, and watches every breath he draws. She\nwhispers to him the soothing words of encouragement and consolation--\ngives neither sleep to her eyes, nor slumber to her eyelids, but is\nthe guardian angel of his pillow.\n\nWhen all human aid has failed--when the pulse beats faint--the once\nsparkling eye grows dim and rolls faint and languid in its socket, she\nstands mute and pensive at his dying bed. Her whole soul is absorbed\nin the interest of the scene and rent with agony. She wipes the cold\nsweat of death from his face, gazes with exquisite anxiety till the\nlast dreadlful struggle is over, and breathes to the throne of mercy\nthe prayer of affection for the repose of his spirit. And so feels the\nkind husband over his companion, indulgent parents over their dying\nchildren, and dutiful children over their parents.\n\nBut it is a lamentable circumstance, a painful consideration, that\nthere are too many unhappy divisions in the domestic circle. Yes, it\nis a painful consideration indeed, that those, who are so nearly\nallied to each other, should, even for one moment, indulge in feelings\nof acrimony. It is but a short time, at longest, that we can be\ntogether, and such unhappy divisions must render the parting scene, at\nthe bed of death, doubly painful. Thoughtless, giddy or oppressive as\nwe may be to those, who are near to us in life, while blooming health\nis their lot, yet righteous heaven has so constituted our natures,\nthat the most painful reminiscences will force themselves upon the\nmind when the injured object, to whom we have given distress, is upon\na dying bed. Every unkind word, every harsh treatment, the whole dark\npicture our ungenerous conduct will present itself to the imagination\nin all its naked woes. And be that dying one a parent, a companion, a\nchild, their very silence, as thy turn upon us a languid eye fading in\ndeath, will harrow up every painful recollection. O! if we wish to\ntread upon their graves with an unsullied conscience before heaven,\nlet us be of one mind, live in peace, and discharge, to them, those\nsacred duties of kindness and affection, which the ties, that bind\nthem to us, enjoin.\n\nThis world is too much made up of appearances. Many a family, which we\nsuppose to be the abode of union, peace and joy, is distracted with\nthe voice of discord, and is dragging out an existence in secret,\nconcealed grief. Many a husband and wife, who, we suppose, are of one\nheart and mind and passing their days in the sunshine of peace and\nlove, are torn by secret broils, and whose mansion stands overcast\nwith the dark shadows of discontent and misery. Little do we dream of\nthe secret woes, that rend many a worthy heart concealed behind a\nsmiling countenance. The husband is perhaps stern and unrelenting--and\nwill, in no case, yield to the wishes of his companion. Discouragement\nand anger may perhaps at times take possession of the heart. In such a\ncase, instead of treating her kindly, he rouses into a passion\nhimself, and a private contention ensues. This is a wretched practice,\nfor instead of extinguishing the flame, it adds fuel to the fire, and\nconsumes all that is fair and lovely in matrimonial and domestic life.\nMuch misery might be avoided by observing the following rule. When the\none is melancholy, let the other be rationally cheerful, and endeavor\nto divert the attention from the subject that causes gloom. When the\none is angry, let the other keep a perfect equanimity and a benign\ncomposure of countenance. Then watch the opportunity, and in some\nfuture day, when the offended one is most cheerful and kind, then\nbring forward the subject, and expostulate most feelingly on the\nimpropriety of indulging a wrathful spirit to a bosom friend. Speak of\nthe shortness of life and point each other to the silent grave and to\nthe parting scene, and vengeance, anger and discontent will soon be\nstrangers in your habitation. Your dear children, from the very\ndawnings of intellect, will take the example, grow up in harmony and\naffection with perfect rule over their spirit, and thus you will not\nonly secure your own domestic peace, but will bequeath those sacred\nenjoyments to your posterity--enjoyments that infinitely outweigh a\nthousand fortunes in gold! Let others toil to leave their offspring\nwealth, we ours the joy to bequeath them this. We ask no more.\n\nWe are not only to be of the same mind one towards another in our\nfamilies but in our religious societies. Here all selfishness ought to\nbe discarded, all private interests sacrificed, all hostile feelings\nsubdued, and the whole offered on the altar of genuine good, and thus\nthe harmony, peace and prosperity of the whole body consulted. The\npermanent security of these depend on the individual conduct of the\nmembers. By uniting ourselves in a religious body, we express the\nnecessity of living a sober life, maintaining a union of heart and a\nrespectful conversation towards all with whom we associate in life.\nLet us not dream that heaven will prosper us above others, if we also\nblaspheme the name of Him who gave us life and sustains us in being.\nLet us lay aside every evil, that has a tendency to disunion, and live\nsoberly and righteously in the world, doing good unto all as we have\nopportunity.\n\n[The reader will find this subject continued in our next number.]\n\nSERMON XV\n\n\"Be of the same mind one towards another. Mind not high things, but\ncondescend to men of low estate.\" Romans xii. 16.\n\nHaving from the commencement of these sermons confined myself to\nprescribed limits, I had no room in my last to pursue the first\ndivision of my subject so far as I intended. I will therefore here\nresume it.\n\n\"_Be of the same mind, one towards another_.\" We have thus far\nconfined our attention to family union, and have just glanced at the\nnecessity of union in religious societies. This is a day of inquiry\nand light when the most keen and searching glances are sent into every\ncreed. Many denominations that have walked together heart and hand for\nmany years, each repelling the assaults of those, who attempted to\nextinguish their ism, have at length been separated by internal\ndivisions and formed two opposing parties, even though they once\nbelieved the _same creed_, and advocated the _same church government_.\nThe present is a trying period, and it stands us in hand to endeavor\nto \"keep the unity of the spirit in the bonds of peace.\" Let us not\ndream of religious union, and prosperity, unless we allow each one to\nthink for himself in matters of scripture interpretation. Nor let us\ndream of prosperity, if there is among us more theory than practice.\nIt is true, Universalists are as moral as any other denomination; but\nthis is not enough. They ought in _kindness and benevolence_ to\ntranscend other denominations as far, as their doctrine of universal\nbeniguity transcends the doctrine of unending wo.\n\nNeither are we to dream of religious union and prosperity, unless we\nraise our united voices against those who revel over the flowing cup\nof intoxication, which pours so many streams of misery and disunion on\nthe world. Let no one fancy to himself that the drunkards toast,\n\"_here is health and success to us_!\" has any charm to avert his ruin,\nor to stay the judgment of heaven. The more frequently that toast has\nbeen uttered, while smiling upon the cup of inebriation held in a\ntrembling hand, the farther have health and success been removed from\nthe deluded victim, and the more swift and deadly have misfortune,\nsickness, distress and pain fallen upon him. Intemperance is a demon,\nthat sows the seeds of discord among all ranks, orders and conditions\nof men. Beneath his crushing hand creation reels, and fortunes fall in\nbroken ruins! And peace the sweet angel of mercy flies these turbulent\nskies, and lights on realms unmoved by the hand of commotion and\ndiscord. At his approach, blooming health is driven back from its warm\nabode and the fairest flowers of domestic love, hope and joy are\nwithered forever! Let this frightful foe of discord and confusion be\nbarred from our sacred heritage and peace be within our borders.\n\nWe are not only to be of one heart and one mind in resisting profanity\nand intemperance, but in resisting tale-bearing. Let us not speak evil\nof others. This is beneath the character of a gentleman, and certainly\nbeneath that of a christian: consequently no gentleman or christian\nwill indulge in it. It is the employment of _low, ill-bred minds_, and\ntherefore none will engage in it, but those who are destitute of\nreputation themselves. This vice has no excuse, and must therefore\noriginate in the _basest_ motives. They intend to bring their fellow\ncreatures down to a level with themselves, and thus lessen them in the\ngood opinion of others, and destroy their peace. And though they may\neffect their object so far as the good opinion of the virtuous is\ncalculated to give us happiness, yet the approbation of a good\nconscience, arising from the conviction of innocency, can never he\nrooted from the heart of its possessor by all the calumnies of earth.\n_This_ God has secured in all the secret chambers of the soul, and\nforever barred it against the breath of slander. There he takes up his\nabode and holds communion with the contrite spirit. The real merits\nand consolations of virtue are secured to its possessor by the\nimpartial legislation of righteous heaven. Intemperance in its\neffects, compared with slandering, is harmless; at least so far as\nproducing discord is concerned. The peaceable drunkard, compared even\nwith that church member, who is continually sowing discord in society,\nis an angel. Slander is but the infectious breath or a foul spirit,\nthat poisons the healthful atmosphere wherever it is breathed, and\nbreaks the quiet repose--the calm serenity of neighborhoods and\nfamilies, as it were, with an electric shock.\n\nPolitical slander is as infectious and destructive to the harmony of\nthe nation, and the security of our government, as private slander is\nto neighborhoods and societies. No sooner is a candidate held up for\noffice, than all the party dogs of war on both sides are let loose and\nset to barking. Immaterial how fair may be his character, how\ninviolable his veracity, or how unsullied his honor and integrity,\nthey will make him appear to be an outcast from society, covered with\nthe darkest blots of infamy. Immaterial how great may be his\nqualifications, or how splendid his talents, they will, by that\nspecies of logic for which slanderers are famous, prove him to be a\nfool. These dissentions do not expire when the candidates are elected.\nThey are carried to the capitol of our common country and blown out in\nmore than wordy war. There, we have reason to fear, the volcano is\ngathering, and that the day is not distant when it will disembogue in\nmore than the thunders of Etna, wrap our political heavens in a blaze,\nand melt its elements with fervent heat. Anarchy and confusion will\nseize the reins of government, and drive us to the oblivious shades of\ndeparted empires. If we continue to go on in our political slanders as\na nation, losing sight of our common welfare, and sacrificing the\n_general_, on the altar of _partial_ interest, the day of our ruin is\nnot remote. Its awful morn, has, already, it seems, dawned with\nstreaks of malignant _light_, and (like ill fated Troy) ominous of the\npurple streams, the crimson blood, that watered the Trojan plains\nwhere mighty Sarpedon fell, where Hector lay slain by the sword of\nAchilles. Heaven forbid that our national sun, that rose so fair,\nshould go down in blood, and shroud our temple of Liberty in\neverlasting night! To avert such a catastrophe let us reform, and do\nour duty as individuals. The safety of any body politic depends on the\nconduct of the individuals that compose it. And God grant that these\ndissentions may cease, that political peace and harmony may become\nperfect, and our government may stand immoveable on its basis, like\nthe rock that remains unshaken by the furious storms that agitate the\nocean. May we, as a nation, be of one mind in resisting every species\nof immorality, in studying the happiness of our fellow creatures--of\none mind in obtaining a knowledge of the character of our Creator, in\nstudying his parental and benign government, and his divine attributes\nand unchanging perfections--and be of one mind in acquainting\nourselves with his beautiful works that swarm around us and afford us\nso many rational delights. Let us store our minds with useful\nknowledge, practice the precept of Christ, labor for mental\nemancipation, and contentment and peace will be our lot.\n\nIn the great duties of religious obligation, let us be of one heart\nand mind. Let us live like brethren, not only among ourselves, but\namong other denominations. It is not long that we are to be together.\nWe are fading like the flower of the field, and ought to bear in mind\nthat death will soon lay our heads equally low in the dust, and the\nworms shall cover us. We glitter for a moment like the bubbles borne\non the bosom of the ocean; they break and mingle again with the parent\nfountain. We toil and heap up wealth, pass like empty shadows over the\nplain and vanish forever! Generations, that covered the earth, are\ngone, and unremembered by the living. They strove to gather wealth and\nhonors--they met each other in the hostile field--rolled garments in\nblood, bedewed the widow's and the orphan's cheek with tears, and\nfilled their peaceful habitations with the voice of lamentation and\nwo. Thousands lived in clamors and discord, and one seemed destined to\nbe oppressed by another. But the fields of war are still, the noise of\nbattle is hushed, and the voice of lamentation and wo is heard no\nmore! Hark! All is still as the chambers of eternal silence! Where are\nthey? In the shades of death! Kind reader, this is the doom of us all!\nAnd so it will soon be said of you and me! Let us then be of one mind.\nLet us do good by visiting the fatherless in their affliction and\nkeeping ourselves unspotted from the world.\n\nWe have now considered the fact, that real felicity consists in mental\npleasures and gratifications, and that these alone exalt our nature\nand capacity for happiness above the brute creation, and have directed\nyour attention to virtue and peace as the only condition in which that\nhappiness can be found. We have brought to view the propriety of being\nof one heart and mind towards each other in our families, in our\nreligious societies, in the community and in our national concerns. We\nhave set before you the evils resulting from intemperance, and from\nprivate and political slander.\n\nWe will now, in the _second_ place, take into consideration the\n_negative and affirmative_ consequence resulting from them on the\nmorals of the community so far as the causes leading to _intemperance\nand crime_ are concerned.\n\nMany discourses have been delivered, during the three past years, on\nintemperance pointing out its ruinous effects on the morals of\nsociety, while but few discourses have been put into the hands of the\npublic pointing out the causes leading to this destructful vice, and\nthose few have not in my humble opinion traced it to its _true\nsource_. Much has also been said about intemperance leading to crime,\nwhich in many respects is true. But all this is not coming to the\nfountainhead from whence these turbid streams flow. We will take the\nliberty to differ on this subject with all that has as yet fallen upon\nour ear, and independently give our opinion, as to what we conceive to\nbe the original cause from whence these baneful effects spring. We\nwill endeavor to show that _the poorer class of society are driven to\nintemperance and crime by the conduct of the rich (those whom the\nfashion of the world calls respectable and great) yes, by the conduct\nof too many, who are even attempting to reform them_.\n\nFirst, then we would remark; that man is a creature of want, which is\nthe first cause of all action. Had he no wants, he would never seek to\nsupply them, either by _honorable or dishonorable_ means. To this\nself-evident proposition, all will without hesitation assent. We will\nnow attend to our general character as a nation, for it will be\nadmitted, on all hands, that actions speak louder than words. As a\nnation, we enjoy much liberty; but public opinion, either of a\npolitical or religious character, may become so popular as to erect\nitself into an engine of oppression, and so formidable, that many an\nhonest man dare not dissent, nor independently raise his voice in\ndefence of what he believes to be truth, but will tamely submit\nhimself a slave to the opinions and doctrines of others. This is\nprobably the case with the greater proportion of the American people.\n\nAgain, though we profess to value every man by his integrity or moral\nworth, yet it is a fact, that in conduct we make a man's reputation\ndepend principally on his purse. I yield the point without controversy\nthat in books, in news-papers, in preaching and in words, we profess\nto esteem a man and rate his standing in society by his integrity. But\nwhat do words and books, and news-papers and preaching amount to,\nwhile mankind in conduct practice right the contrary of all these\nostentatious professions? They amount to nothing but hypocrisy, or\nridiculous nonsense. Does a man's standing, in these days, depend on\nhis conduct! By no means. Let us introduce an example. Suppose there\nwere two individuals of equal talents, and both possessed an equal\neducation. Their moral characters are the same. But one of them falls\nin possession of an immense fortune, while the other is poor indeed.\nNow will public conduct place them on an equality? No. Will they both\nmove in the same social circle? No. Will they both be treated with the\nsame politeness and attention by their neighbors? No. Should they\npropose a public measure for the good of the town, would the one be\nlistened to, with the same attention as the other? No. Would he\npossess so much influence in society? No. Well, what can be assigned\nas the reason, why this rich man stands so far above the other in the\npublic opinion? Ans. It is because his character is measured by the\nlength of his purse, and the weight of his influence is determined by\nthe weight of his gold.\n\nIt is not a thing of rare occurrence, that the rich are thus\ndistinguished from the poor, but it is a fact so notorious that it has\nlong since passed into a proverb. This being the course of conduct\nwhich men practice, the impression has therefore become general that\nreputation, influence and power depend on wealth. Hence the great\ninquiry, uppermost in every mind, is \"how shall I get rich, so that I\nmay stand high in the estimation of men, and exert a powerful\ninfluence in society, and be numbered among those who move in the\nhigher circles of life?\" Concluded in our next.\n\nSERMON XVI\n\n\"Be of the same mind one towards another. Mind not high things, but\ncondescend to men of low estate.\" Romans xii:12.\n\nEven a man, who is in many things unprincipled, if he is at the same\ntime wealthy, takes a station in the higher circles of life, where the\npoor, but honest man, would not be admitted. This course of conduct is\nnot only practised by what are called men of the world, but by\nprofessors of religion of about all denominations, by both preachers\nand people.\n\nThe middling, and the poor class, seeing no encouragement, or even\npossibility, of rising so as to associate with those, who move in the\nhigher circles of life, by any virtuous conduct they may pursue, and\nsensible that wealth alone possesses the charm to give them virtue and\nnotice in the world, they are thus driven to various, dishonorable\nmeans to obtain it. Multitudes are driven to the crimes of\ncounterfeiting, theft, and even robbery and piracy. They commence\ntheir wretched course, with the intention to abandon it, as soon as a\ncompetent fortune is obtained. Other thousands are driven to gambling;\nand even those, who are called respectable, take every possible\nadvantage in trade and bargaining. Their pursuits are various, but\ntheir object is one and the same--viz: to gain wealth, so that they\nmay obtain a high standing and influence in society. Thousands thus\ndriven into crime, are detected, lose their reputation, and abandon\nthemselves to intemperance. Their evil example has a pernicious\ninfluence on the morals of those children and youth, who may, by\nvarious circumstances, be placed in their society, and thus the\npestilence, in all its frightful horrors, gathers force and spreads.\n\nThere are thousands of virtuous persons, whom poverty excludes from\nthe higher ranks of life, who are doomed to seek the converse of\nthose, who are in a measure corrupted, and, by associating with them\non public occasions, often in taverns and alehouses, are soon involved\nin habits of dissipation and obscenity. Man is a social being, loves\nsociety, and, rather than spend his life in solitude, will seek the\nconverse of the vicious.\n\nIf we would obey the injunction of the text--\"Mind not high things,\nbut condescend to men of low estate,\" these evils would be in a great\nmeasure removed. If we, as a community, would strip away the fancied\nreputation, which wealth attaches to the human character, and,\nindependent of property, place every man on an equal footing,\naccording to their moral and mental worth, and let their power and\ninfluence in society, be according to their conduct, it would give a\nnoble tone to public feeling and moral grandeur.