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1 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

SERIES

LECTURE SERMONS,

DELIVERED AT THE

SECOND UNIVERSALIST MEETING,
IN BOSTON.

BY HOSEA BALLOU, PASTOR.

THIRD ED. STEREOTYPED.

R»T!§£D BT THE AUTHOR.

"Seaich the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye hare eternal life, and .hey are lh#f
which testify of me." — Jesus Christ.
• Let us go on to perfection." — St. Paul.

BOSTON :

A. TOMPKINS

1860.

<*$>*

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1832, by

Marsh, Capen & Lyon,
n the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Massachusetts.

CONTENTS.

LECTURE I.

The Objects of Salvation: and its nature.

1 Timothy, 1. 35. — " This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all
acceptation, That Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners ;
of whom I am chief." . . . . .7

LECTURE II.

The Divine Character the source of all the grace
manifested in the gospel : And the standard for our imi-
tation.

Matthew, v. 84. — " Be ye, therefore, perfect, even as your Father
which is in heaven is perfect." . . . , . 20

LECTURE III.
The Law, cdnsistent with the Promises.
Galatians, iii. 21. — " Is the law then against the promises of
God? God forbid." . . . . . .35

LECTURE IV.

Love, the centre of all the Divine attributes.
1 John, iv. 16.—" God is love." . .47

LECTURE V.

Man originally made subject to vanity and to hope.

Romans, viii. 20. — " For the creature was made subject to vanity,
not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in
hope." . . . . . . .61

•

LECTURE VI.

Salvation impartial and universal.

Isaiah, xxv. 6, 7, 8. — " And in this mountain shall the Lord of
hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on
the lees ; of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well re-
fined. And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the cover-
ing cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations.
He will swallow up deatli in victory ; and the Lord God will wipe
away tears from off all faces ; and the rebuke of his people shall he
take away from off all the earth : for the Lord hath spoken it." 75

4 CONTENTS.

LECTURE VII.

The burning up of the proud and of all that do wick-
, edly.

Malachi, iv. 1. — " For, behold, the day cometh that shall burn as
an oven ; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be
stubble ; and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the
Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch." 89

LECTURE VIII.

The story of Joseph, an illustration of Christ's king-
dom.

Deuteronomy, xxxiii, 16, 17. — " Let the blessing come upon the
head of Joseph, and upon the top of the head of him that was sepa-
rated from his brethren. His glory is like the firstling of his bul-
lock, and his horns are like the horns of unicorns : with them he
shall push the people together to the ends of the earth ; and they
are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of
Manasseh." . . . . . . 103

LECTURE IX.

The blasphemy against the Holy Ghost.

Matthew, xii. 31 , 32. — " Wherefore I say unto you, All manner
of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men : but the blasphe-
my against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And
whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be for-
given him : but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall
not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to
come." . . . . . .117

LECTURE X.

The Scripture doctrine of election.

Romans, xi. 7. — What then ? Israel hath not obtained that which
he seeketh for j but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were
blinded. 132

LECTURE XI.

God reconciling the world unto himself through
Christ.

2d. Corinthians, v. 18, 19, 20. — And all things are of God, who
hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and bath given to us
th^ ministry of reconciliation ; to wit, that God was in Christ, rec-
onciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto
them ; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. INow
then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech
you by us : we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to
God 145

LECTURE XII.

All men drawn to Christ.

John, xii. 32.—" And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will
draw all men unto me." ..... 160

CONTENTS. 6

LECTURE XIII.

Christ sowing the good seed, in tears.
Psalm, cxxvi. 6. — "He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing

Srecious seed shall, doubtless, come again with rejoicing, bringing
is sheaves with him." .... 173

LECTURE XIV.

Entering into life maimed; and being cast into hell.

Mark, ix. 43, 44. — " And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off; it is
better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to
go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched; — Where
their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched." . . 188

LECTURE XV.

All men the children of God. Destruction of the
devil.

Hebrews, ii. 14, 15. — " Forasmuch then as the children are par-
takers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the
same ; that through death he might destroy him that had the power
of death, that is, the devil ; — And deliver them who, through fear
of death, were all their lifetime subject to bondage." . 202

LECTURE XVI.

The second death

Revelation, xxi. 8. — " But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the
abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and
idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which
burnetii with fire and brimstone ; which is the second death." 216

LECTURE XVII.

Salvation, a deliverance from error and sin, through
the mercy of God.

2 Timothy, i. 9, 10. — " Who hath saved us, and called us with an
holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own
purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the
world began : — But is now made manifest by the appearing of our
Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought
life and immortality to light through the gospel." . . 231

LECTURE XVIII.

Explanation of Matthew xxiv. and xxv.

Matthew, xxv. 46. — " And these shall go away mto everlasting
punishment : but the righteous into life eternal." . . 246

LECTURE XIX.

Righteousness and wickedness recompensed on earth.

Proverbs, xi. 31. — " Behold, the righteous shall be recompensed
in the earth ; much more the wicked and the sinner." . 262

6 CONTENTS.

LECTURE XX.

Divine goodness in the destruction of the Sodomites
and other sinners.

Ezekiel, xvi. last of 50. — " Therefore I took them away as I saw
good." . . . . . . 276

LECTURE XXI.

Vexation of false religion.

Isaiah, xxviii. last of 19. — " And it shall be a vexation only to
understand the report." ..... 291

LECTURE XXII.

God's unchangeable love to sinners the cause of
Christ's mission.

Romans, v. 8. — "But God commendeth his love toward as, in
that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." . 306

LECTURE XXIII.

The resurrection a state of holiness and bliss.

1. Thessalonians, iv. 13. — " But I would not have you to be
ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sor-
row not, even as others which have no hope." . . 320

LECTURE XXIV.

"The resurrection of life;" and "the resurrection
of damnation.

John, v. 28, 29. — " Marvel not at this : for the hour is coming,
in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall
come forth : they that have done good, unto the resurrection of
life ; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of dam-
nation." . . . . . . .334

LECTURE XXV.

All God's judgments issue in love.
Zephaniah, iii. part 17. — " He will rest in his love." . 348

LECTURE XXVI.

The healing efficacy of Christ's doctrine.
Mark, v. 31. — " Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and
sayest thou, who touched me?" . ... 362

LEC1 V sx£j i.

THE OBJECTS OF SALVATION ; AND ITS NATURE.

1. TIMOTHY, i. 15.

■* This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, That Christ Jesua
came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am Chief."

The subject on which the Apostle was speaking,
and which led him to make the important declaration
contained in our text, is worthy of special notice.
Under a deep sense of the goodness of God, the grace
which he had received in the Lord Jesus, the dis-
tinguished and important station in which he was
placed by the great Captain of our salvation, it was
impossible for him not to take a most humiliating re-
trospective view of his past life in the Jews' religion,
while an enemy to Jesus, a blasphemer, and a perse-
cuter of the church. All these weighty considerations
having their natural operations on his mind, seemed to
present, in full view, before his mental vision, the great
and glorious errand on which the Lord Jesus was sent
into our world. If it could have been so, that the Apos-
tle, while engaged in the ministry of Jesus, could have
retained his former confidence in his own righteous-
ness, and had been of opinion, that he was a favorite
of heaven, that he was enlightened into the knowledge
of the gospel, and even put into the ministry because
his former conduct had merited these favors, it is evi-
dent that such views could never have led him to
make the statement found in our text. Confirmed in
such a persuasion, he would have preached a Saviour
for the righteous, yea, for the righteous only. He

O BALLOU S LECTURES.

would have despised the least intimation of the salva-
tion of sinners. He would, no doubt, have looked on
such intimation, as an heresy of a most dangerous ten-
dency. But the case with the great Apostle of the
Gentiles was very different. He had been led to see
that not as a righteous man, but as the chief of sin-
ners he had been visited with the abundance of that
grace by which he was so highly distinguished. He
therefore looked on himself as sufficient proof of the
testimony which he bore. Such as the following were,
no doubt, the reflections of his mind ; I know for cer-
tainty, that I was a most deadly enemy of this lovely
Jesus whom I now delight to serve ; I know, that in
my opposition to this religion, I was exceedingly mad,
and I caused many of the harmless, inoffensive disci-
ples of Christ, both men and women, to feel the
weight of my displeasure. Such was my blind zeal,
such the enmity that rankled in my heart against him
and his doctrine, who was a friend to sinners, that " I
thought I ought to do many things contrary to the
name of Jesus ;" and I persecuted the saints " unto
the death." But, O wonderful to behold ! I am now
a most joyful subject of that grace to which I was such
an enemy. From such reflections might very justly
be drawn this conclusion ; " This is a faithful saying,
and worthy of all acceptation , that Christ Jesus came
into the world to save sinners ; of whom I am chief."
This testimony, that Christ Jesus came into the
world to save sinners is sufficiently corroborated by
other scriptures. When those, in the days of Jesus,
who thought they were righteous and despised others,
found fault with the Saviour, because he was a friend
to sinners, he plainly told them, that he " came not to
call the righteous, but sinners to repentance ;" he fur-
thermore represented the same divine truth in that re-
markably instructive saying; " The whole need not a
physician, but they that are sick." Moreover, he en-
larged on this subject in several beautiful parables, the
design of which was to represent the repentance of
sinners. The blessed Redeemer testified that " God
sent not his son into the world, to condemn the world

but that the world through him might be saved." The
declaration of the Angel to Joseph, " Thou shalt call
his name Jesus for he shall save his people from their
sins," is in direct proof of what is testified in our
text.

There are two good reasons why Jesus was not sent
to call the righteous. First. There were none.
" When God looked down from heaven upon the chil-
dren of men, to see if there were any that did under-
stand, and seek God. They are all gone aside, the-
are altogether become filthy ; there is none that doeth
good, no, not one." After the Apostle had de-
scribed, in his epistle to the Romans, the abominable
character of the wicked, he adds ; " What then, are
we better than they ? no, in no wise : for we have
before proved both ? Jews and Gentiles, that they
are all under sin ; as it is written, There is none right-
eous, no, not one." Again to the same point ; " For
all have sinned and come short of the glory of God."
Secondly. If there had been any righteous, they
would not have needed Jesus to call them to repen-
tance. It is as improper for a righteous man to re-
pent, as it is for a well man to take medicine. If the
man in health should take medicine, it would be likely
to render him indisposed ; and if a righteous man
should repent, he would render himself wicked.

If it be allowed, as has been proved, that Christ
Jesus came into the world to save sinners, and that
the gospel seeks, as subjects of its grace, sinners only,
then it should never be argued, that there are some
who cannot be saved because they are sinners. — This
contains the absurdity, that, that which renders
salvation necessary is an objection to it. If we
may further notice the observation of the Saviour
it is pertinent to remark on the impropriety of say-
ing, that because the patient is sick, therefore the
physcian will administer or prescribe nothing. Nor
would the extremity of a case render the objection in
the least plausible, unless the malady was of such a
nature as to bid defiance to the power of medicine ;
but on the contrary, the more indisposed the patient

might be, the greater would be the urgency for relief.
It is granted, that this calculation is not a little wide
from that which is more common, in which it is sup-
posed, that the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ may ex-
tend to the condition of those who are sinners in a
certain degree, beyond which point our spiritual phy-
sicians justify themselves in saying the grace of God
can never extend. However, no small encouragement
is derived from the divine testimony, that " where sin
abounded, grace did much more abound : that as sin
hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign
through righteousness unto eternal life, by Jesus Christ
our Lord." These blessed words are " like apples of
gold in pictures of silver." Never was cold water to
the thirsty soul so grateful as these words of eternal
life.

The attention of the hearer is now most earnestly
invited to the consideration of the following question.
What did Christ Jesus come into the world to save
sinners from ? Your public servant has heretofore la-
bored this question in this place ; but being persuaded
that the general sentiment entertained among profess-
ed christians on this question is not according to scrip-
ture, it is felt to be a duty to endeavor to throw as
much light on the subject as the present opportunity
will permit.

No doubt many of the audience have already made
up their minds, that the question proposed with so
much solicitude is very easily answered, and is too
free from difficulty to render much attention to the
subject necessary.

Though it is greatlv to be wished that this were the
case, it is presumed that a concise view of the gener-
ally received opinion, on this subject, will at once dis-
cover, that erroneous notions have been and still are
entertained of it.

The general opinion, which we shall endeavor to
disprove, supposes that " Christ Jesus came into the
world to save sinners" from the demands of vindictive
justice, which recognized the whole sinful family of
man under the penalty of endless punishment, fre-

BALLOU'S LECTURES. 11

quently called eternal death. This opinion of the
penalty required by the divine law is expressed in the
Catechism as follows ; " All mankind, by reason of the
fall, lost communion with God, fell under his wrath
and curse, was made liable to the miseries of this life,
to death itself, and to the pains of hell forever." From
the everlasting pains of hell, the same creed teaches
us to believe, that Jesus Christ was appointed to save
a part, and but a part of mankind. The way by which
it is supposed that the Saviour undertook to save sin-
ners from eternal punishment, was by suffering the
penalty in room of the sinner ; so that justice being
satisfied, pardon and everlasting salvation could be
granted to the guilty without any infringement of strict
justice- Dr. Watts expresses this scheme of salvation
nearly as follows ;

" I was a rebel doom'd to fire,
Doom'd to endure eternal pains,
He on the wings of swift desire,
Assum'd my guilt and took my chains."

Again;

He quenched his Father's flaming sword
In his own vital blood."

But it is needless to take up time to be very partic-
ular in showing what this common sentiment is, for
the most of us have been learning it from the begin-
ning of childhood.

Some of the objections to this scheme of salvation
are the following; 1st. The total silence of the divine
testimony respecting this supposed penalty of the di-
vine law. In the divine threatening denounced in the
garden there is nothing intimated concerning this
penalty of " eternal death," or the " pains of hell for-
ever." In the malediction on Cain for the murder of
his brother, there is nothing on this hereafter eternal
penalty. In all the law given by Moses, containing a
minute description of most terrible curses, which in
severity extend to the utmost capacity of man to suf-
fer in this life, there is not a single suggestion relating

to this penalty of eternal punishment in a future state.

2. The supposition of such a penalty seems dishon-
orable to the divine Being, because it could not have
been enacted with any design to reclaim the sinner
and must, therefore, be entirely repugnant to the char-
acter of God as a Father of his creatures. A parent
cannot, consistently with parental love, subject a child
to any penalty for faults committed, which in room of
being directed to reform, would inevitably prevent re-
pentance and reformation forever. The word of God
informs us that he " is love," and that he is " our Fa-
ther in Heaven." Now if this be true, the opinion,
that there ever was any vindictive wrath in God, which
demanded the sinner's eternal banishment from our
Father in heaven must be an egregious error, and one
that very much obscures and dishonor the ever bless-
ed Father of our spirits.

3. If mankind justly deserved this supposed penal-
ty, on account of sins committed against the divine-
law, how could it possibly be just for one who was
not a sinner to suffer it ? To condemn the innocent,
and clear the guilty is strictly forbidden in the law.

4. The supposition, that this penalty did actually
lie against the sinners which Jesus came to save, and
that he, in the sinner's room and stead, did actually
surfer this penalty, embraces the absurd suppoition
that Jesus suffered eternal misery in a few days.

5. If according to the common opinion, the penalty
of the law subjected men " to all the miseries of this
life, to death itself, and to the pains of hell forever," if
Jesus suffered the penalty for the elect why are the
elect any more liable now in this state to the miseries
of this life and to death itself, than to the pains of hell
forever ? Most surely, if Jesus bore the whole penalty
of the law in room and stead of the sinner, then it cer-
tainly cannot be just for the sinner to bear one part of
this penalty any more than another. But there are none
who do not partake of the miseries of this life in some
degree ; and there are none who are exempt from
death.

Having shown that the common opinion respecting

BALLOU'S LECTURES 13

salvation is erroneous, having no scripture authority
for its support and being contrary to all revealed jus-
tice, we may proceed to notice some direct evidence
from scripture against it. But here we may be con-
cise. In the law given by Moses, there is a continued
thread of plain testimony, that as a nation the house
of Israel would be punished accordingly as they should
depart from the statutes and judgments which the
Lord commanded them : and accordingly we are in-
formed in the sacred pages, that God punished them
from time to time as their perverse and wicked con-
duct deserved. So likewise are we assured, that the
divine Being punished other nations for their wicked-
ness : such as Babylon, Nineveh, Tyre, Egypt, &c.
In relation to the crimes of individuals we well know
that God instituted penalties according to the nature
of offences, and gave special directions concerning
their being duly inflicted. This is not only true in
respect to the laws of Israel, but it is likewise true in
respect to all nations. He that holds the sword is the
minister of God. Now if all this, which is as plain as
any thing in the scriptures, be granted, what room is
there for the supposition that the penalty due to trans-
gression is punishment in the future eternal world ?
Or what reason have we to believe that Jesus suffered
in room and stead of transgressors ? This same Jesus
Christ of whom it is believed, that he suffered the pen-
alty of our sins in our room, that we might not suffer
it, plainly states, that he will " reward every man ac-
cording to his works." It seems to be evident, from
the foregoing considerations, that no such penalty of
endless misery was ever connected with the divine law
of heaven ; and equally evident, that Jesus did not come
into the world to save sinners from any such penalty.
No, nor did he come into the world to save the sinner
from the punishment of his sins.

We have now come to the positive of our question,
and we will proceed to show from the scriptures, what
" Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners "
from.

First, and primarily, he came to save sinners from
2

14 BALLOTj's LECTURES.

their sins. If the hearer be disposed to ask what the
difference is between saving a sinner from his sins,
and saving him from the punishment which his sins
deserve, the following reply will show. To save a
criminal from the punishment which the law holds
against him would be a violation of the law, but to
save him from his sin, would render him righteous.
To save a disobedient child from the chastisement due
for his offence, would violate the wholesome law of
the parent, and would have an unfavorable effect on
the disobedient when reformation is the object of the
chastisement. But to save the child from disobedi-
ence is the very thing the parental law requires and
is all the salvation which it needs. Thus, as has been
before noticed, the Angel said to Joseph ; " Thou
shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people
from their sins."

Secondly, we may notice some particulars, which,
however, are all comprehended in saving the sinner from
his sins. Jesus Christ came into the world to save sin-
ners from a state of ignorance which they were actual-
ly in, which ignorance was and ever is the cause of
sin.

Of the forerunner of Jesus it was said ; " And thou,
child, shalt be called the prophet of the highest : for
thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare
his ways ; to give knowledge of salvation unto his
people, by the remission of their sins, through the ten-
der mercy of our God ; whereby the day-spring from
on high hath visited us, to give light to them that sit
in darkness, and in the shadow of death, to guide our
feet into the way or peace." Jesus said to the Jews ;
" If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples
in deed ; and ye shall know the truth and the truth
shall make you free ." In his prayer to the Father,
Jesus says ; " This is life eternal, that they might
know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom
thou hast sent." It is most plainly seen by the light
of these passages, that the Saviour's grace was design-
ed to deliver sinners from mental darkness, and to
give them the true knowledge of God's divine and

EALLOU'S LECTURES 15

gracious character. This is a salvation which the ig-
norance of mankind rendered necessary. St. Paul,
speaking on this subject to the Collossians says ;
" Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness,
and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear
Son." The power of darkness is the deception to
which ignorance subjects us, from which the true know-
ledge of divine things delivers the mind. God says by
the prophet Jeremiah ; " And they shall teach no more
every man his neighbor, saying, know the Lord : for
they shall all know me, from the least of them to the
greatest of them, saith the Lord : for I will forgive their
iniquity, and I will remember the sin, no more ! "
The words of St. Peter are pertinent to this subject :
" Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the
knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord." And we
may add, that the mission of the Apostles, to " preach
the gospel to every creature and to teach all nations,"
implies the necessity of bringing all men to the know-
ledge of the truth.

The same salvation which has already been signified
by a salvation from sin and from darkness or ignorance,
may be denominated a deliverance from unreconcilia-
tion to God. It is easily seen, that sin and unrecon-
ciliation to God are the same. This is the state which
the sinner is in, and from this condition the gospel is
designed to deliver or save him. Accordingly St.
Paul says ; " And all things are of God who hath rec-
onciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given
to us the ministry of reconciliation ; to wit ; that God
was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not
imputing their trespasses unto them ; and hath com-
mitted unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then,
we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did be-
seech you by us ; we pray you in Christ's stead, be
ye reconciled to God ! We see by this passage as well
as by the general testimony of scripture, that God did
not impute the trespasses of sinners to them, in any
way to prevent the manifestation of his grace in their
reconciliation to himself. This reconciliation of the
world to God is the salvation of the world, and agrees

16 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

with the testimony of the beloved disciple who said,
"We have seen and do testify, that the Father sent
the son to be the Saviour of the world." And to the
same did " a bright and a shining light " bear record,
saying; " Behold the Lamb of God "that taketh away
tne sin of the world."

This condition of sinners, from which Christ Jesus
came into the world to save them, is represented to
be death. Jesus says ; " The dead shall hear the voice
of the son of God, and they that hear shall live." St.
Paul says to the Ephesians ; " And you hath he quick-
ened, who were dead in trespasses and sins." Again ;
" But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love
wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in
sins, hath quickened us together with Christ." Was
there ever a representation more erroneous, than that
which has for ages led men to believe that there was
a divine wrath in God, from which Jesus came to save
sinners? In the passage just recited it is declared, that
on account of the great love which God had to sinners,
who were dead in sin, he quickened them together
with Christ.

Our Redeemer represents the salvation of sinners
by seeking and saving something lost, "The Son of
man came to seek and to save that which was lost."
Time would fail us to mention all the ways by which
sacred truth has represented the nature of a sinner's
salvation by Jesus Christ.

The hearer is now called on to observe, that in all
the representations quoted from scripture, there is no
intimation of saving sinners from any punishment to
which they were exposed, nor from any condition that
they were not already in.

Being in possession of what the foregoing arguments
seem plainly to prove, the mind of the hearer will de-
vote its attention now to the consideration of the ques-
tion, why " Christ Jesus came into the world to save
sinners? " If the object of the Saviour's mission was
to suffer the penalty of eternal punishment, which all
our Doctors agree cannot be suffered in this world,
why did he come here ? Why should he come into

BALLOU'S LECTURES. 17

a world where this supposed penalty never was de-
signed to be executed ? If Jesus undertook and did
actually suffer the penalty of eternal damnation in a
future world, in room and stead of sinners, surely there
was no need of his coming into this mortal state to do
it. But he " came into the world to save sinners."
And the reason why he came into this world to save
sinners, was because the sinners which he came to
save were in this world. To make use of the parable
of the Saviour, we may remark, that the physician goes
to the place where the sick are, that he may adminis-
ter what may relieve the patient from sickness. The
goodly Samaritan went to the place where the bruised
Jew lay naked and half dead, and there he poured into
his wounds the mollifying oil and the life restoring
wine. The shepherd went after the lost sheep until
he found it, and from the place where it had wandered
he bore it on his shoulder to the fold, rejoicing.

The common doctrine, which teaches us, that Christ
Jesus came into this world to save us in another
world is contrary to all the representations which are
found in the scriptures. If in a future world, men
are sick, then in a future world men will need a phy-
sician ; and if in a future world men are lost, then
in a future world they will need to be sought and
found; but if the inhabitant shall say I am not sick,"
no physician will be wanted. If sin shall exist in a fu-
ture state cf existence, no doubt pardoning mercy will
flow as freely there as it does here. God will be the
same, Christ will be the same, and love divine will be
the same. But none of our creeds teach us that man
will sin in a future world, and surely if they do not
they will not need to be saved from sin, for they will
have none.

We are not informed in the scriptures, that Christ
Jesus came into the world to procure for man a state
of life and immortality ; but we are informed, that he
" hath brought life and immortality to light through the
gospel. This divine inheritance was given us in
Christ Jesus before the world began, but was " made

19 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

manifest by the appearing of our Lord and Saviour
Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death."

The attentive hearer is in the next place invited to
spend a few reflections on the fulness of Christ Jesus
to accomplish the work of saving sinners. Remem-
ber, " The Father sent the Son to be the Saviour o f
the world." Permit your humble servant to ask you,
if you had any important concerns in a foreign coun-
try, which required the attention of one deeply skilled
in such matters, would you not send one on whom
you could depend ? And would you not furnish him
with all the necessary powers, to settle your concerns
in a just and equitable manner? You answer in the
affirmative.

Then it seems, that your christian candor must
lead you to allow, that ample power is given to Christ
Jesus to save the chief of sinners. If God himself,
who is acknowledged to be omnipotent, had power
sufficient for this gracious work, he surely would not
send his Son with too little. " All power in heaven
and in earth is therefore committed to the Son."
" In him dwells the fulness of the Godhead bodily,"
Jesus " made unto us, wisdom, righteousness, sancti-
fication and redemption." Are sinners ignorant of
God ? Jesus came with the true knowledge of the
Father, whom to know is life eternal. Are sinners
sick with spiritual leprosy ? Jesus is that physician
whose very word can heal. Are sinners lost and be-
wildered in the wilderness of sin ? Jesus is " the way,
the truth and the life !" Are sinners dead in trespas-
ses and sins, the life giving power of the gospel quick-
ens them together with Christ. Here is a fountain
opened for the cleansing of the unclean, here flow med-
ical springs, teeming with health for all who are sick.
Here grows the tree of life, whose fruit is for food, and
whose leaves are for the healing of the nations. In a
word, there is no infirmity in the sinner for which
there is not a cure in Christ Jesus.

To conclude ; My christian friends, is not our duty,
as disciples of Jesus, made plain by the doctrine of
our text ? " It is enough for the disciples to be as his

master." lne olessed Redeemer labored incessantly
in the great work of saving sinners from their sins.
He exercised his miraculous powers to convince men
of the divinity of his mission, he taught the people the
unchangeable love of God to sinners, he loved sinners
himself, and his very breath seemed to be forgiveness.
We are called on to exercise all our abilities in this
blessed cause of salvation. That we may do this to
the utmost, we must strive to increase in the know-
ledge, and grow in the grace of divine truth, that we
may be enabled to communicate it to others. Jesus
said to his disciples ; " Let your light so shine before
men, that they beholding your good works, may glo-
rify your Father who is in heaven." If the vain im-
agination were true, that the work of saving sinners
was accomplished by Jesus' suffering some penalty of
the divine law, of which we have no account in the or-
acles of truth, of course further labor would not be
needed. But if the salvation of sinners, consists in
delivering them from their ignorance of God, from the
power of darkness, from the death of sin, and from
alienation to a blessed reconciliation to God, then all
that we can do, by the help of Grace, to enligten our
fellow men, to recommend the character of God to
sinners, to magnify the beauties and excellences of a
life of piety and virtue is of service in the cause of
Christ. But let us remember, first of all, that example
is more .than precept ; and that this " Grace of God,
which bringeth salvation to all men, hath appeared ;
teaching us, that, denying ungodliness and worldly
lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly,
in this present world ; looking for that blessed hope,
and the glorious appearing of the great God and our
Saviour Jesus Christ ; who gave himself for us, that |
he might redeem us from all iniquity, and puriyfy
unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good
works."

LECTURE II.

THE DIVINE CHARACTER THE SOURCE OF ALL THE
GRACE MANINESTED IN THE GOSPEL ; AND THE STAND-
ARD FOR OUR IMITATION.

MATTHEW v. 48.

" Be ye, therefore, perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is per-
fect."

Every scheme, whether human or divine, must, in
order to be rationally planned, have some principle as
its foundation. This foundation must, in all respects,
be sufficiently extensive and firm to support the super-
structure to be raised on it.

The gospel or doctrine of Jesus Christ, being a
scheme planned by infinite wisdom, is established on a
principle which is in all respects, both in regard to its
extent and stability, amply sufficient to support the di-
vinely glorious edifice designed to rest upon it. These
remarks are evidently analogous to the subject of our
text, and correspond with the manner in which it was
presented to those who listened to the gracious words
of the divine teacher. In his sermon on the mount,
Jesus noticed many particulars, which had formerly
been taught to the people and religiously believed by
them, which were not consistent with the heavenly
wisdom and grace of the gospel. He therefore, en-
deavored to present to the people the distinction be-
tween those traditions which had long been establish-
ed, and that which was harmonious with that special
" grace and truth," which came by him.

The particular subject under consideration is intro-
duced as follows : " Ye have heard that it hath been
said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, aud hate thine
enemy ; But I say unto you, love your enemies, bless
them that curse you, do good to them that hate you,
and pray for them which despitefully use you, and
persecute you ; that ye may be the children of your
Father which is in heaven ; for he maketh his sun to

BALLOUS' LECTURES. 21

rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on
the just and unjust." What the doctrine of Jesus
requires of his disciples is here plainly laid down ;
and the reason why love and good offices to enemies
were enjoined is shown in the manifest goodness of
God to the evil and good, to the just and to the un-
just. The divine teacher then proceeds to illustrate
the propriety and fitness of his doctrine as follows ;
" For if ye love them that love you, what reward have
ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye
salute your brethren only, what do ye more than oth-
ers ? do not even the publicans so ? "

Having thus evidently shown, that coming short
of that love and goodness to enemies which his doc-
trine requires, was to stand on the same ground and
to act on the same principle which characterise the
most illiberal and irreligious worlding, he enjoins as
expressed in our text ; " Be ye, therefore, perfect,
even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." —
Our text, thus introduced, seems to invite the atten-
tion of the hearer to the consideration of the following
proposition, as a distinct subject for investigation ;
(viz.) The gospel of Jesus Christ is a dispensation of
grace which naturally and necessarily flows from the
nature of God, and obtains its peculiar character from
the love of God to sinners.

What we mean when we say, the gospel of Jesus
Christ flows naturally from God is, that all the causes
which produce* it, or cause it to flow forth to man,
are in the nature of the divine Being. He is self-move
ed in all he does, and of course he is self-moved in
the dispensation of his grace. Even the Mediator
himself, who is stiled " the Captain of our salvation,"
had no occasion to influence the Father of our spirits
to be merciful to sinners, for it is the unchangeable
nature of God to be gracious. The divine being is
wrongly represented, when it is said, as it often has
been, that Christ has, by his life, death and resurrec-
tion opened a way for God to be merciful to sinners •
because this evidently supposes, that he was not mer-
ciful to sinners before this door was opened.

The testimony of Jesus evidently corrects this er-
ror, and abolishes at once all vain imaginations which
have been built upon it. Hear his words ; " For God
so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,
that whosoever belie veth in him should not perish, but
have everlasting life." It is surely a very great error
to suppose that the gift which the Father's love oe-
stowed influenced him to bestow it. Such a mistake
we may presume, never was made on any other sub-
ject or in any other case. Were the unhappy chil-
dren of wealthy parents, whose prodigality had reduc-
ed them to wretchedness and want, to receive from
them a gift of immense value, would they be likely to
conclude, that the worth of this invaluable treasure
was the cause of their parent's love and pity ? No ;
but however highly they might justly prize the favor
sent, they would consider it as the evidence, not the
cause of parental affection. This is evidently the
sense of the Apostle who says ; " But God commend-
eth his love towards us, in that, while we were yet
sinners Christ died for us." Here notice, the death
ofChrist was not the cause, but the commendation of
the love of God toward us, while we were yet sinners.
Again ; " Herein is love, not that we love God, but
that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitia-
tion for our sins." This propitiation for our sins, so
far from opening a door for God to be gracious, was
an effect and a manifestation of the divine favor.

These arguments are designed to illustrate the prop-
osition, that the grace of the gospel flows naturally from
God to his enemies.

It is believed that no subject in divinity is of great-
er moment than the one under consideration. For if
it be not the nature of God to be gracious, and to
love his creatures, and to do them good, even though
they are enemies to him by wicked works ; but if he
require vindictive retaliation on his enemies ; and can-
not, consistently with his true character, show any
favor to transgressors, without being first reconciled
and influenced so to do, it is to that which produces
this reconciliation and effects this influence, that we

BALLOU'S LECTURES, 23

are to look for mercy, and not to God. Moreover,
this doctrine, could it be maintained, would overthrow
the doctrine of our text. " Be ye, therefore, perfect,
even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect,"
by loving your enemies, by blessing them that curse
you, by doing good to them that hate you, and by
praying for them that despitefully use you and perse-
cute you. If it be allowed, that our Father in heaven
so imputed men's trespasses to them as to render it
impossible for him to extend mercy to any until his
vindictive wrath was appeased, then may we reply to
the requirements of the Saviour in our text, and say ;
First let us have satisfactory vengeance on our ene-
mies, then we will love them and do them good.
Suppose our Redeemer had taught the people, as our
professed christians believe, that he had undertaken to
appease his Father's wrath toward's man, by suffering
the penal tortures which vindictive justice had laid
on the sinner ; and that by this means he should pro-
cure the favor of God for them, would he not thereby
have furnished them with a reply to his injunctions
expressed in our text and context ? Might they not
have said, When we can obtain as ample vengeance
on our enemies, as you have to suffer in order to
render it proper for God to love his enemies, then we
will love ours ? But no such doctrine can be found
in the recorded testimony of Jesus. Whatever the
blessed Redeemer is to us, he is made such by the
Father of our spirits. Speaking to the Corinthians
of Christ Jesus, the Apostle says ; " Who of God is
made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification ,
and redemption." To the same church, speaking of
the ministry of reconciliation, the same author says ;
" God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto him-
self, not imputing their trespasses unto them." But
the error which we disprove, supposes that God did im-
pute our trespasses to us, and that Christ reconciled
him.

There is a passage the common use of which is
against our present argument, which we will here no-
tice. " We have an advocate with the Father.''

The common opinion supposes Jesus Christ acts the
part of an advocate, by pleading our cause before
God, to incline him to show mercy. This is totally
erroneous. The advocacy of Jesus is expressed thus :
" Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though
God did beseech you by us ; we pray you in Christ's
stead be ye reconciled to God." * Thus we have an
advocate with the Father who pleads with us to be
reconciled to God ; not with God to be reconciled to
us, for " God was in Christ reconciling the world unto
himself, not imputing unto them their trespasses."

That the character which we attribute, by these ar-
guments, to the divine Being, is really what is due to
him, may be made to appear by referring to his pro-
vidence. This we are specially authorised ,to do, by
the example which the Saviour has furnished in our
context, and which was evidently designed by him to
inculcate what these arguments are designed to prove.
He directed the attention of the people to two sensi-
ble objects, which the divine providence continually
holds out to our view ; the sun and the rain. " For
he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and the good,
and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust."
By these ocular proofs the divine teacher inculcated
the impartial love and goodness of our Father in
heaven toward all men of every description of char-
acter.

It may be necessary to notice, in this place, what
an objector might be disposed to urge against this im-
partial goodness of the divine Being toward the evil
and the good, the just and the unjust.

Objection : If God be equally as good to the evil as he
is to the good, to the unjust as to the just ; and if he love
his enemies as well as he does his friends, then there
is no difference between the reward of righteousness
and unrighteousness. To this objection the candid
hearer will accept the following reply. — Keeping in
view the character of God, as set forth in the passage
under consideration, as our Father in heaven, we say
that a father may love his obedient and disobedient
children impartially, and yet, in relation to their con-

duct, may treat them as differently as tney conduct
one from another. But however different the treat-
ment may be, it must, in every case, proceed from
the same principle of impartial love in the parent.

To illustrate this, we may observe that the parent
who is visited with sickness among his children will nat-
urally love those who are sick as well as he does those
who are in health ; and yet, from this equal undimin-
ished love, he will treat them as differently as will ex-
actly correspond with their different degrees of health.
— Now, you who are parents are called on to deter-
mine whether it be right, and consistent with your char-
acter as parents, to love your children and to do good
to them when they are disobedient ? If you decide in
he affirmative, as you most surely will, then you justify
the argument, against which the objection we have
noticed was stated.

If the objector should be disposed to contend, that
we extend our argument too far by endeavoring to
prove that the sinner is equally the object of divine
love as the righteous, we rejoin by referring the objector
to the full extent of the evidence already adduced, and
to the consideration of the following remarks.

First ; If we carefully examine the conduct of the
divine Being toward Adam before and after trans-
gression, shall we find any thing to justify the belief,
that Adam was not equally the object of divine favor
after he sinned as he was before ? Whose voice did
guilty Adam hear in the cool of the day, expressive of
parental solicitude, crying Adam, Adam, where art
thou ? It was the voice of the Lord God. In that
memorable hour of retribution was there the least sign
that God's love towards his offspring had suffered any
diminution ? Does not the promise, that the seed of the
woman shold bruise the serpent's head, bear date from
this eventful period ? Surely this was a time of love.

Secondly ; Was it when the world was righteous, or
when it was " in wickedness" that God so loved it, as
to give his only begotten Son, that whosoever belie v-
eth on him might not perish, but have everlasting life ?"
Was Saul less the object of the divine favor before his
3

26 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

conversion than afterward ? Were we less beloved by
him, " who loved us and washed us from our sins in
his own blood" before he washed us, than afterward ?
The hearer will easily perceive that these queries all
tend to show, that no change in man can effect any
change in God. — And

Thirdly ; The acknowledged unchangeability of the
divine Being furnishes sufficient proof, that his love to
his creatures can never increase nor decrease. Enter-
taining a hope, that what has been offered, designed
to explain our meaning respecting the dispensation of
divine grace flowing naturally from God, may be ac-
ceptable to the candid hearer, we will briefly state
what we mean by saying, that this dispensation of
grace flows necessarily from the nature of God ; and
offer some argument in its support.

What we mean by this part of our general proposi-
tion is, that if we take a careful view of the nature of
the djvine attributes, as they are revealed in creation,
providence, and grace, even as short sighted as we
are, we become convinced that all the ways of God,
all his works, all his mercies, and all his judgments are
unalterably established in truth and righteousness
which never vary. It is not consistent with the attri-
butes of God, to suppose, that he can design to do
any thing, and afterward alter his determination. Nor
is it any more consistent with the divine attributes to
suppose that any of the designs of God, which in dif-
ferent ages of the world have been revealed to man,
were less ancient than the design of creation ; which
carries us as far back as is of use to our researches.
When the Almighty was pleased to reveal himself to
Abraham, and call him from his people, and promise
him, the land of Canaan, and to multiply him, and to
bless him, and to bless all the families of the earth in
his seed, however new and unexpected this might be
to this " friend of God," it could be no new thing with
the God of Abraham. And so we may say of any
other particular manifestation of the wisdom of God.
a Known unto God are all his works from the founda-
tion of the world," and he declares " the end from the

BALLOU'S LECTURES 27

beginning." It is furthermore said, that he " cannot
lie," and that " he cannot deny himself."

Having presented the hearer, in our imperfect man-
ner, with this short account of the foundation of the
doctrine of Jesus, the attention of the audience may,
for a few moments, be devoted to the consideration
of the following inferences, drawn from premises al-
ready proved.

1. As we have seen, that the grace by which man
obtains salvation and eternal life, flows naturally and
necessarily from the nature of God, and is known by
its peculiar characteristic of love to sinners, we infer
that this salvation w'll eventually be as extensive as
the love of God, from which it proceeds. If the love
of the divine Being ensures salvation to any of the
sinful race of Adam, it equally favors the salvation of
all men, as all are equally the objects of divine love.
This inference relies on the fact, that the same cause
will always produce the same effects. A parent has
a number of children, all needy and dependent on him,
he loves them all equally, it is granted that this love
will certainly favor and support some of these depend-
ent offspring; the conclusion is, that it will grant the
same favor and support to the whole. Should the speak-
er, this evening, inform you, that there is a parent of
great respectability in this town, who has a numerous
family of sons and daughters, that he is vastly rich,
has all at its command that heart can wish, that he
most tenderly and affectionately loves his children,
and loves them impartially, that this parent has favor-
ed your servant with a knowledge of his domestic
economy and government, that he often invites him to
partake of his bountiful board, and of the refreshments
which his generous favor constantly provides, would
you not reply that all this is very probable, and that
you know of many such families in the circle of your
acquaintance ? But should the account proceed and
state, that of this numerous family of children only a
fourth part were ever indulged with the society of their
parent, that the other three fourths were the most
wretched beings ever seen, that they were as nearly

23 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

starved the whole of the time as they could be and
live, that they were excluded the society of the favor-
ites, and that their extreme misery was for the honor
and glory of the merciful parent, and to enhance the
unalloyed happiness of the others, could you freely
give your candid assent to the probability, the consist-
ency and propriety of this account ? Would you not
say, that if one part of the story be true, the other
must be false ? You certainly would contend, that if
the parent were impartial in his love to his children,
he never would make the distinction reported; you
would revolt with horror at the declaration, that the
extreme misery of the greatest part of the family was
necessary for the honor of the parent, and to enhance
the felicity of the happy few. Such doctrine as this,
you would say, is totally without foundation, is a su-
perstructure having nothing for its support, and is
proof positive that the mind of the reporter is derang-
ed or corrupted. Why then will you contradict your
own candid reasoning, and contend that our Father in
heaven loves his offspring impartially, even his enemies,
that his divine fullness is infinitely extensive, but that
by some special grace which has been made known to
you, you are authorised to believe and say, that but a
small part of the human family will ever be made par-
takers of the rich bounties of salvation in Christ, and
that far the most numerous part of Adam's posterity
are doomed to unspeakable tortures eternally for the
glory of God and to promote the happiness of a few ?
It is charitably believed that your candor will lead to
an impartial decision of this momentous subject, and
will incline you to admit what is so fully and clearly
proved by the unerring testimony of truth.

2. We infer from our general subject, that the com-
mon doctrine which teaches that our Father who
is in heaven, loves those who love him, but has
treasured up everlasting vengeance against his ene-
mies, is subversive of the gospel and religion of Jesus,
which he preached on the glorious foundation of the
divine love to sinners ; and equally subversive of our
duty as disciples of Christ. The common doctrine,

against which this inference is drawn, seems to adhere
to the old tradition, " Thou shalt love thy neighbor
and hate thine enemy," against which our Saviour la-
bored in the place where our text is found. " If ye
love them that love you, what reward have ye ? do
not even the publicans the same ? And if ye salute
your brethren only, what do ye more than others ? do
not even the publicans so ?" Those who pay no at-
tention to religion, whose thoughts are wholly en-
grossed by the things of a temporal concern, who lay
up their treasures upon the earth, love those who love
them, do good to those who do good to them, and
courteously salute their brethren. Now if God love
none but such as love him, if he be kind to none but
such as are friendly to him, what does he more than
publicans ? What reward hath he ? Most surely Je-
sus never would have inculcated the duty of loving
our enemies on the principle that God hated his.
But he seemed to come directly to the understanding
of the people through the medium of the rising sun
and falling rain, and presented them with the real
character of our heavenly Father as a perfect pattern
for our imitation. Suppose some of the disciples of
Jesus, on this occasion, had asked him whether he
meant to be understood, that our Father in heaven did
really love the evil and the good, the just and the un-
just, as impartially as he granted them the light of the
sun and the rain from heaven ? What answer may
we believe the divine teacher would have returned ?
Would he have said, I solemly charge you not to be
deceived by these temporal things ? You see that the
sun makes no distinction in bestowing its influence on
the nations of the earth, it bounds not its blessings by
any distinctions in the characters of men, it is prodi- |
gal of its innumerable blessings on the evil and on the '
good ; so is the rain, likewise as entirely impartial ; it
sheds its generous favors on all without partiality ;
but you are not to suppose that these are true indica-
tions of the real mind and disposition of your heavenly
Father. In temporal things God is " good unto all
and his tender mercies are over all his works ;" but in
3 *

30 BALLOU7S LECTURES.

respect to the spiritual and eternal concerns of men
he has made an infinite difference. Those who love
him and keep his commandments, he really loves ;
but his enemies are the objects of his burning wrath,
and on them will his vengeance be poured forth forev-
er. In reply to such an answer, might not the ques-
tions which Jesus asked be returned? If ye love
them that love you what reward have ye ? do not
even the publicans the same? But the divine teach-
er would not have been so absurdly inconsistent with
himself; he would have answered the supposed ques-
tion in the affirmative. We have full liberty to be-
lieve this and ample authority to support it. The
contrary is the very thing that he was dissuading the
people from ; but the affirmative of the supposed ques-
tion is what he endeavored to impress on their minds.
This inference will be found to be greatly strength-
ened by a careful application of our text to the subject,
" Be ye, therefore, perfect, even as your Father which
is in heaven is perfect." We are here required to
have the same quality of perfection as our Father in
heaven has. If his perfection is qualified with hatred
and unmerciful wrath towards his enemies, then our
perfection must be qualified by the same temper and
disposition towards our enemies. But if the perfec-
tion of our heavenly Father is rendered gloriously
bright by a constant display of unchangeable love and
mercy towards his enemies, then it is plainly our duty
to strive to the utmost to qualify our christian profes-
sion and discipleship of Jesus, with this blessed temper
and good will to those who are our enemies. Jesus
said to his disciples, " The disciple is not above his
master, nor the servant above his Lord. It is enough
for the disciple to be as his master, and the servant as
his Lord." Those, therefore, who profess to love all
mankind, who pray for all men, who say they fer-
vently desire the everlasting happiness of the whole hu-
man race, and yet contend that their divine Lord and
Master loves but a few, and has determined the ev-
erlasting instruction of all the rest, are guilty of su-
pererogation. So far from being contented to stop at

BALLOU S LECTURES. 31

the bounds by which they limit the holy one, they pro-
fess to love those who are held by their creed to be
the objects of the divine indignation. But here let us

pause ; Are these pretensions all real ? Cast aside

all prejudice, and examine and answer the following
question : Have professors generally, who have main-
tained limited views of the grace of God, and yet pre-
tended to love all men themselves, accompanied those
pretensions with that spirit and temper of love and
compassion toward those who have differed from them
in opinion, which seem necessary to prove the sin-
cerity of their professions ? If this should be allowed,
how can we account for all the persecutions which
have characterised the christian churches for ages ?
How shall we account for that mutual bitterness, cold-
ness and deeply rooted prejudice visible among differ-
ent denominations, and by which they have so much
disturbed the peace of society and of the world ?
There is nothing of importance ever maintained in the
religious creeds of men, that does not either tend to
make them better, or worse ; and that character which
we attribute to the divine Being, will more or less min-
gle itself in our own characters. Hence we account
for the endeavors of the Saviour to present our Father
in heaven, in a character which he would have his dis-
ciples acquire for themselves. He knew if men en-
tertain an opinion that the divine Being loves those
who love him and hates those who hate him, they
would be likely to imitate what they attribute to God.
He very well knew that this was the case with the
people of his day, he knew it had been the case in past
ages, and he knew that like causes would produce like
effects ; and therefore as long as men should religious-
ly believe that God loves some and hates others, he
knew that bitterness and strife would continue. From
this thick cloud of darkness, from this deadly error the
doctrine of divine love to the enemies of God, is the
only deliverance. It makes not the least difference
whether we profess to be Christians, Jews, Pagans or
Mahometans, if we believe that God is an enemy to
those who are enemies to him, we shall be likely to

32 BALLOU S LECTURES.

exercise the same spirit and disposition which we
believe our Father in heaven possesses ; and we shall
justify ourselves in so doing by the divine authority.
Those who have and maintain this erroneous belief,
are seldom if ever at a loss to know who the friends
of God are, and who are his enemies. They are per-
suaded that they have the true faith, that they are the
friends of God, and of course God is their friend ;
loves them, and will do good to them ; but those who
subscribe not to the same particular creed, are ene-
mies to God, are the objects of his wrath and of their
most bitter enmity. Such people will effect great con-
cern for those whom they esteem as the enemies of
the true faith, and will frequently exhort them to make
God their friend, to delay no time in bringing them-
selves to those terms and to that condition which will
secure the good will of our Father who is in heaven.
But the only way that this can be done, is to become
conformed to the particular creed and formalities of
those who stile themselves the friends of God. Why
did not our blessed Redeemer in the room of teaching
men that their Father in heaven loves his enemies, and
that they must love their enemies in order to be like
him, exhort them, as we are frequently exhorted, to
make our Father in heaven our friend ? Answer, be-
cause such an exhortation implies that God is no bet-
ter than the publicans, who love those that love them,
and is calculated to maintain all the partiality in faith
and practice from which Jesus came to save the
world.

To conclude ; Let us, my brethren, endeavor to seek
to the foundation of our religion, learn the true charac-
ter of our Father in heaven, and be cautious that we nev-
er consent to any belief, which in any way involves the
notion that God ever was or ever can be an enemy to
any of the works of his hands. And on the immove-
able rock of God's impartial love to all men, let our
faith and our hope rest ; but not forgetting that the
benefits of this heavenly doctrine of love divine can
never be realised until it works in us a conformity to
its requirements, and brings us into that heavenly tem-

per and spirit by which we shall love our enemies, do
good to them that hate us, and pray in faith, nothing
doubting, for those who despitefully use us and per-
secute us. Let us open our eyes to the visible signs
of the love and goodness of God, and read the instruc-
tive lectures, which are delivered by a beneficent prov-
idence every day and every hour, and by them learn
that wisdom which is from above, which " is first pure,
then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full
of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and with-
out hypocrisy."

LECTURE III.

THE LAW CONSISTENT WITH THE PROMISES.

GALATIANS, iii. 21.
Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid."

Br the manner of the Apostle's writing m this epis-
tle, it appears evident that christians, even as ear-
ly as the time of the Apostles, were strongly inclined
to the opinion, that the works of the law were neces-
sary to give validity and efficacy to the gospel of Je-
sus Christ. To this agrees the account we have in the
15th of Acts, where we are informed that " certain
men, which came down from Judea" to Antioch,
" taught the brethren and said, except ye be circum-
cised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved."
From such sentiments it appears the Apostle labored
with great earnestness to dissuade his brethren. The
chapter from which our text is chosen begins as fol-
lows ; " O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you,
that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes
Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified
among you ? This only would I learn ot you ; re-
ceived ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by
the hearing of faith ? Are ye so foolish ? having be-
gun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the
flesh ?" A little attention to this subject will discover
that by law and flesh the author means the same
thing. He endeavored to explain to his christian
brethren the design and utility of the law, and to show
that it had neither power to give the life of faith, or
to render the promises of the gospel covenant with-
out effect. He stated the important question on which

BALLOU S LECTURES.

his whole argument rested, and answered it in our
text ; " Is the law then against the promises of God ?
God forbid." Whatever is contained in the promi-
ses of God, be it ever so much or ever so good, it is
not in the least subject to be rendered null or even
diminished in the least degree by the law ; and on the
other hand the promises of God do in no wise frus-
trate the law, but the doctrine of the divine promises
does in fact establish the law. To this effect are the
words of the Apostles to the Romans ; " Do we then
make void the law through faith ? God forbid ! yea,
we establish the law." Moreover Jesus himself said;
" Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or
the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to
fulfil."

Our first inquiry may be directed to ascertain what
is contained in the promises of God. This subject is
of the utmost importance, and if duly considered can-
not fail to engage the attention of hearer, and draw
the mind of each individual present to an entire de-
votion to the inquiry proposed. The audience will
not feel, on this subject, an idle indifference scarcely to
be avoided while listening to declamations, authorised
only by human imaginations. Nor can any part of the
congregation feel a less interest in the subject than the
rest, for the promises about to be examined are expres-
sive of the will of our Father in heaven of whose divine
bounty we are all equal heirs.

It is natural for children to listen with attention and
solicitude to the reading of the will of an earthly pa-
rent, even where there is but little left for the heirs,
for they greatly desire to know if the same good will
and impartial favor be discoverable in the last expres-
sions and latest testimony of parental love, as had evi-
dently marked the parent's conduct through life. But
where a vast fortune is left in legacies, self interest,
that ruling passion of the soul, renders attention ac-
tive, and every one is wide awake ; and anxious to
know the contents of this final testament. How much
more then shall we be desirous to acquaint ourselves
with the promises of our heavenly Father which ex-

BALLOU'S LECTURES. 3b*

press what he hath laid up for us in the covenant of
his grace ? With what impressions of mind ought we
to commence this research ? Is it proper that we be-
gin this examination with prepossessions of mind most
favorable to limited and ungenerous principles, or
such as better correspond with the divine goodness
continually manifested in a boundless, rich, and mu-
nificent providence ? If simple nature alone had
been our instructor, if we had not been educated in a
belief which limits the holy One, if we were left to
judge of the goodness of the divine Being, respecting
the moral and spiritual interests of his creatures from
his impartial goodness in his temporal providence, have
we the least reason to believe that we should be in pos-
session of notions opposed to the universality of di-
vine mercy ? But unhappily for us, we have early im-
bibed illiberal views of God and his goodness, and un-
der this embarrassment we stand opposed to rational
views of universal goodness; hence in treating the
subject proposed, arguments are needed which may
tend to do away our prejudices, and to establish in our
minds a doctrine which will be seen to harmonize with
the wonderful works and universal goodness of God.

The promises of God of which the Apostle spake in
the text are those made to Abraham, which we may
learn from the following in the context ; " Now to
Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He
saith not and to seeds, as of many ; but as of one, and
to thy seed, which is Christ." These promises made
to Abraham in Christ, the apostle calls a covenant, a
he expresses in his next words ; " And this I say, that
the covenant that was confirmed before of God in
Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty
years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the
promise of none effect. For if the inheritance of the
the law, it is no more of promise ; but God gave it to
Abraham by promise." By this scripture we learn
that the promises made to Abraham are called a cove-
nant which was confirmed in Christ ; and that which
the promises contain, is called an inheritance.

The promises to Abraham are recorded, Genesis xii

37 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

2, 3, " I will make of thee a great nation, and I will
bless thee, and make thy name great ; and thou shalt
be a blessing. And I will bless them that bless thee,
and curse them that curseth thee ; and in thee shall all
families of the earth be blessed." xviii. 18. " Abraham
shall surety become a great and mighty nation, and all
the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him." xxii.
18. " In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth
be blessed." The confirmation of these promises to
Isaac is recorded, Genesis xxvi. 3, 4. " Sojourn in this
land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee ;
for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these
countries ; and I will perform the oath which I sware
unto Abraham thy father. And I will make thy seed
to multiply as the stars of heaven, and I will give un-
to thy seed all these countries ; and in thy seed shall
all .the nations of the earth be blessed." The confir-
mation of the same promises to Jacob we read in Chap-
ter xxviii. 14. " And thy seed shall be as the dust of
the earth ; and thou shalt spread abroad to the west,
and to the east, and to the north, and to the south :
and in thee, and in thy seed, shall all the families of
the earth be blessed."

These are the promises of God, of which mention
is made in our text, and which our text says, the law
is not against. It may be well now to inquire some-
thing respecting the extensiveness of these promises.
What is the most natural sense of such language as
this ? " All the nations of the earth, all the families
of the earth ; " and such as St. Peter used, Acts iii.
25, " Ye are the children of the prophets and of the
covenant which God made with our fathers, saying
unto Abraham, and in thy seed shall all the kindreds
of the earth be blessed." Would any person, having the
least knowledge of language, make use of such to ex-
press something concerning a very small part of man-
kind ? The learned and pious divines who composed
the Westminster Catechism did not make use of such
language to express the covenant of grace in which
they believed. Their words are the following ; " Goo
having, out of his mere good pleasure, from all eterni
4

ty, elected some to everlasting life, did enter into a
covenant of grace, to deliver them out of a state of
sin and misery, and to bring them into a state of salva-
tion, by a Redeemer." Will any candid person say,
that this language which the Westminster divines made
use of to express their covenant of grace and the lan-
guage which God used to express his covenant of
grace to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are of th e same
import ? No one will pretend this. If it had been the
intention of those divines to state the covenant of which
St. Peter spoke in Acts iii. would they not have been
likely to make use of such language as he used, and
as is used in other parts of the scriptures on the same
subject ? There can be no doubt of this. But the
fact is, their covenant of grace is not mentioned in
the whole of the divine oracles. It is a most hu-
miliating thought, that the wisdom of God should
have been thus totally neglected, and the wisdom,
the partial, sensual wisdom of this world set in its
stead. It is a matter of most painful reflection, that
while the christian church have made no provision to
teach youth the gospel covenant of the God of Abra-
ham, of Isaac and Jacob, unwearied pains and innu-
merable means have been employed to instruct them,
" and that right early," in this covenant of men's in-
vention. But, by attending too much to the vain no-
tions of men, we shall get away from our subject.
We will therefore observe, that the language in which
the covenant which God made with the fathers is ex-
pressed, is as extensive as any language that could
have been used, unless more than the whole human
family were to be comprehended : All nations of the
earth, all the families of the earth, and all the kindreds
of the earth, is universal ; and all the partial creeds of
men acknowledge it to be so by carefully and respect-
fully neglecting to use it.

Our next inquiry will seek to ascertain the blessing
which is promised to all the nations of the earth in the
covenant of God.

This question is settled by the testimony of the
Apostle in our context ; " And the scriptures forese-

BALLOU's LECTURES 39

seeing that God would justify the heathen through faith,
preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, in
thee shall all nations be blessed." This blessing then
is justification through faith. Of this justification the
Apostle speaks to the Romans in language as extensive
as that in which the covenant of grace was expressed
to Abraham. His words are as follows ; " For all have
sinned, and come short of the glory of God ; being
justified freely by his grace, through the redemption
that is in Christ Jesus." Again to the Romans, the
Apostle speaking of Christ, says ; " Who was delivered
for our offences, and was raised again for our justifica-
tion." The same author in a discourse at Antioch
said ; " And we declare unto you glad tidings, how
that the promise which was made unto the fathers,
God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in
that he hath raised up Jesus again." The hearer is
requested to notice, that according to the passages
quoted, the promise to Abraham is called the gospel.
This gospel was preached by God himself, and no
doubt was preached truly, and as Abraham believed,
and as we ought to believe at this day. We also see
that the thing promised,- which the Apostle calls " the
inheritance," is justification through faith, the word
faith meaning covenant ; and moreover, that all that have
sinned, and come short of the glory of God, are thus
"justified freely by his grace, through the redemption
that is in Christ Jesus." Should the trite objection,
that this doctrine justifies men in sin, be moved in this
case, we reply in the words of divine truth, which
never speaks of justifying men in sin, but "from, all
things, from which we could not be justified by the
law of Moses." St. Peter applies the blessing which
God promised, in his covenant, to Abraham, as fol-
lows ; " Unto you first, God, having raised up his Son
Jesus, sent him to bless you, . in turning away every
one of you from his iniquities." One important ob-
ject which we have in view, is to show the nature of
the gospel salvation, which is salvation from sin and
all its evils.

The hearer is now requested to consider the terms

40 BALLOU'S LECTURES

or conditions of the promises, the covenant made with
the fathers, which embraces the salvation of all the na-
tions, all the families, and all the kindreds of the earth
in Jesus Christ. If these promises were made on any
conditions of obedience on the part of the heirs of this
inheritance, then unless these conditions are fulfilled
we have no right to the promises? But blessed, forev-
er blessed be the name of the God of Abraham, this
covenant rests on no conditions of man's obedience.
There is not a word in the promises made to the fath-
ers, that intimates any condition on the part of
those who were to be blessed. Our heavenly Fath-
er here manifests his own unchangeable, uninfluenced,
unconditional good will and gracious purpose con-
cerning all the sons and daughters of Adam. " God,
willing more abundantly, to show unto the heirs of
promise, the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it
toy an oath ; for when God made promise to Abraham,
Oecause he could swear by no greater, he swear by
himself." And the design of this oath was, ' that we
might have strong consolation who have fled for refuge
to lay hold on the hope set before us."

Corresponding with the unconditionally of the
" covenant of promise," we may notice a passage or
two from the prophet Isaiah and St. Paul. The evan-
gelical prophet uses language in his 26th Chapter
which corresponds in three important points with the
language of the divine promises. 1st. It is universal
2d. — It contains the testimony of life ; and 3d. The
language is positive, not conditional. The passage
reads as follows ; " And in this mountain shall the Lord
of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, of
wines on the lees ; of fat things full of marrow, of
wines on the lees well refined. And he will destroy
in this mountain the face of the covering cast over
all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations.
He will swallow up death in victory ; and the Lord
God will wipe away tears from all faces ; and the re-
buke of his people shall he take away from off all the
earth ; for the Lord hath spoken it." In his 9th
Chapter, speaking of the Messiah, he says, " For unto

us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the
government shall be upon his shoulders; and his name
shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the mighty
God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of peace. Of
the increase of his goverment and peace there shall be
no end." No comments are necessary to show, that
the language quoted from the prophet corresponds
with that in which the " covenant of promise" is re-
corded.

That the salvation of the gospel is not according to
the works of men, St. Paul's testimony to Timothy
fully shows ; " Who hath saved us, and called us with
an holy calling, not according to our works, but ac-
cording to his own purpose and grace, which was giv-
en us in Christ Jesus before the world began ; but is
now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour
Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath
brought life and immortality to light through the gos-
pel." To Titus he says; "Not by works of right-
eousness which we have done, but according to his
mercy he saved us." On the same subject, to the
Ephesians he says ; " Not of works, lest any man
should boast." The passage just quoted from the
the epistle to Timothy is remarkable for its clearness
on our subject : " Who hath saved us, and called us
with an holy calling, not according to our works." It
this salvation and calling were not according to the
works, of those who were saved, then it must be ac-
cording to something else. And this something must
form a principle on which God could act with perfect
consistency, with holiness, justice and truth. The
Apostle says ; " But according to his own purpose and
grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the
world began, to save men, not according to their f
works. To this argument the objector will reply, that
it is evident according to scripture and according to
reason and the fitness of things, that men should be
dealt with according to their merit and demerit. The
objector will contend, that this is according to the
law given to Israel by Moses, and is likewise accord-
ing to the law given to the Gentiles; written in their
4*

42 BALLOU'S LECTURES

heart. To all this we give our full and cordial con-
sent, and proceed to show that this is no real objection
against the salvation for which we have contended,
by illustrating the fact stated in our text, that the law
is not against the promises of God.

This the Apostle has done in our context, in a very
able and concise manner. His argument is the fol-
lowing, which has been already quoted on another
subject ; " And this I say, that the covenant that was
confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which
was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot dis-
annul, that it should make the promise of none ef-
fect."

Never was there an argument more clear and con-
clusive. In order that the law have might any power
to control the covenant of promise it should have exist-
ed prior to, or at least simultaneous with it ; and then
there must have been conditions in the covenant of
promise of which the law should have power to take
cognizance. If the objector further contend, that the
moral nature of the law did exist at the time and even
before the promise was made to Abraham, we grant
the fact, and say : if it were consistent with the moral
nature of the law, for God to make such promises, it
certainly cannot be contrary to it, for him to fulfil
them. It was the same God who gave the law to
man, that made the promises to the lather of the faith-
ful : and nothing can be more unreasonable than to
suppose, that he either made a law against his own
promises, or promises against his own law.

The true design of the law, in relation to the gospel
which was preached unto Abraham, is represented by
a well chosen metaphor in the chapter where our text
is found, " Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster
to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by
faith." As the appointment of a schoolmaster is cer-
tainly for the benefit of the pupils ; to instruct and
discipline them for advancement in duties and in en-
joyments, so the law was designed to instruct and
discipline mankind for the sublime duties and enjoy-
ments of the religion of Jesus Christ. While his

BALLOU'S LECTURES. 43

thildren are at school, or even before they are of age
to profit by such an institution, the kind affectionate
father may will to his children independent fortunes.
These minors may, notwithstanding they are heirs to
this testament of their fathers's, be kept at school,
be instructed and disciplined by a faithful master
until the time appointed of the father for them to come
into possession of their inheritance, and to be free from
the government: of the school. In this simile it is easy
to see, that the children were dealt with according
to their merit and demerit ; the schoolmaster could do
his whole duty to his pupils without concerning himself
about their father's will. His authority did not extend
to take cognizance of that instrument of grace, nor did
that testament which made these children vastly rich
infringe in the least on the authority of the school-
master. There is no power in the will to screen the
disobedient scholar from the faithful hand of righteous
discipline. These two dispensations harmonise in do-
ing good to the same persons, in their respective ways.
In relation to our subject, the Apostle says in connex-
ion with our text ; " Now I say, that the heir, as long
as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant
though he be lord of all ; but is under tutors and
governors, until the time appointed of the Father.
Even so we, when we were children, were in bond-
age under the elements of the world."

But the objector urges that it is written ; " cursed
is every one that continueth not in all things written
in the book of the law to do them ; " and " the soul
that sinneth, it shall die." Let this all be granted;
and let it stand without attempting to weaken it in the
least ; but let us remember with gratitude and joy of
heart, that " Christ hath redeemed us from the curse
of the law, being made a curse for us." And also,
that those who were dead in trespasses and in sins,
hath God quickened together with Christ. It is true,
' the wages of sin is death ; " but it is also true that
' the gift of God is eternal life, through Jesus Christ
our Lord."

Will the objector now say, that the curse of the law

is eternal death, and therefore if this curse came upon
any, they cannot obtain salvation? Then we reply
and say ; this objection does not rest on the divine
testimony. The words " eternal death," are not in
the scriptures. The objector, therefore, has no right
to require any further reply. The text says ; cursed
is every one," &c. It does not say ; cursed shall be
every one in the eternal world, who continueth not in
all things written in the book of the law to do them,
in this world.

To the Corinthians the Apostle speaks of the minis-
tration of the law as a ministration of death, but he by
no means allows it either an eternal duration, or power
to prevent in the least degree, the ministration of life.
He speaks as follows ; " Who also hath made us able
ministers of the new-testament, not of the letter, but of
the spirit ; for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth
life. But if the ministration of death, written and en-
graven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of
Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses,
for the glory of his countenance, which glory was to
be done away ; how shall not the ministration of the
spirit be rather glorious ? For if the ministration of
condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministra-
tion of righteousness exceed in glory. For even that
which was made glorious, had no glory in this respect,
by reason of the glory that excelleth. For if that
which was done away was glorious, much more
that which remaineth is glorious."

We see, by the Apostle's reasoning, that the law
dispensation, being a ministration of death, " was to
be done away," and succeeded with the ministration
of righteousness ; but that these dispensations are op-
posed to each other is not allowed by any scripture
argument.

