but the miserable chance of annihilation, or of hell. There is not any reflection which can have more reality than this, as there is none which has greater terror. Let us set the bravest face on our condition, and play the heroes as artfully as we can, yet see here the issue which attends the goodliest life upon earth! It is in vain for men to turn aside their thoughts from this eternity which awaits them, as if they were able to destroy it, by denying it a place in their imagination. It subsists in spite of them; it advances unobserved; and death, which is to draw the curtain from it, will, in a short time, infallibly reduce them to the dreadful necessity of being for ever nothing, or for ever miserable.'

To treat a subject, so interesting and momentous, with levity or indifference to exert all the energies of the soul in the pursuit of objects, which a few years at most will snatch for ever from their embrace,-and never to spend one serious hour in reflecting on what may possibly succeed the present scene of existence, or in endeavouring to find some light, to clear up the doubts that may hang over this important inquiry, and to treat with derision and scorn those who would direct them in this serious investigation-is not only foolish and preposterous, but the height of infatuation and of madness. It is contrary to every principle on which reasonable men act, in relation to the affairs of the present world. To retain the profits of a lucrative business, or to prevent the loss of fortune, or of honour, a man will sometimes strain every nerve, stretch every faculty, deprive himself of sleep, submit to numerous privations, encounter the raging elements, and brave the dangers of the ocean. Nay, he will often be overwhelmed with despondency at the slightest inconveniencies, and will pass whole weeks and months in sullenness and chagrin, for an imaginary affront, or for the loss of a few pounds, while, at the same time, he remains perfectly indifferent, and without the least emotion, in regard to the unknown scenes of the eternal world, and the danger of endless misery to which he is exposed. Such a conduct, and such dispositions, which are too frequently realized in the case of thousands who occasionally mingle in our religious assemblies, are obviously inconsistent with the dictates of prudence and of common sense, and with every thing that ought to characterize a rational and an accountable creature.

When we look back into the inexplorable abyss of that eternity which is already past, when we

look forward to the immeasurable extent, and the unfathomable depths of eternity to come,when we behold Time, and all its circling years, appearing only like a point on the surface of that vast and boundless ocean; when we consider the immense spaces of the universe with which we are surrounded, and the innumerable worlds which lie dispersed in every direction throughout the immeasurable tracts of creation; when we consider, that our existence, as thinking beings, may run parallel with interminable ages; and that, in the revolutions of eternity, we may exist in regions of space immeasurably distant from our present habitation, associate with other orders of intelligent beings, and pass through new scenes and changes in distant worlds,—and, when we consider that our relation to time may be dissolved, and our connexion with eternity commence, within the space of a few months or years, or even before the sun shall have described another circuit around the earth-no inquiry can appear so momentous and interesting, as that which leads to the determination of our future and eternal destiny, and of those realities which await us beyond the tomb. To remain insensible to the importance of such an inquiry, and unaffected at the prospect of the result to which it may lead,-while we are feelingly alive to all the paltry concerns and little ills of life,would argue the most unaccountable stupidity, inconsistency, and infatuation.

The man whose heart pants after substantial knowledge and felicity, whose affections centre on the Author of his existence, and who delights to contemplate his character and perfections, will enter with pleasure on every investigation, which has a tendency to throw a light on the scene of his future destination. He will weigh, with impartiality, every consideration, and will seize, with delight, upon every argument, by which a full conviction of his immortal destiny may be indelibly riveted upon his mind; and he will endeavour to cheer his soul amidst the sorrows of mortality, with the consideration, that "when the earthly house of his tabernacle is dissolved, he has a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens."

In illustrating the evidences of a future state, I shall, in the first place, state some of those proofs which reason, or the light of nature, furnishes, of man's eternal destination--and, secondly, those which are derived from the system of revelation.

THE evidences of a future state which the light of reason affords, though not so clear and decisive as those which are derived from divine revelation, are worthy of the serious consideration of every one in whose mind the least doubt remains on this important subject. The conviction they are calculated to produce, when attentively weighed, is sufficient to leave every one without excuse who trifles with the concerns of his future destiny, and overlooks his relation to the eternal world. Though the Deity is invisible to mortal eyes, yet his existence and perfections are clearly demonstrated by his visible operations, and he has not left himself without a witness to his beneficence, in any age, "in his giving rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, and filling our hearts with food and gladness." In like manner, though the realities of a future world are not presented directly to the eye of sense, yet the faculties with which man is endowed, when properly exercised on all the physical and moral scenes which the universe displays, are sufficient to evince the high degree of probability, if not absolute certainty, that his duration and his sphere of action are not confined to the narrow limits of the present world, but have a relation to a future and an immortal existence-In illustrating this topic, I shall waive the consideration of several of those metaphysical arguments which have been adduced by philosophers and divines, founded on the immateriality of the human soul, and confine myself chiefly to those popular considerations, which are level to every capacity, and, perhaps, more convincing than the subtle and refined disquisitions of metaphysical minds.

SECTION I.

ON THE UNIVERSAL BELIEF WHICH TRE DOCTRINE OF IMMORTALITY HAS OBTAINED IN ALL AGES.