\n\nBy the \"_high things_,\" mentioned in our text, we are to understand\nthat vain popularity which one man wishes to enjoy above another, in a\nreligious or political sense. It is one of the ruling passions of the\nday, in which we live, to be considered of high standing among our\nfellow creatures, and to possess a larger share of influence over the\nminds and opinions of men, than those whom we consider our rivals.\nThose, who possess this desire, and at the same time feel a haughty\nspirit towards those, whom they consider in the humble walks of life,\nare certainly not the men, who are entitled to our esteem, nor are\nthey to be looked up to, as examples of magnanimity. So far from\npossessing true greatness of soul, or being entitled to veneration,\nthey are certainly below those whom they affect to despise. A truly\ngreat and good man has no desire to dazzle, but to be useful in the\nworld. He sees the miseries under which thousands groan, and desires\nto relieve them, but with no wish to be considered great for\ndischarging those duties of kindness and humanity. But it is a\nlamentable consideration, that too many, in performing those acts of\nmercy, seek to stand on an eminence above the crowd they wish to\nbenefit, and proclaim their intentions to men through the loud\nsounding trumpet of fame, but, at the same time, will not even stoop\nto converse with the very beings they profess such a warm desire to\naid. Every thing must be done on a high scale, and in the manner they\ndictate, otherwise they have no wish it should be done at all. It is a\nmatter of regret, that this spirit, so desirous of minding high\nthings, has been carried into the sanctuary--in fact, has been carried\nto the solemn gates of death--yes, even into eternity.\n\nWe have witnessed what are commonly called \"revivals of religion,\" in\nwhich two or more denominations united, apparently, heart and hand.\nThey publicly declared, that as they saw their fellow creatures\nexposed to the burning wrath of God in the future world, they had no\nmotive in view, but their conversion and escape from that awful doom--\nthat it was, to them, a matter of indifference with what church they\nunited themselves, provided, they would only repent and turn to God.\nAll this passed on well till the reformation ceased. The next thing,\nto be determined, was, what doctrine do you believe, and what church\nwill you join? This was a trying point, and its settlement filled them\nwith animosity towards each other. And why? Because each desired the\nhonor of converting them to their faith, and of bringing them into\ntheir church, or else, that they should not be converted at all.\nThough this has been done by some, yet it is no evidence, that all\nwill do this, or even approve it. There are those, who, we believe,\nare actuated by nobler motives than in the cause of truth, and who are\nnot aspiring to stand high, nor striving \"who shall be greatest.\" One\ndenomination has labored to assume the entire honor of reforming the\npublic morals--has labored to become incorporated by an act of\nLegislature into an American Temperance Society, and were unwilling to\nadmit Universalists and Unitarians to co-operate with them in this\nwork of reform. This is but aspiring after high things, instead of\nmanifesting the meek and lowly spirit of Christ.\n\nBut we would more particularly remark that, it is this very course of\nconduct of any man, or class of men exalting themselves above others\nin account of their _wealth, or external circumstances_, that\ndiscourages the poor, who are not only called, but treated as the\nlower order of society, and drives thousands of them to the\nintoxicating cup, as a relief from the mortifications of poverty, and\ndrives other thousands into crime, as the only means to obtain that\nwealth by the omnipotence of which, they alone can rise to eminence,\nrespectability, and influence among men. Preachers of the gospel, as\nwell as others, give sanction by their conduct to these false notions\nof respectability and greatness. They will seek the society, and court\nthe favor of the rich in preference to the poor, even though the\n_latter_ may exceed the _former_ in integrity and moral worth. This,\nwe say, is the most powerful incentive to drive men into a state of\nencouragement, intemperance and crime. It is a fearful precipice on\nwhich we stand, as a religious community. Instead of estimating a\nman's standing by his virtuous principles, it is too much estimated by\nhis dollars.\n\nSo did not Jesus Christ our great example. He mingled with the lowest\nclass of society. He associated with, and visited most among those he\nwished to reform, so that his meek, mild and heavenly example might\nexert a salutary influence upon their hearts, and cast a restraint\nupon their conduct. He was a friend to publicans and sinners, and ate\nand drank with them. He went among them, as a physician, to give them\nlife and health, to conduct them by encouragement and persuasion to\nthe paths of righteousness and peace. His presence was not needed\namong those who were whole. He was of course seldom found in their\nsociety. He did not desire to rank with the rich, self-righteous\npharisee. So ought those, who profess to be the servants of Christ, to\ngo among them, who are most in need of their aid. \"The servant is not\nabove his Master.\" They ought, therefore, to condescend to men of low\nestate, and visit the abodes of poverty and want.\n\nBut instead of this, they stand aloof, even from the respectable,\nbecause they are poor, and instead of visiting those, who indulge in\ndissipation and vice, and trying to lead them to the paths of virtue\nand peace, are heaping upon them the most opprobrious epithets. By\nesteeming the rich and associating with them, they practice a course\nof conduct, which has rooted the impression deep in every mind, that\nto be esteemed, and to rank with them in the social circle, they must\nbe rich. This has driven many a virtuous man into crime, many into bad\ncompany, and finally into discouragement and intoxication. This no one\ncan deny. What, we ask, is the reason, that there is so large a\nproportion of the middle and lower class of society, compared with the\nrich, who indulge in _crimes and intemperance_? Why is it when\nmisfortune falls upon the rich, that they, so often, resort to the\nintoxicating draught? The mystery can only be unriddled in the\nstubborn fact, that wealth, more than virtue, gives a man a reputation\nin the world, and this destructive vice involves thousands in ruin.\n\nIf every man were assured that, be he _rich or poor_, he could\nassociate with those who are wealthy and respected, and move in the\nhigher ranks of life, if he only maintained his integrity, and that he\nwould be esteemed in proportion to his moral virtues and mental\nacquirements, every man would be induced to merit a good name; and\ntheir good opinion would operate as a constant check upon his conduct.\nEvery man, by early attention to his deportment, can become\nrespectable, but every man cannot become wealthy.\n\nDid the rich esteem the poor, and admit them into their social circle\n_solely_ on the ground of moral worth, there would be but little\ndanger of these poor ever forfeiting their standing, by plunging into\nthe floods of intemperance and crime. And did they reject from their\ncircle the rich, who were vicious until reformed--in fine, did they\nonly strip away from wealth its fancied charm, to make them either\nrespectable, or influential, did they confine it to its due limits, as\nbeing only necessary to satisfy our animal wants, and did they with\none consent declare that an improved mind and virtuous worth should be\nthe only criterion by which men should take their stations in social\nlife, intemperance and crime would soon cease. Men would then be as\nmuch engaged in striving to merit a fair reputation, as they are how\nin striving to obtain wealth. It is, therefore, the conduct of the\ngreat by falsely attaching character and influence to wealth, that is\ndriving their fellow creatures into crimes to obtain it, and other\nthousands into discouragement and intemperance. From this charge\npreachers are not exempt. They too respect, and visit the rich more\nthan the poor, and thus indirectly lend their influence to drive them\nfrom virtuous life to a course of dissipation and crime. And when once\nthey get them there, then they wish to devise some _great means_ to\nbring them back to the paths of sobriety and virtue. Do they endeavor\nto effect this, by ceasing to mind high things, and by condescending\nto men of low estate? No--but instead of going among them, and taking\nthis unhappy class of our fellow creatures by the hand, and leading\nthem by encouragement and persuasion to the paths of temperance and\nreformation, they have, in substance, said, \"stand by thyself, I am\nholier than thou.\" They have minded high things, by placing themselves\non an elevation above them, and made them out to be worse than\nmurderers, thieves and robbers, by ascribing all the crimes, that are\ncommitted, to the use of rum! This has discouraged and exasperated\nmany, and made them feel that reformation would be of no avail to\nraise them to be the associates of those, who appeared so anxious to\nreform them. Their language has, in substance, been--you must reform,\ngive us the credit, but must stand where you are in the lower circles\nof life, obey our exhortations, and look up to us as your benefactors,\nbut you cannot expect to rank with us, because you have no cash to\nintroduce yourselves into our circles. And as all men desire society,\nthey have remained with their companions in iniquity.\n\nFor any class of society to take a station above others, and endeavor\nto force men to abandon the cup by passing votes or enacting by-laws,\nthat no spirits shall be sold them, is but exciting their rage, and\ncausing the intemperate to drink the more out of revenge, and causing\nthose, that are already temperate, to increase the quantity as an act\nof defiance. It is a fearful precipice on which we stand as a\nreligious community. Estimating a man's standing in society by his\nimmense wealth, or learned profession, rather than by his integrity\nand virtue, is attended with the most dangerous circumstances, as we\nhave already noticed. Men cannot be reformed by force, nor by\ndeclaiming what a low, mean, unworthy, degraded part of the human race\nthey are.\n\nThere is too much pride in our world. We ought to bear in mind that\ndeath will soon lay our heads equally low in the dust, and \"the worms\nshall cover us!\" O the folly of human pretensions to greatness! Let us\nnot mind high things, but condescend to men of low estate. By\npreachers and people of all denominations obeying the exhortations of\nour text, mankind would, in a great measure, be restrained from crime,\nand certainly from being openly intemperate. If then, we sincerely\ndesire to reform them, and to hold a powerful check upon their\nconduct, and prove ourselves the benefactors of our race, let us begin\nthe work, by adhering most scrupulously to our text, which exhorts us\nto be of the same mind one towards another, to mind not high things,\nbut to condescend to men of low estate.\n\nIt is the duty of preachers, in particular, to be meek and lowly in\nspirit--to be humble and watch over the moral maladies of mankind--to\nbreak down the arrogant distinctions, which the fashions and riches of\nthe world have set up--to esteem men purely for their moral and\nintellectual worth, independent of the gifts of fortune, and to visit\nthose, who are given to intemperance, and, by gentle persuasive\nmeasures, endeavor to lead them to habits of sobriety. And when this\nis effected, treat them according to that respect, which their virtues\nmerit. God is kind to the evil and to the unthankful, and ought we to\nbe unkind to them? Heaven forbid.\n\nWe have now set before you, what we conceive to be the _principal\ncause_ leading to _intemperance, dishonesty, and crime_. True, there\nmay be some exceptions to this, but we are conscious, that it is the\nconduct of those very men, who are declaiming against _intemperance\nand crime_, that first drives their fellow creatures into those\ndeplorable haunts of vice. They do this _indirectly_, and perhaps\n_innocently_. They do it by giving too much reputation and influence\nto the wealthy class of the community, by paying too much homage and\nrespect to gold, and by withholding, from the virtuous poor, that\nrespect which their conduct merits. We cannot set this truth before\nyou in a more forcible light, than by relating, from memory, an\nanecdote of Dr. Franklin, with which we will conclude. The rich\nmerchants and professional men in Philadelphia proposed to form\nthemselves into a social circle from which all _mechanics_ were to be\nexcluded. The paper, drawn up for the purpose, was presented to Dr.\nFranklin for his signature. On examining its contents, he remarked\nthat he could not consent to unite his name inasmuch as by excluding\nmechanics from their circle, they had excluded God Almighty, who was\nthe greatest mechanic in the universe!\n\nSERMON XVII\n\n\"And be ye kind one to another, tender hearted, forgiving one another,\neven as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.\" Ephesians iv. 32.\n\nA tender heart is the kind boon of heaven, and forgiveness is a virtue\ntoo little exercised in the common intercourse of life. Men are too\napt to be in character Pharisees. They are too apt to love those that\nlove them, and hate their enemies. Retaliation is inconsistent with\nthe spirit of the gospel, and is a vice deeply to be stigmatized and\ndeprecated by all lovers of peace and morality. By retaliation, we are\nto understand the injuring of another because he has injured us. This\nspirit of revenge betrays a contracted mind in which the feelings of\ncompassion and forbearance never found a permanent abode. A man of a\npeevish, irritable and revengeful temperament, is to be pitied,\ninstead of being injured in return. By retaliating the evil he may\nhave done, you involve yourself in the same condition of meanness, and\nin your turn become the injurer.\n\nAll those men, whose names are rendered illustrious and immortal, have\nbeen distinguished for a spirit of forbearance, kindness and mercy.\nWere there no examples of rashness--no failings and imperfections\namong men, there would, then, be no opportunity to distinguish\nourselves by a spirit of forgiveness. God has so constituted the\npresent existence of his creatures, that the perfections of his divine\ncharacter might be manifested to them in the unchanging exercise of\nhis paternal compassion and forgiveness; and thus afford them an\nopportunity to imitate himself in the exercise of those exalted\nfeelings, which emanate from heaven.\n\nWe are not, however, to understand that tenderness of heart and\nforgiveness are to be exercised to the utter exclusion of the\nprinciples of honor and justice. If our children offend, or our\ndearest earthly friend do wrong, we are to manifest the feelings of\ntenderness and forgiveness, but these ought not to induce us to\noverlook their crimes or faults, by remaining silent in regard to\ntheir vices. This would be suffering our compassion to degenerate into\nweakness. It would in fact be hardness of heart. It would betray a\nspirit of indifference to their dearest interest, as by our silence,\nthey might remain in blindness to the demerit of their deeds, and\nhurry on to the ruin of their reputation, and consequently, of their\nearthly happiness. True tenderness of heart makes us watchful over the\nconduct of those we love, and with whom we are connected in life--\nmoves us to lay naked before them their faults, so that they may early\ncorrect them, and thus inspires their hearts with tenderness, and\nprompts them to regard the happiness, feelings and welfare of others.\nIt is immaterial how near and dear your friend may be, you should, by\nthe feelings of mercy, be induced to tell him his faults, however much\nit may wound his heart. The wise man says \"the wounds of a friend are\nfaithful; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.\" Too many parents,\nfor want of determination of character, and for suffering their\ncompassion to degenerate into weakness and remaining blind to the\nfaults of their children, having seen them come to some disgraceful\nend--a state prison, or even the gallows. This, instead of being true\ntenderness of heart, was infatuation and the worst species of hardness\nand insensibility to the welfare of their offspring. On the other\nhand, we ought never to suffer a spirit of revengeful indignation to\nslumber in our bosoms, ready on every trivial occasion to awake into\nresentment and retaliation. In fine, we ought to imitate our God in\nfeelings and conduct towards each other, as it is expressed in our\ntext. But many suppose that God is filled with feelings of revengeful\nindignation towards his creatures, and that the period is rolling on\nwhen he will cease to be merciful, and will commence torturing us in\nthe future world for the sins committed in this, and that too, when\npunishment can do no good to the sufferer--when reformation will be\nout of his reach. To torment a frail dependent creature, under such\ncircumstances, would be the most degrading species of revenge. And if\nthis is the conduct of God, then we must practice the same, because we\nare commanded to imitate him. Our text says--\"Be yea kind one to\nanother, tender-hearted, forgiving one another; even as God for\nChrist's sake hath forgiven you.\"\n\nIn this passage, our Father in heaven is held up to the world as the\nmodel of _kindness tenderness and forgiveness_, that mortals are to\nimitate. God is the moral standard to which every bosom ought to\naspire. The highest perfection and loveliness of man fall infinitely\nshort of the intrinsic loveliness and divine perfection's of Jehovah.\n\nIf he is the standard of moral excellence which we are to imitate,\nthen we must admit that the copy far exceeds the imitation. If man is\ncalled upon to act like God in order to improve his character and\naffections, then God is better than man, and every opposing objection\nmust, forever, fall to the ground. Perhaps it may be said, that all\ndenominations of men allow him to be so. This is not correct. It is\ntrue, they _say this_ in so many words. But words are one thing, and\nwhat a doctrine involves is quite _another_. I might believe, and most\nrigidly maintain, that an earthly father had prepared a palace of\ncomfort for his five _obedient_ children, and a furnace of fire to\ntorture his five _disobedient_ children; and suppose he had dealt with\nhis ten children as above stated;--with what propriety could I step\nbefore the public, and contend that he was the best man in America?\nEven were I persuaded, in my own mind, and firmly believed him to be\nthe best man in existence, would either my _belief or acknowledgment_\nmake it a fact? No; every man of common sense, and common humanity\nwould think me deranged. My saying that he was good, and even\nbelieving him so, could not alter the awful reality, but would be an\nevidence of my want of consistency and propriety. He would still be a\nbad unfeeling man, and in no comparative sense so good as that father,\nwho should punish his children in mercy, and for their future\namendment and benefit.\n\nBut what is all this compared with the character that thousands\nascribe to the God, who rules above? It is no more than the drop to\nthe unmeasured ocean: because those five children would soon cease to\nsuffer; but God, they contend, will torture without mercy or end,\nmillions on millions of his poor dependent creatures for the sins of a\nshort life! The most abandoned, and unrelenting savage, that roams the\nAmerican forest--the worst wretch in human form would not do this, but\nrelease, at length, the sufferer from pain. And those, who contend\nthat God will not release, but on the contrary involve the victim of\nhis ire deeper in who, attribute to him a character infinitely worse,\nthan the most cruel and degraded of our race, and no argument, to the\ncontrary, can be for one moment maintained. If a man desire the\nholiness and happiness of all his fellow creatures, and would bring\nthem to a glorified state of beatitude in heaven, had he the power,\nand still contends that God will not, it is elevating his goodness far\nabove the goodness of God. And for any man to come forward with this\nacknowledgment on his lips, and yet address the benignant Parent of\nall, and, in prayer, acknowledge him to be the best of all beings, is\nonly using words without propriety or meaning. There is no sense, no\nreason in such logic. It completely contradicts itself, and what is\ncontradictory cannot be true.\n\nWould you save all men from sin and its attendant misery if you could?\nO yes, is the answer, I would, and carry them all in the arms of\nunbounded benevolence to glory. Well, has God the power to do it? Yes,\nis the reply. But do you believe that he will exert his power so as to\naccomplish it? No says the objector, I believe that he will sentence a\nlarge portion of his erring offspring to endless and inconceivable wo.