This doctrine, that the law is not against the pro-
mises of God, which we find abundantly proved from
the scriptures which have been noticed, is a doctrine
which is plainly taught in the economy of divine provi-
dence and in the most essential goveremeut embraced
in human concerns ; I mean the government and econ-

BALLOU'S LECTURES. 45

omy of a family. In the divine providence, God has
promised (and he fulfils his word) that there shall be
summer and winter, seed time and harvest. These
blessings do not depend on men, men depend on them ;
man's labor does not call them forth, but they call men
to their work ; and accordingly as they labor and wise-
ly improve their advantages, they are rewarded. If
they neglect the duties of the season, they are recom-
pensed with want. In a family government and econ-
omy, there are many favors bestowed on children, that
in the nature of things, cannot depend on the obedi-
ence of those who receive them. How many favors
does parental love bestow on infancy, favors essential to
life, long before the subjects are capable of knowing on
whom they depend for support ? And in the last will
and testament of parental provision, how many valua-
ble legacies are bestowed on children, to which they
had no other claim but heirship ? But all these bles-
sings which are entirely independent of the conduct of
children, have no power to prevent the reasonable ex-
ercise of a proper discipline during that period in which
the offspring are objects of such an economy. And on
the other hand, it is as plainly seen, that this discipline
has no power to oppose the interest which the child
holds by heirship ; but then one seems to establish the
other ; for that relation which gives the right to ad-
minster discipline, holds also the right of heirship.

From the several points of doctrine, which we have
endeavored to support, the following inferences may
be drawn.

1st. There is, according to the scriptures, in the
moral government, of our heavenly Father, a wisely
concerted discipline, by which the faults of men are
duly noticed and faithfully and compassionately chas-
tised. But it is not consistent with the design of this
dispensation to extend correction or punishment for
sin, so as, in any way, to deprive, even the sinner, of
the everlasting inheritance which belongs to the sons
of God.

The opinion, therefore, that the law of God demands
the everlasting, or eternal punishment of sinners is, by

46 BALLOUs' LECTURES.

no means a scripture doctrine ; for surely such a doc-
trine would prove that the law was against the promi-
ses. Such a law, in the room of being a schoolmaster
to bring us to Christ, would be an unmerciful tyrant,
like Pharoah, who held the people of God in bondage,
and refused to let them go. This divine law and dis-
cipline of our heavenly Father admonishes us to take
heed to our ways- Hereby we are advised, command-
ed, admonished, rebuked, warned, threatened ; and in
case of obstinate disobedience, and continuance in sin,
we are severely punished. But let us always remem-
ber that the chastisements of our heavenly Father
are for our profit, that we may be partakers of his ho-
liness.

2d. We may infer from the doctrine we have main-
tained, that the sense of what St. Peter said to the
Jews is equally true respecting all'men ; " Ye are the
children of the prophets, and of the covenant which
God made with our fathers saying unto Abraham, and
in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be bless-
ed.'' Those to whom St. Peter spake these words,
were those who delivered up Jesus and denied him in
the presence of Pilate ; they were those who denied
the holy One and the just, and desired a murderer to
be granted unto them, and killed the Prince of life.
" These," Peter said, "were the children of the pro-
phets, and of the covenant which God made with our
fathers." Now as the promise of the covenant was to
" all the kindreds of the earth, and as the testimony of
the prophets was equally extensive, we conclude that
all the families, all the nations, and all the kindreds of
the earth" are the children of the prophetic testimony,
and of the covenant of promise. The blessing prom-
ised was also mentioned by this Apostle as has been
noticed ; " Unto you first, God, having raised up his
Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away ev-
ery one of you, from his iniquities.

Let us conclude with the Apostle's exhortations
" Stand fast, therefore, in the liberty wherewith Christ
hath made us free, and be not entangled again with
the yoke of bondage."

LECTURE IV

LOVE THE CENTRE OF ALL THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES
1 JOHN iv. 16.

God is love.

In the infinite variety of all important subjeets to
which the rich treasures of divine revelation call our
most serious and engaged attention, this, expressed in
our text, is unquestionably entitled to the highest rank.
However the thoughtless and profane may treat the
Supreme disposer of all things, however trifling the
name of the Most High may be handed round by pol-
luted lips, one moment's serious attention to the im-
propriety of such communication is sufficient to con-
vince the reasonable mind, that Goo is a subject in-
finitely too great to be introduced into trifling conver-
sation, and infinitely too good to be mentioned by pro-
fane lips. But notwithstanding the impropriety and
evil, of which mention has been made, are great and
heineous, they bear but a scant comparison with the
impropriety and evil of representing the great Father
of our spirits as a character which would be dishon-
orable to man, who is but a worm of the dust.

If we lay aside the prejudices which the creeds of
men have carefully treasured up in our deceitful hearts,
we shall at once be struck with horror at the charac-
ter which a false education has given to the best of all
intelligent beings. The moral evil naturally growing
from false notions of the divine character, has so estab-
lished its empire in the hearts of men, and exercises
such unresisted control over the temper and spirit of
those who are deceived by such notions, that there ap-
pears but one remedy ; and this one must be found in

the removing of those errors, by the clear shining of
divine truth in the understanding. The particular
and most special object of the present discourse is to
contribute, at least, a humble attempt to remove
wrong views of God from the mind, by showing that
all the divine attributes harmonize in love ; which view
of the character of oifr heavenly Father, seems evident-
ly comprehended in the text of which choice has been
made.

There are but a few passages of scripture which
speak in a direct manner of what God is. He is call-
ed a "fountain of living waters" by the Prophet
Jeremiah. "My people have committed two evils:
they have forsaken me, the fountain of living wa-
ters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns,
that can hold no water." This is a most striking re-
presentation of true and false religion. Love is a
fountain of living waters. It is a living fountain, one
that is never dry. This is true religion ; it has no ha-
tred in it ; it works no ill to its neighbor ; it measures
to others what it is willing to receive. But false re-
ligion is any thing and every thing but love. Jt is
something hewed out ; that is, it is the work of inven-
tion and art. The living water of divine love is not
in it. It pretends to love, but hatred is its most es-
sential ingredient. It is based on enmity. If we dis-
allow enmity, false religion cries out, heresy, the foun-
dation of religion is gone ! — St. Paul says ; " Our God
is a consuming fire." Love is a consuming fire to all
the hay, wood, and stubble which error has introduc-
ed into religion. " Now, if any man build upon this
foundation, gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay,
stubble ; every man's work shall be made manifest :
for the day shall declare it, and the fire shall try every
man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work
abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive
a reward. If any man's work shall be burnt, he shall
suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved : Yet so'as
by fire." The fire of divine love seeks to consume
nothing but that which is injurious to the sinner, who
is the object of divine love.

The divine teacher said to the woman of Samaria ;
u God is a spirit, and seeketh such to worship him,
who worship him in spirit and in truth" Love is
this spirit of God, and love is the spirit in which God is
truly worshipped. " God is love ; and he that dwell-
eth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him."

It may tend to promote the object in view to men-
tion a summary of moral attributes, and proceed to no-
tice them both distinctly and conjunctively, by which
their harmony in divine love may be made to appear.
We read in Revelations, of the " Seven spirits of
God," which we may suppose comprehend the per-
fection of the communicable attributes of the divine
Being. Without any design to be arbitrary, we will
name seven moral attributes ; and though some may
think a less number would comprehend the whole,
and others, that a much greater number should be
mentioned, it seems safe to calculate that the perfect
number, seven, was designed to comprehend the whole
and nothing more. — And if we may be favored with a
view of the harmony of the seven which we shall name,
no doubt the candid mind will be satisfied, that if more
moral attributes could be named, they would all be
found to harmonize in love.

The seven we shall name are the following : Wis-
dom, Knowledge, Power, Justice, Truth, Mercy, — and
Love in which they all harmonize.

Wisdom is that attribute of mind by which designs
are drawn and plans are laid. It regards things, cir-
cumstances, causes and effects as they relate to each
other. The wisdom of any plan is seen in the co-
operation of its several parts tending efficiently to pro-
duce what the projector designs. Should any part of
a plan fail of eventuating in the object designed, that
failure, were it ever so small, would prove a lack of
wisdom in drawing the plan.

When we view the visible objects of creation, their
existence seems to fill the mind with admiration, and
as soon as our thoughts advance to the consideration
of the regular motions of the heavenly bodies, wisdom
irresistibly attracts our notice, and seems to waken up
5

50 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

a spark of devotion to the great Author of the uni-
verse. Continuing to meditate on the order, regularity,
and harmony of the works of nature and providence ;
and to notice the concatenation of causes and effects
which produce whatever is fit and good in the order
and nature of things, no language seems more proper
than that of the Psalmist; " O Lord, how manfold are
thy works ! in wisdom hast thou made them all."

Knowledge is a principle of intellectual nature by
which the simple facts relating to things are compre-
hended or understood. This attribute in God is an
all-seeing eye ; from its pervading sight nothing can
be hid. Known unto God are all his works from the
foundation of the world.

Power in the divine Being is that ability by which
all the purposes of his vast and infinite scheme are car-
ried into execution.' " Who worketh all things after
,the counsel of his own will."

Justice is that attribute of God, by which a right-
eous and equitable administration is directed towards
all moral accountable beings ; and by which every
such being receives a just recompence of reward ac-
cordingly as moral powers are exercised. Divine justice
likewise requires that all moral beings should act in such
a manner as to discharge every duty and obligation
which the connexions and relations in which they are
placed render necessary. " Justice and judgment are
the habitations of his throne."

Truth is whatever is opposed to falsehood, and is the
reality of all things, circumstances and events, past,
present and future. This is forever with him who
varies not, for " He is the Rock, his work is perfect ;
for all his ways are judgment; a God of truth, and
without iniquity, just and right is he."

Mercy is that divine perfection of God which pities
and relieves from sin and wretchedness, those who
stand in need of such compassion, " For the Lord is
good ; his mercy is everlasting ; and his truth endur-
eth to all generations." " According to his mercy he
saved us."

Love is a property which delights in an object, care-

fully avoids doing it any harm, and uses all its means
to administer good ; "God is love." — Now, as it is the
fixed, unalterable nature of love to do good to all the
beings who are its objects, and to render them as bless-
ed as possible with the use of all the means which love
can command, it is seen at once, that whatever plans
are laid so as to promote the best interest of those
creatures who are the objects of the divine love, is in
fact the wisdom of God ; and as those plans perfectly
harmonize with the benevolent purposes of love, it is
evident that the wisdom which contrived them is in
perfect unison with love,

We here find a fair opportunity to look into the ex-
tent of the goodness of God, and that salvation which
is brought to mail by Jesus Christ, who is said to be
" The wisdom of God and the power of God." " For
God so loved the world, that he gave his only begot-
ten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not
perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not
his Son into the world to condemn the world ; but
that the world through him might be saved." God so
loved the world that he sent his own wisdom that the
world might be saved by it. If the wisdom of God is
not in perfect harmony with his love, he surely would
not have sent his wisdom to carry into effect the pur-
poses of love. " Herein is love, not that we loved
God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the
propitiation for our sins." Here both the object and
the means are clearly set forth. God loved us while
we did not love him. In consequence of this love he
designed to do us a favor. The means which he used
was to send his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
But if by becoming the propitiation for our sins, no
benefit, but an injury should result to those whom
God loved then the means would frustrate the object
and prove the want of wisdom in the plan.

There is a doctrine in the christian church, that
contends, that millions, yea far the greatest part of the
human family will be infinitely more miserable in the
eternal world, than they would have been if Jesus had
never come into the world and died for their sins. If

52 EALLOU'S LECTURES.

this doctrine be allowed to stand in harmony with the
wisdom of God, it must be granted that his wis-
dom is hostile to his love, for " love worketh no
ill." But the divine testimony assures us, that " God
sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world,
but that the world through him might be saved." If
therefore, the world or any part of the world should
fail of salvation, and be made miserable in the future
world in consequence of what Christ has done, the
thing for which he was sent not being fulfilled, and
that for which he was not sent being effected, proves
the want of wisdom in the plan.

How is it possible for God to exercise a wisdom
which is infinite in a way to frustrate the design of
his own immutable love ? If we examine ever so
minutely into the plans and schemes, the causes and
effects, the immense, the subtle and the various work-
ings of divine providence, are we not the more con-
vinced of the truth of that ancient declaration, "The
Lord is good unto all and his tender mercies are over
all his works 1" As a proof of the truth of this testi-
mony the Prophet further observes; "Thou openest
thine hand and satisfiest the desire of every living
thing." This is the way by which God makes him-
self known to be good to his creatures, that is, by act-
ually doing them good. St. Paul said, " Nevertheless
he left not himself without witness, in that he did
good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful sea-
sons, filling our hearts with food and gladness." How
immense are the love, the goodness of God which are
manifested continually in the temporal bounties of his
universal providence. Cast your eyes round on every
side, carefully inspect the condition of every living
thing, and say whether the wisdom of God does not
harmonize with universal love. And yet the Apostle
allows all this luminous evidence to be no more than
twilight compared with the more perfect display of the
divine goodness in the dispensation of the gospel of
Jesus Christ ; for notwithstanding the evidence of di-
vine goodness which were continually manifested in
the munificient providence of God, the people, who

BALLOU'S LECTURES.

were the subjects of such goodness, were ignorant of
him and walked in their own way ; concerning which
the Apostle says ; " The times of this ignorance God
winked at, but now commandeth all men every where
to repent." This special command to repent and turn
from dumb idols to serve the living God, was given
forth in the more glorious evidences of the mercy and
goodness of God communicated in the gospel.

An attempt to illustrate the wisdom which charac-
terises the scheme of the gospel, and the harmony of
its several parts, as set forth in the scriptures, would
be a much more extensive undertaking than our pres-
ent limits would justify, if there were no want of abili-
ty to do justice to such a subject. It may therefore
suffice to remark, that by a careful attention to ancient
promises and prophecies concerning a Messiah, his ap-
pearance in the world, the wonderful works wrought
by his miraculous power; the shameful treatment
which he received among men, his death, and the mans
ner of it, his resurrection from the dead, the infallible
proofs of the same, his ascension, the gifts bestowed
on the Apostles whom he appointed to promulgate his
gospel, and the wonderful success which attended
their ministry, by which the religion of Jesus was es-
tablished on a foundation which can never be removed,
we are led to say ; " This is the Lord's doings, and
it is marvellous in our eyes."

Who will undertake to point out a single item in all
this vast scheme of infinite wisdom which does not
perfectly harmonise with the love of God to mankind.
" God commendeth his love towrards us, in that while
we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." " We
preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling-block,
and to the Greeks, foolishness ; but unto them who
are called both Jews and Greeks, Christ the wisdom, of
God and the power of God." This is that " wisdom
that is from abc*e, which is first pure, then peaceable,
gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and
good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy."
This is that wisdom which was with the Almighty
when he created all things, " rejoicing always before
5*

him ; rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth and
whose delights were with the sons of men."

That the divine knowledge is in perfect unison with
the love of God to his creatures, we must grant for
many reasons, some of which are the following.

First. That we may avoid introducing imperfection
into the divine nature, which is nothing short of idola-
try. Whenever a desire to do good is in exercise, and
the person who possesses this desire knows for certain-
ty, that this desire can never be realized or accom-
plished, there is proof positive of imperfection.

Secondly. That we may avoid introducing infelici-
ty into the divine Being. For if his universal un-
changeable love run in one straight line, and his in-
fallible knowledge disagree with it, we must allow that
this disagreement produces an infelicity whose mag-
nitude corresponds with the greatness of those infinite,
discordant attributes ! Whoever possesses love which
inclines the agent to do good to another, and knows
at the same time that this will never be effected, must,
in the nature of things, be unhappy to a degree which
corresponds with the force of this forever unsatisfied
desire.

Thirdly. That we may avoid charging God with fol-
ly, which we should most surely do if we suppose that
in consequence of his love to the world he sent his Son
to save the world, when at the same time he knew that
this salvation would not be effected. Should a pa-
rent who tenderly loves his child see it in distress, no
doubt he would try all means which should appear at
all favorable to relieve it ; but, while he had reason,
he would never make use of means which he knew
would, in the room of relieving from distress, increase
it seven fold. • The divine testimony says ; " God will
have all men to be saved," and that as a mean of this
salvation, the one Mediator " gave himself a ransom
for all." Now if we allow that the ditine knowledge
comprehended the fact that all men will not be saved,
we surely charge God with the folly of using means to
effect what he knew would not be effected. There
are among men, many who are called learned, and

BALLOU S LECTURES. 55

many who are unlearned, who are fully persuaded,
that all the means which our heavenly Father has seen
fit to employ for the purpose of saving sinners, will in
the most of instances forever fail of their designed
utility. But have we not every good reason for be-
lieving, that if the divine Being had been fully per
suaded of this, he never would have used those abor-
tive means ? In order to avoid an endless series of in-
consistencies we are compelled to acknowledge a plain
simple truth, that the infinite knowledge of God is in
perfect harmony with his boundless unchangeable love,
which constitutes him infinitely and consummately
happy ; and lays a foundation on which the human
mind may rest and enjoy the sweetest possible repose.
How often is it the case, that we are called to witness
and to pass through dark scenes of trial in which our
weak discernment can see no utility, and we are pi-
ning with despair, and saying " all these things are
against me;" but how divinely comforting is the
thought so happily expressed by the Poet ;

The clouds you so much dread
Are big with mercy, and will break
In blessings on your head ;
Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust him for his grace;
Behind a frowning providence,
He hides his smiling face.

That the divine power ever moves according to the
directions of the love of God, there is no room to
doubt. Power without will to put it in motion and
direct it, is dormant and effects nothing. And as it is
evident, that God cannot will contrary to his nature
which is love, so ft is equally evident that his power
never effects any thing which his love does not desire.
That Almighty Power which controls all worlds, all
beings, and all elements, moves only as it is directed
by the gentle, kind, and merciful principles of divine
love.

The divine attribute which the sensual, partial wis-
dom of this world has armed with principles hostile to
love, is justice. Justice has been held up as an un-
merciful foe to the transgressor, knowing no favor, but

demanding the everlasting destruction of all who come
short of obedience. If we allow this sentiment con-
cerning the demands of divine justice, is it not evi-
dent that justice is opposed to love in such demands ?
This cannot be denied. Those who hold the opinion
that sinners must be punished everlastingly in the fu-
ture state, never undertake to prove such an opinion
' by arguing that sinners are the objects of divine love.
But justice is always referred to as the attribute which
is opposed to the sinner's salvation. Now if justice
and love are opposed to each other in God, does not
this constitute transgression ? " Sin is the trangres-
sion of the law," justice is the law ; and if love be op-
posed to justice, it is opposed to the law, and trans-
gresses the law ! But St. Paul says ; " love worketh
no ill to his neighbor ; therefore love is the fulfilling of
the law." If love fulfils the law, it certainly is not op-
posed to justice.

We will for a few minutes, attempt to examine di-
vine justice, both as to its requirements in its precepts,
and in its administration of punishments; and careful-
ly compare with the dictates of divine love, in order
to see if there be any disagreement. What then does
the divine law require ? The blessed Saviour explains
the law as follows; "Thou shalt love the Lord thy
God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with
all thy mind. This is the first and great command-
ment. And the second is like unto it, thou shalt love
thy neighbor as thyself. On these two command-
ments hang all the law and the prophets." This is
what divine justice demands of all men ; this is the
whole law, as saith the Apostle ; " All the law is ful-
filled in one word, even in this, thou shalt love thy
neighbor as thyself." Now compare this divine requi-
sition with what love requires. Love most surely can-
not require any thing short of itself. If one person
love another sincerely, can any thing short of love in
return give satisfaction ? The parents of a family of
children love their offspring most affectionately ; this
love is commended to the children by a thousand fa-
vors, varied according to their wants. Now what

does this love require in return ? It requires the chil-
dren to love their parents. The Apostle says ; " We
love him, because he first loved- us." Nothing will
answer as a substitute for love. If the children at-
tend ever so punctually to the performance of every
duty enjoined in the precepts of the parents, if love
be wanting, all is unsavory. Love is the salt that must
season every performance in order to render it accept-
able. St. Paul must have had this view of our subject
when he wrote the following ; " Though I speak with
the tongues of men and of Angels, and have not char-
ity, (the same with love) I am become as sounding
brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the
gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all
knowledge ; and though I have all faith so that I
could remove mountains and have not charity, I am
nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed
the poor, and though I give my body to be burned,
and have not chanty, it profiteth me nothing." And
I think we may say according to divine truth, that,
that sort of justice which is destitute of love, is as
sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal ; it has sounded
through all Christendom and tinkled in all our ears.
And as it is destitute of love itself, so it has produced
none in its votaries.

Now as we have seen that justice and love are uni-
ted in their requirements, it may add no little strength
to the evidence already adduced to look at the princi-
ple on which they urge their united claim.

Jn order for any demand to be just, it must be
founded on a reasonable principle. So if justice and
love demand of us, that we love God, and one anoth-
er, it is proper to ascertain the principle on which the
propriety of this demand is seen. Love and hatred
are what we are necessarily inclined to ; and we are
necesarily inclined to love that which is agree-
able to us, and to hate what is otherwise. It would
then be a most unreasonable thing to require us to
love what is not lovely, and to hate what is not
hateful. If then we are required to love God, it is be-
cause he is lovely, if rightly understood. If there

58 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

were any quality in the divine Being which is oppo-
sed to our well being, it is a most unreasonable thing
to require us to love that quality. The result then of
this part of the inquiry is this, namely, justice and
love both agree in requiring us to love that which is al-
together for our own profit, and it is not in the nature
of either to require us to love any object beyond our
interest. We will not say that this may not be consid-
ered rather a new kind of argument ; but even if it is,
this circumstance ought, by no means, to be urged
against the propriety of it ; it may be urged as a pro-
per occasion for carefully examining it. If it be ne-
cessary to make it still more evident, we may ask,
what or whose interest is to be served by our loving
that which is of no benefit to ourselves ? No one will
be so erroneous as to contend that any benefit can re-
sult to the divine being from our love to him ; and
certainly not from our loving him beyond our interest
in him, as it will, at once, be allowed, that it is impos-
sible to love him more than we are benefitted by him.
This argument holds equally good as it applies to any
one, or all of the divine attributes. We cannot love
wisdom, knowledge, power, justice, truth, mercy or
love, to a greater degree than we are benefitted by
these divine principles.

As we have enjoyed the satisfaction of seeing a per-
fect agreement in the preceptive requirements of di-
vine love and justice, it will now increase our ration-
al felicity if we can see these divine attributes equally
harmonize in retributive requisitions. But as this ar-
gument has been instituted for the purpose of showing
that divine justice does not oppose the sinner's salva-
tion, we may confine our present remarks to punitive
requirements. The subject now to be determined is,
what kind of punishment does divine justice require
to be inflicted on the transgressor for his offences, for
what purpose, and to what extent ? Answer : As it is
not in the nature of divine justice to do any thing to
prevent its owrn precepts from being obeyed, it can
never punish the sinner in any way to prevent his final
obedience ; but on the other hand, it keeping an eye

BALLOU'S LECTURES. 59

directly on the original object embraced in the very
design of the precept, awards that kind of punishment
which is best calculated to work repentance and re-
formation, which is the object of punishment, and ad-
ministers it until the desired effect is produced. It
seems impossible to extend punishment any further,
unless we arm it with weapons hostile to its own re-
quirements. That the hearer may see this subject,
impossible, still plainer, we will ask, for what possible
purpose can justice require any punishment to be in-
flicted on the sinner that does not tend to the sinner's
benefit ? As no one's interest is the object of the pre-
cept, except those on whom it is binding, why should
the punishment for disobedience seek any other inter-
est than that which is aimed at by the precept ? We
know it is said that it is necessary to punish an offend-
er, as a terror to others, to prevent their committing
offences. But if this be allowed, in room of its mak-
ing at all against our argument, it goes directly to es-
tablish it ; therefore it is admitted.

Do you ask how this is? Answer: If it be right
and reasonable to punish an offender for the benefit of
others, it supposes a common interest exists between
the one punished and those for whose benefit we say
the punishment is inflicted. This being the princi-
ple on which the punishment is administered, it can-
not be inflicted beyond the limits of this common in-
terest.

If we are correct in this reasoning, we have the in-
creased felicity sought, for it will be seen at once that
divine love as much requires this punishment as jus-
tice does ; for love cannot require less than that which
is for the good of its object. O the beauty ! The
glory of the scene which here opens on our wondering
eyes ! Divine truth, a golden line, appears lovely be-
yond description, and mercy lies parallel from the be-
gining to the end.

To conclude ; The imperfect view we have been
able to take of the immense subject of this discourse,
seems amply sufficient to give elevated thoughts of the
divine character, thoughts calculated to raise our af-

fections from every meaner object, and place them on
God. With what gratitude do we turn our eyes to-
wards heaven, and realize that God who is love, is our
Father ; that all his infinitely glorious attributes har-
monize in love ; that they all work in unison, aiming
at the highest possible improvement and felicity of all
moral beings. With what pleasing reflections do we
behold each other. Children of the same Father, heirs
of the same inheritance, pilgrims on the same journey,
and bound to the same eternal home.

How reasonable it is that we should love, sincerely
love the God of love. How reasonable is it that we
should love one another. Our pretensions to religion,
without love, are but frauds practised on ourselves.
" He that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen,
how can he love God whom he hath not seen?" Love
is a " fountain of living waters, a place of broad rivers
and streams," to which we are invited in the following
divine language, with which I close ;" Ho, every one
that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that
hath no money : come ye, buy and eat ; yea, come,
buy wine and milk without money and without price.
In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood
and cried, saying, if any man thirst, let him come unto
me and drink."

LECTURE V.

MAN ORIGINALLY MADE SUBJECT TO VANITY AND TO
HOPE.

ROMANS, viii. 20.

For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason
of him who hath subjected the same in hope.

By creature in our text, the Apostle evidently means
the same as he does by the " whole creation "in the
22d verse. In this connexion the whole created hu-
manity is three times called " the creature ;" and once,
" the whole creation." The subject of the Apostle's
labor in the place where our text is found, seems to
be that of presenting to view one of the most pleasing,
consoling, and encouraging subjects, on which he de-
lighted to dwell. In the 16th verse he notices the
testimony of the divine Spirit, that we are the chil-
dren of God. From this he proceeds to show our heir-
ship in God, and our joint heirship with Christ. The
consideration of the infinite riches and glory to which
mankind are entitled, seemed to call into notice the-
present state of suffering to which man is subjected in
this mortal life ; concerning which he speaks as fol-
lows ; " For I reckon, that the sufferings of this pre-
sent time are not worthy to be compared with the glo-
ry which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest ex-
pectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation
of the sons of God. For the creature was made sub-
ject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who
hath subjected the same in hope ; because the creature
itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of cor-
ruption into the glorious liberty of the children of
God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth
and travaileth in pain together until now ; and not
6

only they, but ourselves also, which have the first-fruits
of the spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves
waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our
body." By our body the author means the same as
he does by creature, and by the whole creation. Be-
lievers who have the first fruits of the spirit are dis-
tinguished in the foregoing quotation from the rest of
the one body, called the creature and the whole crea-
tion, but in such a way as to show that they were in
the same condition with the rest, groaning and waiting
for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of the whole
body. And it is worthy of special notice, that by first
fruits of the spirit, the Apostle evidently intimates
that the redemption of the whole creature which was
made subject to vanity was considered as the wiiole or
general harvest. As under the law a few only par-
took of the first firuits, but all were fed of the general
harvest; so but a few seem to be partakers of the first
fruits of the spirit, while the whole human family is en-
titled to the redemption of our body.

The vanity to which the creature was made subject
may comprehend all the imperfections incident to our
mortal state, but especially and particularly the suffer-
ings which the author mentioned in the context. He
was not made subject to vanity on account of his own
will, for he could have had no will until he was crea-
ted ; but he was made subject to vanity by reason of
him who subjected him in hope. The opinion, there-
fore, that man was constituted in flesh and blood, first
a perfectly holy being, but was made subject to vanity
by sin, is as contrary to the plain declaration of our
text as it is repugnant to the dictates of reason.

We shall now proceed to examine the common doc-
trine called the fall of man, and to show the want of
both scripture and reason for its support. Such lan-
guage as the following ; " before the fall, since the fall,
the fall of man, in Adam's fall we sinned all," is com-
mon among christian people, and is so much used by
authors and preachers that people in general suppose
it to be Bible language, and feel confident that the
scriptures justify such representations. But notwith-
standing all that hasH)een written and spoken on this

BALLOU'S LECTURES. 63

subject, and without calling the sincerity of any in
question, it seems necessary to inform the hearer that
no such language was ever used by the lawgiver of Is-
rael, the prophets who spake as they were moved by
the Holy Ghost, the Lord Jesus, or his Apostles. We
read nothing in the scriptures of Adam's falling from
the state in which he was created, no more than we
read of Cain's falling from the state in which he was
created. We are informed that Adam ate of the for-
bidden fruit, and we are informed that Cain slew his
brother, but we are not told that they did these things
in one constitution of nature, and fell into another con-
stitution by so doing. If Adam had not been constitu-
ted in an imperfect state how could he have sinned in
that state ? It is not supposed that Adam fell out of
the state in which he was created before he sinned,
therefore he must have sinned in the state in which he
was formed of the dust of the ground. If he sinned in
the state in which he was first formed, then it is evident
that he was possessed of no perfection or holiness that
secured him against sin. What alteration was there
effected in the constitution of Adam by what is called
the fall ? It seems according to the account given in
Genesis, that Adam was not very dissimilar to men in
all ages of the world ; he was led into sin by his com-
panion. She who was formed and given to Adam for
a help-meet was the means of leading him into sin ;
and how many thousands in all ages of the world have
been led into sin by this kind blessing of heaven !
Nor does it appear from any account we have in scrip-
ture, that Adam was any more inflexible than his pos-
terity in general. We have no account of his with-
standing strong temptations for a long time ; it seems
the first temptation was successful. If we should
carefully compare the conduct of Adam with what we
read of Joseph, candor would conclude at once in
favor of the latter. The former did sin, but Joseph
did not. But here we should do great injustice if we
should contend that there was such a difference in the
constitutions of the two as to produce the difference
which appears in their conduct ; for this difference

64 BALLOUS' LECTURES.

might have arisen from circumstances distinct from
natural constitution.

The common doctrine on the subject of this in-
quiry supposes that there was a real change produced
in man's very nature by the first transgression ; and
such a change too, as to render the creature radically
sinful and totally inclined to sin. But we read no
such account where those things are particularly re-
corded. So far from any thing of this kind, we are
not informed that either Adam or Eve ever commit-
ted a second crime. The faithful word informs us
that these first parents of mankind lived a long time
after eating of the forbidden fruit, but we hear nothing
of their living vicious lives. The second sin of which
we read is the murder of Abel, and this crime was so
heinous even in the mind of Cain, that he thought he
should have to die by the hand of some avenger. If
man's very nature was so changed by Adam's sin as
common opinion supposes, why have we no account
of Adam's wicked life and of Eve's abominations ?
Why is there no mention made of the wickedness of
Abel ? Did not Abel partake of this fall ? Or was it
in Adam's power to communicate, or not communi-
cate this sinful nature by procreation ? The fact is we
have no authority for this doctrine which is called the
fall.

The most extravagant part of the common doctrine
of the first transgression and its consequences, relates to
the means by which Eve was beguiled. So immaculate
and holy were our first parents, that had it not been
for the beguiling acts of a superior being, says com-
mon doctrine, Eve could never have been tempted
with success. This presumed, the next thing is to
fabricate a story about a fallen Angel who was once
for glory and beauty the morning star of heaven ; but
who by rebellion fell from the state in which he was
created, and was consigned to the burning lake for
the punishment of his sin. This prince of devils, it
is believed, assumed the body of a serpent and per-
suaded her to believe that she could better her condi-
tion by disobeying her Maker. Milton has told this

story in such a fanciful manner, that the sentiment has
been incorporated into the christian faith so that a de-
nial of it is the same as a denial of the whole christian
doctrine, in the opinion which we are examining.

Nowt if this notion of a fallen Angel &c. be a fact,
w7hy are the scriptures silent on the subject ? Where
we read in Genesis of the serpent tempting Eve, there
is nothing said concerning a fallen Angel called the
devil. But let us ask how this Angel came to sin. It
is contended that Eve was so perfect that she never
would have sinned unless she had been beguiled by a
superior mind. Now if this were the case how shah
we account for the sin of the Angel who fell and be
came a devil ? Was he less holy before he sinned,
than our first parents? If he could sin without a
tempter why could not man sin without a temp-
ter? It must be allowed that this Angel sinned on ac-
count of imperfection in his nature, without a tempter,
or it must be granted that he had one to tempt him.
But whether he was tempted by some other being, or by
reason of his constitutional infirmity, both alike prove
his imperfection ; for if he had been perfect, temptations
could not have risen from within him, nor from without
could they have had any power upon him. This is
equally applicable to man. He must have been imper-
fect, and subject to vanity or he could not have been led
into sinby temptations from within or from without.

The hearer will easily perceive that there is no oth-
er way to account for the first transgression than by
admitting a constitutional imperfection, in the agent ;
he will furthermore see that a sinful being can have no
power to lead one who is perfect in holiness into trans-
gression ; all beings, therefore, who are sinful must
have been made subject to vanity, which is the state
in which man stood when formed of the dust of the
ground, and according to the Apostle's testimony in
our text.

As it seems impossible to avoid this conclusion con-
cerning the imperfect state of man in the beginning,
we shall consent, at once, to the idea in our text, that
the creature was made subject to vanity, not because
6*

of his own will, but by reason of the will of his Maker
who saw fit, in his infinite wisdom and goodness, to
subject the creature to all the vanity of this mortal
state in hope of a better and more perfect state here-
after.

Let us, in the next place, proceed to examine the
account which inspiration has given of the first temp-
tation and sin ; and let us do this with honest and
candid minds, with a determination to be satisfied with
the scripture account.

" Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast
of the field which the Loid God had made, and he
said unto the woman, yea, hath God said ye shall not
eat of every tree of the garden ?" To this question
the woman returned the true answer, to which the
serpent replied ; " Ye shall not surely die. For God
doth know, that in the day ye eat thereof, then your
eyes shall be opened ; and ye shall be as gods, knowing
good and evil." Here is the whole account of the
first temptation. And here let the question be hon-
estly and candidly examined, (viz.) What is there in
this account about an Angel's falling from heaven to
hell, and coming from hell to the earth, and of his
tempting Eve ? Surely there is not a word that so
much as intimates any thing on the subject. But it is
contended, that the serpent could not have tempted
Eve, if some evil agent had not been in him and mov-
ed him to perform so crafty a work. Why then does
the account say that the serpent was more subtle than
any beast of the field ? If the temptation was the
craftiness of some other creature, and not the subtlety
of the serpent, it was different from the scripture re-
presentation, which suggests no other subtlety in the
case than that of the serpent. Moreover, if it had
been seme invisible agent, who, entering into the ser-
pent, wrought the temptation in question, it was that
invisible agent, and not the serpent that was the temp-
ter, and ought to have been the subject of the maledic-
tion which was pronounced on the serpent. " And
the Lord God said unto the serpent, because thou hast
done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above

BALLOU S LECTURES. 67

every beast of the field : upon thy belly shalt thou go,
and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life. And
I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and
between thy seed and her seed ; it shall bruise thy
head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." All this was
said to the serpent, but there was nothing said to that
abominable wicked Angel that sinned in heaven, and
who was banished to hell for his sin, and from hell
came to this earth and tempted Eve!

By this time the hearer will ask if the speaker real-
ly supposes that a literal serpent did actually talk to
the woman and influence her to eat of a forbidden
fruit ? No, he does not. He humbly conceives that
this account is given in a scriptural allegory, which may
all be explained by a little attention to the scriptures.
In scripture, the serpent is a hieroglyphic of wisdom. —
Jesus commanded his disciples to be wise as serpents.
As there are two sorts of wisdom mentioned in scrip-
ture, so they are represented by two kinds of serpents.
The Apostle James speaks of wisdom as follows;
"Who is a wise man, and endued with knowledge
among you? Let him show, out of a good conversa-
tion, his works with meekness and wisdom. But if
ye have bitter envy and strife in your hearts, glory
not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom de-
scendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devil-
ish. For where envying and strife is, there is confu-
sion, and every evil work. But the wisdom that is
from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and
easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits,
without partiality and without hypocrisy."

The wisdom of God is represented by the rod of
Moses which became a serpent ; and the wisdom of .
this world which cometh to naught, is represented by |
the rods of the wise men and sorcerers of Egypt, which,
likewise became serpents. The superiority of the wis-
dom of God over the wisdom of the flesh is represented
by Aaron's rod swallowing up the magicians' rods.
Another representation of these two wisdoms we have
in the account given of the fiery serpents that bit and
destroyed the Israelites in the wilderness, and that bra j

zen serpent which Moses made by the special com-
mand of God, whose virtues were a sovereign cure for
the deadly stings of the fiery serpents. These fiery
serpents represent the wisdom of this world, and the
evil effects of their bite are a very just representation
of the evil effects of false religion. And our blessed
Saviour has made use of the brazen serpent to repre-
sent himself. He says; "And as Moses lifted up the
serpent in the wilderness, even so must the son of man
be lifted up : that whosoever believeth in him should
not perish, but have eternal life." When the Israel-
ites were bitten by the fiery serpents, and the deadly
poison was diffused throughout their distressed bodies,
only a look at the brazen serpent on the pole effected
a radical cure of the deadly wound. So by looking
unto Jesus, who is the wisdom of God, we are recov-
ered from the dreadful contagion of our earthly sen-
sual wisdom. Thus the promised seed bruises the
serpent's head.

Let us look in the next place, and ascertain if pos-
sible, the source of this sensual wisdom which is en-
mity against the wisdom of God, and which tempts us
to sin. St. James says; "Every man is tempted
when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin ;
and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death." —
To the Galatians St. Paul says ; " I say then, walk in
the spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
For the flesh lusteth against the spirit, and the spirit
against the flesh ; and these are contrary the one to
the other ; so that ye cannot do the things that ye
would." Is not the account given by St. Paul and St.
James, a plain, reasonable representation of the power
of the fleshly nature to strive against the spirit of di-
vine wisdom in us, to tempt us and to lead us into sin
which produces death ? And if this be the way that we
are tempted, have we any reason to believe that it is
not the way in which Eve was tempted in the begin-
ning ? Yea, is not this contentious, sensual wisdom of
the flesh, the serpent which beguiled the woman?
And is it not the same serpent which now beguiles

BALLOU'S LECTURES. 69

both men and women and leads them into sin and
death ? Furthermore, St. Paul says; " Now the works
of the flesh are manifest, which are these ; adultery,
fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witch-
craft, hatred, variance, emulation, wrath, strife, sedi-
tions, heresies, envying, murders, drunkenness, revel-
lings, and such like." These works are all the nat-
ural productions of our fleshly, earthly nature, and
the wisdom which is earthly, sensual, devilish, is
the serpent which beguiles us. Now if we have
found the real source of our own temptations, we have
also found the source of the temptations of all man-
kind, not excepting the mother of our race. Flesh
and blood was the same in the beginning as it is now,
its powers were the same, its lusts were the same, its
wisdom was the same, and it is to the powers and
appetites of the flesh that every sin we commit may be
traced.

St. Paul says ; " The woman being deceived, was
in the transgression." Could she have been deceived
if she had been truly wise ? No, but she was made
subject to vanity. If she had been perfectly satisfied
with her condition would she have disobeyed her Ma-
ker for the sake of being more wise ? And was it not
perfectly natural for her to wish to have her husband
with her in this wisdom ? There appears nothing in
this whole account that differs from our common ex-
perience and observation. There is no condition in
which man can be placed, in the present state, that
can bound his desires, or render him perfectly satisfied
with what he possesses. There has been much said
concerning the happy, the consummately happy state
in which Adam and Eve were placed in the garden ; long
accounts have been dressed up in all the beauties of
rhetoric concerning the felicity of the happy pair before
transgression. But to describe the dreadful conse-
quences of the first sin, the calamitous change which it
effected in all nature here on earth, and the endless wo
to which the whole posterity of Adam was exposed by
it, has exhausted all the powers of human imagina-
tion. And yet, if we look for these things in the scrip-

70 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

tures we find them not. What is said of the happy
state of our first parents before they knew good and
evil? Nothing. How does the word of divine reve-
lation expatiate on the miserable state into which the
first transgression brought man ? It extends the sub-
ject no further than human experience in all ages of
the world extends it. Sin was attended with guilt and
fear according to the first account we have of it, and
experience has taught us all, that guilt and fear are its
natural consequences. But that the first transgression
was attended with worse consequences than the sins
which were committed afterward, we find no authori-
ty for believing. And what would be the fruits of
our researches should we examine what the scriptures
say concerning the state of endless wo to which the
first sin exposed the whole human race ? Why in
fact we should search in vain to find any thing of the
kind in the word of God. Even the serpent had no
malediction pronounced on him, that either deprived
him of his natural food or extended beyond his natu-
ral life ; much less, if possible, was there any suggestion
either to the man or the woman, that the consequences
of their sin would extend into a future state.

AW the vain notions which the earthly, sensual
wisdom of this world has framed on this subject are
evidences in support of what we have endeavoured
to make evident, namely, that imperfection and sin
manifest themselves in our strife to be wise by violat-
ing the word of God ; and that vanity to which man is
the most inclined, is seen in his inventions by which
he renders truth, which is perfectly simple in itself, ob-
scure and mysterious.

But shall it be said, because God has made the
creature subject to all this vanity, that he is therefore
unfriendly to his offspring ? No, my brethren, this
is not the case. Blessed be God, though in his in-
finite wisdom he saw best to subject his creatures to
vanity in this mortal state, he has made extensive and
ample provisions in his providence to render this vain
state convenient in an infinite variety of ways, and has
so bountifully scattered down his blessings that we

BULLOUS LECTURES. 71

have constant reason to rejoice in his goodness. He
did not forsake man in the beginning of»his career in
sin, but though he manifested his holy disapprobation
of the defection of his children, he made them sensi-
ble likewise of his fatherly kindness and unchangeable
goodness. How affecting is the account we have of
the voice of the Lord God in the cool of the day call-
ing after Adam. How tender are the words ; " Adam,
Adam, where art thou ? " Who can hear the lan-
guage of divine mercy expressed in the promise of the
seed of the woman who should bruise the serpent's
head, without emotions of lively gratitude ? That all
gracious, merciful Creator, w7ho made the creature sub-
ject to vanity, subjected him in hope.

The reason assigned by the Apostle, why the crea-
ture was subjected to vanity in hope, he expresses in
the verse following our text in these words ; " Because
the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bon-
dage of corruption, into the glorious liberty of the chil-
dren of God." Just above he had said ; "The spirit it-
self beareth witness with our spirit that we are the
children of God. And if children, then heirs ; heirs
of God, and joint-heirs with Christ ; if so be that we
suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together
For I reckon that the sufferings of the present time are
not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall
be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the
creature waiteth for the maifestation of the sons of
God."

As the creature was not the author of this state of
vanity, so he is not the author of that hope in which
he is subjected ; no nor is he the author of that glori-
ous liberty of the sons of God into which the whole
creation shall be delivered, from the bondage of cor-
ruption.

This hope of life and immortality, our kind and
merciful Creator has implanted in our nature, and it
seems to exist as universally as the idea of a supreme
Being. Those notions which owe their origin to the
inventions of priests, and their standing to the super
stition of the ignorant are not universal ; they are lim

ited to a certain denominations or nations, and have
nothing in them which compares with the wisdom and
goodness of the divine Being. But the universality of
the hope of a future, happy existence, very fitly com-
pares with the impartial goodness of God, from which
circumstance it acquires no small share o[ its natural
evidence.

But one of the principal objects of tne gospel of Je-
sus Christ seems to have been, to present us with full
and adequate proof of the doctrine of a future happy
state for all mankind.

Speaking of Jesus, the Apostle says; "Who hath
brought life and immortality to light through the gos-
pel."

The hearer is cautioned against the notion, that our
Saviour was sent into the world to go through a pro-
cess in order to purchase, or procure life and immor-
tality for man ; for he came to suffer, die, and rise
from the dead, that he might bring life and immortali-
ty to light ; that is, that he might make that manifest
which the creature groaned and travailed for, and
which God had given unto us in Christ Jesus before
the world began.

This glorious liberty of the sons of God, in hope of
which the whole creation groans and travails in pain,
is the inheritance of which we are joint-heirs with
Christ. Jesus our fore-runner hath entered into glory,
and being the head of every man, is " the first fruits of
them that slept. For since by man came death, by
man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as
in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made
alive."

From the doctrine of our text may be drawn, the fol-
lowing inferences :

1st. The opinion which has long maintained that
the first temptation which led to the introduction of
sin into our world, was the instigation of a fallen Angel,
appears to be without foundation or authority in the
scriptures, which plainly indicate that the constitution-
al infirmities of flesh and blood are in fact the source
from whence all sinful temptations rise.

2d. That the common notion which christian peo-
ple entertain and cultivate in the minds of their chil-
dren, of an invisible agent, who was once a holy angel
in heaven, that now continually accompanies people
wherever they go, and is all the time tempting them to
sin, is nothing more than an invention of the wisdom
of the flesh, and is supported by no other means than
superstition. Is there even a child, who has come to
the years of discretion, that cannot see, that in order
for this evil agent to do all that is attributed to him,
he must be every where at the same time ? It seems
reasonable that we should be rightly informed on this
subject, because if we have enemies to contend with,
it is surely necessary to know them and to know their
strength. Our appetites and passions are at all times
with us ; and though they are all good in the place
for which they were made, and for the use for which
they were created, yet as they are blind in proportion
to their strength, they will surely lead us into sin
if they are not governed by wisdom and prudence.

3d. There appears no authority for the common
opinion, that the first transgression produced a radical
change in the moral constitution of man, or that in
consequence of this first sin, man became totally deprav-
ed and altogether opposed to all good, and inclined
wholly to all evil. Nor does it appear that there
was any such change effected in the physical consti-
tution of the creature, as to communicate any taint to
posterity. If even Cain had been wholly inclined to
evil by nature, he would have been as likely to take
the life of Abel without the occasion mentioned in
the Scriptures as with it. — And if Abel had been wholly
inclined to evil, he would have been as likely to take the
life of Cain, and even that of Adam and Eve, as Cain
to take his life. Before sin took place it required a temp-
tation to produce it, and since the first transgression
the case has always been the same ; every crime is pre-
ceded by temptation, which would not be required if
man was naturally altogether inclined to evil.

4th. The religion of Jesus affords us divine eviden-
ces in support of that glorious hope of life and immor
7

74 BALLOU S LECTURES.

taliiy in which the whole created humanity was made
subject to vanity. How infinitely rich is this blessed
hope ! This is the " anchor of the soul, both sure
and steadfast, entering into that within the vail where
our fore-runner hath for us entered/' Calmly leaning
on this, Faith casts her longing eyes beyond the proud
swellings of the Jordan of death, sees the inviting land
of promise, lays hold of the earnest of the inheritance,
and sings the triumphant song; " O death, where is
thy sting ? O grave, where is thy victory ? "

LECTURE. VI.

SALVATION IMPARTIAL AND UNIVERSAL.

ISAIAH xxv. 6, 7, 8.

And in this mountain shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feasf
rf fat things, a feast of wines on the lees; of fat things full of marrow, of wines
on the lees well refined. And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the
covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations
He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away
tears from off all faces ; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from
off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it."

The first subject of inquiry found in this portion of di-
vine truth is to ascertain what the inspired author means
by the mountain of which he speaks in our text.

The same Prophet in his 2d chapter speaks as fol-
lows ; " And it shall come to pass in the last days that
the mountain of the Lord's house shall be estab-
lished upon the top of the mountains, and shall be
exalted above the hills ; and all nations shall flow
unto it." As the prophet here speaks of the estab-
lishment of the mountain of the Lord's house upon the
top of the mountains, it seems to indicate the setting
up of the divine power and government over the powers
and polities of this world ; the exalting of the mountain
of the Lord's house above the hills signifies the exalta-
tion of the divine economy and government over all the
powers of the earth. The same in substance is found in
the 2d chapter of Daniel, where the four great empires
of the world are particularly characterised, their dissolu-
tion represented, and the kingdom of God set up and
established. "Then was the iron, the clay, the brass,
the silver, and the gold, broken in pieces together, and
became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors ;
and the wind carried them away, that no place was
found for them ; and the stone that smote the image,
became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth "

76 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

This is explained as follows ; " And in the days of
these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom
which shall never be destroyed : and the kingdom shall
not be left to another people, but it shall break in
pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall
stand forever."

The gospel covenant is represented by mount Sion,
in the epistle to the Hebrews ; " But ye are come unto
mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the
heavenly Jerusalem," &c. Here the same which is
called a mountain is called the city of the living God,
the heavenly Jerusalem. In the epistle to the Gala-
tians the two covenants are represented by the al-
legory of Sarah and Hagar ; " For this Agar is mount
Sina, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is
in bondage, with her children. But Jerusalem which
is above, is free, which is the mother of us ail."
This is the same Jerusalem of which mention is
made in the 21st of Revelations, as follows : " And
I John saw the holy City, new Jerusalem, coming-
down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride,
adorned for her husband." This mount Sion, this
heavenly, new Jerusalem, this city of the living God
is the mountain of the Lord's house which is to be es-
tablished upon the top of the mountains, and exalted
above the hills, and unto which all nations are to flow.
All nations will finally submit to the laws and govern-
ment of the gospel, and be willing subjects of him
who " shall have dominion from sea to sea, and from
the river unto the ends of the earth, of the increase
of whose government and peace there shall be no
end."

As the prophet informs us, that all nations shall
flow to this mountain of the Lord's house, so in our
text he says ; " In this mountain shall the Lord of
hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things," which
invites us to the consideration of the universality of
the grace of the gospel.

The divinity of this testimony is visible on the face
of it. It is like every thing which belongs to the wis-
dom and goodness of God. There is no partiality in

BALLOUS' LECTURES. 77

it. Every thing contrived by man discovers lts^origin
by its partiality ; so whatever is revealed from God
proves itself to be from him by its impartiality. This
universal impartial language is the language which the
Holy Ghost saw fit to use to express the extensiveness
of the divine goodness. The promises of God to
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, expressive of the gospel
covenant are recorded in similar language. God cer-
tified the fathers, that in the promised seed all the na-
tions and all the families of the earth should be bless-
ed. These promises perfectly harmonise with the
prophecy under consideration. In this mountain, in
this seed, in this covenant, in this kingdom, in this
city, in this government the Lord of host shall make
unto all people a feast of fat things. The same uni-
versality is expressed in the 2d Psalm. " I have set
my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the
decree ; the Lord hath said unto me, thou art my
son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and
I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and
the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession."
Like unto this is the following in the 22d Psalm, " All
the ends of the world shall remember, and turn unto
the Lord ; and all the kindreds of the nations shall
worship before thee. For the kingdom is the Lord's ;
and he is the governor among the nations '* This
word kindreds, is used by St. Peter in the 3d of Acts.
" Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the cov-
enant which God made, with the fathers, saying unto
Abraham, and in thy seed shall all the kindreds of
the earth be blessed.5' According to this divine dec-
laration., all the kindreds of the earth are the children,
and if children, then heirs of the testimony of the
prophets, and of the covenant which God made with
the fathers. In prospect of these great and glorious
things of the kingdom of God, the prophet David says,
in the 64th psalm : " All men shall fear, and shall de-
clare the work of God ; for they shall wisely consider
of his doings. " In the 7*2d psalm we find the follow-
ing ; " He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and
from the river unto the ends of the earth — men shall
7*

be biased in him, all nations shall call him blessed —
all kings shall fall down before him ; all nations shall
serve him." Psalm 86th, "All nations whom thou
hast made shall come and worship before thee 0
Lord ; and shall glorify thy name, for thou art great,
and doest wondrous things ; thou art God alone." In
bearing such testimony as the foregoing, David was a
man "after God's own heart." In addition to what
has been quoted from the prophet Isaiah, the following
may be mentioned ; Chapter 52d, " Break forth into
joy, sing together ye waste places of Jerusalem ; for
the Lord hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed
Jerusalem. The Lord hath made bare his holy arm
in the eyes of all the nations ; and all the ends of the
earth shall see the salvation of our God." Chap. 53 —
" All we, like sheep, have gone astray : we have turn-
ed every one to his own way : and the Lord hath laid
on him the iniquity of us all — He shall see of the tra-
vail of his soul, and shall be satisfied ; by his know-
ledge shall my righteous servant justify many, for he
shall bear their iniquities." Chapter 49th, " And he
said, it is a light thing that thou shouldst be my ser-
vant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore
the preserved of Israel ; I will also give thee for a light
to the Gentiles, that thou mayst be my salvation unto
the ends of the earth." Time would fail us to recite
all this kind of testimony from the prophets who spake
of the coming of the Just One, and of the glory that
should follow.. We find in the New Testament many
arguments and declarations corresponding with the
promises of God and the sayings of the prophet on this
glorious subject of universal grace. Jesus said, "God
sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world
but that the world through him might be saved." The
beloved disciple says ; " We have seen and do tes-
tify, that the Father sent the Son to be the saviour of
the world." Again he says that " Jesus Christ the
righteous is the propitiation for the sins of the
whole world." St. Paul bestows much argument to'
show that " where sin abounded, grace hath much
more abounded ; and that as by the offence of one,

BALLOU S LECTURES.

judgment came upon all men unto condemnation, even
so by the righteousness of one, the free gift came upon
all men unto justification of life." He exhorts Timo-
thy to pray and give thanks for all men, because God
will have all men to be saved, and as a reason for this
he says, that the one Mediator gave himself a ransom
for all, to be testified in due time.

Having presented the hearer with this very limited
sketch of the divine testimony in favor of the universal
goodness of God to mankind, a humble desire is felt
that we may now look with enlightened eyes and can-
did minds, to see how this doctrine agrees with the
works and ways of God which are visible.

Can we see in all the works of God, any instance
where the Creator has discovered any want of good-
ness to the creature which he has made? Is there
any thing that we can point out in his universal provi-
dence that is a proof of a design to harm the works of
his hands ? Every animal, every fish, every bird, eve-
ry reptile and every insect speaks forth the goodness
of its Creator. Is there a nation on the earth who are
so treated by the divine Being, that they can say to
the world, we have never received a favor from our
Creator ? Is there an individual among men who will
stand forth and protest against all the doings of God,
and say, I have received nothing but evil from the hand
that formed me ? Is there a son or a daughter of sor-
row in the hearing of this humble voice, who will as-
sure us that " these light afflictions, which are but for
a moment," will not " work for us an exceeding and
eternal weight of glory :" and that God is not good
unto all, and that his tender mercies are not over all
his works ?

Much has been said in the christian church, and
much has been maintained by the prejudices of the ig-
norant against the universal goodness of God, and in
favor of a partial system of salvation ; but after all, the
great question is, has God furnished those who limit
his favor, with sufficient proof that they are right in so
doing ? In his sun-shine and in his rain does the
Father of our spirits inform us, that he has elected a

80 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

few only of his rational offspring to be heirs of his
grace, and that the remainder are doomed to everlast-
ing wo ? No ! the bles'sed rays of the sun which
makes our day, and warms the earth, the rain from
heaven, which waters our fields and our orchards and
our gardens, preach the doctrine of universal impartial
goodness ; and so do all the elements in the infinite
variety of their productions. The water we drink, the
air we breathe, the food we receive, the raiment we
wear, the strength of our bodies, the abilities of our
minds, our health, the sweets of friendship, the beau-
ties our eyes behold, the charms of music, the flavor of
fruits, in short every subject of thought agrees in de-
claring the impartial goodness of God.

The enemies of this doctrine, would persuade us to
believe that it tends to licentiousness, and removes
all restraint necessary to prevent the grossest immor-
tality. But have they ever attempted to show that
the universal promise of grace in the seed of Abraham,
ever tended to make that friend of God, who believed
it licentious? Will they undertake to show that the
united testimony of all God's holy prophets since the
world began, who have spoken of the restitution of all
things, has made the believers of the faithful word
perverse and sinful ? Can you, my friends, see any
thing licentious in the sun-shine or in the rain, of which
all are made to share in rich abundance ? Is the vital
air licentious because it is free grace to every living
being? Are the cooling springs and limpid streams
lasivious in their impartial favor? In all these things
God preaches every day, and his auditors rejoice in
his mercy.

Having noticed the universality of this promised
grace of the gospel covenant, it may be proper to in-
quire something concerning what is promised. " A
feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees ; of fat
things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refin-
ed." This is surely a description, of a most sumptu-
ous feast. Here are no indications of poverty and
want. This feast too is made for all people ! I cast
my eyes around, I rejoice, my heart swells with joy.

BALLOU'S LECTURES. 81

This feast is made for you all ! Can it be possible that
this God of universal mercy should have any enemies ?
Yes, men are enemies to God by wicked works ; yet
for these very enemies he has made this feast of fat
things. But of what does this feast consist? Answer,
it is composed of the fruit of the spirit which is " love,
joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
meekness, temperance." This is the river, " the
streams whereof make glad the city of our God."

What is richer, what is sweeter, what is more nour-
ishing than love ? Love to God and love to man is
life, it is peace, it is joy, it is long-suffering, it is gen-
tleness it is goodness ; it believeth all things, it hopeth
all things, it endureth all things ; it is meekness, it is
temperance, it is the fulfilling of the law, it is ev-
erlasting righteousness. This is the milk and honey
of spiritual Canaan. This is the feast of which we
read in the 9th of Proverbs ; " Wisdom hath built
her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars ;
she hath killed her beast ; she hath mingled her
wine ; she hath also furnished her table ; she hath
sent forth her maidens ; she crieth upon the high pla-
ces of the city, whoso is simple, let him turn in hither ;
as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to
him, come eat of my bread and drink of the wine
which I have mingled, forsake the foolish and live :
and go in the way of understanding." By the Pro-
phet Isaiah wre are invited to this feast in the following
language : " Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to
the waters, and he that hath no money ; come ye, buy
and eat : yea, come, buy wine and milk without mo-
ney, and without price. Wherefore do ye spend mo-
ney for that which is not bread ? and your labor for
that which satisfieth not ? Hearken diligently unto
me, and eat of that which is good, and let your soul
delight itself in fatness." And the blessed Jesus, in
the great day of the feast, stood and cried, " If any
man thirst let him come unto me and drink." By such
language as the foregoing, from the prophet and from
the Saviour, wre are assured that this feast is made for
"all people." If this were not the case the Holy

82 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

Ghost would not use general and universal terms in
calling on people to come to it. Should one of our
wealthy citizens make a public entertainment, and
send his servants into the streets to invite the people
in such language as is used in scripture to invite sin-
ners to the gospel feast, every person who heard such
invitations would either believe that he was welcome,
or that the man who made the feast was a hypocrite.
To talk about general calls and special calls in this
case would never satisfy common sense.

Our brother, who holds to conditional salvation
may be admitted to bring his objection against the
final salvation of all men, and say, that the feast
is made for all who will come, and the invitation is to
whosoever will. Reply : We grant his premises, but
disallow his consequences. We will ask him whether
he would be concerned for fear bis children would
starve to death, if he had bread enough to give them ?
Would any person be concerned for their children or
friends, for fear they would starve, when they had
enough to eat ? It is true there may be difficulties to
be removed ; there may be a case in which though
there be a plenty of provision, the children may not
know where it is. In this case the parent would cer-
tainly use means to inform them. Again, children
may be plagued with disobedient hearts, they may
wander from home, they may, from being displeased,
refuse to come to the parental table, but hunger will
cure all these difficulties. — Let the child that wilfully
refuses to eat, be indulged in its own way, how soon
will hunger humble its spirit. How came the brethren
of Joseph all to prostrate themselves before him?
These men who were so determined that the dreams
of Joseph should never be fulfilled, who despised the
thought of falling on their knees to their brother, were
humbled by famine. The stout hearted, haughty
prodigal was humbled, brought to himself, and made
willing to return to his father's house by the force of
hunger. Was there ever any uncertainty respecting
the reduction of Joseph's brethren to a state of humili-
ty ? Was there any uncertainty about the final return

BALLOU'S LECTURES. 83

of the prodigal ? No, nor is there any uncertainty
that " All the ends of the world shall remember and
turn unto the Lord."

That law by which all creatures are governed ren-
ders it certain that all people will feed on the best pro-
visions they can procure, especially if it cost them
nothing.

If Ephraim of old, fed on wind, and followed after
the east wind, it was because he knew of nothing
better. And if people now are as much deceived as
Ephraim was, they may endeavor to feed on every
wind of doctrine that blows from the high places of
spiritual wickedness ; but it is because they know of
nothing better. God says, by the mouth of the Pro-
phet Hosea ; " My people are destroyed for lack of
knowledge." This situation of mankind seems to in-
vite us to the consideration of another important sub-
ject in our text, expressed in the following words ;
" And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the
covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread
over all nations."

This vail or face of covering which has been spread
over all nations is the ignorance and unbelief of which
St. Paul speaks in Romans 11th, " For God hath
concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have
mercy upon all." And the same Apostle has more
on the same subject in his 2d Epistle to the Corinthi-
ans ; " Seeing then that we have such hope, we use
great plainness of speech ; and not as Moses which
put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel
could not steadfastly look to the end of that which is
abolished : but their minds were blinded : for until
this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in
reading the Old Testament ; which vail is done away
in Christ. But even unto this day, when Moses is
read, the vail is upon their heart. Nevertheless,
when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken
away."

The gospel dispensation and ministry were design-
ed for the enlightening and instructing of mankind.
Jesus was a teacher sent from God ; the Apostles

were commanded to teach all nations, and preach the
gospel to every creature. In short, the true know-
ledge of God is the life and salvation which the Sa-
viour brings to the world ; it is the feast of fat things
which is made in mount Sion for all people. Jesus said
in his prayer to the Father : " Glorify thy Son, that thy
Son also may glorify thee : thou hast given him pow-
er over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as
many as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal,
that they might know thee the only true God and Je-
sus Christ, whom thou hast sent." Did every child of
Adam now know God and Jesus Christ, they would
have eternal life. We are told, that this is the record,
that God hath given unto us eternal life, and this life
is in his Son ; that is, the knowledge of God is in Christ
Jesus. Salvation then consists in knowing God, which
makes it evident that the nature of God is salvation.
As fast, therefore, as we advance in the knowledge of
God we enjoy the rich provisions which are made for
all people. The hearer may now see the nature of
the general subject. The love, wisdom, knowledge
and goodness of God are free for all people and are
calculated to bless, with fulness of joy, every creature.
In the divine economy man is constituted capable of
advancing in wisdom, knowledge, and love, and there-
fore seems destined in his nature to the enjoyments
under consideration.

When "all shall know the Lord," there will be no
need of one's teaching another ; the vail then will be
gone, there will be no unbelief, and of course no hard-
ness of heart. The knowledge of the Lord shall cov-
er the earth, as the waters cover the sea.

Will the advocate for limited salvation, and the end-
.ess misery of mankind pretend, that those who are
to be forever miserable are to remain ignorant of the
true character of God ? Will the time never come
when deception will be removed ? Have we reason to
believe, that error will be secured from divine light so as
to remain in the mind forever ? Or will the opposer
say : No, error will be destroyed, and the deceived will
be brought to see and know the truth, but then it

will all be too late ! The day of his probation will
then be ended, and he not saved ? This has an
awful sound,- and such talk has greatly troubled
thousands, but enlightened none. Let us ask, how it
can be possible that any rational being should know
divine truth too late to enjoy it ? Is it possible to
know God and Jesus Christ and not be rilled with di-
vine love ? But this subject is erroneously- represent-
ed, as if we were to receive eternal life as a reward for
knowing God in a certain given time, called the time
of our probation ; after which it would be no advan-
tage to us to know him. This idea does not acknow-
ledge the truth of the words of Jesus ; " This is life
eternal, that they might know thee the only true God,
and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent."

The hearer is now invited to give a moment's atten-
tion to another most weighty subject contained in the
passage under consideration, and expressed in the fol-
lowing words ; " He Avill swallow up death in victory."
Death is ol two kinds, moral and natural. Moral
death is the effect of sin, natural death is the effect of
a mortal constitution. In order to swallow up these
two kinds of death, sin must be finished, everlasting
righteousness take its place, and mortality must put on
immortality. The scriptures are clear on these sub-
jects, and leave no room for doubt. The fore-runner
of Jesus said of him ; " Behold the lamb of God which
taketh away the sin of the world." The beloved dis-
ciple said ; " And we know that he was manifested to
take away our sins." Again ; " If any man sin we
have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the
righteous ; and he is the propitiation for our sins ; and
not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole
world." Again ; " For this purpose was the son of
God manifested, that he might destroy the works of
the devil." Moral death consists in unreconciliation to
God and is swallowed up in victory by the ministration
of reconciliation, to wit : " that God was in Christ rec-
onciling the world to himself, not imputing their tresp-
asses unto them." Reconciliation to God is victory over
moral death. St. Paul says to the Romans ; " Moreovei
8

86 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

law entered that the offence might abound, but where
sin abounded, grace did much more abound. That as
sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign
through righteousness unto eternal life, by Jesus Christ
our Lord. — For when ye were the servants of sin, ye
were free from righteousness What fruit had ye then
in those things whereof ye are now ashamed; for the
end of those things is death. But now, being made
free from sin and become servants to God, ye have
your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is
eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

The 15th chapter of the 1st epistle of the Corinthi-
ans is principally devoted to the support of the doc-
trine of the resurrection of the dead on the hypothesis
that " as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be
made alive." The hearer is earnestly solicited to
read this chapter with peculiar attention, by which he
will perceive that the Apostle did not believe in a
state of sin and misery after the resurrection, but a
glorious state of life and immortality The consumma-
tion of this transcendent event the inspired author in-
forms us is the fulfilment of our subject. " Then shall
be brought to pass the saying that is written, death is
swallowed up in victory." — Lastly, " And the Lord
God shall wipe away tears from off all faces : and the
rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the
earth ; for the Lord hath spoken it." Here the pro-
phet presents us with the most moving scene that ever
imagination could invent, or language describe. He
represents the Father of our spirits as throwing away
forever the rod of correction ; and approaching his
humble, penitent, weeping children, and with the pity-
ing hand of parental love wiping away the tears his
fatherly severity had caused to flow.

To conclude, our subject and doctrine may be im-
proved in the following manner.

As God is recommended to be impartially good to
the whole human family, ordering and directing all
things for the advancement of our happiness, he is
worthy of our unfeigned love and gratitude ; and the due

BALLOU'S LECTURES. 87

consideration of this weighty truth imposes on us all
the great and rational duty of conforming our minds,
affections and conduct to this benevolent doctrine.
Though the opposers of this grace of universal salvation
have so far misunderstood the subject, as to represent
it tending to licentiousness, we are fully convinced as
that no other doctrine is a safe foundation on which to
build a moral character, or by which we can become con-
formed to the religion of Jesus, which embraces love
to our enemies. It seems as vain as it is absurd to at-
tempt to cultivate universal love and good will towards
mankind by enforcing on the mind partial and limited
views of the goodness of God. But having this divine
and glorious foundation firmly fixed in our under-
standings, let us remember with proper caution, that
" the grace of God which bringeth salvation to all men
hath appeared, teaching us, that denying ungodliness
and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, and right-
eously, and godly, in this present world."

