they shall cease to exist.

The second death when inflicted upon the wicked, is explained to mean, that they are cast into a lake of fire, as having their part in the lake which burneth with fire and. brimstone, with the beast and false prophet, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. (Rev. xx. 14. xxi. 8. xx. 10.) They shall be cut asunder and have their portion with hypocrites and unbelievers, where there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matth. xxiv. 51.) These descriptions do not consist with the idea of an extinction of being; but are rather corroborative of a continued conscious misery.

4. Since there will be degrees in punishment, instead of proving the doctrine of annihilation, it proves that the wicked shall endure conscious suffering; in intensity it will admit of degrees, but not necessarily in duration. How 'can there be degrees in annihilation? It is to the one, what it is to the other; the same to the least sinner, what it is to the greatest. In fact, the outcast and profligate have the least to fear, for instead of adding weight and intensity to their misery, it is to them the greatest blessing and deliverance. In annihilation there can be no degrees, therefore if there be degrees in punishment, there must be suffering preceding the event of annihilation; if so, then this previous suffering must be looked upon as the due punishment for sin, and the event of annihilation as salvation from suffering. Thus the greatest sinner has the most to expect from an extinction of his being, as-effecting a cessation from suffering.

5. The punishment of the wicked will be the same as the punishment of fallen angels, for hell was prepared for the devil and his angels. If the angels are not annihilated, neither will wicked men be. As spirits they are indestructible, and no material substance can annihilate them.

6. The happiness of the righteous docs not consist in

their eternal existence, but in their eternal well-being, and in possessing positive good; so the damnation of the finally impenitent will not consist in the extinction of their being, but in their deprivation of all good, and in becoming the victims of intolerable misery.

These reflections are sufficient to prove that the doctrine which asserts the annihilation of the souls of the wicked, is false and anti-scriptural. With these remarks, we pass

on to notice,

4. That the doctrine of the immortality of the soul is both reasonable and Scriptural.

What sound reason asserts, the Scriptures sanction, and what the Bible teaches, reason will acknowledge with profound reverence. In addition to what has already been said in confirmation of the immortality of the soul, we will merely state that,

1. The doctrine of the immortality of the soul has been believed in all ages and by all nations. It is not asserted, that there have been none in any age and among any nation, who have not disputed and disbelieved the soul to be immortal; but that it has been the doctrine of the world. The ancient philosophers and orators taught it-Plato, Socrates, Zoroaster, Cicero, &c.-The Chinese, the Japanese, the Persians, Scythians, the North Americans Indians, &c.

2. The desire of immortality implanted in the soul. If this desire was given by God at the time when he created man, then it shows the design was that man should live forever. It does not preclude the possibility of the soul ceasing to be, but it proves the intention of God, except the Creator was guilty of tantalizing man with desires which could not possibly be gratified.

3. It is evident from the construction of the intellectual powers of the mind, their adaptation for knowledge and

constant improvement unto perfection, and the unlimited range throughout the material world for their gratification.

4. It is evident from the fact that man is capable of moral improvement, of the formation of a character which shall fit him for the society of pure spirits and the worship of his God.

5. It is evident from the fact that the soul of man is a spirit, and its annihilation, therefore, unreasonable and absurd. If the material world around us, while undergoing various changes, does not suffer the annihilation of any of its particles, how much less probable is it, that the uncompounded, immaterial principle in man, which links him with the eternal world, and exalts him as the crowning glory of creation, should sink finally into utter nothingness. The soul cannot decay, nor be decomposed or annihilated; for it is a simple, spiritual substance, and has the principle of immortality as the basis of its being. God alone can extinguish it; but he has no where intimated that he has done it, or that he ever will do it.

6. The Scriptures confirm the doctrine of the immortality of the soul. We need quote but few passages; for everywhere intimations and direct principles may be found fortifying the doctrine. The Psalmist says, "My flesh and my heart shall fail; but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." If the soul ceases to be, what does the Psalmist mean? But if immortal, his meaning is

hath brought life and immor(1 Tim. i. 10.) If the "So shall we be ever

clear. "Jesus Christ * * tality to light through the gospel." soul is mortal, why this revelation? with the Lord." (1 Thess. iv. 17.) "And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hands. (John x. 28.) "And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous in to life eternal." (Matth. xxv. 46,) "Seck

for glory, and honor, and immortality, eternal life." (Rom. ii. 7.) We need not add any more Scriptural citations. We shall here close, by inviting the reader, to look soberly and understandingly at the subject. How vast, comprehensive and all-important is it! The line of our existence stretches out into the distant, dim and interminable future. We have just begun to live, and we are rising the summit which is overlooking the eternal world-upon its scenes we must soon enter, and upon its unlimited area we must shortly tread. Are we prepared for that world; its voyage and its endless journey; its condition, either of blissful fruition or of insufferable wo? Examine your heart and scrutinize your life in the light of truth and rectitude. A mistake, or delusion here is fatal, is remediless. Try your hope, your character and your claim to glory; build on Christ, on his atonement, on truth; for fear the eternal surges shall drive your bark down the tremendous and returnless cataract of irretrievable wo. Your work and character in this life, will fix the destiny of your undying soul in the spirit-world. While it is day, work, repent and believe-submit to God and be saved..

CHAPTER X.

THIS LIFE A STATE OF PROBATION FOR THE RETRIBUTIONS

OF ETERNITY.

"Cease, my son, to hear the instruction that causeth to err from the words of knowledge." Prov. xix. 27.

In view of the fact, that man is an immortal being, destined to a continued existence through the revolutions of time and to all eternity, it has been generally believed, that he is in a state of probation here for the retributions of a hereafter that his moral behavior and life here, will mould the character of his future destiny-and that every action voluntarily performed will vibrate a chord of his eternal. weal or wo, as the case may be. But this religious faith and element in the moral government of God, are exploded and discarded by the great body of Universalists. Perhaps, in no opinion is there greater harmony among Universalists, than there is in teaching and defending the dogma, that man's present conduct will not affect his future state of ex-. istence, unless it be the doctrine of the final holiness and happiness of the entire human race. How remote this view is from downright scepticism, we leave for the candid reader to decide.

So obvious and general is the disavowal of the doctrine, that this life is a state of probation for the retributions of eternity, among Universalists, that it would seem needless. to quote their language to confirm the position, were it not in accordance with our plan, to prove what Universalism is from their own writings. Indeed, they are pushed to this