\nVery well; then you are the best being of the two. And it is a\nmelancholy circumstance to these unfortunate beings, that you are not\non the throne of the universe. If this be so, then our text ought to\nbe reversed. God ought to copy your tenderness, and forgive men as you\ndo! We are certainly called upon to conform our conduct to the best\nstandard, and to imitate the _best_ being. If you are the _best_, then\nGod and man ought to be called upon, and _entreated_ to imitate you!\nNo; says the objector, God is superlatively the best being in the\nuniverse. You may talk, and tell me so, till the morning sun sinks\nbeyond the western hills, and yet your _creed_ will contradict every\nword you utter. What you have just acknowledged, unchangeably stares\nyou in the face. You say, that you would forgive all, save them from\nsin, and raise them to a blessed eternity, if you had the power. This\npower, you say, God possesses, and yet you _believe_, and that he will\nnot do it. It is certainly an unfortunate circumstance to the human\nfamily, if their Father in heaven is destitute of that goodness which\nyou feel! From whom did you receive all those compassionate feelings\nof heart? Why says the objector, God gave them to me. But how can God\ngive you what he has not himself? If you possess more benevolence than\nGod, you could not have received it from him; because on this\nprincipal he did not have it in possession to give. Surely he could\nnot communicate to you, or any other being, what he did not originally\npossess. From what source, then, did you derive so much tenderness and\nlove? There must, certainly, be some being in the universe in whose\nbosom is rooted as much benevolence and love as you feel, or how could\nit have been communicated to you from another? Now, where did you get\nit? God gave it to me, says the objector. This cannot be, because your\ndoctrine proves, that you have more love than the God who made you! If\nyou insist that he has given it to you, has he not in such case, given\nyou more than he originally possessed? He has. If so, endless misery\nmay be true; for on this principle he has none left!\n\nThe scriptures teach that \"God is love\"; and all his works speak the\nsame language--saying, \"the Lord is good, and his mercies endure\nforever.\" But how good is he? The doctrine of endless wrath says, he\nis not as good as you. You are but a small stream from an infinite\nocean of love; and yet this little stream is greater than the ocean\nfrom which it issues, and rises far above its fountain head! Can this\nbe true? Impossible. O, do you not perceive how your own feelings,\nwhich you daily experience, contradict your creed! You feel, desire,\nand pray for the salvation of all men, and if you had the power, all\nyour feelings, prayers and desires would be carried into execution.\nAnd yet your doctrine denies, that God, the fountain, in which all\nyour affections originate and live, will do it;--and at the same time\nyou say, that you have no love only what he gave you! What\ninconsistencies, contradictions and blindness are here! Man, a small\ndrop, from the benevolent fountain God, is willing to do, what the\nsource from whence he came is unwilling to do! Then a drop of love, in\nthe human bosom, is more tender and benevolent than an ocean in the\nGod, who placed it there!\n\nWe all know, that the fountain must be more extensive than the stream\nit sends forth--yea, larger, than all its running streams put\ntogether. This we know to be correct, as well as we know, that the sun\nenlightens the world. Let us then collect these little streams into\none. Bring, if you please, into one body, the love and benevolence of\nmen and angels, of cherubim and seraphim--stretch your thoughts to\nunnumbered worlds, extract the love from countless bosoms, and\ncondense the whole into one being. How great, lovely, and adorable,\nwould that creature be! Then, let the question be put to him--from\nwhence did you derive all those noble qualities of love, mercy and\ngoodness? He replies, _from my Father God_! Now, we must grant, that\nGod far exceeds him in goodness, because this noble creature is but an\nemanation from him--and the good desires of this creature would be\nequal to the good desires of the countless millions of men and angels\nin all worlds; and could have no other intentions only those, which\ngoodness and mercy dictate--and goodness itself can do nothing\ncontrary to its own nature, any more than ice can burn or fire freeze.\nThis creature would desire the happiness of all; and yet even he is\nbut a small rivulet flowing from the crystal fountain of life and\nbeing! This creature would institute a government _perfectly\nmerciful_; and mercy would, of course, require, that the _disobedient_\nshould be punished to bring them to _obedience_, and perfect them in\nthe same state of glorification and love with that being itself.\n\n\"God is _love_,\" and it, therefore, follows that he is _love_ to every\ncreature he has made, and it is utterly impossible that he can do any\nthing contrary to his own nature. \"He cannot deny himself.\" He will,\ntherefore, do all that love dictates. It is consistent with parental\nlove to punish for the good of its offspring, but not to punish\nunmercifully. But inquires the objector, does God punish for the good\nof his creatures? We will let Paul settle this question--Heb. Xii.\nChap. \"For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son\nwhom he receiveth. But if ye be without chastisement, whereof _all_\nare partakers, then are ye bastards and not sons. Furthermore, we have\nhad fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them\nreverence; shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father\nof spirits and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after\ntheir own pleasure, but he for our profit that we might be partakers\nof his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be\njoyous, but grievous; nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceably\nfruit of righteousness unto them that are exercised thereby.\" Now show\nus, if you can, any punishment which God inflicts, that contradicts\nhis paternal goodness. It cannot be done. He has threatened and\ninflicted _everlasting punishment_ upon nations, as such, but not a\nsolitary passage can be produced from Genesis to Revelations, where he\nhas threatened any individual with _everlasting_ punishment.\n\nGod is the adorable fountain of all tenderness, love, and compassion,\nand no mother's son was imbued in the fount of mercy like his, who was\n\"the brightness of his glory and the express image of his\nperfections.\" True, her yearnings over the babe of her bosom are\ngreat; still they bear but little comparison to him who breathed those\nfeelings there. God compares himself to the mother. \"Can a woman\nforget her sucking child\"? Woman, being of a more delicate formation\nthan man, possesses a mind susceptible of more fine, deep, and lasting\nimpressions than his. The affections of her soul, when fully roused\ninto action, and fixed upon their object, are deeper than those of\nman, extend far beyond the compass line of his, and nobly range those\nsequestered haunts--those delightful fields of mental felicity, where\nhis finest affections never penetrated. Let her heart once become\nfixed upon its darling object, and it is immaterial in what situation\nin life we contemplate her--whether prosperous or adverse, we behold\nthe same unshaken constancy, the same bright and burning flame. Her\nlove to her children is pure as the dew-drops of the morning, high as\nthe heavens and unchanging as the sun. It scorns dictation, bids\ndefiance to oppression, and never for one moment loses sight of its\nobject. No disappointments that cross her path, no scenes of adverse\nfortune that darken her sky, can wrench it from her grasp, obscure it\nfrom her vision, or tear assunder the silken cord that binds it to her\nheart.\n\nThe truth of these remarks we see verified in that unwearied\nwatchfulness and care, which she exercises over her children in\nsupplying their countless, and ever varied little wants; in allaying\ntheir little griefs, in soothing their tender hearts by the soft\nwhispers of encouragement and love; in hushing them to repose and in\nwatching over the slumbers of their pillow. Are her children exposed\nto danger, and full in her view? Then no devouring flame, that wraps\nher dwelling in destruction--no rolling surges that lash the foaming\nmain, can, in such a moment of peril, over-awe her spirit, or deter\nher from rushing into the very jaws of death to save them. Are they\nsick? Sleepless she sits beside their bed, and watches every breath\nthey draw. Are they racked with pain? Her soul inhales the pang; and\nfreely drinks at the same fount of agony, and breathes over them the\nprayer of mercy. Love is that _attribute_ in her nature to which all\nthe _others_ are subservient. It is the _shrine_ at which they all\nbow, the _centre_ to which they all gravitate. If her children do\nwrong, she freely forgives.\n\nHas God given the mother all these noble affections, and does he feel\nless to his helpless, sinful and erring children? Let God answer--\"Can\na woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion\non the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will not I forget\nthee.\"\n\n[Concluded in our next.]\n\nSERMON XVIII\n\n\"And be ye kind one to another, tender hearted, forgiving one another,\neven as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.\" Ephesians iv. 32.\n\nIn our last, we showed that that compassion, tenderness, and love of\nour Father in heaven, are the origin of all the sublime affections in\nthe human bosom, and from this acknowledged fact, have shown that he\nis infinitely more regardful of the welfare of his offspring than the\ntender mother, with whom he compares himself; is of the welfare of her\nsucking child. We now resume the subject.\n\nIn our text, we are called upon to forgive one another, as God has\nforgiven us. In examining this point, we are to be guided by what he\nhas revealed. The question here arises, how many does God command us\nto forgive? He commands us to forgive _all_, even our enemies. This\nthen must be forgiving them as he does. He therefore forgives all. He\ncommands us to bless them that curse us, and to pray for them that\ndespitefully use us, and persecute us, that we may be the children of\nour Father in heaven. Does God command us to do more than he is\nwilling to do himself? No, he lives up to his own command. If God\nrequires us to forgive, even as he does, and then commands us to love\nand forgive _all_, then he loves, and forgives _all_, otherwise he\nwould violate his own command; and then there would be no resemblance\nbetween his forgiveness and ours. Even as God, for Christ's sake hath\nforgiven you, so ought ye also to forgive one another.\n\nWould you forgive all, and bring them home to glory? Yes. Will God?\nNo, says the objector, he will not forgive his enemies, but his\nfriends only. Then you must not forgive all. Do you ask why not?\nBecause you are to forgive, _even_ as God. He is the standard you are\nto imitate. If you forgive more than God, you are better than he. He\ncannot command you to do different from himself. If God requires you\nto love and forgive _all_, while he himself will forgive only a part,\nthen God acts contrary to his own command. We are exhorted in the text\n_to be kind, tender-hearted and forgiving even as he is_. Do your\nkindness, tenderness, and forgiveness extend to all, and desire the\nhappiness of the universe? Yes. Then also does that of God, or else\nyou are, in every sense of the word, better than he. You differ from,\ninstead of imitating God. If so, you are doing wrong, because you are\nviolating the text. He commands you to be kind, tender, and forgiving\n_only as he is_;--and you contend that his kindness, tenderness and\nforgiveness, extend to a part only, and that all the rest he will\ntorture world without end.\n\nBut, says the objector, God is now kind, tender, forgiving, and\nmerciful to all; but he will not be so, when they enter eternity, for\n\"the doors of mercy will then be shut.\" How do you know that--who told\nyou so? Will God change in some future day? If he change, he will not\nbe the same being, he is now. I thought, he was the same yesterday,\ntoday, and forever, without variableness or even the shadow of\nturning. I thought he was the same Jehovah in all worlds. Do you\nintend to make him kind, tender, and forgiving _here_, but unkind,\nunforgiving, and hard-hearted to a part of his offspring _hereafter_?\nIf you intend to change both the nature and character of the Almighty\nin the future world, then you and myself are done arguing. That\ndoctrine is, certainly in a pitiful condition, which drives its\nadvocate to the necessity of changing the Almighty wholly into another\nbeing to support it. \"God so loved the world, even when dead in\ntrespasses and sins,\" as to deliver up his Son to \"taste death for\nevery man.\" And being unchangeable, he could never hate them. In our\ntext, God commands us to forgive as he has forgiven. How many does God\nforgive? Ans. As many as he commands you to forgive. How many is that?\n_All, even your enemies--to bless and curse not_.\n\nWe will now introduce the question--If God has not forgiven a man\ntoday, will he ever forgive him? I answer no, for he is unchangeable.\nWe are to apt to think that our Creator is altogether such an one as\nourselves--that he loves one day, and hates the next--that he is in\nreality angry one hour, and pleased the next--or that he holds a\ngrudge one moment and forgives the next, if we will only ask him to do\nso. But all such ideas are calculated for children--for babes in\nChrist. The scriptures come down to the weakest capacity; but this is\nno reason we should always continue children, but rise in knowledge to\nthe strength of manhood. We ought not to be \"ever learning and never\nable to come to the knowledge of the truth.\" Paul said to his brethren\n\"when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one\nteach you\" &c. \"When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood\nas a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away\nchildish things.\"\n\nThe Scriptures are calculated for every capacity--for a child as well\nas a philosopher. We must rise from one degree of glory to another. We\nare not to fasten our minds down on the inventions of men, and live\nand die children. No--we must \"forget the things that are behind, and\nreach forward to those that are before.\" As full grown men, we are not\nto suppose that prayer of any mortal can move the Almighty to pardon\nhim. But says the objector, if we sincerely ask God to do thus and so,\nhe will certainly grant our request. Very well, admit this for a\nmoment. God, you say, will answer every _sincere_ prayer. Now suppose\ntwo armies are to meet in battle, one from France and the other from\nHolland. The hour when the engagement is to commence is precisely one\nmonth from tomorrow noon. Every day, there are millions of sincere\nprayers offered to God to give them the day. Holland, with one voice,\nprays for victory and for the preservation of her subjects; and\nFrance, with united supplication, prays right the contrary. How, we\nask, are all those _sincere_ opposing petitions to be answered?\nImpossible. Again--one denomination prays for the prosperity of its\ncause, and the destruction of error. And as each believes all others\nto be in error, of course pray for their downfall. If the Lord\nanswered their petitions, all denominations, of course, of course\nwould fall! One man prays far rain, and another, that it may not rain.\nIf God answered all these petitions, he would be as changeable, not as\n_one man_, but as the whole human family together.\n\nAs it respects God's pardoning the human race, I contend that this\npardon existed from the beginning. Do not the Scriptures declare that\nGod chose us _in Christ_ before the foundation of the world? Yes, for\n\"he calleth those things which be not as though they were.\" Well,\ncould we be chosen _in Christ_ without being pardoned? No, for the\napostle says, \"he that is _in Christ_ is a new creature;\" and,\ncertainly, a man cannot be a new creature _in Christ_ without being\npardoned in the mind of Deity. If then in the omniscient mind of God,\nto whom there is no future, they were chosen _in Christ_ before the\nfoundation of the world, then in his mind, they must also have been\npardoned before the world began. God never does a new act. By _pardon_\nwe are not to understand the clearing of a guilty man from deserved\npunishment, but an entire deliverance from a disposition to sin. The\nperiod, when we are to be released from sin, is through death, where\nthe earthly nature, with all its wants and temptations to sin, falls,\nand the heavenly nature rises in incorruption and glory through a\nresurrection from the dead. Is not this the day of redemption when we\nare set free? Yes, so saith the Scripture. Well do not _redemption,\nremission, and forgiveness_ mean the same thing? They do. Then our\n_pardon, remission_ or redemption will be _realized_ through death and\nthe resurrection. We will produce the Scriptures \"in whom we have\n_redemption_ through his blood, even the _forgiveness_ of sins\naccording to the riches of his grace.\" Here forgiveness and redemption\nare used synonymous, and are declared to be _through the blood of\nChrist_--that is, through his death, as a sacrifice for sin. Sin\ncannot exist beyond the sacrifice designed to take it away. He is\nrepresented as taking away the sin of the world under the figure of a\n_Lamb_. Sin will come to a finish, under the first covenant, exactly\nwhere Christ said \"it is finished,\" at which moment the vail,\nconcealing the \"holy of holies,\" will be rent in twain, and the second\ncovenant be opened. If we step beyond what Christ has said, we may as\nwell give up the Scriptures, and trust to our own vain imaginations.\nThere sin will end; and that is _dismission_, pardon or redemption\nfrom it. \"O death! Where is thy sting? O grave! Where is thy victory?\nThe _sting_ of death is _sin_, and the _strength_ of sin is the _law_\n--but thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory, through our Lord\nJesus Christ.\"\n\nNow, here it is represented, that our victory, over _sin and death_,\nis _when_ we rise to immortal glory. Our _victory_ over sin is at the\n_same instant_ with our victory over _death_; and who will deny that\nour _victory over death_ will be at the resurrection? The objector may\nas well deny our victory over _death_ at the resurrection, as to deny\nour _victory over sin_ at that period. The whole is said to be\n\"through Christ.\" He was our \"forerunner\" and \"first fruits\" to\nrepresent our condition _there_. When he expired, he was free from\n_pain_, and when he arose, he was free from _temptation_. So when we\npass the same scene, we shall be like _him_, who is our \"resurrection\nand life,\" otherwise the harvest will not be like \"the first fruits.\"\n\nGod, then pardoned the human race, _in Christ_, when he made them.\nHow? Ans. By ordering their existence in such a manner, that they\nshould be freed from sin through death and the resurrection. That is\nthe day of our final discharge--the day, when the prisoner shall be\nset free--the day, when our redemption shall come. But asks the\nobjector, are we not to _realize_ our pardon in this world? Ans. Only\n_through faith_ in the _reality_. We look forward, and anchor our hope\nwithin the veil of death, and enjoy our pardon, or redemption, only by\nan eye of faith. This \"faith works by love and purifies the heart.\" It\ncauses us, in a great measure, to break off our sins by righteousness.\nBut this has no influence, whatever, over the sins already committed.\nFor _them_, we must still continue to feel miserable. Punishment is\n_certain_. From the sins that are committed, we only enjoy our pardon\nor redemption from them through faith in Christ the resurrection. Paul\ntold the believers, that if there were no resurrection, their faith\nwas vain, they were yet in their sins. This proves that they only\nenjoyed the pardon of their sins through faith in the resurrection,\notherwise I see no force in his language.\n\nBut inquires, the reader, why do you pray that God would pardon our\nsins? Ans. I do not pray to turn the Almighty from his will and\npurpose; but humbly trust, that I spend my days in searching out what\n\"that perfect will of God is,\" and then pray in reconciliation to his\nrevealed will. It is wicked to pray what we do not believe.\n\"Whatsoever is not of faith is sin.\" I believe that God pardoned us\nfrom the beginning, and that this pardon will be realized through\ndeath and the resurrection. And when I pray that God would pardon our\nsins, I mean that he would grant us an evidence of that pardon, which\nunchangeably existed in his eternal mind, by enlightening our\nunderstanding in the Scriptures of truth, and giving us correct views\nof his character as a Being of tenderness and compassion to the\nchildren of men. So when we say, God has pardoned us, we do not mean\nthat he has been moved by our petitions to do a new act; but that\nthrough the appointed means, he has so far enlightened our minds, that\nwe have received an evidence of that pardon which existed with him\nfrom the beginning, and by faith we look forward, believing it will\ntake place through death and the resurrection, as Christ has proved.