As the rich provisions of the gospel of everlasting
life are made for all people, as all are most tenderly
and cordially invited to partake of the blessed frnit of
the tree of life, let us all strive in earnest to under-
stand and know the truth as it is in Jesus. Let us
feast on the divine truth revealed in the faithful word.
Why should reasonable creatures, blessed with such
powers of investigation, and capable of enjoying such
intellectual dainties, lie supinely and feed on wind, on
vanity, on lies, and roll falsehood and the gall of error
and superstition as a sweet morsel under their tongues ?
Come away from all the partial schemes of the wis-
dom of this world, leave behind you all the broken
cisterns hewn out by man's invention, which can hold
no water, and come to the fountain of living waters.
Have you endeavoured to satisfy your souls with the
polluted bread of a heaven where you must look down
and see your fellow creatures in endless torments ?
Where you must hear the ceaseless groans of fathers,
mothers, wives, children and other dear relatives ?
Have you strove to conform yourselves to these a
bominations? O hear the language of our text

and let your hearts rejoice in the God of our salva-
tion. " In this mountain shall the Lord of hosts
make unto all people a feast of fat things, of wines
on the lees, of fat things, full of marrow, of wines on
the lees, well refined. And he will destroy in this
mountain the face of the covering cast over all people,
and the vail that is spread over all nations. He will
swallow up death in victory ; and the Lord God will
wipe away tears from off all faces ; and the rebuke of
his people shall he take away from off all the earth ;
for the Lord hath spoken it."

LECTURE VII.

THE BURNING UP OF THE PROUD AND OF ALL THAT
DO WICKEDLY.

MALACHI, iv. 1.

For, behold, the day cometh that shall burn as an oven ; and all the proud
yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble; and the day that cometh
shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither
root nor branch.

This portion of prophetic testimony having been
generally used to support the awful, terrific doctrine of
future endless misery, and being now brought as an
objection to a belief in the divine goodness to all men
is the occasion of the request which has called our at-
tention to this subject at this time.

As we have consented to discuss this text in this
evening's discourse, a hope is entertained that the au-
dience will feel such an interest in the investigation as
will occasion a most devout and religious attention.
If the Holy Ghost, by these words, intended to inform
us that it is the divine determination not to humble
the proud nor reform those who do wickedly, but to
execute upon them endless torture, no doubt it is ne-
cessary for us so to understand these and other words
of divine inspiration ; but if these words were designed
to indicate the reduction of the proud to humility, and
the reformation of those who do wickedly, it is of im-
portance that we so understand them. Let us, there-
fore, carefully examine the text under consideration to
see if its most natural meaning is, that all the proud
and all that do wickedly are to be tormented eternally
in a fire that shall burn as an oven. If we find that
this is the true meaning of this passage, we must ad-
mit it as evidence of the truth of the terrific doctrine
to which it is usually applied, and as a refutation of the
8*

90 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

doctrine of universal salvation by Jesus Christ. Fur-
thermore, if the common use of this text be admitted,
we must reasonably suppose, that this doctrine is the
doctrine of the holy scriptures generally.

Let us look at the text. " For, behold, the day
cometh that shall burn as an oven ; and all the proud,
yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble : and
the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the
Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor
branch." If this language is to be understood accord-
ing to its most literal sense it means that all the proud,
yea, and all that do wickedly shall be burnt up as stub-
ble is consumed that is burned in an oven. There
will remain of the proud and the wicked neither root
nor branch. To use a simile, we will suppose that
it is said of a tree, that the fire has consumed it, root
and branch ; would any reasonable person understand
that the tree now exists ? No they would not. Now
if the tree do not exist, it surely does not continue to
burn. The conclusion then is this ; if the proud and
those who do wickedly are literally burnt up, they will
cease to exist, and of course, they will cease to be tor-
mented. It would be just as reasonable to contend,
that John Rogers is now burning in the fire that, con-
sumed him, as to apply our text to prove the endless
torments of the wicked.

We may ask why stubble should be used to repre-
sent the proud and them who do wickedly ? Stubble
is extremely combustible, it is consumed and gone al-
most as soon as it is set on fire. It therefore shows
that the proud and them wrho do wickedly will continue
to burn but a short time, and this idea is fully express-
ed in the conclusion of our text ; " it shall leave them
neither root nor branch." The Holy Ghost, by the
mouth of David, has said, as recorded in the 37th
Psalm ; " For yet a little while and the wicked shall
not be : yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place,
and it shall not be." According to this divine predic-
tion the wicked will not exist but a little while and
of course cannot suffer but a little while ; for they sure-
ly cannot suffer any longer than they exist. We read

BALLOU'S LECTURES. 91

in the 10th of Proverbs as follows, "As the whirlwind
passeth, so is the wicked no more ; but the righteous
is an everlasting foundation."

Not only does the text under consideration fully dis-
prove the idea to which it is usually applied, but the sev-
eral passages already quoted equally disprove it. To
their united testimony we may add what candid, unpre-
judiced reason seems to suggest on the same subject.

It is granted by all who profess to believe in a Su-
preme Being, that he is a- Being of infinite goodness.
Now we know that it is not the nature of goodness to
harm any creature, but to do good to all. From these
plain self-evident facts we infer, that God will never
administer any kind of affliction to any of his creatures,
which is not designed for their benefit. If a creature
be in a state of keen distress, from which there is no
hope of recovery, to put an end to this creature's ex-
istence is a favor. That very fond and compassionate
love, which renders the parent solicitous for the child's
recovery from ptiin and sickness, and impels to every
possible exertion which promises the least relief, will,
the moment all hope is gone, seek repose in the disso-
lution of nature. — Were it proposed to a kind parent,
whose tender offspring is struggling with the distress
of a most painful complaint, that though the child
could not be cured, it might be preserved in its present
situation to old age, would this be chosen rather than
that these pains should subside in the peaceful sleep
of death ? The evident fact is, that goodness is never
willing to prolong pain and distress unless it is seen
how this may prove beneficial to the subject. It there-
fore belongs to those who contend for the doctrine of
endless punishment, to cast in their minds whether
they can justify themselves in giving to the Father of
our spirits a character, which for cruelty infinitely ex-
ceeds that of the most unfeeling tyrant which has ever
oppressed mankind.

The faithful word of divine inspiration, as recorded
in the 57th chapter of Isaiah informs us that God " will
not contend forever, neither will he be always wroth :
ror the spirit should fail before him, and the souls

which he has made." And by the same divine author
ity we have it recorded in the 3d chapter of the Lam-
entations, that the " Lord will not cast off forever :
but though he cause grief, yet will he have compas-
sion according to the multitude of his mercies. For
he doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of
men."

While these last quoted passages prove, beyond all
contradiction, that God will not punish his creatures
with an endless punishment, they as fully show that
the design of punishment is not to annihilate the soul
that God has made. The reason which God renders
in the passage quoted from Isaiah, why he will not
contend forever nor be always wroth is because the
spirit would fail before him, and the soul which he has
made.

We may now consider the following important
question, (viz.) How is it possible that all the proud
yea, and all that do wickedly should be burnt up root
and branch, and yet be saved in the ITord Jesus with
an everlasting salvation ? And furthermore, how can
the wicked be saved by the grace of God, if the words
spoken by David be true, where he says, as before
quoted ; " For yet a little while and the wicked shall
not be ?" If the wicked are not allowed to exist, how
can they be saved?

Reply : Here we think is a proper place to bring in
the scripture doctrine of regeneration or new birth,
not with a design to treat it by way of explaining it,
but by application. Jesus said to the Jews ; " Ye are
of your father the devil, and the lust of your father
ye will do." — Now suppose any of these Jews were
converted by the spirit of truth after our Saviour's as-
cension to glory, they thereby became the children of
God. If so, they were no longer the children of the
devil. If any of the children of the devil can by re-
generating grace, become the children of God, then
by the same grace all the children of the devil may
become the children of God. Suppose this should ev-
er be accomplished would not the predictions of the
Prophets be fulfilled ? Where are the wicked ? There
are none — Where is his place ? As there are none

BALLOU?S LECTURES. 93

wicked so there is no place for the wicked. Where is
the stubble ? the fire has passed over it — there is no
stubble. — Look carefully, see if the root be not left —
the root is all consumed. — Are the branches spared ?
There is neither root nor branch left.

Now turn your eyes and behold the innumerable
multitude of all nations on mount Zion. From whence
came they ? These are they who came out of great
tribulation, and have washed their robes and made
them white in the blood of the lamb. They have been
translated out of the kingdom of darkness into the
kingdom of God's dear Son.

The hearers will now ask if we are to explain the
text under consideration in this way ? Is it in reality
a fact that this text which has been so often quoted to
terrify us with the apprehensions of never ending burn-
ings, does, in reality, mean the purification of all who
do wickedly, and the total destruction of wicked-
ness?

Reply : As we have already proved, that the text
can neither be applied to the endless duration of pun-
ishment, nor yet to the annihilation of the proud and
them that do wickedly, we may now proceed to in-
quire for its true application, by bringing it into con-
nexion with other passages in particular where similar
language is used, and with those generally which ex-
press the design and will of God concerning sinners.
By a careful attention to this method, we shall be like-
ly to avoid any application that would be in opposition
to the revealed testimony.

" For, behold, the day cometh that shall burn as an
oven." What day is this ? A little before in the pre-
ceding chapter, the Prophet uses the following words ;
" Behold I will send my messenger and he shall pre-
pare the way before me ; and the Lord, whom ye seek,
shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messen-
ger of the covenant, whom ye delight in ; behold he
shall come saith the Lord of hosts. But who may
abide the day of his coming ? and who shall stand
when he appeareth ? for he is like a refiner's fire, and
like fuller's soap. And he shall set as a refiner and

purifier of silver ; and he shall purify the sons of Levi,
and purge them as gold and silver, "that they may of-
fer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness."

The messenger here promised, who should prepare
the way before the Lord, we find in John the baptist,
accordingly as we read Luke 1st, " And thou, child,
shalt be called the prophet of the highest, for thou
shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his
ways." Compare also, Isaiah 40th, 3d, with Luke 3d
4th. By bringing these scriptures together we learn,
that the day spoken of in this 3d chapter of Malachi
was the time of the coming of Christ who is called the
messenger of the covenant, who should be as a refiner's
fire and like fuller's soap. There is no doubt then but
this scripture was a prophecy of the gospel day, and of
its refining and purifying mankind.

We shall in the next place prove that the day spo-
ken of in our text is the same day of which mention is
made in the preceding chapter, which we have shown
to be the gospel day. Following our text the Prophet
goes on to describe what shall take place on this day
that shall burn as an oven, &c. but before he closes
the subject he says ; " Behold, I will send you Elijah
the Prophet before the coming of the great and dread-
ful day of the Lord. And he shall turn the heart of
the fathers to the children, and the heart of the chil-
dren to the fathers, lest I come and smite the earth
with a curse." The hearer will observe that he who
is called Elijah in the Old Testament is called Elias in
the New. Speaking of John, Jesus says, as recorded
Matt. 11 ; " For trys is he of whom it is written, be-
hold I send my messenger before thy face, which shall
prepare thy way before thee. — And if ye will receive
it, this is Elias which was for to come." Thus as evi-
dently as we can prove any thing from the scriptures,
we prove that the day that is mentioned five or six
times in these two chapters .is the gospel day.

The Prophet Isaiah speaks of this burning day in his
9th chapter as follows ; " For every battle of the war-
rior is with confused noise, and garments rolled in
blood, but this shall be with burning and full of fire.

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given and
the government shall be upon his shoulder : and his
name shall be called Wonderful Counsellor, the migh-
ty God, the everlasting Father, the prince of peace.
Of the increase of his government and peace there
shall be no end."*

As it is granted by all that this prophecy alludes to
Christ and to the peace which he has made by the
blood of his cross, it may be proper to ask whether it
be not reasonable to conclude that this burning is the
same as mentioned in our text, and this fuel of fire the
same as stubble in our text ? If what is so reasonable
be allowed, it seems perfectly safe to allow, that the
true meaning of the passage under discussion, is the
purifying of the wicked " by the spirit of judgment and
the spirit of burning."

The fire which distinguishes the day and work of
the great sanctifier of sinners is described by John the
forerunner of Jesus, in Matt. 3, "I indeed baptize you
with water unto repentance ; but he that cometh after
me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to
bear ; he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and
with fire ; whose fan is in his hands, and he will thor-
oughly purge his floor and gather his wheat into his
garner, but he will burn up the chaff with unquench-
able fire." Thus the true spiritual baptism of Jesus is
with the Holy Ghost and with fire ; and with the fire
with which he baptizes, he burns up the chaff.

In 1st Corinthians, 3d. St. Paul has a passage which
is remarkably similar to the one we are investigating ;
it reads thus ; " Now if any man build upon this foun-
dation, gold, silver, precious stones, wTood, hay, stub-
ble ; every man's work shall be made manifest : for
the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by
fire ; and the fire shall try every man's work of what
sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath
.built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any
man's work shall be burnt, he shall suffer loss : but he
himself shall be saved ; yet so as by fire." In this
passage wicked works are called stubble"; these works
are to be burnt up, and the wicked saved ; yet so as

by fire. Now if we allow scripture to explain scrip-
ture, we may be satisfied of the true meaning of our
text. " All the proud, and all them that do wickedly"
must pass the fire of the day of the Lord. In the
character of the proud and the wicked they must be
destroyed root and branch, and be translated into the
kingdom of God's dear Son.

We may now proceed to show, that this sense of
the passage under consideration is agreeable to the
scripture testimony generally in respect to God's will
and revealed purpose concerning sinners.

In St. Paul's 1st epistle to Timothy he exhorts him
to pray and give thanks for all men, and as a reason
for so doing, he says; " For this is good and axcepta-
ble in the sight of God our Saviour ; who will have all
men to be saved and to come unto the knowledge of
the truth." In his epistle to the Ephesians, the same
author says ; " Wherein he hath abounded toward us
in all wisdom and prudence ; having made knovvn unto
us the mystery of his will, according to his good plea-
sure, which he hath purposed in himself: that in the
dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather to-
gether in one all things in Christ, both which are in
heaven and which are on earth ; even in him," Ac-
cording to these passages it is the will of God that all
men should be saved, should be gathered together in
Christ. And Jesus himself says ; " I came down from
heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him
that sent me." If God will the salvation of all men,
and Jesus came to do his Father's will it is evident
that he came to save all men. Again the Saviour
says ; "For God sent not his son into the world to
condemn the world ; but that the world through him
might be saved.'.' The forerunner of Jesus says of
him ; " Behold the lamb of God that taketh away the
sin of the world." When the religious people of the
Jews found fault with Christ because he was a friend to
publicans and sinners, he informed them that he came
to call sinners to repentance, and to seek and to save
that which was lost. In a word, the ministry of the
gospel is a ministry of reconciliation, and testifies " that

God was in Christ Jesus reconciling the world to him-
self, not imputing their trespasses unto them.

Not only does the testimony of Jesus, which we
have quoted, prove that sinners are the objects of
God's love and the subjects of gospel salvation, but St.
Paul reasons to the same point : in his epistle to the
Romans he says : " But God com mend eth his love to-
ward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ
died for us." To the Ephesians he says ; " But God,
who is rich in mercy, for the great love wherewith he
loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quick-
ened us together with Christ." Nothing is more obvi-
ous than that it wa's the gracious design of the coming
of Christ, and the introduction of the gospel dispensa-
tion, to save sinners from their sins, purify them by the
spirit of grace, and reconcile them to God. But how
entirely repugnant, to all this is the opinion to which
our text is usually applied. In room of humbling the
proud, and bringing sinners to repentance, it is be-
lieved that God will exercise unmerciful wrath on his
erring offspring to all eternity. Though the text car-
ries not the least intimation of any such thing in it,
yet so fixed is this notion, by the force of tradition
that it seems almost as hard to dissuade people from
it, as it is for a camel to go through the eye of a nee-
dle.

That we may understand the ways of God with the
proud and them who do wickedly, it may be proper to
notice some instances which are recorded for our in-
struction.— That of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon
will not be considered unappropriate. Great was the
pride of this prince and great was his wickedness.
Notwithstanding God had warned him in a dream
which Daniel the Prophet expounded to him, and not-
withstanding the Prophet most affectionately counsel-
led him to break off his sins by righteousness, and his
iniquities by showing mercy to the poor ! yet such was
the pride of his wicked heart, that it seems he gave no
heed to these kind and seasonable monitions, " but at
the end of twelve months he walked in the palace of
the kingdom of Babvlon. The king spoke, and said
9

98 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

is not this great Babylon that I have built for the house
of the kingdom, by the might of my power, and for
the honor of my majesty? While the word was in the
king's mouth there fell a voice from heaven saying, O
king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken ; the king-
dom is departed from thee ; and they shall drive thee
from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of
the field : they shall make thee to eat grass like oxen,
and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know
that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and
giveth it to whomsoever he will." All this God ac-
complished on this proud monarch, until his body was
wet with the dew of heaven, his hairs were grown like
eagle's feathers, and his nails like birds claws." This
humbled his heart, returned to him his understanding,
raised his eyes to heaven, and this is his confession ;
" Now I, Nebuchadnezzar praise, and extol, and honor
the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and
his ways judgment ; and those that walk in pride he is
able to abase." Was every child of Adam a Nebu-
chadnezzar, and every heart as proud as his, how easy
would it be for infinite wisdom, power, and goodness
to humble them all to a due sense of their dependence
on God. Such as was the result of God's dealings
with this haughty prince, we may reasonably suppose
will be the result of his chastising providence on " all
the proud and all them that do wickedly" for " those
that walk in pride he is able to abase."

Though the means which our heavenly Father may
use with his disobedient offspring may vary, we have
no reason to believe that his designs are partial, we
have no evidence to support the notion that he will
humble some and grant them mercy, but punish oth-
ers eternally.

Another particular instance of God's dealings with
one who did extremely wickedly is the case of David
king of Israel. The crimes which this monarch com-
mitted being pointed out to him in the faintest simile
which their nature would admit, he adjudged the crim-
inal to death — But what were the dealings of God to-
ward him? He was visited with such awful calamities

BALLOU'S LECTURES. 99

in his family as were as much worse than death, as his
crimes were more heinous than the one represented to
him by the prophet Nathan, for which he said, the
man that hath done this shall surely die. But was Da-
vid finally rejected from the favor of God ? — No, for
he sang " of mercy and of judgment," and praised God
whom he acknowledged to be his salvation.

It surely will not be contended, that the divine Be-
ing pays any peculiar respect to kings, by dealing with
their crimes in a more lenient manner, than he does
with the crimes of others. It should be allowed that
the higher a man's station is in society the greater
his criminality if he use his power contrary to his
duty.

If then, the king of Israel could be punished here in
this life, according to the offence which he had com-
mitted, and if he were duly humbled and received in-
to favor, have the wicked now any reason to expect
to escape the righteous judgments of God ? And have
the religious any reason to say, that God will never
humble the wicked and receive them all to mercy?
Was every child of Adam a murderous David, and
had sins as great as his, stained every soul : Yet would
every humble, penitent believer in Jesus say, " Behold
the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the
world."

It is allowed, if there be some more stiff-necked
than others, and harder to be brought into humiliation,
we may not yet have mentioned them ; but we shall
find them in the case of the pharisee. He, who by
the mighty power of grace was converted from a spir-
itually proud, and persecuting pharisee, to a humble,
meek disciple of Jesus, whom he had persecuted, is
such a trophy of divine mercy, we now hold him up
before you all as an example of God's dealings with
all the proud and all them which do wickedly." What
does St. Paul say of himself? " This is a faithful say-
ing, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus
into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.
Howbeit, for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me
first Tesus Christ might shew forth all long-suffering

100 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

for a pattern for them which should hereafter believe
on him to life everlasting." Was every son and
daughter of human nature a persecuting Saul, yet there
would be hope that they might all be brought to say,
" Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? — But when it
pleased him who separated me from my mother's womb
and called me by his grace, to reveal his son in me,
immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood."

Is it necessary to name a fourth particular instance,
and shall it be selected from among the erring daugh-
ters of Eve ? Consider then the case of Mary Magda-
lene out of whom the bruiser of the serpent's head
cast seven devils. Was every man, woman and child
in the world as possessed as was this woman, who was
a sinner, yet might the grace of the Redeemer bring
them all to wash his feet with the tears of penitence,
and annoint him with the precious ointment of much
love and humble gratitude.

A hope is entertained that the hearer will not be
disposed to say, if all this be true we may indulge in
every sin and abomination. Of the whole seven that
were cast out, this arguhient is the worst. This is in-
gratitude the basest of all the serpent tribe.

Did the king of Babylon find by experience that be-
cause God was able to abase those who walk in pride,
it was therefore as well to walk in pride as to be hum
ble ? Did David find by experience, that sin against
God and his fellow creatures was attended with no
evil ? Must sin be rolled as a sweet morsel under the
tongue ? Must a guilty conscience be esteemed as a
friend that sticketh closer than a brother ? Our argu-
ment to prove the doctrine of the impartial goodness of
God towards all men, does in no sense deny his divine
severity toward the wicked.

By understanding our text in the way we have ex-
plained it, we discover its harmony with other passa-
ges where similar language is used ; we also see its
agreement with the united testimony of scripture re-
specting the divine will and purpose concerning the
reconciliation and salvation of sinners.

But in the common way of understanding this pas-

BALLOU'S LECTURES. 101

5, it is made to contradict the whole scheme of the
gospel, and to represent every subject of divine grace
as an object of never ending wrath. — Such absurdities
are constantly reiterated from our pulpits, and in al-
most all sermons the glaring contradiction is urged on
the hearers, that sinners, are the objects of divine love,
and eternal vengeance ; that Jesus came into our
world for the express purpose of saving sinners, and
that sinners must be endlessly miserable. There can
be no wonder that the common people are getting to
be weary of such preaching, nor is there any just rea-
son of complaint if attempts are making to effect a re-
formation.

Not only is it our duty to endeavor to explain par-
ticular passages in a way to bring them into the ge-
neral theme of the scriptures, but due attention
should be paid to understand the scriptures in a way
to agree with the disposition and conduct which the
religion of Jesus Christ requires. Suppose then, that
we adopt the common opinion of our text, and con-
tend that the Holy Ghost moved the Prophet to set
forth the endless misery of " all the proud and all them
that do wickedly," in the language of this passage,
will it then be easy to reconcile this with the disposi-
tion which our religion requires us to exercise toward
our enemies, and with our duty to mankind ? Can we
see the propriety of loving those who we believe are
the objects of the unmerciful vengeance of our Creator
of praying for those who we believe are predestinated
to endless suffering?

But if we understand our text and the scriptures in
general to teach the doctrine of reconciliation, and to
support the joy inspiring belief that he, who gave him-
self a ransom for all men, will finally see of the travail •
of his soul and be satisfied ; that he who sets a refiner
and purifier of silver, will eventually purify the wicked
from all sin, humble the proud, and give all to know
the Lord, whom to know is life eternal, it seems that
the christian duty of loving all men, doing good to all
men, and praying for all men is perfectly consistent'
with such a belief.
9*

102 BALLOU?S LECTURES.

There is another particular rule according to which
particular passages, and indeed the scriptures in gen-
eral should be explained ; that is, the knowledge of
the truth gives joy to the heart. St. Paul informs us,
that *'' charity rejoiceth in the truth." It is then an
evidence that we rightly understand the scripture, if
the love of God shed abroad in the heart can rejoice in
the sentiment. This christian audience is now affec-
tionately called on to try the sentiment usually sup-
ported by the text under consideration, by the rule last
suggested. If you can truly say that you sincerely
love all mankind, that you entertain that charity for all
which suffereth long and is kind, can you say that you
rejoice in the belief, that millions of your fellow crea-
tures are predestinated to endless sufferings ? This
you all acknowledge is impossible. How then can
God, who is love itself, ordain a dispensation of sever-
ity, the design of which is to perpetuate the sufferings
of his own offspring as long as he shall exist?

My bretheren, " there is peace in believing and joy
in the Holy Ghost." But is there any peace or joy in
believing in this doctrine of never-ending misery?
There surely is not. But if we really believe in the
divine testimony, which plainly shows that it is the
plan of God, manifested in Christ Jesus, to finish sin
and to make an end of transgressions, to take away
our sins, to reconcile ihe world to himself; and that
all his judgments and his mercies are wisely directed
to effect this blessed object, we can " rejoice with joy
unspeakable, and full of glory." But while we rejoice
in the consoling belief, that all the judgments of God
will finally eventuate in the reduction of " all the proud
and all them that do wickedly" to obedience, let us be
wise for ourselves, and adorn the doctrine of God our
Saviour, by doing justly, loving mercy and walking
1 -mbly before God.

LECTURE VIII.

THE STORY OF JOSEPH, AN ILLUSTRATION OF THE HIS-
TORY of Christ's kingdom.

DEUTERONOMY, xxxiii, 16, 17.

Let the blessing come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the top of the
head of him that was separated from his brethren. Kis glory is like the
firstling of his bullock, and his horns are like the horns of unicorns: with
them he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth: and they are
the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh.

The events which the divine historian has recorded,
respecting Joseph the son of the patriarch Jacob, form
a subject remarkably instructing to every attentive ob-
server.

The treatment he received from his brethren was of
such a peculiar cast, that Moses the prophet of the
Lord, more than four hundred years afterward, in the
blessing pronounced on his family, makes the honora-
ble mention of his being separated from his brethren
which we find in our text.

This memorable separation, the causes which occa-
sioned it, the circumstances which attended it ; the
wisdom and goodness of God manifested by it and the
rich blessings which finally came on him in conse-
quence of his having been separated from his brethren,
will form matter for the first general section of the
present discourse.

Moved with envy, Joseph's brethren sold him to the
Ishmaelites, who were going from Gilead with spies
into Egypt, where Joseph was again sold for a bond
slave. The causes which seemed to occasion this
deadly envy were the following. Joseph was the son
of his fathers old age, and until about the time of his
being sold, the only child of the beloved Rachael. It
seems rather difficult to determine whether Benjamin

104 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

was born, or not at this time. The faithful historian
informs us, that " Israel loved Joseph more than all his
children, because he was the son of his old age." By
this it would rather seem that Benjamin was not born,
for he was more especially the son of Jacob's old age
than Joseph. But the scripture chronology supposes
that Benjamin was born, and of course, that Rachael
died in the one thousand seven hundred and twenty
ninth year before Christ, and that Joseph was sold the
same year. Such is the nature of partiality, it seldom
avoids being seen. It was so visible in Jacob's con-
duct, that it created an unhappy jealousy in the minds
of the rest of the family, so that they " hated Joseph,
and could not speak peaceably unto him."

Nor was this parental partiality the only occasion of
that cruel envy which moved Joseph's brethren against
him ; for we are informed that heaven inspired him
with two remarkable dreams, which evidently suggest-
ed the idea of his future superiority over them, and
their bowing down to him as a superior. An envious
mind is always in the dark. Had these brethren been
wise, they would have seen no occasion to be angry at
their brother. If their father was imprudent enough to
indulge an improper partiality in favor of the son of
his old age, it was far from right to hate the son for
the fault of the father. If they supposed the dreams
which their brother toH were not divinely dictated,
but were either the fruits of vain imaginations, or only
contrived up in order to deceive, they might have sa-
ved themselves any trouble by being content to wait
with patience until time should show the folly of all
such vain attempts or imaginations. — But their hearts
were not right ; they therefore took the wrong way,
the broad road that leads to destruction.

Full of burning, envy and indignation these breth-
ren left the family circle, the sacred tent of venerable
Israel, in the vale of Hebron, and went to feed their
father's flock at Shechem.

Notwithstanding Jacob felt a partiality for Joseph,
he was by no means unmindful of his other children
He felt a solicitous concern for the welfare of his ab

BALLOU'S LECTURES. 105

sent sons, and proposed to Joseph that he should go
to Shechem to inquire for his brethren's health and
prosperity. The tender unsuspicious youth was as
ready to obey as the father was to command. With-
out the least hesitation or suspicion he sat off on this
errand of love. Little did the venerable patriarch
think what treatment awaited the darling of his heart ;
little did he then think of the sorrows which were to
overwhelm his soul. Little did the tender child antici-
pate the cruel sufferings which were to reward his fil-
ial obedience and fraternal affection. Little did he
think, when he parted with his father in the lovely vale
of Hebron, that he should see him no more till he
should embrace him in a strange land, where he should
be a father to his father, and the lord and support of
his brethren.

When he came to Shechem he was informed that
his brethren had removed to Dothan where he immedi-
ately repaired and found them. But here* in room of
meeting the friendly eye and the affectionate smile,
and being kindly welcomed to peaceful tents of hum-
ble shepherds, he beholds the eye of anger kindled with
envy, the clouded brow of wrath foreboding an awful
storm, the dread image of hate drawn in each visage.
In vain does he turn his innocent eye from one to an-
other in search of a kind protector. He is violently
seized, stripped of his coat of many colors and cast in-
to a pit that was in the wilderness. This done these
unnatural brethren sat down to eat bread.

Here we may observe the wisdom and goodness of
God in making use of one sinful passion to control an-
other so as to cause the wrath of man to praise him,
and to restrain the remainder. Divine providence so
ordered, that at this hour the travelling merchants from
Gilead arrived at this place, which suggested the "idea
of selling Joseph. These murderous brethren had
formed the determination, in the first place, to take
his life outright ; but Reuben wishing to deliver him
out of their hands proposed to cast him into the pit,
where their determination was to let him die. But
now avarice gains so much on anger, as by promising

106 * BALLOU'S LECTURES.

to rid them forever of their fear of becoming at all de-
pendent on Joseph, that they consent to sell him for
twenty pieces of silver. To attempt to describe the
feelings of Joseph on this trying occasion would be in
vain. Poor solitary youth, not an earthly friend in the
wide world that could extend to him the arm of deliv-
erance, or even speak one consoling word. ;' Separa-
ted from his brethren he now moves along with his un-
feeling masters, but with what reluctant steps. No
doubt he casts a lingering eye of compassion on his
persecutors, and how hard was the thought that he
should see them no more. With what painful reflec-
tions did his thoughts return to the parental tent in the
lovely vale of Hebron, how did his bosom swell with
grief when the pangs of everlasting adieu to the sa-
cred circle of home, country and liberty pierced his
tortured soul ? But with his brethren were very dif-
ferent reflections. They had fortunately sold their fears
for twenty pieces of silver. As the object of their en-
vy receded from their sight, they sought repose in a
refuge of lies and deceit. They now felt secure from
the humiliating thought of ever bowing down to their
brother or of seeing their father's fondness exercised over
the child of his old age. They now rend the coat of
many colors, dip it in blood and carry it to their fath-
er. He knows the garment, and exclaims ; " it is my
son's coat ; an evil beast hath devoured him ; Joseph
is without doubt rent in pieces." He mourns the un-
timely death of his son, determined to refuse all com-
fort, and to go down to the grave to his son mourn-
ing.

Let us now notice the remarkable instances of the
wisdom and goodness of God manifested in all this sin-
ful, djsasterous conduct of the cruel sons of Israel, and
in the partiality of the over fond father.

According to rational calculation, we may suppose,
that if the father of this family had preserved an impar-
tial regard for his children, it would have been the
means of lengthening its tranquility. If Joseph had
not dreamed and told the dreams which served to kin-
dle the fire of envy in his brethren's hearts, it seems

BALLOU'S LECTURES. 107

reasonable to suppose that they might all have lived
harmoniously and in peace. But how evident it is
that God overruled all these circumstances and events
for the good of all concerned. How evident it is that
the divine wisdom had the directing of all these affairs.
Joseph is now safe in Egypt the country of his future
glory, excellency and usefulness, but a bond slave, a
menial servant. Who could believe that this degra-
ded condition lay on his road to fame ? But now con-
sider him accused by his mistress of an infamous crime,
consider him cast into prison. Here again the crim-
inality and deceit of his accuser is all controled by
heaven for the honor of God, the good of millions,
the exaltation of the innocent sufferer and the celebra-
tion of ages.

Into the same prison where Joseph was bound, the
king cast his chief butler and chief baker, whose
dreams Joseph interpreted agreeably to the final ver-
dict of his majesty. But the chief butler, contrary to
the request of injured Joseph, was so elated with be-
ing again restored to favor and office, that he forgot
the young prisoner who for two full years more lay in
the prison, until the dreams of Pharaoh brought him
to the butler's recollection. It was about fourteen
years from the time Joseph left the sweet and tranquil
habitation of his beloved father to the time he was
brought out of prison in Egypt, to stand before
his majesty the king, to interpret those remarkable
dreams by which he was wTarned of seven years of
great plenty, which should be followed with seven
more of famine. The wisdom which appeared in this
long afflicted Hebrew brought him into favor with
Pharaoh, who appointed him to be over his own house
and to rule his people according to his will.

During the seven years of plenty Joseph used such
prudence and economy as to lay up vast quanties of
corn in store against the long and severe famine which
he foresaw would visit the land.

When the dearth came it was not confined to Egypt
but extended over all the face of the earth, so that all
countries were dependent on Egypt for bread. The

108 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

famine was sore in the land of Canaan, and pale hun-
ger began to threaten the extensive household of Ja-
cob and his sons. Jacob therefore said to his sons ;
" Why do you look one upon another ? I have heard
that there is corn in Egypt : get you down thither, and
buy for us from thence; that we may live and not
die." They came into Egypt and into the presence
of Joseph ; but he was so altered in the space of about
twenty one years, or perhaps more, and as they had
no thought of seeing him at all, and especially no ex-
pectation of finding him the lord of all the land of
Egypt, they did not know him. When they came be-
fore him, " they bowed down themselves before him with
their faces to the earth." Joseph knew his brethren ;
they were men who had attained to years before he
was separated from them, and had not altered so much
but he knew them. He now saw his first dream ful-
filled. All his brethren who were envious towards
him, he now sees on their faces before him. He treat-
ed them roughly, not because revenge was in his heart,
but to try them. He retained Simeon until the rest
should return to the relief of their families, and bring
Benjamin down to Egypt. They then conversed
among themselves, in the Hebrew tongue, which they
supposed Joseph did not understand, of their sin
against their brother, and were satisfied that they were
visited with evil for their iniquity. Joseph understood
all they said, and was greatly moved with compassion.
After many trials and sore difficulties, at the second
time, when all the sons of Israel were together, and
Joseph had the pleasure of seeing his brother Benja-
min, perhaps for the first time, he made himself known
to them. He could no longer contain himself; he
wept aloud and said unto his brethren, " I am Joseph ;
doth my father yet live ? And his brethren could not
answer him ; for they were troubled at his presence.
And Joseph said unto his brethren, come near to me
I pray you : and they came near. And he said I
am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt.
Now therefore, be not grieved, nor angry with your-
selves, that ye sold me hither ; for God did send me

BALLOU'S LECTURES. 109

before yon to preserve life. And he fell upon his bro-
ther Benjamin's neck, and wep-t ; and Benjamin wept
upon his neck. Moreover he kissed all his brethren
and wept upon them : and after that his brethren
talked with him."

As the hearer is familiar with the account of this
most interesting subject, we may not be further par-
ticular. It is recollected that the whole family came
down to Egypt and were nursed by Joseph and sup-
ported by his bounty. Now was his second dream ac-
complished.

Let us notice in this place, the words of Joseph be-
fore recited ; " God did send me before you to pre-
serve life." Is it not evident, my brethren, that the
infinitely wise, powerful, and good God made use of
the partial fondness of Jacob as a means to move Jo-
seph's brethren against him ? Is it not evident that
the same divine Being inspired Joseph with the two
dreams which represented his brethren's submission to
him, and also that, of their father and mother, for the
purpose of bringing about the event of Joseph's being
sold into Egypt ? Is it not clear beyond all doubt,
that all the wickedness, envy, hard heartedness, and
deceit of which the ten brethren were guilty was con-
trolled by the wisdom and goodness of God in a man-
ner to promote the highest honor of the divine name,
and the best interest of those most perverse and wick-
ed men ? And must it not be gratefully acknowledged,
that all the afflictions which came on Jacob and his
family, and the afflictions of Joseph were designed by
our heavenly Father, for the good of all these sufferers ?
It seems necessary to call the attention of the hearer
to the consideration of the following questions : Does
the argument which we here maintain give to the di-
vine Being a good character? Is it safe to have so
much confidence in God as to believe, that he mana-
ges all the concerns of men in a way to promote their
best interest? Is God so transcendantly kind as to
turn our own faults to our advantage ? Or will you
say, that this doctrine is not only too good to be true,
but of dangerous tendencv, as it lays no restraint on
10

men, but promises them good for their evil? Reply:
Is this doctrine any better than was the conduct of
God towards these envious brethren who sold Joseph ?
And did not these brethren experience a most just and
ample retribution for their sins, before thev entered into
the enjoyment of the divine favor which was brought
about by means of their folly ? Is not this doctrine
exactly what the gospel holds up and requires ? Are
we not forbidden to render evil for evil ? And are we.
not commanded to render good* for evil ? "Be not
overcome of evil ; but overcome evil with good." The
blessing that came on Joseph seems to have been, in
all respects, what his sufferings seemed to deserve, as
ample as his love, and as extensive as his reasonable
desires. To have it in his power to reward his breth-
ren with all the favor which their necessities required
for all the evil he had received at their hands, to make
every necessary provision for his aged father and the
whole of his numerous family, from which he had
been so long separated, and of supplying many
countries with bread during a famine which must have
swept off thousands of innocent children with vast mul-
titudes of others, had it not been for the treasures
which were laid up by his wisdom and liberally dis-
pensed by his goodness, seems to have been as large
and as rich a blessing as could be desired.

To show, by the language of our text, that Moses
had a meaning in view, beyond what respected the
literality of the subject, and to apply our text to Jesus,
who was separated from his brethren, forms the second
general section of this discourse.

" His glory is like the firstling of his bullock, and
his horns are like the horns of unicorns : with them
shall he push the people together to the ends of the
earth : and they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and
they are the thousands of Manasseh."

The firstling of cattle is similar to the first born
among men. The first born of a family possessed, by
birth right, a privilege over the younger, as in the case
of Esau and Jacob. The first born seemed to have
a power of ruling, and of having the younger branches

Ill

of the family in subjection. The first born was also
considered holy unto God, as were the first fruits of the
field ; and the holiness of the firstborn, and of the first
fruits was the holiness of all which were represented
by them. This part of the text, which relates to
the firstling of the bullock, may very fitly be applied
to Joseph as well as Jesus, who is styled the " first
born among many brethren, the first born from the-
dead, and the first born of every creature."

Joseph seems to have obtained the birth right of the
first born by a divine arrangement, whereby he became
the governor and ruler of his numerous family, though
it is true Joseph was literally the first born of the be-
loved Rachel. His glory answered to his birth right,
for we see him the ruler and kind father of his brethren.

But why should Moses say : " his horns are as the
horns of unicorns: with them he shall push the peo-
ple together to the ends of the earth : and they are the
ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands
of Manasseh ? " By horns, no doubt power was in-
tended. But how shall the power of Joseph push the
people together to the ends of the earth ? And how
is it that all people thus united are the ten thousands,
and thousands, of the two sons of Joseph ?

This language and these sentiments are supposed to
apply to Jesus in the following manner. As the horns
of unicorns are the most powerful among beasts, they
are used to represent the power of the Saviour. And
as it is said, " with them shall he push the people to-
gether to the ends of the earth," it means the same as
was expressed by Jacob concerning the Shiloh unto
whom the gathering of the people should be ; and the
same as expressed by Jesus himself, when he said,
"And I, if I be lifted up from the earth will draw all
men unto me." The same is expressed by St. Paul
to the Ephesians as follows ; " Having made known
unto us the majesty of his will according to his good
pleasure, which he hath purposed in himself: that in
the dispensation of the fullness of times, he might gath-
er together in one all things in Christ, both which
are in heaven, and which are on earth ; even in him "

112 BALLOTS LECTURES.

Jews and Gentiles thus gathered into Jesus are said
to be the ten thousands of Ephraim and the thousands
of Manasseh. The two sons of Joseph are here used
to represent the two families, Jews and Gentiles, which
in their fullness, are the children of the 'everlasting
Father and Prince of peace."

When Jacob blessed the two sons of Joseph, being
blind, Joseph was careful to present Manasseh, the
first born, to Jacob's right hand and Ephraim, the
younger, to his left, that, the first- born might receive
the appropriate blessing which belonged to his birth
right ; but Jacob wittingly crossed his hands and laid
his right hand on the head of Ephraim and his left en
the head of Manasseh. At this, Joseph endeavored
to remove his father's hands, and informed him that
his left hand was on the head of the first born ; to
which he replied ; " I know it, my son, I know it ;
he also shall become a people, and he also shall
be great ; but truly his younger brother shall be great-
er than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of
nations." Thus Moses in our text, when expressing,
the multitudes of Gentiles and Jews, in Christ Jesus,
says : " They are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and
they are the thousands of Manasseh." The Jews
were first reckoned the children of God, and Israel is
called God's first born ; but the first are last and the last
first. The Gentiles take the lead in the gospel dispen-
sation, for not until the fullness of the Gentiles is come
in will the deliverer come out of Zion and turn away
ungodliness frotn Jacob.

In considering Joseph and the things concerning him
as applicable to Jesus and his ministry we find an ex-
tensive field opened before us, a field fruitful as a gar-
den, in all the most beautiful flowers of divine represen-
tations, and in the fruits of grace.

The visions of the holy prophets, in which they saw
the extensive empire of the Saviour of the world, the
subjection of all the nations of the earth to his divine
and glorious government, seem to be represented by
the dreams of Joseph, which served to kindle his breth-
ren's hearts with envy. The declaration from heaven,
which designated Jesus as the beloved Son of God in

LECTURES. 113

whom the Father is well pleased, seems to be repre-
sented by Jacob's love for Joseph, — -How angry it made
the scribes, the pharisees, the priests and the doctors of
the law, that Jesus should pretend to be the Son of
God. A man by no means of their standing ; why
should he pretend to be the king of israel ? they
were as determined not to have this man to rule
over them as Joseph's brethren were that he should
not rule over them. As Joseph was separated from
his brethren, so was Jesus separated from his ; as Jo-
seph was sold for money, so was Jesus ; as Joseph was
the gracious saviour of the whole family of "promise, so
is Jesus the Saviour of the whole family " of heaven
and earth."

My brethren, look, see the future saviour of the fam-
ily of Israel, leaving his brethren in Dothan to go down
to Egypt a slave, to see them no more until he sees
them as his humble subjects, and is acknowledged
their lord and protector ; then look again and see the
blessed Jesus, bearing his cross, going bound to Cal-
vary, separated from his brethren and from all the liv-
ing, to see them not again until in a glorious resurrec-
tion state, he appears " the Lord from heaven."

Let us here talk freely on the grace and plan of sal-
vation by Jesus Christ, as represented by the temporal
salvation wrought by Joseph. Joseph was appointed
by heaven to be the saviour of all his father's house.
He was in fact the saviour of his brethren before they
knew him in Egypt. He had treasured up a supply
of bread during the seven years of plenty for thous-
ands who were not then born. He was the saviour
of vast multitudes, by the merciful appointment of
heaven, who were strangers to him, and who knew him
not. All the time before his brethren came to Egypt,
Joseph was the appointed saviour of them and of their
little ones. It w7as just as certain that they would all
partake of the rich bounties of Joseph, even before the
famine commenced as it was after they were all remov-
ed into the land of Goshen.

Now what reasonable objection can there be to the
sentiment, that the grace of God, and the scheme of
10*

114

man's spiritual salvation "is ordered in all things,"
and rendered as sure as the temporal salvation of the
house of Israel was in the scheme which we have no-
ticed ?

Joseph's brethren did not believe that they, their
wives and their little ones were all to be fed from the
bounty of him whom they had so cruelly treated and
sold into Egypt. But what power had their ignorance
and unbelief to frustrate the divine plan in which their
welfare was secured ? It is true, they could not enjoy
a confidence in their brother until they knew him and
were assured of his forgiveness ; but he was as truly
their brother and friend during their ignorance and un-
belief as he was after he had made himself known to
them. Is it not equally true, that Jesus is the sin-
ner's friend and Saviour as truly during the season of
ignorance and unbelief as he is after faith is given?

The name of Joseph in Egypt was synonymous with
bread, it was synonymous with life ; and in no other
name was there any confidence. All power in Egypt
was committed into the hands of Joseph, there was no
other name given whereby the life of the people could
be saved. Is not all this true in spirit respecting the
name of Jesus, is it not synonymous with Saviour?
Is not this the bread of God which came down from
heaven, and gave life to the world ?

In his wise and gracious appointment, the God of
heaven gave life to millions in Joseph before they were
born ; "and this is the record that God hath given un-
to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son." This
life was the life of the world from the beginning.
This was our life before we came into this world, and
the unborn ages to come are equally entitled to all its
blessings.

The envy, the hatred, the deadly enmity of Joseph's
brethren towards him, could do no more than was ne-
cessary to promote his glory and advance him in the
way of the divine appointment. So all the cruel en-
vy, hatred and persecution practised on the blessed
Jesus, by his enemies, only advanced him towards that
glory that during eternal ages will continue to brighten

LECTURES. 115

and beautify the rational creation of God. As we may
notice this subject in part in our next lecture, which
will be on the subject of blasphemy against the Holy
Ghost, we may be brief.

How tender are the words of Joseph to those who
had hated him without a cause : " Come near to me I
pray you." This is the language of the blessed Jesus
in the Gospel of his grace. He speaks to every sin-
ner, saying, ;; come near to me I pray you." The
apostle says " we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye
reconciled to God ; for he hath made him to be sin for
us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the right-
eousness of God in him."

As we have seen that the blessing which came upon
the head of Joseph, was in all respects, as large and
rich as could be desired, may we not believe with con-
fidence, that the Redeemer will as fully " see of the
travail of his soul and be satisfied ? " If in room of that
most interesting account of the humble submission of
all Joseph's enemies to him, we were informed that
three only were ever brought to repentance, and to be
humble before him, and also to receive of his bounty,
could we consider his reward to be equal to what the
present account makes it ? Would it be possible, in
this case to see how his dreams were fulfilled ? . His
sheaf stood upright, and all his brethren's sheaves
made obeisance to it. The sun, and the moon, and
the eleven stars made obeisance unto him. With less
than the submission of all could these heaven-inspired
dreams have fully come to pass ? With all this was
he blessed, and blessed in the sweet enjoyment of a
forgiving spirit, and in the victory that spirit gained over
the affections of his brethren. Moreover, he was
bountifully blessed in his liberal bestowments on his
dependant brethren. — They were all blessed in him,
but he was the most blessed of all: for "it is more
blessed to give than to receive." Thus we believe,
that with less than the reconciliation of all men to Je-
sus, the faithful word of all God's holy prophets since
the world began, who have spoken of the restitution
of all things, can never be fulfilled. Nor can Jesus

lift.

see of the travail of his soul and be satisfied with less
than the humble submission to his laws, of all who
have ever been his enemies. We believe, and believ-
ing we rejoice, that the kind Redeemer shall finally be
blessed with the full enjoyment of forgiving the iniqui-
ties of all his enemies, of feeding them at his own ta-
ble, with the bread of everlasting life. All will be
blessed in him ; " all nations shall call him blessed ; "
but he shall be the most blessed of all, as it is " more
blessed to give than to receive."

Blessed were the people that heard tne joyful ti-
dings, that there was corn in Egypt. How did the
husband's heart leap for joy, that the companion of
his bosom should not " perish with hunger ! " How
unspeakably happy were parents made when assured
that their children could be supplied with bread !
More blessed still are the " people who know the joy-
ful sound," of the gospel of Jesus, and walk in the
light of the Lord. Parents look, behold the shepherd
of Israel taking your little children in his arms, and
saying u of such is the kingdom of heaven." Said the
risen Saviour "go ye into all the world and preach
the gospel to every creature." Yes, my friends, you
are all welcome to the bread of life ; and

" Christ hath sent me to invite you,

" To a rich and costly feast.
'* Let not shame nor pride prevent you,

** Come, the rich pro ision taste."

LECTURE IX

THE BLASPHEMY AGAINST THE HOLT GHOST.

MATTHEW, xii. 31, 32.

Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be for-
given unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be for-
given unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man,
it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost,
it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to
come.

Our Saviour spake the words of our text in his re-
ply to the Pharisees, who said of him, " this fellow
doth not cast out devils but by Beelzebub, the prince
of the devils."

The circumstance which led the Pharisees to speak
as we have just noticed was the following. There was
brought unto Jesus one possessed with a devil, blind
and dumb : and he healed him, insomuch that the
blind and dumb both spake and saw. And all the
people were amazed, and said, is not this the son of
David ? That is, is not this man who cast out devils
and works so many miracles the Messiah or Christ of
whom the law and the prophets have spoken ? As
the Pharisees were bitterly opposed to Jesus, this ex-
clamation from the people gave them great uneasiness,
for as much as the people were in favor of Jesus, so
much they must be in opposition to the Pharisees. In
order, therefore, to prevent the people from believing
in Jesus, the Pharisees said that he cast out devils by
Beelzebub, the prince of the devils.

It seems that the miracles of Jesus were so evident,
so open, so undisguised, that his keenest eyed enemies
found no chance of success with the people by deny-
ing the facts of the miracles ; they must, therefore, de-

118

ceive the people by some other means. In the case of
the miracle wrought on the man that was born blind,
they seemed to doubt the fact of his having been born
blind ; but having called his parents and received their
testimony, they were compelled to believe the fact ,
but they said to the man to whom sight had been giv-
en, " give God the praise, we know that this man is a
sinner." It was contended, that as this miracle was
performed on the sabbath day, he who wrought it
could not be of God. If the Pharisees could persuade
the people that Jesus was a sinner, notwithstanding all
the miracles which he did, they were sure that they
would not believe that he was the Messiah promised.
But it seems that the people had discernment enough
to raise the question, " How can a man that is a sin-
ner do such miracles ?" This question must receive
some sort of an answer ; and almost any thing would
do that superstition would countenance, for the com-
mon people supposed that these Pharisees and learned
doctors of the law, being godly people and of d.eep dis-
cernment must know. When, therefore, their wisdom
suggested that the miracles of Jesus were effected by
the agency of the prince of the devils, it was by no
means difficult for the people to give credit to the opin-
ion, ior they were already fixed in the superstitious no-
tions of devils.

The declaration, that Jesus cast out devils by Beel-
zebub, the prince of the devils, was a declaration di-
rectly against the spirit and power by which the mira-
acle was effected. In reply to this the Saviour rea-
soned in his usual, natural, plain and energetic man-
ner, as follows : " Every kingdom divided against it-
self is brought to desolation : and every city or house
divided against itself shall not stand : And if Satan
cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how
shall then his kingdom stand ? And if I by Beelzebub
cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them
out ? therefore they shall be your judges. But if I
cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom
of God is come unto you. Or else, how can one enter
into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except

BALLOU'S LECTURES. 119

he first bind the strong man ? and then he will spoil
his house. He that is not with me, is against me ; and
he that gathereth not with me, scattereth abroad."
Then follow the words of our text, which, when con-
sidered in the connexion in which they are found,
plainly indicate that the Pharisees, who said that Jesus
cast out devils, by Beelzebub, the prince of the devils,
did, in so saying, speak blasphemy against the Holy
Ghost.

We shall now proceed to inquire why this sin or
blasphemy against the Holy Ghost, by which the mir-
acles of Jesus were wrought could not as easily be for-
given as any other sin or blasphemy. It is generally
contended that this sin against the Holy Ghost cannot
be forgiven because it is so much more heinous than
all other sins ; but because this is the general opinion
it is no proper evidence of its being true. Has it ever
been proved that this blasphemy is more heinous than
other sins ! The speaker feels solicitous that the hear-
er may be disposed, on this subject, to admit, of noth-
ing without proof. We are not only at liberty to re-
ject all ideas which have been established by tradition
without proper evidence, but it is our religious duty so
to do. Let it then be proved that this sin against the
Holy Ghost could not be forgiven the Pharisees as ea-
sily as any other sin that they committed, because this
sin was more heinous than any other, and then we will
believe it ; but not before. But it is contended that
this sin is certainly greater than any other, because it
is committed against greater light. Here again we call
for proof. Are we informed in the scripture, that this
sin is committed against greater light than any other ?
No, we have no such information. It is granted, that
learned divines, so called, have made very nice calcu-
lations respecting the degrees of divine light and knowl-
edge which were required in order to enable a person
to commit this sin ; but then we must be just enough
to these pious doctors to allow them the whole of the
credit due to such profound researches, for they alone
are entitled to it ; they have had no help from divine
revelation. On the other hand it is our duty to re-

120 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

ceive nothing which they have said on this subject as
the least evidence in the case. Let us took at
the subject candidly. The Pharisees spake against
Jesus, and said, " we know that this man is a sinner."
— Again, they spake against the spirit by which he
wrought miracles, and said : " this fellow doth not
cast out devils but by Beelzebub, the prince of the
devils." Now have we any evidence to believe that
these Pharisees had any more light or divine knowl-
edge when they spake the latter sentence, than when
they spake the former? No, we have no such intima-
tion. Why then, you will ask, might not this sin be
forgiven as easily or as soon as other sins ? We still
continue to reply negatively and say, not because this
sin is greater or more heinous than other sins ; we
have a right to say, because the divine word gives no
authority to the contrary. Furthermore, if the divine
forgiveness flow from the infinite fulness of grace in
God, the supposition that some sins are so small that
they can be forgiven, but that others are so great that
they cannot be forgiven, is a flagrant violation of rea-
son. If some sins are small and others large as they
compare together, it is plain that the small cannot be
infinitely great, and it follows of course that the largest
cannot be infinite if the small bear any proportion to
them. Now if all sin be of the finite character of the
mortal sinner, is it not absurd to pretend that some
sins are too great for the infinite goodness of God to
forgive ? The scripture is plain on this subject. See
Isaiah, i. 18. "Come now, and let us reason together,
saith the Lord : Though your sins be as scarlet, they
shall be as white as snow ; though they be red like
crimson, they shall be as wool." The most natural
sense of this text is, that though the sin of the people
were of the deepest dye, they might be washed away.
How then is it proper to explain our text in a way to
contradict this evident testimony ? The forerunner of
Jesus said of him ; " Behold the Lamb of God that
taketh away the sin of the world." Here is no excep-
tion, no reserve. The beloved disciple says ; " If we
confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us

121

our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. —
The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all
sin." In these passages there is mention made of the
sin of the world, of all sin and of all unrighteousness,
and the power of the blessed Son of God is honored
as being sufficient to overcome the whole, without any
exception.

If the hearer will be careful enough to attend to a
particular method of argument on this subject, we will
endeavor to prove from the divine oracles that it is the
design of the Saviour to cleanse every sinner of the hu-
man race from all sin, not excepting the sin against the
Holy Ghost. If the hearer say, that this argument is
off of our subject, and that what he wishes to know is,
why the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost may not
be forgiven, or why it could not be forgiven as soon as
other sins, he may be told, that the argument propos-
ed is thought to be necessary in order to settle the
question whether the sin against the Holy Ghost is ev-
er to be forgiven according to the scriptures. If we
find that, this sin will eventually be washed away by
the blood of Christ, then our mam question will be to
ascertain why it could not be forgiven " neither in this
world, neither in the world to come."

St. Paul in his 1st Epistle to Timothy lays it down
as an important fact in the great truths of the gospel,
that Jesus, the Mediator between God and men, had
given himself a ransom for all men, to be testified in
due time. To the Ephesians he lays it down as an im-
portant fact, that Christ loved the church and gave
himself for it. By these two passages we have it prov-
ed that all men constitute the church of Christ which
he hath purchased with his own blood. This agrees
also with this Apostle's declaration to the Corinthians ;
'-' I would have you to know, that the head of every
man is Christ." To the Hebrews he says, that Jesus,
by the grace of God tasted death for every man ; and
the beloved John said, that he is the propitiation for
the sins of the whole world. Now it is certain, that if
we can prove any thing from the scriptures, we have
proved, bv the quotations made, that the blessed Sa-
11

122 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

viour of the world gave himself a ransom for those
Pharisees who spoke this blasphemy against the Holy
Ghost that he tasted death for them, and that he was
the propitiation for their sins. All this is undeniably
proved. We ask in the next place, why Jesus gave
himself for the church ? The Apostle answers in the
place quoted from Ephesians as follows ; " That he
might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of wa-
ter by the word ; that he might present it to himself a
glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any
such thing ; but that it should be holy, and without
blemish." The argument amounts to this. Jesus
gave himself for his church, he gave himself a ransom
for those pharisees who spake blasphemy against the
Holy Ghost ; they therefore belong to his church. Je-
sus gave himself for the church, that he might sanctify
and cleanse it by the washing of water by the word.
He therefore gave himself a ransom for these blasphe-
mous pharisees, that he might sanctify and cleanse
them.

To the Romans St. Paul says ; " As by the offence
of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation,
even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came
upon all men unto justification of life." Then sure-
ly by the righteousness of Jesus Christ, the second
Adam, the Lord from heaven, the free gift had came
on those Pharisees who spake against the Holy Ghost,
unto justification of life. In this same Epistle he says ;
" For all have sinned and come short of the glory of
God ; being justified freely by his grace, through the
redemption that is in Christ Jesus." Then it is evi-
dent that all who have sinned and come short of the
glory of God are freely justified, through the redemp-
tion of which the apostle here spake ; and if so, then
those Pharisees, who sinned by blaspheming against
the Holy Ghost were freely justified, &c.

What must be done in this case ? Will the object-
or say, that the testimony of Christ, that those who
blasphemed against the Holy Ghost should not be for-
given " neither in this world, neither in the world to
come," plainly disproves all which St. Paul has said

LECTURES. 123

on. the subject ? But why have we not equal authori-
ty to say, that what has been quoted from St Paul dis-
proves what Jesus said to the Pharisees ? What we
have quoted from the Apostle is much more than what
Jesus said concerning this blasphemy's not being for-
given. Pardon this form of expression ; it is design-
ed to bring the hearer to consider how the testimony
of both Jesus and Paul may be allowed to stand good
as the faithful word of divine truth.

We may now endeavor to give the direct reason
why this blasphemy could not be forgiven as soon as
other sins. If we confine ourselves to the sense of
scripture on this subject we shall find that not only
these Pharisees had a design to answer by speaking
against the spirit by which Jesus cast out devils, but
Gqd himself had also a design to answer by it, and
therefore this sin must remain unwashed away until
the design of our heavenly Father shall be fully an-
swered. Perhaps some will say, that the supposition
that the divine Being had any purpose to answer by
means of this blasphemy is blasphemy itself. But the
speaker feels fully satisfied on this point of doctrine,
(viz.) that no sin can exist a moment longer than it
answers some divine purpose. We may here recol-
lect what wras seen when we treated in our last lecture
on the subject of Joseph and his brethren. Was it
not evidently seen that the partiality of Jacob in favor
of the son of his old age was controlled by divine wis-
dom to answer a good purpose ? Was it not seen that
the envy of the sons of Jacob towards Joseph was
overruled for good ? Was it not seen that the avarice
of those wicked men was made use of by divine Provi-
dence to check the power of anger and to promote a
wise, benevolent object ?

But what object, what purpose of God could possi-
bly be promoted by such abominable blasphemies as
this of which we read in our text ? Answer, the blind-
ness of the house of Israel, the fulfilling of the prophe-
cies concerning Jesus, and the establishment of the
gospel in the world on principles consistent with pro-
phetic testimony. If the religious Jews had believed

124

that Jesus wrought all his miracles by the spirit of God,
they of course would have received him as the Mes-
siah. If they had thus received him they would not
have rejected him, despised him, nor would they have
put him to death. Then surely the testimony of the
prophets would have proved false, and the scriptures
written by holy men of God moved by the Holy
Ghost could never have gained credit among the Gen-
tiles.

As the astonishing miracles wrought by the hand of
Jesus were designed by heaven as proper evidence o*
his Messiahship, the blasphemy of imputing these lun-
acies to the power of an evil agent was the only sin
that could prevent the religious Jews from believing in
Christ. That this unbelief of the Jews was necessary
for the fulfilment of the prophecies we are certified by
the following scriptures. St. John, 12. " But though
he had done so many miracles before them, yet they
believed not on him : that the saying of Esaias the
prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who
hath believed our report ? and to whom hath the arm
of the Lord been revealed ? Therefore they could not
believe, because that Esaias said again, he hath blind-
ed their eyes, and hardened their heart, that they
should not see with their eyes nor understand with
their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them."
Romans, 11. " For as ye in times past have not believ-
ed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their
unbelief: even so have these also now not believed,
that through your mercy they also may obtain mer-
cy." In the passage quoted from St. John we find
it plainly stated that the unbelief of the Jews was ne-
cessary for the fulfilment of the prophecy of Esaias ;
and furthermore it is stated that in consequence of
what God had done, " they could not believe." By
the passage quoted from Romans we learn the spe-
cial utility of the Jews' unbelief; it was that through it
the Gentiles might obtain mercy. As the Jews' unbe-
lief led them to fulfil the prophecies, concerning the
Messiah, so their unbelief presented to the Gentiles the
proper evidence of the divinity of the scriptures of the

125

prophets, and of the mission of Jesus. Here then, we
may say, we have proved that our heavenly Father
has plainly revealed in his word, that he had a divine
purpose to answer by means of the Jews' unbelief,
which was to communicate his grace to the Gentiles.
This being granted, or rather proved, it must follow of
course that when this unbelief or blasphemy has effect-
ed all which God designed by it, the merciful Father
of our spirits will use means to remove it from the
house of Israel ; and therefore it is said, as quoted
from Romans, 11 ; " Even so have these also now not
believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain
mercy." As the unbelief of the Jews was the means
of communicating mercy to the Gentiles, so in return,
the mercy which the Gentiles have by such means ob-
tained will finally be communicated to the Jews. We
read again in this chapter the following : " For I would
not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mys-
tery, that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until
the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all
Israel shall be saved : as it is written, there shall come
out of Sion the deliverer, and shall turn away ungodli-
ness from Jacob." When the fulness of the Gentiles
shall be converted to Christ, then the blasphemy of
the Jews will have answered the purpose for which
God designed it, and then the deliverer of Israel will
be sent out of Sion and will turn away this ungodli-
ness from Jacob.

The hearer can scarcely avoid seeing that all these
things are made plain by the testimony of divine in-
spiration ; but many find a very great difficulty in sub-
mitting to the idea that the divine Being ever intended
to answer any purpose by means of man's transgres-
sion. Yet in the case of Joseph's brethren, it is fully
evident, that God made use of their wickedness to
promote their brother to great power, and to give
him an opportunity of rewarding them good for their
evil towards him. So, also, the wickedness of the
Jews, their hatred towards the blessed Jesus, and
their blasphemy against the spirit by which his mira-
cles were wrought, all served and still serve to bring
11 *

126 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

the object of their envy before the world of the Gen-
tiles as the glorious Messiah promised in the law and
in the prophets, and to establish the doctrine of God's
everlasting love to sinners on a foundation that can
never be shaken. And to crown the whole of this di-
vine plan with glory and complete success, after this
wickedness of the Jews shall have produced the effects
before noticed, the blessed Redeemer, will then, like
Joseph, make himself known unto his brethren the
Jews, saying, as he did to one of them, " I am Jesus
of Nazareth whom thou persecutest." It is worthy of
notice that Joseph's brethren, by means of their hatred
to him, gave a saviour to the land of Egypt and to
many other countries ; and also, that thousands of
Egyptians rejoiced in this most gracious saviour before
his own dear brethren were brought to know him, or
to partake of his bounty. So the Jews, by rejecting
their Messiah, gave a glorious Saviour to the Gentiles
who rejoice in knowing him and in feasting on his
grace, while the Jews who gave him to us are weeping,
wailing and gnashing their teeth. But thanks be to God,
our Blessed Saviour knows his brethren, his bowels
yearn upon them, he has stores of corn for their relief,
soon will the burst of joy be heard through all the
Gentile church, of Jesus' making himself known to
his brethren. When the Saviour wept over Jerusalem,
he closed his lamentation with these memorable words ;
'■ Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I
say unto you, ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye
shall say, blessed is he that cometh in the name of the
Lord."

We may now inquire for the meaning of the follow-
ing words in our text ; " neither in this world, neither
in the world to come." The word world means age
or dispensation. Jesus spake these words under the
law, during the continuance of the legal priesthood.
" This world" referred to the then present order of
things, and " the ivorld to come" to the age in which
the Gentiles would be visited with the gospel, and the
Jews excluded. That this is a definition of the word
world which is according to scripture, the hearer may

127

satisfy himself by attending to the following passages*
In the 24th of Matthew, the disciples of Jesus asked
him when the end of the world was to come ; and in
his reply he represented to them the destruction of Jeru-
salem as the end of the world, and told them it would
take place in that generation. St. Paul in his Epistle
to the Hebrews says, of Christ ; " But now once in
the end of the world, hath he appeared, to put away
sin by the sacrifice of himself." Other passages to
the same effect may also be consulted at the hearer's
leisure.

It is true that some who believe that this sin against
the Holy Ghost will finally be forgiven, carry its pun-
ishment into a future world, meaning thereby a future
state of existence. But as they, after all, are under
the necessity of understanding the word world as we
have explained it, that is, to mean a dispensation, it
seems unnecessary to carry this sin into a future state
beyond our mortal existence. And more especially
does this appear unnecessary, because all the benefit
which it appears was designed to be effected by the
unbelief of the Jews, seems evidently to appertain to
this state of being. If it can be made to appear that
God has some good end to answer, by having this sin,
or any other exist in a future world, we shall cordially
subscribe to such a belief ; but to suppose that the Al-
mighty will perpetuate any sin in a future state only
for the sake of tormenting his dependant offspring is
dishonorable to his ever blessed and gracious name. —
The opinion that the divine Being exercises a disposi-
tion of revenge towards man for sin, as a man who
has received an injury from his neighbor is influenced
thereby to injure him in return, is totally contrary to
the religion of Jesus, and is altogether degrading both
to God and man. The Father of our spirits, always
exercises one invariable disposition towards all his crea-
tures ; this disposition is love. It was love that moved
God to overrule circumstances so as to send Joseph
into Egypt by means of his brethren's envy, and
these brethren were the objects of this love, and they
finalty enjoyed its blessed fruits. The same love mov

128 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

ed our Father in heaven so to overrule circumstances
as to bring Jesus to the cross by means of the blasphe-
my mentioned in our text, and it is evidently the re-
vealed determination of God, that the blasphemous
Jews shall richly share of the divine grace which they
have been the means of manifesting to the world.
God is good, and his intentions are good when he per-
mits the evil passions of man to lead him into sin ; he
is good, and his intentions are all compassionate and
kind when he brings on his erring children the most
severe of his chastisements ; and he is also good in
finally producing the peaceable fruits of righteousness
in those whom he causes to feel his rod.

