CHAPTER XI.

If the doctrine of purgatory be true, certain conclusions follow-The first inference, There are two states of probation-Second inference, The insufficiency of the sacrifice of Christ-Third inference, Human suffering required to supplementalize the sacrifice of Christ-Fourth inference, The disease greater than the intended remedy-The fifth inference, Christ's merits exceeded by the demerits of Adam-The sixth inference, Moral virtue produced by the confinement of a wicked soul in prison-The seventh inference, Scripture forbids sin, and still encourages man to persist in it-The eighth inference, Our Lord's words of warning deprived of their efficacy-The ninth inference, Prayer offered by the living on behalf of the dead effectual in the sight of God-The tenth inference, Man justified by works rather than of faith-The first inference proved to be unscriptural-God delighteth in mercy-Second commandment-Purgatory should be rejected on the ground of mercy-The degree of punishment inflicted ought to be in exact proportion to the sin committed-Scripture proofs-If men are not pardoned here, there is no hope for them hereafter-Death changes a man's condition, but not his nature-Two states of probation incompatible with the tender mercy of the Lord-The antediluvians, their wickedness, and its consequences-No other nations to be condemned by them-Why not-Why God shortened their days— The people of Nineveh shall rise in the judgment against the Jews of our Lord's day-One servant to be beaten with many stripes, another with few-The reason assigned for this distinction.

IF the doctrine of purgatory be true, there is no escaping from the following inferences :

1. That there are two states of probation; one upon the earth, and another in the next world.

2. That the sacrifice of Christ is of itself insufficient to make a complete atonement for human transgression.

3. That human suffering in its disembodied state is essential to supplementalize the atoning blood of Christ.

4. That the consequences of Adam's disobedience were of greater magnitude than the effects of the remedy provided by the obedience of Christ.

5. That the demerits of Adam exceed the merits of Christ.

6. That the confinement of an obstinate sinner in prison and the positive infliction of punishment, will produce in him genuine repentance, and inculcate the principles of moral virtue and love.

7. That Scripture forbids man to commit sin, and yet encourages him to persist therein.

8. That the words which our Lord addressed to His followers, to the effect that unless they repented they should die in their sins, are deprived of their weight and solemn significance.

9. That prayers offered by the living on behalf of the dead are effectual in the sight of God.

10. That justification is the result of works rather than of faith.

The first of these inferences must certainly be rejected, for the contrary doctrine is everywhere taught in Scripture, and inculcated for the most substantial of all reasons. We are sure that God is pre-eminently a God of mercy, and that He has at all times peculiar pleasure in the exercise of that Divine attribute. So saith the Prophet Micah (vii. 18) in these words: Who is a God like unto Thee, that pardoneth iniquity and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He retaineth not His anger forever, because He delighteth in mercy." Yes, all the attributes of the Divine Being in His dealings with fallen man appear to have been made subservient to that of mercy. We have a remarkable exhibition of this great truth in the second commandment of the Decalogue. By that commandment we learn that God "visits the sins of the fathers upon the children, unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate Him; but shows mercy unto thousands in them that love Him and keep His commandments." Where can we find a more striking contrast than that which is set forth in this Divine injunction? By this visiting the sins of the fathers upon the descendants unto the third and fourth generation, we seem to be taught the great consoling truth that the Almighty will not inflict one iota of punishment beyond what the necessities of the case actually demand; while His mercy is boundless, because it extends not

merely to the third and fourth generation, but unto thousands of generations in them that love and obey Him! The inspired writer (Ps. cxviii. 1) may well exhort his readers, saying, "O give thanks unto the Lord; for He is good because His mercy endureth forever."

Now, we hesitate not to assert that two states of probation are incompatible with the mercy of God, and therefore one of them ought to be excluded from His moral government and terms of forgiveness, and that, too, for reasons the most obvious. In order, then, to establish this view, it is necessary to bear in mind that, upon the principles of justice, there must ever be an exact ratio or just proportion between the offense committed and the degree of punishment inflicted; and, therefore, the fewer a man's sins are, the less punishment he will have to undergo. This doctrine accords with all our notions of justice, and is that which we find taught in various parts of the Bible, and notably in the Gospel of St. Matthew (xvi. 27), where we have these words: "For the Son of man shall come in the glory of His Father, with His angels, and then He shall reward every man according to his works." In the Acts of the Apostles (xvii. 31) it is also declared that "God hath appointed a day in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom He hath ordained, whereof He hath given assurance unto all men in that He hath raised Him from the dead." From our previous remarks and the two passages of Scripture here quoted, it is manifest that the longer a man is allowed to continue in a state of probation and to persist in a sinful course, the greater will be his punishment at the day of judgment. Let us suppose, for example, that an impenitent sinner, through his own evil heart of unbelief, has failed to obtain pardon during the first state of probation, and enters upon his second probationary state in an unpardoned condition, and consequently under the curse of an angry God: what grounds have we for presuming that he will, in the next world, accept those offers of Divine grace which he spurned and rejected here? Reasoning analogically upon this subject, should we not rather conclude that, instead of changing

for the better, he would in all probability become more hardened and in every respect more degenerate? If, then, no reformation actually take place in him during his second state of trial, his guilt is only deepened in the sight of God, and his punishment infinitely magnified, because of his having neglected repentance and faith throughout two states of probation. In fact, the lengthened period of time granted to him hardens his nature, and furnishes him with opportunities for treasuring up unto himself wrath against the day of wrath (Rom. ii. 5). Unless there was an absolute certainty that the second period of trial would accomplish that desirable change in a man which the first state of probation had failed to effect, it is obvious to the most superficial thinker, that the offender would be far better without a second state of probation.

The question now suggesting itself is this: Does death in itself possess any special feature calculated to produce a beneficial change in man? We say, without the fear of contradiction, that death does not effect any favorable alteration, because its very essence, as we have already shown, consists in severance or separation. Death is neither more nor less than the distinctive separation of an immortal soul from a mortal body, and therefore the condition of the individual, but not his nature, is changed. In a word, a man's condition is changed by death, but his nature remains the same. Hence the man who dies in sin continues in that condition, and therefore we say with the preacher (Eccles. xi. 3), “In the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be." We assert then that the mercy of God is more signally displayed toward sinful man, by permitting him to have only one state of probation; and in the event of there being no prospect of his ceasing to do evil and learning to do well, the shorter that period is, the better it must be for the sinner. We have it on Divine record, that there was a time when men lived to be nearly a thousand years old, but the result was, that they trampled beneath their feet all laws, whether human or Divine, and filled the whole earth with rapine and murder. God, therefore, out of mercy to mankind, short

ened their days, and, in shortening their days, diminished the punishment of the wicked in the world to come. In consequence of these antediluvians having lived so many years upon the earth, they became such monsters of iniquity and such notorious sinners, that they have never been equaled by any succeeding generation of men. Though we learn from our Lord's own words that the men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with the Jewish people who were alive during His sojourn on earth, and shall condemn them, because they repented at the preaching of Jonas, but the Jews did not repent when a greater than Jonas was among them (Matt. xii. 41); yet it is never stated in the New Testament that the antediluvians shall rise in judgment and condemn other nations, and for this very reason, because their sins, in consequence of their longevity, were far more in number and of a deeper dye than those of the rest of mankind. Their sins were greater, and consequently their punishment, upon the ground of justice, must and will be proportionately severe. In the Gospel of St. Luke (xii. 47, 48) it is thus written: "And that servant which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required; and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more." I trust that I have now sufficiently answered the first unavoidable inference from the admission of the doctrine of purgatory.