\nBy this faith we perceive the love of God, and break off our sins by\nrighteousness. But while in the flesh, we feel a thorn--a hell of\nconscious guilt for the sins we have committed, and though the\npenitent may beseech God, that this messenger of satan, buffeting him,\nmay depart from him, yet the answer will be, \"my grace is sufficient\nfor thee.\"\n\nWe now perceive how God pardons sin, and yet punishes us for it. The\nmisery, sin brings upon us, is our just punishment, and to be released\nfrom it, by the free grace of God, through death and the resurrection,\nis our pardon and redemption--For example--we say, in a cloudy day,\n\"the sun does not shine;\" but still he does. The clouds, just above\nour heads, prevent his rays from shining upon us. The change is not in\nthe sun. The clouds disperse, and we say, \"the sun shines,\" while in\nfact he is ever the same. The Scriptures say, \"our God is a sun.\" He\nis unchangeably the same in all his brilliant perfections. \"Sin like a\ncloud, and transgression like a thick cloud,\" rise over the mind and\ndarken the understanding. Through this dark medium we look up to God,\nand think he has changed--that he is angry, and thunders are rolling\nfrom his hand, while in fact the whole change is in us. The moment our\nminds are enlightened by the beams of truth we rejoice, and say God\nhas forgiven us. We receive an evidence of pardon, and enjoy it\nthrough faith, while God has remained unchangeably the same.\n\nWhile we are children in christianity, we speak and act like children;\nand think if we join together, and pray as loud as we can as though\nthe Lord were \"deaf, or all asleep or on a journey,\" that we can\nprevail, and make him do as we wish. And while we are children, if we\nsin, we think the Lord is our enemy, and is angry. Now, this is all\nwell enough for those whose experience has gone no further. We are not\nto \"despise the day of small things,\" but kindly receive such an one\nas a babe in Christ, and feed him with milk. But still it does appear\nto be a pity that thousands, under the gospel, should live and die\nchildren.\n\n\"Be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another,\neven as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.\" Now, we are to\nforgive as God does. How is that--To hold a grudge one day, and if\nthey ask our pardon, to forgive them the next? No, we must uniformly\npossess a kind, tender-hearted, forgiving spirit, laying up nought\nagainst any one. Forgiveness does not consist in laying up a store of\nmalice and vengeance, till our enemy come, and formally ask our\nforgiveness. No--he might never come, and then we could never forgive\nhim. We are commanded to love and forgive our enemies whether they ask\nit, or not. So did our Saviour on the cross, and we are to exercise\nthe same spirit of benevolence and meekness. We must, as our context\nsays--put away all malice, wrath, and evil speaking from among us, and\nbe kind, tender-hearted and forgiving.\n\nOur Father in heaven is the most lovely and adorable of all beings!\nUnder the light of his character, every uncomfortable thought\nvanishes, and the dawn of a blessed eternity bursts upon us in a flood\nof glory. By faith we penetrate the veil of immortality, and read our\npardon, and justification in letters of blood. Within that veil, we\nanchor our hope. Faith triumphs over the ruins of death, smiles at the\ndarkness of the tomb, and through Christ within, the hope of glory,\nbids defiance to the crushing hand of death, and lights up its dreary\nmansions with the cheering beams of immortal day.\n\nSERMON XIX\n\n\"For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God;\nand if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey\nnot the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where\nshall the ungodly and the sinner appear?\" 1 Peter iv:17, 18.\n\nUpon this passage, the believers in endless misery lean for the\nsupport of that sentiment, and on many occasions it is quoted with an\nair of triumph as though the passage itself, without comment, were\nsufficient to silence all objections. Here they have one advantage of\nUniversalists; and of this advantage they do not forget to avail\nthemselves--viz: the prejudices of early education. But we sincerely\ncall their application of this passage in question, and shall stand\nforth in defense of the triumphs of Jesus Christ over all sin, and\npain and death, fully believing that the hand of heaven \"shall wipe\ntears from off all faces.\" We will attempt to show,--\n\nFirst--What we are to understand by _judgment_ beginning at the house\nof God.\n\nSecond--Who were the _righteous_, and in what sense they were scarcely\nsaved.\n\nThird--Show who were the _ungodly_, and where they appeared.\n\n_First--What we are to understand by judgment beginning at the house\nof God_. Jesus Christ chose him twelve disciples and commenced the\ngreat work the Father sent him to do. To them he disclosed many\nevents, that God would in a future day bring upon the world. He\npointed them forward with more than human accuracy into the\napproaching revolutions of time, and painted out in noon-day light\nthose astonishing disasters that would one day burst like a\nthunderclap on the thoughtless nations. He marked their certainty, and\nwarned them accordingly. Among the many things, that lay buried in the\nvista of future years, was the destruction of Jerusalem. This was a\npoint that most solemnly concerned the disciples of Jesus. It was no\nless than the destruction of their nation.\n\nChrist was with his disciples in the temple, that splendid edifice\nwhich was forty and six years in building, and, in their presence and\nfor the last time, addressed the stubborn Jews. He pointed out the\nmany crimes of which they and their fathers had been guilty in\nshedding the blood of the prophets, and persecuting those who were\nsent unto them as the messengers of Jehovah. They had also made void\nthe law of God through their traditions. While pointing out these\nthings, and setting them home like a thunderbolt to their hearts, he\npronounced them hypocrites, blind guides, devourers of widows' houses,\nand declared that all the righteous blood shed upon the earth should\nbe required of of that generation. While rehearsing these things to\nthem, Jesus had a perfect view of all their approaching sufferings.\nMany of them were to be starved to death. He saw by a prophetic eye\nthe indulgent father and fond mother weeping over their infant train,\nwho were begging for bread, but no way to procure it. Eleven hundred\nthousand he saw in a state of starvation, who were to fall by famine,\nsword and pestilence. He saw their cruel enemies surround the walls of\ntheir city, who would allow no sustenance to be given them, but\ndetermined to reduce them by hunger and sword to one common grave. All\nthese things, that were coming upon them, rushed at once upon the mind\nof the compassionate Redeemer of the world. The affecting scene moved\nso strongly upon his heavenly feelings, that he dropped the the\nmelancholy subject and burst into a flood of tears. He beheld the city\nand wept over it--\"O Jerusalem! Jerusalem! Thou that killest the\nprophets and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I\nhave gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her\nchickens under her wings, but ye would not!\" He then left the temple\nfor the last time; but as he was departing from it, his disciples,\nastonished at his denunciation, and regretting that such a magnificent\nedifice should be destroyed, exclaimed--\"Master, see what manner of\nstones and what buildings are here!\" And he said unto them \"there\nshall not be left here one stone upon another that shall not be thrown\ndown.\" The disciples immediately asked him saying, \"tell us when shall\nthese things be, and what shall be the sign of thy coming and of the\nend of the world?\" By the end of the _world_ we are to understand the\nend of the Jewish _age_. As they asked him the _signs_ portending this\nterrible destruction, so that they might know when it was nigh at\nhand, he immediately proceeded to point them out, and warned them to\nflee to the mountains of Judea for safety.\n\nThe signs are as follows--many false Christs should arise, there\nshould be wars and rumors of wars, nation should rise against nation,\nkingdom against kingdom, and there should be famines, pestilences and\nearthquakes in diverse places. Then shall they deliver you up to be\nafflicted, and shall kill you, and ye shall be hated of all nations\nfor my name sake. Then shall there be great tribulation such as was\nnot since the beginning of the world to this time, no nor ever shall\nbe. The most prominent _sign_ he gave them, and one that more\nimmediately concerned his disciples, was that they should deliver them\nup to be afflicted, and they should be brought before kings and\ngovernors for his name's sake. \"But, (says Jesus) when they persecute\nyou in one city, then flee ye to another.\"\n\nChrist gave his disciples plainly to understand, that when the Jews\nbegan their persecutions against his followers, then the destruction\nof Jerusalem was nigh at hand. After giving these instructions to his\ndisciples, he laid down his life, and on the third day he arose,\ntriumphing over death and leading captivity captive. His disciples\nsoon after commenced the spread of the gospel of peace, and waived the\nbanners of the cross over kings and subjects, calling upon them to bow\nto the reign of Jesus Christ, who was King of kings, and Lord of\nlords. They proclaimed a religion so contrary to the partial notions\nof the Jews and the traditions of the Elders, that it began at length\nto meet with violent opposition. The disciples agreeably to the\ndirection of Jesus fled for safety from city to city, till the tumult\nand opposition became general. Christianity gathered force and\npopularity so rapidly, that the Romans, it appears, gave permission to\nthe Jews to imprison and take life. The disciples and christians had\nnow no place of safety to flee to, from the gathering storm of\npersecution and death. Amidst these disastrous scenes, Peter called to\nmind the _warnings and signs_ his risen Lord had pointed out as a\nsolemn premonition that the destruction of Jerusalem and of their\npersecutors, was nigh at hand, and in view of the approaching calamity\nover which Jesus wept, Peter exclaims, \"The time is come that judgment\nmust begin at the house of God, and if it begin first at us, what\nshall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?\" Thus we,\nsee that what is meant by _judgment_ beginning at the _house_ of God,\nis _persecution_ beginning at the _christians_, which persecution was\na _sign_ to them that the destruction of that nation was nigh at hand.\nThe reader will perceive that what the apostle calls \"_house of God_,\"\nhe afterwards calls \"_us_,\" in the same sentence, and must refer to\nthe christians, who are in many scriptures called the _house, temple,\nand building_ of God. [See Heb. iii:6. Eph. ii:21, 22.] That the\npersecutions were stated by Christ as a _sign_ of the impending\njudgment of God upon the Jews, is evident from the words of Paul, 2\nThess. i:5, where he calls them \"a manifest _token_ of the righteous\njudgment of God\" upon the unbelieving Jews, the persecutors of the\nchristians.\n\n_Second--Who were the righteous, and in what sense they were scarcely\nsaved_. The righteous, mentioned in the 18th verse, mean the same\npersons called \"_the house of God_,\" and \"_us_,\" in verse 17th, and\nhas reference to those christians _only_, who lived previous to the\ndestruction of the temple, and not to any christians that lived\nsubsequent to that event, much less does it refer to all the righteous\nthat have ever existed or shall hereafter exist, as common opinion\nasserts.\n\nUnder this head, we were also to show in what sense these righteous\nwere _scarcely_ saved. It could not mean that their salvation in the\nfuture world was _scarce_ or uncertain; for it is _certain_ in the\ncounsels of God, and in all things well ordered and _sure_. He has\ngiven to his Son the heathen for an inheritance and the uttermost\nparts of the earth for a possession. And all the Father hath given him\nshall come unto him, and he will raise them up the last day. He is\nmighty to save to the uttermost all that come unto God by him; and no\none will deny that the righteous come unto him. How then can their\neternal salvation be denominated _scarce_? Impossible. How then are\nthe scriptures to be reconciled with our text, when they declare\neternal life to be the gift of God--that we are saved by grace--that\nhelp is laid upon one mighty to save--that his arm is not shortened\nthat it cannot save; and that the power of God is to be exerted at the\nresurrection in making them equal unto the angels? The answer is\neasily given--our text has no reference whatever to the immortal\nworld, to a judgment at the end of time, nor to the final condition of\nthe human family; but simply refers to the narrow escape of the\nchristians from the destruction of Jerusalem, when they fled with\ntheir lives in their hands to the mountains of Judea for safety.\n\nIn the 24th chapter of Matthew Jesus clearly describes the dreadful\nscene. He says--\"Then let them which be in Judea flee into the\nmountains. Let him which is on the house top not come down to take any\nthing out of his house. And woe unto them that are with children and\nto them that give suck in those days!\" [Why? Because they could not\nremain in the mountains during the period that the city was besieged\nby the Romans.] \"But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter\nneither on the Sabbath day.\" [Why? Because in the winter you would\nperish with cold--and if your flight from the city be on the Sabbath\nday, the Jews will stone you to death for traveling more than three\nmiles.] \"For there shall be great tribulation, such as was not since\nthe beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And\nexcept those days should be shortened there should no flesh be saved;\"\n[Saved from what? Ans. From death.] \"but for the elect's sake those\ndays shall be shortened.\" That is, for the sake of the christians who\nfled to the mountains, God shortened the days of the siege. Let us\nhear Dr. Adam Clarke, a Methodist Commentator, on this--\"Josephus\ncomputes the number of those who perished in the siege at eleven\nhundred thousand, besides those who were slain in other places; and if\nthe Romans had gone on destroying in this manner, the whole nation of\nthe Jews would in a short time have been entirely extirpated [destroy\ncompletely, as if down to the roots]; but for the sake of the elect,\nthe Jews, that _they_ might not be utterly destroyed, and for the\nchristians particularly, the days were shortened. These partly through\nthe fury of the zealots on the one hand, and the hatred of the Romans\non the other; and partly through the difficulty of subsisting in the\nmountains without houses or provisions, would in all probability, have\nall been destroyed, either by sword or famine, if the days had not\nbeen shortened.\"\n\nLet us hear Clarke explain how these christians were _scarcely_ saved.\n\"But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.\" \"It\nis very remarkable that not a single christian perished in the\ndestruction of Jerusalem, though there were many there when Cestius\nGallus invested the city; and had he persevered in the siege, he would\nsoon have rendered himself master of it; but when he unexpectedly and\nunaccountably raised the siege, the christians took that opportunity\nto escape.\" Clarke says \"_unto the end_\" means \"to the destruction of\nthe Jewish polity.\" Therefore when Peter says, the righteous are\n_scarcely saved_, he had reference to the dreadful judgment which was\ncoming upon \"the wicked and ungodly\" inhabitants of Jerusalem for\nshedding the blood of the righteous, and from this destruction the\nchristians escaped with their lives in their hands to the mountains of\nJudea for safety as Jesus had directed them. They but just escape--\nthey were _scarcely_ saved.\n\nThe christians also suffered persecution from the Jews; and Peter\ndraws this inference from it--If we, who obey the gospel of God, have\nto endure so many persecutions from the Jews--if this judgment begins\nat us, how much sorer punishment will our enemies have to endure, who\nobey not the gospel of God? And if we the righteous are scarcely saved\nfrom this long-predicted destruction, where will the ungodly and the\nsinner appear? But how did Peter know that it was at hand? Because the\npersecutions, which Jesus had given them as a \"_sign\" or \"token_\" had\nthen commenced at the house of God. The reader will now perceive that\nPeter was not speaking of a judgment at the end of time, because the\njudgment of which he was speaking had then commenced--\"_The time is\ncome_.\" Neither was he speaking of christians generally, nor of\nsalvation in the future world; but of those christians _only_ who\nlived previous to the destruction of the Jewish polity, and of their\nbeing saved with _difficulty_ by watching the _signs_ and fleeing to\nthe mountains of Judea as Jesus had forewarned them.\n\nLuke records the language of Christ more plainly to be comprehended\nthan that of Matthew. \"In your patience possess ye your souls. And\nwhen ye shall see Jerusalem encompassed with armies, then know that\nthe desolation thereof is nigh. Then let them which be in Judea flee\ninto the mountains, and let them which are in the midst of it depart\nout,\" &c. We should be led to suppose that, after the walls of the\ncity were surrounded by an army, it would then have been too late for\nthe christians to save themselves. But Christ as a prophet knew that\nCestius Gallus would raise the siege, and fall back to make\npreparations for a more decisive attack, and thus afford the\nchristians an opportunity to escape. It is evident to every candid\nreader that Luke expresses in chap. 21st, all that Matthew does in\nchap 24th and 25th. And that Luke does not refer to a judgment at the\nend of time is certain from the manner in which he concludes, which is\nas follows: \"And take heed lest at any time your hearts be overcharged\nwith surfeiting and drunkenness, and the cares of this life, and so\nthat day come upon you unawares * * * Watch ye, therefore, and pray\nalways that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that\nshall come to pass and to stand before the Son of man.\" Here we\nperceive that not the least allusion is made to a judgment at the end\nof time; because there would be no propriety in warning his disciples\nnot to be _drunk or overcharged with the cares of life_ at a judgment\nday thousands of years after their death. The day when the christians\nwere \"to stand before the Son of man\" was at the destruction of the\nJewish polity, and it was to take place in the life time of some of\nthe disciples. Christ says, \"there be some standing here that shall\nnot taste of death till they see the Son of man coming in his\nkingdom.\" The day of Christ was therefore at hand, and the apostles\nwere warned to keep it in view, and watch the signs that were to\nprecede it. Peter was faithful to these warnings, and when he saw the\n_signs_, presaging its near approach, he exclaimed--\"_The time is\ncome_,\" &c. This was the day of tribulation, when the christians were\nscarcely saved from the dreadful fate that overtook their own\ncountrymen, who remained blind till the things that made for their\npeace as a nation were hidden from their eyes.\n\n[Concluded in our next.]\n\nSERMON XX\n\n\"For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God;\nand if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey\nnot the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where\nshall the ungodly and the sinner appear?\" 1 Peter iv:17, 18.\n\nIn our last we have attended to the first two divisions of our\nsubject--viz: what we were to understand by judgment beginning at the\nhouse of God, and who were the righteous, and in what sense they were\nscarcely saved. We now invite the attention of the reader to the\nremaining division of the subject. _Third--who were the ungodly, and\nwhere they appeared_. By the _ungodly_ and the _sinner_, we are to\nunderstand the unbelieving Jews, the murderers of Christ and the\npersecutors of his followers. It has _exclusive_ reference to them and\nnot to the ungodly who lived subsequent to the destruction of\nJerusalem, much less does it refer to all the wicked that have ever\nexisted, or shall hereafter exist, as common opinion asserts. This\nneeds no further explanation.\n\nUnder this head, we were also to show _where the ungodly and the\nsinner appeared_. We have already had occasion to state, that Peter in\nour text refers to the destruction coming upon the Jews. The time was\ncome when that judgment of persecution, which began at the christians,\nwas to be returned upon the heads of their persecutors in seven fold\nvengeance and suffering. Their city and nation were to be destroyed,\nand their magnificent temple, where their devotions were offered, was\nto be laid even with the ground. Not one stone was to be left upon\nanother, but the whole become one general heap of ruins. Then\naccording to the prediction of Jesus, was there to \"be great\ntribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this\ntime, no, nor ever shall be.