After having presented the hearer with what ap-
pears to be the true design of the text under consider-
ation, it may be profitable to look at the common opin-
ion on the subject and see if it have the resemblance
of the spirit of Christ. The common opinion of our
text is this ; the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost is
a sin too great ever to be forgiven, and therefore the
blasphemer must be punished in a most awful state of
torment eternally ; or as long as God exists. But let
us ask, why is this sin so great ? Why may it not be
forgiven ? Why should the Almighty become unkind
to his children because they have committed this sin ?
Is the Almighty injured by this sin ? No, God cannot
be injured by his creatures. Was Jesus injured as
much by this blasphemy as the common doctrine sup-
poses those will be injured who committed it ? No, it
is allowed that Jesus rests in glory in heaven. Then
the law that requires an eye for an eye does not require
that the blasphemer should be punished world without
end. But suppose the most awful punishment be inflict-
ed to all eternity on those blasphemers, is this exactly
according to the spirit of Jesus, who on the cross, pray-
ed ; " Father forgive them, for they know not what
they do?" Jesus commanded his disciples to love
their enemies, to pray for those that used them spite-
fully and persecuted them; is it according to this spirit
and disposition, that he will torment his enemies eter-
nally in the merciless flames of fire and brimstone ? If

139

it be safe to believe, that Jesus will always possess and
exercise the same spirit of love and compassion, which
so distinctly marked the character which he exhibited
in the days of his flesh, we certainly have no more rea-
son to believe that he will consign the blasphemous Jews
to never ending torment, than we have to believe that
eveiy tender, fond mother in America will, at the ex-
piration of a short given time, commit her tenderest
offspring to the flames. Let those who contend for
the common unmerciful doctrine, to the support of
which the text under consideration is usually applied,
duly consider the words of Jesus, to those of his disci-
ples, who manifested a disposition to command fire
from heaven on the inhabitants of a village of Samaria ;
" Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of; the
Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives but to
save them."

The enemy of the spirit of God and of truth will say
in reply to the foregoing arguments, if these things are
all so, we may sin with impunity and blaspheme with-
out fear ; we may hate God, disregard his command-
ments, give no heed to the gospel and abuse the Sa-
viour. Though we hope that none present are so
blind, so hard hearted, so dead to the spirit of truth as
to make these suggestions, yet it may be serviceable
to guard against such insinuations, as we know the op-
posers of divine truth are continually making use of
them against the doctrine of divine love. Come, then,
and let. us reason together on this subject. Are you
willing to step forth boldly and say to the world, that
the more you believe in the goodness of God, the more
you feel disposed to hate and disobey him ? The
more confident you are that the Saviour is your un-
changeable friend, the more you feel disposed to abuse
him ? No, there is neither male nor female in the
world so morally deranged as to talk in this way.
How then will ie opposer argue ? He will say that
it is his opinion that the doctrine contended for in this
discourse is of dangerous tendency. But who does it
dangerously influence ? Certainly not the believer of
it, for a belief in the divine goodness tends to fill the

130 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

believer with love to God, and love to God is that
alone which can- lead us to obey him. Who, then,
does this doctrine affect so dangerously ? If any, it
must be the unbeliever, the opposer. Here we must
allow the argument, in a sense, for the preaching of
Jesus himself tended to enrage his enemies, his mira-
cles of mercy tended to open their mouths in blasphe-
my. But would it. have been better not to preach the
truth because it stirred up the opposition ? Would it
have been better not to cast out devils because if he cast
them out the Pharisees would blaspheme and say, that
" this fellow doth not cast out devils but by Beelzebub,
the prince of the devils ?"

The opposer will say, perhaps, that he means this ;
if we believe in so much goodness it will tend to make
us worse. But this is absurd ; for every thing tends to
its own, goodness to goodness, evil to evil, love to love,
hatred to hatred, harmony to harmony, discord to
discord, friendship to friendship, enmity to enmity.

But, says the objector, according to this doctrine
there is no punishment for sin, no, not even for this
awful blasphemy. Here again is a mistake. For
nearly eighteen hundred years the Jews, the descend-
ants of him to whom the promise of the gospel was
made, have wandered in " outer darkness," in conse-
quence of this blasphemy, and how much longer they
will continue in this unhappy situation none but our
merciful Father in heaven knows. But the objector
will say that these arguments do not suppose that the
Pharisees who blasphemed in the days of Jesus on
earth are now burning in fire and brimstone for that
sin in the immortal world. No, we see no evidence
of this. If people are possessed with devils in the
eternal world, and if Jesus cast out devils in that
world, and these old Pharisees there in that world
believe and say that he casts out devils by Beelzebub
the prince of the devils, then it is graited, that in the
eternal world they must be punished for such unrea-
sonable folly.

But, my brethren, let us learn wisdom by the en-
samples furnished in the word of God, and remem-

BALLOU'S LECTURES. 131

ber that now Is the accepted time, now is the day
of salvation ; and that none but the willing and obe
dient eat the good of the land.

LECTURE X.

THE SCRIPTURE DOCTRINE OF ELECTION.
ROMANS, xi. 7.

What then 1 Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the
election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded.

The design in view which has led to the choice of
this portion of divine truth, as a subject of our present
lecture, is to investigate the scripture doctrine of elec-
tion, to show the strict sovereignty, of God in elect-
ing some and binding others, the righteousness of God
in the exercise of his sovereignty, and to disprove
the common doctrine of election which supposes, that
our heavenly Father, from eternity, elected some to
everlasting life, and predestinated others to a state ot
endless misery.

Our subject is one in which every christian must
feel deeply interested, as it essentially concerns the
divine character, his revealed will concerning the final
state of mankind, together with the ultimate object ol
the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is therefore hoped that
due attention and impartial candor will contribute to
their utmost to a correct understanding of the weighty
subject under consideration.

By " the election" in our text the Apostle means a
remnant of the house of Israel, who had obtained what
the whole had sought for, but of which the greatest
part had come short, being blinded. In the preceding
chapters the Author had spoken of the failure of the
house of Israel in their endeavors to attain to the law
of righteousness, and of the more favorable condition
of the Gentiles, who though they did not follow after
righteousness, yet had " attained to righteousness, even

BALLOU'S LECTURES. 133

the righteousness which is of faith." To the Gentiles
he applies a prophesy of Esaias as follows ; " I was
found of them that sought me not ; 1 was made man-
ifest to them that asked not after me." But concern-
ing the house of Israel he uses the following words :
" But to Israel he saith, all day long, I have stretched
forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying
people." In the commencement of this chapter his
attention seems to be directed to make it appear that,
notwithstanding all which he had said, God had by no
means, cast away the whole of his people, the Jews.
The following is his reasoning on the subject : " I say
then, hath God cast away his people ? God forbid.
For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of
the tribe of -Benjamin. God hath not cast away his peo-
ple which he foreknew. Wot ye not what the scrip-
ture saith of Elias, how he maketh intercession to God
against Israel, saying, Lord, they have killed thy pro-
phets, and digged down thine altars ; and I am left
alone and they seek my life ? But what saith the an-
swer of God unto him ? I have reserved to myself
seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee
to the image of Baal. Even so then, at this present
time also there is a remnant according to the election
of grace." That is, as in the days of Elijah it pleased
God to reserve seven thousand of the Israelites to be
true worshippers of himself, while the rest bowed the
knee to Baal, so now, while the general mass of the
stock of Abraham are blinded, have stumbled at the
stumbling stone laid in Sion, and are broken off through
unbelief, there is a remnant still preserved, who. have
escaped the general calamity, and have by grace ob-
tained what the others sought for but found not ; of
this remnant, the Apostle reckons himself as one.

The hearer is now called on to direct his attention
to understand, that this election was not made with
the least reference to the works of the chosen. This
the Apostle is careful to notice in a most plain and
positive manner. See his observation in the 6th verse.
" And if by grace, then it is no more of works ; other-
wise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works,
12

134 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

then is it no more grace ; otherwise work is no more
work." This argument supposes that if this election
had been according to works, grace would have been
entirely excluded ; but as it was by grace, works were
excluded. In the 9th chapter the author in describ-
ing the sovereignty of God in the election of Jacob in
preference to Esau, says ; " For the children being not
yet born ; neither having done any good or evil, that
the purpose of God, according to election might stand
not of works, bwt of him that calleth." And in fur-
ther arguing on this subject he adds ; " For he saith to
Moses, I will have mercy, on whom I will have mer-
cy, and I will have compassion on v% horn I will have
compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor
of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.
For the scriptures saith unto Pharaoh, even for this
same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew
my power in thee, and that my name might be declared
throughout all the earth. Therefore hath he mercy
on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he
hardeneth." To confirm his divine sovereignty still
further the inspired Apostle adds the following signi-
ficant query ; " Hath not the potter power over the
clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto hon-
or, and another unto dishonor ? What if God, willing
to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, en-
dured with much long suffering the vessels of wrath
fitted to destruction ; and that he might make known
the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which
he had afore prepared unto glory, even us, whom he
hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gen-
tiles ?"

Not only does the Apostle labour to show that the
remnant of the house of Israel, which he calls the elec-
tion, were elected according to the strict sovereignty
of God and called by the riches of sovereign grace,
and made vessels of mercy according to the same un-
conditional grace of God, but he also directs his
argument to prove that the blindness of the Jews
in general, their hardness of heart, &c, was ef-
fected also by the sovereign will and pleasure of God,

135

" According as it is written, God hath given them the
spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and
ears that they should not hear. And David saith, let
their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stum-
blingblock, and a recompence unto them: let their
eye's be darkened, that they may not see, and bow
down their back alvvay." On the same subject we
read in the prophecy of Isaiah as follows ; " And he
said, go, and tell this people, hear ye indeed, but un-
derstand not ; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.
Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears
heavy, and shut their eyes ; lest they see with their
eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with
their heart, and convert and be healed." And that
this work of hardening and blinding the house of Israel
was effectually done we have the assurance in the 12th
chapter of the gospel of St. John : " But though he
had done so many miracles before them, yet they be-
lieved not on him : that the saying of Esaias the pro-
phet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who
hath believed our report ? and to whom hath the arm
of the Lord been revealed ? Therefore they could not
believe, because that Esaias said again, he hath blind-
ed their eyes, and hardened their heart, that they
should not see with their eyes, nor understand with
their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.
These things said Esaias when he saw his glory and
spake of him. " In this passage it is stated that " they
could not believe." It is therefore evident that they
were effectually blinded, and to all intents hardened
so that to believe in Jesus was not in their power. It
appears furthermore, that the Saviour himself regarded
this blindness of the Jews with peculiar caution, and
delivered his doctrine in parables on purpose that they
might not understand. Of this we are informed in
Matthew 13th — " And the disciples came, and said
unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables ?
He answered and said unto them, because it is given
unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of
heaven, but to them it is not given." And because
God saw fit to hide the things of the kingdom of his

136 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

grace from the Jews, Jesus expressed his thanks to the
Father as recorded in Matthew 11th — "at that time
Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father,
Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these
things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed
them unto babes. Even so, Father ; for so it seemed

food in thy sight." The reason here given why the
'ather had hidden these things from the Jews was that
it seemed good in his sight, so to do.

Let us attend, in the next place, to see if we can
learn from the divine testimony, the special good
which was brought about by the exercise of the divine
sovereignty in the instances which have been noticed.
This is a subject of vast concern, for the sentiment we
embrace respecting it directly affects the moral charac-
ter of the divine Being: If we consent to the opinion,
that the elect which we have noticed are elected unto
eternal life, to enjoy endless felicity, while those wTho
are not of the elect are predestinated to everlasting de-
struction in the future, eternal world, we thereby
charge God with partiality ; and it is utterly in vain
to attempt to clear the divine Being of this partiality
while we admit such a sentiment. It is true, our chris-
tian doctors have contended, that some were elected
from all eternity unto eternal life, and the rest of man-
kind were reprobated to endless misery for the glory
of God ; and they are therefore unwilling to allow that
there is any partiality in God in thus disposing of his
creatures for his own glory. But if we allow ourselves
to be more particular on this subject, is it not evident
according to this sentiment that the glory of God re-
quires him to be good and merciful to some men, but
utterly unmerciful to others ? As this must be grant-
ed, it follows of necessary consequence, that the glory
of God requires him to be partial. Nor does it alter
the case in the least to say, that the greatest possible
good of the whole, requires the endless misery of some;
for this amounts to the same thing, viz. the greatest
possible good of the whole consists in partial goodness,
which is an absurdity. If we are able to find out
what it is that the righteousness of God, according to

137

the purpose of election, consists in, it must be some-
thing that accords with our views of moral righteous-
ness ; for nothing can be more evident than that we
can see no righteousness in that which is contrary to
all our sense of right. For instance, should an earthly
parent choose three children out of nine to partake of
all the favors which he could possibly bestow from his
ample wealth, and destine the remaining six to the most
severe wretchedness that could possibly be endured,
and all this should be directed by the sovereign will of
the parent without any regard to the conduct of the
children, we should be under the necessity of pro-
nouncing this conduct partial and unrighteous. If this
parent should inform us, that he did this for the pro-
motion of his glory as a parent, it would answer no
purpose, as to giving the least satisfaction that his con-
duct was right. Or if he should inform us that he act-
ed, in all this, for the good of the whole, and that the
greatest good of the whole required the utter ruin and
destruction of two thirds ; this would reflect no light
on the subject. But if the parent of nine children
had a piece of work to perform which was indispensa-
ble for the richest benefit of all his offspring, and that
in order to effect this object it was necessary for some,
two, or three, to know certain things relative to his
plan, and equally necessary for the rest to be ignorant
of those things which were revealed to the few, there
is no difficulty in seeing the impartiality of the parent
in making known to certain individuals what he care-
fully kept from the rest. And even should he use
means to blind his children in this cnse it would be
perfectly consistent with his grand object, and consist-
ent with impartial goodness.

Christian hearer, suppose yourself one of the chil-
dren, who was enlightened into the mysteries of this
scheme which was wisely planned for the best good of
yourself and of the whole family ; suppose too that
you sincerely loved all your family, and could clearly
see how all were to be benefitted by the blindness, or
ignorance of those who were unenlightened, would
it not be perfectly natural for you to thank your father
1-2*

138 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

for hiding those mysteries from them, and revealing
them to yon ? With these enlightened views, and in
the exercise of impartial love towards those who were
in darkness should you not be willing to suffer any re-
proach from them which, on account of their necessary
ignorance, they might heap upon you ? And would
you not esteem the knowledge of the truth for which
you might suffer sufficient to countervail all your suf-
ferings ? Sometimes would you not feel such ardent
desires towards your deceived brethren as would lead
you to wish yourself in their ignorance, if thereby
they might be permitted to see what you were bless-
ed with seeing, and hear that which you rejoiced to
hear ?

Dearly beloved hearer, your humble servant feels
perfectly satisfied that this is the true spirit and light
of the wisdom of God ; he enjoys a full persuasion that
the elections of God recorded in the scriptures are all
established on this eternal principle of impartial good-
ness, and that every elected, enlightened child of God
is exercised with this spirit of love and pity for those
who are in unbelief.

That those, of whom the Apostle spake in our text
as not obtaining what they sought for, but were blind-
ed, were the subjects of the divine favor, that their
blindness was necessary for the benefit of the world,
and that they were designed, in the wisdom of God, to
be partakers of the benefits arising to the world from
their blindness and fall, the Apostle fully proves in the
chapter where our text is written, as we shall now pro-
ceed to show.

Let us notice the text and what follows ; " What
then ? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh
for ; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest
were blinded (according as it is written, God hath
given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should
not see, and ears that they should not hear) unto this
day. And David saith, let their table befriade a snare,
and a trap, and a stumblingblock, and a recompence
unto them : let their eyes be darkened, that they may
not see, and bow down their back alway." Here let

139

us pause. — Here let us ask, does divine revelation
close this subject in this place? Does it afford no
hope that these blinded, fallen sons of Israel, who
stumbled at the stumbling stone laid in Zion will final-
ly be received to favor ? Are the inexorable doors of
eternal mercy shut against them by an unalterable de-
cree of the God of their fathers ? If all this were true
then would the doctrine of election and reprobation, as
has been held in the christian church for ages be true
also ; but hark ! What does the inspired apostle say
further on this subject and concerning them who were
blinded and had stumbled ? " I say then, have they
stumbled that they should fall ? God forbid : but rath-
er through their fall salvation is come unto the Gen-
tiles, for to provoke them to jealousy. Now, if the fall
of them, be the riches of the world, and the diminish-
ing of them, the riches of the Gentiles ; how much
more their fulness ? For if the casting away of them
be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiv-
ing of them be but life from the dead. — For if thou
wert cut out of the olive-tree, which is wild by nature
and wert grafted contrary to nature into a good olive-
tree, how much more shall they, which be the natural
branches be grafted into their own olive-tree ? For I
would not brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this
mystery (lest ye should be wise in your own conceit,)
that blindness in part is happened to Israel until the ful-
ness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall
be saved ; as it is written, there shall come out of Sion
the deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Ja-
cob. For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall
take away their sins. As concerning the gospel, they
are enemies for your sakes : but as touching the elec-
tion, they are beloved for the fathers' sake. For the
gifts and calling of God, are without repentance. For
as ye in times past, have not believed God, yet have
now obtained mercy through their unbelief; even so
have these also now not believed, that through your
mercy they also may obtain mercy. For God hath
concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have
mercy upon all !" On such luminous testimony as

140 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

this, comment is needless. With less blindness than
that which happened to Israel, no one can avoid see-
ing that it was the design of the inspired author to
prove that the Jews' blindness was advantageous to
the gentile world, and that they would eventually be
the happy partakers of that grace which was revealed
to the Gentiles by means of their blindness. The
hearer will carefully observe the connexion between
this subject and the one treated of in our last lecture,
and examine the whole of this chapter on the moment-
ous subject of this inquiry by which he may see the
glorious light which caused the Apostle to exclaim ;
" O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and
the knowledge of God ! How unsearchable are his
judgments, and his ways past finding out !"

By the Calvinistic doctrine of election we have been
taught to believe, that the remnant according to the
election of grace, of which the Apostle speaks in our
context, "the election,' of which he speaks in our text
were all that were the beloved objects of divine mercy
of the whole house of Israel ; and that they who were
blinded, were predestinated from eternity to endless
darkness and misery. But by the evident sense of the
divine testimony on this subject we have ample evi-
dence to believe, what has been so fully proved, that
" all Israel shall be saved." Those blinded Jews were
the objects of the Saviour's grace as much as those
who were chosen to receive and preserve the know-
ledge of him. They were those of the family, who, it
was necessary should be ignorant of the truth which
was revealed to others of the same family for the ben-
efit of all. Our blessed Saviour manifested towards
those blinded Jews, the most tender, affectionate re-
gard. His pity for them melted him into tears, lie
wept over them with as much tenderness as Joseph
wept over his brethren.

St. Paul was one of the family who was for some
time blinded ; during which time he was active in as-
sisting his brethren who also were blind, in prosecut-
ing their persecutions against the enlightened disciples
of Jesus. He was afterward himself, brought to know

141

the truth, to understand the mystery of the wis-
dom and goodness of God in blinding the Jews,
and he ever seemed to be exercised with a spirit and
disposition of compassion for his brethren according to
the flesh. ' ■

In the beginning of the 10th chapter of this epistle
he expresses himself as follows ; " Brethren, my heart's
desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they
might be saved." In the beginning of the 9th chap-
ter he has the following indication of most fervent be-
nevolence ; " I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my
conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost,
that I have great heaviness and continual sorrow of
heart. For I could wish that myself were accursed,
from Christ, for my brethren, my kinsmen according
to the flesh." Christian hearer, when you were asked,
on supposition you were one of the family that was en-
lightened in certain matters concerning which your
brethren were in the dark, if you might not feel will-
ing to exchange circumstances with the unenlightened,
did you not feel an assent to the question ? And does
it not seem that this was the exact case of the Apos-
tle ? He knew that he was chosen of God, enlight-
ened by the Saviour, made a vessel of mercy, and or-
dained to the work of the ministry for no good that he
nad done. It was not possible, therefore, that with all
this knowledge, he could feel unmerciful towards his
brethren, who remained exactly in the situation from
which the grace of God had taken him. It was there-
fore, with unspeakable satisfaction, that he anticipated
the happy event of the turning away of ungodliness
from Jacob, and the salvation of all Israel.

Brethren, though a regret is felt that better justice
has not been done to the weighty subject under con-
sideration, yet a hope is entertained that you clearly
see, that the blindness of those Jews who were not of
the elect spoken of in our text, was designed for the
benefit of the Gentile world ; and that when their
blindness shall have effected all for which it was de-
signed in the wisdom of God, it will be removed, and
the blinded will be saved in Sion's deliverer. And fur-

142 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

thermore, that the elected ones were chosen, not for
their benefit alone, but for the good likewise of those
who were not elected.

We may now look for a moment, and see if this doc-
trine of election agrees with the scriptures generally
and with reason. The doctrine of election according
to the views we have taken of it, supposes that those
who are elected, are elected for the benefit of those
who are not elected. The prophet Isaiah in the 42d
chapter speaks of an elect of God as follows ; ' Be-
hold my servant, whom I uphold ; mine elect, in whom
my soul delighteth : I have put my Spirit upon him ;

he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. 1

the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will
hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for
a covenant of the people for a light of the Gentiles ;
to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from
the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the
prison-house." This elect of God is the Lord Jesus,
the Saviour of the world, of whom the Apostle John
says ; " we have seen and do testify that the Father
sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world." This
elect of God is the One Mediator between God and
men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ran-
som for all to be testified in due time." Thus it is
evident that this elect was designed for the benefit of
the whole world.

The Saviour also himself had an elect. He chose
his Apostles and ordained them to preach his grace
and salvation to the whole world. " Go ye into all
the world and preach the gospel to every creature."
This elect therefore, was for the benefit of the whole
world.

Being one of the elect, and having received a dis-
pensation of the gospel of reconciliation, St. Paul said
to the Romans, "I am a debtor both to the Greeks
and to the Barbarians, both to the wise and to the un-
wise." Here we see that what the world lacked, the
Apostles of Jesus had for it, what the wise and the un-
wise lacked St. Paul had for them. The Apostles were
not chosen to be the exclusive pai takers, of the grace

143

which they received, but were commanded by the di-
vine Master to bestow as freely on others, as they had
received. It seems a fair conclusion from the facts
noticed, that the grace of God which is specially com-
municated to his elect is ultimately designed as much
for those who are not elected as for those who are.

This doctrine is perfectly consistent with the dictates
of reason and is analogous with the prudent manage-
ment of civil community.

In all societies a few are elected for the benefit of
the whole. They are never chosen to monopolize all
the blessings of society to themselves, but to make as
equal a distribution of burdens and favors, of expenses
and profits as possible. Look at the elected officers
of the town ; they see for the blind, they hear for the
deaf, they walk for the lame, they have wealth for the
poor, they provide for those who cannot provide for
themselves. Notice every officer in the general gov-
ernment of our country, up to the presidency ; men
are elected to fill all these places, not for their ex-
clusive benefit, but for the good of the whole union.

Let us ask, where in the vast creation, did the wis-
dom of this world iind the Calvinistic doctrine of elec-
tion and reprobation ? Does the sun shine to light
himself alone? Are his fervid beams designed to
warm his own bosom only ? And in the mild rays of
the queen of night does she alone rejoice ? Do winds
blow to refresh themselves ? Are rivers designed for
their own benefit? What element, what vegetable,
what animal exists for itself only ?

"All are but parts of one stupendous whole,
Whose body nature is, and God the soul."

To conclude. Let us duly notice the morallenden-
cy of divine truth, as seen in the subject under con-
sideration. God is good to all, his tender mercies are
over all his works. This truth demands of every ra-
tional being the exercise of that diffusive benevolence
which embraces the whole creation. Those whom
God chooses to enlighten by his grace, while others
are blinded, are appointed to administer the riches of

144

the manifold wisdom and goodness of God to such as
lack the knowledge of his ways. The spirit of Christ
is love to enemies, his grace is the salvation of sinners ;
if therefore, we partake of his spirit and enjoy his grace
we shall be led thereby to love our enemies and to ad-
minister saving grace to those who walk in sin. Is it
not a fact that limited views of the goodness of God
have limited the charity of those who had them ? and
have not those opinions, which maintain that the Fath-
er of our spirits will execute unspeakable vengeance
on a large proportion of the human family eternally, ef-
fectually hardened the hearts of* those who have been
led by them, and rendered them in too many instan-
ces, unreasonable enthusiasts and violent persecu-
tors of those who have not conformed to their super-
stitions ?

Not only does the impartial grace which we have
seen in the doctrine of election lead us to love all men,
and to do good to all men, but it shows us that we are
no better than those who are blind respecting this di-
vine and glorious system of truth. This doctrine nat-
urally leads the believer to pity the blindness of those
who do not see ; but it gives the consoling anticipa-
tion of the final reconciliation of all things through
Jesus Christ our Lord. It fills the heart with grati-
tude to God, who so wisely planned and so gracious-
ly designed the blindness of the house of Israel, that
thereby salvation might come unto the Gentiles ; and
has so ordained in his impartial goodness, that the
blinded Jews shall eventually obtain the mercy now
enjoyed by the Gentiles. Thus of the twain, the wis-
dom of God makes one new man, so making peace.
Therefore we read ; " Rejoice ye Gentiles with his
people. .. And again, praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles ;
and laud him all ye people."

LECTURE XL

GOD RECONCILING THE WORLD UNTO HIMSELF, THROUGH
CHRIST.

II. CORINTHIANS, v. 18, 19, 20.

And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus
Chr st, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; to wit, that God
was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their tres-
passes unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you
by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.

It is a peculiar and distinguishing characteristic of
the gospel dispensation, that it exhibits a new order of
things, brings the glad tidings of better things than
were before understood, sheds a clearer light on men-
tal vision than was before enjoyed, makes a brighter
manifestation of the gracious designs of the wisdom of
God than was made by the legal dispensation, and
creates new views, new desires, and new affections of
heart. The gospel of God our Saviour, contemplates
the world of mankind as being in a state of death, from
which state its divine efficacies were designed to quick-
en man into newness of life by the spirit of truth.
These suggestions seem to be embraced by the Apos-
tle in our context where he says ; " The love of Christ
constraineth us, because we thus judge, that if one died
for all, then were all dead : and that he died for all,
that they which live should not henceforth live
unto themselves, but unto him which died for them,
and rose again. Wherefore, henceforth know we no
man after the flesh ; yea, though we have known
Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we
him no more. Therefore, if any man be in Christ he
is a new creature : old things are passed away ; behold,
all things are become new."
13

146 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

Applied to the Jewish converts, these words of the
Apostle are designed to notice the passing away of the
legal dispensation with all its rites, and the introduction
of the better covenant and more excellent ministry of the
gospel ; and as they apply to Gentile believers they re-
regard the total overthrow of all the idols and idol
worship among the heathen, and their reformation to
the knowledge, laws and ordinances of the gospel of
Christ.

To these neiv things the Apostle alludes in our text,
and says ; " all things are of God, who hath reconciled
us unto himself," &c.

The first particular subject of our text is what is em-
braced in the reconciliation of the ambassadors of
Christ to God. Concerning this subject the Apostle's
testimony makes the following things evident. 1st.
That they had been in a state of unreconciliation. 2.
That the whole process, from the beginning to the end
of the work of their reconciliation was of God. 3d.
That this work fvas effected by Jesus Christ. Per-
haps no man was ever more unreconciled to God, to
Christ, or to the gospel than the author of our text had
been ; and it was well known to him that he was not
the author of those means by which he became recon-
ciled. He well knew that the knowledge of Jesus, in
the excellency of which he afterward so much rejoiced
wTas by no means the object of his enquiry or pursuit at
the time and on the occasion to which he refers when
giving an account of his miraculous conversion to
Christianity. He often adverted to his views, his de-
signs, and to his conduct while opposed to the gospel,
but in no instance did he give any intimation that he
obtained the grace of the Saviour in consequence of
his own faithful exertions. Similar remarks may just-
ly be made respecting the Apostles who were chosen
by our divine Redeemer during his personal ministry.
Some he called from a lucrative office under the Ro-
man government, others from the laborious employ-
ment of fishermen ; but it is evident that the Saviour
made his own selections without regard to the wisdom
or will of his chosen, for he informed them as follows ;

LECTURES. 147

" Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, that
you should go and bring forth fruit." Indeed there is
an evident absurdity in the supposition that God re-
conciles any to himself on account of their good works,
for those who are obedient unto righteousness are not
unreconciled to God. For want of making proper
distinctions between causes and effects, many well
meaning and pious people have maintained that the
divine favor is to be obtained by the penitence, faith,
and good works of men not discerning clearly, that re-
pentance, faith and good works are the effects and not
the causes of the favor of God. Let us here indulge
a simile. A number of children, at that age when
passions and fancy are vastly more powerful than rea-
son and solid judgment, leave the paternal mansion,
disgusted at the rules of prudence, industry and econ-
omy established in the domestic circle, in quest of fan-
cied pleasures in the indulgence of those passions
which grow restless under restraint. The race is
short ; they soon fall into wretchedness and want, but
do not yet understand their errors. To save them
from this sad condition the still affectionate father un-
dertakes to make such communications to them as
may convince them of the propriety of his laws, the
indispensable necessity of his prudence and econ-
omy for the good of his family, and to reconcile
them to himself. The means which the father uses
for the purpose mentioned are so wisely planned,
and so well executed that they eventuate in effecting
the deserved object. The children become convinced
of the excellency of those laws and regulations at which
they were so much offended, they see the madness
and folly of their wicked indulgences, sorrow of heart
and sincere repentance are effectually wrought in
them, and they finally return to their gracious parent
and devote themselves to his service, which is now no
longer grievous, but joyous. Would it be at all reason-
able for these reformed children to believe that their
repentance and return to their parent were means
which obtained the love and good will of their father ?
Surely it would be most unreasonable, for it is evident

148

that the children's repentance and return were the ef-
fects and not the causes of the parental kindness. In
the enjoyment of all the blessings of their father's
house,, and with a clear understanding concerning all
these circumstances, might they not say with great pro-
priety, All things are of our wise and most merci-
ful Father, who hath reconciled us unto himself.

Let us, in the next place, lend our attention to the
consideration of these words in our text; "and hath
given to us the ministry of reconciliation." By these
words we learn that the same ministry, by which the
ambassadors of Christ were reconciled to God, was
given to them for the purpose of reconciling others ;
by which the following facts are clearly suggested.
1st. That mankind at large, to whom the Apostles
were directed to preach the gospel, were in the same
state of unreconciliation in which these ambassadors
of Christ had been, and from which the ministry of di-
vine grace had reclaimed them. 2. That the same di-
vine favor, by which these ambassadors were recon-
ciled to God, is treasured up in the gospel ministry
for those who remain unreconciled ; and 3d. That
the ambassadors of Christ have nothing to administer
to the unbelieving and unreconciled but such as has
been administered to them, by which they became recon-
ciled to God. These facts are evidently embraced in
this part of our subject and deserve a careful attention.
By losing sight of these things, the minister of the
word is exposed to corrupt it, and in room of adminis-
tering the pure gospel of reconciliation, as it has been
communicated to himself, he may imagine himself au-
thorised to deal with others in a very different manner
from that in which the divine favor was administered
to him.

Without any design to trouble the feelings of those
who entertain sentiments differing from our own, but
with a humble desire to reflect light on our subject,
let us ask if we have any information which authorizes
us to believe that St. Paul was threatened with the
everlasting vengeance of an incensed, vindictive wrath
unless he repented of his sins and believed in the Lord

151

Jesus ? It is true the same question may with equal
propriety be asked concerning all the Apostles, but the
single case of St. Paul, who was the author of the scrip-
ture under consideration, is sufficient to try the ques-
tion, and place the subject in a clear light. The ac-
count recorded in the 26th of Acts, which was solemnly
given in by the Apostle himself, before king Agrippa
is so very important in itself, and so essential to the
present query that the hearer will listen with attention
to what may be recited from it. After having given a
particular relation of his past life in the Jews' religion,
his full persuasion that he ought to do many things
contrary to the name of Jesus, and that he actually did
those things shutting up the saints in prison and giv-
ing his voice against them when they were put to
death, punishing them oft in every Synagogue and
compelling them to blaspheme, &c. he proceeds as
follows ; " Whereupon, I went to Damascus with au-
thority and commission from the chief priest, at mid-
day, O king, I saw in the way a light from heaven,
about the brightness of the sun, shining round about
me, and them that journied with me. And when we
were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking
unto me, and saying, in the Hebrew tongue, Saul,
Saul, why persecutest thou me ? It is hard for thee
to kick against the pricks. And I said, who art thou,
Lord ? And he said, I am Jesus, whom thou perse-
cutest. But arise, and stand upon thy feet : for I have
appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a
minister and a witness, both of these things which thou
hast seen, and of those things in the which I will ap-
pear unto thee ; delivering thee from the people and
from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, to
Dpen their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to
light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that
they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance
among them which are sanctified by faith that is in
me." In this most solemn and interesting account is
there the least intimation of the threatening vengeance
noticed in our query? Surely there is not. Indeed
there appears to have been no conditions stated in

152

•
the case. Jesus said to Saul ; " I have appeared unto
thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a
witness," &c. Jesus did not appear to this persecutor
to propose what are now called terms of grace and
conditions of salvation, but to make him a minister
and a witness. And as there were no threatnings nor
conditions in the ministration by which Saul was con-
verted to Christianity and made a minister of the same
ministry of reconciliation, so he was not directed to go
to the Gentiles with threatenings and conditions, but
he was sent to them to open their eyes and to turn
them from darkness to light, and from the power of
satan unto God." Jesus opened Saul's eyes, turned
him from darkness to light, and from the power of sa-
tan unto God, that he might receive the forgiveness of
sins, and inheritance among them who are sanctified ;
and he sent him to the Gentiles to work the same on
them.

That the Apostles might be duly furnished with the
true ministry of reconciliation ; the word of reconcili-
ation was committed to them as designated in our text,
as follows ; " That God was in Christ, reconciling the
world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto
them." This word and ministry of reconciliation does
not impute men's trespasses to them, but exercises the
means of reconciliation on them.

That this subject may be understood according to
its evangelical principles the following particulars, which
are implied in the words under consideration may be
noticed. 1st. God is not unreconciled to sinners and
therefore needs not to be reconciled to them. 2d.
Sinners are unreconciled to God, and therefore he has
designed to reconcile them to himself by means of the
gospel ministry ; and 3d. The ministry of the gospel
comes with all the means necessary to reconcile sinners
to God.

The opinion that our heavenly Father became in-
imical to man in consequence of his sin is not only in
direct opposition to the sentiment of our text, but is
also repugnant to the essential character of the divine
Being. How is it possible to maintain that God is

BALLOU'S LECTURES. 153

unchangeable, the same yesterday to day and forever,
and yet suppose that his disposition towards his crea-
tures is changed by their conduct ? Again, it denies
the infinite knowledge of God to suppose that he be-
came unfriendly to us by reason of our sin ; for if he
knew before he made us that we should fall into temp-
tation and become sinful, he had all the reason to be
our enemy then that he has had since. Moreover it
denies the divine goodness to allow that he made a
being when he knew that the work of his own hands
would incur his divine displeasure. Indeed, the sup-
position that our Father in heaven became our enemy
in consequence of our sin, makes him to violate the
grand principle, which more than any other, distinctly
marks out the law of righteousness expressed by the
Saviour as follows ; " I say unto you, love your ene-
mies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that
hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use
you, and persecute you ; that ye may be the children
of your Father which is in heaven ; for he maketh his
sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth
the rain on the just and on the unjust." As the divine
Teacher, in the passage here recited, notices the divine
Being in the character of a Father, it may be proper
to observe in this place that it is inconsistent with the
character of an earthly father to become an enemy to
his offspring because his child is disobedient, and sure-
ly it would be much more repugnant to the character
of our heavenly Father to become unfriendly to us for
our faults.

The hearer is cautioned against construing this rea-
soning into a supposition, that our heavenly Father
will not chastise his children for disobedience, for chas-
tisement is the sure pledge of the father's love and
faithfulness. .

It may contribute to make our subject still plainer,
if we inquire for the possible means whereby the
Creator could be reconciled to mankind, if he were
once our enemy. Will it be said, that what his
Holy Child Jesus has done in our world was designed
by his Father to reconcile him to the world ? Truly,

154

this has been believed, but it is in direct opposition to
the testimony of Jesus, who said ; " God so loved the
world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that who-
soever believeih in him should not perish but have ev-
erlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the
world to condemn the world, but that'the world through
him might be saved. If God send his Son into the
world because he loved it, he certainly did not send
him into the world to reconcile himself to those whom
he loved. It is a thing at which reason marvels, that
learned men should ever have been so absurd as to
suppose, that God could use means to reconcile him-
self to his creatures, and that the sufferings of Jesus
were designed for this purpose ; for if God loved us
he was not unreconciled to us ; and if he did not love
us, but was an enemy to us, he would have done noth-
ing lor our good.

Contrary to these notions of reconciling God to men
the ministry of the gospel is designed to reconcile men
to God, by which ministry the trespasses of men are
not imputed to them, but are forgiven.

Let us in the next place, notice the efficacies of the
gospel ministry to effect the reconciliation designed by
it. To understand this subject, it is necessary to
know the cause of man's unreconciliation. This is
his ignorance of the true character of God. This we
learn from St. Paul's words, Ephesians, iv. 18. Speak-
ing of the vanity of the Gentiles and their alienations
he says ; ' having the understanding darkened, being
alienated from the life of God through the ignorance
that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart."
Because this was the situation of the Gentiles, Jesus
told the Apostle, that he sent him to them, to open
their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light.
If there were any property of the divine Being, that is
inimical to us, the more our eyes were 'opened to see
its nature the more unreconciled we should be to it.
But as God is infinitely gracious, unchangeably merci-
ful, and altogether lovely, the more our eyes are open-
ed to see and understand the blessed qualities of his
nature, the more we are reconciled to him, and the

155

better we love him. Again, if our nature were totally
opposite to the nature of God and holiness, the more
we discovered of the nature of God, the more we
should be opposed to it.

The fact is, God is the real source of all moral, in-
tellectual nature, and a knowledge of him is the only
means by which we can be reconciled to him, and the
want of this knowledge is the real cause of our unre-
conciliation.

In consistency with these well established facts, the
gospel ministry brings the testimony and evidence of
the love of God and of his divine goodness to sinners.
The following is the testimony ; " When we were with-
out strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
For scarcely for a righteous man will one die ; yet
peradventure for a good man some would even dare to
die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in

that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to
God by the death of his Son : much more, being re-
conciled, we shall be saved by his life. But God,

who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he
loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quick-
ened us together with Christ. Herein is love, not

that we loved God ; but that he loved us, and sent his
Son to be the propitiation for sins."

By such testimony it is seen, that the ministration
of reconciliation brings, in the most direct manner, the
love of God to the understanding of the sinner, by
which repentance is wrought in the heart, and the soul
brought to love God ; for it is the goodness of God
that leadeth to repentance, and again, we are told, that
" we love him because he first loved us."

It is contended by many that it is dangerous to in-
form sinners that God is really kind and merciful to
them. It is thought that this information, if it be true,
will tend to make them worse. Why then do the
scriptures abound with such testimony ? And again,
why did not the manifestation of the love and compas-
sion of Jesus to Saul make him worse ? Jesus said to
him ; " Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me ?*' Why
did not this enemy of Christ reply ; I persecute you

156 BALLOu's LECTURES.

because you love me, I hate your name because in it
alone I am sensible I have salvation : and now as your
compassions fail not, and you are determined to make
me a minister of divine mercy, I am determined to
hate you more and persecute you tenfold to what I
have heretofore ? If there were no danger in making
such a glorious display of the goodness of God to this
so great an enemy of the gospel, how should it happen
that similar manifestations to sinners now should be
so very dangerous as is represented by those who are
the ministers of wrath and condemnation ?

It may be useful in this place to notice some of the
similes used in scripture to represent the ministration
of reconciliation. By the prophet Isaiah Christ is call-
ed a light to lighten the Gentiles, and Jesus said ;
" I am the light of the world," and having communi-
cated his light to his disciples, he told them, that they
were the light of the world. Now according to the
objection which we have noticed, it is dangerous to
give light to them who are in darkness, for it may
make them worse. Jesus said ; "I am the bread of
life." This is the bread which came down from hea-
ven and giveth life to the world ; but it is dangerous to
give this bread to sinners, it is thought it may make
them worse. Jesus represented the sinner by those
who are sick, and himself as a physician. Will it do
to say, it is dangerous to heal the sick because it may
make them worse ? No, these things are not so.
Those who have been delivered from the power of
darkness by the true light, have been thereby deliver-
ed from the power of satan and translated into the
kingdom of God's dear Son. Those who have eaten
of the bread of God have found it to be spiritual life,
and these who have received the healing balsam of the
divine Physician have felt the power of sin to die with-
in them, and have been reconciled to God through Jesus
Christ.

As it may be due to the situation of some minds, we
may notice a question which is so often stated, viz : if
the sinner may immediately receive divine favor, when
and where is he to be punished for his sins ? This
question is made of great concern by those who be-

BALLOU'S LECTURE3. 157

lieve that the gospel is a ministration of condemnation.
But there is one thing we cannot but observe in those
who urge this question ; they never ask when they,
themselves, are to be punished for their sins. They
appear to have no concern about this weighty question
as it regards themselves : their whole concern is about
sinners. And this concern is not for fear they will be
punished, but for fear they will not be.

Let us return the question to those who bring it,
and ask them, when and where are you to receive the
punishment for your sins ? You contend, that the
wicked must be punished, you are zealous to have
the wicked punished ; as Nathan said to David, " thou
art the man."

Turn, Pharisees, thine eyes within,
Nor further search abroad for sin.

When and where was murderous David, king of Is-
rael, punished for his sins ? When and where was
the author of our text, " the minister and witness " of
Jesus, punished, for the murders which be had prac-
tised on the innocent lambs of Christ ? We answer
the question and say, sin and misery are inseparably
united in the nature of cause and effect. When and
where we are sinful, then and there we are our own tor-
mentors. " The way of the transgressor is hard — there
is no peace to the wicked."

Look at the nature of this subject. Jesus appeared
to Saul, to make him a minister and a witness, to open
the eyes of the Gentiles. But when were these Gen-
tiles punished for being blind ? The Apostle was to
turn the Gentiles " from darkness to light." But when
were they punished for being in the dark ? He was
to deliver them from the power of satan. But when
were they punished for having been under satan 's
power ? My brethren, satan's yoke is a hard service,
his government is tyranical, and his power is oppres-
sive.

The reason why our heavenly Father has sent the
ministration of his grace to reconcile sinners to him-
self, is. that they mav receive inheritance among them
14

158 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

who are sanctified. If satan's yoke were easy and if
his burden were light, if sin and happiness were con-
nected, why should the Almighty wish to deprive his
creatures of this felicity ? And if sin and all manner
of vice afford happiness to man in this world, why will
they not be permitted to continue hereafter, and there
continue the source of human happiness ? There nev-
er was a deception that operated so much to the dis-
advantage of mankind, as that of believing that happi-
ness is to be obtained in sin. This deception makes
slaves of millions, who devote themselves to their blind
passions, and " are dead while they live." From this
deception, from this slavery and from this death the
ministry of reconciliation is designed to deliver the
world. Therefore, the ambassadors of Jesus, cry, as
in our text, " we pray you, in Christ's stead, be ye re-
conciled to God."

Reconciliation to God, is reconciliation to his reveal-
ed attributes and will, and consists in a conformity to
the divine commands. A profession of religion may
be totally disconnected with the reconciliation contem-
plated in our text, which is known, as was suggested
in our introduction, by new views, new affections, and
new desires. If we judge by their fruits, many have
professed the religion of the Saviour, who have no dif-
ferent views from what they had before, only they now
Delieve that, they are more righteous than their neigh-
bours ; and remain as destitute of love to their breth-
ren of the human family as ever. God is love ; there-
fore to be reconciled to God, we must be reconciled
to this divine principle. God is known to be love to
all his creatures, because he actually does good to all.
If we love all God's rational offspring, as our breth-
ren, we are therein reconciled to God. St. Paul says ;
God " will have all men to be saved, and to come un-
to the knowledge of the truth." If this will be in us,
and if we can in sincerity pray for this will to be ac-
complished, we are therein reconciled. We are com-
manded to love our enemies and to do to others as we
would have them to do to us, in doing which, we are
reconciled to God. We are commanded to forgive

159

those who trespass against us, in which we resemble
our Heavenly Father who was in Christ reconciling
the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses
unto them. We are commanded to forgive one ano-
ther, as God, for Christ's sake hath forgiven us. This
is conformity to God. We are required to do justly,
to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God ; and in
so doing we are reconciled to him.

But says our opposer, what if we do not conform
to these divine requirements ? it makes no difference,
if God loves all men, wills that all should be saved,
and does not impute our trespasses to us. Reply ;
Our reconciliation to God, and our conformity to his
will and all his requirements is the salvation which our
heavenly Father wills for us ; it is the life which Jesus
came to give to the world ; it is heaven, it is joy and
peace in the Holy Ghost. This doctrine is the doc-
trine of divine love, this love is a fountain of living
waters, it is that river whose streams make glad the
city of our God.

LECTURE XII.

ALL MEN DRAWN TO CHRIST.

JOHN xii. 32.

And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.

As the time drew near that the Lord of glory, the
mediator of the new covenant should seal his testa-
ment with his blood, there came to his disciples
certain Greeks, and said to Philip, Sir, we would
see Jesus. Philip and Andrew communicate this re-
quest, to their master, who in room of either consent-
ing to their request, or of refusing, replied saying,
" The hour is come that the Son of man should be
glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a corn
of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone;
but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit."

These Greeks, being Gentiles, were not the subjects
of the ministry of Jesus in the days of his flesh, but as
soon as he should be put to death in the flesh and be
quickened by the Spirit, then would the gospel be
preached to the Gentiles. Therefore when he was
told that certain Greeks desired to see him, he spoke
of his being glorified in sending his gospel to them.
He was the corn of weat that abode alone until it fell
into the ground and died ; but after it died and was
quickened it brought forth much fruit, " even judgment
unto the Gentiles." The Saviour proceeded to speak
of his sufferings, saying ; " Now is my soul troubled ;
and what shall I say ? Father, save me from this
hour : but for this cause came I unto this hour. Fath-
er, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from

161

heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glori-
fy it again. The people therefore that stood by, and
heard it, said, that it thundered : others said, an angel
spoke to him. Jesus answered and said, this voice
came not because of me, but for your sakes. Now is
the judgment of this world : Now shall the prince of
this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from
the earth, will draw all men unto me." Here again it
seems evident, that the Redeemer had special allusion
to the request of the Greeks. As if he had said ; I
must die ; I must be lifted up upon the cross ; I must
be laid in the silent house of death ; I must rise from
the dead, bring life and immortality to light through
the gospel ; then, not only these few Greeks shall be
permitted to see me, but I will send forth to the ful-
ness of the Gentiles, and finally to the Jews, the min-
istry of reconciliation by which I will " draw all men
unto me."

A few arguments will now be directed to prove, that
all men are the subjects of the Redeemer's grace.
This point of doctrine is now before the public mind,
and more than any other invites the attention of all
denominations. It is true, those who preach a con-
trary creed, endeavor as much as possible to postpone
the consideration of this subject, and they use all the
influence which they can possibly bring to act on the
public mind, to turn the attention of the people from
a candid examination of it. However, it very frequent-
ly happens, that the efforts which are designed to pre-
vent people from looking into these things excite their
curiosity and incite them more to the examination than
if nothing was said or done. If it were a crime for the
rulers of the Jews to associate with the Saviour and at-
tend on his instruction ; if excommunication awaited
those who should profess Christ openly, there was the
night season, when the enemies of the Redeemer were
either locked up in sleep, or perhaps in superstitious
conclave, scoffing at the benign doctrine, of grace and
concerting more severe measures to prevent its spread,
when a Nicodemus, could go, unnoticed to Jesus and

obtain a knowledge of salvation. If the wisdom of
14#

162

this world be crafty enough to employ gentle, sooth-
ing, and persuasive measures to quiet the people
in that cold cruel system of partiality and endless mis-
ery, it is only like jogging the cradle to quiet the child,
while its cries increase with its want of nourishment.

This doctrine of universal salvation, which we pro-
pose to prove in this discourse, seems to be favored by
the dictates of sound reason, and fully supported by
the evidences derived from the nature of the manifest
economy of universal providence.

If we could do ourselves the justice to lay aside all
the prejudices of our mistaught minds, and open our
eyes to the light of reason, and our ears to the voice
of enlightened understanding, we should soon find our
minds engaged in the sweet contemplations of the im-
partial goodness of the Supreme Ruler.

The same creative power gave existence to all men,
all are blessed by the same munificent providence, the
sun that makes and rules the day, the moon that rules
the night discovers no partiality in dispensing their fa-
vors. Do not the rains fall, and the dews descend as
common blessings on mankind ? Is not the vital air,
is not the fulness of the waters the undivided inherit-
ance of mankind ? Is there an element, is there a
vegetable, is there a fruit which nature reserves from
the general store-house of him, who opens his hand
and satisfies the desire of every living thing ?

Let us contemplate the unity of our common nature,
the dependence of one on another, and that eternal in-
dissoluble law by which we are united. Notwithstand-
ing there is an infinite variety among mankind, there
is no distinction of moral nature ; nor is there a genio
in the whole family of man that the philosopher can
prove to be useless and of no advantage to others.
Those who are considered to be the most useful mem-
bers of community frequently owe their means to be
so, to them, who being placed in the low walks of
life, are scarcely known in society. What would
kings be without subjects ? what would rulers be des-
titute of people ? Are not servants as profitable in
their stations, as their masters are in theirs? and are

163

not the rich and the poor blessings to each other ?
The sacred connexions of husband and wife, of parents
and children, of brethren and sisters, if duly contemp-
lated, furnish a most delightful prospect of the depen-
dences of our common nature. In fact it seems that
mankind forms one compact, indissoluble body, which
may be represented by the human • frame, which can
lose none of its members without being rendered maim-
ed and incomplete.

It is true the partial system has driven men of dis-
cerning minds to make calculations, that the eternal
separation of those, who are in this life united by the
tenderest ties of our nature, and the indescribable mi-
sery of children will occasion an increase of the pa-
rent's happiness, and the endless misery of parents
will greatly increase the felicity of children in the eter-
nal world. But it must be acknowledged that such
arguments are equally as hostile to every good quality
of man, as the system which they are designed to de-
fend is to reason and revelation. We say, that men
of discerning minds have been driven to argue thus,
for they can discern, that unless this be the case, what
they call heaven will be a place of the keenest mental
torment, that can be conceived of. Losing sight of
nature and of nature's God, and adhearing to their
partial creed, many contend, that at what they call the
great day, parents will rejoice to see their offspring
turned away into the burning lake, while other instan-
ces will occur, in which children will sing praises to
God in the highest a; seeing their parents, the inherit-
ers of unspeakable misery.

If we can suppress our indignation against such un-
hallowed cruelty, so as to take a deliberate view of a
faint simile we may suppose that the sweet slumbers
of a numerous family are suddenly interrupted by the
midnight cry of fire. They are roused from sleep amid
the smoke and flames of their own dwelling ; the fath-
er and several of the eldest children but just make
their escape from the devouring element, and leave
the wife and mother with a number of the children to
perish in the flames. Now observe, the doctrine which

164 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

stands opposed to the salvation of all men, and which
can support itself at no less expense then to enhance
the felicities of heaven by the miseries of hell, suppos-
es that the happiness of the husband and father, on
finding himself safe from the fire, is to be increased
by his seeing the companion of his bosom, the mother
of his children, and her little ones in the flames, and
by hearing their lamentable cries ; and these children
who made their escape are to possess hearts to rejoice
to see the mother that watched over their infancy and
childhood, and their brothers and sisters perishing in
the most excruciating anguish.

To wound your feelings with such a simile as this,
on any ordinary subject would surely require an apolo-
gy, but in respect to the subject under consideration
our simile is as dim as the faint glimmer of a dying ta-
per compared with the concentrated blaze of a thou-
sand suns. The flames that destroyed the unhappy
victims were merciful to terminate their sufferings in
a moment, that nothing but the remembrance of the
sad catastrophe might remain, but the flames of hell
and its " lively bright horrors " are supposed to exist
eternally, to gladden kindred hearts, and to brighten
the joys of relative spirits forever and ever !

To the eye of candid reason, it seems perfectly
clear, that to make an eternal separation of the human
family, and to place one part in a state of everlasting
misery, would render the whole miserable, let the line
of separation be drawn in one place or another. If
the division be made according to the doctrine of par-
tial election, without any regard to the conduct of
men, the husband may be chosen, and the wife a rep-
robate ; in another case the wife may be chosen, and
the husband a reprobate : And this dividing line will
separate parents from their children, and children from
each other, and it is as plain as any thing can be that
if one company is appointed to a state of misery the
other must be.

You that are parents, you who are brothers and sis-
ters are called on to judge of this question. Suppose
your nearest and dearest connexions, as children ana

BALLOU'S LECTURES. 165

brethren were prisoners in an enemy's land, and you
were certified by letters from them, that they were
treated in the most cruel manner; their lodging the
cold damp ground, their food scant and unwholesome,
and that there were no hopes of their ever being releas-
ed, could you be happy? Without the least commisera-
tion could you repose on your beds of down, and feast
yourselves at your sumptuous tables? All this you
know to be impossible.

Or suppose this final separation is to be made with
due reference to the works of men in this world, this
alters not the case, for we cannot be happy while oui
connexions suffer even for their faults.

If we draw a reasonable conclusion from the mani
fest goodness of Goa to all men, in his temporal provi
dence, and if we assist this conclusion by the consider-
ations already suggested of the unity and dependence
of oui* nature, we must decide in favor of the proposi-
tion for which we contend ; for it is most unreasona-
ble indeed to suppose, that the system of the Redeem-
er's grace, which derives its origin from the same
source, from whence came every principle of our ex-
istence and every favor of divine providence, is less
benevolent in its designs or less efficacious in its
means.

We may now notice some of the evidences, which
support the doctrine of universal grace, found in the
divine testimony. We say some of the evidences, be-
cause it would require much time, and superior abili-
ties to those employed on this occasion to bring the
whole of this sort of evidence into view. Indeed we
must be very limited on this part of our subject that
we may avoid using too many of the passages already
recited in these lectures for the same purpose, and that
the hearer's patience be not too much burdened.

The text under consideration may first be noticed.
In this passage Jesus promises to draw all men unto
himself. And his testimony concerning those who
come to him is as follows : " I am the bread of life ;
he that cometh to me shall never hunger ; and he that
believeth on me shall never thirst." By this passage it

166

is evident, that by coming to him, and by believing on
him, Jesus meant the same thing. He farther says ;
" Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out —
No man can come to me, except the Father, which
hath sent me, draw him : and I will raise him up at
the last day. It is written in the prophets, and they
shall be all taught of God. Every man, therefore,
that, hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh
unto me."

By these passages we learn, that the instructions
and the drawings of the Father, are the only means
by which men can come to Christ. They furthermore
teach us, that those who are, by such means, drawn to
the Saviour will not be cast off. Thus the evidence
issues in a most direct confirmation* of the proposition
to be proved.

St. Paul, in his first epistle to Timothy says, that
God " will have all men to be saved and to come unto
the knowledge of the truth." And Jesus said; "I
came down from heaven ; not to do mine own will,
but the will of him that sent me." Suppose one of
you own an hundred sheep, and they all break from
your enclosure and go astray, they all enter into your
neighbour's pasture. In room of sending them home,
he endeavors to retain them, and uses all possible
means to prevent their return. You direct your shep-
herd to go and seek and save that which is lost. You
tell him, that it is your will that he returns the whole ;
the shepherd is told by your enemy who retains your
flock that he will give up a few of the sheep, but must
keep the greatest part. The shepherd replies ; I have
not come to negociate for the sheep, I have come to
do the will of him that sent me. How can this will be
done and yet but a few of these sheep return ?

The will of God is further expressed by St. Paul, as
follows; "Having made known unto us the mystery
of his will, according to his good pleasure, which he
hath purposed in himself: that in the dispensation of
the fulness of times he might gather together in one
all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and
which are on earth ; even in him." Again he says ;

BALLOU'S LECTURES. 167

" Wherefore God also, hath highly exalted him, and
given him a name which is above every name ; that in
the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in
heaven and things on earth, nnd things under the
earth ; and that every tongue should confess that Je-
sus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
And furthermore he says: " For it pleaseth the Fa-
ther, that in him should all fulness dwell, (and having
made peace through the blood of his cross) by him to
reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whe
th^r they be things on earth, or things in heaven."
To these we may subjoin the passage we treated of in
our last lecture ; " And all things are of God, who
hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and
hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation ; to wit,
that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto him-
self, not imputing their trespasses unto them. And
hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though
God did beseech you by us, we pray you in Christ's
stead, be ye reconciled to God : for he hath made him
to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be
made the righteousness of God in him." If the hear-
er will allow these and concurrent passages their nat-
ural agreement and signification they must be consid-
ered sufficient evidence to prove that the design of the
Saviour's grace is the salvation of all men.

Another argument in favor of our proposition, and
which is thought to be sufficient of itself to establish
it, is drawn from the revealed fact that it is consistent
with the holiness of God for him to love sinners and
to bestow the greatest possible favors upon them.
The scripture informs us that " God commendeth his
love towards us, in that, while we were yet sinners,
Christ died for us." And again ; " But God, who is
rich in mercy, for his great love, wherewith he loved
us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened
us together with Christ." Now if it be consistent
with the holiness of God for him to love those who are
dead in sin, and to commend his love to such by the
death of Christ for them, and to quicken them togeth-

168 BALLOU S LECTURES.

er with Christ, it proves beyond all controversy that
sin is no objection to God's granting his grace and sal-
vation to men. Standing in the light of this glorious
truth, and feeling the life of the spirit of this grace,
who can be so hard-hearted as to sentence millions of
their fellow sinners to endless darkness and wo? In
this spirit of love and grace it seems the divine Re-
deemer stood,N when he said ; "And I, if I be lifted up
from the earth, will draw all men unto me." It is
granted on all hands, that God can never change ; he
is the same yesterday, to-day, and forever. Yesterday
and to-day he was and is the friend and lover of sin-
ners. How then is it possible that he should ever
cease to love these beings and to do them good ?

This argument provokes the Pharisee to start the
old trite objection, that the doctrine leads to licentious-
ness. This objection, though it has been fairly re-
moved hundreds of times, will never leave the world
as long as a Pharisee remains in it. If the manifesta-
tion of the divine love to sinners have a natural ten-
dency to encourage them in sin, why did God com-
mend his love unto us, in that while we were yet sin-
ners, Christ died for us ? Why are those blessings of
the divine Providence, to which the Saviour adverted
for proof that God loves his enemies, continually, and
with such profusion scattered down upon us? Are
we serving the cause of religion and moral virtue by
persuading people 10 believe that the goodness of God
naturally leads men to sin. My brethren, should you
believe me your friend if I persuaded your children to
the opinion, that if you love them, notwithstanding
their faults, it is no matter what they do, and that it is
even better for them to violate all your wholesome
laws, and to treat your advice and admonitions with
contempt ? Surely if there be any such thing as a
heinous sin in our world, we have it here under con-
sideration. Because our heavenly Father gives us life
and all the numerous blessings of life must we improve
all his favors to dye our souls in the crimson of sin ?
Because Jesus hath loved us and given himself for us,
is there no way we can act like reasonable beings only

BALLOU*S LECTURES. 169

by hating him and disobeying his commands ? O in-
gratitude ! legitimate child of the Pharisee, retire,, cold
and unfeeling, to the frosty bosom from whence thou
hast come.

It has already been suggested, that by coming unto
Christ is meant, being taught of God and believing
in Christ, and this was seen by the words of Christ;
and this was seen by the words of Christ in the 6th of
John, which have been quoted. They therefore, who
come to Jesus, come to him in their understanding;
they receive him as their prophet to teach them, their
priest, who offered himself for the sinner, without spot
unto God, and as a king to rule them. The blessings
enjoyed in consequence of coming to Christ are ex-
pressed in his most gracious words, recorded m Matt,
xi. ; " Come unto rne, all ye that labor and are heavy
laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon
you, and learn of me ; for I am meek and lowly in
heart ; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my
yoke is easy, and my burden is light." How lovely
does the Saviour appear in his gracious invitations and
promises. He invites all to come to him ; he promises
to draw all men to him ; he promises to give them all
rest and an easy service ; he promises that he will in no
wise cast any out.

Well did the dear Redeemer say ; " I will draw all
men unto me. The doctrine of Jesus is perfectly
calculated to draw men. It holds up to view those
virtues and those advantages which are powerful at-
tractions. In the passage just recited, those who are
heavy laden are promised rest. What can be more
inviting to any who have for a long time labored
under an intolerable burden, than an opportunitv
to cast it off, and to enjoy rest ? Suppose men were
in bondage and hard servitude, as were the Israelites
in Egypt, oppressed with severe taskmasters and made
to serve with the most cruel rigor ; and a humane,
benevolent prince should ransom them all, and invite
them into his country, where they should have all things
they wanted without money and without price, where
no law but the perfect law of liberty exists, where they
15

170 BALLOU'S LECTURES

would have no service to perform but such in which
they should have perfect delight and freedom, would
not a clear manifestation of these facts draw them away
from the tyrant to their kind deliverer and Saviour ?
Would it be necessary to threaten them, and
preach up terror to them ? Would it be proper to
tell them that the person who had ransomed them
would come and put them to the most cruel tortures
if they did not immediately enter into his service ?
Under all these circumstances, would it be neces-
sary to tell these miserable wretches, that it is true
their present services are very light, merely noth-
ing in comparison with the service of the prince who
had purchased them, but then this prince would pun-
ish them all with the most cruel tortures if they should
not enter his service without delay ? If any thing
could possibly operate to deceive these redeemed
ones, and to keep them in slavery it must be some
such deceit. As certain as they should be made to
believe such falsehoods, they would make nice calcula-
tions not to go into the hated service any sooner than
just to escape the tortures threatened. But suppose
they should go to this person in consequence of these
threatenings, they would not be drawn, they would
be driven. Jesus did not say, I will drive all men to
me. If we were to judge by some preaching that we
hear, we should suppose the preachers were sent to
drive us to heaven, in the greatest haste too, for fear
our Redeemer would destroy us ?

The Saviour says in the 6th of John, as before quot-
ed ; ;< I am the bread of life ; he that cometh to me
shall never hunger." What is more drawing to the
destitute, foodless poor than the gladsome news of
bread, without money and without price? Suppose
such a famine as was in Egypt and all the countries
round about it should visit the United States, the pro-
visions of the land, after the most prudent measures
had been taken, is nearly exhausted, pale hunger makes
its appearance on all faces, and the wisest know of no
relief; at this awful crisis a large fleet from a foreign
country arrives with vast quantities of bread as a pres-

171

ent to us ! how would it draw the people. In what
crowds would they rush along the streets ; how would
every eye and every countenance brighten with glad-
ness. In such a circumstance as this what should we
think of a man who should come forward and say ;
" I am sent by the monarch who has sent you bread,
to warn you to apply immediately for his bounty that
you may escape his vengeance ? And what should we
think of the people who should spend their time to
hear these terrors proclaimed ? In such a time of fa-
vor and rejoicing, would it be seemly to stop the hun-
gry and tell them they have no right to the free boun-
ty that has arrived unless they really believe in this act
of goodness ? Would it be thought indispensably ne-
cessary to have a creed written, with well studied ar-
ticles to the number of thirty-nine, for the people all
to learn by heart before they should be allowed to
taste the bread of life ? Would it be treating those,
who were fainting for want of food, according to the
benevolent designs of the gracious donor of these am-
ple provisions, to prevent their receiving this unpur-
chased, unconditional favor, by suggesting conditions,
terms, and articles of faith to be complied with and
believed? Suppose the articles are all made out
according to the wisdom of him, who urges their
necessity, but the people cannot understand them.
Some are mysterious, some are in direct opposition
to others ; one explains them in one way ; and an-
other explains them in another way, many profess to
believe them because they are told that they cannot
obtain favor unless they do. Those who should be-
lieve in this case might believe themselves to death,
and close their eyes without seeing the salvation which
mercy had sent them : others, whose minds should re-
volt at a creed which contains contradictions, would
be turned away as Unbelievers, and fare no better than
those who believe.

Jesus says ; " If any man thirst let him come unto me
and drink." The unfortunate, who have suffered hun-
ger and thirst in sultry climes, inform us the want of
drink is vastly moie severe than the want of food

172 BALLOU'S LECTURES,

Here then the merciful Saviour makes use of a simile
which gives the most striking idea of his goodness.
Of a number of faint, weary, hungry, and thirsty pil-
grims, on burning sands, if one should cry out to his
fellows, here is water ! How quickly would it draw
them all together.

The prophet Isaiah, speaking of Jesus, says ; " A
man shall be an hiding place from the wind, and a
covert from the tempest; as a river of water in a dry
place : as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land."
How very inviting, how attracting how drawing are
the favors here noticed. The beasts of the field
and the fowls of the air seek these favors. When
storms and winds beat on them, they seek a shelter ;
when they are thirsty you find them by the streams ;
and when a sultry sun is vehement you find them in
the shade. Do you ask what these things mean ? Do
you inquire how you can obtain so great a favor ? The
word is nigh thee, even in thy heart and in thy mouth.
Jesus is made unto us, wisdom, righteousness, sanctifi-
cation, and redemption. To be drawn to Christ is to
be drawn into wisdom, whose ways are pleasantness
and all her paths are peace. It is to be drawn into
righteousness, which is heaven. It is to be drawn into
sanctification, which is holiness. It is to be drawn
into redemption, which is freedom from the law of sin
and death. O Jesus, how great is thy promise ! Thou
wilt draw all men unto thyself. Then shall every crea-
ture which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under
the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all which are
in them ; say, blessing and honnor, and glory, and
power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and
unto the Lamb forever and ever.

