ans were to live until that day came, and that, by being watchful, it would not.come upon them suddenly and unexpectedly," as a thief in the night."*

Jesus taught the people, that empty professions of piety were of no avail: but that they must do the will of God. Matt. vii. 21. But some, who were destitute of good works in the church, would be depending on their unavailing forms of piety. They are represented as saying, "Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils and in thy name done many wonderful works ?" Their hopes were the house built on the sand, which the winds and floods destroyed, that is they were trusting to a foundation that would not abide them they were in hopes to be saved from the general calamity by their mere professions of godliness, whereas nothing would be a sure support, a solid foundation, but doing the will of God. This was the rock, and he who built on it was sure to stand. See Matt. vii. 24 - 27. As these false and hypocritical professors would be cast off in the day of the Lord, and made to suffer the same punishments which fell on the unbelieving, persecuting Jews, Christ is represented as saying to them, "I never knew you; depart from me, ye that work iniquity."

VIII. “And I say unto you, that many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Matt. viii. 11, 12.

It has been supposed, that the "kingdom of heaven," in this passage, referred to a state of eternal blessedness in the immortal existence; and so, by antithesis, the outer darkness" referred to a state of endless misery. The argument founded on antithesis, is a good one; because, it seems evident, that the darkness is the opposite of the blessings of the kingdom. But the

*For the authority of the learned Lightfoot on this subject, see "Notes and Illustrations of Parables," pp. 317, 318, note.

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phrase "kingdom of heaven," or "kingdom of God," in its common use in the New Testament, does not refer to the future world, but to the reign of the Gospel in this world. It was a kingdom set up in the hearts. of men, Jesus ruling as king; and every one who acknowledged him "Lord," and obeyed his laws, was a subject of the kingdom, with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They became joint heirs with the patriarch, and his sons and children, through faith. Thus, Dr. Whitby says, "to lie down (so the verb is more properly rendered, as. the Jews always reclined at their feasts) with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven, doth not here signify to enjoy eterṇal happiness in heaven with them, but only to become the sons of Abraham through faith." (Com. on the passage.) Passages in illustration of this, have already been given in this work. Any passage in the evangelists may be consulted, in which the phrase occurs.

The darkness spoken of, and with which we are principally concerned here, was a state of ignorance of the Gospel; and not a valid reason can be given that it is to be eternal. "He setteth AN END to darkness." Job. xxviii. 3. "Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness." Col. i. 13. This passage plainly shows, that the darkness is not endless misery in hell, from which nobody. can be delivered. 66 Bring them that sit in darkness out of the prison-house." Isa. xlii. 7. Here, again, is deliverance from darkness. "The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light; they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, on them hath the light shined." Isa. ix. 2. "I will make darkness light before thee." xliii. 16. The plain sense of these passages is, that darkness is put as a metaphor for ignorance. and unbelief, and has no respect to a place of sin and misery in the future world. When men were brought to a knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus, they were brought out of darkness into light, and thus were "translated into the kingdom of God's dear Son."

So it is said, in the passage before us, they shall come from every quarter of the world, and enjoy with the patriarchs the blessings of the Gospel, while the Jews," the children of the kingdom," should be left in the darkness of unbelief. They who believe the Gospel, hold communion by faith with the patriarchs. At the time of the dissolution of the Mosaic institution, the Gospel had been preached, and converts made, from the ends of the world,"-east, west, north, and south, but the Jews were left in the darkness of unbelief. "God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy on all." ix. "Verily, I say unto you, it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah, in the day of judgment, than for that city." Matt. x. 15.

Rom. xi. 32.