\" Then was \"wrath to come upon them to the\nuttermost.\" Then was he to \"take vengeance on them that know not God,\nand obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.\" Then were \"the\nchildren of the kingdom to be cast out into outer darkness where there\nwas wailing and gnashing of teeth.\" Then, as a nation, were \"they to\ngo away into everlasting punishment;\" for \"these were the days of\nvengeance when all things, that were written, might be fulfilled,\" and\n\"all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of Abel\nto the blood of Zacharias, should come upon that generation.\"\n\nTitus led the Roman army against them, surrounded the walls of the\ncity on the day of the Passover, where a great part of the Jewish\nnation were then assembled, and to which others had fled for refuge,\nbeing driven by the terror of his arms like chaff before the\nwhirlwind. Here they appeared! Husbands and wives, parents and\nchildren, brothers and sisters, (one promiscuous throng) were gazing\nin breathless solicitude, while consternation and dismay were depicted\nin every countenance, and fearful expectation pervaded every bosom!\nDeath, a long lingering death, was gathering around them in all its\nhorrors! Old men and young, maidens, matrons and little children\npoured forth their lamentations to heaven, invoking the protection of\nthe God of Israel. But, alas! \"the things, that made for their peace\n(as Jesus forewarned them) were hidden from their eyes!\" Their hour\nwas come, and the triumphant shouts of the enemy were heard around\ntheir stubborn walls, which (massy as they were) dropped to the ground\nunder the subduing power of the battering-rams of war. With these\nmassive engines of destruction, they laid the two first walls in ruin!\nBut the third and last wall it was not in the power of the enemy to\ngain. The Jews fought with desperation, and by valiant exertions kept\nthe enemy at bay, and for a while seemed to triumph in the fond hope\nof victory over the foe. The Roman army was driven to great extremity,\nand even to hesitation, while many of their most valiant men fell in\naction, and impending victory seemed to hang doubtful. In this moment\nof suspense, they came to a determination to make no further attack\nupon the city, but guard it and reduce its inhabitants to submission\nby famine. All supplies were accordingly cut off, and every avenue\nblocked up by the vigilant Romans. In addition to this, intestine\ndivisions, civil wars and pestilence raged within the walls of the\ncity. Having no employment in fighting the enemy, they fell to\nbutchering each other. These things proved their ruin, and their\nnational sun went down in blood. Every day thousands closed their eyes\nin death through famine and pestilence; and thousands by endeavoring\nto escape to the enemy and surrender themselves up as prisoners for\nsafety and protection, were either cut down by the Roman sword, or met\nthe same fate from their own countrymen. Here they appeared! All hopes\nof life cut off, nothing presented itself to their view, to end their\nwoes, but the certain prospect of an untimely tomb! Fathers, mothers,\nbrothers, sisters, gazing upon each other in silent expectation, saw\ndeath gradually advancing in all its horrors. They were driven to the\nmost dreadful extremities, until (is Josephus informs us) \"they\ndevoured whatever came in their way; mice, rats, serpents, lizards,\neven to the spider\"--and lastly mothers were driven to eat the flesh\nof their own children! Here were lamentation and wo indeed! Such\ntribulation as our Saviour says never was, and never will be. In\nimagination the mind runs back to the period, and to the fatal spot.\nIt surveys the painful scene, characterized by nought but moral and\nphysical woes--madness and revenge, cruelty and carnage, pestilence\nand famine, and all the mingled horrors of war! It surveys the\nstarving child clinging to the maternal bosom for help and protection,\nbut alas! That bosom becomes its grave. Here the ungodly and the\nsinner appeared in deep despair! Unfeeling mortal, do you say that\ntheir punishment and sufferings were not sufficiently great, without\nadding that of immortal pain in the future world? Are you not\nsatisfied without arguing that they ought to suffer endless misery in\naddition to their woes? Look with an unjaundiced eye over this scene\nof distress; and as you gaze let justice (if not compassion) once more\ntake the throne of the heart, and then pronounce the shocking sentence\nof your creed if you can.\n\nThat their sufferings were overwhelming is evident from scripture as\nwell as from history. In Lam. iv. The prophet Jeremiah says--\"The\nhands of the pitiful women have sodden their own children, they were\ntheir meat in the destruction of the daughter of my people.\" In Lev.\nXxvi. Moses describes their sufferings as follows--\"And I will bring a\nsword upon you, that shall avenge the quarrel of my covenant: and when\nye are gathered together within your cities, I will send the\npestilence among you, that shall make you few in number; and ye shall\nbe delivered into the hand of the enemy. And when I have broken the\nstaff of your bread ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and\nthey shall deliver you your bread again by weight; and ye shall eat\nand not be satisfied. And if ye will not for all this hearken unto me\nbut walk contrary unto me; then I will walk contrary unto you also in\nfury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins. And\nye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters\nshall ye eat.\" This did come upon the sinner and the ungodly, and it\nwas \"according to their sins.\" Moses, Jeremiah, and Jesus spake\nparticularly of the sufferings of the Jews in the destruction of their\ncity and they all agree in concluding their chapters. Moses in\nconclusion says, \"and they shall accept of the punishment of their\niniquities, even because they despised my judgments, and because their\nsoul abhorred my statutes; and yet for all that I will not cast them\naway neither will I abhor them to destroy them utterly and to break my\ncovenant with them, for I am the Lord their God.\" And Jeremiah, after\ndescribing their sufferings in the 4th chapter of Lamentations\nconcludes with these words--\"The punishment of thine iniquity is\naccomplished, O daughter of Zion,\" &c. And Jesus, after denouncing\nupon them the judgments of heaven in Matt. xxiii. Concludes thus: \"For\nI say unto you, ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say,\nblessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.\" Thus we see that\nthey agree in testifying to the same fact, that the punishment of the\nungodly and the sinner, which mean, no other than the Jewish nation in\ntheir overthrow and dispersion as we have already noticed, shall end.\n\nI see therefore no arguments, that can be drawn from our text, to\nprove a future judgment or endless misery in the immortal world. If\nthe objector can see a shadow of evidence in this passage to support\nsuch a sentiment, yet I must frankly acknowledge that, for myself, I\ncannot. There is certainly no word in the text, that has the most\ndistant allusion to the final condition of man. The _judgment_ began\nat the apostles and christians. But is the _\"last judgment\"_ to begin\nat them? Certainly not. But admit that it is; we would further\ninquire, did the last judgment begin as early as the days of Peter?\nImpossible. Then he could certainly not have had any allusion to such\na day, for he exclaims: \"_the time is come_ that judgment must begin\nat the house of God.\" Here the judgment to which he refers had\ncommenced, or at least the _signs_ portending it had commenced, and it\nwas to end upon the ungodly inhabitants of Jerusalem. This fact is\nevident from the context--\"Beloved, think it not strange concerning\nthe _fiery trial_ which is to try you, as though some strange thing\nhad happened unto you; but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of\nChrist's sufferings, that when his glory shall be revealed ye may be\nglad also with exceeding joy.\" From this quotation there can arise no\nmisapprehension as to Peter's application of the text, nor of the\npersons it involves. They were the persecutors of the christians, and\nno one will dispute that these were the Jews.\n\nIf then this judgment was at hand, it cannot of course refer to a\nperiod at the end of time; and it is in this case equally certain,\nthat the _scarce salvation_ of the christians can have no reference to\nthe immortal world. These facts being irresistible, the argument must\nbe wholly given up that \"the ungodly and the sinner\" were to appear in\na state of inconceivable torment beyond the grave, because the\n_condition_ of \"the ungodly\" stands in contrast with the _scarce\nsalvation_ of the righteous, and this _salvation or deliverance_ was\nto be in a day nigh at hand, and from a tribulation or judgment in\nwhich their adversaries and persecutors were to be involved, and the\n_signs_, by which the apostle was admonished of its proximity, had\nalready appeared when he wrote the words of our text. The meaning of\nhis words, I humbly conceive, is simply this--The time _is come_ when\nthe persecutions, predicted by Christ as a _sign_ of the approaching\ndestruction of Jerusalem, must begin at us. And if we the righteous\nwho are innocent, have to endure so many \"fiery trials,\" what will the\ndreadful punishment be of our disobedient persecutors? And if we are\n_scarcely saved_ from this impending destruction, by fleeing to the\nmountains of Judea, where will our thoughtless and sinful appear? We\nhave endeavored to show you where they appeared--have pointed out the\nnarrow escape of the christians, who were \"scarcely saved,\" and\nreferred you to the _signs_ by which Peter knew this judgment was at\nhand. It is therefore unnecessary to offer any thing further in\ndefense of our views, as the text is, no doubt, plainly understood by\nevery reader.\n\nWe close this discourse by noticing one very common objection, made by\nour religious opposers, to our application of several scriptures. I do\nthis, because I am not aware that it has been done by any Universalist\nas a _designed_ answer to the objection. The substance of the\nobjection is this:--\n\n_There is not a passage in the New Testament which speaks of a day of\njudgment, of the end of the world and of the coming of Christ, but\nwhat Universalists apply to the destruction of Jerusalem. Then, they\ncontend, \"every man was rewarded according to his works,\" consequently\nall subsequent nations are not to be rewarded, nor are they to\nexperience a day of judgment_.\n\nIn reply to this objection I would remark, that we are not answerable\nfor the many passages which the Saviour and his apostles applied to\nthat event. But if we make a wrong application of any scripture, why\ndo not our opposers point out the error? We will now show why the\napostles wrote so much in reference to that period. They do not so\nfrequently speak of that event merely on account of the destruction of\ntheir temple city and nation, (though that might justify their\nfrequent reference to it) but there were circumstances of a more\nimposing and momentous character to attract their attention to that\ncatastrophe. These were the abrogation of the Mosaic rituals and the\nintroduction of a new order of things by Jesus Christ of whom Moses\nand the prophets wrote. This was a period when every christian was to\nbe delivered from the persecution of the Jews, and the spread of the\ngospel was to be retarded no longer by their opposition. The Jews as a\nnation were to be punished for their deeds of blood, and that\n_spiritual reign or judgment_ commence which should pass upon all\nsubsequent generations of men, rewarding every man according to his\nworks.\n\nThe _gospel reign_ is called \"the _judgment of the world_\" by Jesus\nChrist, in the same sense that Moses judged the world two thousand\nyears by the law. Jesus says, \"Think not that I will accuse you to the\nFather, for there is one that _judgeth_ you even Moses in whom ye\ntrust.\" From this it is evident that Moses was then judging the Jews.\nBut this covenant was abolished at the destruction of Jerusalem. Paul\nsays, \"he taketh away the _first_ that he may establish the _second_.\"\nThe word of God, in this covenant, is spiritual and sharper than any\ntwo-edged sword--it is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the\nheart, while that of Moses was outward, and took cognizance of the\nconduct only. The objections of our opposers are therefore unsound.\nAnd though we apply those passages, which speak of a judgment, to the\ndestruction of the Jews, yet that judgment or reign of Christ which\nthen commenced, is yet going on, and will continue till all are\nsubdued to himself. He then came in his kingdom, and will continue to\nreward every man according to his deeds till his kingdom ends. So we\nthis day experience the effects of his coming, and of his judgment or\nreign, and are justified or condemned according as we embrace or\nreject the words of everlasting life. We see therefore the propriety\nof the apostles dwelling so much upon that great event, which should\nwitness the passing away of the types and shadows and the\nestablishment of the gospel of Jesus Christ.\n\nSERMON XXI\n\n\"For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.\" 1\nCor. xv:20.\n\nThe death and resurrection of all mankind are a theme of no ordinary\nmoment, and have given birth to many theories and speculations among\nthe advocates of Christianity. The common opinion is that one portion\nof our race will be raised to immortal life and glory in the future\nworld, and the other to immortal damnation and dishonor--that at the\nsame instant the living will be changed and that the whole human\nfamily will, in this condition, be arraigned before the \"Judge of\nquick and dead,\" and receive their irrevocable sentence for endless\njoy or endless wo. Others believe, in opposition to these limited\nviews of the divine character, that the resurrection is the closing\nscene of the great plan of salvation, and that no judgment is to\nsucceed it. This resurrection, they believe, will introduce the\nnumerous posterity of Adam into the same condition of immortal glory\nand honor, being made, by the power of God, \"equal unto the angels,\nand be the children of God being the children of the resurrection.\" As\nto the _judgment day_, they do not believe, that the whole human\nfamily will be congregated in one amazing throng at one period of\ntime, but that the judgment of the world, by Jesus Christ, commenced\nat the destruction of Jerusalem, when the Mosaic dispensation, with\nall its imposing rituals, passed away, and that this _judgment_, or in\nother words, this _gospel reign_ of Christ, is still progressing, and\nwill completely terminate before the resurrection takes place.\nNotwithstanding this view of the day of judgment, yet they suppose\nthat the _resurrection day_ is a designated period when the cerement\nof the dead shall burst, and all the slumbering nations,\nsimultaneously, start up from their beds of clay, the living at the\nsame instant be changed to immortal beings, and this countless throng,\nin one unbroken strain, shout--\"O death! Where is thy sting? O grave!\nWhere is thy victory\"?\n\nThough this scene would be full, and immortally sublime, and disclose\na grandeur which a seraph's eloquence never can describe, yet I take\nthe liberty to dissent from this long and fondly cherished opinion,\nand will humbly endeavor to present you my views on the immortal\nresurrection of the human dead. The ideas I have advanced in my\nsermons on the _new birth_, require me to do this. And no one has more\noccasion to rejoice than myself, that we are bound by no creeds, and\nthat the preachers of our order encourage and cherish free\ninvestigation. Among such able and benevolent theologians, I feel\nconscious, if I err, that they will endeavor, in the spirit of\nmeekness, to set me right. I therefore hold no one responsible for the\nideas I am now about to advance. I am by no means in favor of new\ntheories built upon mere human speculations, nor do I deem it an\nenviable task to make innovations on the long and universally\nestablished opinions of the christian community. I shall simply appeal\nto the scriptures to sustain me in my present exposition, and by that\nstandard I am willing my views should be tried, for by that alone,\nthey must ultimately stand or fall.\n\nFrom the text we have selected, it might, perhaps, be expected, that\nwe should proceed to prove the final holiness and happiness of the\nhuman family by showing, that he who is \"made alive in Christ is a new\ncreature\"; but as this has, heretofore been done so often and so ably,\nwe shall confine our attention, principally, to the different\nscripture accounts of the resurrection of the dead, and endeavor to\nascertain whether it is indeed, to take place at the end of time and\nbe general, or whether it is continually transpiring as gradual as the\nsuccessive deaths of our race in Adam.\n\nAnd here I would distinctly remark, that the dead are represented as\nbeing raised at the coming of Christ. This is admitted and believed by\nall. But where, I ask, is there in the Book of God _one passage_ to\nprove any coming of Christ after the destruction of the Jewish polity\nwhen he commenced his _gospel reign_, called the _judgment of the\nworld_? This was his _second_ coming; but where but where is there a\n_scrap_ of scripture to prove his _third_ coming at the end of time?\nFor one, I have searched in vain for such testimony. That Christ came\nin his kingdom, during the life time of the persons he addressed, and\nthen commenced the judgment of the world, is certain. This is not,\nhowever, admitted to be that coming of Christ when the dead will be\nraised immortal. Where then is revealed that _third_ coming of our\nLord, at the end of time, to raise the dead? I think it will be an\nunsuccessful task for any man to search it out and bring it forward.\n\nI would not be understood to say, that no destruction will attend this\nearth. On the contrary philosophy seems to warrant the idea. But the\nscriptures no not, in my apprehension, reveal such a catastrophe, nor\na _third_ coming of Christ, nor a general resurrection at that period.\nThe reader may, perhaps, here inquire whether the scriptures do not\nclearly describe the resurrection of all mankind to be at one instant\nof time? I answer, no more than they describe the judgment of all\nmankind to be at the same instant. But, says the reader, the\nresurrection is to be at the coming of Christ, which must be at some\ndesignated period. Very well; the judgment was to be at the coming of\nChrist to the destruction of the Jewish state, and does not this\ndesignate some particular period? If so, how are we judged in the\npresent day? If the judgment day, which _then_ commenced, has not yet\nended, why may not the resurrection day be still progressing? If you\ncontend, that the dead were all to rise at once, then by the same mode\nof scripture interpretation, I can prove that all the living were to\nbe judged at once. Acts xvii. 31. \"Because he hath appointed A DAY in\nthe which, he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom\nhe hath ordained, whereof he hath given this assurance unto all men,\nin that he hath raised him from the dead.\" 2 Cor. v.10. \"For we must\nall appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that every one may\nreceive the things in body, according to that he hath done, whether\ngood or bad.\"\n\nThough this event is represented as transpiring in _one day_, and as\nthough all men were literally arraigned at the same instant, still all\nUniversalist admit, that it commenced at the destruction of Jerusalem,\nhas passed upon succeeding generations, and will continue from the\npresent down to subsequent ages, so long as human beings shall have a\nhabitation on earth. This is called the _last day_. Jesus says--\"the\nword that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the _last day_.\"\nSo I contend, that though the resurrection is also called the last\nday, and represented as raising all mankind at one instant of time,\nstill simply means, that the doctrine of Christ (viz. The judgment and\nresurrection) should, at his coming in his kingdom, be fully revealed\nto the living by their seeing his prophesies fulfilled in the\nabrogation of the ceremonial law, and this doctrine of life and\nimmortality be permanently established and commence its sway over the\nliving, as the last and best system of God to man, and this\n_resurrection day_ continue down to all subsequent generations of\nslumbering dead, raising every man in incorruption and glory. The\njudgment and resurrection of the world are therefore both progressing,\nfor these two constitute the gospel reign of Christ. He is \"the\nresurrection and life of the world,\" as well as \"judge of quick and\ndead.\" Both are to be accomplished in the _last day_, and that day is\nnow progressing. A _general_ resurrection, at the last vibrating\npendulum of time, cannot I humbly conceive, be substantiated by the\noracles of truth, any more than a _general_ judgment. I am rather\ninclined to think that _the judgment of the world by Jesus Christ\nexpresses the whole, including the resurrection and all; even as the\nhigh priest, clothed with the breastplate of judgment on the day of\natonement, closed his services by raising the nation into the holy of\nholies, \"which was a pattern of things in the heavens_.