LECTURE XIII.

CHRIST SOWING THE GOOD SEED, IN TEARS.

PSALM cxxvi. 6.

He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed shall, doubtless,
come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.

Divine wisdom has seen fit, that the commence-
ment of those affairs which are designed to terminate
in great and extensive blessings to mankind, should be
distinguished for the hardships, painful labors, extreme
difficulties, privations, uncommon sufferings, sorrow
and tears which attend them. This remark will be
found to be, generally, appropriate, whether applied
to political or religious concerns, and is often justified
by the experience of individuals. This sentiment seems
symbolically expressed in our text and its introduction.
To represent the reverse of condition which Zion ex-
perienced by a deliverance from captivity, the prophet
says ; " When the Lord turned again the captivity of
Zion, we were like them that dream. Then was our
mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with sing-
ing : then said they among the heathen, the Lord hath
done great things for them. The Lord hath done
great things for us, whereof we are glad. Turn again
our captivity, 0 Lord, as the streams in the south.
They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that go-
eth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed shall,
doubtless, come again with rejoicing, bringing his
sheaves with him.''

From the scanty portion of grain, on which the hus-
bandman depends to bread his dependent family, he
takes a selected portion, and having with much labor
prepared his field, he commits the precious seed to the
15*

174

bosom of the earth. His fears anticipate drought,
blasts, and mildews ; his hope endures, as seeing things
that are invisible, and locks forward to the time when
heaven shall reward his toils with a joyful harvest, and
return him thirty, sixty or an hundred fold. The au-
tumn comes and brings the golden harvest, and plenty
calls for songs of gratitude and joy. But to the eye
of inexperience how mysterious would this appear.
The portion of bread corn is already scant, and the
husband of a numerous family takes part of this and
buries it in the earth. It appears as an unreasonable
waste. Thus we frequently judge of the ways of di-
vine Providence ; and are led to say, if God were good
to his creatures, why should such and such things be
permitted to wound our tenderest feelings? Why
should such sorrows be sent as the inheritance of the
oppressed, the innocent, and the defenceless ? Not
being able to see the end from the beginning of events,
we are often misguided in judgment, and entertain
doubts of the divine goodness towards us. But could
we comprehend the mysterious wisdom of God by
which he turns every thing to the good of hir creatures,
causing light afflictions, which are but for a moment,
to work for us an exceeding weight of glory, we should
at once conclude, that the measure of evil endured by
the creatures of God, is as nothing when compared
with the glory that shall be revealed in us, and which
can be traced back to those afflictions, which, during
their continuance, were grievous.

These introductory observation seem to lead the
mind into an extensive field, where an infinite variety
of objects invite our attention to the contemplation of
the wisdom and goodness of God, in causing light to
shine out of darkness, order to grow out of what ap-
pears to us confusion, peace of mind from sorrow of
heart, tranquillity out of trouble, prosperity out of ad-
versity, in a word, good from what we call evil, strength
from weakness and glory from shame. But keeping
in mind that proper limits must bound the labors of a
lecture, the audience is invited to contemplate our sub-
ject as manifested in the Saviour of mankind

BALLOU'S LECTURES. 175

Jesus went forth in our world weeping, bearing
and sowing precious seed, and he shall doubtless come
again, rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. He
sowed in tears, he shall reap in joy ; he shall see of the
travail of his soul and be satisfied.

Our first inquiry will be directed to notice the occa-
sion of our Saviour's tears.

Jesus was possessed of the sensibilities and sympa-
thies of our nature in their purity and perfection, which
caused him to feel the afflictions of the afflicted, the
sorrows of the sorrowful, and the distress of the dis-
tressed. Many proofs of this are found in the his-
tory of the Saviour. We may notice him at Bethany,
where he raised Lazarus from the dead. Notwith-
standing he knew what he was about to do, and that
Lazarus would in a few minutes be a living man, to
the astonishment and joy of his weeping sisters, such
was the tenderness of his heart that when he saw the
Jews, who had come to comfort the bereaved sisters,
weeping, and the two disconsolate sisters weeping, he
himself groaned in spirit, and wept with them. Let
those who mourn remember this, and realize that their
sorrows are duly noticed by him who is the resurrec-
tion and the life, who hath the keys of hell and death.
That power of life and salvation, which gloriously tri
umphed at the tomb of him who had been dead four
days, is still the same, and has given assurance, that as
in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made
alive.

On that most joyful occasion of the entrance of Je-
sus into Jerusalem, riding upon an ass, when the peo-
ple in vast multitudes welcomed the King of Zion,
and praised God with a loud voice for all the mighty
works they had seen, saying, Blessed be the King that
cometh in the name of the Lord ; peace in heaven,
and glory in the highest ; the blessed Jesus, in room
of being elated with these tokens of submission and
expressions of joy — in room of participating the exceed-
ing gladness of the people, his mind seemed intent on
a very different subject, the account of which is as fol-
lows : " And when he came near he beheld the city,

176 BALLOU's LECTURES.

and wept over it saying, if thou hadst known, even thou
at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto
thy peace I but now they are hid from thine eyes. For
the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall
cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and
keep thee in on every side, and shall lay thee even
with the ground, and thy children within thee ; and
they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another ;
because thou knewest not the time of thy visita-
tion."

Having a clear view of the sword, the famine and
the pestilence which would surely come on Jerusa-
lem, and knowing that the youth who were then in
the days of their innocence, would be the sufferers
in this calamity, the Saviour was deeply affected, and
wept.

Suppose you, who love the town of Boston for a
thousand reasons, which we have not time to name,
should be certified by a divine communication, that
this metropolis should, within forty years, suffer all the
dreadful calamities of a long siege, attended with fam-
ine and pestilence, with factions within, which should
waste the strength and the blood of the inhabitants,
until the place should be given up to an enraged ene-
my, that should have no mercy on those who should
fall into their hands, could your eyes look on the state-
ly, magnificent buildings, knowing they would all be
leveled with the ground, could they behold the lovely
youth, who now make such a charming appearance in
these streets and churches, without weeping? Such
was the occasion of those tears which the compassion-
ate Jesus shed over the devoted city of his father Da-
vid. He looked on that pride and joy of the earth,
he beheld the temple of God, that wonder of the world,
he knew that the time of their destruction was within
that generation ; his gracious eyes beheld the lovely
youth whose thousands then adorned the venerable hab-
itations of their ancestors, and knew that they would
be the distressed sufferers in the calamities to which
that nation and city were appointed.

When he was going to Calvary to suffer death

BALLOTj's LECTURES. 177

from the wicked hands of the people, who by their
persecutions of him and his disciples were filling up
the measure of their sins, he was evidently more con-
cerned for the sufferings that people were bringing on
themselves and on their children, than for what he
himself was about to endure. When he saw the great
company of people, and of women, who followed him
lamenting his fate, he turned and said unto them,
" Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep
for yourselves, and for your children. For, behold,
the days are coming in the which they shall say, bless-
ed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and
the paps which never gave suck. Then shall they be-
gin to say to the mountains, fall on us, and to the hills,
cover us. For if they do these things in a green tree,
what shall be done in the dry ? "

If the hearer will indulge a digression in this place,
liberty will be taken to remark on two particulars.
First, it does not appear, from the Saviour's speech
here recited, that his own sufferings were of that kind
or degree that has been represented by christian doc-
tors. They have supposed that the sufferings of Christ
were far beyond any possible comparison, even great-
er than we can conceive, and that this rendered them
efficacious with his Father to procure our pardon of
sin. Now if his sufferings were so immense, why should
he represent to the daughters of Jerusalem that they
had more reason to weep for themselves and their
children, than for him?

Secondly, it does not appear that the Saviour
thought of the subject, which has been the weighty
burden of those minds, who have consigned the inhab-
itants of Jerusalem to everlasting misery in the future
world ; for he spake of nothing but of their sufferings
in this life. If it had been known to Jesus, that all
the sufferings which that people was appointed to en-
dure in the destructions that he denounced upon them,
were nothing in comparison with what they must suf-
fer in another world, why did he, when he wept over
Jerusalem, speak of the destruction of that city and its
inhabitants by the hand of their enemies, and neglect

178 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

to say any thing on the subject of their future suffer-
ings, which were to be infinitely greater ? The can-
dor of the hearer will do justice to these remarks, while
we return to our subject.

The prophet Isaiah represents our Saviour a man
of sorrows and acquainted with grief. He grieved and
wept for the afflictions and sufferings of mankind ; he
felt the woes of human nature ; he bore their sicknesses
and carried their sorrows, but the angel of his presence
upheld him ; he was touched with the feelings of all
our infirmities.

The superstition, the bigotry, and the traditions of
the people wherewith they made void the law of God,
and the hardness of their hearts were a peculiar cause
of his grief* Such was their blindness that his mira-
cles could not open their eyes ; and such was the hard-
ness of their hearts that his love, pity and mercy did
not soften them. What stubborn, unyielding and for-
bidding ground was this ! There was but here and
there a spot where the precious seed that he sowed
could be received into good ground, and promise a fu-
ture harvest.

We may now direct our attention to inquire what
seed the Saviour sowed, and to ascertain its precious
qualities.

In the 13th chapter of Matthew, Jesus represents
himself as a sower, who went forth to sow ; " And,
when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way-side, and
the fowls came and devoured them up. Some fell up-
on stony places, where they had not much earth ; and
forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deep-
ness of earth: and when the sun was up they were
scorched ; and, because they had no root, they with-
ered away. And some fell among thorns ; and the
thorns sprung up and choked them. But others fell
into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an
hundred-fold, some sixty-fold, some thirty-fold." In
the same chapter he says ; " He that soweth the good
seed is the Son of man." Again, he signifies that by
seed he means the u word of the kingdom." And
furthermore he represents the kingdom of heaven by

BALLOlf's LECTURES. 179

|C a grain of mustard-seed, which a man took and sow-
ed in his field." It is evident by these scripture, that
Jesus represented his doctrine by "good seed." The
doctrine of Christ is, therefore, our present subject.

Here it is worthy of notice, that the great teacher
sent of God, though he taught a doctrine which was
very different from that which was taught by the doc-
tors of his day, was never the author of a set of arti-
cles of faith called a creed. And it is likewise of im-
portance to notice, that in this, his Apostles faithfully
followed his example. The work of framing creeds is
the invention of men.

Jesus founded his doctrine and all he came to do,
on the divine character and will of his Father. He
said ; " I came down from heaven, not to do mine own

will : but the will of him that sent me. God sent

not his Son into the world to condemn the world ; but

that the world through him might be saved. The

Son of man came not to call the righteous, but sinners

to repentance. The Son of man came to seek and

to save that which was lost."

By these precious sayings of Jesus we are certified
that God is merciful to sinners, wills their salvation,
and sent his Son for this very purpose.

In the 5th of Matthew, Jesus sets forth his precious
doctrine in the plainest terms possible, as follows ; "I
say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse
you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them
which despitefully use you, and persecute you ; that
ye may be the children of your Father which is in hea-
ven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on
the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
For if ye love them which love you, what reward
have ye ? Do not even the publicans the same ? And if
ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than
others ? Do not even the publicans so ? Be ye there-
fore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is
perfect."

By this most precious testimony we are assured that
our Father who is in heaven loves his enemies : and
we are furthermore certified that we are required to

180 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

do the same. How many articles of faith is it neces-
sary to arrange, in order to comprehend this subject ?
How long is it necessary for a good scholar and a
bright genius to spend at a theological school in order
to understand this doctrine ? It pains the speaker to
the heart, that he is obliged to say, that theological
schools are employed in teaching youth how to
evade the plain testimony of Jesus, and how to keep
the people from receiving it.

In the 15th of Luke, the Saviour sets forth his doc-
trine of salvation in three parables. He was induced
to do this in reply to the Pharisees and Scribes, who
murmured at him because he received sinners and ate
with them. In the first parable he represents sinners
and their salvation by a lost sheep, which the owner
seeks, finds, and carries home ; in the second, by a
piece of money which a woman lost, sought and found.
He furthermore represents the angels in heaven re-
joicing more over one sinner that repenteth, than over
ninety and nine just persons who need no repent-
ance ; and in the last he sets forth the return of sin-
ners to God by the return of the prodigal son to his
father.

This sower of the precious seed of the kingdom of
God, was particular in planting the doctrine cf the
divine goodness ; and in order to hand it to us in the
most acceptable manner, he says ; " If ye, then, being
evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children,
how much more shall your Father which is in heaven
give good things to them that ask him ? "

Nothing can be more evident, than that our heaven-
ly Father is more kind to us, who are evil, than we
are to our children, according to this precious testimo-
ny of our Saviour. This is precious seed in very deed.
It is precious beyond all comparison. This declara-
tion of him, who went forth weeping, bearing precious
seed, is of more value than all the bodies of divinity
which have been written since the enemy sowed tares
among the wheat.

Let us ask ourselves, notwithstanding we are evil,
and too frequently err in our conduct towards our

BALLOTS LECTURES. 181

children, could we possibly consign our dependent
offspring to endless torments for their childish faults ?
And yet such is the common doctrine taught by the
creeds of men, that little children are instructed to re-
peat sentences which teach them to believe that their
heavenly Father will torture millions of his creatures,
in never ending misery ! How painful is the thought,
that such a sentiment shoulo\ be imprinted in the
tender minds of our innocent children, concerning
whom Jesus said ; " Suffer little children, and forbid
them not, to come unto me ; for of such is the kingdom
of heaven." O how precious is this kind declaration
of the Saviour, to parents ! This is the testimony of
him, who is now at the right hand of God. Compare
these words of Jesus with the popular doctrine of the
total depravity of infants, and of hell's containing mil-
lions of them, who never saw the light of the sun I

Such is the vast importance of the comparison here
suggested, that the candid attention of the audience is
invited to consider the following question ; If the tes-
timony of Jesus concerning little children be both true
and precious, is not the opinion that little children
are totally depraved, and are heirs of eternal misery,
false and impure ? This false doctrine belongs to the
tares, which the enemy sowed among the wheat. Jesus
never sowed such seed ; he never uttered any thing
so dishonorable to God, nor did he ever plant such
a thorn to torture the feelings of affectionate parents.
The doctrine of Jesus is the doctrine of love. The
doctrines of men are the doctrines of hatred. The
doctrine of Jesus teaches that God loves his enemies,
wills their salvation, and sent his Son to save them.
The doctrines of men teach that God hates his enemies
and will punish them eternally. The doctrine of Jesus
informs us that he came to call sinners to repentance.
The doctrines of men assert that the finally impenitent
will be made forever miserable, but Jesus never spake
of the " finally impenitent." The doctrine of Jesus
teaches the forgiveness of sin. The doctrines of men
require a sacrifice to appease the divine wrath. The
doctrine of Jesus informs ns, that he will draw all men
16

182 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

unto himself. The doctrines of men assert, that God
has decreed but a part to be drawn to Christ. The
doctrine of Jesus informs us that all things are given to
him. The doctrines of men assert, that but a few are
given to Christ. The doctrine of Jesus is precious
wheat ; but the doctrines of men are tares which are
to be consumed by the fire of truth and love.

There are several particulars respecting the pre-
ciousness of the doctrine of Jesus, which are worthy
of special notice ; some of which we shall here men-
tion.

First. This doctrine is from God. Jesus says : " My
doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me." The Cre-
ator, Ruler and Disposer of all things has sent us a
communication of his divine will and fixed purpose
concerning us. This doctrine being from the high-
est authority in the universe must be considered pre-
cious.

Secondly. In all respects, this doctrine is most favor-
able to mankind. There is no particular part that can
be altered for the better. Let the most wise and pru-
dent undertake to add any thing to this doctrine and
they make it worse. Let them take any thing from it
and they leave it not so good.

Thirdly. It is most precious on account of its sim-
plicity and perspicuity. It is rendered so visible in
the divine testimony, that any attempt to explain it
tends to render it obscure. If one should attempt to
show us the sun in a clear day by holding a candle
before our eyes, it would obscure our vision, and tend
to hide from our sight what is already as visible as it
can be. Such are the effects of the wisdom of this
world when employed to show us that light which
shines in the "face of Jesus."

Fourthly. This doctrine of the New-Testament is
life. It is the bread of God which giveth life to the
world. St. Paul says ; " God hath made useable min-
isters of the New-Testament, not of the letter, but of
the spirit ; for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth
life." There is no death in the doctrine of Jesus.
Peter said ; " thou hast the words of eternal life."

183

Fifthly, It is universal. It is the same to all men.
Jesus has but one doctrine for every creature under
heaven ; and this doctrine is calculated to gather to-
gether all things in one, even in Christ. There is no
particular view of the doctrine of Jesus, in which it
appears more precious, than in its universality.
Though the sun be most precious in its light and
heat even to an individual, how glorious is the thought
that this light and this heat are universal. And though
these life-giving qualities are dispensed through every
degree of latitude and longitude round the globe, every
one has enough. So it is with that " true light that
lighteth every man that cometh into the world." If a
few astronomers, who should study the laws of the
heavenly bodies, should frame a creed embracing the
most essential particulars in the phenomena of the sun,
and then require every one, learned and unlearned, to
believe in their creed as a condition by which they
might obtain its light, they would discover as much true
philosophy as those, who stile themselvs divines, do of
divinity, in framing their creeds, and requiring our
assent to them, that we may obtain the favour of God.

Sixthly, This doctrine is most precious, because it is
always the same. It is now what it was in the begin-
ning, it is now what it will be when thousands of
ages shall have passed away. The same love, the same
mercy, the same good will of our heavenly Father, in
which the most enlightened now rejoice, have, in all
ages of the world, been in full exercise towards man-
kind ; nor can they ever relax, but will forever con-
tinue.

And seventhly, This precious doctrine of the love of
God is calculatd to transform every rational being into
its own nature and to render every man precious like
itself. " Every man that hath this hope in him purifi-

eth himself, even as he is pure. Now are we the

sons of God ; and it doth not yet appear what we shall
be, but we know, that when he appeareth we shall be
like him, for we shall see him as he is." In this way
the fruits of the precious doctrine of the Saviour will

184

finally produce the joyful harvest contemplated in ou
text, and will load, with ripe sheaves, the blessed Re-
deemer of the world, who in sorrow went forth and
sowed his precious seed.

When the fulness of the different times, which in-
tervene between seed-time and harvest, have passed
away, and the hand of labor is abundantly rewarded
with a plenteous harvest, then the husbandman reali-
zes the end of his toils, and comes from his field, re
joicing, bringing his sheaves with him. So, when the
fulness of times shall have passed away, for the perfect-
ing of the work of the gospel ministry, he that sowed
in tears shall reap in joy. All shall know the Lord
from the least to the greatest ; and the knowledge of
God shall cover the earth as the waters cover the sea.

As the husbandman, who commits the precious
wheat to the bosom of the earth, and waits for the ear-
ly and the latter rains, receives to his full satisfaction
the plenteous harvest, so we are certified that Jesus
shall see of the travail of his soul and be satisfied. 0
the blessed assurance ! Shall Jesus, who sowed in
tears reap as large a harvest as will fill his vast desires ?
Yes, " for by his knowledge shall my righteous servant
justify many, for he shall bear their iniquities." Jesus
" gave himself a ransom for all to be testified in due
time." He will never be satisfied until his " ransomed
shall all return and come to Zion with songs, and
everlasting joy upon their heads ; they shall obtain
joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee
away."

Every convert to God, every ransomed soul that
returns and comes to Zion, brings a ripe sheaf of the
precious grain of love to God and love to man, which
Jesus sowed in tears. It should be distinctly understood,
that the design of the Saviour in sowing the good seed
in the world, was that it might bring forth the fruit of
righteousness.

Here then let us examine the argument which the
doctrine of limited salvation urges against the final hap-
piness of all men. The argument is this ; It is not

185

right in the sight of God, to bestow the same felicity
on the wicked, as he does on the righteous. This is
our opposer's argument, but we say it does not, in the
least, affect the merits of the subject. This objection
only shows that the opposer is totally ignorant of what
he endeavors to disprove. The question is, is it just
and right in the sight of God to bring sinners to repent-
ance, and convert the ungodly to holiness ? This is
the question, and our opposer ought to understand it;
for if he could see that, in order to disprove the doc-
trine for which we contend, he must show that it is not
right to convert the sinner to God, he would cease to
oppose.

Jesus said, as has been before noticed, " that he came
to call sinners to repentance." St. Paul says, " This is
a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of
whom I am chief." But let us keep in mind, that Je-
sus saves his people from their sins ; not in their sins,
as our opposers seem to insinuate that we believe.

There are two particulars respecting the harvest
under consideration, which may be distinctly noti-
ced.

First. The quality of the grain to be gathered in.
This is righteousness. " Such as a man sows, such
shall he also reap." Jesus sowed the doctrine of love,
of faith, of repentance, of hope, of charity, of forgive-
ness, of doing to others as we would that they should
do to us ; such will he reap. Had he sown the doc-
trine of eternal hatred, final impenitence, endless en-
mity, death and condemnation, he would expect to
reap a harvest of the same kind. Those who preach
such doctrines now, expect to see such a harvest, and
they very often speak of the tremendous day, when
the ripe sheaves will be gathered in. But who will
come rejoicing bringing in such a harvest ?

Secondly. The extent of the harvest is a subject
that claims our notice. Jesus represented the future
extent of his doctrine, by the parable of the mustard-
seed, " which a man took and sowed in his field;
16*

186 BALLOu's LECTURES.

which indeed is the least of all seeds ; but when it is
grown it is the greatest among herbs, and becomes a
tree ; so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the
branches thereof." Also, by the parable of the leaven,
" which a woman took and hid in three measures of
meal, till the whole was leavened.'' There is a beau-
tiful indication of the same in the 72d Psalm, as fol-
lows : " There shall be an handful of corn in the earth
upon the top of the mountains ; the fruit thereof shall
shake like Lebanon ; and they of the city shall flourish
like grass of the earth." Isaiah says, " Thy people
shall be all righteous." And speaking of the Prince
of Peace, he says ; " Of the increase of his government
and peace there shall be no end." David says, "All
kings shall fall down before him; all nations shall
serve him — All the ends of the world shall remember,
and turn unto the Lord ; and all the kindreds of the
nations shall worship before thee. For the kingdom
is the Lord's ; and he is the governor among the na-
tions." This extensive harvest was seen by St. John,
on the isle of Patmos, as he thus describes : " I be-
held, and lo, a great multitude, which no man could
number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and
tongues, stood before the throne, and before the
Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their
hands ; and cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation
to our God, which sitteth upon the throne, and unto
the Lamb." This is the rejoicing of the extensive
harvest. And though this vast multitude of all na-
tions, &c. were seen together, there were " white
robes " enough for them all.

My hearers — You were all seen in this vision ; the
robe of righteousness is ready for you. The time will
come when every knee shall bow, and every tongue
confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Fa-
ther.

Though the mustard-seed was despised when the
Saviour planted it, and though it lie a long time in
the earth, its glory will unfold, and its increase shall

BALLOTj's LECTURES. 187

satisfy the capacious desires of him who came to call
sinners to repentance.
Dr. Watts says ;

" Though seed lie buried long in dust,
It shan't deceive their hope !
The precious grain can ne'er be lost,
For grace insures the crop "

LECTURE XIV.

ENTERING INTO LIFE MAIMED ; AND BEING CAST INTO
HELL.

MARK ix. 43, 44.

And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life
maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall
be quenched ; where their worm dietli not, and the fire is not quenched.

Some of the motives which have inclined the speak-
er to call the attention of this audience to the consid-
eration of this portion of divine truth are the fol-
lowing:

1. There is, perhaps, no passage in the scriptures,
that has been more commonly used to lead the minds
of people to believe in the doctrine of endless misery,
and to be exercised with the fear of such a state,
than this. And as one of the objects of these lec-
tures is to disprove such a doctrine, and to show that
the passages, which are usually quoted in its support,
are misapplied, it seems proper to notice this pas-
sage in a way to show the error of its common use.
And,

2. That the opportunity may be embraced to en-
force the argument of the text to induce the mind
to submit to any privations, which are necessary
to the discharge of that christian obedience by
which we enter into the spiritual life of the spirit of
truth.

We may, in the first place, institute an inquiry, di
rected to satisfy the mind respecting the usual appli
cation of this scripture to a future state of endless
misery.

In giving to this inquiry such a form as may tend to

189

facilitate a judicious conclusion, the following things
are premised ;

1. The testimony, by which any fact is to be proved,
should be of one who knows the thing to be a reality,
to which he bears such testimony.

2. In a case where testimony is all the evidence that
can be had, this testimony should be of such a charac-
ter as to admit of no reasonable doubt respecting its
true application.

3. It is indispensable, that testimony, by which the
belief of any proposition is to be established should be
entirely free from any contradictions. And,

4. It is moreover proper to observe, that in propor-
tion to the greatness of the subject, on which we are
called to form a judgment, what has been premised
enforces its claims on the mind.

As to the magnitude of the subject, which is now
called in question, nothing exceeds it. The doctrine
which asserts, that mankind are to suffer unspeakable
torments to all future eternity is a subject, that justly
requires as direct and clear evidence as any nameable
case whatever.

With the foregoing considerations impressed on our
minds, let us examine the words of our text with the
design to ascertain the truth concerning this vast ques-
tion. " And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off; it is
better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having
two hands, to be cast into hell, into the fire that never
shall be quenched ; where their worm dieth not, and
the fire is not quenched." — This is the testimony on
which the doctrine of eternal, never-ending misery is
founded. The hearer is most earnestly requested to
lay aside all prepossession on this subject, and investi-
gate it with as much caution as the interest which we
all have in the subject demands.

1. Let us ask, is there in this passage any thing
that goes to prove that its author was speaking of what
is to take place in a future state of being ? Most
certainly, without a doubt, replies the believer in end-
less punishment, for Jesus here speaks of being cast
into hell ; and surely hell is not in this world. My

190 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

dear friend, I humbly asked you to lay aside all pre-
possessions on this subject ; but in room of this, your
answer is the production of prejudice. Did this faith-
ful and true witness ever say that hell is not in this
world ? Ts it asserted in our text, that this hell is in a
future state of existence ? Both these questions must
be answered in the negative. Will our opposer say,
that the whole testimony of scripture must be admitted
in this case, and that we must learn where hell is, and
what it is, by the united testimony of inspired writers ?
To this we agree at once. The prophet David says ;
" Great is thy mercy toward me ; and thou hast deliv-
ered my soul from the lowest hell." Again he says ;
" The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains
of hell gat hold upon me ; I found trouble and sorrow."
Jonah says ; I cried by reason of mine affliction unto
the Lord, and he heard me ; out of the belly of hell
cried I, and thou heardest my voice." Now as certain
as David and Jonah were in this world, when they
thus spake, so certain it is, that in the days of these
prophets, hell was in this world. Why might it not be
in this world in the days our Saviour was on the earth?

It appears evident, from the passages just quoted,
that a state of extreme trouble and affliction is, in the
language of scripture, called hell. Therefore, in order
to justify the application of this word to a state of pun-
ishment in a future world, there must be a declaration
directly to that effect ; but there is no part of the text
under consideration that can in any way answer such
a purpose.

2. Will it be contended, that as the Saviour said ;
"Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not
quenched," he must necessarily mean to speak of a
future endless torment ? To this we reply ; as it has
already been agreed, that the scriptures must be taken
in their connexion, and their united testimony admit-
ted in this inquiry, it seems most proper to connect
these words of our Saviour with a similar passage in
the 66th of Isaiah, which reads thus; " For as the new
heavens, and the new earth, which I have made, shall
remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall youi seed

BALLOU's LECTURES. 191

and your name remain. And it shall come to pass,
that from one new moon to another, and from one
sabbath to another, shall all flesh corne to worship be-
fore me, saith the Lord. And they shall go forth,
and look upon the carcasses of the men that have
transgressed against me : for their worm shall not die,
neither shall their fire be quenched ; and they shall
be an abhorring unto all flesh."

By this passage the case is perfectly clear that the
worm, and the fire that is not quenched are in this
state of existence, where times of worship are measur-
ed by new moons and by sabbaths. And there can
be no doubt but the Saviour, in our text had his eye
on this passage in Isaiah, and spake of the same sub-
ject.

We will now allow the objector liberty to say, that
it is evident that the passage in Isaiah alludes to the
time of the new heavens, and the new earth, which
must refer to a future state.

We reply to the objector, in this case, and say ;
" Ye greatly err, not knowing the scriptures," for the
prophet in his 65th chapter speaks as follows ; " Be-
hold I create new heavens, and a new earth ; and the
former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.
But be ye glad and rejoice forever in that which I
create ; for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing,
and her people a joy — And they shall build houses,
and inhabit them ; and they shall plant vineyards,
and eat the fruit of them." Will houses be built,
and vineyards be planted in a future world ? No ;
all these scriptures evidently regard things which be-
long to our present state of mortal existence.

By a careful comparison of the passages to which we
have referred, and by taking into the connexion one in
St. Peter, and another in Revelations, on the subject
of the new heavens, and new earth, and on the new
Jerusalem, it appears clear that those scriptures were
designed to represent the gospel dispensation. St.
Paul, in his epistle to the Hebrews, who understood
the language of Isaiah, says to the believers in Jesus*
" Ye are come unto mount Zion, and unto the city ot

192

the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem." He does not
say, that they will get to this heavenly Jerusalem in a
future world, but he tells them, that that they have
already come to it.

But what does Isaiah mean by saying ; " They shall
go forth, and look upon the carcasses of the men that
have transgressed against me ; for their worm shall not
die, neither shall their fire be quenched ; and they shall
be an abhorring unto all flesh ?"

Reply — By all flesh, no doubt, the prophet meant
the Gentiles of different nations who should come into
the gospel church and covenant ; and by the men that
transgressed against the Lord, he meant the Jews who
rejected their Messiah. These Jews are represented
as tormented with a gnawing worm and a perpetual
fire, and to be an abhorring to the Christian church of
Gentiles.

These remarks seem to bring us directly to the
meaning of our text. "It is better for thee to ente
into life maimed, than, having two hands, to be cast in-
to hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched ;
where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quench-
ed." That is, than to be cast into the state of con-
demnation and outer darkness, w7here there shall be
weeping'and gnashing of teeth, into which the Jews
who reject the gospel will be cast.

Will it now be asked, what will become of those Is-
raelites who rejected the Messiah and have been cast
into this state of condemnation ? Let St. Paul give
the answer; " Blindness in part is happened to Israel
until the fulness of the gentiles be come in, and so all
Israel shall be saved."

As it has been premised that the testimony by which
a belief in a proposition is to be established, must be
free from contradiction, before we can allow that the
doctrine of endless misery is proved by the scriptures,
they must be found entirely free from any declarations
to the contrary.

St. Paul informs us, that God " will have all men
to be saved," and that Jesus "gave himself a ransom
for all" men. Now if God's will and the Saviour's ran

193

som finally fail of their object, what can we prove from
the scriptures ? If those whom God wills to save, and
whom the Saviour ransomed are to be miserable eter-
nally, who are to be saved ?

The fact is, there is no such testimony in the scrip-
tures, which can, with the least degree of fairness be
applied to a state of never-ending misery ; and in fact
if there were any such testimony in the scriptures, yet
it could not prove the proposition, so long as there re-
main so many positive declarations against it.

Moreover, we feel it to be a duty to state, that in
room of straining particular passages, which speak of
the punishment of the wicked, so as to favor the idea
of unlimited punishment, we should feel justified in
restraining any passage, could such be found, that
should seem to favor an opinion so dishonorable to God,
and so revolting to our best feelings.

It. surely should not require so much direct testimo-
ny from the scripture to prove that God will have mer-
cy on all men, as to prove that he will not ; for if we
judge the divine Being by his conduct to men in this
life, the evidence of his universal goodness is perfect-
ly ample. And David says, " the Lord is good to all,
and his tender mercies are over all his works."

If what the scriptures assert on this subject be true,
and if we may credit the testimony of divine provi-
dence, we must conclude, that the doctrine that teach-
es unmerciful, never-ending punishment, is a direct
impeachment of the divine Being ; and is the greatest
specimen of ingratitude that is to be found in all the
world.

This ungrateful doctrine is now held up to be the
guardian of morality ! In order to be moral wre must
solemnly and heartily accuse the kind Father of our
spirits, who loves sinners and sent his Son to be the
propitiation for the sins of the whole world, of having
predestinated millions of human beings to a state of
endless wo, before the creation of the world ! If re-
ligion and morality begin with such ingratitude, what
will be their progress ? and what will be their end ?

There is one more argument which the opposer
17

194

may think ought to be noticed, which is the following.
As Jesus says, in our text ; " it is better for thee to
enter into life maimed, than having two hands, to be
cast into hell, &e. ; as entering into life means entering
into a state of eternal felicity, hereafter, so being cast
into hell, being the opposite of entering into life, seems
to favor the opinion that this hell is in the future, eter-
nal world.

In replying to this argument, we shall bring the
principal design of the text before the hearer, and in-
troduce the argument of the Saviour for the purpose
for which he used it.

And here the hearer is called on to observe that the
objection to which we are now about to reply is in fact,
founded on a mistake. By entering into life, we have
no evidence to believe, that the Saviour had any allu-
sion to entering into a state of complete happiness, in
the eternal, immortal state ; but we have evidence to
the contrary of this, even in the text itself. Observe
the words; "it is better for thee to enter into life
maimed," &c. He surely did not mean, that men
were to enter into a state of immortality in the eternal
world maimed.

John Baptist, says ; " he that believeth on the Son
hath everlasting life." St. John says, " we know that
we have passed from death unto life, because we love
the brethren." St. Paul says, " there is, therefore,
now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Je-
sus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit.
For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath
made me free from the law of sin and death." To
the Ephesians he says ; " But God, who is rich in
mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even
when we were dead in sin, hath quickened us togeth-
er with Christ." This is that life into which those
who believe and obey the gospel enter maimed.

But the immortal state is represented glorious and
complete.

We shall now solicit the attention of the audience
to the consideration of what is meant by being maimed,
in our text, and to an illustration of the proper object

BALLOU'S LECTURES. 195

of the Saviour's argument. Observe the introduction of
our subject. " And whosoever shall offend one of these
little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a
millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast
into the sea. And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off;
for it is better for thee to enter into life maimed," &c.

The evident meaning of the Saviour seems to be
this ; if one of your nearest connexions in the world,
even if one as dear to you as a hand, should oppose
your yielding obedience to the gospel, part with this
dear connexion rather than part with divine truth.
And though you thereby feel as one who has lost a
hand, yet what you gain is more than what you lose.
In this connexion, Jesus mentions the cutting off of a
foot, and the plucking out of an eye for the same cause
as the cutting off of the hand ; and it is very evident
that this recommendation was given on account of the
opposition that was constantly in exercise against
the cause of truth, and which he knew would increase
unto grievous persecution.

Jesus said, " Think not that I am come to send
peace on earth ; I came not to send peace, but a sword.
For I am come to set a man at variance against his
father, and the daughter against her mother, and the
daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a
man's foes shall be they of his own household. He
that loveth father or mother more than me is not wor-
thy of me : and he that loveth son or daughter more
than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh
not his cross and followeth after me is not worthy of
me. He that findeth his life shall lose it ; and he that
loseth his life for my sake shall find it."

It was hard indeed for the disciples of Jesus to part
with such tender connexions, and they, no doubt,
felt, in some respect, as people do, who have lost a
hand, a foot, or an eye ; but then on the other hand,
they had Jesus who is worth more than all they
lost.

St. Paul was called to enter into life at the expense
of all that he held dear, of a worldly nature. Brought
up at the feet of Gamaliel, educated a Pharisee, in

196 BALLOu's LECTURES.

high esteem among his people, and in the confidence
of the high Priest of his nation ; in his youth when his
prospects were exceedingly flattering, and at a moment
when he was engaged in rendering all possible service
to the interest of those authorities, which were hostile
to the cause and disciples of Christ, he is called to em-
brace the Saviour, and to part with all his connexions
and friends on earth. He entered into life maimed.
He felt like one who has lost a hand, a foot, and an
eye, but thereby saved his life. How often would
such a person think of the members gone. How often
would he say, O that my hand, my foot, and my eye
could again be restored. So it was with St. Paul. He
says, " I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my con-
science also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost,
that I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in
my heart. For I could wish that myself were accurs-
ed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen accord-
ing to the flesh." And again, he says, "Brethren, my
heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that
they might be saved." But there he saw them, de-
voted to the worm and fire, described by the prophet
Isaiah. — They were the Apostle's" kinsmen according
to the flesh." They were to him like lost members
of his body, for whom he exercised great and continu-
al concern.

Will the advocate for endless punishment say, that
St. Paul's concern for his brethren was because he
believed they would never obtain mercy ? Will any
pretend that Paul was heavy-hearted, because he be-
lieved as many do now, that they were consigned over
to endless wo ?

Such a supposition is in direct opposition to the
clear and luminous arguments which this Apostle
has left recorded in his epistles, particularly in the
11th of Romans, where he fully explains the occasion
of the blindness of the Jews, and largely vindicates
their final re-admission to favor. Speaking to the
Gentile believers, he says; "For as ye in times past
have not believed God, but have now obtained mer-
cy through their unbelief, even so have these now not

197

believed, that through your mercy, they also may ob-
tain mercy." And as has been before noticed, he says
"All Israel shall be saved."

It surely would be very contrary to the prospects
of the christian hope, to suppose that St. Paul, or any
other Saint would spend an eternity in the maimed
condition that he was in, in consequence of leaving
his brethren in darkness and unbelief.

Many professed Christians in our times, and indeed
many professed preachers of the gospel, feel or affect
to feel great concern for fear the souls of their fellow
creatures will be finally sentenced to everlasting tortures
in the eternal world. This is a maimedness, which
St. Paul has informed us nothing of. But those who
now believe the truth as it is in Jesus and yield obedi-
ence to its requirements, enter into life maimed. They
are called to part with dear connexions, which are near
to them as the members of their bodies.

The false religion of anti-christ, like the doctrines of
the Pharisees and the Sadducees of old, has so estab-
lished itself by the power of tradition, is guarded and
supported by so many means, which in the eyes of the
world are honorable, that to call it in question, to
presume to bring it into the light for examination ex-
cites great alarm among its friends. One who has
been brought up and educated according to the ortho-
dox creed, joined a church, and formed an extensive
connexion in religious society, has kind and affection-
ate parents, brothers and sisters, who are respectable
members of the same communion, by some means
which heaven has appointed is called to reflect on some
of the doctrines of the church, by way of query. Such
questions as the following arise in the mind. How is
it that a wise, kind, and merciful Creator has predesti-
nated, from eternity, millions of human beings to end-
less and unspeakable torments ? In his providence,
he is universally kind ; he openeth his hand and satisfi-
eth the desire of every living thing ; why should he
not be as universally kind in the economy of his spirit-
ual grace ? We read in the scriptures, that " God
commended this love toward us, in that while we were
17*

198 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

yetsinness, Christ died for us," We furthermore
read thatJesus Christ the righteous is the propitiation
for the sins of the whole world. Why should the
scriptures speak in such terms if a few only of the hu
man family are subjects of the divine favor ? These
thoughts and many others revolve in the mind of the
supposed individual. The person thus exercised feels
a strong desire to speak with some one on the subject ;
but fears arise that it may give offence ! The matter
is suffered to rest for the present; the person goes to
the house of worship with a determination to learn
something, if possible, that may assist in solving these
queries. The minister prays ; and in his prayer he
fervently entreats the Father of mercies to send forth
the light, and power of the gospel even to the ends of
the earth, that all may be brought to a saving know-
ledge of God. This prayer awakens the attention of
our querist, who now says ; why does my minister pray
for all the world if he has no faith for the whole ? The
minister preaches ; and his sermon is designed to prove
the divine sovereignty in electing some to everlasting
life, and predestinating others to endless destruction.
This contradiction between the prayer and the sermon
tries the mind exceedingly. The person goes home,
finally feels such powerful exercises of mind, that a
determination is formed to talk with others on the sub-
ject.

No sooner are these queries made known to the
dearest connexions in life, than surprise is manifested ;
and the person asked whether he is disposed to call in
question the mysterious doctrines of the gospel, doubt
the creed, and pretend to be wiser than the minister ?
But all does not satisfy the mind, into which a few
scattering beams of divine light have found their way.
Says the supposed person, I will go for once and hear
a preacher who holds up Jesus a universal Saviour.
Yes, this I must do, and if I am despised for it I must
bear it. It is accordingly so done, and God blesses
the word to the satisfaction of the heavy ladened soul,
and Jesus now appears Lord of all, Lord of the dead
and the living ; and the enraptured soul says, I have

199

seen and must testify that the Father sent the Son to
be the Saviour of the world. With the heart the per-
son believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth
confession is made unto salvation. What is next?
The church disowns this member and casts it out ;
family connexions grow cold and alienated in their af-
fections, and this lonely individual enters into life
maimed.

What a loss is here ! Perhaps father, mother, broth-
ers, sisters, are parted with. Yea, perhaps a husband
or a wife, as the case may be.

Joys arise on the one hand, peace is found in be-
lieving, and a free universal gospel is life to the soul.
On the other hand heaviness of heart, that those dear
connexions, which are left in gloomy darkness, and are
exercised with the awful terrors of everlasting misery,
cannot now see and rejoice in this heavenly, glorious
truth, that " God is the Saviour of all men."

But, my brethren and sisters, though many of you
have entered into life maimed ; though you have left
fathers, mothers, companions, brethren and sisters,
sons and daughters, you are satisfied that it is better
to enter into life thus maimed, than to be cast into that
ceaseless fire of erroneous creeds, and to be gnawed
with that restless worm of continual fear.

There is likewise one consolation that more than re-
pays all the losses you sustain ; your faith and hope
enter within the vail where Jesus entered, in whom
dwells all the fulness of the Godhead bodily ; " and ye
are complete in him." When you contemplate the ful-
ness of him who filleth all things, you perceive that
God has purposed to " gather together in one all things
in Christ." You " know that the head of every man
is Christ," and that Jiot a bone of him shall be broken.
You therefore anticipate the time, when you shall en-
ter into immortality and eternal life, not maimed, but
being complete in Christ the head of every man, all
those dear connexions who oppose you here, will join
you there. Those who could not commune with you
here, will have no partial creeds there. All will be il-
luminated with the radiant sun of righteousness, tears

200

will there be wiped from off all faces, and there shall
be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither
shall there he any more pain. But he that sitteth up-
on the throne shall make all things new according to
the pattern shown unto the disciples, in the mount
where Jesus was transfigured.

That the hearer may have a clear and distinct un-
derstanding of the general subject to which we have
attended, a comparison should be carefully made be-
tween the state of the disciples of Jesus, in this pres-
ent world, where, though spiritual life, and the fruits
of the spirit, which are love, joy, peace, long suffering,
gentleness, goodness, and faith, are enjoyed, yet there
are many sufferings ; such as persecutions for the sake
of the word, sorrows of heart for those who oppose
the truth, and all the maimedness signified in our text,
and of which mention has been made, with that per
feet, glorious, and immortal state, of which Jesus spake
when treating on the subject of the resurrection, and
of which St. Paul, speaks in his 1st epistle to the Co-
rinthians.

The opposer will now say, if you are right, why is it
not just as well for us to remain ignorant of these
truths as to know them? What difference can it
make ?

In reply, we will ask the following questions : — Sup-
pose some deceived person should be led to believe,
that the coming spring will be so widely different from
the vernal seasons which are past, that in room of a
warmer sun than winter affords, and in room of the
usual zephyrs and flowers of May, the sun will run still
lower than in winter, and the winds be more chilling,
the frost more intense, and not a flower will be seen,
nor a bird heard to sing ; further, suppose this gloomy
soul should persuade thousands 4o believe his errors,
and should spread a gloom over half the inhabitants
of our country, how would those, who remained con-
fident in the goodness and faithfulness of God, feel for
their deceived friends ? Would they not endeavor to
persuade them away from their fears? And would it
be just as well for those who should be thus deceived,

BALLOU'S LECTURES. 201

to remain in their error, as to live by faith, and rejoice
in hope of the glory of God, which is hastening on as
fast as time moves ?

Would it not be very proper to say to the people,
who in consequence of this gloomy unbelief, were ma-
king no preparations to improve the lovely season of
seed time, repent of your errors, see to your concerns,
be ready with all your means, for the spring is at hand,
the days grow longer, it will be but a short time before
the flowers shall appear and the time of the singing of
birds will come ?

LECTURE XV.

ALL MEN THE CHILDREN OF GOD. DESTRUCTION OF
THE DEVIL.

HEBREWS ii. 14, 15.

Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also
himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might des-
troy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; — And deliver them
who, through fear of death, were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

The first inquiry, to which the attention of the
hearer is invited, will be directed to ascertain some
particulars relative to the children mentioned in our
text.

We shall see, by the context, that these children
comprehend the whole human family. In reference
to a passage in the 8th Psalm, the Apostle says ;
" But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is
man that thou art mindful of him ? or the son of man
that thou visitest him ? Thou madest him a little low-
er than the angels ; thou crownedst him with glory
and honor, and didst set him over the works of thy
hands : Thou hast put all things in subjection under his
feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him,
he left nothing that is not put under him. But now
we see not yet all things put under him : But we see
Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for
the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor ;
that he by the grace of God should taste death for ev-
ery man." By man, it is evident, the Apostle meant
the whole humanity, as did the prophet also in the
passage referred to ; and by every man, he meant the
same thing in a distributive view.

BALLOU'S LECTURES. 203

The Apostle's argument evidently amounts to this;
the glory and honor to which man was originally des-
tined by his Creator, we now see complete in Je-
sus, who tasted death for every man, and in him
only.

Immediately following what we have just quoted from
our context, the author, in giving the reason for the
sufferings of Jesus calls the whole human nature, ta-
ken in the distributive sense before noticed, sons;
Ci For it became him, for whom are all things, and by
whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory,
to make the captain of their salvation perfect through
sufferings."

Here it is important that we notice distinctly that
the Apostle designed to speak of the Creator when he
spake of him, " for whom are all things, and by whom
are all things ;" and when he spake of many sons, he
meant the same as he did by every man ; and when he
spake of bringing many sons to glory, he meant the
bringing of every man to the glory which we see in
Jesus, of which he had just spoken.

Directly following our last quotation, the author
calls these many sons, who are to be brought unto
glory, the brethren of him who is their sanctifier, and
says that they are one with him. " For both he that
sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one :
for which cause he is not ashamed to call them breth-
ren : saying, I will declare thy name unto my breth-
ren ; in the midst of the church will I sing praise
unto thee."

By him who sanctifieth, the author means Jesus,
who is the captain of our salvation ; by those who are
sanctified, he means every man or the many sons, of
whom he had just spoken, and by brethren he means
the same thing, and furthermore he calls them the
church.

Our author introduces our glorified Saviour, as say-
ing ; "Behold I, and the children which God hath giv-
en me." These children are the same as expressed
dy the Apostle in the following words which have
been quoted ; " What is man ? " meaning the whole

204 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

human nature. "Every man," meaning the same.
" Many sons," comprehending the same. " Brethren"
of the great sanctifier ; " The church." These are
the children mentioned in our text, who are partakers
of flesh and blood.

Having ascertained in the first section of our inquiry,
that the children mentioned in our text comprehend
the whole human family, we may attempt

2dly, To show who is the Father of these children.
This question is settled at once by the author in the
context, in the following words which have been no-
ticed ; " For it became him, for whom are all things,
and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons un-
to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect
through sufferings." These many sons, who are
brought unto glory, are the children mentioned in our
text, and he for whom are all things, and by whom are
all things, is the Father of these children.

If it seem incorrect to the hearer, to call all men the
children of God, and if any objection be made to this
doctrine on account of the sinfulness of man's charac-
ter, our argument may be supported by the following
considerations.

St. Luke in tracing the genealogy of Jesus carries
it up to the creation of man, and says ; " Which was
the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which
was the son of Adam, which was the son of God." If
it be proper to call Adam the son of God, it seems also
to be proper to call all the descendants of this first
man, the children of God.

If the objection be urged on account of the sinful
character of man, we reply, that the children do not
destroy this relation by disobedience. For as the re-
lation of parent and child certainly exists before the
child becomes active in obedience, or disobedience ; it
would be false reasoning to argue that obedience could
constitute this relation, or that disobedience would dis-
annul it. The Lord says, by the prophet Jeremiah ;
" Turn, O backsliding children, saith the Lord ; for I
am married unto you." Thus the divine Being ad-

BALLOU'S LECTURES. 205

dresses the wicked by the endearing appellation of
children.

That it is consistent with the doctrine of Jesus to
allow that sinners are the children of God, this divine
teacher fully shows where he teaches us to pray, and
say ; " Our father which art in heaven — forgive us
our sins." Here Jesus teaches the sinner to call God
his Father.

St. Paul, speaking to the Athenians, as recorded in
the 17th Acts, said ; " God that made the world, and
all things therein, — hath made of one blood all nations
of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and
hath determined the times before appointed, and the
bounds of their habitation ; that they should seek the
Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him,
though he be not far from every one of us ; for in him
we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also
of your own poets have said, for we are also his off-
spring."- According to this declaration, " all nations
of men" are the offspring of God. Let us inquire,

3dly. What this relation of all men to the divine Be-
ing consists in ?

It seems that the simple fact of man's being creat-
ed, or formed of the dust of the ground by the hand
of God, is not altogether a sufficient cause to account
for his being called his offspring ; for it is evident
that all other creatures and things were equally the
production of the divine Power; but the beasts of the
field, the fowl of heaven, the fish of the sea are not call-
ed the offspring and children of God.

If a man, who is a mechanic, contrive and make nev-
er so curious or valuable a piece of machinery, it would
not justify our calling him the father of this production
of his skill, nor would it justify our calling this machine
the son, child, or offspring of him who made it. But
if a man have born to him a child, this child par-
takes cf the very nature of the parent, and it is this
participation which constitutes the relation of father
and child. So if the " Father of spirits" has so con-
stituted man, that he is a partaker of his nature, he
18

206 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

is, in a most proper and divine sense the child and
offspring of God.

This is the nature of the relation which constitutes
all men the children of God, and this relation lies at
the foundation of the divine economy, by which we
are amply provided with all things which appertain
to life and godliness. This relation accounts for all
which we read in scriptures of the love, mercy, and
compassions of the divine Being towards man. We
cannot conceive the possibility of any being's loving
that which is totally different from itself.

But man " is the image and glory of God," and it
is as consistent with the nature of things, for God to
love his own image in mankind, as it is for parents to
love their image in their children.

This relation accounts for the moral obligation that
men are under to love God above every other object.
" Thou shalt love the Lord, thy God with all thy
heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength,"
is not an arbitrary command, but is established on the
nature of the divine relation in which we stand to our
Father which is in heaven. If there were in nature
any thing more calculated to happify mankind than is
the divine Being, that thing would certainly have the
greatest claim on our love.

But this is not the case ; there is not in the whole
universe any thing so favorable to man, as is the
Father of his spirit. God is the fountain from which
we came, and nothing but God can satisfy the
soul.

David said ; " As the heart panteth after the water-
brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My
soul thirsteth for God, for the living God." If water
were not a part of the composition of the human body,
we should never feel a desire for it, nor could it give
us the least refreshment. So if we were not partakers
of the divine nature in our constitution as mortal be-
ings, we could never feel the least desire for God, nor
couid the communications of the divine Spirit give us
life or any refreshment. How eagerly does one who
is thirsty receive the cooling draught, and with what

BALLOu's LECTURES. 207

exquisite pleasure does he slake his parching thirst.
Jesus says : " If any man thirst let him come unto
me and drink ;" Drink what ? The spirit of truth
which is a well of water springing up into everlasting
life.

This divine relation, which constitutes all men the
children of God, explains the meaning of such passa-
ges as the following ; " For the earnest expectation of
the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons
of God. — Because the creature itself also shall be de-
livered from the bondage of corruption into the glori-
ous liberty of the children of God : — For we know that,
if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved,
we have a building of God, an house not made with
hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan,
earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house
wThich is from heaven. For we that are in this taber-
nacle do groan, being burdened ; not for that we would
be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might
be swallowed up of life." In these passages men are
represented as the sons of God, and while they are in
the earthly house of this tabernacle, they are consider-
ed in a state of bondage, from which they groan to be
delivered ; and the state into which they are to enter
when the earthly house is dissolved, is the glorious lib
erty of the children of God, to inhabit a house not
made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

Now if man was wholly of an earthly nature,
if the natural elements which constitute his earthly
house of this tabernacle compose the whole of his na-
ture, would there be the least shadow of sense in such
scriptures ?

To conclude this general inquiry concerning the
children mentioned in our text, we may ask, in what
way the passage under consideration is to be under-
stood, unless this divine relation of mankind to the Fa-
ther of our spirits be granted ? " The children are
partakers of flesh and blood ; " If the children were
nothing but flesh and blood, why is it said, that they
are partakers of flesh and blood ? " He (Jesus ) also
himself likewise took part of the same." I Jesus con

208

sisted only of flesh and blood, is it intelligible language
to say, he took part of the same ?

But the christian hearer will say at once, that he
has no doubt that Jesus partook of the divine nature,
and stood in a constituted relation to his Father, and
was something besides flesh and blood. Now when
all this is conceded, the hearer's attention is invit-
ed to reconsider a part of the context which has been
noticed ; " For both he that sanctifieth and they who
are sanctified are all of one; for which cause he is not
ashamed to call them brethren." If Jesus, who is
the sanctifier, and mankind who are sanctified by him,
are all of one, so that he is not ashamed to call men
his brethren, then it is plain that the nature of the rela-
tion of Jesus to the Father is the nature of the relation
of every man to the Father of our spirits. And this
agrees with the scripture which saith that Jesus is
" the first-born among many brethren.'7

The hearer is cautioned against supposing that we
mean to level the blessed Redeemer to no more than
equality with ourselves, by contending that the relation
in which we stand to our Father and his Father; to
our God and his God, is the same in which he himself
stands ; for though all this is evident from the scrip-
tures, yet it is also contained in them, that " God hath
highly exalted him, and given him a name that is above
every name that is named, whether in this world or
that which is to come ; that in the name of Jesus every
knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things on
earth, and things under the earth ; and that every
tongue should confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory
of God the Father."

We may now notice the moral condition which our
text and context give to the children named in the text,
and concerning whom we have endeavored to direct
the foregoing researches.

On this question we may say but little ; as the sub-
ject is rendered sufficiently clear by the scripture un-
der consideration and its connexion.

In our text, theise children are said to be partakers

BALLOU'S LECTURES. 209

of flesh and blood, and to be in bondage through fear
of death. Just above the Apostle had said, as has
been twice noticed ; " Both he that sanctifieth and
they who are sanctified are all of one," &c. By this
we learn that the children were in an unsanctified state,
which rendered their sanctification necessary. And
this agrees with the following account which we find in
the Apostle's writing to the Ephesians ; " Husbands
love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church,
and gave himself for it ; that he might sanctify and
cleanse it with the washing of water by the word ;
that he might present it to himself a glorious church,
not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing ; but
that it should be holy, and without blemish."

This is the church of which mention is made in
our context : " I will declare thy name unto my breth-
ren ; in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto
thee."

This is the church which Jesus loved, when it was
unsanctified, unclean, full of spots and wrinkles, and
in a state of bondage. This church consists of every
man or the whole human family, as the Apostle saith
in the place where our text lies ; " But we see Jesus,
who was made a little lower than the angels, for the
suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor ;
that he by the grace of God might taste death for
every man."

Our next inquiry may be directed to obtain the
meaning of the following words ; " He also himself
likewise took part of the same ; that through death he
might destroy him that had the power of death, that is,
the devil."

These words seem to indicate the following things ;
— 1st. That the devil has the power of death. 2d.
That the devil may be destroyed. 3d. That the
means by which the devil can be destroyed is that of
death. And, 4th. That Jesus took on him flesh and
blood for the purpose of destroying the devil, by means
of death. Apprehensions are entertained that we are
about to encounter some formidable difficulties in the
progress of this inquiry, especially if we entertain the
18*

210 BALLOU?S LECTURES.

opinion concerning the devil, which has been general-
ly believed. This opinion supposes, that the devil is
an immortal spirit, that he was once an angel of light,
and an inhabitant of heaven, in which God and holy
angels dwell. It supposes that this angel rebelled
against the Almighty, for which cause he was driven
out of heaven, and cast down to hell, where he will ex-
ist in unspeakable torments as long as God shall exist
in heaven, happiness, and glory.

Dr. Watts, whose opinion, concerning the devil,
or satan, was according to the wisdom of other doctors,
has left the following as his sentiment, to be read and
sung in christian devotion :

f Far in the deep where darkness dwells,
The land of horror and despair,
Justice hath built a dismal hell,
And laid her stores of vengeance there .

Eternal plagues, and heavy chains,
Tormenting racks and fiery coals,
And darts t' inflict immortal pains
Dy'd in the blood of damned aouls.

There Satan the first sinner lies,

And roars and bites his iron bands;

In vain the rebel strives to rise,

Crushed with the weight of both thy hands."

Now it is certainly very difficult, according to this
doctrine, to account for all that the scriptures say in-
dicating that the devil has continually sojourned in
this world. This same author supposes that this satan,
who lies in the " dismal hell" of which he spake, crush-
ed with the weight of both the hands of the Almighty,
and who strives to rise from his confinement in vain,
was the tempter who beguiled our mother Eve. He
says;

•* When satan in the serpent hid,
Proposed the fruit that God forbid."

And not only does this common opinion about the
devil, suppose he was the tempter, who beguiled Eve,
but it supposes that he is present with every man

211

through his whole lifetime on earth, tempting us to

sin !

But our authors have not told us how the devil can
be confined to that " dismal hell," of which they say
so much, and at the same time be here on earth to su-
perintend the vast affairs of sin and wickedness through-
out all nations and kingdoms of the world.

There are more difficulties still which we must dis
pose of as prudently as possible.

If the devil be in fact an immortal spirit, and if he
be confined to a state of endless misery, how shall we
understand the Apostle in our text, who says, that
Jesus took flesh and blood, that through death he
might destroy him that had the power of death, that
is, the devil ?

How could Jesus, by dying, destroy an immortal,
spiritual being ? and one too who is to exist as long
as Jesus shall exist ?

Not only is it believed, that the devil will exist as
long as Jesus, who died to destroy him, but it is like-
wise believed that he will be able to maintain his gov-
ernment over a much larger number of the human
race, than will ever be made subject to the laws of the
Redeemer. In support of this opinion, such passa-
ges of scripture as the following are frequently cited ;
" Many are called, but few are chosen. — Wide is the
gate and broad is the way that leadeth to destruc-
tion, and many there be which go in thereat : Because
strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which lead-
eth unto life, and few there be that find it." It is be-
lieved that the adversary is continually exerting him-
self and using all his infernal arts to lead men into
sin, that the divine Being may be moved to sentence
them to his dismal abode, where he may have the con-
trol of them forever ; on the other hand, it is believed
that Jesus Christ is continually employing all the means
of grace to bring sinners to repentance, that they may
be his happy subjects in the eternal world ; but the
result of all these counter operations, and this war-
fare between Christ and the adversary will be a few to
the praise of the glory of the Redeemer's name, and

212 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

many victims to the more successful endeavors of the
prince of darkness !

Notwithstanding these sentiments are thought to be
true, and of essential importance in the christian doc-
trine, yet we hear abundance said, find much written,
and not a little sung of the glorious victory which Je-
sus won over the adversary, when he died, and rose
from the dead. But if those sentiments be correct,
which give the result of the warfare between Christ
and the adversary, so much in favor of the latter, it is
evident that another contest, and one more like vic-
tory would establish the adversary in universal domin-
ion !

That we may, at once deliver our minds from all the
inconsistencies which the common opinion concerning
the devil involves, let us avail ourselves of the import-
ant fact, that no such sentiment is found in the scrip-
tures, nor in the least favored by reason or common
sense.

That the devil was ever a holy angel we have no ac-
count in the scriptures ; that any man was ever tempt-
ed by an agent distinct from the powers of flesh and
blood we have no reason to believe. St. James says ;
" Every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of
his own lust, and enticed." And it is a fact, that we
are never tempted to commit any sin, that may not be
accounted for without a separate agent.

The word devil, or satan, means an adversary, an
enemy, an opposer. And this character every man
finds in himself. Every man, being a partaker of flesh
and blood, has the adversary in him, who tempts him
to sin ; and can say, with as much propriety as St.
Paul did, " In me, that is in my flesh, dwelleth no
good thing." The Apostle further says ; " I delight
in the law of God after the inward man. But I see
another law in my members warring against the law
of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law
of sin which is in my members." Again he says, "the
flesh lusteth against the spirit, and the spirit against
ihe flesh ; and these are contrary the one to the other ;
so that ye cannot do the things that ye would — Now

LECTURES. 213

the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these :
adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idola-
try, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath,
strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunken-
ness, revellings, and such like." Again he says; "the
carnal mind is enmity against God, is not subject to
his law, neither indeed can be."

This "carnal mind," this "law of sin," this enmity
against God, is the devil, that has the power of death,
for " to be carnally minded is death." Corruption
and mortality are within the powers of flesh and blood,
and the history of sin, evil, and death no where extends
beyond those limits.

This power of the flesh w7as figuratively represented
by the serpent, which beguiled Eve ; and it was said
to the serpent ; " dust shalt thou eat all the days of
thy life." The prophet Isaiah says ; " dust shall be
the serpent's meat."

This serpent is not an immortal spirit ; for such a
spirit surely would not feed on dust ; and the words,
" all the days of thy life," certainly indicate that the
life of the serpent would come to an end.

It seems that our subject must now7 be plainly seen
by the hearer.

" Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of
flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of
the same ; that through death he might destroy him
that had the power of death, that is, the devil." That
is, as the children of God, the heirs of life and immor-
tality are partakers of flesh and blood, in order to abol-
ish death and bring life and immortality to light ; in
order to destroy the devil and his works, and to tri-
umph over all these earthly and carnal powers, Jesus
took on him flesh and blood, was made in all points
like unto his brethren, was tempted in all points as we
are, subdued every temptation of the flesh, by the pow-
er of the spirit which he had without measure, laid
down his natural life, arose from the dead incorrupti-
ble and immortal. "He dieth no more; death hath
no more dominion over him." Flesh and blood which
cannot inherit the kingdom of God, and corruption

214 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

which cannot inherit incorruption are no more. The
serpent's days are ended, he has no more dust to eat,
he is destroyed and is no mere.

If the adversary had an immortal constitution, could
exist out of flesh and blood as well as in them, the
putting off all flesh and blood, would only demolish
one of the enemy's encampments, while it would
leave him unbounded space and eternity to occupy
still.

We may now draw to a conclusion, by an attempt to
illustrate the following clause of our text ; " And de-
liver them, who through fear of death, were all their
lifetime subject to bondage."

For want of the knowledge of life and immortality,
which Jesus has brought to light by his resurrection
from the dead, men are perpetually subject to bondage
through fear of death. But a belief in the gospel of
our blessed Redeemer gives us a complete victory over
all such fears. It enters the silent, dark mansion of
the dead with a steady clear light which directs us to
the bright abodes of immortal life.

The disciples of Jesus, who were favored with posi-
tive evidence of the resurrection of the Saviour, were
so completely delivered from the bondage of fear, that
they never hesitated to publish the doctrine of the
resurrection even to the perpetual hazard of their
lives.

Such was the persuasion which St. Paul had of the
truth of the resurrection, and the glory of the future
world, that he said ; " I am in a strait between two,
having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ ; which
is far better." This Apostle built all his hopes of a
future existence on the fact of the resurrection of Jesus
Christ. He says ; " If Christ be not raised, your faith
is vain ; ye are yet in your sins. — But now is Christ
risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them
that slept. — For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ
shall all be made alive." He further says ; " The first
man is of the earth, earthy; the second man is the
Lord from heaven. — And as we have borne the im-

BALLOU'S LECTURES. 215

age of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the
heavenly."

In the image of the earthy man we find the carnal
mind, which is enmity against God, is not subject to
his law, neither indeed can be. We find a law in our
members warring against the law of our mind, and
bringing us into captivity to the law of sin. We find
all the fruits of the flesh, and all the devil, of which
the Apostle speaks in our text, that has the power of
death. But in the image of the heavenly man none
of these things exist. No carnal mind, no enmity
against God, no law in the members warring against
the law of the mind. That flesh and blood which
cannot inherit the kingdom of God, and that cor-
ruption which cannot inherit incorruption, will exist
no more.

The " whole creation," thus delivered from the bon-
dage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the chil-
dren of God, will realize the fulness of what we now
see but in part.

My brethren, how near are these things ! but a
moment, as it were, separates us from the immortal
scenes anticipated by the christian faith. The view of
these eternal things and a steady belief in them, are
present victory over the powers of the flesh. This is
indeed a holy calling, a calling to heavenly-minded-
ness and heavenly conversation. These thoughts and
contemplations are blossoms in the desert, they are
pools in parched ground. This doctrine of eternal life
is a river in a dry place, the shadow of a great rock
in a weary land.

Jesus says ; " In the world you shall have tribulation,
but in me ye shall have peace."

My friends do not reject and refuse this peace, this
joy, this consolation, because it is free to all. You do
not refuse the light and warmth of the sun because all
men have it ; why then will you turn your backs on
the grace of Jesus because he is that wisdom which is
without partiality ?

LECTURE XVI.

THE SECOND DEATH.

REVELATIOx\ xxi. 8.

But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and
.whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their
part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone; which is the second
death.

This passage is among the number which have
been used to prove a state of intolerable misery in the
eternal world, and continually recited in those terri-
fic sermons which were designed to awaken the fears,
and operate on the timidity of the ignorant.

Our duty leads us to investigate the use which has
been made of this passage, to examine the propriety
of its common application, and as plainly as possible
refute whatever may appear incongruous with the
word of God, and the doctrine of his grace. It will
likewise be expected, that suitable labor will be direct-
ed to discover the true sense of this, and similar pas-
sages.

Our text informs us, that the lake of fire and brim-
stone is the second death, and as this death is called
" the second death," it evidently refers to a first death.
The common doctrine of the church supposes that the
first death is the death of the natural body, and the
second death the eternal condemnation of the soul and
body after the resurrection, in a state of the most ex-
quisite torture.

