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best of men in this world, there is surely a vast difference between him who feareth God, and him who feareth him not;-between him who repenteth, and him who repenteth not ;-between him who believeth in Christ, and him who doth not believe:-in a word, there is a great difference between him who performs the conditions of salvation, and enters into covenant with God, and him who does not. The one is

a child of God and an heir of heaven; the other a child of wrath and an heir of hell.

LECTURE III.-Future Punishment.

"Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power," 2 Thess. i, 9.

HAVING laid before you in the two former lectures the evidence of a future judgment, and the conditionality of salvation, from both which we infer, with the utmost certainty, the doctrine of future punishment; I come in this third lecture to submit some of the more direct evidences of that doctrine; after which I will answer an objection.

1. That we have ample evidence from the Scriptures of future punishment, may be seen from the proofs which follow. I begin with those passages of Scripture which teach that the "hypocrite's hope shall perish," that his "hope shall be cut off," and that his "trust shall be a spider's web," Job viii, 13, 14. It

will be said that the hope here spoken of relates to prosperity in this life. If I should grant this it would make nothing against my argument; for then it would be a general rule applied to a particular case, which is often done. But it will not apply generally to the hopes of hypocrites and wicked people in this life; because they as often prosper, as they have their hopes cut off in this world. But in its proper and universal application it relates to future happiness. All men, however wicked, hope to be happy after death. But we are told their "hope shall be cut off, and their trust shall be a spider's web." And we are just as sure that this is the true application of the passage, as we are that the threatenings of God's word are true. For if the wicked and the hypocrite hope for heaven when they come to die, and the word of God says, "Except ye repent ye shall perish," -"He that believeth not shall be damned," it is undeniably true that their "hope shall be cut off." Of this number I fear are many of those who, while living without repentance, trust in the doctrine of universal salvation, and on that doctrine build their hope of heaven. I fear the same for many of my own, and every other denomination, that they are trusting in something beside Christ, and therefore I urge repentance and holiness upon all, because, without holiness no man shall see the Lord. Many will say unto Christ, even in "that day,"

“Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name," &c, but he will say unto them, though

their hope be strong, "I never knew you," I never approved of you; "depart from me, ye that work iniquity," Matt. vii, 22, 23.

To the

same purpose is the application of our Lord's sermon on the mount, recorded verses, 24-27 of this chapter: "And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man that built his house, (his hope,) upon the sand and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, (that hope,) and it fell, (it was cut off,) and great was the fall of it." From which we infer the future punishment of these foolish builders.

2. God allows sinners a space to repent, and affords them a system of means and helps to enable them to work out their salvation; he admonishes them that their opportunities and privileges will not always last, and that when they end, their condition becomes hapless."The night cometh when no man can work," John ix, 4. "Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon," Isa. lv, 6, 7.

Here it is intimated that God will not always wait to be gracious, that he will not always be found. And agreeably to this he says, "Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no mnan regarded; but ye have set at nought all my

counsel, and would none of my reproof; I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh, &c. Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer: they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me," Prov. i, 24-28. "Turn ye, turn ye, for why will ye die, O house of Israel?" Ezek. xxxiii, 11.Once more: "Exhort one another daily, while it is called to-day: lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin," like the Israelites in the wilderness; to whom God "sware that they should, not enter into his rest," the land of Canaan. "Let us therefore fear," says the apostle, "lest a promise being left us of entering into his rest," the heavenly Canaan, "any of you should seem to come short of it," Heb. iii, 13, and iv, 1. Those who wilfully go on, hardening themselves in sin, are in danger of being "given over" by God "to a reprobate mind," Rom. i, 28, and then he will send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie, that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness," 2 Thess. ii, 11, 12. From these passages we learn, 1. That God will finally "giver over," leave to themselves, abandon, the incorrigible sinner; and 2. That then their case becomes hopeless, and their damnation sure.

3. The future punishment of the wicked is clearly inferred from our Saviour's words to the Jews,-" -"Ye shall die in your sins." Again : "I said, therefore, unto you, that ye shall die

in your sins; for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins," John viii, 21, 24.The nation of the Jews did not believe that he was the Messiah, and shortly after these words were spoken to them, more than a million of them were cut off in their unbelief. The same may be said of thousands, and tens of thousands, in every land where the Gospel has been preached-they have died in unbelief, and of course have died in their sins, according to our Saviour's words. But the case of the Jews is sufficient for my purpose, and concerning these there can be no dispute-they did not believe in Christ-they "died in their sins." Let it not be said that they were saved from their sins in the article of death. To die in sin, and to be saved from sin, are phrases of different import; and he who says they were saved from their sins in the article of death, contradicts our Lord, who says that the unbeliever shall die in his sins. Beside, our Lord evidently intended these words, "If ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins," as an admonition to the Jews. But if you say they were saved from their sins in death, you do away all the admonition, and give to his words the character and the effect of a promise,-" If ye believe not that I am he, ye shall be saved from your sins in death." Thus says Universalism. We however choose to believe our Lord, and that the words, "Ye shall die in your sins," exclude the possibility of repentance, of faith, of pardon, of regeneration in

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