\"\n\nIf the Scriptures afford us any evidence of the _third_ coming of\nChrist, to raise the dead, for one, I must acknowledge my utter\nignorance of the fact. In John (chap. vi.) Jesus several times uses\nthe expression, \"and I will raise him up at the last day.\" If others\ncontend that this has reference to \"_the last day of the last\ngeneration of the human race on the earth_,\" yet I must candidly\nacknowledge, that I cannot see a shadow of evidence to prove this\nposition. The _last day_ in this instance, refers to the gospel\ndispensation, which commenced at the destruction of the temple, and\ninvolves the whole reign of Christ. It is synonymous with the \"day of\nChrist\" and the \"day of the Lord\" mentioned in several places by the\napostles. Nor do I conceive it means, that Christ would raise them up\nby his own immediate power, but that God would raise the dead\naccording to that doctrine, which he sent his Son to reveal to men,\nand this would be fully established in the world, and be believed and\nfelt by Jew and Gentile Christians at the coming of Christ in his\nkingdom, at the end of that dispensation. _Then_ and not till _then_\nwere the predictions of Christ fulfilled, and then were those\nChristians, who had not seen Jesus after his resurrection, \"made\nperfect in faith.\"\n\nThe dead are to be raised at the _last_ trump; by which I understand\nthe _seventh_, for no other _last_ is revealed. This trump is\nmentioned by our Saviour (Matt. xxiv. 31.) and is the gospel trump\nwhich was to commence its sound at the destruction of Jerusalem. In\nRev. chap. viii, seven trumpets were given to seven angels, who are\nrepresented as sounding them in succession, and increasing woes\nfollowing, till the sixth trumpet sounded. But when the seventh angel\nsounded and the last dreadful wo passed away, a very different order\nof things followed. Rev. x. 7. \"But in the days of the voice of the\nseventh angel when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should\nbe finished as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.\" Rev.\nxi. 15. \"And the seventh angel sounded, and there were great voices in\nheaven, saying, the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of\nour Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.\" Now\ncompare these woes and this subsequent order of things with the\ntribulations Christ described in Matt xxiv chap. And the subsequent\nlife the righteous entered into, and you will readily perceive that\nboth refer to the destruction of Jerusalem and the commencement of\nChrist's auspicious reign. (The Revelations were certainly written\nbefore that event.) When the seventh angel sounded, Christ came in his\nkingdom and began his reign; and that he began his reign when the\ntrumpet sounded, and the woes recorded in Matt. Xxiv. And xxv.\nChapters took place, will not be denied. This settles the point that\nthe _seventh or last_ trump was not to sound at the close of Christ's\nreign, but at its commencement. And under this last sounding trump the\ndead were to be raised immortal, and those who were alive when it\ncommenced its sound, were to be suddenly changed in their\ncircumstances and feelings as described in the context. It was the day\nof their redemption from all their trials and persecutions, and doubts\nand fears.\n\nThat this was the period when the Christians entered the _resurrection\nday_ as well as the _judgment day_ under Christ is certain. They\nentered into the full enjoyment of that most sublime of all doctrines\nin the faith of which they not only saw the dead raised immortal and\nfree from pain, but felt themselves new beings. They were exalted from\nthe dust to high and \"heavenly places in Christ,\" were \"caught up to\nmeet the Lord in the air,\" were seated \"on thrones and made priests\nand kings to God and reigned with Christ.\" There \"they shone like the\nbrightness of the firmament and the stars forever and ever,\"\nrecognized the goodness of God in redeeming love, and sang the song of\n_certain victory_ over death and Hades. Then \"the kingdom and dominion\nand the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven was given to\nthe saints of the MOST HIGH,\" and in this \"kingdom of their Father\nthey shone forth like the sun.\" The above promiscuous quotations from\nScripture justify the expression, that the living were \"changed in a\nmoment at the last trump,\" which announced to the world the immortal\nresurrection of the dead. That this trump, whose sound proclaims the\nresurrection of all mankind, is the gospel trump, the doctrine of\nChrist, we cannot doubt.\n\nThat the change of the living, in the context, has any reference to\nchanging them into immortal beings, I cannot admit without further\nevidence. It is contrary to the whole tenor of revelation--it is\ncontrary to our text, which declares that all, who are made alive in\nChrist first die in Adam. As the change of the living is an important\npoint in our present investigation, we will give it further attention.\nThat the Christians were to experience a great and sudden change at\nthe destruction of Jerusalem is certain. They were to be delivered\nfrom all their trials and persecutions, and be raised into the full\nand felicitous enjoyment of the reign of Christ. Those Christians, who\nhad not seen our Saviour alive from the dead, who had believed on the\ntestimony of his apostles and of the \"five hundred brethren,\" were\ndelivered from all their doubts and fears on seeing his predictions\nfulfilled, were perfected in faith, and their \"hearts established\nunblamable in holiness.\" This was to them a resurrection day, not only\nin reviving their faith and hope in the doctrine of the immortal\nresurrection of all that died in Adam, but in delivering them from\ntheir sufferings, and raising them into the sublime enjoyments of the\nreign of Christ. In reference to this period, Jesus says, \"thou shalt\nbe recompensed at the resurrection of the just.\" And Paul says, \"If by\nany means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead, not as\nthough I had already attained, either were already perfect.\" What\nsense would there be in his saying--if by any means I might, by my\nexertions, become an immortal being, not as though I had already\nattained to immortal existence? No sense at all. But the apostles\nmeaning is clear, if we render it thus--If by any means I might\ncontinue faithful unto the end, and obtain a crown of life in the\nfirst resurrection at that day when Christ shall come in his kingdom\nto destroy his enemies and to deliver and elevate Christians to honor.\nWe shall notice this more particularly in our next when we come to\ncomment on Philippians iii. Chap. Again he says--\"Who concerning the\ntruth have erred, saying the resurrection is past already, and\noverthrow the faith of some.\" That is, to make the Christians believe\nthat their promised deliverance was past, while they were yet in the\nmidst of their sufferings, was calculated to overthrow their faith. We\nwill notice the change of the living still further. Jesus says, that\nthose, who were in their graves, and had done good, should come forth\nto the resurrection of life. And Daniel says, that many of them who\nsleep in the dust of the earth should awake to everlasting life, and\nthose, who were wise, should shine as the brightness of the firmament,\nand they that turned many to righteousness as the stars forever and\never. Here Daniel and Jesus represent the low, suffering, and\ndistressed condition of the Christians previous to the destruction of\nJerusalem, and their final deliverance and exaltation at that period,\nby sleeping in the dust, being dead in their graves, and suddenly\ncoming forth to life and shining like the brightness of the firmament\nand the stars forever and ever. This is equivalent with being \"caught\nup in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.\"\n\nThe above changes are as great and as in instantaneous, as the apostle\nrepresents in the context,--\"We shall all be changed in a moment, in\nthe twinkling of an eye at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound\nand the dead shall be raised incorruptible and we shall be changed.\"\nAs if he had said we shall suddenly enter into the full fruition of\nthat glorious gospel kingdom, whose trump shall then begin, and\ncontinue to sound down to the remotest periods of that \"_last day_\"\nproclaiming the incorruptible resurrection of all the dead, and at the\nsame time changing the living from the low, sorrowful, and groveling\nthoughts of earth to the sublime and joyful contemplations of \"life\nand immortality brought to light through the gospel.\" So the _last\nday_, in which the last trump sounds, and the dead are raised,\nembraces the whole gospel reign of Christ. The _resurrection_ is\ncoeval in duration with the _judgment_ of the world; for both are\ncalled the last day, and both are represented as involving all mankind\nin one assemblage to be judged and in one assemblage to be raised.\n\n[To be continued.]\n\nSERMON XXII\n\n\"For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.\" 1\nCor. xv:20.\n\nWe have already shown that the _judgment_ of the world is called the\n\"_last day_,\" in which all human beings are to stand at the Judgment\nSeat of Christ, and receive according to their deeds. We have shown,\nthat this day commenced at the end of the Jewish age, and is to\ncontinue down to all succeeding generations, so long as human beings\nshall have a habitation on earth. We have shown that the\n_resurrection_ is also called the \"_last day_,\" in which all the dead\nare to be raised immortal. We have shown that, as a doctrine of God,\nit was permanently established in the world at the end of the Jewish\ndispensation--that the last or gospel trump then commenced its sound,\nproclaiming the immortal resurrection of all who \"die in Adam,\" and at\nthe same time changed those who were then alive--and that it shall\ncontinue to sound to the remotest periods of this last day,\nproclaiming the resurrection of the dead and changing or reforming the\nliving. We have shown that the _judgment and resurrection_ constitute\nthe gospel doctrine of Christ, and, as such, both were established in\nthe world at the same time, and are both called the \"_last day_,\" in\nwhich all men are in succession to be judged, and raised immortal. The\napostle Paul, when discussing to his hearers, either the judgment or\nthe resurrection, looked forward to that interesting period, when they\nwere to be established in the world, and, with a giant effort, grasped\nin one view, the beginning and end of this brilliant, sublime, and\neverlasting DAY, and presented it in mental vision to his persecuted\nand almost desponding brethren as one instantaneous, transporting and\ntriumphant event, in which the world was to be judged, the living\nchanged, the dead raised immortal and incorruptible, and the rapturous\nsong of final victory was to be sung over death, its sting and the\ngrave.\n\nWe will now proceed to notice those passages, which are applied to the\nimmortal and general resurrection of the dead, point out their\nmisapplication, and reconcile them with the views we have advanced. We\nwill _first_ notice our context. And here it will be necessary to\nascertain the condition of those whom Paul addresses. He introduces\nthe chapter by referring to the many witnesses of Christ's\nresurrection, and commences his argument in proof of this fact, and\nagainst those christians, who had not been eye-witnesses, but who had\nprofessed faith in his resurrection _merely_ on the testimony of the\napostles. These christians were suffering persecution, and were, of\nall men most \"miserable\" if Christ were not risen from the dead; as in\nsuch case, their future deliverance and exaltation at his predicted\ncoming, were but a visionary dream. And as their Lord seemed to delay\nhis coming, \"some among them (being discouraged) began to say, there\nwas no resurrection of the dead.\" The great evidence, to which they\nwere looking for the final proof of his being the true Messiah was the\nfulfillment of all which the prophets had written of \"the daily\nsacrifice being taken away, the holy people being scattered\" and of\nthe glory of the Messiah's kingdom and reign, and of all, which Jesus\nhimself had predicted of his coming to destroy their persecutors, to\nput an end to the Mosaic dispensation, and to raise them to a state of\nexaltation in his kingdom. They had not seen Jesus alive from the dead\nas had the apostles; and however much they might be inclined to credit\ntheir testimony, yet their severe persecutions and sufferings, and the\nprotracted period of his coming would, very naturally, create, in\ntheir hearts many doubts and fears as to its truth.\n\nThese are the persons, whom Paul addresses in our context, and labors\nto keep them in the faith by presenting the _whole weight_ of\ntestimony in favor of the resurrection of Christ, on which he hinged\nthe resurrection of man. He summons before them more than five hundred\neye-witnesses, of whom himself was one, to satisfy them of the fact,\nand summons all the powers of philosophy in nature. He refers them to\ngrain sown in the earth, and its coming forth in a new body. He refers\nthem to all the various species of flesh, of men, beasts and birds on\nthe earth, and to the glory of the sun, moon and stars in the heavens\n--all differing from one another--to prove that God is able to prepare\nan immortal body, differing from all these, and raise man immortal! As\nhe passes on, reveling in the greatness of his strength, and absorbed\nin the immensity of his theme, his argument gathers force, till earth\nand heaven appear to be in motion before him! He ranges the universe,\nsummons to his aid the power of God, lays his masterly hand upon every\nfact, gathers them in his grasp, condenses them before his hearers,\nand, in one overwhelming burst of eloquence, makes the whole bear upon\nthe resurrection of Christ and of man! He refers them to the coming of\nhis Lord, at which time will be the end of the Jewish age. Then their\nsufferings and persecutions terminate, their darkness, fears and\ndoubts will be removed, they will be ushered into the glorious reign\nof Christ, behold this _last_ and brightest day, hear the _last_\njoyful trump sounding, see the dead by an eye of faith arising, and\nthemselves as living men changed. These would be Christ's at his\ncoming. Then he would receive his kingdom and begin his auspicious\nreign.\n\nNo fact is more certain than that Christ was to commence his reign at\nthe sound of the _last trump_. Not an instance can be produced, where\nJesus has revealed to his apostles, that any trump was to sound\nsubsequent to the one, which announced his coming in his kingdom at\nthe end of the Jewish age. If any one can produce scripture authority\nwhere a trump is to sound at the close of his reign, or at the end of\ntime, or even produce testimony to prove the end of time, I will\npublicly and gratefully acknowledge the favor. Perhaps the 24th verse\nof the context will be brought forward for this purpose: \"Then cometh\nthe end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the\nFather; when he shall have put down all rule, and all authority, and\npower.\" This, as it reads, is no objection to my views; but I contend\nthat this is not a correct rendering of the passage. Every careful\nreader will perceive, that it stands in perfect contradiction with\nverse 28th: \"And when (notice the word when) all things shall be\nsubdued unto him, then shall the Son himself also be subject unto him\nthat put all things under him, that God may be all in all.\" This verse\nteaches a future reign and future subjection, after the kingdom is\ndelivered up to God. What propriety is there in saying, \"_when all\nthings are subdued unto him_,\" after he has resigned his kingdom? What\nhas he to subdue, after the kingdom is delivered \"up to God, even the\nFather\". Certainly nothing. I readily grant, that in the modern\nedition of the Greek Testament I have before me, it is rendered in the\ndative case, \"_teen basileian to Theo kai Patri;\" \"the kingdom to God\neven the Father_.\" But I perused, several years since, a short\ncriticism by an English writer (whose name I cannot recall, nor the\nperiodical which contained it) on this very phrase in which the author\nstated that in an early Greek manuscript, he had in his possession, it\nwas rendered in the nominative case, \"_teen basileian ho Theos kai\nPater_.\" This would reverse the present translation, and cause it to\nread--\"_Then cometh the end when God even the Father shall deliver to\nhim (Christ) the kingdom_.\" The writer however argued, that as the\nchapter referred to the general resurrection at the end of time, it\nseemed to read far better as Christ's mediatoriol kingdom would then\nterminate. This is mere assertion founded upon preconceived opinions.\n\nI will, however, produce direct authority to support my views. I will\nhere present the reader with Wakefield's translation of this passage,\nwhose scholarship will be doubted by none:\n\n\"_Then will the end be, when God the Father delivereth up the kingdom\nto him, during which he will destroy all dominion, and all authority\nand power; for he will reign till he hath put every enemy under his\nfeet; and so the enemy death will be destroyed at last_.\"\n\nHere, then, we perceive that instead of its referring to the end of\ntime, and to the Son's delivering up the kingdom to the Father, it\nsimply refers to the end of the Jewish dispensation, when the Father\ndelivered to his Son a kingdom, and when he _commenced_ his reign.\nThis gives harmony, strength and consistency, to the whole connection\nclosing with the 28th verse, and is in perfect agreement with the\nwhole tenor of revelation, which no where speaks of the end of time.\nBut according to the received translation, he first delivers up the\nkingdom to God, then commences his reign, subdues all things, destroys\ndeath, and is then subject to the Father! Let it be distinctly noticed\nthat this \"_end_\" is at Christ's coming. But where, I again ask, is\nrevealed a _third_ coming of our Saviour?\n\nBut again--The Ethiopic version also supports this rendering of the\nabove passage, in agreement with Wakefield, which I consider as\nsufficient authority to settle the question, at least in my own mind.\nBut even were there no other authority, than the general tenor of\nrevelation, I should feel justified in my present exposition. To\ncontend for a _general_ resurrection, we are in the same predicament\nwith the orthodox in contending for a _general_ judgment.\n\nThe above harmonizes (in my apprehension) with every other part of\ndivine revelation, which embraces the testimony of the prophets, and\nof Jesus Christ and his apostles, who all speak of the _end_ as\nreferring _exclusively_ to the termination of the Jewish age, at which\ntime he should come in his kingdom and commence his reign. They also\nspeak of the glory which should follow, and of the success that should\nattend it. But not _an instance can be produced, where they speak of\nthe end of time_. He is to destroy the last enemy _death_; and this\nwork is effected progressively in this _last day_, as individuals are\nin _succession_ raised from death, and established in their final and\nblissful condition affording us no revelation when this order of\nthings will terminate. If it is a fact, that God the Father, at the\nsound of the \"last trump,\" delivered to his Son the kingdom--if this\nbe the correct rendering of the passage, as the whole tenor of\nrevelation seems to justify, then it was at the commencement of his\nreign; and our views of the _resurrection day_ are irresistible. The\napostle grasps, in mental vision, the whole subject, and represents it\nas one great and interesting event, big with sentiments of light and\nlife, in the same sense that he does the judgment of the world, which\nrevolved in his capacious soul as but one single day. The sudden and\ninteresting change he represents as taking place in the living, has\nreference to the unexpected manner in which this sublime scene would\nburst on the world. In this he but follows the example of his Lord,\nwho declared he would come as a \"thief in the night\"--that he would\n\"come quickly,\" and in an hour they were not aware, and exhorted his\ndisciples to watch.\n\nWe will notice one more passage in the context, which may be urged as\nan objection. \"Behold I show you a _mystery_; we shall not all sleep,\nbut we shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye at\nthe last trump; for the trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be\nraised incorruptible and we shall be changed.\" The _mystery_, here\nmentioned, refers to the change of those, who should be found alive at\nthe coming of Christ in his kingdom, produced by the full revelation\nand establishment of that doctrine, which proclaims the immortal\nresurrection of all mankind _by being made alive in Christ_. It is the\nfulfillment of the following scriptures--Eph. i 9,10--\"Having made\nknown unto us the _mystery of his will_--that in the dispensation of\nthe fullness of times he might gather together in one _all things in\nChrist_, both which are in heaven and which are on earth, even in\nhim.