should all fulness dwell; and, having made peace by the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things to himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven."-Col. i. 19, 20. And I am not able to imagine, how St. John's vision (Rev. v. 13.) could be just, if endless damnation is true, where he "And says, every creature in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, all that are in them, heard I saying, blessing, and honor, and glory, & power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, & unto the Lamb forever & ever." In the nature of things, it appears impossible to me to believe these passages to be strictly and literally true, if endless misery be a truth: therefore I say, that I should not expect any intimation, far less absolute promises, that God would destroy death, the works of the devil, and make all things new, with many others of the like nature.

We find it promised, that every knee shall bow; and lest some might say, that every knee, meant only some knees, it is explained by the inspired apostle, to mean all things in heaven and in earth, and under the earth; and not only so, but every tongue shall swear, and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father; which could not be, except all were reconciled to him, whether things in heaven, or things in earth: wherefore this is also promised;, and, in consequence of their being subdued, humbled, made obedient, and reconciled, they shall be reheaded in Christ; never more to go astray, nor break that band of eternal union, which shall bind all together in one body, joined to one

head; and all shall give never ceasing praise to God and the Lamb, world without end.

As endless damnation appears to me to be against the promises, I cannot hold it as an article of my faith; but were there no promises or intimations to the contrary in Scripture, I should not require it to be threatened in any stronger terms than it is; I should believe it as a truth, though I might not be able at present, to see the propriety and equity thereof; I should never suffer my weak reason to gainsay Divine Revelation: but my difficulty arises from these express promises of God, which compose so great a part of that book which is given us as a rule of faith and practice; and which promises expressly assert a future state of things beyond sin, sorrow, pain, and death of every kind; when all things shall be made new; and death, the last enemy of God, Christ, and man, shall be destoyed, swallowed up in victory; and sin, which is its sting, shall be no more in existence; and tears shall be all wiped away from all faces.

But, though I have acknowledged that I should not dare to dispute the doctrine of endless damnation, unless God had given intimations, and even promises to the contrary; since I find several dreadful threatenings in the Scripture, in which the word aionion, or everlasting, is joined with the punishment of the wicked; yet a very little attention will shew us, that the felicity of the righteous is promised in much stronger language, than the misery of the wicked is threatened in the Scriptures.

I remark in the first place, that the word aion-ion, rendered everlasting, or eternal, is used much

oftener in St. John's gospel alone, to express the continuance of the life, or well being, of the righteous, than it is used in the whole Bible, to express the misery of the wicked; and this remark is strengthened by observing that he never once uses the word in his whole gospel, nor in his epistles, to set forth the duration of punishment. See St. John, iii. 15, 16, 36. iv. 14. v. 24. vi. 27, 40, 47, 54, 68. x. 28. xii. 25, 50. xvii. 2, 3, in all which passages, the word aionion is used to express the continuance of the well being of the righteous.

But not to insist on this: I observe, that there are many stronger expressions (even in our translation) to set forth the well being of the righteous, than any that are used as connected with the misery of the wicked. Isaiah xlv. 17. we read, "Israel shall be saved in JEHOVAH with an everlasting salvation; ye shall not be ashamed, nor confounded, world without end." But where do we read, that the misery of the wicked shall have no end? The word endless, or world without end, is never once used by our translators, to express the eternity of punishment, in the whole Bible.

We read, in 1 Pet. i. 4. of "an inheritance, incorruptible, and undefiled; and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven:" and in Chap. v. 4. of "a crown of glory, that fadeth not away;" and, Heb. xii. 23 of a "kingdom, which cannot be moved:" and our blessed Saviour's words are remarkably strong upon this subject, in many places; as, in St. Luke's gospel, Chap. xx. 35, 36, where he says, "But they who shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the

(first) resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage; neither can they die any more; for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection:" and in St. John, x. 27, 28, 29, we read thus: "my sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any pluck them out of my hand. My Father, who gave them me, is greater than all; and none is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.” In Chap. xi. 25, 26, Christ says, "I am the resurrection and the life; he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me, shall never die." And in chap. vi. 50, he says, "This is the bread that cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die." And he expresses the perpetuity of the heavenly bliss, and of our enjoyment of the same, by advising us, saying, "Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven; where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. Fear not little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not; where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth," St. Matth. yi. 20. and St. Luke, xii. 32, 33. This is that which St. Paul calleth 66 a better and an enduring substance," Heb. xii. 34. But what shall I say of the apostle's words, 2 Cor. iv. 7? "For our light affliction which is but for a moment, worketh for us, kath hyperbo

len eis hyperbolen aionion baros doxes katergazetai emin: a glory exceeding aionion, or eternal, to an excess." Here is an hyperbole upon hyperbole; beyond eternal; a far more exceeding eternal weight of glory.

But it is not so much by the different words made use of to denote the permanency of the felicity of the righteous, from those which are used to express the duration of the misery of the wicked, that I judge of the continuance of the one beyond the other; so much as from the dif ferent sources from whence they flow, and `of their different natures.

The happiness of those who are reconciled to God arises from their union to Christ; in which if they continue grounded and settled during this present life, wherein they pass through so many sore trials, the union will become so permanent, as that it will be impossible to dissolve it; and the very nature of things shews, that if we abide firm to the end, through all difficulties, and overcome all those things that would seek to separate us from Christ, when we come into that state where we shall meet with no more temptations, nor any thing that has the least tendency to draw our minds from God, we must, of consequence, remain attached, or united to him, while we have an existence. This doctrine was known to David; and therefore, he said, "While I live, will I praise JEHOVAH; I will sing praises unto my God, while I have any being." Psal. cxlvi. 2. civ. 33. It may be proved, that the

union shall continue between Christ and his faithful ones after this life, and shall become indissoluble; and that neither "tribulation, nor dis