priefls, the authors of the Greek translation. Not only fo, Chr and the apoftles, when they make quotations from the old tefta ment, render this Hebrew word into Greek, in the fame manrter. This is feen by comparing the original copies; as Pfal. xlv. 6, with Luke i. 33. 55, and Heb. i. 8; and 1 Pet. i. 23, 25, with Pfal. cxxxvi; and feveral other places.

4. This Hebrew word is frequently applied to the future punishment of the wicked. Pfal. ix. 5. Thou haft rebuked the heathen, thou haft destroyed the wicked, thou hast put out their • name forever and ever. Directly after, the same word is ap plied to the duration of God himself. But thou, LORD, shalt endure forever: he hath prepared his throne for judgment." This deftruction, therefore, shall not come to an end while God lives, and while he lives, he lives to judge and punish the wick ed. So one reafon why God fwears that he lives forever, as we have feen above, is, as he himself directly fays, I will render ⚫ vengeance to mine enemies, and will reward them that hate me. Because he lives forever, the full reward of their deeds will of course be meafured out to them. Befides this deftruction to the

wicked, and this their name put out forever and ever, is explained in the new teftament, to have their names blotted out of the book of life, and they tormented day and night, forever and ever.

In Ifai. xxxiv 9, 10, we have another remarkable infance of the use of this word, applied to the fame end. The ftreams ⚫ thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the duft thereof into brim. ⚫ftone, and the land thereof fhall become burning pitch. It fhall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up forever from generation to generation it fhall lie wafte; none fhall pals through it forever and ever.' Concerning this most awful deftruction, from the LORD, upon Idumea and the people of his curfe, the main thing is to defcribe the punishment of the damned in hell. The fame thing is brought into view, Rev. ziv 11. And they shall be tormented with fire and brimstone; and the fmoke of their torment afcendeth up forever and ever; and they have no reft day nor night.' And, Mark ix. 43, 44

Into the fire that never fhall be quenched; where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.' So, in the answer A braham gives to the request of the rich man in hell, the last part of which is, Befide all this, between us and you there is a great gulph fixed: fo that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they país to us, that would come from thence. Even a father cannot pass from heaven to hell, to

grant

grant relief to a dear child or fon. Which agrees with the above words from Ifaiah, None shall pafs through it forever and ever.' It is therefore clear, that the main thing intended by this moft awful doom upon Idumea, is to fet forth the punishment of the damned. And the fame Hebrew word is here used to express the duration of their punishment, as is ufed to exprefs the duration of God himfelf.

Again, Job xx. 6, 7. 'Though his (the wicked man's) excellency mount up to the heavens, and his head reach unto the clouds; yet he fhall perish forever like his own dung.' Pfal. lii. 4, 5. Thou loveft all devouring words; O thou deceitful tongue. God fhall likewife deftroy thee forever.' And, xcii.

When the wicked fpring as the grafs, and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish; it is that they fhall be destroyed forever.' The original word, anfwering to forever, in these two firft texts, is NOSHETH; in the laft it is OD. But thefe words, when applied directly to duration, and in their strict sense, are clearly expreffive of that which is unlimited. This may be seen by examining the texts, as noted below, where thefe words are found in the original.

There is no need of citing all the texts out of the old teftament, which exprefs the unceafing mifery of the damned, as this point is fo accurately fettled in the new. It remains only to add, when future punishment is expreffed by every Hebrew word that is ufed in the unlimited fenfe, as is found to be the cafe; this ferves to confirm, and make certain, what is the awful doom that awaits the ungodly, except they repent. And ought to warn us of this folemn truth: 'He, that being often reproved, hardeneth his neck, hall fuddenly be deftroyed, and that without remedy.'

I am &c.

*Job xxiii. 7. Píal. xvi. 11. xliv. 23. xlix. 9. Ixviii. 16. lxxiv, 1, 10, 19. Ixxvii. %. In thefe, the word is NOSHETH. In the following it is OD; Pfal. ix. 18. xix. 9. xxi. 6. xxii. 26. lix. 9. lxi. 8. lxxvii. 7. lxxxiii. 17. lxxxix. 29. xcii. 7. cxi. 3, 10. cxii. 3, 9.In Ifai. xxxiii. 20. the word BEL anfwers to forever, or not ever. OD appears to be a helping word to OLAM, and generally joined with it in the in Mances of forever and ever; and might, perhaps, be rendered forever, even forever.

LETTER III.

Objections to the foregoing, confidered.

MY DEAR FRIEND,

UR attention is now called to the following objections. I. Dr. Chauncy fays, Thefe words, AIOON and "AIOONIOS, are evidently more loofe and general in their meaning, than the English words eternity, everlasting, by which they are commonly rendered in our bibles. If it were not fo, how comes it to pafs, that AIOON and AIOONIOS ⚫ will not always bear being tranflated eternity, everlasting ?'* To answer this, Dr Edwards fays, By the fame argument it may be proved, that the words eternity and everlafting, in our lan guage, are more looft and general in their meaning, than the Greek AIOON and AIOONIOS. We freqently fay, fuch a ⚫ man is an everlafting talker, or he talks eternally; he is eternally flandering and quarrelling with his neighbours. But according to Dr. C's fenfe of the Greek words AIOON and AIOONIOS, the English phrafes juft mentioned cannot be properly tranflat. ed, by the ufe of thofe Greek words. The Doctor fays they properly mean the duration of an age. But when it is faid, a ⚫ man talks eternally, the meaning is not that he talks for an age. -The truth is, there are idioms in all languages, which will not bear a literal tranflation into any other language.'t

.