\" This mystery was _then finished_ in the full revelation of his\nwill to the doubting christians, whom Paul addresses in the context.\nThis is evident from Rev. x:7--\"But in the days of the voice of the\n_seventh angel_ when he _shall begin to sound_, the _mystery_ of God\n_should be finished_, as he hath declared to his servants the\nprophets.\" And that he began his reign when the mystery was finished\nis certain from Rev. xi. 15--And the seventh angel sounded; and there\nwere great voices in heaven saying the kingdoms of this world are\nbecome the kingdoms of our Lord and his Christ, \"and he shall reign\nforever and ever.\" Here we perceive that this _mystery of God's will_\nwas to be finished at the sound of the _seventh or last_ trump, which\nwill is, to gather or make alive all things in Christ. And at this\ntime he was to receive his kingdom and reign forever and ever. _\"We\nshall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,\"_ has reference to\nthose persecuted christians, who were not to \"taste of death till they\nsaw the Son of man coming in his kingdom.\"\n\nPhil. iii:20, 2l--\"For our conversation is in heaven, from whence we\nlook for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ; who shall change our vile\nbody, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body according\nto the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto\nhimself.\" That this passage has reference to changing our _natural\ninto immortal bodies_ at the resurrection, I see not a shadow of\nevidence to prove, either in established in their final and blissful\ncondition the passage itself, nor in the context. The context we have\nalready noticed by pointing out the resurrection to which Paul desired\nto attain. Chap. i:6--\"He, that hath begun a good work in you, will\nperform it until _the day of Jesus Christ.\"_ Chap. iv:5--\"Let your\nmoderation be known unto all men. _The Lord is at hand_.\" \"The day of\nJesus Christ\" and \"the Lord is at hand\" refer to his coming at the end\nof the Jewish age, and not to a resurrection at the end of time. Paul\ngave the Philippians notice of no other coming of Christ. The passage\nhas reference to the change the living were to experience, at this\ncoming of our Lord in his kingdom, by being delivered from their\npersecutions, doubts and fears, perfected in faith, and \"established\nunblamable in holiness before God,\" so as to resemble in a moral and\nexalted sense those immortal beings in heaven who are here called the\n\"glorious body\" of Christ. The body to be changed embraces both Jew\nand Gentile christians, who were at that time to be raised from their\nlowly condition into his gospel kingdom and \"shine forth like the\nsun.\" This is evident from the manner in which he commences: \"For our\nconversation is in _heaven_, from _whence_ we look for the Saviour,\nthe Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our _lowly body_ that it maybe\nfashioned like unto his glorious body.\" He contrasts the low and\noppressed condition of the whole christian body with what will be\ntheir exalted condition at the coming of Christ, and that exalted\ncondition will assemble that glorified body of beings in _heaven_ who\ndied in his cause, and with whom they had their conversation, and from\n_whence_ they were expecting the Saviour. It has reference, I\nconceive, to the body in which Christ arose. The church is the body of\nChrist, and it is to be presented to himself a _glorious body_, not\nhaving spot, wrinkle, or any such thing. The Greek word _tapeinos_\nrendered \"vile,\" should be rendered _lowly or humble_.\n\nIt will be noticed, by the reader, that the word _body_ is used in the\n_singular_ number and not in the plural, as some have quoted it in\ntheir writings. But if it refer to individual _forms_, it ought to be\nrendered in the _plural_--\"who shall change our vile _bodies.\"_ But it\nmeans the whole church or body of believers--a collective body of\nindividuals. In this sense the Greek word, _soma_, here rendered\n_body_ is frequently used in the New Testament. That the apostle does\nnot refer to all mankind is evident from the fact, that after the vile\nbody is changed according to the working, he adds--whereby he is able\n_even_ to subdue all things unto himself--That is, able _even_ to\nsubdue all things as well as to change that body. If the passage refer\nto an immortal and general resurrection, or rather to the change of\nall the living into immortal beings, then there would be none to\nsubdue after that period. But if we apply it to the coming of Christ\nin that generation, and to the change of the whole christian body,\nthen all is plain and in perfect agreement with the preceding and\nsucceeding context; also with 1 Cor. 15th chapter, and with the whole\ntenor of revelation, which speaks of but _one coming_ of our Saviour\nin his kingdom, and which shows that the work of subjection commenced\nafter the change of the living at the last trump, whose sound\nannounced the commencement of his reign. The word _kai_, rendered\n_even_, should probably have been rendered _also_. \"Who shall change\nour lowly body--according to the working whereby he is able also to\nsubdue all things to himself.\" The whole context, however, justifies\nthe above exposition because the christians were looking for the\ncoming of Christ at the end of that age, and exclaimed, \"the Lord is\nat hand.\"\n\n[To be continued.]\n\nSERMON XXIII\n\n\"For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.\" 1\nCor. xv:20.\n\nIn our last we noticed the context, and also taken into consideration\nthe language of Paul on the coming of Christ and the change of the\nliving in Phil. iii:20, 21. This, we have shown, has no reference to\nthe mortal bodies of men being changed to immortal bodies, so as to\nresemble the personal form of Jesus Christ. If it refer to Jesus,\nstill the resemblance would be _moral, not personal_, for no where do\nthe scriptures teach, that we are in our personal appearance to be\nlike our Saviour. But in a _moral_ sense, \"we shall be like him, for\nwe shall see him as he is.\" I do not say, that there will be no\n_personal_ resemblance between immortal beings and Christ. I fully\nbelieve there will be; but I mean that this personal resemblance is\nmore a matter of course, than a doctrine of divine revelation. I do\nnot read of the \"glorious body\" of Jesus in his immortal resurrection\nstate. But the scriptures do compare the moral body of Christians on\nearth with the glorified body of holy beings in heaven, Heb. xii:22,\n23--\"But ye are come unto mount Zion, and unto the city of the living\nGod, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an in-numerable company of angels\nto the general assembly and church of the first-born, which are\nwritten in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of\njust men made made perfect.\" So far as the Christians were\n\"established unblamable in holiness before God even our Father at the\ncoming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints\" so far as they\nwere elevated to \"shine as the brightness of the firmament and as the\nstars forever\" so far as their moral condition and enjoyments were\nimproved and enlarged, thus far, of course, the _lowly body_ of the\nchurch on earth would be changed into a moral resemblance of that\n\"glorious body\" of Christ, who were praising him in heaven. In\n_heaven_ the Christians had their conversation, from whence they were\nlooking for the Saviour, as shortly to come, and fashion them into a\nmoral resemblance of those saints above, who had died in his cause,\nand who were to come with him. From the whole context, the conclusion\nis irresistible that this change of the \"vile body\" was at the coming\nof the Lord _then_ at hand, and not at the end of time, as some\nimagine.\n\nAnother scripture commonly applied to the _general_ resurrection of\nthe dead, and a change of all the living is recorded in 1 Thess.\niv:15, 16, 17--\"For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that\nwe which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not\n_be before_ them that are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend\nfrom heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and the\ntrump of God; and the _dead in Christ_ shall rise first. Then we which\nare alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the\nclouds to meet the Lord in air, and so we shall be evermore with the\nLord.\" That Paul here refers to the coming of Christ in his kingdom to\nestablish his reign, and to elevate the Christians who were alive at\nthat period, the _preceding_ and _succeeding_ contexts fully justify.\nAnd so I must understand his language, till some one can prove a third\ncoming of Christ, and an _eighth_ sounding trump at the end of time.\nIn the two preceding chapters, he dwells largely upon the persecutions\nof the Christians, exhorts them to be faithful, expresses his desire\n\"to perfect that which is lacking in their faith,\" and concludes by\nsaying--\"To the end he may establish your hearts unblamable in\nholiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus\nChrist _with all his saints.\"_ No one will deny that this has\nreference to his coming at the end of the Jewish age. Now would it not\nbe doing injustice to this powerful and cogent reasoner to say, that\nhe suddenly drops this subject without giving his brethren any\nwarning, and runs off to the end of time, speaks of another coming of'\nChrist at which he is to raise, at the same instant, all the dead and\nchange the living to immortal beings? And that he should again, as\nsuddenly, drop this subject, and hasten right back to the coming of\nChrist at the destruction of Jerusalem? To charge him with this is\ncertainly ungenerous.\n\nAfter stating that Christ should descend with a shout, with the voice\nof the archangel and the trump of God to exalt the dead and living, he\nadds--\"But of the times and seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I\nwrite for yourselves perfectly know that the day of the Lord so cometh\nas a thief in the night. For when they shall say peace and safety then\nsudden destruction cometh upon them, and they shall not escape.\" There\nis no resisting the conclusion, that _\"the day of the Lord\"_ in this\npassage refers to the same period when \"_the Lord himself shall\ndescend from heaven_\" in the passage above; which must be at the\ndestruction of Jerusalem. He quotes Christ's own language, Matt.\nxxiv:43. See also 2 Peter iii:10. In both places, the sudden coming of\nJesus is compared to a \"thief in the night.\" But where is a _general_\nresurrection, at the end of time, clearly stated, that he had no need\nto inform them of the times and seasons, because they already\nperfectly knew? Where is sudden destruction to come upon any in that\nday? For one, I find no such revelation.\n\nThough the doctrine of immortal resurrection of all mankind was fully\nrevealed, and established in the world at the coming of Christ in his\nkingdom; yet that particular point is not argued by the apostle in the\nscripture on which we are commenting. He is not speaking of all\nmankind, nor of the immortal resurrection; but as in Phil. iii:20, 21,\nso _here_ he is speaking of the Christians _only_ who should be alive\nwhen that scene burst and of those dead _only_ who had died in the\ncause of Christ. \"The dead in Christ\" cannot possibly include those\nwho died previous to his birth, but those only who died in the faith\nof his doctrine previous to his coming in his kingdom. We might reason\nthis point at large, but deem it unnecessary till some one proves how\nthose, who never heard of a Saviour, could be said to die in Christ,\nor to be dead in him. I would, however, remark that the Greek\npreposition _en_ may be rendered, _on account of_. The phrase would\nthen read thus--_the dead on account of Christ_. Wakefield renders it\nthus--\"_they who have died in the cause of Christ_.\" That this is its\ntrue sense, I have not a doubt.\n\nLet one thing here be distinctly noticed: Paul says--\"For this we say\nunto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain,\"\n&c. Now where has our Lord ever said, when speaking of the immortal\nresurrection, that some would be alive, and be changed to immortal\nbeings? Nowhere. This single circumstance ought to make every man\npause before he asserts such a change to be true. Read Christ's\nlanguage in all three of the Evangelists where he addresses the\nSadducees; and he speaks only of the dead being raised, but not of any\none being changed. Read his language, John vi:39--\"And this is the\nFather's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I\nshould lose nothing, but raise it up again at the last day.\" Nothing\nis here said about changing the living to immortal beings. The Father\nhas given all into the hands of his Son; and if he is to _raise_ them\nup at the last day, then all must die, for the _change_ of the living\nis not the _resurrection_ of the dead. How then could Paul tell his\nbrethren, \"by the word of the Lord,\" that they were to be thus\nchanged? He could not because there is not a \"thus saith the Lord\" to\nsupport it. But Paul had the word of the Lord support the change in\nthe living which we have pointed out. Christ said, \"the righteous\nshould go into life eternal,\" they \"that endured unto the end should\nbe saved\" that \"they should shine like the sun in the kingdom of their\nFather,\" and that \"they should be recompensed at the resurrection of\nthe just.\"\n\nBut, inquires the reader, were those who died in the cause of Christ\nraised immortal at his coming? No, they were not. It simply means that\nthey were in that day to receive their elevated stations of glory and\nand honor in the gospel kingdom, so much so, as if they had been\nalive. The living Christians, in this respect, were not to be before\nthem. Having suffered and died in the cause of Christ, they were in\nthe minds of the living to \"shine as the stars forever and ever\" in\nthe kingdom of Christ, because they had turned many to righteousness.\nThe Lord had, as it were, delayed his coming, and many had given up\nfaith in Christ's resurrection, and were sorrowing without hope over\ntheir friends who had fallen asleep in his cause. They of course had\nno faith in the immortal resurrection of their friends, nor in the\nfulfillment of Christ's predicted coming to raise their names to\nunfading honor for having labored and died in his cause. We are not to\nunderstand that those departed saints were _literally_ exalted to\nelevated stations in Christ's kingdom on earth, any more than Christ\n_literally_ came. But as Jesus was _in that day_, at the end of the\nJewish age, \"crowned with glory and honor,\" as king on the mediatorial\nthrone of the universe, so were his apostles elevated on thrones of\nglory with him. Jesus says, \"when the Son of man shall sit on his\nthrone of glory, ye also shall also sit upon twelve thrones, judging\nthe twelve tribes of Israel.\"\n\nNow certain it is, that Jesus did take his throne, when he came in his\nglory, at the destruction of the temple. Then it is equally certain,\nthat the apostles and martyrs also took their's at the same period and\nin the same sense. _Then_ Christ came and \"his holy angels\" and all\nthe saints came with him; not literally, but in the same sense that he\nhimself came. Luke ix:26, 27--\"For whosoever shall be ashamed of me\nand of my words, of him shall the Son of Man be ashamed when he shall\ncome in his own glory and of his Father's and of the holy angels; but\nI tell you of a truth there be some standing here which shall not\ntaste death till they see the kingdom of God.\" I Thess. iii:13--\"To\nthe end he may establish your hearts unblamable in holiness before God\nour Lord even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with\nall his saints.\" Here we perceive, that he was to come \"_with all his\nsaints and holy angels_.\" By his _holy angels_, we are to understand\nhis gospel messengers or martyred apostles and by _his_ saints, those\nwho had died in his cause. These are the persons who are said to be\n_dead in Christ, and asleep in Jesus_. By the words _dead and asleep_\nwe are not to understand their present extinction of existence in\ncontrast with their immortal resurrection, but the supposed _low and\ndisgraceful_ cause in which they died, or for which they were put to\ndeath by their persecutors, as malefactors. This _disgraceful\ncondition_, in which their murderers viewed them as unchangeably\nsleeping, stands in contrast with their _triumphant exaltation_ at the\ncoming of Christ. Their enemies would _then_ look upon them as having\ncome forth from the dust of the earth and shining as the brightness of\nthe firmament and as the stars forever and ever, and not as sleeping\nin perpetual infamy and dishonor. [See Daniel xii 2, 3, and John v:28,\n29.] Their enemies (whether dead or alive) were to come forth to\n_shame, contempt, and condemnation_, which stand in contrast with the\n_glory and honor_ to which the Christians (whether dead or alive in\nChrist) were to be raised in the minds of the living even to\nsucceeding generations.\n\nLet it be distinctly noticed that _these dead in Christ_ are not said\nto be raised _incorruptible and immortal_, but only caught up with the\nliving Christians in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air--not\n_literally_, but in the same sense that the living saw the Son of man\ncoming in the clouds of heaven, so should they see his saints and holy\nangels raised from the slumber of infamy, and, together with the\nChristians who remained alive at that day, be exalted with him in the\nair. [See Matt. xxiv:30, 31--Mark xiii:26, 27--Luke xxi:27, 28, and\nRev. i:7.] In these passages he is represented as \"coming in the\n_clouds_ with his angels,\" who \"gathered, with a great sound of the\ntrumpet, his elect,\" and raised them to honor in his kingdom. And let\nme add--this is all the _change_ Christ has ever said should take\nplace in the living at the sound of the Trumpet. I have no doubt that\nthe Apostle had his eye upon the above words of our Lord when he said,\n\"we shall be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.\" It\nwill here be plainly seen in what sense those who had died in the\ncause of Christ were _first_ raised. They are represented as coming\nwith him at the destruction of the temple, and after that event the\nwhole \"body\" was exalted together. The \"vile body\" of Christians on\nearth (vile indeed in the eyes of their enemies) was then \"fashioned\nlike unto his glorious body\" of saints and angels in heaven who had\ndied in his cause.\n\nThat we have given a correct exposition of 1 Thess. iv:15, 16, 17, is\nevident from Paul's words 2 Tim. iv:7, 8--\"I have fought the good\nfight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. Henceforth\nthere is laid up for me a _crown of righteousness_, which the Lord,\nthe righteous Judge shall give me at _that day_,\" &c. The phrase\n\"_that day_\" means not the day of Paul's death, but the day Christ\nshould appear in the clouds of heaven at the end of the Jewish age.\nHis _crown was merited_ for having \"fought the good fight and kept the\nfaith.\" The crown means that exalted honor he should then receive for\nhaving \"turned many to righteousness.\" And not only himself, but all,\n\"who love the appearing of Christ,\" should shine as the brightness of\nthe firmament and as the stars forever and ever in his gospel kingdom\namong men. We this day look upon the martyrs and apostles as the\nlights of the Christian world and as occupying, on the sacred page,\nstations far more exalted than any ever conferred upon the greatest\nmen of the universe. They are \"made priests and kings to God\" for\ndying in his cause, and thus establishing the truth of Christianity.\n\nThis was the \"first resurrection,\" and these were the persons who had\na part in it, which no subsequent christians can ever can have. Rev.\nxx:6--\"Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first\nresurrection, on such the second death hath no power, but they shall\nbe priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand\nyears.\" But if Christ had not come in his kingdom at the end of the\nJewish age, as the prophets and himself had declared, then the whole\nChristian system must have fallen and the names of its martyrs and\napostles remained buried in perpetual infamy as a set of deluded men\nand impostors. But, blessed be God, it is not so. They, by their\nfaithfulness, have attained unto the \"first resurrection\" and thus\nbroken the dark chains of infidelity into fragments. This is the\n_resurrection and change_ referred to in Phil. iii:20, 21, and 1\nThess. iv:15, 16, 17, on which we have commented.\n\nWe have intentionally omitted till now Phil. iii:11, 12, as our ideas\nwill be more readily comprehended here than in our introductory\ndiscourse, where we simply adverted to these words of Paul--\"If by any\nmeans I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead--Not as though\nI had already attained either were already perfect,\" &c. Here we\nperceive that the resurrection unto which he desired to attain\ndepended on his exertions in the cause of Christ, and being faithful\nunto the end. He says (verse 14)--\"I press towards the mark for the\nprize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.