There seems to be no small inconsistency in this
opinion, in that it makes the second death to be sec-
ond to something as entirely different from itself as
any thing could be invented. The death of the body
consists in a total extinction of animal life, in an entire

LECTURES. 217

destitution of all sense, and renders the subject incapa-
ble of pleasure or pain. Where then is the propriety
of calling a state of the quickest sensation, and the
most intolerable misery second to that which is alto-
gether unlike it ?

While a person lives in this world, he is subject to
sorrow, adversity, sickness, and pain. Why then
would it not seem altogether more congruous to call a
state of misery hereafter the second life, than to call it
the second death, that is, second to the death of the
body?

Another very great inconsistency in the common
use of our text is, that it supposes that after people
shall have ceased from all the sins which are enumera-
ted in the text, and are in a constitution of existence
in which no such crimes can ever be committed, they
are then and there to be tormented for what they did
in this world. No one supposes that there will be un-
believers, whoremongers, idolaters, &c. in the eternal
world. What reason then is there in supposing that
in a world where no crime can never be committed,
crimes will be eternally punished ? In this world we
are obliged to punish crimes, and the object is to re-
claim the criminal, or to deter others from committing
like offences, or both. But what is this punishment
for in the eternal world, in which no one pretends
that any crime can ever be committed?

Will the advocate for this hereafter punishment,
pretend that it is inflicted on mankind because they
have been sinful in this world ? We will then endeav-
or to show that this is not a correct answer.

Suppose then that a man now commits a crime, say
theft, or murder, must he be punished ? Yes, he
surely must be punished. Why, what necessity is
there of this, punishment ? Answer ; if he be not pun-
ished, he will repeat the crime with impunity, and re-
straint will be taken from others, and crimes will be
multiplied.

This is admitted as a rational answer, and public
sentiment yields to the execution of the law.

But this answer cannot b? given in relation to this
19

218

supposed punishment in the future world ; for punish-
ment can be no terror to evil doers, where there are
none.

In case of criminality in this world, could it be made
to appear, that the relinquishment of penalty would
in no way tend to multiply crimes, the humanity and
good sense of the public would most surely discontin-
ue to punish.

It is evident that punishment regards the future, and
directs its endeavors to reclaim from wickedness and to
prevent crimes.

By the prophet Isaiah, God says to sinful Israel ;
" Why should ye be stricken any more ? Ye will re-
volt more and more." The evident sense of this is,
there is no good reason for punishing, unless evil can
be prevented by it.

But what evil will be prevented by this endless pun-
ishment in the future world ? Its advocates do not
pretend that it will either make its subjects better, or
restrain others from sin.

But it is said, that it necessary to hold up the ter-
rors of endless punishment to deter people from com-
mitting sin in this world. If this be all, there is no
necessity of the doctrine's being a truth, if it be believ-
ed, though in fact it be false, it has all the effect to de-
ter people from committing sin that it would have
were it true.

But we are ready to deny even this utility to the
doctrine in question. For the advocate of the doc-
trine makes provisions which completely nullify its
power to produce any such effect. He informs the
transgressor that if he repent of his sins anytime in
this life he will avoid this punishment hereafter ; and
moreover he certifies him that repentance is within his
own power, and that he can repent any time if he will.
Now where is the terror ?

We will suppose that our legislature makes a law
that if a man steal to the amount of a certain sum, he
shall, on conviction thereof^ be confined to hard labor
for life unless he shall in one week after committing
the crime wash his hands in clean water. Would there

219

be any terror in this law ? Would this law prevent
wicked men from stealing ? No, it would not. Nor
does telling them that unless they repent, of their sins
before they die they will be punished for them in the
future world prevent their committing sins.

Having suggested these improprieties in the com-
mon use of our text, we may now proceed to inquire
for the scripture doctrine concerning it.

As this lake of fire and brimstone is called the se-
cond death, we wish to have it kept in mind, that
wherever we read of the lake of fire, the same is the
second death ; and wherever we read of the second
death, the same is the lake of fire.

The first passage in which we find the second death
mentioned, in these words, is recorded in the 2d of
Revelation, and in the epistle to the church of Smyr-
na ; " Fear none of those things which thou shalt suf-
fer ; behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison,
that ye may be tried : and ye shall have tribulation ten
days : be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee
a crown of life ; He that hath an ear let him hear what
the spirit saith unto the churches : he that overcometh
shall not be hurt of the second death."

This was written to a christian church, and plainly
indicated that those who should not overcome the tri-
als with which they were about to be tried, but who
should be overcome by them, should be hurt of the
second death.

If the hearer will use proper caution on this subject,
what is meant by the second death will be very plain-
ly seen. This church of Smyrna had been collected
from among the Gentile idolaters. The state they
were in, before their conversion to Christianity is called
death in the language of the New Testament. In
his epistle to the Ephesians, St. Paul says ; " But
God who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith
he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath
quickened us together with Christ." The blindness
of the Jews and the idolatry of the Gentiles are repre-
sented as a state of death from which the gospel was
designed to raise and quicken the nations. Jesus

220 B LLOTj's LECTURES.

said ; " The hour is coming and now is, when the dead
shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that
hear shall live." St. John says ; " We know that we
have passed from death unto life, because we love the
brethren." And St. Paul again says ; " For the law
of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free
from the law of sin and death."

This state of moral death in which the gospel
found both Jews and Gentiles, is the first death.
From this death the gospel quickened and raised its
converts into newness of life, and espoused them to
Christ.

To the Romans St. Paul says ; " Likewise reckon
ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but
alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let
not sin, therefore reign in your mortal bodies, that ye
should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye
your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto
sin ; but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are
alive from the dead, and your members as instruments
of righteousness unto God."

Being made alive unto God by faith in Jesus, and
having turned their backs on the idols they had for-
merly worshipped, these Gentile christians were expos-
ed to grievous persecutions ; and in this epistle, which
St. John wrote on the isle of Patmos, they are remind-
ed of certain trials which they were about to encoun-
ter, and are told that those, who should overcome,
should not be hurt of the second death. That is, if
they remained steadfast in the doctrine of Christ, they
should not again fall into a state of death, which
would be to them a second death.

In the epistle to the church of Sardis we have an
account of this death's having actually taken place.
The following is the account ; " I know thy works,
that thou hast a name that thou livest and art dead."
This death had come upon them in consequence of
their having defiled their garments. The writer says
to the minister of the church ; " Thou hast a few
names even in Sardis, which have not defiled their
garments ; and they shall walk with me in white : for

BALLOU'S LECTURES. 221

they are worthy." This was a plain intimation that
the most of them in Sardis had defiled their garments ;
and if they had defiled their garments, it proves that
they had had clean garments, for that which is not clean
cannot be defiled.

Here then the case is plain. Those people had
been washed in the water of regeneration ; their gar-
ments had been made white in the blood of the Lamb ;
they had been made alive by the quickening spirit of
Christ ; but now they had turned from the holy com-
mandments which had been delivered unto them ;
they had defiled their garments ; and though they re-
tained the name of Christ, yet they were dead; and
this death must be the second death : for they had
been dead in sin before.

The writer of the epistle further observes ; " He
that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white
raiment ; and I will not blot out his name out of the
book of life, but I will confess his name before my
Father, and before his angels." Now it is plain that
those who had defiled their garments had not over-
come, and as they were dead, their names were blotted
out of the book of life. This shows that their names
had been in the book of life, for if they had not, how
could they have been blotted out. Names that are in
a book may be blotted out of that book, but it is not
possible to blot a name out of a book in which it was
never written ?

We can now see the reasonableness of saying, that
the second death is the apostacy which has taken place
under the gospel dispensation.

Of this falling away we read in a number of passa-
ges. St. Paul speaks of it to the Thessalonians as fol-
lows ; " Let no man deceive you by any means ; for
that day shall not come except their come a falling
away first, and that man of sin be revealed ; the son
of perdition — whom the Lord shall consume with the
spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the bright-
ness of his coming."

St. Peter speaks of apostate christians, and calls
them " cursed children ; which have forsaken the right
19*

222 BALLOU7S LECTURES.

way, and are gone astray." And further he says of
them ; " If after they have escaped the polutions of
the world, through the knowledge of the Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, -
and overcome ; the latter end is worse with them than
the beginning.

For it had been better for them not to have known
the way of righteousness, than, after they have known
it, to turn from the holy commandments delivered unto
them."

It is evident that those of whom the Apostle spake,
had been in the right way, otherwise they could not
have forsaken it. They had known the way of right-
eousness, but had turned from the holy command-
ments which they had received ; they had escaped the
pollutions of the world, through the knowledge of Je-
sus, but were again entangled therein and overcome.
These were dead the second time. Jude speaks of
them as follows ; " These are spots in your feasts of
charity, when they feast with you, feeding, themselves
without fear : clouds are they without water, carried
about of winds ; trees whose fruit withereth, without
fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots."

Let it be observed in this place, that the errors by
which Christianity was early corrupted, and the false
doctrines which were introduced into the church, to-
gether with all the vile and abominable idolatries and
senseless superstitions which have characterised Chris-
tianity for ages form what we mean by the second
death, and constitute what the scriptures mean by a
lake of fire and brimstone.

We have an account of this fire and brimstone in
the 14th of Revelation as follows ; "And the third
angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, if any
man worship the beast and his image, and receive
his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall
drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured
out without mixture into the cup of his indignation;
and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in
the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of
the Lamb ; and the smoke of their torment ascendeth

223

up forever and ever ; and they have no rest day nor
night who worship the beast and his image, and who-
soever receiveth the mark of his name."

The hearer is requested to keep in mind that this
fire and brimstone, and the second death are the same.
And as we have already seen that the primitive chris-
tians did, many of them, apostatize from the truth, de-
file their garments, were overcome by the corruptions
of the world and were hurt of the second death ; and
as all this appears to have taken place here in this
mortal state, and to have not the least allusion to a
state of punishment in the future world, we will now
examine what we have just quoted concerning this tor-
ment with fire and brimstone, and see if it be in this
world or in the eternal state.

The first thing the hearer is requested to get pos-
session of is, that this torment is experienced by the
worshippers of the beast at and during the time of their
woshipping him. This is of importance to understand ;
for the common use of this scripture supposes that the
divine Being will torment men in the future state, out
of revenge because they worshipped the beast here in
time ; as if they were the gainers here by worshipping
the beast, and he the loser ; but finally the Almighty
finds means, in the eternal world, to inflict such ven-
geance on those deluded creatures, as will perfectly sat-
isfy him for the loss he sustained by their worshipping
the beast.

We do not mean to say that those who hold the
common opinion of the text, pretend to say, that the
divine Being is a loser by-men's worshipping the beast,
or that they are gainers by such worship ; what we
contend for is, that the divine Being will certainly act
on some principle, and as it is not allowed that this
punishment is designed to reclaim or to deter, it
must be to revenge, which supposes an injury receiv-
ed.

Let us ask the candid questions, and let them be
candidly answered, if God has received no injury from
his creatures, why should he be unfriendly towards
them ? And if there be no real gains to the creature

224 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

who worships the beast, no profit arising from all his
services, why is not this foolish, idolatrous, and super-
stitious worship bad enough to punish its deluded vo-
taries.

Let us try the force of the following metaphor,
which we shall find to be apposite to the present sub-
ject. You who are the parent of a number of chil-
dren have an enemy, who, taking the advantage of
the dusk of the evening, and by putting on some of
your clothes and by imitating your voice deceives your
children, so that while they think they are following
your directions through the most dreary, unpleasant
ways, they are zealously executing your enemy's most
cruel injunctions. The poor deluded children some-
times complain of their hard service, and of being
destitute of refreshment or rest, but are told to hold on
with good courage, that though their lot be hard at
present, they may rest assured that as it is their kind
father who is leading them, he will reward them ten-
fold for all they suffer. This deception goes on until
morning. No sooner than day-light appears, one of
your children happens to get a glance of the haggard
visage of your inveterate foe ! He starts back and
refuses to go any further, and calls on his brethren
and sisters to stop, and tells them they are all deceiv-
ed, and are devoted to the service of their father's
enemy. They no sooner find their error, than their
deluder leaves them, and you find your wandering off-
spring wounded, and half dead. When they see you
they rejoice and fly to your embrace, deeply regret the
delusion that has led them from you, and humbly im-
plore your favor. The question now before you is
this, will you now punish your emaciated offspring be-
cause they have been deluded into misery and want f
Your answer is anticipated. You reply, No, surely
my children have suffered enough, I will now let them
see that their father's yoke is easy, and that his burden
is light.

That this metaphor is justified by the subject, may
be seen by the following in St. Paul's epistle to the
Thessalonians. Speaking of the man of sin, he says ;

225

• Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that
is called God, or that is worshipped ; so that he, as
God, sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself
that he is God." If the beast spoken of in Revelations
had not deceived the people he surely never would
have been worshipped. And if we examine the pas-
sage which speaks of the torment endured by the wor-
shippers of the beast, we shall see that the worship-
pers are thus tormented, while they worship. No-
tice these words ; u And they have no rest day nor
night, who worship the beast." Have and worship,
are in the same tense. And we have no more au-
thority for supposing that the worshippers of the beast
are to be tormented any longer than they worship him,
than for supposing that they were thus tormented be-
fore they worshipped him.

The hearer will also carefully notice these words ;
' They have no rest day nor night." Here we find
the present tense and the present state distinctly set
forth. " They have no rest;" that is, they are now
destitute of rest, " Day nor night" That is, here,
where time is divided by day and night.

Having ascertained that this torment is during day
and night, and while the tormented are worshipping
the beast, it will contribute much to the settling of the
subject, to know how long this beast is to be worship-
ped. In the 13th chapter of the Revelations, we have
the account wanted, it reads thus ; " And there was
given unto him a mouth speaking great things, and
blasphemies ; and power was given unto him to con-
tinue forty and two months." In the 11th chapter,
we are informed that the Gentiles should tread the
holy city under foot forty and two months. This is
the same forty and two months, which the beast had
power to continue.

Now if we multiply forty-two by thirty, the number
of days which the Jews allowed to a month, the
amount is twelve hundred and sixty days. This is ex-
actly the same time which the two witnesses were to
prophecy in sackcloth, as we read in chapter 11th,
" And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they

226 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

shall prophecy a thousand two hundred and three-
score days, clothed in sackcloth." One thousand two
hundred and three score, is twelve hundred and sixty.
This is the same period with the three days and an half
which the dead bodies of the two witnesses were to lie
in the street of the great city, which is spiritually call-
ed Sodom and Egypt. If we call a day a year, three
years and an half contain forty and two months.
And this is the same as the time, times, and half a time
which the woman, of whom we read in the 12th chap-
ter, was to be in the wilderness. Calling these times
prophetic years, we find the forty and two months,
which afford the twelve hundred and sixty days, which
we may suppose are so many years.

Twelve hundred and sixty natural years is as long
a time as can be allowed for the continuance of the
beast, of his worship, or the torment of his worship-
pers with fire and brimstone, which is the second
death.

It is evident, beyond all dispute, that there is no
more propriety in carrying the second death, or lake
of fire and brimstone into the eternal world, than there
is in supposing that the forty and two months the beast
had power to continue, are to be reckoned in the eter-
nal world ; or in supposing that the holy city will be
trodden under foot of the Gentiles in the eternal
world ; or in supposing that the two witnesses will
prophecy clothed in sackcloth in the eternal world ;
or that their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great
city called Sodom and Egypt, three days and an half,
in the eternal world ; or that the woman will be in
the wilderness a time, times and half a time in the
eternal world.

This representation of the religion and doctrines cf
the church of antichrist, by fire and brimstone agrees
with the prophecy of Isaiah, recorded in his 34th chap-
ter. '; And the streams thereof shall be turned into
pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the
land thereof shall become burning pitch. It shall not
be quenched night nor day, the smoke thereof shall go
up forever ; from generation to generation it shall lie
waste ; none shall pass through it forever and ever."

227

It would seem that a land of this description could
not be inhabited by any creature whatever ; but the
prophet says ; " But the Cormorant and the Bittern
shall possess it; the Owl also and the Raven shall
dwell in it." He further supposes that wild beasts
will dwell in this land of brimstone and fire, and says ;
" There shall the great Owl make her nest, and lay
and hatch, and gather under her shadow." This lan-
guage is so similar to the account we have of this fire
and brimstone in Revelations, that we may suppose they
both relate to the same subject.

The unclean beasts and birds, mentioned by Isaiah,
are the same as mentioned in Revelations 18th.
" Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become
the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul
spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird."

It seems to have been the design of prophecy, to
represent the church and her doctrines by a land whose
very dust is brimstone, and whose streams are burning
pitch, and her clergy and rulers by unclean birds and
ravenous beasts. And it is certain that the church
of antichrist, with its rulers, its clergy, its doctrines,
and superstitions, has answered the description in
full.

We will now endeavor to show that the characters
mentioned in our text are those who answer to the
worshippers of the beast, that, they are the unclean
beasts and birds of Babylon, and that their doctrine in
room of being a pure river of the water of life, is fire
and brimstone by which they are tormented.

The first character mentioned in our text is the fear-
ful. Fear is the very foundation of antichristian reli-
gion. It views God in the character of a most vora-
cious beast. It worships him with a view to pacify
his wrath. It represents him as full of vengeance to-
wards all who do not render him faithful service, and
supposes that he will punish them unmercifully, if
they do not yield to his requirements. This religion
says, take away the fear of eternal damnation, and I
would never worship God again, I would pay no regard
to his ordinances.

228

This religion is in fact a stream of fire and brim-
stone, fire, because it is full of zeal, and brimstone, be-
cause it destroys the reason of its votaries. There is
nothing which more suddenly destroys the regular ac-
tion of the brain, than sulphur. Fear is of this nature,
it sets reason at defiance. So has the religion of the
church. It says, reason has nothing to do with reli-
gion. What St. John says of fear and love seem very
appropriate in this place. He says " Fear hath tor-
ment," and again; "Perfect love casteth out fear."

The unbelieving is the second character mentioned.
But who are unbelievers? They are those whose
creeds contradict the faith of Abraham. God promis-
ed Abraham, that in him, and in his seed, all the na-
tions of the earth should be blessed. And it is said,
that Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him
for righteousness. Abraham was therefore called the
friend of God, and the father of the faithful. Now
those who believe in that Babylonish creed which ex-
cludes a great part of mankind from the blessings of
Jesus and his grace, are the unbelieving mentioned in
our text. These unbelievers suppose that they are
the only true believers on earth, and their belief is like
fire and brimstone, and the more firmly they believe,
the more intensely they are burnt. They have their
part in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone,
which is the second death.

How much is a man's part in this torment ? Just
so much as will correspond with the perverseness of
his abominable belief. In the same ratio as they be-
lieve, they are tormented, and as far as they doubt they
find relief.

The abominable is the third character mentioned.
There are many sinful practices,which are called abom-
inable in scripture ; one may be mentioned, of which
Israel was guilty, and by which the christian church
has become contaminated. In his 16th chapter, Eze-
kiel charges Jerusalem of having committed more
abominations than were committed by Sodom and
her daughters ; and among those the following is stat-
ed; " Moreover thou hast taken thy sons and thy daugh-

BALLOIj's LECTURES. 229

ters, whom thou hast born unto me, and these hast
thou sacrificed unto them (idols) to be devoured."
This has been done in the antichristian church, by that
doctrine which consigns little children to everlasting
torment, for the glory of that idol god, who delights in
such cruelty. Every soul that believes this doctrine is
tormented day and night. If they have children how
are their souls tormented with the fearful apprehension
of their everlasting destruction ?

Murderers are the fourth class. " He that loveth
not his brother is a murderer." And that antichristian
doctrine which teaches that God hates his creatures
has caused men to hate one another, and to put thou-
sands to death. This murderous, persecuting spirit
is a perpetual fire, and torments every soul that pos-
sesses it.

Whoremongers are the 5th class. These are those
who get their living by means of spiritual adultery, un-
der the direction of the mother of harlots. These are
unclean birds. Isaiah calls them Owls, Satires, Ra-
vens, &,c. He says ; " There shall the great Owl
make her nest, and lay and hatch, and gather under
her shadow." This is an unclean bird that is afraid
of the light.

Sorcerers are the sixth character. These are fa-
mous for their wisdom, and very deep understanding
in dark mysterious matters. They know every thing
about another world ; and in their own conceit, or
pretensions can inform people concerning what they
call heaven and hell. These are a torment to them-
selves.

Idolaters form the seventh class. These are all who
worship the false god, who sits in the temple of God,
showing himself to be God.

Liars are mentioned last. The author of our text,
has given a description of a liar. He says ; " Who is
a liar, but he who denieth that Jesus is the Christ ; he
is antichrist that denieth the Father and the Son."

These worshippers of the beast are the dead, small
and great, which John saw stand before God ; who
were judged out of those things which were written in
20

230

the books, which are the doctrines of men, according
to their works. They had received the mark and name
of the beast, therefore their names were not in the
Lamb's book, or doctrine of life. These were cast in-
to the lake of fire and brimstone, which is the second
death.

The hearer is requested to observe that the argu-
ments to which we have attended, go to prove that the
false doctrines of antichrist constitute the second death,
and the lake of fire and brimstone, and that these doc-
trines perpetually torment them who believe them.
Our reasoning disallows the continuance of this tor-
ment after those doctrines of antichrist shall be discon-
tinued. The worshippers of the beast will be torment-
ed as long as they worship him ; but he had power
given him to continue only forty and two months.
The hearer is likewise requested to observe, what has
already been noticed, that in order to extend the se-
cond death or lake of fire and brimstone into anoth-
er state of existence, we must also carry the time of
the church in the wilderness, the time of the prophe-
cying of the two witnesses, in sackcloth, and the forty
and two months of the reign of the beast into a future
state. All which is palpably absurd.

My brethren, this discourse will close with the fol-
lowing divine injunction ; " Come out of her my peo-
ple, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye
receive not of her plagues."

LECTURE XVII.

SALVATION, A DEI IVERANCE FROM ERROR AND SIN,
THROUGH THE MERCY OF GOD.

2 TIMOTHY \.9, 10.

Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our
works, but according to his own purpose and grace, winch was given us in
Christ Jesus before the *vorld began: — But it is now made manifest by the
appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath
brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.

Our first inquiry will be directed to ascertain what
the Apostle means by the word saved. With a view
to bring this subject to the understanding of the hear-
er, in as plain and as profitable a manner as possible,
we shall attempt in the first place to examine the com-
mon doctrine of the church respecting salvation, and
in the second place bring the scripture testimony on
the subject into view, that the difference between the
common doctrine and the divine testimony may dis-
tinctly appear.

What we propose to examine in the first place is
found in the following statement, which is here quoted
from the shorter chatechism ; " All mankind by the
fall lost communion with God, are under his wrath and
curse, and so made liable to all the miseries of this life,
to death itself, and to the pains of hell forever." This
is the miserable state into which man fell, according to
the sentiment under examination; and from which
God provided menns to save some, accordingly as is
expressed thus ; " God having out of his mere good
pleasure from all eternity, elected some to everlasting
life, did enter into a covenant of grace to deliver them
out of the state of sin and misery, and to bring them
into a state of salvation by a Redeemer."

It is evident that the learned divines, who compos-

232 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

ed this creed, designed to apply the doctrine of salva-
tion in a way to save the elect from the everlasting
pains of hell, more specially than to save them from
the miseries of this life and from death ; for it is a
fact well known to all, that whoever these elected ones
may be, they are subject to death as well as others,
and it is generally thought that they have a larger
share of the miseries of this life.

This common doctrine of salvation may therefore
be stated thus ; All mankind, the elect and non-elect
by the fall are under God's wrath and curse, which
curse is the pains of hell after the death of the body
and forever; but in conformity to a decree of God,
made from all eternity, there is a Redeemer provided,
to save the elect from this everlasting curse.

Having now before us the doctrine of salvation as it
has been held in the christian church for a long time,
and as it is now held and taught to old and young,
let us attempt to examine its propriety. And let this
be done with all that candor which is due to all sub-
jects of moment, and especially to this which evidently
involves the character of the divine Being. Let it be
done too with that charity towards the framers of this
creed and towards those who now believe in it, which
holds the higest rank among the christian virtues ; for
certain it is that this candor and charity are necessary
to be kept in constant exercise, among such short-
sighted, benighted creatures.

On approaching the proposition before us, the follow-
ing absurdities present themselves.

1st. It is absurd to say, that those whom God elect-
ed from all eternity to be saved by a Redeemer, are li-
able to the pains of hell forever.

2d. It appears absurd to say, that those whom God
entered into a covenant to save, are under his wrath
and curse, by which everlasting misery hereafter is in-
tended.

3d. This scheme of salvation accuses the divine Be-
ing of partiality in the most direct manner. It states
that all mankind are in one condition, all under God's
wrath and curse, and all liable to the pains of hell for-

BALLOU S LECTURES.

233

ever ; but that though all are in one condition, the
scheme of salvation embraces only a part without ex-
tending the least benefit to the rest.

4th. The doctrine under examination supposes that
the divine Being has condemned millions of unborn
infants to the pains of hell forever, for an act which
Adam and Eve committed in the garden of Eden,
which certainly appears to be unjust in the extreme.

Let candor look, for one moment, at these absurdi-
ties and improprieties, and at the same time let chari-
ty kindly impute them to the imperfection of our com-
mon nature.

A body of learned divines have said after much deep
study and profound deliberation, that God from all
eternity elected some of the human race unto salvation
by a Redeemer, and at the same time say, that these
elected ones are under his curse which is the pains
of hell forever in the future world. These learned
doctors, who knew that the scriptures assert the im-
partiality of God, and who professed to believe that
he is no respecter of persons, have limited his eternal
mercy to but a part of mankind, and have excluded
the rest from his favor forever. Notwithstanding they
well knew, that it is repugnant to the law of God to
condemn the innocent, and that the divine Being hath
said, " the son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the
father," yet for one act of Adam they have condemn-
ed all mankind to a state of endless misery.

According to these tenets thousands of millions of
unhappy wretches have already been sent to this hell,
of which these divines speak, without ever knowing
until they got there, that there ever was an Adam, or
that he had sinned and involved them in this awful ca-
lamity to all eternity. How many millions of infants,
of people who were educated in christian countries,
have gone from this world before they were old enough
to understand the horrible story framed by these di-
vines ; but much more numerous still is the number
of those who were born in heathen lands and never
heard of any part of the christian scriptures, much less,
if possible of this antiscriptural creed.
20*

234

Such is the general corruption of the christian doc-
trine, introduced by the creed under consideration,
that all which people think of being saved from is the
pains of hell hereafter.

On this notion sermons in general have been framed,
and carefully directed to instruct people in the way
by which they may be saved from this hell in the fu-
ture state.

This future misery is the gloomy subject, which is
presented to people's minds, in all the vivid forms
which imagination and the most powerful eloquence
have been able to set forth, in order to terrify the mind
and to call into action the most fearful apprehensions
of which the human mind is susceptible. All this is
considered necessary in order to lead sinners to repent-
ance, by which they may avoid this state of torment.

This scheme of doctrine leads the mind to under-
stand the scriptures, which speak of saving sinners,
to mean the saving them from hell in the eternal
world, or from the wrath and curse of God hereafter.

The hearer is requested to take this common opin-
ion into careful consideration and compare it with the
scripture testimony. First examine to see if you can
find this wrath and curse of God resting on all man-
kind, of which such careful mention is made in the
creed to which we have alluded.

After a careful and patient examination of the divine
testimony, your humble servant has unspeakable joy in
being able to say that this wrath and curse of God is
no where recorded in the scriptures.

When those doctors who framed the creed under-
took to describe the consequences of the first trans
gression, did they at all confine themselves to the
divine word ? No surely they did not ; for if they
had done this, they would not have found that God
pronounced any curse even on Adam and Eve them-
selves, much less on all mankind for what these two
did.

If this unaccountable notion of the wrath and curse
of God were a truth would it not have been announc-
ed by the Creator on his first visit to his sinful chil-

BALLOTS LECTURES. 235

dren ? But did the merciful Father of our spirits in-
timate to Adam and Eve, that they had brought his
wrath and curse, which are eternal misery, not only on
themselves, but on all their numerous, unborn off-
spring ?

No, blessed be his name, he mentioned but two
curses, and one of them was on the serpent, and the
other was on the ground. And in room of saying one
word concerning cursing all mankind with the pains
of hell in a future state, the divine Being did not in-
timate that even the serpent himself would be subject
to any infelicity beyond his natural life. " Dust shalt
thou eat all the days of thy life ; " and beyond this
there was no intimation. It was said to 'the serpent ;
"I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and
between thy seed and her seed ; it shall bruise thy head
and thou shalt bruise his heel." Here in room of
God's wrath and curse on our first parents, is a bless-
ed and glorious promise of a final victory over, and
deliverance from the power of the tempter.

Let us next inquire for the scripture testimony con-
cerning salvation, and endeavor to understand what
we are saved from, and by what means we are saved.

On this particular, less will be necessary than would
be required if the same had not been noticed in some
of our former lectures ; yet such is the importance of
the doctrine under consideration, as to justify its fre-
quent investigation.

It. was said by the Angel of God, to Joseph, con-
cerning the child Jesus, " Thou shalt call his name Je-
sus for be shall save his people from their sins." Ac-
cording to this, that from which Jesus saves us, is our
sins. But according to the common doctrine, it. seems
that the angel would have said ; thou shalt call his
name Jesus for he shall save the elect from the wrath
and curse of God in the future world.

In justifying himself before the scribes and Pharisees,
who accused him of receiving sinners and eating with
them, our Saviour represented sinners by a sheep gone
astray, and the repentance and salvation of sinners
he represented by the return of the lost sheep to the

236

fold, by the diligent concern and care of the shepherd.
Let us here ask, what the sheep that went astray was
saved from ? Was it saved from the wrath and curse
of its owner? Had the shepherd any decree out
against the comfort and life of this strayed member
of his floc*k ? Would it not seem absurd in the ex-
treme to pretend that the shepherd went after the
sheep with a view to save it from his own vengeance ?
The fact is, the sheep was saved from its wanderings
and from all the inconveniences of the condition into
which it had wandered.

The parable of the prodigal son is another beautiful
representation of the salvation of sinners, and is found
in connexion with the parable of the lost sheep, and
used by the Saviour for the same purpose.

But what was the Prodigal finally saved from by be-
ing brought to repentance, and to his father's house ?
Was he saved from any wrath and curse of his father ?
Had the father any unmerciful decree out against his
son's life or happiness ! When the returning son was
yet a great way off, and the father's compassion urged
him to run and meet his child, was this parental effort,
and all the mighty tide of compassion manifested on
that occasion exerted to save this son from his father's
wrath and curse ?

The hearer cannot but see that nothing could be
more unreasonable than this notion. And yet is it
not as plain as the sun at noon, that the common
doctrine of salvation is predicated exactly on this
absurdity ? Does it not explain scripture in a way to
represent the divine Creator as exerting the means of
his grace to save sinners from his own wrath and curse ?
Does it not hold up the idea that God sent his son to
suffer and die for sinners, in order to save them from
this curse of the Father, which curse is said to be the
pains of hell forever? Does it not constantly hold
forth the notion, that the ministry of the gospel is now
exerting all its energies and means to snatch sinners
away from the divine wrath, as brands are plucked
from a fire ?

The divine instructor on another similar occasion

BALLOTj's LECTURES. 237

to the one we have just noticed, made use of the fol-
lowing simile ; " The whole need not the physician,
but they that are sick. For the Son of man is not
come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."

As the Saviour represented the case of the sinner by
one who is sick, and the salvation of the sinner by the
recovery of the sick to health by means of a physi-
cian, we may ask, if it could be reconciled with rea-
son and common sense, to pretend that the physician
exerts his skill and the power of his medicine to save
his patient from his wrath and indignation ?

The fact is, my christian friends, Jesus who dwells
in the bosom of the Father, never represented his doc-
trine of salvation to be in any sense like the doctrine
of the church which we have examined. Our heaven-
ly Father, as manifested in his Son, and as held up by
the preaching of Jesus, loves his enemies, loves sin-
ners, and because he loves them he sent his Son to be
the propitiation for our sins. He sent him to save us
from our sins, and to reconcile us to God.

St. Paul to the Colossians says of God ; " Who
hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and
hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son."

This passage very plainly shows us the nature of
that salvation of which our text speaks. It is a salva-
tion from error, deception, ignorance and all their evils,
to truth, knowledge, understanding and all their bless-
ings.

To the Ephesians he says, that " Christ loved the
church and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify,
and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word ;
that he might present it to himself a glorious church,
not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing : but
that it should be holy and without blemish."

Let us carefully examine this representation, for
here the apostle informs us the object which Christ had
in view when he gave himself for the church. And
what was it ? Was it to appease his Father's wrath ?
Was it to reconcile the Father to the church ? Was
it to save the church from God's wrath and curse in
the eternal world ?

238 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

No, my brethren, Jesus gave himself for the church
that he might sanctify and cleanse it. The church
was in an unsanctified, unclean state, and the gos-
pel or doctrine of Christ is that water or word by
which he cleanses and saves it from its uncleanness,
Christ saves his church from ail spots and wrinkles,
and presents it to himself a glorious church. Hark
and hear those sons and daughters speak in loud
exclaim ; " Thou hast loved us and washed us from
our sins in thine own blood."

Our next endeavors will be directed to illustrate
what the Apostle means by the holy calling, with
which he accompanies our salvation, and to show the
natural connexion in which they stand to each other.

This subject may be seen most clearly by a little
improvement of the similes which were used to repre-
sent the nature of salvation. But we may commence
these remarks by recurring to the words of the Angel
to Joseph ; " Thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he
shall save his people from their sins." Now. it ap-
pears very consistent that when Jesus saves a sinner
from his sins, he should at the same time call him to
walk in holiness of life. Otherwise what benefit could
there result from this salvation ?

If what is meant by saving the sinner, is to save him
from the penalty of the law, it is true such a salvation
might be entirely disconnected with a holy calling. If
a man, for instance, have stolen, for which crime the
law says he shall be thus and so punished, and we
wish to save him from receiving such punishment,
there would be no necessary connexion between such
salvation and the reformed and virtuous conduct of
this man. But if the object be to save the man from
being a thief, it is absolutely necessary in this case to
furnish the man with such moral sentiments, and such
a sense of moral virtue as will prevent his repeating
the crime.

There seems to be an evident connexion likewise,
between bringing the lost sheep back to the fold, and
such measures as might be necessary to prevent it
from again going astray ; for if the propensity to wan-

BALLOU's LECTURES. 239

der still remains, and there be no provisions to prevent
indulgence, there would seem an impropriety in mak-
ing those exertions by which the sheep was found and
returned to the fold.

This subject is very clearly seen in the case of the
reformed prodigal. If after he had returned to his
father's house, and had been there most kindly re-
ceived ; if after all his penitence and reformation ; if
after he had been clothed with the best robe, had shoes
put on his feet, and his father's ring upon his hand ; if
after partaking of the fatted calf and the joys of the
family on this occasion, he had again turned his back
on his father, and again acted the prodigal, the joy that
had lighted up the countenances of the family would
most surely have been turned into mourning, and in
room, of festivity, fasting would be more suitable to the
occasion.

But it is most clearly seen that every circumstance
which contributed to the return of this lost son, and all
the favor which was shown him by his father, togeth-
er with all the enjoyments of the full and well replen-
ished house to which he was welcomed, called, in the
most persuasive manner, on him who had been dead,
but made alive, who had been lost, but, was found, to
take heed to his ways, to stand fast in the liberty
wherewith his father had made him free, that he might
continue to enjoy those invaluable blessings.

My christian friends, has our merciful Father in hea-
ven condescended to forgive us all our trespasses, has
ne clothed us with the white linen of the righteousness
of Christ, have we tasted that the Lord is gracious,
and been permitted to set at his table, and to feast on
those rich provisions with which Zion is blessed ?
And do not these favors call us with an holy calling,
to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with
God?

This same Apostle has signified the sentiment of our
text, in the following words to Titus ; " For the grace
of God which bringeth salvation hath appeared to all
men, teaching us, that, denying ungodliness and world-
ly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly

240 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

in this present world. Looking for that blessed hope,
and the glorious appearing of the great God and our
Saviour Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us, that he
might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto
himself a peculiar people zealous of good works."
Here is redemption from all iniquity, and purification
unto good works. And this is again expressed in the
following words to the Ephesians ; "For by grace are
ye saved through faith ; and that not of yourselves ;
it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should
boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ
Jesus unto good works, which God hath before or-
dained that we should walk in them." One passage
more may suffice on this particular. St. Peter ad-
dresses his brethren as follows ; " Grace and peace be
multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God,
and of Jesus our Lord, according as his divine power
hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and
godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath
called us to glory and virtue ; whereby are given unto
us exceeding great and precious promises ; that by
these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, hav-
ing escaped the corruption that is in the world through
lust. And, beside this, giving all diligence, add to
your faith, virtue ; and to virtue knowledge ; and to
knowledge, temperance ; and to temperance, patience ;
and to patience, godliness ; and to godliness, brother-
ly kindness ; and to brotherly kindness, charity. For
if these things be in you, and abound, they make you
that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the
knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that
lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off,
and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old
sins. Wherefore the rather brethren, give diligence to
make your calling and election sure ; for if ye do
these things ye shall never fall ; for so an entrance shall
be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlast-
ing kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ."

By the similes and passages which we have employ-
ed in the illustration of this section of our text, it ap-
pears that holiness of life is a requisition enjoined by

BALLOU'S LECTUREb. 241

the gospel, and that this holiness of conduct should be
considered as properly connected with our salvation
from sin.

In the passage quoted from St. Peter, we may no-
tice particularly that we are required to add to our
faith the christian graces, such as virtue, knowledge,
temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness,
and charity, with the assurance, that if these things
be in us, and abound, our fruitfulness in the know-
ledge of our Lord will be such whereby an entrance
will be administered unto us abundantly into the ever-
lasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ.

The conclusion then is evident, that although we
may profess the true faith, yet if we do not attend to
our holy calling, our faith becomes dead, cannot work
by love, nor purify the heart.

Let us therefore, my brethren, endeavor to adorn
the doctrine of God our Saviour, by walking worthy
of the vocation wherewith we are called.

Our text informs us that our salvation and calling
are not according to our works, but according to the
purpose and grace of God, which was given us in
Christ Jesus, before the world began. By this we un-
derstand, that as early as the divine Being purposed
the gift of Jesus Christ to the world of mankind, he
gave us in him this salvation and holy calling. This
grant therefore, could not be governed by the works of
man, it could not be said to be according to our works
for the following reasons.

1st. It was given us in Jesus Christ before we were
either born or had done good or evil.

This subject may be represented by the following
similes. When the Almighty made the earth, the sun,
the moon, and all things for the convenience of all
creatures, he gave the present generation of men the
earth, the sun, the moon, and all material things. This
gift, being in the constitution of nature, and made sure
to us ages before we were born, could not have been
given as a reward for our works.

Again, When the Creator formed Adam, and con-
21

242 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

stituted him the natural father of us all, he then gave
us, in him, eyes, with which we see, ears, with which
we hear, mouth's with which we speak, feet, with
which we walk, and hands, with which we labor.
And it is very evident, that these gifts were not given
us as a compensation for our works. But it appears
very clear that our duty, and natural calling, to make
proper use of our eyes, our ears, our mouths, our feet,
and our hands was given us in that constitution in
which those natural faculties were given.

Though we are much crowded for want of time to
illustrate the several remaining particulars contained in
our text, we feel pressed to mention in this place, the
error so frequently urged on us by those who exhort us
to get an interest in Christ. The hearer will perceive
by these plain arguments, and the passage under con-
sideration, that we all had an interest in Jesus Christ
before the world began. And you will further observe
that there is just as much propriety in exhorting people
to get an interest in Adam so that they may inherit
from him the natural faculties of the body, as to ex-
hort us to get an interest in Christ. But it is not only
proper, but highly necessary that all adhere to the
exhortation to improve all temporal and all spiritual
blessings and gifts in a way to honor the benevolent
giver.

2d. If the Apostle made a comparison between his
former conduct, when he was among the persecutors
of Christ, his doctrine, and his disciples, he might very
justly say that the salvation which he had obtained by
the gospel, and the holy calling with which he was
called were not according to his former works. And
if the comparison be made between the conduct of
others, and this salvation, the result is expressed by
the Apostle to Titus as follows ; " For we ourselves
also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived,
serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and
envy, hateful, and hating one another. But after that
the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man
appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have
done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by

243

the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the ho-
ly Ghost ; which he shed on us abundantly through
Jesus Christ our Saviour."

Having made these important statements to which
we have attended, the Apostle proceeds in the conclu-
sion of our text, to speak of the vast utility of the ap-
pearing of Jesus Christ in our world, which was to
make those things manifest by abolishing death and
bringing life and immortality to light through the gos-
pel.

It is perfectly consistent with the nature of things,
and with common observation, that the manifesta-
tion of things is subsequent to their being estab-
lished in the counsel of him who ordains them. And
as it would be a mistake of no small magnitude to at-
tribute to the manifestation of things, the cause of their
existence, so it is an error of extensive magnitude, to
attribute to the manifestation or appearance of Jesus
Christ, and what he did in our world, the cause of that
gift which was made sure to us, in him, before the
world began.

The divine truths taught by the Saviour, the doc-
trine of God's love to sinners, the forgiveness of sins,
were all as true before the birth, preaching, and suf-
ferings of Jesus, as they have been since. The glori-
ous doctrine of the resurrection and of future eternal
life was as true before the process of Jesus commenc-
ed, as since. This accounts for all the passages which
represent our Saviour as the faithful and true witness.
It agrees with his own words to Pilate ; " For this
cause was I born, and to this end came I into the
world, that I should bear witness to the truth." And
the same thing is meant by St. Paul to the Romans ;
" But God commendeth his love toward us, in that,
while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

It seems that all which the Saviour did, was de-
signed as a manifestation of those divine things, which
our heavenly Father had given us before the world be-
gan. Things that had been kept secret from the foun-
dation of the world were made known when this sun

244 BALLOIj's LECTURES.

of righteousness arose with healing in his beams. So
does the rising sun, which makes our natural day, mani-
fest the surrounding objects, which the darkness of
night had obscured from our sight.

The resurrection of Jesus made manifest the aboli-
tion of death- It brought to open light what was
shown unto Moses at the bush, when God said ; " I am
the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the
God of Jacob. God is not the God of the dead, but
of the living, for all live unto him."

Our text informs us, that Jesus Christ hath not only
abolished death, but hath brought life and immortality
to light through the gospel. This form of expression
fully acknowledges that life and immortality were di-
vine facts in the economy of God before the coming of
Christ, but that his process was necessary to make
these glorious things known to mankind.

To conclude, the arguments to which we have at-
tended are designed to show that the common notion
of saving mankind from the wrath and curse of God in
the eternal world is without foundation, either in scrip-
ture or reason ; and that according to the scriptures
our immortality and eternal life were established in the
economy of divine wisdom before man existed. Also,
that the salvation which the gospel of Jesus Christ ef-
fects for us, is a salvation from our sins, from our wan-
derings, from the darkness of our deceived minds, from
all uncleanness, to righteousness, to reconciliation to
God, to the knowledge of the truth, and to holiness of
life.

And if it be asked, what there is for us to do, if we
believe this doctrine, we reply in the words of divine
truth, which have been already noticed. " Giving all
diligence, add to your faith virtue, and to virtue,
knowledge ; and to knowledge, temperance ; and to
temperance, patience ; and to patience, godliness ;
and to godliness, brotherly kindness ; and to brotherly
kindness, charity.

Furthermore, if we be asked, what reward we may
expect for our careful attention to these virtues, we

BALLOU'S LECTURES. • 245

again reply ; In keeping the commandments there is
great reward. Great peace have they that love the
law, and nothing shall offend them. "And the work
of righteousness shall be peace, and the effect of right-
eousness, quietness, and assurance forever."

21*

LECTURE XVIII

EXPLANATION OF MATT. XXIV. AND XXV.

MATTHEW xxv. 4P.

And these shall go away into everlasting punishment : but the righteotw
into life eternal.

While calling the attention of this congregation to
the consideration of this portion of our Saviour's testi-
mony, many difficulties are presented to the mind of
the speaker ; some of which it may be profitable to
name.

1. The long established use and application of this
text, by commentators, preachers, and all denomina-
tions of christians stand in direct opposition, in one
important particular, to the use and application which
your servant feels himself obligated to make of it.
The particular alluded to is the applying of this
text to a future state of our existence. And to this
may be added another particular, nearly as univer-
sally assented to as the former, which is the belief that
this text proves the endless duration of misery.

2d. The power of tradition in the human mind forms
the most material difficulty which seems to oppose our
attempt to bring the true meaning of our Saviour, in
the passage before us, to the hearer's understanding.
It is vain, my friends, to pretend that we are free in
our minds from the force of education. Indeed we
ought not to be. We were wisely so constituted, that
what we imbibe in our youth should fix a lasting pre-
possession in our minds, in favor of opinions which are
recommended by our instructors, and against those
which we have been taught to view erroneous. But
we should do well to consider, that while it is acknow-
ledged that great benefits arise from this natural and

BALLOU'S LECTURES. 247

necessary bias of the human mind, it is equally true,
that it may often so happen as to produce effects most
pernicious. Solomon says ; " train up a child in the
way he should go, and when he is old he will not de-
part from it." Here the author relies on the force of
education, and gives a most wholesome advice to those
who have the charge of children, to bring them up in
the way they should go. And it is furthermore evi-
dent that the recommendation designed to guard
against the unhappy effects of the same power in a
case where an erroneous education should be imposed
on youth.

Having been taught in our tender years that our
heavenly Father has ordained a state of the most
dreadful torment in the future state for those who are
sinners in this world, and having been instructed at the
same time to apply the text under consideration, togeth-
er with almost all passages of scripture, which speak of
the punishment of the wicked to this future state of
misery, it has become as habitual for the mind to ap-
ply such passages to this future misery, as to apply the
names London, Boston, and Philadelphia to the Cities
of these names ; or as to apply the names Washington,
Franklin, and Adams to the distinguished statesmen of
these names.

Under these circumstances, the opposer of divine
truth has nothing to do, but to rest upon the prejudice
of the public mind. He comes forward with all possi-
ble assurance and boldly asserts that our Saviour has
laid it down in the most solemn and unequivocal man-
ner that " He that believeth and is baptized shall be
saved and he that believeth not shall be damned ;"
laying an emphasis on the damnatory term that causes
our nerves to tremble. He depends entirely on the
prepossessions of the public mind to apply this damna-
tion to a future state ; an application in no way inti-
mated by our Saviour, and by no means intimated
by any words in connexion with the passage.

In the same way the preacher, who applies our text
to a state of punishment in the future world, mana-
ges with the prejudice of his hearers. He says ; the

248

divine teacher himself has told us, that at the last judg-
ment, when all the dead are raised and brought to the
tremendous bar of God, the sinner will be placed on
the left hand, and sentenced to everlasting punishment.
He depends entirely on the blind prejudice of his
hearers' minds to justify his assertions, and the applica-
tion he makes of the text. There is not a word in
the text nor in any part of its connexions, that inti-
mates any thing about a resurrection of any from the
dead, or that the judgment treated of in this chapter
is the last judgment, or that any part of the subject
belongs to a future state.

But notwithstanding the embarrassments which have
been named, and another which is by no means in-
considerable, the very limited abilities of the speaker,
which are sensibly felt as inadequate to make a prop-
er arrangement of the momentous subject before us,
and altogether unequal to the task of contending
against the host of prejudices which are marshalled
against the simplicity that is in Christ, yet there are
two considerations which are highly encouraging.
The testimony of Jesus which lies before us, and which
stands connected with our text makes our subject so
very plain that it seems to promise conviction to eve-
ry mind ; and the remarkable candor which has char-
acterised this congregation, while attending to this
course of lectures, gives that support to the speaker,
without which he would have been discouraged.

It may be well for us to raise some queries respect-
ing the general use of this portion of scripture, by
which the mind of the hearer may be the better pre-
pared to seek for its true application.

1st. As this passage is usually applied to a future
state, let us ask whether in order to justify such an ap-
plication it be not indispensable that some part of the
testimony in connexion with the text should designate
that it belongs, not to this state, but to a future
world? For instance, should the speaker, this eve
ning contend that this twenty-fifth of Matthew treat-
ed of things which took place before Noah's flood,
should you not feel justisfied in opposing such an ex-

BALLOTS LECTURES. 249

travagant statement by saying, that there is not a sin-
gle intimation in the whole chapter that gives any
countenance to it ? You certainly would. Then be
so candid, kind hearer, as to acknowledge, that in or-
der to justify the application of this scripture to a fu-
ture state of existence, there must be found something
in the testimony that so applies it.

2d. As it is the current opinion that in order for
the accomplishment of the judgment treated of in this
chapter, all the dead must be raised, have we not a
right to contend, that in order to support this opinion,
the resurrection of the dead should be distinctly stated
somewhere in the general account?

If the speaker should now say, that according to
the testimony of the Saviour concerning the judgment
in the 25th of Matthew, the gift of speech will be
given to all the beasts, to all the birds, and to all the
fishes ; and that at that time we shall hear them all
talk in our native language, if you thought proper to
refute such a visionary notion, would it not be suffi-.
cient to say that there is nothing in the chapter or its
connexion that gives any authority for such a state-
ment ? It is hoped then that you will acknowledge,
that if it be allowed that all the dead will be raised be-
fore the judgment, recorded in this chapter, can take
place, we must be able to find authority for this opin-
ion in the account before us.

3d. As it is held that the judgment of which we
read in this chapter is the last judgment, is it not very
proper that we should be able to find some proof of
this idea in some part of the testimony of the divine
instructor ?

But in relation to these particulars, we feel confi-
dent in what has already been said, that there is no
intimation in the whole account before us, that this
judgment is the last judgment, or that the dead will
be raised to be brought to it, or that it relates to a fu-
ture state.

The attention of the hearer is now solicited to the
following statements, which the speaker expects to
prove in this discourse!

250 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

1st. The time of the judgment under consideration,
is confined to the generation in which our Saviour lived
on earth, according to his own testimony.

2d. The Jews, as a people, who rejected the gos-
pel of Christ, and persecuted his apostles were those
who were sentenced to everlasting punishment. And,

3d. Those who believed in Jesus and received
the testimony, and administered to the necessities of
his persecuted Apostles, were those that were blessed
with life eternal.

The better to bring those statements, accompanied
with their proper proofs, before the mind of the
hearer, we shall commence our examination of the
divine testimony where the subject before us seems
to begin. This is in the latter part of the 23d chapter.

It seems that Jesus was in the temple where he ad
dressed the Scribes and Pharisees, calling them hypo-
crites, blind guides, serpents, and a generation of vi-
pers. He then proceeds to testify to them the judg-
ment which would come upon them, and the occasion
of it. " Wherefore, behold, I send unto you pro-
phets, and wise men, and scribes ; and some of them
ye shall kill and crucify ; and some of them shall ye
scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from
city to city : that upon you may come all the righteous
blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous
Abel unto the blood of Zacarias, son of Barachias,
whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.
Verily, I say unto you, all these things shall come up-
on this generation."

Be so good, my friends, as to remember this declar-
ation of the Saviour. He here speaks of the most tre-
mendous judgment that ever fell on mankind, and he
confines the time to that generation. He then lament-
ed over Jerusalem, spake of its desolation, and said ;
" Ye shall not see me henceforth till ye shall say, bless-
ed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord."

Here ends the 23d chapter, and the 24th commen-
ces by informing us that " Jesus went out, and depart-
ed from the temple : and his disciples came to him, for
to show him the buildings of the temple. And Jesua

BALLOTj's LECTURES. 251

said unto them, See ye not all these things ? Verily I
say unto you, there shall not be left here one stone
upon another, that shall not be thrown down."
Here it is evident, that Jesus alluded to the event of
which he had been speaking to the Scribes and Phari-
sees, which was the calamitous destruction and deso-
lation of their city.

" And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the dis-
ciples came unto him privately, saying, tell us, when
shall these things be ? and what shall be the sign of
thy coming, and of the end of the world ?

Here let us carefully notice what is embraced in the
questions proposed by the disciples. They asked the
divine master, when the things which he had de-
nounced on the Jews should take place. And also,
what would be the sign of his coming, and of the end
of the world.

In reply to these questions, Jesus delivered all that
is recorded in the remainder of this, and the following
chapter. So that in order to understand what he
meant in the 25th we must preserve the connexion of
the subject, which evidently commences in the 23d,
and continues to the end of the 25th.

Jesus replies ; " Take heed that no man deceive
you : for many shall come in my name, saying, I am
Christ ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear
of wars, and rumors of wars ; see that ye be not troub-
led ; for all these things must come to pass, but the
end is not yet."

Here let us carefully inquire what Jesus meant by
the end ? Did he here speak of the end of what the
disciples asked him ? No doubt. For if they asked
him concerning the end of the world, and he, in his
reply, spake of the end of something else, and not of
the end of the world, the answer was calculated to de-
ceive. It is evident, therefore, that when Jesus said,
as has been quoted; ""the end is not yet," he meant
that the end of the world, of which his disciples asked
him, was not yet.

He proceeds ; " For nation shall rise against nation,
and kingdom against kingdom ; and there shall be

252

famines and pestilences, and earthquakes in divers
places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.
Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and
shall kill you : and ye shall be hated of all nations for
my name's sake. And then shall many be offended,
and shall betray one another, and shall hate one anoth-
er. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall de-
ceive many. And, because iniquity shall abound, the
love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure
unto the end, the same shall be saved." The end of
what? Answer, the end of the world, of which the
disciples asked him.

"And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached
in all the world, for a witness unto all nations ; and
then shall the end come."

The end of what ? The end of the world. Ob-
serve, the disciples asked Jesus concerning the end of
the world, and he replies to their query. He speaks
of the end three times. He first says; "the end is
not yet ; " secondly, he says ; " He that endureth un-
to the end, the same shall be saved; and lastly, he
says ; " then shall the end come. " And as the end
of the world was the only end spoken of, we feel safe
in believing that Jesus meant to speak of what his dis-
ciples meant by the end of the world.

A hope is entertained that the attention of the hear-
er will be successful in obtaining a clear understanding
of what is here meant by the end of the world. We
have been in the habit, by means of our early educa-
tion, of supposing that by the end of the world here
mentioned, the destruction of the natural world was
intended. And this is now the general opinion. Re-
ligious people suppose that the end of the world, of
which mention is made in this chapter, means the end
of this material system. And they expect that the
earth, the sun, and the moon, will be literally destroy-
ed. The speaker is apprehensive that many now in
this congregation have these views ; and consequently
suppose that when Jesus said ; " Then shall the end
come, he meant the same thing as has been held up by
our christian divines, and preached upon so much,

BALLOU'S LECTURES. 253

and made a common topic in those frequent discourses,
the objects of which were to terrify people with the
thoughts of seeing the earth burn up, the dead coming
out of their graves to judgment, and the wicked plung-
ed into hell.

My dear friends, if these are your views, your ser-
vant feels no disposition to censure you, he knows too
well the effects of tradition to blame any one for these
notions ; but you are now called on to exercise that
reason which distinguishes us from beasts, and consti-
tutes us the favored subjects of a divine revelation, so
that you may be able to form a correct judgment of
the subject now before you. Let us carefully prooeed
with the testimony of Jesus, and endeavor to learn the
events with which he connects and designates the end
of the world.

" When ye therefore, shall see the abomination of
desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in
the holy place, then let them which be in Judea
flee into the mountains." When does Jesus direct
them that be in Judea to flee into the mountains ?
Answer, At the end of the world. But if the end of
the world mean what tradition has taught us, why
should those that may be in Judea at the time, when
this earth is to be dissolved, and all the dead raised to
judgment, flee into the mountains ?

But we proceed. " Let him which is on the house
top not come down to take any thing out of his house ;
neither let him which is in the field return back to take
tiis clothes. And wo unto them that are with child,
nnd to them that give suck in those days ! But pray
ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the
sabbath day : for then shall be great tribulation, such
as was not since the beginning of the world to this
time, no nor ever shall be." We have been told that
there will be an eternity of trouble, after the end of the
world, infinitely greater than any that ever preceded;
but here in the description of the end of the world, by
Jesus himself, he says, there shall never be such a time
of trouble afterward.

By the peculiar description to which we have attend-
22

254 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

ed, there is no reason to doubt that the Saviour was
giving an account of the destruction of Jerusalem by
the Romans. And it is evident, beyond all controver-
sy, that all that was meant by the end of the world,
was the end of the Jewish polity, and the destruction
of the nation, the city and temple. That the hearer
may be further satisfied, that by " the end of the
world" is not meant what our tradition has taught, we
notice the words of St. Paul to the Hebrews. Speak-
ing of Jesus he says ; " But now once, in the end of
the world, hath he appeared to put away sin by the
sacrifice of himself." The end of the world here meant
was the end of the Levitical priesthood.

The Saviour further says ; " Immediately after the
tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened,
and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars
shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heaven
shall be shaken : and then shall appear the sign of the
son of man in heaven ; and then shall all the tribes of
the earth mourn, and they shall see the son of man
coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great
glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound
of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect
from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the
other." Here carefully observe that Jesus speaks of
the sign of his coming, and also of his coming with
power and great glory ; and of his sending forth his
angels, &c. Let us here ask the question, how we
shall time the event here spoken of? Has this event
ever taken place ? Tradition says, No, but it will take
place at the dissolution of this earth. But what right
have we to time this event ? If Jesus did not time it,
have we a right to ? And if Jesus has timed it, have
we a right to alter the time ? Hear his words.

" Now learn a parable of the fig-tree : When its
branches are yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye
know that summer is nigh; so likewise ye, when ye
shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at
the doors. Verily I say unto you, this generation shall
not pass till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and
earth shall pass away, but my word shall not pass
away."

255

By this plain, undoubtful testimony of the divine
teacher we are authorised to believe that the time of
which he spake, when he should come in his glory
with his angels was in the generation in which he lived.
He had just before told the Pharisees that all the right-
eous blood shed upon the earth should come upon
them, and was particular in saying ; " Verily, I say
unto you, all these things shall come upon this genera
tion." And now when speaking of his coming in his
glory with his angels, he says ; " Verily I say unto
you, this generation shall not pass till all these things
be fulfilled."

The Saviour proceeds to inform his disciples, that
the particular day and hour of his coming were known
to his Father only ; and in the whole of the remaining
part of the chapter he refers the events of which he
speaks to the time he had before designated and con-
fined to that generation. This 24th chapter ends
with an account of what should be done to an evil
servant, who should " say in his heart, my lord delay-
eth his coming; and shall begin to smite his fellow
servants, and to eat and to drink with the drunken :
the lord of that servant shall come in a day when he
looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not
aware of, and shall cut him asunder, and appoint him
his portion with the hypocrites : there shall be weep-
ing and gnashing of teeth." As he had just before,
in his address to the Scribes and Pharisees, called
them hypocrites, and denounced the judgments of
heaven upon them, he now informed his disciples, that
if any who professed to be his servants, should get
off their watch, should say, my Lord delayeth his com-
ing, and should eat and drink with the drunken, and
abuse his fellow servants, he should be placed among
the hypocrites on whom he had denounced those
judgments.

The 25th chapter begins with the word then, by
which it it evident that the speaker meant to refer to
the time he had before designated. " Then shall the
kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins."
When did the Saviour say the kingdom of heaven

256 BALLOu's LECTURES,

should be likened unto ten virgins ? Answer, at the
time when those judgments should come on Jerusalem
and on the Jews, of which he had spoken ; all of
which he confined to that generation. When he
should come in the clouds of heaven, with power and
great glory, and send his angels forth to gather to-
gether his elect ; all which he confined to that gene-
ration.

This parable of the virgins was designed to repre-
sent the difference there would be between the situa-
tions of those Jews who foolishly rejected the Saviour,
and who abused his Apostles, and those who believed
in him, and administered to the necessities of the pro-
mulgators of his doctrine.

The parable of the talents, which follows this of the
ten virgins, represents the same thing, and so does this
of the sheep and the goats.

This passage begins thus : " When the Son of man
shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with
him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory ;
and before him shall be gathered all nations ; and he
shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd
divideth his sheep from the goats," <fec.

Here be cautious, " When the Son of man shall
come," &c. When was this ? Look back to the 30th
verse of the 24th chapter. " And they shall see the
Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power
and great glory," ozc. And then observe that the
Saviour took all possible pains to certify his disciples
that all these things should take place in that genera-
tion.

The whole subject is perfectly plain. In the 24th
chapter Jesus spake of his coming in his glory with his
angels, and also of the judgment that he would then
execute on his enemies : and here in the 25th chap-
ter, he represents these things and events by the para-
ble of the virgins, that of the talents, and this of the
sheep and goats ; and by keeping the connexion of the
subject it appears evident beyond all doubt, that this
parable ajluded to the events which took place in the
generation in which he lived.

257

But if this subject had been left in any respect
doubtful, respecting the time of this judgment, yet
other passages of our Saviour's testimony respecting
the same event are perfectly sufficient to settle the
question and to remove all doubts.

See Matt. xvi. 27, 28, "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.
Verily I say unto you, there be some standing here
which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of
man coming in his kingdom ." Mark viii. 38. ix. 1.
"Whosoever, therefore, shall be ashamed of me, and
of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation,
of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he
cometh in the glory of his Father, with the holy angels.
And Vie said unto thern, verily I say unto you, that
there be some of them that stand here, which shall
not taste of death till they have seen the kingdom of
God come with power." Luke ix. 26, 27, " For who-
soever shall be ashamed of me, and of my words, of
him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall
come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and of the
holy angels. But I tell you of a truth, there be some
standing here, which shall not taste of death till they
see the kingdom of God."

These passages fully and clearly show, that the com-
ing of Christ in his glory with his angels, to reward
every man according to his works, was an event which
took place in the generation that lived at the time that
Jesus was on the earth. And we have another direct
proof of this fact recorded in Matt. x. 22, 23, " And
ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake ; but
he that endureth to the end shall be saved. But when
they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another :
for verily I say unto you, ye shall not have gone over
the cities of Israel till the Son of man be come."

The time of this judgment being thus settled, let
us inquire what accusation was brought against those
on the left hand for which they were sentenced to
everlasting punishment ? The accusation runs thus :
"I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat: I

258 BALLOU5S LECTURES.

was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink : I was a stran
ger, and ye took me not in : naked, and ye clothed
me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not."
The accused ask when these things took place ; and
are told ; "Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the
least of these, ye did it not unto me." Notice here,
that Jesus was delivering this whole discourse to his
disciples alone, on the mount of Olives. By these,
therefore, it is evident that he meant his disciples ; and
he gave them to understand, that the persecutions
that they should suffer, he would reckon as done to
himself. And on the other hand, the righteous are
justified for having done those things to the disciples
of Christ, which the wicked had neglected to do ; and
he accepts these acts of kindness as done to himself.

We will here ask those, who apply this subject to
the future state, whether they will allow that we are
to obtain an immortal state of endless felicity for the
performance of our duty, in administering to the wants
of our fellow creatures ? The fact is, after they have
made such an application of this scripture, they do
not believe that our immortal state of happiness is the
reward of our good works here.

But we must attend to the argument of our oppos-
ers, who contend, that the words of this text necessa-
rily mean an endless duration.

Everlasting punishment, and life eternal. They are
critical to observe, that the words everlasting and eter-
nal come from the same word in the Greek Testament,
and they, therefore, infer that the duration of punish-
ment must be as long as the duration of happiness in
the future world. But they assume the application of
these words to a future state, without even an attempt
to show, that such an application is justified by the
testimony of the Saviour. This application we have
proved to be erroneous ; which necessarily applies the
word rendered everlasting and eternal to what belongs
to the present state. And that this application is
correct we prove as follows : The word in Greek, ren-
dered everlasting and eternal in our language, is
aioonion, which is an adjective. The noun occurs in

259

the question which the disciples asked the divine mas-
ter, in the 3d verse of the 24th chapter : " Tell us,
when shall these things be? and what shall be the
sign of thy coming, and of the end of the (aioonos)
world ? " Now we have proved that the end of the
aioonos, in the 24th chapter meant the end of the Jew-
ish dispensation. It follows therefore, by fair analo-
gy, that if the aioonos, which came to an end in the
generation that Jesus lived on the earth, meant a dis-
pensation or order of things, that which followed
meant the same (viz.) a dispensation or order of
things.

The plain simple truth is this; The dispensation
and order of the Jewish economy ended, and the gos-
pel dispensation and economy commenced ; and so
did the dispensation of that long and severe judgment
on the house of Israel, under which they have groan-
ed until this day.

We therefore render the text thus ; " These shall go
away into a dispensation of punishment, but the right-
eous into a dispensation of life, or into the gospel dis-
pensation. This gospel dispensation or aioonos, is
mentioned by the Saviour, in Matt, xxviii. 20, u Where
Jesus sent forth his disciples to preach, and said to
them ; Lo, I am with you always even unto the end of
the (aioonos) world."

The hearer is referred to Parkhurst's Greek Lex-
icon, where on this word he will find the following ;
" An age, period, periodical dispensation of divine
Providence. In Matt. xxiv. 3, it evidently refers to
the Jewish age, or age under the Mosaic law. (See
Whitby, Dodridge, and Macknight on that text.) But
in Matt, xxviii. 20, it seems plainly to denote the age
under the Messiah."

When this subject is seen in its own clear light,
when we look at it with the eye of unprejudiced can-
dor, and view it in its relation to the threatenings de-
nounced by Moses on the rebellious house of Israel,
we see that Jesus denounced on the Jews no other
punishment than such as Moses and the Prophets had
foretold. If the hearer will examine the 26th chapter

260

of Leviticus, the 28th of Deuteronomy, the 4th of Lam-
entations, and compare them with the 24th and 25th
of Matthew, he will be satisfied that neither Moses, the
Prophets, nor Jesus spake any thing of punishing the
house of Israel in a- future state of existence ; but he will
be convinced that not only Moses and the Prophets,
but Jesus likewise did denounce the most awful and
distressing calamities on the Jews, that we can possi-
bly conceive of human sufferings in this world of mise-
ry and woe.

When Pilate, being convinced of the innocence of
Jesus, would have released him, all the people answer-
ed, saying, " His blood be on us and on our children."
They pronounced the dreadful imprecation and were
taken at their word. God has visited the iniquity of
the fathers upon the children of them who have hated
him, and has executed on the wicked the judgments
which were foretold by the prophets.

