From this passage, it is further evident, that by the identity of the mortal and immortal body, the apostle did not design to exclude a very essential alteration. But, that this change is both possible and real, we are taught by the ascension of Christ. His body was raised from the grave, a material body. It was sensible to the touch. It was handled by Thomas. It was nourished by food. This body ascended from earth, and was received into heaven. Still, flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. In the act of ascending, a change was therefore produced; and it became that which the apostle calls Christ's glorious body. Agreeably to this the same apostle informs us, that when the last trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised, those who are alive and remain will not die, but will all be instantly changed.

When we consider the sudden and wonderful changes, which are produced in substances, by chemical application; and that opaque bodies are by such application, rendered translucent, I know not, that in regard to Enoch, Elijah, our Saviour, and those who shall be living at the day of judgment, there is any necessity to deny, that the very same particles compose their bodies both before and after this mighty change.

In regard to the change, to be produced at the resurrection, in the bodies of wicked men, we have little or no information. As the bodies of saints will be immortal and incorruptible, so, we have reason to believe, will be the bodies of the wicked. In that glory and splendor, which will beautify the former, the latter cannot partake. This would ill agree with that shame and everlasting contempt, to participate which, they shall be roused from the slumbers of the tomb. When the doctrine of a resurrection is mentioned in Scripture, it is usually in application to the righteous. Though this suited the design of the sacred writers, the universality of a resurrection is left in no uncertainty. In the words of our Saviour already cited, we are taught, that all who are in their graves, shall come forth, not only: They who have done well, to the resurrection of life; but they, who have done evil, to the resurrection of damnation. And Paul,

when brought before Felix, states it as an important part of his preaching, that: There will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just, and of the unjust.

Our future bodies, it appears, will be, as our present are, the channel through which pleasure or pain will be conveyed to the mind Fear him, saith our Lord, who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. This destruction of the soul and body can mean nothing but their punishment. In this therefore the body will partake; or rather, it shall be the medium, through which the mind shall suffer. The greatest possible degrees of that pain which living bodies are capable of enduring, is happily known but to few. What intense agonies may be endured by immortal, incorruptible bodies, can be conceived by none before the day of judgment. Each one of the senses may be an inlet to misery; and pain may be seated in every member.— To use the powerful language of inspiration: It may come into their bowels like water, and like oil into their bones.

And if the various parts of those bodies, which shall be restored to reprobates, will be the medium of suffering, it is analogous, that the bodies of just men made perfect, should be restored to them for an opposite purpose. Though such parts of the body, as are calculated merely for an earthly state, can have no use, and will probably have no existence in the celestial world; it is by no means absurd to suppose, that a refined system of matter, resembling the glorified body of Jesus Christ, may become the vehicle of enjoyment.

Hence it is, I conceive, that the intermediate state between death and the resurrection, though clearly taught in Scripture, is sparingly mentioned. When the sacred writers speak of a retribution, they generally refer to the day of judgment: When thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, and the blind, for they cannot recompense thee, for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just. The first epistle to the Thessalonians is so remarkable for its frequent allusions to the day of Christ's appearing, and for omitting all mention of any previous retribution, as to lead some to conclude, though

very unjustly, that the apostle either viewed the day of judgment as nigh at hand, or else believed, that the soul would remain insensible, until that period.

I close this lecture with a few remarks.

When we survey, or cherish these bodies, which we now possess, let us anticipate the changes, for which they are destined. They will soon be sown in dishonor. Of all portions of matter, they will be most offensive and most unpleasant to the sight. To use the language of Isaiah: the worm shall be spread under them, and worms shall cover them. Still shall these bodies, in myriads, rise immortal from the ground. They shall burst forth into new and endless existence.

While this consideration is most joyous to all the disciples of Him, who is the resurrection and the life, it is fraught with alarm and terror to the impenitent. At present, whatever pain is violent, cannot be of long duration. The human frame is soon overcome by its intensity.

But the bodies of the wicked will be raised immortal and indissoluble and thus prepared for all the sufferings, which a righteous God has reserved for them. There will then be no hopes of annihilation to allay the fears of those, who now set themselves against the moral government of the most High. Their existence and their misery will be alike interminable.

LECTURE XLVII.

ETERNITY OF FUTURE PUNISHMENT.

It is my design, in submission to divine Providence, to deliver, during the present term, a few lectures on the duration of future punishment.

In our inquiries, whether this duration be temporary or endless, few persons, accustomed to contemplate the subject, will deny, that the Scriptures are the chief source, from which arguments are to be obtained. The reason is obvious. By the light of nature we are left in great uncertainty, as to the general doctrine of a future state. Without revealed religion, it could never be placed beyond reasonable doubt, that the soul of man survives the body. I do not deny the plausibility, and the real value of those arguments independent of revelation, which have been brought in favor of this doctrine. I do not question their sufficiency to render the doctrine in a good degree probable, and clearly to show, that the contrary is not certain. But, to render a doctrine probable, is one thing, and clearly to prove it is another. Now, if the future existence of the soul cannot be clearly proved without revelation, much less can its eternal existence. If eternal existence could be proved, it would not hence follow, that there will be any happiness; as all claims to this are forfeited by sin. But were the future existence of happiness ascertained, the terms, on which it might be secured, would still be unknown. While all these questions remain unanswered without supernatural instruction, it can hardly be imagined, that the light of nature will enable us to ascertain, either the degree, or duration of future punishment. Nothing, therefore, can be more absurd, than to discard the Scriptures, with a VOL. II.

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view to support the doctrine of universal salvation. If that doctrine be not found in the Bible, it is found no where. Many inquiries of extreme importance and difficulty must be settled by the unbeliever in revelation, before he comes to the question of eternal, and universal happiness.

I would further observe, that the subject in hand is far too important and solemn to be treated with declamation, instead of argument. If the doctrine of endless punishment be evidently false, as those, who declaim against it, would have us believe, to prove its falsity by argument can surely require no great labor. When this is done, declamation will be more in season.

An additional remark is this, should the doctrine of eternal punishment appear supported by Scripture, it will, by no means, be a sufficient reason for rejecting it, that the idea, which it suggests, is gloomy; or that we may not be able to see the good purposes, which it will accomplish under the divine government. I readily grant, that the thought of endless existence in misery is terrific and overwhelming. But it must be remembered, that many events in the present state, the existence of which cannot be denied, are extremely different from the ideas, which human creatures would have previously formed. To our limited understanding it would appear, that from a system, produced by an infinitely powerful, and benevolent God, all natural and moral evil ought to have been excluded. Yet the lives of some individuals appear to be an unbroken series of disappointment, disaster, and suffering. Cities are sometimes desolated by pestilence, ingulfed by an earthquake, or overwhelmed by inundation. Wars have, within a few years, laid waste the fairest countries of Europe. Collect in your imagination all the evil, which has resulted to the human race, in the different ages and nations of the world, from poverty, sickness, wounds, fear, anger, despair, malice, and revenge; from more general calamities, such as tyranny, anarchy, famines, contagious diseases, and national feuds; you perceive at once what an immense mass of wretchedness might thus be formed. No person, I think, will hesitate to grant, that authentic history presents to the mind, a