\" But what prize was\nthis? Ans. It was a _part_ in the _first resurrection_ to which he\ndesired to attain (verse 11) and he was not \"perfect,\" he feared \"lest\nafter having preached to others himself might be a cast-away.\" He\nfeared that he might not endure faithful unto the end. He was well\naware that the promise was--\"Be thou faithful unto death and I will\ngive thee a crown of life.\" To obtain this crown of life in the first\nresurrection, was the _highest prize_, the _highest calling of God_,\never suspended upon human merits! Paul did continue faithful, and as\nhe was led to the thought of death, with composure and satisfaction\nexclaimed--\"For I am now ready to be offered; and the time of my\ndeparture\" is at hand. \"I have fought the good fight, I have finished\nmy course, I have kept the faith; henceforth there is laid up for me a\n_crown of righteousness_, which the Lord the righteous Judge shall\ngive me at that day, and not to me only, but unto all them also, that\nlove his appearing.\" Here we perceive that Paul had continued\nfaithful, and was entitled to the promised crown, which was awarded to\nhim, and to all \"the dead in Christ,\" who, on account of their\nfaithfulness, had a part in the first resurrection--when he came in\nthe clouds of heaven to establish his kingdom. It has nothing to do\nwith the immortal resurrection of the dead, for that is not the reward\nof merit, but the gift of God. To _that_ all shall attain who die in\nAdam. But in the _first_ resurrection none had a part except those who\ndied in the cause of Christ, and the living who continued faithful to\nthe day of his appearing. On them and _them only_ devolved the honor\nof establishing the truth of Christianity for the happiness of future\ngenerations, by not only testifying that they had seen Jesus alive\nfrom the dead, but by cheerfully submitting to death, and showing\nthemselves miracles of suffering in his cause. Both the departed and\nthose that remained alive, attained to the first resurrection, were\nglorified together, and their crowns shall shine in the gospel heavens\nwith undiminished splendor long after those of kings and tyrants shall\nbe dimmed and lost in the vortex of revolutions.\n\nHe concludes the chapter by noticing the change of the \"vile body\"\nwhich we have explained. Here then is no evidence of a general\nresurrection, nor of the end of time. The _context_, the _silence_ of\nJesus about the change of the living into immortal beings, and the\n_whole tenor_ of revelation combine to set it at defiance. Of one\nthing I am satisfied; that no man ever _has_, and I believe, no man\never _can reconcile_ the change of the living and the resurrection of\nthe dead recorded in Philippians and 1 Thessalonians with their\nrespective contexts, so as to prove a general and immortal\nresurrection at the end of time. As I have traveled in an untrodden\npath, I do not know but that I may have erred in some minor points,\nbut am satisfied that my general positions are sound and tenable.\n\n[To be continued.]\n\nSERMON XXIV\n\n\"For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.\" 1\nCor. xv:20.\n\nWe have now come to that point in our subject where it will be\nnecessary to cite a few passages to prove that the immortal\nresurrection is _successive, not general_, and will conclude by\nconsidering some of the principal texts, which may be urged as\nobjections.\n\nWe have already shown that the resurrection of the dead was to be at\nthe sound of the last trump. And as that trump commenced sounding at\nthe end of the Jewish age, when Christ came in his kingdom, I deem it\nsufficient to establish the fact that the dead are continually rising\nin this _last, this gospel day_. But the question presents itself--\nwere any of the human family raised immortal before that period? To\nthis question I give an affirmative answer. I firmly believe, that the\ndead have been rising immortal from Adam to the present day, for God\nhas never changed the established order of the universe. I believe\nthat the dead are raised without any _miracle_, in the common\nacceptance of that term, as much as I believe that we are born, and\ndie, not by a _miracle_, but according to that constitution of things\nwhich God has immutably established from the beginning. I believe this\ndoctrine of Christ to be founded upon the unchanging principles of\nphilosophy but so mysterious, that man in his present existence cannot\ncomprehend the subtle causes and effects by which he shall put on\nimmortality. It was, therefore, necessary that this sublime truth\nshould be established in the world by the miracles Jesus wrought and\nby the miraculous power of God in raising him from death. The first\nman Adam was made by a miracle, while his posterity are naturally born\ninto life, according to that constitution of things which God has\nestablished. So Christ, the second Adam, was born from the dead by a\nmiracle, while mankind from the beginning, have, in succession, been\nborn from the dead according to that constitution of things which he\nhas established.\n\nOn this principle, it may be stated as an objection, that as none of\nAdam's posterity could be born till their parent was created by a\nmiracle, so none of the human family could be born from the dead, till\nChrist the second Adam were raised immortal by the miraculous power of\nGod. This objection is futile unless it can be proved that Christ\n_creates_ life and immortality. In fact, it would even then fail;--\nbecause Christ, as our sacrifice, was slain from the foundation of the\nworld in the offerings made to God in his stead. The atonement, made\nby the high priest throughout the whole Mosaic dispensation, concluded\nby raising the Jewish nation in figure on his \"breast-plate of\njudgment\" into the holy of holies, which was a pattern of things in\nthe heavens. The atonement always involved the resurrection. The\njudgment of the Jews, for two thousand years, by Moses only pointed\nout the resurrection of man in _figure_, but Christ proved the\n_reality_ by a tangible _fact_, and thus revealed it to the living as\nthe doctrine of God of which the world had been ignorant. So what the\n_judgment_ of the world by Moses taught in _figure, the judgment_ of\nthe world by Christ teaches in _reality_. My limits will not allow me\nto argue this point at large. I have already remarked, that I believe\n_\"the judgment of the world\"_ expresses the whole reign of Christ\nincluding the resurrection.\n\nWe now proceed to notice the Scriptures. Matt. xxii. 31, 32.\n\n\"_But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that\nwhich was spoken unto you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, the\nGod of Isaac and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but\nof the living_.\"\n\nTo this Luke adds, \"_for all live unto him_.\" In order to make these\nwords of Jesus refer to a general resurrection at the end of time, all\nwriters have availed themselves of this last clause in Luke (on which\nMatthew and Mark are silent) and contend that it means--all live unto\nGod who in his counsels views the future resurrection as present. But\nthis exposition by no means satisfies my mind. If Abraham, Issac and\nJacob are not raised--if they are yet wrapped in the insensibility of\ndeath, then God during that period is not their God.\n\nTo illustrate this, we would remark, that Jehovah could not be Creator\ntill something were created by him. He could not be Father till he had\nan offspring. He could not be Lord till he possessed property;--\nneither could he be God till there were a worshipper. _Jehovah_ is the\nonly abstract name he could possess, were he solitary and without a\nuniverse. All the other names ascribed to him are relative. The name\nGod as much pre-supposes the actual existence of a _worshipper_ as\nthat of father does the actual existence of a _child_. Remove the\n_child_, and the once doating parent is no longer to him a father. God\nis not, therefore, the God of the dead, for as such, they could not\nworship him. He is, however, Lord of both the dead and the living\nclaiming them as his property. Abraham, Issac and Jacob were therefore\nalive, and worshipping him when those words were spoken to Moses, for\nin no other sense could he have been their God any more than he was\nbefore they were born. The phrase \"_for all live unto him_,\" may, in\nthis instance, embrace only the three patriarchs, as no others are\ninvolved in the quotation. The Sadducees believed in the writings of\nMoses only, and it is not at all probable, that Jesus referred to any\npersons, not mentioned by Moses, as it would have been no proof to the\nSadducees. His argument is, to prove that the three patriarchs, _are\nraised_ according to their own writings, not _shall be raised_. Now\nthat the _dead are raised_ Moses showed at the bush when he called God\nthe God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Here we perceive that \"_the\ndead_\" refers to the three persons whom Moses showed were raised. He\nthen adds--for he is not the God of the _dead_ but of the _living_,\nfor all live unto him--that is, the three patriarchs _all_ live to\nhim. If the phrase embrace any others, it must be the living in\neternity, not the living in the flesh nor the dead as such. It would\nmake Jesus contradict himself in the same breath. \"He is not the God\nof the _dead_, but of the _living_; for _all_ live unto him.\" To whom\ndoes this \"_all_\" refer? To the \"_living_\"; not the \"_dead_,\" for in\nthat case he would be the God of the dead.\n\nLuke ix. 30. \"_And behold there talked with him two men, which were\nMoses and Elias_.\" The transfiguration of our Lord is recorded also by\nboth Matthew and Mark, and it is plainly stated that the disciples\n\"saw his glory and the two men that stood with him.\" If Moses and\nElias were dead, their bodies crumbled to dust, and their minds in a\nstate of insensibility, then they were not Moses and Elias who talked\nwith him. Even if God had represented those two persons by other\nforms, they could no more have been Moses and Elias than Adam and\nNoah. It is _consciousness and memory_ which constitute personal\nidentity; and if a conversation was carried on with Jesus by any means\nthat human ingenuity can invent, while Moses and Elias were wrapped in\nas profound insensibility as the dust with which their bodies mingled,\nthen it could not have been Moses and Elias who conversed with Jesus\nany more than if they had never had an existence. Perhaps it may be\nsaid that, as it is called a _vision_ by Matthew, it might have been\nnothing _real_. But as the word _horama_ means a _sight_ as well as\n_vision_, and as the other Evangelists do represent it as an actual\nappearance and nothing visionary, it is to be taken in this sense. Was\nit not a _reality_ that the three disciples saw Jesus transfigured,\nand though in that condition was it not still their _identical_ Lord?\nCertainly. Then the vision was so far _real_, and I see no ground on\nwhich the other personages can be considered phantoms. Mark says, \"he\ncharged them that they should tell no man _what things they had\nseen_,\" &c. See also Luke ix. 36. Here it is made certain that it was\nnot an appearance in a dream, but a real and visible sight of three\npersons whose names are given. Consequently Moses and Elias were there\nas certain as was Jesus Christ. If so, they must have been raised from\nthe dead, for man can have no conscious existence hereafter in a\ndisembodied state. The scriptures teach that the resurrection is our\nonly hope of a future conscious state of being. As to the translation\nof Elijah we shall not here notice it.\n\nPhil. i. 23, 24. \"_For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire\nto depart and be with Christ which is far better; nevertheless to\nabide in the flesh is more needful for you_.\" To depart and be with\nChrist must, I conceive, mean in the resurrection world, for in no\nother sense could he be with Christ so as to render his condition \"far\nbetter.\" Nothing can be _good or bad_ for a man in a state of perfect\ninsensibility, any more than for a man unborn--Neither could he be\nwith Christ in such a State, any more than before he existed. Between\nthe condition of a man in non-existence [pardon the expression] and in\nlife, no comparison as to enjoyment or suffering can possibly be\ndrawn. The apostle therefore draws a comparison between his present\ncondition of conscious existence with his brethren, and his future\ncondition of conscious existence with Christ which was far better.\n\nThat Paul has reference, in the above, to an immortal existence in the\nresurrection, is evident from 2 Cor. v. 1, 2, 3, 4.\n\n\"_For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were\ndissolved, we have a building of God, a house not made with hands\neternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be\nclothed upon with our house which is from heaven. If so be that being\nclothed we shall not be found naked. For we that are in this\ntabernacle do groan, being burdened, not for that we would be\nunclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of\nlife_.\"\n\nIf the above do not prove that the apostle expected to be clothed upon\nwith his house from heaven shortly after his earthly tabernacle were\ndissolved, then I must acknowledge my ignorance of his meaning. He\ndesires not to be unclothed so as to be found naked at the coming of\nChrist. By this I understand that between death and the resurrection\nthere is a state of insensibility of several days duration, while the\nspiritual body is putting on, and if he died so near the coming of\nChrist, that the process was not completed, and mortality not\nswallowed up of life, he would be found naked, i.e. In the state of\nthe dead. He therefore expresses no desire to be found unclothed at\nthat period but clothed upon and present with Christ. This is evident\nfrom verses 6, and 7.\n\n\"_Therefore we are always confident, knowing that whilst we are at\nhome in the body we are absent from the Lord. We are confident, I say,\nand willing rather to be absent from the body and present with the\nLord_.\"\n\nWhile in the body, though they had many consolations in the faith of\nChrist, though \"he was with them always even unto the end of the age,\"\nthough \"to live was Christ,\" yet this condition he terms being\n_absent_ from the Lord in comparison to being _present_ with him,\nwhich cannot mean in the unclothed state of insensibility, but where\n\"mortality is swallowed up of life.\"\n\nLet it be distinctly noticed, that the apostle is speaking of three\nstates--\n\n1st. as being in this earthly house or body where they were absent\nfrom the Lord--\n\n2nd. as being unclothed and found naked at his coming for which they\nhad no desire--\n\n3rd. As being absent from the body and present with the Lord where\nthey should be clothed upon with their house from heaven that\nmortality might be swallowed up of life, for which they had a desire.\n\nVerse 9. \"_Wherefore we labor that whether present or absent we may be\naccepted of him_.\" Here we perceive that they did not labor to obtain\nentrance into his presence, because the immortal resurrection is the\ngift of God. But they labored, whether _alive_ on earth or _immortal_\nin heaven, that they might be accepted among those, who were worthy to\nobtain a crown of righteousness in the first resurrection for having\ncontinued faithful unto the end--that they might be worthy to form a\npart of that glorious body of witnesses in heaven who were slain for\nthe testimony of Jesus. And the body of christians on earth, who\ncontinued faithful to the coming of Christ, were to be fashioned like\nthose above, and receive the same exalted honor in his gospel kingdom,\nand the whole compose one bright body of infallible witnesses, whose\ntestimony can never be shaken by all the powers infidelity. \"To depart\nand be with Christ which is far better\" must mean in an immortal\nexistence.\n\nWe cannot, for want of room, argue this part of our subject at large;\n--but the above is in perfect agreement with the philosophy of St.\nPaul, (1 Cor. 15,) where he compares the raising of the spiritual body\nto a grain of wheat sown in the earth. I would not be understood to\nsay that this natural body of flesh and blood is ever to rise. No one,\nI presume, will contend that infants, youth and decrepid age, and\nthose who are born deformed will be raised in that condition and all\nretain their various complexions. I believe, however, that there are\nthose subtle materials in the natural body which, when extricated from\nthe earthly tenement, and completely developed, shall produce the\nimmortal being; and that these are as perfect in the infant as in the\nman.\n\nWe will now conclude by anticipating and answering one or two\nprincipal objections. It may be objected that, if any one arose\nimmortal before Christ, he could not have been \"the first-born from\nthe dead\" as stated in Col. i. 18. This does not mean _first_ in the\norder of time, but in _rank_. It means _principal_, and is explained\nby the connecting phrase--\"that in all things he might have the\n_pre-eminence_.\" It is more particularly explained in Rev. i. 5. \"Jesus\nChrist the faithful witness and the first-begotten of the dead and the\nPrince of the kings of the earth.\" In connexion with this, we will\nintroduce 1 Cor. xv. 20. \"But now is Christ risen from the dead and\nbecome _first-fruits_ of them that slept.\" This also has reference to\n_rank_ and not to _first_ in the order of time. In evidence of this,\nwe will quote Cruden,--\"The day after the feast of the Passover, they\nbrought a sheaf into the temple the _first-fruits_ of the barley-harvest.\nThe sheaf was threshed in the court, and of the grain that\ncame out they took a full homer; i.e. About three pints. After it had\nbeen well winnowed, parched and bruised, they sprinkled over it a log\nof oil; i.e. Near a pint. They added to it a handful of incense; and\nthe priest that received this offering shook it before the Lord\ntowards the four quarters of the world; he cast part of it upon the\naltar and the rest was his own. After this every one might begin their\nharvest. This was offered in the name of the whole nation, and by\n_this_ the harvest was sanctified unto them.\"\n\nHere let the question be asked--Was this sheaf called the\n_first-fruits_ because it was ripe before the whole harvest? No; it was not\ncut till the harvest was ripe. Was it called _first_ because the\nharvest would be _second_ in following it to the temple to be\npresented to God, by the priest, in the presence of the people? No; it\nwas not to be carried to the temple, nor would the priest or the\npeople ever see the whole harvest thus dedicated to God. But it was\ncalled \"the _first_ of the ripe fruits,\" because it was offered to God\nin the presence of the people as an evidence of the consecration of\nthe whole harvest throughout the nation. It was _first_ in\ndistinction, or _importance_ without any allusion whatever to _first_\nin the order of time.\n\nSo \"Christ was the _chosen_ of God, the _elect precious_, and the\n_Son_ consecrated forevermore.\" He was \"the chief among ten thousand\"\nand proved to be the Son of God with power by a resurrection from the\ndead without seeing corruption. In this condition he was presented to\nthe people as an evidence of the resurrection and consecration of all\nmankind. In this he was _first and last_--that is, the _principal_,\nthe _chief, the head_, and in _this_ he never _has had_, and never\n_will have a second_ in the order of time. This is no evidence\ntherefore that he was the first one who ever rose to an immortal\nexistence. We have positive proof that Moses and Elias were raised\nfrom the dead, an in a state of conscious existence for they conversed\nwith our Lord in the presence of three of his disciples. They appeared\nin glory, and were two as real personages on the one part, as was our\nSaviour on the other.\n\nActs xxvi. 23. _\"That Christ should suffer, and that he should be the\nfirst that should rise from the dead, and should shew light to the\npeople and to the Gentiles.\"_ This passage contains, perhaps, as\nplausible an objection against my views as any that can be produced.\nBut this passage means, that Christ should be the _first_ who should\nshow light to the Jews and Gentiles through a resurrection from the\ndead. The Greek word, here rendered \"_should rise_,\" is _anastaseos_\nfrom _anastasis_. It is a _substantive_, not a _verb_. Professor\nLeusden, in his Latin Testament, renders it \"_ex resurrectione\nmortuorum\"--by a resurrection from the dead_. The verb, _to raise, is\negeiro_, and is six times applied to the raising of Christ from the\ndead in 1 Cor xv. _Anistemi_ also means _to rise_ and is applied to\nraising the dead to life. But neither--anistemi nor egeiro_ are used\nin the verse, but _anastaseos_--Consequently it cannot _literally_ be\nrendered \"_should rise_,\" but _resurrection_. Wakefield translates it\nthus--\"That Christ would suffer death and would be the _first_ to\nproclaim salvation to this people and the Gentiles _by a resurrection\nfrom the dead_.\" This is evidently the real sense of the passage, and\nI shall offer upon it no further comment.","title":"Twenty-Four Short Sermons On The Doctrine Of Universal Salvation","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":61485}