It is said by a learned writer in the "Universalist Expositor," that, "considering the doctrines which have prevailed in Christendom, it is by no means surprising that this text has been commonly understood to refer to a day of judgment in the immortal world. The future tense of the verb, shall be, seems [to some] to favor such an application, when 'considered in connexion with some of the most striking circumstances of the subject. When our Saviour spoke these words, Sodom and Gomorrah had for ages ceased to exist in this world; and still, he said, "it shall be more tolerable" for them in the day of judgment, than for the cities which should not receive his disciples, nor hear their words. Accordingly, it is contended, the judgment here mentioned must be in the future world, where, alone, Sodom and Gomorrah, long since perished, could then be arraigned." "Univ. Expos." Vol. III. p. 26. Such is the common argument, stated with great fairness. See Lee's "Universalism Examined," p. 171.

We esteem the meaning of the passage to be this: that in the day of visitation, or judgment, which is about coming on the rebellious cities of Judea, the punishment which was suffered by Sodom and Gomor

rah shall appear more tolerable than that which shall be suffered by those cities. And that this is the correct intefpretation of the passage, is allowed by some of the most distinguished commentators, who have believed in endless misery. Adam Clarke says; "In the day of judgment, or punishment, kriseos. Perhaps not meaning the day of general judgment, nor the destruction of the Jewish state by the Romans; but a day in which God would send punishment on that particular city, or on that person for their crimes. So the day of judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah, was the time in which the Lord destroyed them by fire and brimstone, from the Lord out of heaven." Speaking of those who. rejected and denounced the Gospel, the Doctor adds: "Their punishment, our Lord intimates, shall be greater than that inflicted upon Sodom and Gomorrah."

Bishop Pearce agrees to this; and Dr. Hammond, also, whose remarks are worthy of particular attention. He paraphrases the words of Christ thus; "I assure you, the punishment or destruction that shall light upon that city shall be such, that the destruction of Sodom .shall appear to have been more tolerable than that." Paraphrase on the verse. Again he says, in another place.; "Shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in that day (that is, not in the day of judgment to come, for that belongs to each particular person, not whole cities together,) in that day of the kingdom of God, than for that refractory city. God's dealing with Sodom in the day of their destruction with fire and brimstone, shall be acknowledged-to have been more supportable than his dealing with such contumacious, impenitent cities of Judea." Com. on Matt. iii. 2.

The same comparison, made by the Saviour, between the punishment of Sodom and that of the Jewish sinners, was also made by Jeremiah. See Lam. iv. 6. "For the punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom, that was overthrown as in a moment, and no hand stayed on her." Here the punishment of the sin

of Sodom is declared to be more tolerable than the punishment.of the Jews. Sodom was overthrown in a moment; but the punishment of the Jews was protracted, and was horrible almost beyond conception.

The above argument is strengthened by the consideration, that God's judgments are in the earth. On this point, the sacred writers are very explicit. "Verily, he is a God that judgeth IN THE EARTH. Ps. lviii. 11. The Saviour said; "For judgment I am come into this world." Again, he said "the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son." John ix. 39; compare John v. 22. Now, if God has committed all judgment unto the Son, and, if Jesus came into this world to fulfil the high appointment of executing judgment, then the judgment must be in this world. Hence Jesus said, on another occasion, "Now is the judgment of this world." John xii. 31. See, also, 1 Peter iv. 17, 18. The Revelator says, "The great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?" vi. 17; and again, "Fear God and give glory to him, for the hour of his judgment is COME." xiv. 7. All this agrees with what Solomon said, Prov. xi. 31.

Mr. Balfour has clearly shown, that the phrase, "day of judgment," in the Scriptures, should not be understood to signify a day of trial after death. See his "Reply to Sabine," pp. 60-80; and his "Essays," pp. 221-305. It seems almost impossible for any candid man to read Mr. Balfour's criticisms on this matter, and not be convinced that he is right.

X. "And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake; but he that endureth to the end shall be saved." Matt. x. 22. xiii. 13.

Mark

He that endureth to the end! What end? Not the end of the material universe, certainly; but the end of which he was speaking in that place. Dr. Whitby says, "he that endureth to the end of these persecutions from the unbelieving Jews, shall be saved from the dreadful destruction coming on them.

But when