But all this seems nothing in the eye' of that blind
superstition, which can see no punishment for sin in
this world, and which applies the threatenings to a fu-
ture state. But in the judgment of reason, and in the
light of divine revelation, the punishments which have
been inflicted on the Jews for the wickedness with
which scripture and history charge them, have been ac-
cording to their sins.

As to the argument, that punishment must be as
durable as happiness, it not only seems to be destitute
of any evidence, but repugnant to reason. Punish-
ment is designed to reclaim from sin, that happiness
may succeed; but if punishment be endless it certain-
ly is the end of divine Providence, and not the means
by which he brings a more glorious end to pass.

To conclude : my friends, the dealings of God with
his children in past ages, should be regarded by us
as examples of his faithfulness to his promises and his
threatenings. As our heavenly Father has always re-
warded the righteous, and punished the wicked in a
way to make his approbation of the former and his
disaprobation of the latter evident to every observing
mind, let us be wise for ourselves and for our children.

LECTURES. 261

If we approve the opportunity which God has offered
us, to throw off error and superstition, and to receive
Christ and his pure religion, we shall enter into life;
and our children after us, in room of inheriting from
us, error and darkness, will bless their fathers and their
mothers, who resolved to throw off the doctrine of
despair, and to espouse the hope of the gospel of God
our Saviour.

LECTURE XIX.

RIGHTEOUSNESS AND WICKEDNESS RECOMPENSED ON
EARTH.

PROVERBS xi. 31.

Behold, the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth; much more the
wicked and the sinner.

Among the reasons for calling your attention at this
time, to the consideration of this subject, the following
may be named :

1. This passage having been made the subject of
one of our discourses on the 1st Sabbath of November
last, a number, who heard the discourse at that time,
have since requested that it might have a place among
the lectures. And

2. This subject seems so nearly allied to our last,
that it is thought advisable to place it next in course,
that it may operate in some measure as a farther illus-
tration of it.

Our text gives evident support to the following par-
ticular subjects :

1. There is righteousness in the earth.

2. There is wickedness in the earth.

3. There is a sure recompense for righteousness.

4. There is a sure recompense for wickedness.

5. The recompense of righteousness is in the earth.

6. The recompense of wickedness is in the earth.
These particulars may be said to be fully proved by

the text ; for there can be none righteous, unless there
be righteousness, and there can be none wicked, unless
there be wickedness ; nor can righteousness be recom-
pensed when there is none, nor can wickedness be
recompensed where it does not exist.

263

The hearer's attention is now invited to an inquiry,
which will be directed to ascertain how to make a
proper distinction between the righteous and the wick-
ed. The way in which this subject is generally held,
supposes that there is one class of men who are exclu-
sively righteous, and another class exclusively wicked.
Hence we hear so much about two classes of mankind.
Christian preachers and commentators have filled their
sermons and their volumes with lengthy and intricate
descriptions of these two classes of people. If we say
any thing of the divine favor to all mankind, if we ex-
press the least hope that God will have compassion on
all men, if we bring plain scripture to testify and say,
" The Lord is good to all, and his tender mercies are
over all his works," we are severely rebuked by those
who call themselves righteous, who tell us that the
scriptures every where make two classes of people, the
righteous and the wicked.

That the scriptures speak of two characters is freelv
acknowledged ; but that they every where or even any
where give support to the notion that one class of
mankind is exclusively righteous, and another class ex-
clusively wicked is by.no means acknowledged.

It is worthy of special notice that the testimony of
scripture agrees with matter of fact. For instance,
scripture says : " While the earth remaineth, seed time
and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and win-
ter, and day and night, shall not cease." Now the
matter of fact testified by the passage quoted, perfect-
ly agrees with what we know by experience to be
true. But should we find that the scriptures any
where say, that while the earth remaineth there shall
be a certain class of people, from generation to genera-
tion that shall be exclusively righteous, and another
class exclusively wicked, could we say that this is evi-
dently true ? could we say that these two classes have
always been as distinguishable as seed time and har-
vest, as cold and heat, as summer and winter, and
as day and night ?

My friends look round you : do you know who these
righteous are ? Can you distinguish this righteous class

264 BALLOUJS LECTURES.

from the wicked class as easily as you can distinguish
day from night? Who are they? Are they that com-
pany of meek, humble believers in Jesus, who pray as
the divine Master taught them ; " Our Father who
art in heaven — forgive us our sins ? " If they are
not sinners why do they pray that their sins may be
forgiven ?

On the other hand, who are the wicked ? Are they
that company of profane sailors, who appear so care-
less about religion ? But these men, of all grades of
society, are acknowledged to be the most generous.
They will impart to misery the last dollar of the scanty
wages for which they have risked their lives on the
uncertain deep, while the wealthy Christian, who goes
to the sanctuary in splendor, with great circumspec-
tion, gives to poverty a shilling. But who are the
wicked ? Are they such as make no profession of
religion, have subscribed to no creed, joined no church?
But where are these men, and what are they about
when their neighbors are sick, or are in want, or are
in distress ? Are they then carelessly loitering behind
our high professors of religion, who are administering
all needed assistance to the distressed ? Where are
they when the devouring element turns women and
children into the streets ? Do they idly fold their
arms and look on, while the righteous put out the fire?
What do these wicked people do when their country
is invaded by a plundering foe, and all that is dear to
man lies at stake ? Do they then sleep on beds of
down, while the saints watch in the camp ? The fact
is, if we are willing to acknowledge the truth, there is
no class of people who are so righteous that there is no
need of reformation ; nor is there a class that is in no
danger of growing worse.

We find the righteous and the wicked in the same
individual. David says ; "Judge me, O Lord, accord-
ing to my righteousness." And again he says ; "The
Lord rewardeth me according to my righteousness.,,
But with what humility does he acknowledge his sin.
He says; " Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my

BALLOU'S LECTURES. 265

transgression and my sin is ever before me." Yes, in
the same man, and at the same time we find the
righteous and the wicked, " him that serveth God and
him that serveth him not." St. Paul says ; " With the
mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh
the law of sin."

The habit which professed Christians have so long
indulged, of thinking and speaking of the wicked, as
a class of people distinct from themselves is a proof of
the depravity of their own deceived hearts. The pub-
lican, who dared not raise his eyes toward heaven, but
smote his breast, saying. God be merciful to me a sin-
ner, was rather justified than the Pharisee, who thank-
ed God that he was not like other men.

The result of a candid examination of this particu-
lar subject may be represented by health and sickness.
And as this representation is warranted by the declar-
ation of the Saviour to those who thought they were
righteous when they were not, it may be the more ac-
ceptable. Jesus said, " They that are whole need
not the physician, but they that are sick." Now
health and sickness are so directly opposite, that there
is no difficulty in distinguishing one from the other.
But there are many cases where it would be difficult
to determine which of two that are sick is the most
unwell. And we may further observe, that there is
no such thing as a class of people who are exclusively
healthy, nor a class that is exclusively sickly. Those,
who to-day are in health, may be sick to-morrow ; and
those who are indisposed to-day may be restored and
enjoy health to-morrow. Yes, and in the same per-
son, and at the same time, we may find a degree of
health and a degree of sickness. Degrees of health
and sickness may increase or decrease, and the sub-
jects may either recover, or decline and die.

Let us in the next place endeavor to ascertain the
nature of the recompense which the divine economy
awards to the righteous, and what it is designed for.

As we have seen that there are different degrees in
righteousness, so we may expect to find that rewards
are so varied as to correspond with these different
23

266

degrees. Again, we may observe that in some things
a man may do that which is right, and receive a recom-
pense accordingly ; on the other hand, the same man
may do that which is wrong in some things and be
recompensed accordingly.

The whole duty of man is embraced in two divine
requirements. The first requires us to love God with
all the heart, and the second, being like unto the first,
requires us to love our neighbors as ourselves. On
these two commandments, Jesus says, " hang air the
law and the prophets." Now as far as any person loves
God so far is he recompensed, and no farther. And
as far as he loves his neighbor so far he is recompensed
in that respect, and no farther.

But what is the recompense which the soul enjoys
who loves God ? Answer, it is God himself. " God
is love ; and he that dwelleth in love, dwelleth in God,
and God in him." In an exact proportion to the love
which the heart exercises towards God is it recom-
pensed with this richest of all rewards. There is no
other object, on which the affections of the heart can
be placed, that is so sure of returning a recompense,
in all respects equal to the degree of love which is
exercised.

Companions may love each other most tenderly, but
by unavoidable circumstances they may be separated,
so as to render their affection even painful. Again,
there may be love to creature objects where no return
of affection is received. But whoever loves God can-
not be separated from him, nor can he ever experience
any want of love in God. The soul that truly loves
the divine Being is blessed with the presence of the
object of affection. There is no place nor condition
that can exclude the mind from this enjoyment.
Though we were banished from the society of man,
if we loved God he would be present with us ; would
be a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
How often do we see our brethren and sisters in the
hour of death, rejoicing in a present Saviour, and
cheerfully resign life and all earthly things for the
enjoyment of God.

BALLOU'S LECTURES. 267

What is this rich recompense designed for in the
divine economy ? It is designed for the only end that
divine love can possibly have in view. It is to pro-
mote love and enlarge its enjoyments in the soul that
is exercised by it.

As there are secondary cases in which righteousness
manifests itself, so there are secondary recompenses
corresponding with them. As consequences growing
out of love to God, we notice those virtuous actions,
and propriety of conduct, which are attended with
effects which sufficiently recompense and amply bless
the agent in his deeds. Whoever loves God, will love
truth ; he will love honesty ; he will love justice ; he
will love mercy ; he will love wisdom and knowledge.
Now as he loves these things, he will speak the truth;
he will be honest ; he will do justly ; he will be mer-
ciful ; he will endeavor to acquire wisdom and know-
ledge, and he will consider all these things as durable
riches and righteousness.

Now as these virtues are all calculated to reward us
for all our exertions in their principles, so it is evident
that our recompenses must be according to our merits.
Accordingly as a man loves the truth, and speaks the
truth, he enjoys the divine sunshine in his breast ; and
in addition to this sure and ample reward, he generally
is believed by others, and confidence is placed in his
word. In the same proportion as a man is honest in
what he does, he has the enjoyment of his own con-
science, which is a treasure that the honest man prizes
far above silver or gold. And in addition to all this
he has the satisfaction of being esteemed by others for
his honesty, which is worthy of high estimation.

Those who do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly
with God, who seek for wisdom as for hidden treasures,
and find out knowledge of witty inventions, enjoy a
constant income of moral and intellectual wealth,
which is far richer than the revenue of silver, or the
merchandise of the most precious spices.

The design of these rich rewards, in the economy
of the divine government, is to induce moral beings
to labor with all possible diligence to perfect them-
selves in the love of God.

BALLOU S LECTURES.

We may now ask what recompense the divine
government is pleased to render to the wicked, and
what is the design of such a recompense.

As wickedness is exactly the reverse of righteous-
ness, so the recompense of the former must be the
reverse of that of the latter.

If we have no love to God we cannot enjoy him.
The thought that he exists and exercises universal
dominion, and controls all things by his almighty
power is a source of infelicity. The soul, in room of
being refreshed with the sweet waters of life, is suf
fused with anger, wrath, strife, and bitterness. In the
room of peace, there is trouble. " The wicked are
like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose
waters cast up mire and dirt. There is no peace,
saith my God, to the wicked."

Such is the establishment of moral rectitude in the
human soul, by the hand of our Malter, that our rea-
son is compelled to acknowledge the dignity of divine
justice, the purity of all the virtues, and the excellency
of righteousness. But where the affections of the heart
are not devoted to these holy qualities, the soul is for-
ever under condemnation. Self-accusation and self-
reproach gnaw like the vulture within.

In an exact proportion to the distance the soul is in,
from that love to God and our neighbor, which is the
fulness of the divine requirement, is measured the
recompense due to the sinner. There is tribulation
and anguish to every soul of man that doeth evil ; and
this tribulation and anguish are in proportion to the
evil for which they are a recompense.

But why should the divine government so ordain,
that sin should be recompensed with so much misery ?
Why does it not please God to administer comfort,
peace, and joy, to the sinner, in his sins ? What is
the design of the divine economy in this thing?

We may find a solution of these queries in our si-
militude of health and sickness. Health is the reward
of that kind of food, which is nourishment to the body,
of that temperance and exercise which our nature
requires ; while food that is unwholesome, or that is

BALLOU'S LECTURES. 269

rendered injurious by art, together with intemperance,
and the want of proper exercise, are recompensed with
those natural disorders with which the human body is
afflicted. It is necessarily so in the nature of things.
It seems impossible that it should be otherwise. And
it is the certainty of these consequences, which induces
the prudent to abstain from intemperance and idleness.

The evil consequences resulting from wrong practi-
ces are designed, by divine wisdom, for the same be-
nevolent purpose as the good effects which are the
recompense of doing well. When we do well we en-
joy the pleasant fruits of righteousness, and this enjoy-
ment operates as an inducement to continue in well
doing. On the contrary, when we do wrong we suffer
the recompense of our error, and this suffering is
wisely appointed as a mean to wean us from that im-
proper indulgence of inordinate appetites ajid passions
in consequence of which we suffer, and to warn us to
take heed to our ways. The prophet Jeremiah, speak-
ing to the wicked, seems to express this idea with great
plainness. He says ; " Thine own wickedness shall
correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee."

In our reasoning on the subjects of the recompens-
ing of the righteous, and of rendering to the wicked
according to their works, attention has been paid more
to what we may term the internal fruits of righteous-
ness and sin, than to outward blessings and calamities
with which divine Providence has in all ages of the
world expressed his approbation of righteousness, and
his disapprobation of sin. We shall now contemplate
the subject more generally, noticing some of the divine
promises and threatenings, connecting the subject with
the consideration of that part of the testimony of our
text which informs us, that the recompense of both the
righteous and the wicked is in the earth.

It may be proper, before we proceed further, to ap-
prise the hearer, that the arguments which are to fol-
low will be found directed to disprove the common
doctrine, which teaches that those who are righteous
in this state of existence, will be recompensed for their
righteousness with immortality and eternal life in the
23*

270 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

future state; and that those who are sinners in this
life will be recompensed with endless perdition hereaf-
ter. This we feel fully authorised to undertake by
the divine authority expressed in many more passages
than can be cited in one sermon ; this authority is
evidently expressed in our text, in that it certifies us
that both the righteous and the wicked shall be re-
compensed in the earth ; for it surely seems unreason-
able to suppose, that they are recompensed here in the
earth, and after this recompensed to all eternity. In
fact this idea is a most palpable absurdity ; for any
thing short of deserts is not a recompense ; nor can
that which is more than deserts be called a recompense.

With a view to bring this general subject before the
hearer in as plain a manner as is convenient, let a few
questions be asked, and let reason and experience an-
swer them..

1. In a state like this, in which we are possessed of
inclinations, passions, and appetites, which, if not
properly chastened, duly restrained, and wisely gov-
erned, will most assuredly lead us into sin, in order to
influence the mind, and bring its fortitude into proper
action, and the inclinations into the right channel by
the hope of a favorable recompense, it is best to place
this recompense in this present life, or in a future
state? Professors of religion in general, and even
preachers contend, that unless the recompense for well
doing is in a future state, virtue is not worth pursuing,
as there is not in virtue itself and in its good conse-
quences in this life a sufficient reward for its duties.
The question now before us inquires whether it would
not better secure the object to have the recompense in
this life ? In favor of its being here may be urged,
that all objects that are calculated to influence the hu-
man mind, have their powers increased by their prox-
imity to us, and diminished as they are placed more
remote. Man is so constituted that he thinks more of
his present necessities than he does of what he may
want in some future time.

If you wish to hire laborers into your service, you
can more readily obtain them by promising them their

271

pay every setting sun, than if you propose paying
them ten or twenty years hence. If your neighbor,
or even your minister should tell you, that if you wish
to obtain faithful laborers, you must by no means
promise them immediate pay, but promise it as long
hence as will possibly suit your conveniences ; and
furthermore, you must be careful when they are labor-
ing for you, to allow them as little refreshment and
rest as possibly will keep them alive, or they will leave
you, would you think the advice was any evidence of
the wisdom and experience of him who gave it ? No,
you would not. And though you might possibly think
your adviser meant well, being ignorant, you would
not follow the advice.

Why then, my friends, should we believe, that di-
vine wisdom, with an intention to engage us in the
service of virtue, should place its reward in a future
state of existence, in a world we know nothing of, from
which no traveller ever returned ? — Why should we
believe, that the wisdom of God, with a design to
make us faithful in his service, should carefully make
this service extremely toilsome, and allow us no rest
nor refreshment that is comfortable during our labors ?

2. With a view to operate on the mind by fear, and
to restrain the passions by apprehensions of danger,
where would wisdom place the dreaded object ? in this
life, or in a future state ?

In favor of its being here, and before our eyes, may
be urged, that any terrific object has a greater influ-
ence on the mind being near and visible, than when
remote and invisible. Even a coward will boast of his
courage, and will dare the foe, while he lies at a dis-
tance and out of sight, but when the hostile band pie-
sen ts the glittering armory that dazzles his eyes, his
weak heart melts like wax before the sun. Why then
should terror be placed at a distance and out of sight
in order to have the greatest effect on the mind? If it
be necessary to excite our fear, that we believe in the
common doctrine of a burning lake in a future state,
would it not add an incalculable influence to the ob-
ject if our terrific preachers could draw away the cur-

272

tain and present the horrible scene to our open vision?
As they take great satisfaction in describing to the im-
agination of parents their children in hell, would not
the effect be still more powerful if the eye could be-
hold the fiery pit, and see the beloved children in the
flames ? But all this must be carried on in a secret
place, out of sight of all the living ; and none to re-
port it to us, only those who know nothing about it.

3. Is it not a most evident fact, that for temporal
enjoyments, enjoyments of this life, men will exert
their utmost powers, face the greatest dangers, and
surmount all surmountable difficulties ? For these en-
joyments the husbandman labors from early morn until
the shades of night cover him. And this he repeats
day after day, week after week, month after month,
year after year, until he wears out his strength and his
days. Ask him why he thus toils; will he inform you,
either that he expects an immortal state of bliss hereaf-
ter as a reward ; or that he fears eternal torments if he
should quit his field ? No, he will point to his wife
and to his children, and say ; it is for them I labor,
for them I toil, and the love I bear them makes my la-
bor easy and my burden light ; yea it is a pleasure, and
content is my companion.

Does not the mariner risk his life on the seas, does
he not encounter the most inclement weather, put his
face to the violence of the storm, for the sake of the
comforts and luxuries of life ? For the enjoyments of
this temporal state, we see the warrior, far from his
family, encountering the fatigues of marches and coun-
ter-marches ; lying upon the cold damp earth ; his
food coarse and often loathsome, and when the hour
of perilous danger arrives, and he is summoned to the
charge, does he now expect immortality and eternal
life if he fights, and does he dread endless damnation
if he refuses? No, these are not the motives which
stimulate him to set his face to danger and his breast
to the battle. The defence of his country, the defence
of his wife and children, and his honor as a soldier
are motives sufficient. Why then, my friends, are we
told that no rewards in this life are sufficient to excite

;

273

us to religion and virtue ? Why are we told the pitiful
story, that nothing short of the hope of endless hap-
piness hereafter, and the dread of everlasting damna-
tion in the world to come, are sufficient incentives to
move men to subscribe to a creed which men have
invented, and a covenant written by a clergyman, join
a communion, and make a few prayers which he learns
by heart, and go to meeting on the Sabbath?

4. Since the doctrine of endless rewards and pun-
ishments has been advocated and preached by the
christian clergy, and the anathemas of eternal con-
demnation held up on every Sabbath-day ; and since
all classes of people have been habituated in such a
belief, has it all together had the desired effect? Has
it made men in reality any better ? If we place the
least confidence in the most authentic histories, and if
we allow experience to judge in this case the matter is
plain, that a spirit of the most violent persecution has
always accompanied this doctrine, and the most shock-
ing outrages on humanity have marked its progress.

5. Let us ask now, where true wisdom lies, and
where her peaceful path is to be found ? We find the
answer in the words of Jesus, who said ; " Come unto
me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will
give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of
me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall
)(ind rest unto your soul. For my yoke is easy and my
burden is light." By these precious words we learn
that the Saviour endeavored to persuade men into his
service by assuring them that his service was easy, and
that he imposed no burdens but light ones. He com-
pares his religion with its opposite, as an easy service
to one that is hard ; as rest to fatigue.

As long as we are persuaded to believe that the way
of righteousness is a hard way, that it is attended with
constant trouble, that few or no enjoyments are found
in obedience to its requirements, all the promises
which the preacher holds up of bliss in a future world,
will never induce us to travel the hated road. On the
contrary, as long as we are told that sin and wicked-
ness are attended with ease, pleasure, delight, and

274

perpetual gratification and satisfaction, and as long as
we believe this worst of all deceptions, so long we
shall live in sin, notwithstanding we may be told of the
most horrid torments in a future world as a recom-
pense therefor.

Man loves happiness and hates misery, and this
love and hatred are the only inducements which move
him to action. Let us realize then that righteousness
will make us happy in the present life, and that sin
will make us miserable here on the earth, and let us
constantly withstand the testimony of our preachers,
and the temptations of the flesh to the contrary, and
we shall live as the grace of God teaches, by denying
ungodliness and worldly lusts, and by living soberly,
righteously, and godly in this present world.

It is worthy of special regard, that the divine prom-
ises and threatenings recorded by Moses and the
prophets, with which God was pleased to signify his
approbation of righteousness, and his disapprobation
of sin, relate to blessings and punishments which have
been enjoyed and suffered by the house of Israel in
the earth.

For their encouragement the Lord promised them
all manner of temporal blessings ; and as a terror he
threatened them with all manner of temporal calami-
ties. And while they walked in the statutes of the
Lord, and did his judgments these promises were faith-
fully fulfilled. The people multiplied greatly and
abounded in all the rich blessings of life, of health and
peace. But when they rebelled and walked in the
Avay of sin, they were visited with all the plagues,
judgments, and calamities with which they had been
threatened. No people ever varied their character
more than have the Jews. At times they were the
most upright, the most pious, the most virtuous of all
the nations of the earth ; and then they were blessed
above all people in the world. At other times they
have been the most perverse ; have so forsaken the
true God, as to carry idolatry to its extremes, have
practiced violence and oppression, by which they be-
came a prey to their enemies, and were carried into

275

captivities, and punished with all the sore judgments
which were written in their law or denounced by their
prophets. And as no people have ever been more
wicked, so none have been more punished than they.

The judgments which our Saviour denounced on
aie Jews were the same of which we read in the 26th
of Leviticus and other writings of Moses, in the Lam-
entations of Jeremiah and the other writings of this
and the rest of the prophets. And it is directly to our
argument to observe that all these calamities have come
on that people ; and that we have no more authority
for applying either the promises for obedience, or the
threatenings for disobedience to a future state, than
we have for believing that the Jews, for their obedience
in this world, will be blessed in the future state in the
quiet possession of the land of Canaan : and for their
disobedience will be visited with sickness and be car-
ried away into captivity by their enemies.

To conclude. Let us, my friends, open our eyes on
the certain consequences with which our heavenly
Father rewards the obedient here in the earth. Let
us regard that calm sunshine of peace within, which
we are sure to enjoy as the reward of well doing. Let
us endeavor to estimate in a proper manner the rich
inheritance which is the certain lot of those who keep
the commandments of God.

J^et us look round us, and see if prisons, dungeons,
and gallows are not a sufficient argument to prove,
that the wicked are recompensed in the earth. And
if this sad scene be not sufficient, go draw the veil
from still greater horrors, where intemperance and un-
cleanness exhibit the warning spectacle of degraded
humanity. Beloved youth, look, these terrors are no
fictions ; they are awful realities ! Your feet stand
in slippery places ! O put on the whole armor of
righteousness that ye may be able to stand in the evil
day ; and pray most fervently that you may not be led
into temptation, but that you may be delivered from
evil.

LECTURE XX.

DIVINE GOODNESS IN THE DESTRUCTION OF IHE
SODOMITES AND OTHER SINNERS.

EZEKIEL xvi. last of 50.

Therefore I took them away as 1 saw good.

The spirit of divine truth, addressing Jerusalem by
the prophet, informed her that she was more corrupted
in her ways than her sisters, Samaria and her daugh-
ters, or Sodom and her daughters. The words of the
prophet are these; " As I live, saith the Lord God,
Sodom thy sister hath not done, she nor her daugh-
ters, as thou hast done, thou and thy daughters. Be-
hold this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride,
fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness, was in her
and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the
hands of the poor and needy. And they were haugh-
ty, and committed abomination before me ; therefore I
took them away as I saw good."

The destruction of the inhabitants of Sodom is the
subject of our text, and that to which the most cau-
tious attention of this christian audience is now most
earnestly solicited.

By those who believe and preach the " heart-chilling
doctrine" of endless torment, the destruction of
Sodom is constantly adverted to as an evident proof
of this tenet, and an instance of its positive reality.

Now as it is one of the objects of this course of lec-
tures, to disprove the doctrine here mentioned, and to
show, that the divine testimony which its advocates ap-
ply as proof of this tenet gives it no support, it is
thought expedient to show that we have no evidence
to believe that the Sodomites are an instance of an

277

endless state of misery. And as several other instan-
ces of the destruction of the wicked are generally used
for the same end as this of the destruction of Sodom,
notice will be taken of a number of them in the pres-
ent discourse, in a way to show that they afford no
evidence in support of the doctrine, in favor of which
they are perpetually employed by our terrific preach-
ers.

The first question which we shall attempt to exam-
ine is, whether the scriptures, which speak of the de-
struction of Sodom, give any account of the endless
misery of those people who died in that destruction ?

We are informed in the 18th and 19th chapters of
Genesis, that, on account of the grievous sin of Sodom
and Gomorrah, " the Lord rained upon Sodom and
upon Gomorrah, brimstone and fire from the Lord out
of heaven. And he overthrew those cities and all the
plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that
which grew upon the ground."

This is the account which we have in Genesis of the
destruction of the Sodomites. But we find no men-
tion made of their being consigned to a state of torment
after their temporal destruction.

Here let us bring our subject into the light by the
following queries.

1. Of the two events, the temporal destruction of
the Sodomites and their being consigned to a state of
unspeakable torment in the invisible and eternal world,
which is the greatest ? Every one will acknowledge
at once, that the last mentioned of these events is in-
finitely greater than the first. Indeed, those who be-
lieve and hold forth the idea of the endless misery of
the wicked hereafter, always inform us, that all the
sufferings of this mortal state are nothing compared
with the sufferings of the miserable in the eternal
world.

2. Why, allowing the common opinion of the mise-
rable state of the Sodomites in the invisible world, is
there a particular account given of their temporal de-
struction, and yet not a word about this everlasting
torment in the future state, which is a subject infinite-

278 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

ly greater ? To illustrate the nature of this question,
we will suppose, that we have an account in our news-
papers of a fire in the city of Philadelphia that burnt
several ware-houses and consumed considerable prop-
erty. This account falls into the hands of our chris-
tian preachers, and they come forward in public and
state a most lamentable account of the total destruc-
tion of the city of Philadelphia by fire. They set
forth, in the most moving language the awful sufferings
of the wretched inhabitants of that city, not one of
which were able to make their escape from the de-
vouring flames ! They even go so far as to inform us
of certain manifestations of the tender sympathies of
husbands and wives, parents and children, brothers
and sisters in the last sad moments of their dreadful
destruction. After the peace of the whole town should
be thus trifled with for some time, and all our hearts
had been wrung with the keenest sorrow for the as-
tonishing sufferings of our fellow mortals, some of us
should ask our preachers how they were informed of
the sorrowful news of the destruction of the inhabitants
of Philadelphia? — They in a very careless indifferent
manner, after a few civilities, inform us that we have
had the account in the public papers ; and ask us if
we have not seen the account of the burning of those
ware-houses and all the goods there were in them ? —
What should we think in such a case ? Should we
not allow ourselves to query whether these good teach-
ers had not made some mistake ? or exaggerated in a
most unwarranted degree the account given in the pa-
pers ? You will all agree that no excuse could possi-
bly palliate for such a breach of our peace, except it
<iould be proved that our teachers, who had thus trou-
bled our souls, were actuated by a delirium. But my
friends, even this comparison falls infinitely short of
the subject under consideration. There is not so
great a disproportion between the supposed account
of the fire in Philadelphia, and the exaggeration of this
account, which we have supposed, as there is betwreen
the account recorded in Genesis of the destruction of
the Sodomites, and the exaggerations by which thou-

279

sands have been led to believe that those who were
there destroyed, were consigned to a state of intermi-
nable misery. The question before you is like this;
Would the public prints notice, in a particular man-
ner, the burning of a few ware-houses in the city of
Philadelphia, but say nothing of the burning of the
whole city, inhabitants and all?

3. As it is acknowledged by all, who reason well on
the relation between testimony and facts, and the le-
gitimate powers of the former to establish the latter,
that extraordinary and naturally incredible events re-
quire a strength of testimony and a clearness of evi-
dence which correspond with the extraordinary char-
acter of what is to be proved, is it not our indispensa-
ble duty, and what we owe to ourselves and to the
cause of truth, to ask our divines, who insist on the
endless misery of the Sodomites, to produce evidence
of this fact, the force and clearness of which are equal
to the extraordinary character of this supposed fact ?

That this supposed fact is naturally incredible ap-
pears most evident by comparing it with the manifest
character of the divine Being. God is a being of infi-
nite wisdom, power, and goodness.

We may suppose, that if God were infinitely wise,
and infinitely powerful, but entirely destitute of good-
ness, he might contrive a scheme of infinite cruelty,
and carry the same into effect ; but if he possess as
much goodness as he does wisdom and power, it is
palpably absurd to believe that he is the author of any
being to whom he is not good ; and it is equally ab
surd to say that God is good to the Sodomites if they
are consigned to a state of infinite misery.

That our heavenly Father was good and bountiful
to the inhabitants of Sodom in their mortal state is evi-
dent from our context, in which we are informed of
the idleness of the people, their fulness of bread, and
their criminal neglect of the poor and needy. These
accusations fully show that they were guilty of abusing
the goodness of divine Providence ; by which it is
clear that God was good to them. Now as it cannot
be denied that our heavenly Father was good and

280 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

bountiful to the inhabitants of Sodom in their mortal
state, is it consistent for us to believe that he is not
good to them in the eternal world, if he there con-
tinues their existence ? Where is the evidence that
he, who alone can create, and preserve the existence
of rational beings, ever does this to the damage of his
creatures ?

The plain truth is this ; in room of having such
clear and positive evidence in support of this common
notion of the endless misery of the inhabitants of
Sodom, as reason would require,' there is not the most
distant hint of any such thing, in the account recorded
in Genesis.

There is a passage in the epistle of Jude, which
speaks of Sodom and Gomorrah as follows ; " Even
as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them
in like manner giving themselves over to fornication,
and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an exam-
ple, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire." This
passage is frequently cited to prove that the eternal
state of the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah is
miserable. Let us examine the passage and see if it
afford any such conclusion. The words, "are set
forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eter-
nal fire," are supposed to support the opinion in dis-
pute. In order to show that these words have no such
meaning, we will notice two passages where St. Paul
uses the words, " set forth." See Romans iii. 25.
" Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation
through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness
for the remission of sins that are past, through the
forbearance of God." 1. Cor. iv. 9. " For I think
that God hath set forth us the Apostles last, as it
were appointed to death : for we are made a spectacle
unto the world, and to angels, and unto men." In
both these passages, the words " set forth" evidently
mean a most open and clear manifestation of that
which was " set forth." But who will pretend that
the eternal torments of the Sodomites, in the burning
lake of the invisible world, are set forth for an exam-
ple ?

BALLOU'S LECTURES. 281

When God " set forth " his dear Son for a propitia-
tion of our sins, thousands of witnessing eyes beheld
him and saw his miracles of mercy ; thousands of ears
heard the gracious words which he spake, and thou-
sands felt the life giving, and health restoring power of
the Saviour. His whole process from his birth to his
ascension was attested by many witnesses, who could
not have made any material mistake respecting the
subject of their testimony. But have we the testimony
of a single individual, who has seen the Sodomites in
torment since their destruction, or heard their groans?
It is true, and it is spoken with regret, that our ter-
rific preachers speak on this subject, with as much
seeming assurance, and in terms as positive as does
the historian who relates an account of which he is an
eye witness.

The Apostles were " set forth ; " and being " set
forth," were a spectacle unto the world, and to an-
gels, and to men ; and Sodom and Gomorrah were
set forth for an example ; *' but who were the specta-
tors ? Who were the witnesses ? Have angels and
men seen them in the torments of the invisible world ?
No, there is no such thing; but we are informed, by
the divine historian, that " Abraham gat up early in
the morning to the place where he stood before the
Lord. And he looked towards Sodom and Gomor-
rah, and toward all the land of the plain, and lo, the
smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a fur-
nace." There can be no reasonable doubt that the
destruction of the inhabitants of Sodom and the Cities
of the plain was, " set forth " before the eyes of all
the inhabitants of the surrounding country : and there
can be no doubt but that it was considered by those
who saw it, as a dispensation of divine Providence
for the wickedness of the people. And it was record-
ed in the scriptures for an example, and a warning to
the inhabitants of the earth not to practice their sins.

The fire which destroyed Sodom and the cities of

the plain, is called eternal fire on account of the long

time it continued in the country, and burned in those

pits of siime of which we read in the account of the

24* '

282 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

battle between five kings on the part of Sodom and its
confederates, and the four kings who went against
them.

But the fact is we are assured in the most plain terms
that the punishment of the sin of Sodom is not in a
future state, but was executed on its inhabitants in a
most sudden and expeditious manner. See Lam. iv. 6.
" For the punishment of the iniquity of the daughter
of my people is greater than the punishment of the
sin of Sodom, that was overthrown as in a moment,
and no hand stayed on her." By this testimony we
learn the following facts, which relate to the argument
under consideration.

1 . The punishment of the sin of Sodom, was their
temporal destruction.

2. This overthrow, which was the punishment of
their sins was executed in a very short time.

3. There was no protracted punishment executed
on them after this sudden overthrow. This we learn
from the concluding words of the passage quoted ; " No
hand stayed on her." And

4. This punishment of the sin of Sodom was less
than the punishment of the iniquity of the house of
Israel. And it is furthermore worthy of observation,
that if the punishment of the sin of Sodom be endless
misery, it is a most palpable absurdity to say, that the
punishment of the iniquity of the house of Israel was
greater. The punishment which the prophet de-
scribes, as being greater than the punishment of the
sin of Sodom, was altogether the calamities of wars,
famines, and other temporal judgments which came on
the people for their iniquities. And by the prophet
Ezekiel, in the place where our text is recorded, we
have the reason given why the punishment of Jerusa-
lem ought, in justice, to be greater than the punish-
ment of the sin of Sodom.

It is here stated that Jerusalem was more corrupted
in all her ways, than Sodom.

Having fully proved, as far as any thing can be proved
by the divine testimony, that the common opinion
concerning the punishment of the Sodomites is not

283

only without foundation in scripture, but also in direct
opposition to the plain testimony on the subject, we
may now notice the words of our text, by way of the
following inquiry.

As God says, by the prophet, in our text ; " There-
fore, I took them away as I saw good," what good
was there effected by their being taken away in such a
manner ? The reason why they were taken away,
was their sins. Now if they remained as great sin-
ners after they were destroyed, as they were before,
then the occasion of their being taken away was not
removed by their destruction. Here then we see,
what we always may notice in false notions of the
ways of God. They always represent the divine Being
as capable of acting without effect, or in a partial
manner, or to a malevolent purpose. God destroyed
the Sodomites because they were sinful; yet after
their destruction they were no less sinful. Thus the
object failed. After their destruction, as their sin re-
mained, the Almighty consigned them to burning flames
eternally, not to reform them, of course, but to vent on
them his eternal wrath. Thus error represents the
divine Being, revengeful and cruel.

A desire is felt, that the hearer would lend an at-
tention to these questions, viz. Why should our
heavenly Father manifest any disapprobation of sin ?
Does he suffer any inconvenience from it ? Does the
happiness of the sole Governor of the universe depend
on the conduct of his creatures ? Now as all will agree
that the Almighty cannot be injured by sin, so it is
reasonable to conclude that he forbids it because it
is injurious to man ; and it is reasonable also to con-
clude that the judgments, by which the divine disap-
probation of sin is manifested, are designed to lessen
and not to increase human misery. But will any one
undertake to prove that human misery is lessened by
inflicting unspeakable torments on mankind as long as
God shall exist ?

Let us, my friends, lay aside all the vain notions of
tradition and superstition respecting our subject, no-
tions which suppose that our Father in heaven is act-

2S4 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

ing the part of an implacable enemy to his own ra-
tional offspring, and let us listen to the language of
our text ; and let us realize it as the language of a
kind and merciful Father. " Therefore I took them
away as I saw good." My friends, how does this lan-
guage sound to you ? Does it carry any idea of unmer-
ciful vengeance ? No, it does not. But it gives a clear
idea that God acted in this instance, consistently with
his nature which is love, and with his character as a
Father. He acted for the good of his creatures.

According to promise, we may now proceed to no-
tice some other instances of the destruction of the
wicked, which instances are generally used in support
of the system of terror to which the destruction of the
Sodomites is so universally applied.

The first we propose to examine is the destruction
of Pharaoh and his host in the red sea.

There has been and continues to be much dispute
and opposition of opinion among divines, respecting
God's raising up Pharaoh and hardening his heart for
eternal destruction. Some insist that the Almighty, by
a sovereign act, created Pharaoh for everlasting misery
in the eternal world, and that he hardened his heart on
purpose that he might commit sin enough to justify his
endless condemnation. Others oppose such nolions,
and charge them with making God the author of sin.
But they contend that Pharaoh hardened his own heart,
was the sole author of his own sins and is justly sen-
tenced to everlasting perdition together with all his
host for disobedience in refusing to let the children of
Israel go peaceably out of Egypt. Thus there is one
darling point, in which, after they have opposed one
another with all the arguments which they can possibly
bring to bear on the subject in dispute, and after they
have reciprocally censured each other for holding dan-
gerous errors, they meet, and become perfectly quiet
in the belief, that Pharaoh and his host are in the tor-
ments of hell, from which there is no deliverance.

That which these opposing divines dispute about is
not embraced in the present object, to which this re-
search is directed, but the point in which they both

BALLOU'S LECTURES. 285

meet, and concerning which they entertain no doubt,
is the question now to be settled.

But how are we to obtain our object ? The tradition
of the church says, that Pharaoh and his host are in a
state of endless torment. This tradition is now called
in question. But how are we to bring this case to a
fair decision ? The following method is proposed. Let
those divines, who hold and endeavor to maintain that
Pharaoh and his host are in a state of endless misery
pursuant to an eternal decree of God, and those who
deny that tenet, but maintain that Pharaoh and his host
are in this state of torment in consequence of abusing
their moral agency drop their dispute, until they shall
have proved that Pharaoh and his host are actually in
such a state. And then let them all agree to believe
nothing on this subject more than the divine testimony
proves.

When this method is agreed to, the whole question
is settled ; for the fact is, there is no intimation in the
scripture account that Pharaoh or any of his host were
sufferers after they were drowned in the red sea.

It is a most humiliating thought, that our learned
doctors of the church should so long maintain this
phantom of their imagination, to the dishonor of God,
and to the discomfort of every tender sensibility of the
human heart.

But the day of trial and retribution is come ; and
this folly must be recompensed. It is true, they may
turn away their faces, they may wish to avoid meeting
these glaring absurdities ; but the spirit of investiga-
tion, which is now manifesting itself, will never suffer
this matter to rest, until such barbarity of sentiment is
totally rescinded.

The hearer is cautioned against the supposition that
the preacher takes the least satisfaction in giving those,
who maintain the errors which he is endeavoring to
expose, the smallest sensation that may disturb their
comfort, and against harboring such a reprehensible
disposition. But he may be assured, that no respect
due to fellow mortals, can justly prevent us from bring-
ing their false notions to the light.

286 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

The next subject, which we propose to notice is that
of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. We have an account
in the 16th of Numbers of the destruction of these
persons, their families, and of all that appertained to
them, by being swallowed up in the earth. This is an-
other instance of divine providence, which those who
believe and preach the doctrine of endless, unmerci-
ful punishment advert to as a certain proof of its reality.
But how can the account which we have of the destruc-
tion of those people prove what it says nothing of nor
even implies ? If one should say, that Korah, Dathan,
and Abiram with their families went immediately, after
they were swallowed up in the earth, to some one of
the planets, where they have all lived ever since in a
state of affluence, who could prove to the contrary ?
There is nothing in the account which we have of those
people that intimate what became of them after they
were swallowed up in the earth.

If we could be satisfied with the account which we
have of this matter, there is no difficulty in understand-
ing why these people were swallowed up, and the
benefit thereby intended to the congregation.

As these men rose up to oppose Moses and Aaron,
and to excite the people to rebellion, Moses told the
congregation ; " Hereby shall ye know that the Lord
hath sent me to do all these works. If these men die
the common death of all men, or if they be visited after
the visitation of all men, then the Lord hath not sent
me ; but if the Lord make a new thing, and the earth
open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that
appertaineth unto them, and they go down quickly into
the pit, then ye shall understand that those men have
provoked the Lord." According to these words the
event took place, and the rebellion was ended.

The question is now put to the candor of this chris-
tian audience, what is there in this account that
authorises the belief that Korah, Dathan, and Abiram
are now in a state of endless torment ? Moses did not
intimate to the congregation that these people would
be tormented after death ; and in fact if he had told
them so, they could not have been witnesses of th»

BALLOU'S LECTURES. 287

truth of his testimony ; nor could any other people
since have known whether Moses spoke the truth or
not. We have no account either sacred or profane,
that gives any information of the situation of this com-
pany after the earth swallowed them up. If they
have been in a state of torment ever since, that tor-
ment has been no terror to the living, because the
living have known nothing of it. And it is certain,
that those who advert to the case of Korah and his
company, as an instance proving the doctrine of a
future state of miseiy, do this thing on no higher
authority than human tradition.

The destruction of the old world by the flood, is
another event, on which, our preachers of punishment
in a future state, depend for proof of their terrific doc-
trine. And such is the habit of thinking, with pious
and religious people, on this subject, that whenever
they think of the drowning of the inhabitants of the
old world, their minds are carried directly to the idea
of the awful state of suffering which those people
have been in ever since. They never presume to call
the matter in question. They never think of asking
whether there be any proof of this horrible notion.
They take it altogether on tradition, without taking
the trouble ever to read the account to see what is
said respecting it. Yet it is worthy of notice, that
these very people, thus led away with superstition,
will wonder, and even laugh at the. absurd supersti-
tions of other people, in matters of no consequence
in comparison with this which we have now called in
question. For instance, what a world of contention
there has been between Roman Catholics and Protes-
tants, on the question respecting transubstantiation,
and what is termed the real presence. Protestants
will even ridicule the superstition of their opponents
on this subject ; but after all, have they a thousandth
part of the evidence to prove that the inhabitants of
the old world are in a state of endless misery, as the
Catholics have to prove the real presence ? No, surely
they have not. When Jesus took bread and brake it,
he said; "This is my body." Protestants say, thai

288

Jesus spake figuratively ; but the Catholics deny this,
and say, he meant as he said. Now what we ask is
this, is there in all the account which we have of the
destruction of the old world, any thing so much in
favor of the misery of the people after death, as the
words of Christ are in favor of the catholic sentiment ?
The fact is, there is nothing said on the subject. There
is no intimation that the inhabitants who were drown-
ed by the flood were made miserable at all in a future
state. Thus Protestants, as well as the old Pharisees,
" strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.''

In the last place, we will notice the case of Judas,
who betrayed Jesus. Because Jesus said ; " It had
been good for that man if he had not been bom," it is
now contended that Judas is in a state of misery from
which there is no deliverance. But did the divine
teacher say any thing on the subject of the state of
existence that Judas would be in after this life ? No,
he surely did not. How then can his words prove
what they say nothing of?

Let us ask the following question ; Is it possible to
prove that Judas now has any existence, from the
words of Jesus, which we have quoted ? " It had
been good for that man if he had not been born."
Do these words prove that Judas is now in existence ?
Surely no one will even pretend this. But it is beyond
all scruple, that a sentence which does not prove that
a man exists at a given time, cannot prove that he is
miserable or hapf>y at the same given time.

But it is said, if Judas exists, and if he should be
made happy in the eternal world, the words of Jesus
are not true, because the existence of Judas will be a
blessing. This we pronounce loose and fallacious rea-
soning, such as is never used to prove any thing, except
the doctrine of a future or endless misery. In all
matters appertaining to men's interest, in this life, bet-
ter proof is required than what is here relied on, to
prove a state of endless torment. We even venture
to say, that there could not be found a jury of twelve
men who would award property to the amount of ten
dollars to a man, who could not prove his claim to it

BALLOU'S LECTURES. 289

by evidence more to his case. We may suppose that
Jesus meant, that it would have been good for Judas,
if his lot had been appointed with those who never
saw the light; or we may suppose that he meant, it
would have been good for Judas if he had not been
born until after that period of time ; or we may sup-
pose that Jesus meant, it would have been good for
Judas if he had not at that time been born of the
spirit of truth ; for Peter says of those that fall away,
"«It would have been better for them not to have
known the way of righteousness, than after they have
known it, to turn from the holy commandments deliv-
ered unto them." Either of these suppositions is within
the possible meaning of the words of Jesus ; but the
supposition that Jesus meant, that it would have been
good for Judas not to have had an existence, is not
within the possible meaning of his words ; for if he
had not existed, he could have received no good in
any way. Whoever will carefully read what Job says
concerning his being born, in his 3d chapter, and like-
wise what Jeremiah says of his own birth in his 20th
chapter, will surely find as much proof of the misery
of these men in another world, as they can find in the
words of Jesus respecting the misery of Judas in the
future state.

According to the words of Jesus in the 19th of
Matthew, Judas had followed him in the regeneration.
And we learn by the account we have in the 10th
chapter, that Judas, as well as the rest of the twelve
Apostles, was endowed with power to heal the sick,
to cleanse lepers, to raise the dead, and to cast out
devils ; he w7as also commissioned to preach the gos-
pel. In the labors of this miraculous ministry, we
have no account that Judas was not as faithful and as
successful as the rest of the twelve. But he was a
fallible man like the rest ; satan entered into him, and
he committed one act that was base in the extreme ;
he betrayed his Master. Peter also denied him, and
confirmed his denial with oaths. Judas was called a
devil, and Peter was called satan. Our tradition has

290 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

placed Judas in hell, in the eternal world, and Peter
in heaven.

The exclamation that Judas made when he repent-
ed and brought back the money (O that all, who pro-
fess to repent, would do likewise,) to the chief priests
is worthy of observation : " I have sinned, in that I
have betrayed the innocent blood." — This shows the
high estimation in which this unhappy man held inno-
cence. It seems that the pain of his heart was occa-
sioned by his having betrayed the innocent.

Now if he had had no love nor regard for inno-
cence, but if entire opposition to all good had pos-
sessed his heart, he surely would not have repented
and brought back the money ; he would not have ex-
claimed, " I have sinned, in that I have betrayed the
innocent blood."

My friends, the scriptures give no account that this
man was miserable in another state; but the distress
his soul was in, in consequence of having betrayed the
innocent Jesus, should be a solemn warning to every
one of us, that we never violate our duty to the
innocent.

To conclude : God took away the Sodomites, Pha-
raoh and his host, Korah and his company, the inhab-
itants of the old world, Judas who betrayed his Mas-
ter, and many others, as he saw good. His designs
are all the designs of goodness. And if the Holy
Ghost had intended to inform us that all those people
were miserable in the invisible world, we should have
found it so recorded in the faithful testimony. But
we have reason to be thankful, and to praise the name
of him, who gave himself a ransom for all, who is the
propitiation for the sins of the whole world. We
have great consolation in believing, that, " as in Adam
all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." In
opposition to the doctrine of future, endless misery,
we present the unchangeable goodness of that God,
who "is good unto all, and whose tender mercies are
over all his works."

LECTURE XXI.

VEXATION OF FALSE RELIGION.

ISAIAH xxviii. last of 19.

"And it shall be a vexation only to understand the report."

The prophet, in this chapter, contemplates the
house of Israel in a state of great seeming security,
into which they had introduced themselves, by making
a covenant with death, and an agreement with hell,
and by preparing for themselves a refuge of lies.

As is perfectly natural with those, who, by their
own wisdom, frame for themselves partial systems, this
people exulted in their confidence, and raised their
expectations of seeing the destructions and calamities,
from which they fancied themselves secure, fall like an
overflowing scourge on those who had neglected to
enter into their covenant, to avail themselves of their
agreement, and to take shelter in their refuge.

According to their confidence and expectation they
said ; " We have made a covenant with death, and
with hell are we at agreement ; when the overflowing
scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us ;
for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood
have we hid ourselves."

Thus an overflowing scourge was expected ; but it
was to come on others, they were safe. They had
made due preparations for security, and had nothing
to anticipate but their own safety and the destruction
of others, who had neglected to get an interest in their
means of defence.

But the wisdom of man is foolishness with God.
When he thinks himself secure, and is looking out for
the destruction of others, he is frequently subjected to

292 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

the vexation of seeing his confidence fail, his hope
expire, and his expectations die.

Such was the lot of that people whom the prophet
addressed in this chapter. For in reply to their
boasting, the Lord says ; " Behold I lay in Zion for a
foundation a stone, a tried stone ; a precious corner
stone, a sure foundation ; he that believeth shall not
make haste. Judgment also will I lay to the line, and
righteousness to the plummet ; and the hail shall
sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall
overflow the1 hiding-place. And your covenant with
death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with
hell shall not stand ; when the overflowing scourge
shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by
it. From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you :
for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and
by night ; and it shall be a vexation only to understand
the report. For the bed is shorter than that a man
can stretch himself on it ; and the covering narrower
than that he can wrap himself in it." This was
widely different from their expectations. All their
calculations failed. Their covenant with death dis-
annulled ; their agreement with hell dissolved ; and
the waters overflowed the hiding-places composed of
lies. The bed prepared for repose is found to be too
short; and the covering designed for defence from
the cold, is too narrow. Thus their labor is lost: and
n room of security they find trouble, and in room of
oeholding the destruction of others, they are vexed
with the report of their own.

That the spirit of prophecy spake in this chapter
concerning Christ and the gospel day seems evident
from the 16th verse, which has been quoted.

" Behold I lay in Zion for a foundation, a stone, a
tried stone ; a precious corner stone, a sure founda-
tion ; he that believeth shall not make haste." Com-
pare this with the following words of St. Peter;
" Wherefore also it is contained in the Scripture,
Behold I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, pre-
cious ; and he that believeth on him shall not be con-
founded." Also Acts iv. 11. "This is the stone

293

which was set at nought by you builders, which is
become the head of the corner." Likewise Psalm
cxviii. 22, 23. " The stone which the builders refused
is become the head stone of the corner. This is the
Lord's doing; it is marvellous in our eyes;" com-
pared with Matt. xxi. 42. " Jesus saith unto them,
did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which
the builders rejected, the same is become the head of
the corner; this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvel-
lous in our eyes? " To this stone St. Paul alludes in
Romans ix. where he speaks of the stumbling of the
house of Israel, as follows; "But Israel, which fol-
lowed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained
to the law of righteousness. Wherefore? Because
they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the
works of the law : for they stumbled at the stumbling
stone ; as it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stum-
bling stone, and a rock of offence : and whosoever
believeth on him shall not be ashamed."

By the light shed on our subject, by this comparison
of scripture testimony, we are assisted to make the
following conclusions.

I. The doctrine and religion of the old Jewish
church, were represented by the prophet, as a cove-
nant with death, an agreement with hell, and a refuge
of lies.

II. The Messiah, his doctrine and religion, are
represented by a precious corner stone, judgment laid
to the line and righteousness to the plummet, and to
hail and to waters forming an overflowing scourge, by
which the covenant with death is disannulled, the
agreement with hell destroyed, and the refuge of lies
overflown. And

III. The vexation which the report of the doctrine,
religion, and things of Jesus would cause his enemies,
in the day of the manifestation of his power and grace.

The doctrine and religion of the old Pharisees, the
most religious sect among the Jews, being the natural
fruits of their carnal evil hearts, were very justly rep-
resented by a covenant and an agreement with death
and hell. St. Paul says, " To be carnally minded is

294 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

death." And Jesus, speaking to the Pharisees, said ;
" O generation of vipers ! how long can ye, being evil,
speak good things ? for out of the abundance of the
heart the mouth speaketh. A good man, out of the
good treasures of his heart, bringeth forth good things ;
and an evil man, out of the evil treasure, bringeth
forth evil things."

There never was but two sorts of religion in the
world, the true and the false. True religion is the
natural growth of a good heart; and false religion is
the spontaneous production of an evil heart. There
never was but two doctrines in the world, the true and
the false. The true doctrine is the offspring of the
wisdom which is from above ; and the false is the vain
imagination of the wisdom which is from beneath.
" The wisdom that is from above is first pure, then
peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of
mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without
hypocrisy ; " but the wisdom which is from beneath is
directly the reverse ; it is impure, contentious, unkind,
inexorable, unmerciful, full of evil fruits, partial, and
hypocritical.

This last was the doctrine of the Pharisees. It was
that leaven which had, in a great degree, leavened the
whole Jewish nation. It rendered the Pharisees and
the people in general so inimical to Christ and his
gospel.

This doctrine, which is represented by a covenant
with death, and an agreement with hell, may always
be known by its enmity. Put it into whatever dress
you may, call it by whatever name you please, repre-
sent it as the most precious of all treasures, all this
does not alter its nature. Call it, if you will, the
apostolic faith, the holy catholic, the evangelic, the
Calvinistic, the Arminian, or the orthodox ; if there
oe partiality, if there be an unmerciful spirit, and if
there be an implacable wrath in it, it is a covenant
with death, and an agreement with hell. This doc-
trine may be taught by a renowned Gamaliel, it may
have and command the influence of colleges and emi-
nent professors, it may be decorated with gowns and
bands, but it remains the same.

B alloc' s lectures. 295

Lies and hypocrisy are its refuge. In his faithful-
ness to his adversaries, our Saviour did not fail to
point out their hypocrisy, and the methods by which
they deceived the people. He said ; " Wo unto you,
scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites ! for ye devour wid-
ow's houses, and for a pretence make long prayer."
All such prayers were falsehoods ; they were mere
pretences, designed to deceive the people. For this
species of hypocrisy, Jesus told them, that they should
receive the greater damnation.

Again, the Saviour said ; " Wo unto you, scribes
and Pharisees, hypocrites ! for ye compass sea and
land to make one proselyte ; and, when he is made,
ye make him two-fold more the child of hell than
yourselves," This must have been done by falsehood
and deceit.

" Wo unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites !
for ye make clean the outside of the cup and the
platter, but within they are full of extortion and ex-
cess." This again is all deceit. " Wo unto you,
scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites ! for ye are like unto
whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful out-
ward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of
all uncleanness." All this was designed to point out
their hypocrisy, in appearing to be righteous when
they were full of iniquity?

" Wo unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites !
because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and gar-
nish the sepulchres of the righteous, and say, if we
had been in the days of our fathers, we would not
have been partakers with them in the blood of the
prophets." All this again was hypocrisy, which proved
them to be the children of those who killed the proph-
ets. The Saviour further said to his enemies ; " Fill
ye up then the measure of your fathers. Ye serpents,
ye generation of vipers ! how can ye escape the dam-
nation of hell ? "

Speaking to his disciples concerning the scribes and
Pharisees, Jesus said ; " All their works do they to be
seen of men : they make broad their phylacteries, and
enlarge the borders of their garments, and love the

296 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the
synagogues, and greetings in the markets, and to be
called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi."

When these hypocrites gave any thing to the poor,
they would sound a trumpet before them in the Syna-
gogues, and in the streets, that they might have glory
of men. When they fasted they were careful to dis-
figure their faces and to appear with sad countenances,
that they might appear unto men to fast. These sol-
emn, but false indications formed the refuge of lies
which suitably become the partial doctrine and illiberal
religion which they professed and practiced, and which
the prophet represented by a covenant with death and
an agreement with hell

We have already said that there never was but one
false religion, that there never was but one false doc-
trine ; this false doctrine and spurious religion have al-
ways in all ages, do now, and will as long as they ex-
ist in the world manifest themselves by we righteous,
and they wicked.

When the advocates of partial religion talk of the
wicked, they always speak in the third person.
" This man receiveth sinners and eateth with them."
He is gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner.
This is the native language of false religion. It is
never heard to say, he is come to me a sinner, he re-
ceiveth me a sinner. It never says, " this is a faithful
saying and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus
came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am
chief."

When we say that there is but one false doctrine,
we mean that all the doctrines invented by the wisdom
of this world are one in spirit ; they are partial, they
are full of enmity, they have treasures of unmerciful
wrath in them ; in one wordc you will always find that
a false doctrine is unmerciful to sinners, but abundant-
ly compassionate to the righteous. All the errors in
the world are but one in this.

Those, who look on themselves as righteous, and
view others as sinners, calculate largely on their own
safety, on the rich rewards which they are to receive ;

297

but are full of expectations and horror on account of
the vengeance that is coming on the wicked. This is
the case with the Pharisee in all countries, and has
been in all ages. The old Pharisees of Jerusalem,
those of the christian church of every denomination
are one character, of one doctrine, of one spirit, they
all speak one language. They look out for an over-
flowing scourge to fall on the wicked, but they are se-
cure.

To such people the mild, merciful doctrine of Jesus
is an overflowing scourge ; to such doctrine, that gos-
pel which is as the rain, which distils as the dew. is as
a storm of hail which beats the tender herb to the
ground.

To hear the news, to understand the report that
grace, mercy, and peace are flowing to sinners through
a kind Redeemer is indeed a vexation.

Let us, my hearers, notice some of the instances of
vexation occasioned by the goodness and mercy of
the Saviour, which are recorded in the New Testa-
ment.

But first let us observe how exactly the Pharisees
were prepared to meet with disappointment and vexa-
tion. They expected a Messiah, and were looking out
for him. They had no doubt but he would be one of
their order, and would come to them as to the only
righteous people on earth. They expected to receive
his full approbation, and to hear all the anathemas
which they had been in the habit of pronouncing on
sinners, who had neglected to conform to their religion,
reiterated by their Messiah accompanied with execu-
tive wrath.

Under these circumstances, and with such expecta-
tions, the chief priests, scribes, doctors of the law and
Pharisees, at Jerusalem, hear a report which is circu-
lated about the city, of one Jesus, away in the extreme
part of the country, in Galilee of the Gentiles, who has
undertaken to preach. In such a case it would be
natural for them to inquire, who he was, and what
sort of a man, and how he came inducted into the
ministry. They soon learn that he is the son of a car-

298 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

penter, and that he was baptized by that John, who,
being possessed of the devil, had the audacity to call
them, as holy as they were, a generation of vipers.
This information gives them disgust.

Another report comes which states what this new
preacher has insinuated respecting the scribes and
Pharisees ; this report says, that the preacher has the
impiety to tell his hearers ; " Except your righteous-
ness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes phari-
isees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of
heaven." This is looked upon as most profane, yea
abominable. There comes another report, and the
news flies about like lightning, that this new preacher
pretends to be the Messiah promised, and that he
works miracles in confirmation of his divine mission ?
This is vexation indeed.

My friends, can you conceive of any thing that could
have been a greater vexation to a religious people, to a
people, who really believed that they were heaven's
favorites ; and were conscious to themselves that they
had served God in a most perfect manner, than to be
told by one, who could heal the sick with a word, cast
out demons by a command, open the eyes of the blind,
and call the dead to life, that publicans and harlots
should go into the kingdom of heaven before them ?
If the man who made this declaration, had been an or-
dinary character, or if he had been a person of no note
among the people, it might not have occasioned them
any trouble ; they might have suffered it to pass like
the unstable wind, which might the next hour blow
the other way. But what must have been their aston-
ishment, vexation, and confusion on hearing this report
from the lips of Jesus, whose fame had already extend-
ed through all the country, whose wonderful miracles
had already set the people all in motion, after whom
thousands and thousands were flocking, carrying their
sick, their lame, their blind and dumb, and who re-
joiced in the manifestations of the divine power in heal-
ing all infirmities among the people ?

" Publicans and harlots go into the kingdom of God
before you." What a vexation ! The chief priests

299

and elders of the people, who were in expectation of
the Messiah, and who had made every preparation for
his reception, which they thought necessary, were now
informed that publicans and harlots were to go into the
kingdom of God before them.

Never were people more vexed than were the phari-
sees in the affair of the man who was born blind. In
the first place they would not believe that he was
born blind ; but after they had called his parents, and
were certified that this was the case, they then asked
him how he had received his sight. He assured them
that Jesus had opened his eyes. They finally conclud-
ed that even if he did open his eyes, yet he was a sin-
ner because he had done it on the sabbath day. But
others said ; " how can a man that is a sinner do such
miracles, and there was a division among them."

Such was the vexation occasioned by this astonish-
ing miracle, and by the testimony of him on whom it
was performed, that they cast him out of the Syna-
gogue.

The raising of Lazarus, and the report of this fact
caused great vexation among the pharisees, who on
this account, together with the chief priests, gathered a
council, and said, what do we ? for this man doeth
many miracles. If we let him thus alone, all men will
believe on him." And they took counsel to put him
to death. Nor did they think that this would be suffi-
cient to prevent the evil ; they thought it expedient
also to put Lazarus to death, because many of the
Jews believed on Jesus on account of going to see
Lazarus, and being made acquainted with the fact of
his having been dead, but raised up by the power of
Jesus.

This divine teacher gave his enemies unspeakable
vexation by charging them with hypocrisy to their
faces, by calling them serpents, and a generation of
vipers, and pronouncing on them woes and the damna-
tion of hell.

But nothing caused greater vexation to the self-
righteous, than the language of Jesus to sinners.
"Son, be of good cheer, thy sins be forgiven thee;

300 BALLOu's LECTURES.

daughter, be of good cheer, thy sins be forgiven thee."
For this they charged him with blasphemy.

This forgiveness of sins, placed the sinner on the
same footing with the righteous, which was a vexation
to those who had been at an incalculable expense and
trouble to become righteous.

The parable of the laborers was designed to set
forth the impartial goodness of God, and the vexation
that the self-righteous would feel on hearing the report.
All the day long did the laborers who were first hired,
make their calculations how much better they were to
fare at evening, than those who were idle in the mar-
kets. And when they saw them come into the vine-
yard at the eleventh hour, they were persuaded that
they would receive little, or nothing for what they did;
but when they saw them paid off, and knew that they
received every man a penny, they were in hopes of re-
ceiving more, but what was their vexation when they
received their penny also ?

They murmured; they complained, they accused the
good man of the house of unjust conduct; but he told
them that he would give unto the last even as unto
them.

The parable of the prodigal and the elder brother
is another representation of the vexation which the
doctrine of divine grace caused in the minds of the
pharisees. When the elder brother was coming from
the field at evening, he heard music and dancing in
the house and great merriment and rejoicing. He
sent a servant to know the occasion, who returned and
informed him that his brother had come home, and
that his father had killed the fatted calf, because he
had received him safe and sound.

O the vexation that this report occasioned ! He now
looked back on the tedious labors which he for a long
time, " lo many years," had faithfully performed in the
service of his father, without even a kid to make merry
with his friends. All this he compared with the ease,
and pleasure in which his prodigal brother had passed
his time, and wasted his father's property, and the ex-
pensive entertainment and sumptuous feasting with

301

which his father had welcomed him on his return.
Such was the vexation of this toil-worn laborer, on
hearing this report, that "he was angry and would
not go in." No. he would not go into his own house,
he would not refresh himself on his own provisions, he
would not return to his own rest. His father came
out and entreated him, but to no effect, of which we
are informed.

My friends, what was the matter which caused this
anger and vexation ? It was simply this, the father's
compassion, his mercy and grace to the sinner, was
like an overflowing scourge, was like a storm of hail
to the malevolent, unmerciful sentiments of this self-
righteous bigot, who felt as if he could have rejoiced to
see his brother excluded from all mercy.

It seems next to impossible, that any should not un-
derstand this case, and see the difference between the
doctrine of the self-righteous, and that doctrine of di-
vine grace, which gave such offence to the enemies of
Jesus.

Such was their offence, such their vexation, that
they finally procured the death of the Lord of glory.
But by this means they were preparing for still greater
vexation.

" God moves in a mysterious way,
His purpose to perform."

After they had crucified the merciful Jesus, they
made careful exertions to prevent his disciples impos-
ing on the people a report of his resurrection. A
stone was set at the mouth of the sepulchre, and a
guard of soldiers to watch.

How hush, how still is the world ! Every thing iS
now secure. No multitudes now flocking in crowds
to hear the preaching of Jesus, no poor blind one gro-
ping after him who could give sight to the blind, none
rushing along the streets with their sick, lame, and pos-
sessed of devils, to find him who controled all maladies,
no little children in the streets, crying hosannah to the
son of David, blessed is he that cometh in the name ot
the Lord. Where are the disciples of the crucified
26

302 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

Jesus? They have fled, like timorous lambs from
prowling wolves. None dare show themselves. The
powers of darkness seem to triumph.

The scene changes, all Jerusalem is in astonishment.
The disciples are publicly preaching the resurrection
of Jesus ; are endowed with the holy ghost and the
gift of tongues, so that men of all nations hear them
speak in their own language, the wonderful works of
God.

The report of these things must have vexed the
chief priests, the elders, the scribes and the pharisees
beyond all description. They now saw all their efforts
fail, and their hopes blasted. The apostles accused
them of having murdered Jesus, whom God had anoint-
ed ; they performed most astonishing miracles in con-
firmation of their testimony. When Peter and John
restored the lame man in the temple before all the
people, and declared that this miracle was wrought
through faith in the name of Jesus, whom God had
raised from the dead, these enemies of the gospel were
" grieved that they taught the people, and preached
through Jesus the resurrection of the dead."

After this manner the word of God prospered, the
gospel spread ; and though it was the rain of righteous-
ness and the gentle dew of peace divine to those who
had professed no religion, had formed no covenant
with death, nor agreement with hell, yet to the phari-
sees, to the scribes, to the chief priests, and to the el-
ders it was an overflowing scourge, it was as a storm
of hail that beats the tender herb to the earth.

