and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolators, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone; which is the second death."-Verse 8.-Verily, if John was teaching universalism along here, he did not know how to teach it, as well as our universalist brethren now do! You might hear them preach for ages now without hearing any such language from them, unless they referred to it to show how it could be evaded! Again, he says, "blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolators, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie."-xxII. 14, 15.

This informs us who they will be that will enter into that city, where there will be no death, nor sorrow, nor crying, nor pain. Not all men; but such as "do his commandments." They have right unto the tree of life, and to enter in through the gates, because they do his commandments; not because all men will have right to enter in.And although there will be no more pain nor death nor sorrow to those who "enter in through the gates into the city," yet the sorcerers, idolators, murderers, and liars, that are without, and can never get in, may suffer sorrow, and pain, and death, even the second death. They have no right unto the tree of life. Universalist teachers can never give them the right. Neither will the belief in universalism, nor any other ism ever give them the right. If they want the privilege, let them go and do his commandments, repent of their sins, and live to God and his precepts; and they will then have a right. We dare not promise a right on any other terms.

SECTION V.

The punishment of sin, not in this life.

All, who profess to believe the Bible, profess to believe in punishment for sin. The universalist, like the deist, believes in no forgiveness of sin, in the common sense of forgiveness, but that every sin will certainly and infallibly be punished according to justice, in this state of being.— They agree in the idea, that either by the allotments of Providence, or by the compunctions of conscience, all are justly punished in this life, and have nothing to fear in the life to come. As this theory denies the pardon of sin through the propitiation of Christ, and the fears of future retribution, deism and universalism, in these important respects, are alike. And hence, as might be expected, the moral effects of the two systems are precisely the same.Universalists suppose all punishments to be inflicted to reform the punished-to have solely their good for their object, and to be in reality blessings. That God punishes men to prevent the commission of sin, which he appointed also for their good. We have protested against the idea, that men will be likely to be restrained from sin through fear of a punishment, which they are taught will be a blessing to them. Universalists contend that God carries all his designs into full operation; and adopts such measures only, as he knows will fully answer the purposes for which he designed them. That God designs all punishment as a means of reforming the wicked, and that all are fully punished in this life. Hence we might conclude, that, as God designs all punishments for the reformation of the wicked; and punishes all men amply in this life; and as all his measures must succeed, and all his designs must be accomplished, therefore all men must be reclaimed and reformed in this life! But alas for their system! It here

runs again against a tree!

Their infallible reasonings rua

madly against facts! Facts show that so far from all men being reformed in this life by receiving all the punishments due to their crimes, by which God designed to reform them, many of them grow worse and worse as long as they live!

If God designed the punishments of this life, which he inflicts amply upon all men, should reform them; and especially, if he designed the idea, that all punishments are blessings, should terrify the wicked from the commission of those sins, which he appointed for the good of all; we should think he would see by this time, that the doctrine of blessed punishments did not scare people much; but rather invited them to put themselves in the way to have as many blessings as possible. But as we said, all admit the wicked will be punished. The question now is, when? Universalism says, in this life always. We say, sometimes some in this life, and also in the life to come,

If in this life in all cases, the punishments must consist of either external or internal misery. Is it external? Look abroad in the world. Do not the proud, the haughty, the extortioners, the fraudulent, the oppressive, the hard hearted, unrelenting and cruel, often-very often, trample down the humble, the tender, the virtuous, and the good, as ashes under their feet? Is there not more genuine virtue and good feeling, amongst the poor, afflicted, and suffering part of our race, than among the luxurious, opulent and prosperous? Is not virtue in this world often neglected, censured, and persecuted? Have not the pious and good, in millions of cases, been pursued with the unrelenting vengeance of maddened bigotry? Have they not followed conscience, when the red banner of persecution waved? Have not millions of faithful and pure souls passed along these baleful shores of time, friendless, houseless, shelterless, unpitied, unprotected; tears, sighs, pinching wants, and alarms, their companions! blasted hopes, dungeon

glooms, clanking chains, or stormy skies, and bloody fields to mark the successive steps of their poor and hapless pilgrimage? How vain, for the easy and full fed, to sit down, unscathed with misfortune; and calculate that earthly comforts are apportioned out in this life, according to the moral merits or demerits of men! The wicked by being too adventurous in crime, are occasionally brought to the tribunal of human justice; but how many unjust actscruel advantages, heartless seductions, secret frauds, and abominable indulgences, go unwhipt of justice! How many escape the imperfect retributions of publick law! How many revel, and fatten, and laugh, and triumph, in the sinks of legalized corruption! But look into the Scriptures. See the holy army of martyrs and apostlespraying, and burning, and bleeding, and dying. Did not the apostle of the Gentiles say, "if in this life only, we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable."

The Sodomites had become very wicked; but Lot was a righteous man. How were they rewarded in this life? The wicked were permitted to die suddenly, because they were so wicked, and after a single pang, according to universalism, were wafted joyfully into glory. Here they "bathed their weary spirits, in seas of heavenly rest."While Lot, because he was a righteous man, was obliged to toil along in this vale of tears, and endure years of trial; and at last he had to die as well as the rest! Upon this hypothesis, is it not plain, that the wicked who perchance die by their wickedness, make out the best? That murderers, if they happen to swing upon the gallows, only get a shorter passport to paradise? That drunkards, by becoming beastly and swinish a few years, are only reeling along the path to the abodes of the sanctified? The old world became corrupt-and upon this hypothesis they were shipped off en masse to the heavenly world-to sing the songs of deliverance; while Noah and his family, for their obedience, were doomed to ride the storms of trial, and

tread the stormy shores of time, for many long and dismal years, before they could be admitted to glory!

"There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright; and one that feared God and eschewed evil."--Job 1. 1.-Now how was this perfect and upright man externally rewarded for his goodness in this life? This man had vast possessions; but the Sabians, the Chaldeans, and fire from heaven, swept them all away. He had sons and daughters, but they were destroyed. He was also smitten with sore biles from the sole of his foot unto his crown. He had friends; but they reproached him as a wicked man, because the Lord suffered him to be so afflicted. Said one, "If thou wert pure and upright; surely now he would awake for thee, and make the habitation of thy righteousness prosperous." -Job v111. 6.-All his wealth given to the winds; his children dead; all his friends turned his accusers on account of his sufferings; his whole flesh in torture, and his bones in pain-and last of all, when he most needed the kind sympathizing tenderness of conjugal endearment, his wife tauntingly inquired whether he would still retain his integrity? Instead of strengthening his virtuous resolutions, and consoling the suffering man, with the sweet retrospections of the past, and affectionate encouragement to perseverance, she exhorted him to curse God and die! Was all this a punishment upon Job, for being a perfect and upright man? A half an eye is sufficient, we should think, to see, that the comforts of the external condition of man, in this world, depend much upon his wisdom, his industry, his sagacity, his discernment, his cunning, as well as npon his habits; and sometimes-nay, often, take a course, entirely independent of all these. The certain and just and infallible punishments for sin, in this world, do not consist then in the external condition of the wicked. Are they miseries inflicted internally, or the torments of the mind? It is so thought by many. But how is the mind tor.