It forms a presumptive proof of the immortality of man, that this doctrine has obtained universal belief among all nations, and in every period of time.

most every other ancient nation and tribe whose records have reached our times. The notions. indeed, which many of them entertained of the scenes of futurity were very obscure and imperfect; but they all embraced the idea, that death is not the destruction of the rational soul, but only its introduction to a new and unknown state of existence. The ancient Scythians believed that death was only a change of habitation; and the Magian sect, which prevailed in Babylonia, Media, Assyria, and Persia, admitted the doctrine of eternal rewards and punishments. The doctrines taught by the second Zoroaster, who lived in the time of Darius, were, "that there is one Supreme Being, independent and self-existent from all eternity; that under him there are two angels, one the angel of light, who is the author of all good; and the other.the angel of darkness, who is the author of all evil: that they are in a perpetual struggle with each other; that where the angel of light prevails, there good reigns; and that where the angel of darkness prevails, there evil takes place; that this struggle shall continue to the end of the world: that then there shall be a general resurrection and a day of judgment, wherein all shall receive a just retribution, according to their works. After which, the angel of darkness and his disciples shall go into a world of their own, where they shall suffer, in everlasting darkness, the punishment of their evil deeds; and the angel of light and his disciples shall also go into a world of their own, where they shall receive, in everlasting light, the reward due to their good deeds; that after this they shall remain separated for ever, and light and darkness be no more mixed to all eternity."* The remains of this sect, which are scattered over Persia and India, still hold the same doctrines, without any variation, even at this day.

whither their angel conducts them, they are all judged. Those who have passed their lives in a manner neither entirely criminal, nor absolutely • Rollins' Ancient History, vol. iL

innocent, are sent into a place where they suffer pains proportioned to their faults, till, being purged and cleansed of their guilt, and afterwards restored to liberty, they receive the reward of the good actions they have done in the body. Those who are judged to be incurable, on account of the greatness of their crites, the fatal destiny that passes judgment upon them, hurls them into Tartarus, from whence they never depart. Those who are found guilty of crimes, great indeed, but worthy of pardon, who have committed violences, in the transports of rage, against their father or mother, or have killed some one in a like emotion, and afterwards repented-suffer the same punishment with the last, but for a time only, till by prayers and supplications, they have obtained pardon from those they have injured. But those who have passed through life with peculiar sanctity of manners, are received on high into a pure region, where they live without their bodies to all eternity, in a series of joys and delights which cannot be described." From such considerations, Socrates concludes, "if the soul be immortal, it requires to be cultivated with attention, not only for what we call the time of life, but for that which is to follow, I mean eternity; and the least neglect in this point may be attended with endless consequences. If death were the final dissolution of being, the wicked would be great gainers by it, by being delivered at once from their bodies, their souls, and their vices; but as the soul is immortal, it has no other means of being freed from its evils, nor any safety for it, but in becoming very good and very wise; for it carries nothing with it, but its good or bad deeds, its virtues and vices, which are commonly the consequences of the education it has received, and the causes of eternal happiness or misery." Having held such discourses with his friends, he kept silent for some time, and then drank off the whole of the poisonous draught which had been put into his hand, with amazing tranquillity, and an inexpressible serenity of aspect, as one who was about to exchange a short and wretched life, for a blessed and eternal existence.

The descriptions and allusions, contained in the writings of the ancient poets, are a convineing proof, that the notion of the soul's immortality was a universal opinion in the times in which they wrote, and among the nations to whom their writings were addressed. Homer's account of the descent of Ulysses into hell, and his description of Minos in the shades below, distributing justice to the dead assembled in troops around his tribunal, and pronouncing irrevocable judgments, which decide their everlasting fate, demonstrate, that they entertained the belief, that virtues are rewarded, and that crimes are punished, in another state of existence. The poems of Ovid and Virgil contain a variety of descriptions, in which the same opinions are involved.

Their notions of future punishment are set forth in the descriptions they give of Irion, who was fastened to a wheel, and whirled about continually with a swift and rapid motion-of Tantalus, who, for the loathsome banquet he made for the gods, was set in water up to the chin, with apples hanging to his very lips, yet had no power either to stoop to the one to quench his raging thirst, or to reach to the other to satisfy his craving appetite

of the fifty daughters of Danaus, who, for the barbarous massacre of their husbands in one night, were condemned in hell to fill a barrel full of holes with water, which ran out again as fast as it was filled-of Sisyphus, who, for his robberies, was set to roll a great stone up a steep hill, which, when it was just at the top, suddenly fell down again, and so renewed his labour-and of Tityus, who was adjudged to have a vulture to feed upon his liver and entrails, which still grew and increased as they were devoured.Their notions of future happiness are imbodied in the descriptions they have given of the Hesperian gardens, and the Elysian fields, where the souls of the virtuous rest secure from every danger, and enjoy perpetual and uninterrupted bliss.

And as the nations of antiquity recognised the doctrine of a future state of existence, so there is scarcely a nation or tribe of mankind, presently existing, however barbarous and untutored, in which the same opinion does not prevail. The natives of the Society Isles believe, that after death, there is not only a state of conscious existence, but degrees of eminence and felicity, according as men have been more or less pleasing to the Eatova, or Deity, while upon earth. The chiefs of the Friendly Islands believe in the immortality of their soul, which, at death, they say is immediately conveyed in a fast-sailing canoe, to a distant country, called Doobludha, which they describe as resembling the Mahometan paradise, that those who are conveyed thither are no more subject to death, but feast on all the favourite productions of their native soil, with which this blissful abode is plentifully furnished. The New Zealanders believe, that the third day after the interment of a man, the heart separates itself from the corpse, and that this separation is announced by a general breeze of wind, which gives warning of its approach, by an inferior divinity that hovers over the grave, and who carries it to the clouds. They believe that the soul of the man whose flesh is devoured by the enemy, is doomed to a perpetual fire, while the soul of the man whose body has been rescued from those that killed him, and the souls of all who die a natural death, ascend to the habitations of the gods. The inhabitants of the Pelew Islands, according to the account of Captain Wilson, although they have few religious rites and ceremonies, believe in one Supreme Being, and in a future state of rewards and punishments. In the religion of