that some account, or some intimation would have been given of it, in some of the particular descriptions that are given of the deaths of wicked men in the bible?

I have examined the scriptures very particularly, and with a direct reference to this point. Indeed, it is virtually admitted by those whose views are in opposition to ours upon this subject, that the case of the rich man, is the only one of the kind in the bible. And hence, when they would set forth the terrors of a future state, and the sufferings of the wicked after death, they always refer, for an example, to the rich man, "lifting up his eyes in hell, being in torments."

I appeal to your candor, my hearers, to say, is it not wonderful? is it not most unaccountable, that this should be the only instance noted in the sacred records?— An instance too, in the case of a person, not charged with a single crime, nor with the omission of any duty; whilst the death of many others, notorious for their wickedness, is very particularly described, and not a word said, or a suggestion made, as to any sufferings to which they were doomed, or which awaited them in another state of being.

These are facts and circumstances, which, although they do not determine the true meaning of the passage under discussion, are yet sufficient, we think, at least to excite a doubt, and even to render it very improbable, that the exposition which has been commonly given of it, is the true one.

Do you doubt the correctness of our statement in this particular? Then examine the bible yourselves, carefully, in reference to this point. Travel, in your researches, through the records of the Old and New Testaments. Mark the description given of every case.

You will read, in a number of instances, of large bodies of human beings swept away from the land of the living, as it were in a moment, and in the midst of their follies and their wickedness. And you will also read of individuals, of most abominable characters, being cut off in their thoughtless and ungodly career of crime and guilt. But will you read too of their lifting up their eyes in hell, being in torments? or of any sufferings which awaited them in another state of being beyond the bounds of mortality? We are persuaded you will learn nothing of the kind by such an examination. No, not in one instance, unless it be that of the rich man, in the passage under investigation.

And if so, does it not suggest the idea, as more than possible; nay, is not the inference almost irresistible, that the account of this man, his riches, his apparel, his sumptuous fare, his death, and his after punishment,—that the whole description is not to be understood literally-but as a figurative, and parabolical representation of events and dispensations. belonging to the present state of mankind upon earth; and which were to have their accomplishment in due time, in this world. This is our decided and deliberate opinion of the meaning and design of this parable; and we do humbly expect that the illustration we are attempting to give, ere it be concluded, will show, very conclusively, that this is the only rational and consistent view that can be taken of it.

In our next lecture we shall take up the word hell, in the passage, notice its derivation, together with the ancient, and modern understanding of it, and the use and application which has been very generally made of it by the clergy and others. We shall also, in

the next lecture, if we have room, notice the application made by the rich man to father Abraham, for relief and assistance, together with the answer returned by the sainted Patriarch: all which will go to show, we think, most conclusively, that the passage, in its true meaning, does not describe the situation of an individual, or of any portion of mankind in a future state of existence, and gives no support to the doctrine of eternal

torments.

Here then, to employ the language of a heathen writer, which in this case accords with the decisions both of reason and revelation-" Here will we hold.— If there is a power above us-and that there is, all nature cries aloud, through all her works,-He must delight in virtue, and what He delights in must be happy." And we will add, what He delights in, will be ultimately established, throughout the whole extent of his moral government, and consequently vice and misery cannot be eternal. Amen.

4*

LECTURE III.

LUKE xvi. 31.

'If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead."

It will be recollected, by those who attended our last lecture, that we promised in our next to consider, particularly, the word hell, as it is employed in the parable we are attempting to illustrate. To this we now proceed.

It is scarcely necessary to remind you, my hearers, that the greater part of preachers and writers upon the subject of revealed religion, have taken for granted, (what, indeed, ought rather to be proved) that there is a place of future punishment beyond this world; and that the name of that place is, in our language, hell. They have not, we believe, attempted to describe its location or its limits, nor the time when it was made. It is certain that Moses, in his description of the creation, gives no account of it. Yet, if there is such a place, it must have been made, or, to use another scripture term, built, at some period or other. For, says the apostle, "he that built all things, is God.”

But, as before remarked, it is generally assumed for a fact, that there is such a place of punishment, and that the name of it is hell; and hence, when the word is used by preachers generally, the hearers are at no

loss to understand their meaning; they know they refer to a future state of existence, in misery and woe. Whether this is the scriptural meaning of the word hell or not, is worthy of serious and careful inquiry.

It may be proper to remark, in this place, that the Hebrew word, which in our English bible is often translated hell, is sheol. It is said to be found in the Old Testament, in sixty-four places; in three of those it is rendered pit; in twenty-nine places, grave, and in thirty-two places it is rendered hell. But it is believed, that, on due examination, it will be found that in no instance does it mean a place of punishment or suffering in a future state. Nor is this merely the opinion of Universalists. The best writers of other sects have asserted the same. Doctor Campbell, the learned Scotch Presbyterian, who is allowed to have been one of the greatest biblical critics, says, in one of his Dissertations "sheol signifies the state of the dead in general, without regard to the goodness or badness of the persons, their happiness or misery." To the same purpose is the language of Dr. Whitby, the celebrated Episcopal divine, "All men, (says he,} go to sheol" (or hades.) There Jacob, and Job, and David, and Hezekiah expected, and even desired to be."

But it is unnecessary to refer to the opinion of any uninspired writers upon the subject. No one can read the passages in the Old Testament, where this word occurs, without being shocked at the idea of its designating a place of torment in a future state. Permit me to cite a few texts as examples.

The patriarch Jacob, when, by the deception of his sons, he was led to believe that his beloved Joseph