exprefsly faid to be of limited duration, as the priesthood of Aaron, and the kingdom in the family of David. For, even if we confider Chrift as intended by the feed of David, and that the duration of his dominion was foretold in the prophecies, ftill his kingdom, we are affured, will have an end, as we learn, I Cor. xv. 24. "Then "cometh the end, when he fhall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father;"then fhall the Son alfo himself be fubject unto "him that put all things under him, that God 56 may be all in all."

There can be no doubt, but that the punishment of the wicked will be very awful; but if God be a juft and righteous governor, it must be in proportion to the fins, by the commiffion of which it is incurred; and there is no proportion between finite and infinite. Befides, in the fcriptures, the divine being appeals to mankind, whether his ways be not equal, that is, juft and reasonable, Ezekiel xviii. 25. And Abraham takes it for granted, that "the judge of all the earth must "do that which is right." Gen. xviii. 25. that is, what is agreeable to our ideas of justice and equity. It is, moreover, exprefsly faid, Pf. ciii. 9. that "God keepeth not his anger for ever," that" in judgment he remembereth mercy," and that "he is not extreme to mark iniquity." These expreffions seem to be intended to give us an idea

of the divine character, and the general maxims of his conduct; and muft, therefore, refpect his government in a future world, as well as this. Also, whenever the divine juftice and mercy are compared, the latter is always reprefented as of greater extent than the former. Thus he is faid, Ex. xx. 5. " to vifit the iniquity of the fathers upon the "children unto the fourth generation, but to fhew "mercy to thousands of them that love him."

It is remarkable, that the punishment of the wicked is always defcribed in general terms only, expreffive of great and uncertain fufferings; whereas, if the doctrine of the proper eternity of hell torments had been strictly true, we might have expected, that it would be faid, in so many words, that it should have no end, and that the greatest stress fhould always have been laid upon this moft important circumftance, as being most interesting and alarming to all mankind.

Our Saviour, indeed, fays, Mark ix. 44. that "their worm dieth not, and the fire is not "quenched;" but this is manifeftly a figurative expreffion; and, befides, the words are taken from Ifaiah Ixvi. 24. where they are applied to the burning of dead bodies. All the meaning may be, that the fire fhall not be quenched till it has confumed that which fhall be committed to it, fo as to have answered its destined end; that is, till thofe wick

ed perfons who are doomed to thofe flames be deftroyed, or till their vices be thoroughly corrected.

Chrift alfo fays of Judas Iscariot, Matt. xxvi. 24. that it had been good for him, if he had not "been born." But this, again, is a figurative expreffion, used to denote extreme misery and distrefs in general, especially such as is apt to make men with, from anguifh of mind and impatience, that they had never been born; which was the cafe with Job, though at the time that he used fuch expreffions as these, Job. iii. it is probable that his sufferings had been greatly overbalanced by his happiness.

It must likewife be allowed to be an argument of confiderable weight against the proper eternity of hell torments, that the number of thofe who believe and obey the gospel, and of the virtuous and good in general, who alone are entitled to the happiness of heaven, is fometimes reprefented as fmall, in comparison with that of the difobedient and wicked; as when our Saviour fays, Matt. vii. 13. "Enter ye in at the ftrait gate; for wide is "the gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to ❝ destruction, and many there be who go in there

at because strait is the gate, and narrow is the "way which leadeth unto life, and few there be "that

"that find it." Now there feems to be no way of reconciling this with the notion of divine goodnefs, but upon the fuppofition that the wicked will either finally perifh, like plants or fruits which never come to their maturity, or that just and fevere punishment will be a means of correcting and improving them. For God, having a perfect fore-knowledge of all that would actually happen, cannot be fuppofed to have made a voluntary choice of a fyftem, the final iffue of which he knew would be the everlafting and inexpreffible mifery of the greater part of his creatures.

It must be allowed, however, that the fcriptures reprefent the punishments of the wicked in a future world, to be exceedingly dreadful, fo that we have reafon to be alarmed to the utmost

extent of our faculties. Even this may stagger fome; but it will not appear inconfiftent with the ufual government of God, if it be confidered, to how much anguish and distress many single acts of fin and folly often expofe us in this life; and, therefore, it is very poffible, that all the vices of this prefent state may expose us to inexpreffibly greater fufferings in the life to come.

*It is proper to observe, however, that, in the opinion of feme, this paffage, and others of a similar turn, do not relate to the final ftate of mankind in general; but to the state of things at the time when the words were delivered, and to the outward profeffion of christianity only.

For fome obfervations on the moral effect of the doctrines of the proper eternity, or non-eternity of future punishments, I must refer my reader to the first part of this work. I fhall only, in this place, fuggeft farther, that this, as well as every other great mistake concerning chriftianity, is a means of making unbelievers, who will think themfelves justified in concluding, without reasoning or enquiry, that no religion can be true, or come from God, which contains a doctrine fo manifeftly unreasonable and abfurd.

SECTION IV.

Of the time and place of future rewards and punish

ments.

T has long been the general opinion of chrif

IT

tians, that the reward of the virtuous, and the punishment of the wicked, will take place immediately after death, when the foul will exift in a conscious state, feparate from the body, till the refurrection. But it appears to me, that the notion of the separate exiftence of the foul, on which this whole doctrine is founded, is built entirely on the falfe philofophy of the Eaft, according to which, human fouls are lapfed angels, fettered in

thefe