*

6

But Dr. Chauncy goes on, to prove that thefe Greek words are more loofe in their meaning, than they are in our English tranflation, and urges Matt,.xxviii. 20. Luke i. 70. Colof. i. 26. Tit. i. 2. For an anfwer to his reafoning on thefe two laft paffages, fee page 193. As to Matt. xxviii. 20. Lo, I am with you alway even unto the end of the world, EOOS TEEŚ SUNTELEIASTOU AIOONOS;' it has been fhown that AIOON, ufed without the prepofition EIS, may be applied, without any ambiguity, to this world, or to the prefent ftate of existence. And this anfwers the other paffage, Luke i. 70.- Holy prophets, which have been fince the world began, AP AIOONOS.'

.

Dr. C. fays again, The particles, ETI and EPEKEINA, are fometimes added in the Sepuagint verfion of the old testa. 'ment, to the word AIOON, to give it the greater emphasis: Whereas, fhould we add the English words, anfwerable to thofe 'Greek particles, to the word eternity, it would make evident nonfenfe; as any one may readily perceive upon trial. Thus, • Exod.

* P. 261.

+ Edwards against Chauncy, P. 249.

Exod. xv. 18. The Lord fhall reign, TON AIOONA, KAI • EP AIOONA, KAI ETI, forever and ever and further. Dan. xii. 3 They fhall fhine as the fars, EIS TOUS 'AIOONAS. KAI ETI, forever and further.' Mic. iv. 5. We will walk in the name of the Lord our God, EIS TON AIOONA, KAI EPEKEINA, forever and beyond it."

By the fame rule, fome of Dr. C's expreffions, were they literally tranflated into Greek, would make evident non'fenfe.' It is needlefs to cite any of his expreffions, to this end; for in his way of reafoning, the fame may be faid of all other writings. In an inftrument of conveyance of land, words of the fame meaning, and additions to these words, are used over and over again. The defign in this cafe, is not to fudy elegance of fpeech, but to make the inftrument valid, by cutting off all occa. fion. Experience has taught the propriety as well as neceffity

of this.

As the Jews held to a future fate, fo when it is faid, The LORD fhall reign EIS TON AIOONA, KAI ETI, forever and further; the meaning is, he fhall reign during this world, and further; or during this world and the next. Which is a very fignificant expreflion, refering to both worlds, as well as to his endiefs reign. As this, Exod. xvth, is a fong of triumph over Pharaoh and his hoft, fo it refers us to the reign and government of God over Pharaoh, after his death, as well as before and at his death. The revelation of this truth was of great ufe, at that time, to the Ifraelites; fo to future ages. Likewife Dan. xii. 3. 'They 'fhall fhine as the ftars EIS TOUS AIOONAS, KAI ETI,' was of fpecial import both to Jews and Babylonians. Which was, that after the day of glorious light commences, which Daniel here predicts, the faints, though before defpifed, fhould be refpected and honoured, during this world and further; during the difpenfation before, and the difpenfation after the coming of the Meffiah, and further; or, which is the fame, to eternity. Again, Mic. iv. 5. We will walk in the name of the LORD our God EISTON AIOONA, KAI EPEKEINA, forever and beyond 'it,' was an expreffion of folemn devotednefs to God, during this world and the next, or throughout all worlds. And, throughout all worlds, by common ufe, has become a pertinent expreffion of endless duration.

6

Dr. Hammond fhows the origin of the particles, ETI further, and EPEKEINA beyond; and that they were added to forever, or to AIOON, to distinguish the two difpenfations or ages, one before and the other after the Meffiah, as well as to defignate both worlds,

*Salvation of all Men, P. 263.

worlds, the prefent and that which is to come. The Do&or fhows, however, that the Jews ufed AIOON without any addition ex cepting the prepofition EIS, and ufed it in the most univerfal fenfe; to include all worlds, all dispensations, and all duration. And when they fometimes made additions to this word, it was to cut off all occafion; or to fix the point beyond difpute, that there would be a difpenfation after theirs, and that there is, befide the prefent, another and an eternal world. See Hammond's Account on Luke i. 70. The Doctor, in the fame place, informs that when the Sadducees declared their fentiments, which was after Ezra's time, that then the Jews ordered an addition made to for ever, in their benediétions and doxologies. The reafon was, the Sadducees held to but one AIOON, but one world or state of existence. They might hold, and moft probably did, that this world was eternal; yet they denied any exiftence, as to individuals, after the prefent. Therefore, to defignate both worlds, and to afcribe praife to God, as being God of this world and the next, the body of the Jews, in oppofition to the Sadducees, ordered an addition to this word: they adopted this form of fpeech, AP' AIOONOS EIS TON AIOONA, from age ta age, or from this world to the next. And,' the Doctor fays, though perhaps this latter form be before Ezra's time to be met with in the Hebrew writings; yet, it seems, 'twas not in their forms of benedictions in the public fervice, and there it was probably inferted on that occafion. And an abbreviate of that form it is which the chriftians have delivered to them by 'Chrift, Matt. vi. 13. thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, EIS TÕUS AIOONAS to both ages, (or rather to both worlds), the prefent and the future; which we according to fenfe render forever and ever, i. e. for this world and for the next. This is more largely fet by the apoftlle, Gal. i. 5. EIS TOUS AIOONAS TOON AIOONOON, to the ages of ages; but yet more amply in the ancient church, which added that fecond verficle to the doxology, As it was in the beginning, (i. e. AP' AIOONOS, from the age, from the beginning of the world, as AP' AIOONOS here fignifies) is now, and ever fhall be, world without end, i. e. now, in this world, and to that world which fhall never end.' Therefore, the most which can be made of forever when doubled, or forever and ever, alfo when taken with these additions, forever and further, forever and beyond, is this, they were introduced on interefling occafions, and defigned to afcertain this and the invifible world. But will Dr. C. call forever and

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