The report of the conversion of Saul, of his renounc-
ing their superstitions, deserting the cause of persecut-
ing the name of Jesus, and his preaching the gospel
to the gentiles, was calculated to give them much per-
plexity and great vexation ?

Thus far, dear friends, we have noticed things which
took place in ancient times; let us now inquire if
any thing similar is known in our day ? Yes, we have
those who profess the name of Jesus, say unto him,
Lord, Lord, and yet are of the sentiments and descrip-
tion of the old Pharisees. Thev have made a covenant

LECTURES. 303

with death and an agreement with hell. Death and
hell compose their religion. Do they not hide them-
selves in a refuge of lies ? Do they not for a pretence
make long prayer ? but devour widows houses ? Do
they not appear like whited sepulchres outward, and
yet within are they not full of extortion ? Do they
not lie with their countenances, by disfiguring their
faces ? Did you- never see professors of religion wear
a very different face at one time than at another ?
Yes, you reply, but you thought it was because they
were a most godly people. Then you have given
them their reward, for this opinion of yours is all that
they disfigured their faces for.

These modern pharisees are the most zealous people
in religion, they look upon themselves as the favorites
of heaven, but those who do not subscribe to their
agreements and covenants, and take shelter in their
refuge of deceit, they esteem as objects of the divine
wrath which is ready to burst upon them, and lingers
to blast them in everlasting woe.

To these enemies of the meek, humble, kind and
merciful doctrine and religion of Jesus, the report,
which God is sending forth at this eventful period, of
his impartial grace, and his tender mercies which are
over all his works, is a most grievous vexation.

When the divine testimony is brought to them,
which certifies that God "will have all men to be
saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth,"
that Jesus "gave himself a ransom for all, to be testi-
fied in due time," that " where sin abounded, grace
did much more abound," that " as by the offence of
one, judgment came upon all men to condemnation ;
even so by the righteousness of one, the free gift came
upon all men unto justification of life," that " as in
Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive,"
in power, in glory, in honor, in incorruption and im-
mortality, this faithful report is a vexation.

Stung with resentment, they exclaim, heresy, delu
sion, a dangerous doctrine, a doctrine pleasing to the
carnal mind, and which tends to all manner of vice.

304

They complain that this doctrine holds out no reward
for righteousness ; if God has mercy on the sinner,
then there is no encouragement to serve him ; if sin-
ners are not to be punished eternally, it is no matter
what they do. So murmured the laborers who bore
the burthen and the heat of the day, at the good man
who humbled their pride by making the last equal with
them.

Their eye was evil because goodness had extended
beyond the narrow limits of their creed. They had
lotted on the gratification which they expected in
seeing those, who spent so much of their time in idle-
ness, destitute and pennyless. Similar calculations
are now made, and pretended saints are exulting in
the expectation of the joys which they are to inherit
in heaven in seeing sinners in endless perdition.

So complained the elder brother, because his father
kindly received the prodigal, and killed for his enter-
tainment the fatted calf. Such was his resentment
that he would not go into the house. Similar resent-
ment is now manifested, and the proud boasting Phar-
isee is heard to say " If sinners are going to heaven,
I wish not to bear them company."

O that these deceived souls could be introduced to,
and form an acquaintance with so great strangers as
they are to themselves.

Then should we' hear from them a different lan-
guage. Then would they say, if there be mercy for
sinners, then is there a ray of hope for us. If Christ
Jesus came into the world to save sinners, then are we
the objects of his unmerited favor.

My christian friends, you' are most humbly and
affectionately entreated not lo construe the faithful-
ness of this discourse, to signify that the speaker har-
bors one unfriendly feeling towards any denomination
or name in the world. The sole object is to set truth
before you, to show the difference between true and
false religion, to endear the character, the doctrine,
and spirit of Jesus to your hearts ; and to give you oc-
casion to trust and to rejoice in his grace.

" Let Pharisees of high esteem,
Their faith and zeal declare ;
All their religion is a dream,
If love be wanting there."

God is love, and love worketh no ill. Through all
worlds, and to all beings, God is love. With him
there is no variableness, nor shadow of turning. What
he has been, and what he is now, is what he will for-
ever remain.

Let us, my Gear friends, imitate our Father in
heaven ; let us love our neighbors as ourselves, let us
'ove our enemies and pray for them.

LECTURE XXII.

to sinners the cause
of Christ's mission.

ROMANS, v. 8.

But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sin-
ners, Christ died for us.

The general subject, on which the Apostle labored,
which led him to the statement made in our text, was
to show that the justification of man unto spiritual life,
depended on a covenant of promise, and not on a law
of works. In the preceding chapter our author is re-
markably explicit, where he says , " Now to him that
worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of
debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on
him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for
righteousness." And speaking of the faith of Abra-
ham, even before circumcision, he says, " For the pro-
mise that he should be the heir of the world, was not
to Abraham or to his seed, through the law, but
through the righteousness of faith. For if they which
are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the
promise made of none effect. Therefore it is of
faith that it might be by grace ; to the end the
promise might be sure to all the seed : not to that only
which is of the law, but to that also which is of the
faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all." The
faith of which the Apostle here speaks, is the same
which he calls " the covenant of promise" in Ephe-
sians ii. 12. It is an egregious mistake to suppose
that Abraham's believing in the promise of God, is the
"righteousness of faith," by which he was constituted
the heir of the world ; for Abraham could not believe
the promise that he should be the heir of the world un

BALLOU'S LECTURES. 307

til such promise was communicated to him, and
this promise could not have been communicated to
him, at an earlier date than the establishment of its
own truth in the purpose of him who made the
promise.

This covenant of promise is the faith, of which the
Apostle again speaks in the beginning of this chapter
as follows ; " Therefore, being justified by faith, we
have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ."
That this faith, by which we are justified, is not our
act of believing, will appear evident by the connexion
in which the Apostle here places it. That we may
understand this subject clearly, we must disregard the
division of these two chapters, and read the last verse
of the fourth chapter and the first of the fifth together.
Speaking of Jesus, the Apostle says, "Who was deliv-
ered for our offences, and was raised again for our justi-
fication. Therefore being justified by faith, we h ve
peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ.''
Here it is evident that the inspired Apostle makes the
resurrection of Christ, and the faith by which we are
justified the same ; by which it is evident, that by
faith he no more meant the act of believing, than he
meant that the resurrection of Jesus, for our justifica-
tion, was the act of believing.

This faith, which is the covenant of promise, the
Apostle distinguishes most clearly from the act of be-
lieving in chapter 3d, as follows ; " For what if some
did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of
God without effect? God forbid: yea, let God be
true, but every man a liar." No one will suppose
that the faith of God is his act of believing, for the act
of believing is a consequence resulting from the pow-
er of evidence in the mind, which power can never act
in the mind of him who is omniscient. But this faith
of God is his covenant of promise, made known to
Abraham four hundred and thirty years before the
giving of the law by Moses ; concerning which cove-
nant our author speaks to the Galatians as follows;
w And this I sav, that the covenant that was confirm-

308 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

ed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four
hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that
it should make the promise of none effect." This cov-
enant of promise this author again calls faith in the
11th of Hebrews. " Now faith is the substance of
things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen."
The substance of what we hope for is not our act of
believing, but the thing in which we believe.

It was thought needful to be thus particular on this
subject, for two reasons.

I. To expose the common error which supposes,
that our act of believing is required as a condition of
our justification before God. This error has so con-
fused the minds of professors of Christianity, that they
know not how to explain their own thoughts. They
believe that God requires our act of believing as a
condition of our justification ; and it is constantly held
up and urged that our everlasting destruction will be
the just recompense of our unbelief. But if we ask
what there is for us to believe, there is no answer.
For if the thing to be believed were stated, the next
question would be, shall the unbelief of man make the
faith of God without effect ? And,

II. Because it was in the fulfilling of his covenant
of promise, that God commended his love to sinners
by the death and resurrection of Jesus.

The particular mode by which the Apostle present-
ed the testimony contained in our text was by drawing
a comparison between the compassion or goodness of
man, and the compassion or goodness of God. The
following are his words ; " For when we were yet
without strength, in due time Christ died for the un
godly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die;
yet perad venture for a good man some would even
dare to die. But God commendeth his love towards
us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for
us." Here the comparison is clear and striking to the
mind ; and evidently shows that the design of the
Apostle was to show that the love of God to sinners
is vastly stronger than the love of man toward man.

The first particular which we shall consider as prov

BALLOU's LECTURES. • 309

ed by the testimony of our text is, that neither sin nor
any thing else was ever the cause of enmity in God to-
ward man.

Though this proposition is of immense consequence,
it seems to have been overlooked by our divines, who
have constantly represented the divine Being to be full
of vyrath and tremendous indignation against sinners.
And yet the passage under consideration is a direct
and plain testimony against all that has ever been said
on this subject.

The hearer is requested to notice, with attention,
the two propositions which are in direct opposition to
each other, and which are the foundations of true and
false doctrine. One proposition asserts that God loves
sinners, and that nothing ever can cause him to do
otherwise ; and the other contends that God hates the
sinner, and will eternally exercise unmerciful wrath
on the transgressor. If one of these be true, the other
must be false ; they cannot both be true, nor can they
both be false. But which is true ?

As there is like to be some dispute on this subject,
and as the hearer will wish to have it so conducted,
as to make a clear distinction, both between the par-
ties, and their respective arguments, we will give to
the parties distinguishing names. The party, who
contends that God loves the sinner, we will call Light,
and the one who contends for the contrary proposi-
tion we will call Darkness.

Do you ask why these names are chosen? Because
light seems to be expressive of love, and darkness of
hatred. And the beloved John says, " He that loveth
his brother abideth in the light — But he that hateth his
brother is in darkness."

Let us hear what darkness argues in support of
his favorite proposition, viz. that God hates the
sinner.

He says, as God is a Being of infinite holiness and
purity he cannot love unholiness and impurity, but
must, consistently with his own essential attributes,
hate sin in an exact proportion to his love of righteous-
ness ; and as the sinner is not righteous, but sinful ;

310 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

is not holy, but unholy ; is not pure, but impure, God
must of necessity hate the sinner.

Light replies ; Though I grant your premises, yet I
cannot concede to your conclusion. So far from al-
lowing your conclusion to be a just deduction from
your premises, I shall contend that it is in direct oppo-
sition to them, and if it could be maintained as a truth,
it must be by disproving the argument from which you
deduce it.

The amount of your argument is, that God is oppos-
ed to sin. This I grant. Now tell me, Darkness, what
is sin ?

Sin is the transgression of the law. What does the
law require? Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with
all thy heart, and with all thy strength, and thou shalt
love thy neighbor as thyself.

Rightly answered. Now, Darkness, do you not see
that hatred is the transgression of, and the only sin
that can be committed against this law ? If it be sin
for man to hate God, is it holiness for God to hate
man? In room of hating sin, you contend that God
hates the sinner, that is, he hates the man who hates
him. Thus you deny your own premises. For there
is no more holiness in God's hating man, than there is
in man's hating God ; there is no more righteousness
in any supposed enmity in God toward man, than there
is in man's enmity toward God.

Darkness says, that this argument is blasphemy, that
it accuses God with unholiness and sin.

Light denies the charge, and says ; It is you, Dark-
ness, that accuses God with this unholy spirit of ha-
tred. To illustrate the subject light uses the following
metaphor.

The parent of a family of children gives to his off-
spring a law which requires them all to love him sin-
cerely, and to love each other ; but these children fall
out by the way, get wrong notions respecting their
parent's character and law, and are filled with hatred
toward him, toward his law, and toward one another.
In consequence of this the parent, in room of loving
his children as he did when he first gave them this

311

law, now hates them and is full of enmity towards his
disobedient offspring. What a sad scene is here !
The children are enemies to their parent, and what.
is worse, the parent is an enemy to his children !

Let candor judge in this case, let enlightened rea-
son decide the question, which is worst, for the child
to hate the parent, or for the parent to hate the child ?
Though the light shineth in darkness, yet the darkness
comprehendeth it not.

If the death of Christ for sinners was a commenda-
tion of the love of God toward us, it certainly proves,
beyond all contradiction, that sin, nor any thing else
had caused any hatred or enmity in God toward
man.

The second thing which we shall consider as prov-
ed by the declaration of our text is, that the common
opinion and doctrine of the church, which has repre-
sented the death of Christ as necessary in order to re-
concile God to mankind is erroneous.

This error has been exposed and disproved in some
of our former lectures, but as it is an error of such
vast magnitude, involving such palpable absurdities,
representing God as a changeable Being ; and as it is
so generally believed among various denominations,
it seems proper to notice it in our discourse from the
words under consideration, by which the error is so
fully exploded.

The error under consideration supposes, that man-
kind in consequence of sin, was under the divine wrath
of God, which required the endless misery of the trans-
gressor : and that Jesus Christ suffered the wrath of
God in room and stead of the sinner, by which God
became reconciled and satisfied. The statement is
made thus plain, that the hearer may have a distinct
view of the subject, and be able to judge after hearing
what may be offered on it.

That this testimony is by no means too high colored,
may be seen by the following quotations from our
hymns. But before we attend to the quotations, let it
be observed, that we hold these hymns, in general, in
high estimation, and the authors of them as bright and

312 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

shining lights in the christian constellation ; but after
all we are disposed to do ourselves justice by gathering
the good into vessels, and by casting the bad away.

" Once we were fallen, O how low;
Just on the brink of endless wo.

Sinners to save from endless woes,
The wrath divine he sinks beneath.

Think, how his side was pierced for you,
T" appease the wrath divine.

He on Calvary's summit died:
God, your Father satisfied.

Sinner's to save from endless wo,
The Father's frown he sinks beneath

'T is finish'd — Heaven is reconcil'd.

The wrath of an offended God,
In sweet oblivion laid.

And sinners freed from endless pains,
Own him their Saviour and their head."

Here are endless woes, endless pains, Divine wrath,
the Father's wrath, the wrath of an offended God, an
unreconciled heaven, all which stood threatening man-
kind, but were poured forth on the devoted head of
Jesus, by which we are saved from the wrath of God.

My brethren, such language as this certainly repre-
sents our Father in heaven, to be a changeable Being,
and a Being capable of exercising the greatest possible
enmity. It supposes that our merciful Father was so
full of wrath, that he was just on the point of sending
mankind to a state of endless wo, when Jesus stept be-
tween us and harm, snatched the thunderbolt from
the uplifted hand of stern justice, and received its
burning vengeance in his own innocent bosom, at which
God was satisfied.

This is the theme our christian doctors have incul-
cated, and our christian poets have sung, but it is the
blackness of darkness which has obscured the beauty
of the Divine countenance for ages, and caused the
mind to wander in the labyrinth of error.

This error is found in that creed, which lay on our
cradles in our infancy, and our dear mothers taught
us to repeat with infant lips, and to say, " All mankind

313

oy the fall, lost communion with God, are under his
wrath and curse ; and so made liable to all the mise-
ries of this life, to death itself, and to the pains of hell
forever."

In opposition to this erroneous representation, let
us place our text together with a few concurrent
passages.

" But God commendeth his love toward us, in that,
while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. God
so loved the world, that he gave his only oegotton
Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not per-
ish, but have everlasting life. Herein is love, not that
we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son
to be the propitiation for our sins. But God, who*
is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved
us, even when we were dead in sins hath quickened
us together with Christ."

These passages, which are but a specimen of the
gospel, fully prove the following facts.

I. That God loved the sinful world of mankind with
a great love.

II. That in consequence of this love he sent his
Son into the world to be the propitiation for our sins,
And,

III. That in consequence of the love which God had
toward those who were dead in sins, he quickened
them together with Christ. Now just as plain as these
obvious facts are proved by the testimony already re-
cited, so evident it is that the death of Christ was nev-
er necessary to reconcile our heavenly Father to us ;
but was a manifestation of his unchangeable love to-
ward us.

The third particular which you are invited to con-
template relative to our text is, that its subject belongs
to that covenant of promise which was the Apostle's
theme which led him to speak these words. That we
may have a clear view of this, let us first examine the
character of the promise made to Abraham, by which
he was constituted the heir of the world and the Fath-
er of us all ; and then bring our text to compare with
the promise, that their union may be visible. The pro-
27

314 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

mise to Abraham reads thus, " In thee shall all fami-
lies of the earth be blessed." St. Paul's comment on
this promise in his epistle to the Galatians is as fol-
lows, " And the scriptures, foreseeing that God would
justify the heathen through faith, preached before the
gospel unto Abraham, saying, in thee shall all nations
be blessed." By this passage we learn, that the bles-
sing which God promised to all the nations of the earth
was justification through faith ; which faith we have
proved to be the covenant of promise, or the faith
of God which cannot be made void by the unbelief of
man. Relative to this justification our Apostle says
to the Romans ; " For all have sinned and come short
•of the glory of God ; being justified freely by his grace,
through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." And
again, in the chapter where our text is recorded, he
says ; " Therefore, as by the offence of one, judgment
came upon all men unto condemnation, even so by the
righteousness of one, the free gift came upon all men
unto justification of life."

In the light of the divine promise to Abraham,
which the passages here quoted present, we can see
most clearly, that the gospel of eternal life was pro-
mised to all mankind, as the bountiful, unbought, un-
asked favor of our heavenly Father. And this favor,
when stated in promise to Abraham, was, as it now
remains, the necessary production of the divine, un-
changeable love of God to mankind, which never was,
nor can be made less by the sin of the world. Having
this view of the goodness of God, we see the divine
harmony of our text with the covenant of promise.
" God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while
we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." The same
covenant love which was manifested to Abraham four
hundred and thirty years before the giving of the law,
by Moses, is now commended toward mankind, while
yet in sin, by the death of him in whom all the fami-
lies of the earth are blessed with justification. Tn re-
lation to this divine subject Jesus said to the Jews ;
" Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day ; ana
he saw it, and was glad."

BALLOU'S LECTURES. 315

The fourth particular subject belonging to our text,
to which your attention is solicited, is embraced in the
following question : Why did Christ die for us ? We
have already proved that there was no necessity of his
dying in order to procure the favor of God toward sin-
ners, for if that had been the case, his death could not
have been a commendation of the divine love. And
indeed, if there were any need of more proof on this
subject, than has been presented, we should find all
deficiencies supplied, by the prayer of Jesus when dy-
ing on the cross.

Let us, my friends, with profound solemnity, listen
to these words, which contain more true divinity, more
pure unadulterated gospel, than all the creeds which
have been written since the world began. " Father,
forgive them, for they know not what they do." Why
did he not say ; " Father, forgive them, for I have now
suffered thy wrath which burned against them ; I have
drank the cup of thy fury which was prepared for
them ; I have borne that they may never bear thy
righteous ire ? " If all this had been true, why should
he pray as he did, and request that God would for-
give them ? If the Father had exacted a full penalty
for their sins, of his son, how could he after this be
called on to forgive them ? But the reason, the plea
which the dying Saviour stated in his prayer, was,
" For they know not what they do."

Our question remains. Why did Christ die for us?
How are we benefitted by his death ? Be patient, we
still reply in the negative. Christ did not die for us,
that we might avoid condemnation if we commit sin,
nor did he suffer for us, that we might not be pun-
ished for faults if we commit them. This we know by
our experience and by his word. We know by ex-
perience, if we sin we feel condemned, and this we
must feel until the condemnation is removed by re-
pentance. And we know by the words of Jesus, that,
in place of his suffering in our room and stead, as
our erroneous doctrines have taught us, he will render
unto every man according to his works.

Why then did he die for us ? The answer is in
our text. He died to commend the love of God to-

BALL 0 US LECTURES.

ward us sinners. He died for us, lhat he might take
away our sins. " Behold the lamb of God, which
taketh away the sin of the world." He died, the just
for the unjust, that he might bring us to God. He
suffered for us, to set us an example, that we should
follow his steps. He died for us, that he might bring
life and immortality to light through his resurrection.
He died, rose and revived, that he might be Lord,
both of the dead and the living. He died and rose
again, that the scriptures of the prophets might be ful-
filled, and the ministry of reconciliation be established.
He suffered and died to show us how sin and all moral
evil are to be overcome, by rendering good for evil, love
for hatred, kindness for unkindness, and mercy for wrath.
Four important particulars may be distinctly noticed
which rendered the death and resurrection of Christ of
vast utility to mankind.

I. To commend and make known the unchangeable
love and mercy of God to a sinful world, theieby to
bring sinners to repentance and to be reconciled to God.

II. To fulfil all that the prophets had written con-
cerning him, that the authenticity of divine revelation
and the doctrine of the gospel might be successfully com-
municated to the gentile nations.

III. That the patient sufferings which he endured
for the benefit of his enemies and the whole world, might
ever remain as an example for his disciples to imitate,
in all faithfulness, patience, and resignation to the will
of God. And,

IV. That he might bring life and immortality to
light by his glorious resurrection ; and manifest the
truth of a future happy existence for mankind.

If the mind will be serious and candid, it will at
once acknowledge that these four particulars, when
viewed in their harmony and proper connexion, when
considered in relation to the innumerable blessings
which they have already produced, and promise to
produce in future, are altogether worthy of the wis-
dom, power, and goodness of our heavenly Father.

But to pretend that it was necessary for Christ to
suffer and die to appease the wrath of our merciful
Father in heaven, is the most unaccountable perversion

317

of divine truth, of which the vain imagination of be
nighted humanity was ever capable.

The fifth particular subject to which our text seems
to invite our most careful notice is, that the love and
mercy of God toward sinners, commended to us by the
death of Christ, is consistent with the unchangeable
principle of moral righteousness.

It might be thought, that in order to establish this
hypothesis, nothing more could be required as evi-
dence than the text under consideration. For if we are
certified that the divine being does in fact love sinners,
that is sufficient evidence that it is morally right that he
should do so ; but our present object is to do more than
barely to prove the fact, the object is to illustrate it to the
understanding. To do this we will first admit our op-
poser's objection to be stated. The objection is this ;

According to the strict rule of moral righteousness,
every moral being must be treated according to his
works; but if God does in reality love sinners, if he
grants them the infinite blessings of his grace, it seems
that he does not deal with them according to their de-
serts. Reply

It is granted that moral righteousness requires that
every transgression and disobedience should receive a
just recompense of reward, out then it must be grant-
ed, that as the right to inflict punishment is derived
from the commission of crime, so it is limited by the
offence committed, and it is an acknowledged fact that
to extend punishment beyond the demerit of a crime,
is, at least, as wide a departure from moral right as to
come short. But the right to do good and to show
kindness is not derived, nor is it limited.

In finite beings the power and means to do good and
to show favor are limited, but. the right is not limited.
And in every instance in which our power and means
are limited to grant all the favor that is needed, we
have the liberty still to extend our benevolent wishes
without limitation.

If one of our fellow creatures commits a crime which
is punishable by law, it is true, we have no right to
prevent this punishment, but we have an unlimited
27*

318 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

right to love this criminal, and beyond all the punish-
ment of his crime, to wish him well, and if in our
power, to do him all the good that he may need.
Now, in punishing him according to his offence moral
righteousness is perfectly executed, but it now has all
the right and all the inclination to love and do the sub-
ject good, as it had before any crime was committed.

St. Paul, speaking of God says ; " Who hath saved
us and called us, with an holy calling, not according
to our works, but according to his own purpose and
grace, which was given unto us in Christ Jesus before
the world began." Before the world began, who can
dispute that God had a moral right to purpose a dis-
pensation of grace to mankind ? Or who will contend,
that his right to love and to do good to the creatures
which he should create, could be in the least limited by
what they might do after they should be brought into
being?

A parent has an unlimited right to love an infant child,
he has a right to bestow on it an immense fortune,
even before the child has any knowledge of its parents.
Nor does this, in the least interfere with either his right
or duty to subject this same child to a reasonable and
/ighteous discipline, in which the child may be re-
warded for well doing, and chastised for its disobe-
dience.

Thus in the eternal mind of our Creator, a bound-
less store of divine riches was treasured up for his ra-
tional offspring, before man was brought into being ;
and among ten thousand other favors, God appoint-
ed a rod of correction, and a dispensation of chas-
tisement for the improvement and moral benefit of
mankind, while passing through a state of imperfection,
subject to vanity.

The sixth and last particular, which we now propose
to make of our text, is to contemplate its sentiment
as a pattern for our imitation, and as a principle worthy
to be practised.

This is the use which the Apostle John has made of
the same sentiment, expressed in a passage which has
already been noticed in this discourse. "Herein is

319

love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and
sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins."
From this rich and glorious sentiment the Apostle
draws the following conclusion. " Beloved, if God so
loved us, we ought also to love one another." Cer-
tainly there cannot be a more reasonable inference
drawn from any proposition ever laid down than the
one which the Apostle here draws from the love of
God to mankind. If we had good reason to believe
that our Father in heaven really hated his enemies or
those who do not love him, if we were consistent with
such a belief, we should hate all those whom we view-
ed of this description. And this has been the case in
the christian church as well as through the world.
Men have hated and persecuted one another on this
mistaken notion ; and verily thought they did God ser-
vice by so doing. But if we are convinced that God
loved us, while we were yet enemies to him by wicked
works, and if we believe that he loves every sinner of
the human family, and that he has manifested this love
by the death of his holy child Jesus, it is all as clear as
the sun in a cloudless day, that we ought to love our
enemies, and to do them all the good that is in our
power. And to do otherwise, my christian friends, is
to deny our religion and our doctrine, and that in a
more effectual manner than Peter denied his Lord.

To conclude. Our subject presents before our
rejoicing eyes, a boundless scene of divine grace ; it
invites us to the sweetest field of contemplation, where
goodness, unlimited goodness, mercy, unlimited and
impartial mercy eternally flow as broad rivers and
streams : as waters, risen waters for men to swim in,
which no man can pass.

Let us close with the appropriate words of the poet :

" When all thy mercies, O my God,
My rising soul surveys;
Transported with the view, 1 'm lost,
In wonder, love and praise."

LECTURE XXIII.

THE RESURRECTION A STATE OF HOLINESS AND BUSS
1 THESSALONIANS, iv. 13,

But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which
are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.

In a world of sorrow, in a state of being incident
to tb^- infinite variety of adversity with which man is
exercised, as nothing can be more needed, so nothing
is esteemed more precious than that which is calculat-
ed to mitigate our sorrows, soothe our grief, and sweet-
en adversity. To do these, and to strow the thorny
path of mortal life with the rose of consolation, and to
open in. the parched ground of hopeless sorrow a liv-
ing spring of ceaseless joy, the gospel of eternal life
has been sent from God to man.

As the parental sensibilities are moved with pity
at the sorrows of their offspring in affliction, and as such
an occasion is visited with special tokens of compas-
sion, so hath it pleased the Father of our spirits to
break through the dark clouds of mortality and death
with the rain-bow of his covenant and to send his
anointed to bind up the broken-hearted and to comfort
all that mourn.

In possession of the knowledge of the unseen, eter*
nal things, belonging to the spiritual inheritance of the
rational offspring of God, and exercised with that gen-
eious affection and those kind sympathies which ever
seek the benefit of others, it was impossible for the
Apostle to stand an indifferent spectator of hopeless
sorrow, when in possession of that divine knowledge by
which a celestial cordial of consolation might be sea-
sonably administered.

BALLOu's LECTURES. 321

But in order to administer consolation to those who
are exercised with adversity or sorrow, it is necessary
that the cause should be understood and likewise the
extent of grief. Unless the physician understands the
cause of complaint, and the extent of disease, it would
be mere chance if he did not give force to the former,
and enhance the latter by his prescriptions. The case
of the woman in the gospel is an instance of what
we are now observing. Twelve years was she troub-
led with her disorder, " and had suffered many things
of many physicians, and had spent all that she had,
and was nothing the better, but rather grew worse."
But when she came to Jesus she was made whole
without suffering any thing of him, and without ex-
pense.

The cause of that kind of sorrow which the Apostle
was desirous to prevent appears to be ignorance. Ob-
serve the text ; " But I would not have you to be ig-
norant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep,
that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no
hope."

The particular subjects suggested by these words,
and to which our future labors in the present discourse
may be directed are the following.

I. Ignorance concerning those which are asleep, is
the only cause of hopeless sorrow for them.

II. The knowledge of the truth concerning those
which are asleep administers hope and comfort to those
who mourn for their friends.

III. This knowledge is communicated in the gospel,
through Jesus Christ.

There are two powers by which ignorance operates
in the human mind, in a way to prevent happiness
and to augment sorrow, even to despair. The first
prevents our knowing the things which belong to our
peace, and the second opens a door for an infinite
variety of imaginations all calculated to administer afflic-
tion and to cause our sorrows to increase.

The mind that is destitute of knowledge and at the
same time devoted to fearful imagination, is like one
disturbed by a frightful dream.

3*22 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

Safely slumbering in the peaceful chamber of re-
pose, and no danger nigh, one might dream of de-
scending a declivity directly leading to a fatal preci-
pice, view destruction as inevitable, and feel the pang
of despair ; and the whole difficulty end with the sud-
den interruption of the dream. In fact, though there
were every possible reason for sweet content, support-
ing confidence, and joyful hope, ignorance of all these
things would not only prevent these blessings, but
expose the mind to a thousand imaginary anticipations
which belong to the family of despair.

A few examples from the scriptures may serve fur
tber to illustrate this subject.

There were three particular events relative to the
patriarch Jacob, his ignorance of which was the cause
of the greatest anxiety, most fearful apprehensions,
and hopeless sorrow. When he was informed that
his brother Esau, whom he had supplanted, was com-
ing to meet him with four hundred men, he feared
the wrath of his injured brother, and his soul was
greatly troubled for his wives and for his children.
There was no way of escape by flight, his means to
oppose his brother were nothing ; he feared all was lost,
and that the anger of his brother would blot out his
name forever from under heaven. Now imagination
presented before his almost distracted eyes the most
shocking catastrophe to which mothers and their in-
nocent children could possibly be exposed. His fear-
ful heart melted within him, and he placed his devot-
ed family in the order in which, if they must be de-
stroyed, his choice would dictate, and in that arrange-
ment which might possibly afford him an opportuni-
ty of saving such as were the most dear to his trou-
bled heart. But how suddenly were his fears all dis-
pelled when Esau ran to him, embraced him with fra-
ternal affection and tenderness, and kindly receiv-
ed and compassionately treated every branch of his
family.

What an expense of feelings, the most tormenting
would have been saved in this case, if the love and
forgiveness, which most bountifully flowed in the heart

323

of Esau toward his brother, had been known to him,
whose ignorance of the truth had deprived him of
peace, and had let a thousand frightful apprehen-
sions into his mind, which had no foundation in fact.

It might be about ten years after this, that the sons
of Jacob brought to their father the coat of many col-
ors, which his beloved Joseph wore from home, when
he went to seek after the welfare of his brethren. This
coat, they now presented to their father, torn in pieces
and covered with blood. "He knew it, and said, it
is my son's coat ; an evil beast hath devoured him ;
Joseph is, without doubt, rent in pieces. And Jacob
rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and
mourned for his son many days." Yea he refused
all comfort and said ; " I will go down into the grave
unto my son mourning."

Who can describe the sorrow which preyed on the
heart of the afflicted father ? Methinks I see him seat-
ed alone beneath some favorite, salutary shade, giving
vent to his grief and indulgence to his tears. He
seems to ask ; was it the lion's paw that struck the
tender lad to the ground, or was it the hungry jaw of
the merciless tiger that dislocated his youthful limbs, or
was it the voracious leopard that deprived me of the
desire of my eyes? O cruel ignorance! what dis
tract) ng imaginations ! Could Jacob but have known
that his Joseph was safe in the hands of the Angel of
God who protected him, hope would have brightened
his countenance, soothed his affliction, and administer-
ed peace and joy to his heart.

In the days of the famine, when the sons of Israel
were to go down to Egypt the second time, and when
they demanded Benjamin to go with them, how trying
was all this to the heart of the father of the twelve
tribes. How full of grief are his words. " Joseph is
not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin
away. All these things are against me." Such were
the hopeless sorrows of one who was ignorant concern-
ing the subjects of his sorrow. At the very moment
when this dark and gloomy aspect lay before his eyes,
Joseph was lord of all Egypt, the owner of the vast

324 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

graineries in that land of plenty, and Simeon was safe
in the hands of his compassionate brother ; and both
were waiting with fervent desire to see Benjamin. Had
the venerable Patriarch known at this time the truth,
his heart would have leaped for joy, as it afterwards
did when his children returned and told him that Jo-
seph was alive.

In the several cases which we have noticed, it is
evident that the ignorance of Jacob was that which not
only prevented the joyful expectations of hope, but in-
troduced the most tormenting imaginations.

Now the sentiment of our text supposes that this
is the case with those, who being ignorant concern-
ing them that are asleep, sorrow for them without
hope.

There are two opinions concerning those who are
fallen asleep in death, and but two, which are calculat-
ed to exercise the mourner with hopeless sorrow.

The least pernicious, is the opinion that there is no
future existence for mankind. When a person of this
opinion loses by death any near and beloved connex-
ion there are two grounds of sorrow. The first is the
loss, the eternal loss of such a desirable connexion, and
the other is the everlasting extinction of this intellect-
ual moral being. And it is impossible that either of
these reflections should be accompanied with the least
ray of hope. Is it a father or a mother, a wife or a child,
a brother or a sister, of which the mourner is bereaved?
And was this connexion most dearly and tenderly be-
loved ? What a gloomy thought, to believe that death
has blotted out of existence one so tenderly and affec-
tionately beloved, must present an impenetrable cloud
of darkness to the mind, that forbids its making the least
advance, repels, and drives it back on its perishable
self, and yawns to receive the hopeless mourner to the
abyss of nonentity.

Enough, you say, dwell not a moment on such hor-
ror. But what shall we say ? the other opinion, which
denies the consolation of hope to the mourner is, that
our future existence is worse, far worse than no exist-
ence at all. Such are the dismal horrors of everlast-
ing misery in the coming, eternal state, which the tra-

BALLOU'S LECTURES. 325

di lions of the church have handed down from genera-
tion to generation, as have rendered the thoughts of
eternity, thoughts of horror.

Is it replied, that our traditions admit that some
few of the human family will be happy hereafter, and
therefore when our friends die, we may entertain a hope
that they belong to this little favorite number ?

We reply : an absurdity is no just ground of hope.
If but a few of the human family are appointed unto
salvation, it is absurd for all to hope that they belong
to that little number. It is a circumstance that affords
matter of much contemplation ; and one from which
human weakness and human selfishness may be learn-
ed, that go where you will, among whatever denomi-
nation of people, even among those who hold the most
illiberal sentiments, and believe that not more than one
out of a thousand will be happy hereafter, yet if they
lose any of their friends by death, they hope they are
gone to rest. There are in this metropolis, no doubt,
a very respectable number of pious people, who believe
without a doubt, that when the Saviour said ; " many
are called, but few are chosen," he meant that but a
few of the whole family of mankind are elected unto
everlasting life in the eternal world ; and yet when
these people are visited with bereaving providences,
and any of their connexions are taken away by death,
they hope it is well with them hereafter. You cannot
find one, in any possible case who will say to the
contrary. Fathers, mothers, wives, children, brothers,
sisters, near friends, intimate acquaintances, none of
them will admit the doctrine of everlasting misery, in
which they believe, to apply to each other, nor to
themselves. And yet, according to their creed, they
have not the least ground for the hopes which they
entertain.

If you ask these people what reason they have foi
the least comfort, they will say ; we do not know
whom God has reprobated, and therefore we do not
know that our friends or ourselves are appointed unto
wrath. Thus their ignorance concerning them that
are asleep, in most of instances, according to their
28

326 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

creed, is the sole reason why they are not distracted
with gloomy and black despair.

Were this creed of limited salvation, and the doc-
trine of the endless misery of a great part of mankind
the truth of the divine economy, and could the vail of
ignorance concerning them that are gone from this
mortal state be removed, what language could possi-
bly describe the horrors and the lamentations which
would be the unhappy consequence of such a mani-
festation ?

We have heard the heart-rending moans and melt-
ing sighs of those, whose dear connexions were toiling
under the burden and lash of slavery. Their interjec-
tions would seemingly move the stones to pity. What
to these people is the sumptuous fare of the board of
plenty ? or what to them is the bed of down ? or what
to them are the thousands they possess ? All would
they give could the father, child or brother, as the
case might be, return to freedom and home. But
compared with the dire scenes of eternal misery under
consideration, all this is no more than the weight of a
pebble to that of the ponderous globe.

Do you believe this doctrine? O tell it not to the
mourner. If you do not, and cannot believe it for
yourselves ; if you can believe it only for others, why
tell it to them ? Can they bear to believe it for them-
selves and for their friends, any more than you can en-
dure to believe it for yourselves and for those whom
you love?

It is worthy of notice, that as the creed under con-
sideration requires people in general to be ignorant
concerning them that are asleep, in order for them to
have any hope in the days of their mourning, it is ex-
actly the reverse of the sentiment of our text, which
supposes that to be ignorant concerning them who are
asleep, exposes us to sorrow without hope ; and on
the contrary that the true knowledge concerning the
condition of such would be a source of divine conso-
lation.

Let us direct our attention in the next place to as-
certain that knowledge concerning those who have fall-

BALLOU'S LECTURES. 327

en asleep in death, which the faithful word of divine
inspiration affords.

But before we proceed to notice any particular pas-
sages, it is of importance that we begin this inquiry
under the influence of proper motives ; and it is like-
wise necessary that in the pursuit of our object, we
should reason with due reference to the criterion fur-
nished by our text. The motives which ought to in-
duce us to this investigation should be free from the
influence of any particular creed, from embarrassments
arising from prepossessions for, or against any party
opinions, and should be entirely devoted to the attain-
ment of the truth, the promotion of the honor of God,
and the advancement of our own rational and intellec-
tual happiness. And if we pursue this inquiry with
due reference to the criterion furnished by our text, we
shall admit nothing as true which is calculated to de-
stroy our hope concerning those who are asleep.

The words of Solomon recorded in Ecclesiastes seem
to be direct to our present subject, "So I turned, and
considered ail the oppressions that are done under the
sun ; and, behold, the tears of such as were oppressed,
and they had no comforter ; and on the side of their
oppresors there was power ; but they had no comfort-
er. Wherefore I praised the dead which are already
dead, more than the living which are yet alive."

The three following ideas are evidently suggested by
the passage recited :

I. In relation to all the oppressions done under the
sun, and in relation to all the oppressed, and all the
oppressors, they were both equally destitute of com-
fort.

II. The condition of those who are dead is bet-
ter than the condition of those who are yet alive
And,

III. There is no just occasion for our mourning be-
cause our friends are dead.

It may be proper to observe here that we do not
mean that we have no just cause of mourning when our
friends are taken from us, in one certain sense. We
have reason to sorrow for the loss of their sweet and

328 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

agreeable company on our pilgrimage of mortal life,
but on their account, we have no just cause to mourn
that they are dead. It is with regret, that we dismiss
our children from the happy domestic circle, where pa-
rental love and filial affections have been the blessing
of both parents and children, when we have no reason
to doubt that their departure is necessary for their fu-
ture happiness in life, and the tear of sensibility marks
the adieu which sanctions the separation. The house
they leave seems lonesome to those who are left behind,
and yet as long as it is believed by parents that it is
best for their children to be away, they will not indulge
a disposition to wish them back.

The Apostle in our text, does not forbid, nor dis-
suade his brethren from sorrow for the loss of their
friends. But his reasoning was to prevent their sor-
rowing without hope. And it is certain that if we
have the same opinion concerning the dead, that Sol-
omon expressed in the passage just recited, though we
may feel to mourn that we are are destitute of the
society of those we tenderly love, yet there is a con-
solation in believing that they are better off than the
living.

This author, speaking in another passage of the dis-
solution of the body, says ; " Or ever the silver cord
be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitch-
er be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at
the cistern : then shall the dust return to the earth
as it was ; and the spirit shall return unto God who
gave it.''

What can give more rational consolation to those
who mourn, than to realize that the spirits of their de-
parted connexions are with God? or what thought
can possibly contribute more to tranquilize our minds,
and prepare us to meet our own dissolution, than a
confident belief that we shall be with God ? To be in
the hands of a God of infinite wisdom, power, and
goodness ; to be disposed of according to his will,
which is boundles goodness and mercy, is all that a
reasonable creature can possibly desire ; and of this we
may be safely persuaded.

LECTURES. 329

When the Sadducees questioned our Saviour con-
cerning the resurrection of the dead, he said to them ;
" But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain
that world, and the resurrection from the dead, nei-
ther marry nor are given in marriage ; neither can they
die any more ; for they are equal unto the angels ; and
are the children of God, being the children of the re-
surrection. Now, that the dead are raised, even Mo-
ses showed at the bush, when he calleth the Lord the
God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God
of Jacob. For he is not a God of the dead, but of the
living ; for all live unto him."

By the authority of Jesus we are here certified, that
all that die live unto God in the resurrection, and are
the children of God, equal to angels, and can die no
more.

When we consider that he who thus testified was
sent of God to " bear witness unto the truth," that
the " spirit of the Lord God " was upon him, that the
Lord anointed him to bind up the broken hearted, and
to comfort all that mourn, shall we hesitate to believe
his testimony ? There certainly is no subject concern-
ing which the divine teacher has left us his testimony
which is of greater moment than this. The doc-
trine of the resurrection, which was the subject of de-
bate between him and the Sadducees, lies at the foun-
dation of the religion of Jesus, and we have every rea-
son to believe that he was explicit when he refuted and
silenced his adversaries on a question of such impor-
tance. We may further remark, that there is not the
least intimation that the divine teacher spake figura-
tively or parabolically in this reply to the Sadducees ;
but every circumstance relative to the subject which
we have on record, goes to show that his words
are to be understood in the most plain and obvious
sense.

We may now notice some passages from the wri-
tings of the author of our text concerning them that
are asleep, which correspond perfectly with the words
of the divine teacher.

To the Romans he says ; " For he that is dead is
28*

330 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

freed from sin." This information concerning those
that are asteep seems extremely necessary in order to
administer consolation to mourners. If we may make
further use of the simile of our children's going from
us, we may observe, that could we always know that
they would fall into no vicious or irreligious habits,
it would be a source of much comfort. Of this we
are certified concerning those who have gone from this
earthly corruptible state ; they are freed from sin.
The temptations of the flesh will no more allure, inor-
dinate appetites no more entice, unholy desires are
extinct, and the spirit is with God who gave i.t.

To the Corinthians this author says ; " For we
know that, if our earthly house of this tabernacle were
dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not
made with hands, eternal in the heavens." In this
mortal state, if our dwellings are superb and every way
convenient, we know that we shall enjoy them but a
little time ; but concerning them that are asleep, they
have an house eternal in the heavens. Our earthly
house of this tabernacle, Jet it be ever so beautiful,
must soon crumble to dust, and all the loveliness of
mortal flesh is but a flower for the tomb. Look we on
our sons and daughters, and pride ourselves in their
strength and beauty ? All is but a blossom exposed to
the blast of the east wind. " All flesh is grass, and all
the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field."
But heavenly and eternal things are permanent.

On the subject of a future state, and of the immor-
tality of that constitution, St. Paul has said more in
the 15th chapter of his first epistle to the Corinthians
than is recorded by any other writer in the scriptures.
His first argument on the subject establishes the resur-
rection of Christ, his second shows that, as in Adam all
die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive, and his
third is directed to the consideration of the immortal-
ity and glory of our future state. On these subjects
the following is selected ; " But now is Christ risen
from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that
slept. For since by man came death, by man came
also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all

331

die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. It is
sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption ; it is
sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory ; it is sown in
weakness, it is raised in power ; it is sown a natural
body, it is raised a spiritual body. The first man is of
the earth, earthy ; the second man is the Lord from
heaven. And as we have borne the image of the
earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this
mortal must put on immortality. Then shall be brought
to pass the saying that is written, death is swallowed
up in victory.

My christian friends, if we may safely believe what
we have quoted from Solomon, from the testimony of
of our divine Redeemer, and from his eminent servant
St. Paul, concerning them that are asleep, we have
every consolation that we could reasonably require. If
we believe that the spirit goes to God who gave it,
that the dead are better off than the living, that all
live unto God in the resurrection, and are equal to an-
gels, that they die no more, that they are freed from
sin, are raised in power, in glory, and in immortality,
in the image of trie heavenly man, what more could we
ask concerning our dear connexions which have gone
before us, or what more can we require in order to
tranquihze our minds in the hour of death?

On the other hand, let us ask how we could enjoy
any reasonable consolation concerning them which are
asleep, if what we have proved from scripture be not
believed ?

It is true that many are earnestly contending that
the doctrine which we have so clearly pointed out from
the faithful word of truth, is a doctrine dangerous to
the eternal welfare of immortal souls, and calculated
to lead those who believe it into every kind of sin. But
how can this be the case ? Is it supposable that a
revelation from God would in plain terms declare that
which is dangerous to our eternal welfare, and calcu-
lated to lead us into sin ] This is a reflection against
God. Will any one come forward and acknowledge
that a belief in all this grace and goodness of God

332 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

would lead them into sin? For instance, take this
passage ; " He that is dead is freed from sin." Sup-
pose a person believes this divine truth, would this be-
lief induce him to sin now ? St. Paul, no doubt be-
lieved it ; did it lead him into sin ? Suppose the fol-
lowing case. One of you, my hearers, have unhappily
imbibed a strong antipathy, even to hatred, against
your neighbor ; a friend of yours comes to you and
tells you he has something of importance to communi-
cate to you. You accommodate him with a conve-
nient opportunity, and he says, I have come to tell
you that in one week from now, you and your neigh-
bor, whom you now so much dislike, will be on terms
of perfect amity and peace, he has always been your
friend and will certainly convince you, that in room
of ever having injured you, he has been the means of
all your prosperities. Suppose; you believe this state-
ment, would your belief lead you to hate your neigh-
bor more than ever? No, it would have a directly
contrary effect ; you would love him the moment you
believed it, and would long for the time to come that
you might embrace him.

When Samuel told Saul that he should meet a com-
pany of prophets, and that the spirit of the Lord would
'Dome upon him, that he should be turned to another
man, and prophecy with the prophets, this did not
lead the young man into sin. Did the whole of this
assembly really believe, that in a short time they should
be in a state of immortal holiness and felicity, filled
with the love of their heavenly Father, and employed
in songs of everlasting praise to God and the lamb,
such a belief, my friends, would now work by love and
purify our hearts.

But the wisdom of this world has contrived a differ-
ent way to make men love God, which is by threaten-
ing them with his everlasting displeasure. It has in-
vented the most horrible reports and representations
that imagination can possibly reach, concerning them
that are asleep, by which sorrow is augmented to de-
spair. Sermons full of the terror of eternal misery,
and the representations of the dismal state of the dead

333

are delivered to enhance the sorrows of the bereaved.
Little tracts are sent to people gratis, to inform them
that the probability is, that their friends, who have left
this world are in a state of torment. It is impossible,
on considering such inventions and practices, not to
think of the torn, the bloody coat presented to Jacob,
accompanied with these words; " This have we found ;
know now whether it be thy son's coat or no." How
many bereaved, afflicted mothers have read these tracts,
and almost desparingly exclaimed, " It is my son's
coat," without doubt my departed child is miserable.

Never did our blessed Saviour manifest such a spirit,
never did he inculcate such doctrine. He who wept
by the tomb of Lazarus, in sympathy with mourning
sisters, who declared himself the resurrection and the
life, hath brought life and immortality to light through
the gospel. His doctrine is full of consolation, it is
full of that hope which is an anchor of the soul, sure
and steadfast, entering into that within the vail, where
our forerunner hath for us entered.

My friends, while looking round on perishable na-
ture, while contemplating the loss of our dear connex-
ions who have gone from this mortal state, let us " lay
hold on this hope which is set before us," that we may
not sorrow concerning them which are asleep, even as
those who have no hope. But let us, with confidence
in God our Father, and in Christ our Saviour, singy
with solemn joy in the words of Dr. Watts ;

" Why do we mourn departing friends
Or shake at death's alarms 1
'Tis but the voice that Jesus semis
, To call them to his arms.

LECTURE XXIV

il THE RESURRECTION OF LIFE;" AND " THE RESUR-

JOHN v. 28, 29.

Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in which all that are in the
graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth: they that have done good,
unto the resurrection of life ; and they that have done evil unto the resurrec-
tion of damnation.

Though I have once spoken on these words in this
place, and likewise been induced to explain them in a
controversy that was published, it is still requested by
some of the readers of these lectures that this passage
should be noticed before the volume is completed.
And as the common use of this text is in opposition to
the doctrine set forth in these sermons, and especial-
ly to the use we made of the scriptures in our last, it
is thought necessary that a discourse on this subject
should be placed next in order.

This passage is one of a number which the popular
doctrine of the church has applied to a future state of
condemnation and misery. It has been used to set
forth and maintain that those who do good in this
world will be raised from the dead hereafter and be
justified unto life in an immortal constitution, for the
good works which they did in this world ; and that
those who do evil in this mortal state will be raised, at
the same time, into an immortal constitution, and con-
demned to everlasting misery for the evil they did in
this mortal constitution.

In the first place we shall suggest some arguments
against the doctrine, for the support of which this text
has been used.

In this doctrine there is a manifest want of that due

BALLOU'S LECTURES. 335

connexion between cause and effect, which is so won-
derfully displayed in the natural order of things.
While we are here in the body, if we feed on whole-
some and nourishing food the natural effects are
strength and health of body; but if we, from whatev-
er cause, feed on that which is unwholesome or poison-
ous, the consequences are the reverse of the former,
and sickness and weakness are sure to follow. But it
would be evidently absurd to attempt to argue, on
physical principles, that these effects,, either health or
sickness, strength or weakness will be experienced in
a state of immortality after this corruptible shall have
put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on
immortality. Now it is plain from the scriptures, that
all sin, all wickedness, and all evil doings are the
works of the flesh ; and there appears no more reason
for supposing that the effects of these works are to ex-
tend into the immortal state, than for supposing that
the effects of wholesome or unwholesome food are to
extend to that state.

If one sow grain in a field in New-England, it fol-
lows of natural consequence that the harvest will be
gathered from the same field ; but there appears no
natural connexion, as between cause and effect, be-
tween sowing grain in this country and gathering a
harvest from it in Europe. St. Paul says ; " He that
soweth to his flesh, shall of the flesh reap corruption."
This seems perfectly natural, because " whatsoever a
man soweth, that shall he also reap." But to argue
that corruption may be gathered from an incorrutible
state is to argue against the very nature of things.

The apostle to the Romans is explicit on this sub-
ject, where he says ; " There is, therefore, now no
condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who
walk not after the flesh but after the spirit."

By this it is evident that condemnation cannot exist
any longer than men walk after the flesh. But none
pretend that any of the human family will walk after
the flesh in that incorruptible state of which the apos-
tle speaks, where he says ; " This corruptible shall put

336

on incorruption, and this mortal shall put on im-
mortality."

We can easily discern the natural connexion be-
tween all the vices which are practised by men, and
the infelicities which these vices introduce into society,
and the un happiness they occasion to those who
practise them ; but it is totally impossible to trace the
connexion between these vices and a state of perma-
nent misery in an immortal staK.

Secondly; as this opinion of a state of immortal hap-
piness for the good works of men in this life, and a
state of endless misery for their evil works while here
is supposed to fall under the notice of those scriptures
which teach us that God will render to every man ac-
cording to his works, it seems proper that we look to
see if we can find such a proportion between the vir-
tues which are practised in this life and a state of im-
mortal felicity, and between the vices committed here
and a state of endless torment as will justify this doc-
trine. The moment this inquiry is proposed the ab-
surdity of the doctrine appears ; for there is a much
nearer proportion between the labor of one hour and
the wealth of the whole world as its reward, than can be
seen between all the good works which a man could per-
form during a long life, and a recompense of an im-
mortal state of complete happiness. Nor is there so
great a proportion between all the sins which one could
possibly commit in this life and the recompense of a
state of endless misery, as between the smallest offence
ever committed on earth and a retaliation of the most
severe and protracted tortures which could be inflicted
in this mortal state. These statements are self-evident
facts, which we know to be true as well as we know
that a day is not as long as a year, or that one grain is
not equal to a ton weight.

According to the scriptures, we are authorised to be-
lieve, that the blessings of the gospel in this life are far
too great to be considered as being according to our
works. St. Paul says ; " Who hath saved us, and
called us with an holy calling, not according to our
works, but according to his own purpose and grace

337

which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world
began." Again the same author says; " Not by works
of righteousness which we have done, but according to
his mercy he saved us." Now if the salvation obtain-
ed in this life by the grace of God is too great to be
considered according to our works, there surely is not
the shadow of propriety in supposing that a state of
permanent felicity in the eternal world is according to
our works in this. But the proportion between our
good works in this world and a state of endless happi-
ness in the next is as near as between our sins here and
a state of endless misery hereafter.

Thirdly ; this doctrine of endless rewards and pun-
ishments is involved in an insuperable difficulty for the
want of the power to distinguish between the meet sub-
jects for these respective rewards.

What will this doctrine do, for instance, with David,
king of Israel ? That he did evil, and that to a most
heinous degree is evident from the faithful records of
scripture. Now if they who in this life have done evil
are to be raised into an immortal state of misery, Da-
vid, king of Israel, will be thus raised to condemna
tion. Will it be said that David became a good man,
and did many good things after he committed the
abominations which are recorded of him ? This we
are happy to acknowledge ; but what does this prove,
only that David was like other men, and and some-
times did that which was right and sometimes that
which was wrong ? For another instance, where will
the doctrine under consideration place St. Paul in the
eternal state ? That he did evil in this world the scrip-
tures as fully prove as they prove any thing. But it will
be said that this man ivas reformed and became a good
man ; this too we are happy to acknowledge, but. what
more does this prove than that St. Paul was like Da-
vid, and like other men, a changeable creature ! who
sometimes did right, at other times wrong ? The fact
is, as was fully shown in our lecture on the recom-
pensing of the righteous and the wicked in the earth,
all men are in some degree righteous and in some de-
gree wicked. And it follows that if all that do good
29

338

in this world are to be eternally happy hereafter, all
mankind will be happy ; and on the other hand, if all
who do evil in this life are to be endlessly miserable
in the next, all men will be thus miserable !

Fourthly ; the doctrine under consideration is absurd
in that it supposes that the good works and virtues
of men in this imperfect state are more meritorious
than the perfect and permanent virtue which will char-
acterize the blessed in heaven ; for if that immortal
state of holiness and felicity is merited by the virtue
imperfectly practised in this mortal state, there remains
no merit in the virtues practised in the future world,
nor any reward for that superior degree of righteous-
ness. And on the other hand, this doctrine involves
another absurdity, in that it recompenses the sins of
this life with a state of endless and positive misery,
but reserves no punishment for the sins of which the
souls of the miserable will be guilty in that state where
they will sin without restraint. Why should imper-
fect righteousness merit an eternity of happiness, and
yet perfect righteousness merit nothing? Why should
the sins of this life be recompensed with a state of
everlasting or eternal misery, and the entire sin of the
eternal world go forever unpunished ?

Once more; this doctrine maintains that God will
punish his rational offspring without mercy, without
designing their reconciliation or profit. This, of all
the objections which we have to the doctrine under
consideration is the greatest. This supposes that God
possesses a worse disposition, and practises greater cruel-
ty than the wicked possessor practice. All the cruelties
of heathen idolatry are tender mercies, in comparison
with the cruelty attributed to our heavenly Father by
this doctrine. People are deceived by the names which
superstition uses to identify this cruelty in God, but
the name of a thins alters not its nature. Vindictive
wrath, holy anger, retributive justice, are terms used to
designate a property of the divine nature which, when
examined impartially, and without a superstitious awe,
is found to be worthy of no better name than unmer-
ciful malevolence ! To attribute such a quality or char-

339

acter to God, we view as the vilest act that moral
darkness has ever produced ; and we reject the senti-
ment with the deepest horror.

Let it be distinctly noticed here, that this argument
does not lie between the doctrine of endless punish-
ment, and no punishment for sin; we have all along
in these lectures maintained that sin is punished, but
we find that it is punished in the world where it is,
and not in an immortal state where it is not.

Having, as was proposed, suggested a few argu-
ments against the doctrine for the support of which
our text has been generally used, our next labor will
be directed to bring the portion of scripture under con-
sideration before the hearer in connexion with such
other passages as relate to events which evidently be-
long to the present state of existence, but where lan-
guage signifying a resurrection is used ; at the same
time carefully comparing with them those passages
which evidently relate to a resurrection into an immor-
tal state, that it may be clearly understood that the
latter and former classes of scripture cannot, with any
propriety, be applied to the same event.

The arguments to which we have attended in this
discourse, are designed to show that the text under
consideration ought not to be applied in the usual way,
by showing that the doctrine supported by it when so
used is not true. The arguments now designed will
go to show that the scriptures make use of words sig-
nifying a resurrection, in a figurative sense, when noth-
ing beyond this mortal state is intended, that the pas-
sage under consideration is of this description ; and
that it is proved to be so by comparing it with other
passages which evidently have their application in time,
and also by comparing it with passages which speak of
a resurrection into an immortal state, by observing the
difference there is between the two classes.

That our text evidently belongs to that class of
scriptures which speak of a spiritual resurrection, or of
a resurrection which has no allusion to a future state
of being may be seen by attending to the context,
which reads as follows ; " Verily, verily, I say unto

340

you. he that heareth my word, and belie veth on him
that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come
into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life."
Here it is perfectly plain that the death from which
the believers had passed was of a moral, and not a lit-
eral kind ; and it is perfectly plain also that the life in-
to which they had already entered was of a spiritual
nature, which believers enjoy by the means of believ-
ing in the word of Jesus in the present tense. And it
is furthermore evident that the condemnation mention-
ed in the passage already quoted is a condemnation
which is the consequence of unbelief in the present
life, and is the same as is signified by the following
words of Jesus : " He that believeth not is condemn-
ed already." The next words to those quoted from
our context are the following : " Verily, verily, I say
unto you, the hour is coming and now is, when the
dead shall hear the voice of the son of God, and they
that hear shall live. For as the Father hath life in
himself, so hath he given to the Son to have life in
himself, and hath given him authority to execute judg-
ment also, because he is the Son of man." It is abun-
dantly evident that the Saviour still continued to speak
of the dead in trespasses and sins, of their hearing and
believing his word, and of the spiritual life which faith
in the gospel wrought in them. And it is also evident
that his authority, which he here mentions, to execute
judgment, administers that condemnation into which
the unbeliever is brought.

Our text follows the words last quoted ; "Marvel
not at this ; for the hour is coming, in the which, all
that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall
come forth ; they that have done good unto the resur-
rection of life ; and they that have done evil unto the
resurrection of damnation." Now as it is acknowledg-
ed by all that Jesus was speaking figuratively in the
context, until he came to the words of our text, it
seems entirely unwarranted to make him now, all of
a sudden, speak of a literal resurrection. It is alto-
gether more reasonable to suppose, that as he meant
the dead in a moral or spiritual sense, by the dead who

341

should hear his voice and live, he now means the car-
nal state of carnal minds by the graves from which the
dead were to come forth.

That the word graves is used figuratively in scrip-
ture we learn from the 37th of Ezekiel, where the
prophet represents the return of the captivity of Israel
from the countries where they had been scattered, first
by the resurrection of the dry bones in the valley of
vision, — and secondly, by bringing them out of their
graves. And here we may remark, that there would
be the same propriety in understanding the prophet to
mean a figurative resurrection by the dry bones repre-
senting the return of Israel's captivity ; but when he
speaks of bringing them out of their graves, to mean
their resurrection from their literal graves into an im-
mortal state, as there is in explaining our text and con-
text in the usual way.

There is a passage in the 12th of Daniel, which
commentators very justly consider a parallel passage
with our text ; it reads as follows: " And at that time
shall Michael stand up, the great prince which stand-
eth for the children of thy people ; and there shall be
a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a
nation even to that same time : and at that time thy
people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found
written in the book. And many of them that sleep in
the dust of the earth, shall awake, some to everlasting
life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt." It
seems reasonable to suppose, that as Jesus came to ful-
fil the law and the prophets, he had his eye on this
passage in Daniel when he spake the words of our
text ; and that he meant by those who were in the
graves the same as Daniel meant by those who were
asleep in the dust of the earth; and by those, who
should come forth to the resurrection of life, he meant
the same as Daniel did by those who should awake
from the dust of the earth to everlasting life ; and by
those who should come forth to the resurrection of
condemnation, the same as Daniel meant by those,
who should come forth unto shame and everlasting
contempt.

342

Will the hearer now say that all this may be, and
that both Daniel and the Saviour were speaking of the
resurrection of mankind to a state of immortal happi-
ness and misery in a future world ? To this we reply,
when Jesus spoke to his disciples of the destruction of
Jerusalem, and of the calamities which should shortly
come on the Jews, he uses the words of Daniel nearly
verbatim when he speaks of the time of trouble. By
this circumstance we are instructed that both Daniel
and the Saviour spake of the same time, and of the
same events, and that that time was when Jerusalem
was destroyed by the Romans.

The true meaning of the words of Jesus and of the
passage in Daniel appears to be this : those Jews who
listened to the mild voice of the gospel, proclaimed by
Christ and his Apostles, came forth from spiritual death
to the life of faith in the new covenant ; but those
Jews, who rejected the doctrine of salvation, crucified
the Saviour, and persecuted his apostles, were those
who had done evil, and they were roused from the
dormant state in which they lay, as in a covenant of
death and a refuge of lies, by the voice of judgment,
and come forth to the resurrection of that condemna-
tion which is so particularly pointed out in the 24th
and 25th chapters of Matthew ; and which was illus-
trated in our lecture on that subject.

That the resurrection under consideration is not a
resurrection from this mortal to an immortal state, may
be made to appear by comparing the account of it with
the account given of the resurrection into a state of
immortality, which we find in several passages, and
which were noticed in our last lecture.

In the account of the resurrection noticed in our
text, some are raised to life and some to condemna-
tion ; and this account we have seen agrees so well
with the testimony quoted «from Daniel, that no doubt
remains that the Saviour and the prophet spake of the
same event. But can we make St. Paul's account of
the resurrection of all mankind into an immortal state
agree with these several testimonies so as to be satisfied

343

that the apostle was treating on the same subject of
which Daniel and the Saviour treated ?

Jesus says : that they that have done good shall
come forth to the resurrection of life, and they that
have done evil to the resurrection of damnation. Dan-
iel says : " And many of them that sleep in the dust
of the earth shall come forth, some to everlasting life,
and some to shame and everlasting contempt." St.
Paul says ; " As in Adam all die even so in Christ
shall all be made alive." And he is particular in stat-
ing the constitution which all men will receive in the
resurrection of which he speaks. It is spiritual, incor-
ruptible, immortal, and glorious, it is the image of the
Lord from heaven. He makes no distinction. He
says nothing of the good works of some and the evil
works of others. His testimony is, in fact, directly
against any distinction or difference in that immortal
state. All are made alive in Christ ; and as this life is
spiritual, incorruptible and immortal, this testimony
agrees with the testimony of Jesus to the Sadducees
on the same subject of the resurrection, in which he
says, that in the resurrection they are the children of
God, equal unto the angels, and can die no more.

In his debate with the Sadducees, Jesus gave no in-
timation that any would rise from the dead to a state
of condemnation, but was particular in saying that all
live unto God.

In our present light of this subject, we can plainly
see, that by supposing that Jesus spake in our text of
the same subject of which he spake in his reply to the
Sadducees, we make him contradict himself. And by
supposing that our text is a testimony of the same event
of which St. Paul spake in his argument on the resur-
rection in the 15th of the first of Corinthians, we set
the testimony of Jesus and St. Paul at an irreconcila-
ble variance.

Our present subject may be represented by suppos-
ing, that a traveller returns to this town from the state
of Vermont, and informs us that in consequence of a
disturbance among the convicts in the State prison,
the prisoners were all brought out under sufficient

344 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

guards, to be examined and tried for their conduct,
This trial, our traveller informs us, finally terminated
in the solitary confinement of a large number of the
leaders of the disturbance, but in the liberation from
prison of many who were found to be meritorious in
their conduct in endeavoring to suppress and prevent
the wicked designs of the others.

This traveller being a man of respectable standing
in society, and of undoubted reputation, no one is dis-
posed to doubt the truth of the testimony which he
he has given on this subject. Not long after having
this information in the way here related, our traveller
returns from a tour through New Hampshire, and in-
forms us that the new governor in that state has seen
cause to set all the prisoners in the state at liberty,
and that he was an eye witness of the fact. For want
of proper caution some of us now confound the two
reports, and think that these several relations are con
cerning what took place relative to the prisoners in
Vermont.

In this way we should make the testimony of our
traveller destroy itself and the veracity of its author.
And yet his whole testimony in both cases, when un-
derstood according to the different subjects related,
and the proper distinctions preserved according to the
plainest sense of the several accounts given, all ap-
pears clear and without the least contradiction.

By applying, in an indiscriminate manner, those pas-
sages of scripture which specially belong to the tem-
poral, mutable state of man in this life, and those
which speak of an immortal state, all to the future ex-
istence of mankind, the greatest absurdities have been
supported by the scriptures. In the same way the
dispute between those who contend for salvation by
the agency of the creature, and those who maintain
that works are out of the question relative to salvation
has been protracted for ages in the christian church.
And yet if the passages of scripture, which are quoted
on both sides of the argument were applied to their re-
spective subjects there would be no room for dispute
or occasion for any difference of sentim nt.

BALLOU'S LECTURES. 345

For instance, the account we have of the judgment
iin the 25th of Matthew proceeds according to the
works of those who are judged ; and those who are
welcome to the kingdom, are justified according to
their works, and those who are sentenced to punish-
ment are so condemned according to their conduct.
Now as this passage is applied to the eternal state of
the unseen world by both parties in the dispute just
named, those who rest the final justification of the
creature on his works seem to have a decided advan-
tage in the dispute. And it is all in vain for the op-
poser to try to reconcile this passage with his notion of
justifying the creature to everlasting life in the eternal
world without any reference to his good works in this
world. This he will not attempt to do : but in order
to do away the force of this judgment, he quotes some
passages which speak of grace to the exclusion of
works ; such as the following ; " Who hath saved us
and called us with an holy calling, not according to
our works, but according to his own purpose and grace.
Not by works of righteousness which we have done,
but according to his mercy he saved us. By grace are
ye saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves, it
is the gift of God. Not of works lest any man should
boast. Now to him that worketh the reward is not
reckoned of grace but of debt ; but to him that work-
eth not but belie veth on him who justifieth the ungod-
ly, his faith is counted unto him for righteousness."
As it is perfectly evident that these passages, on the
very face of them, were designed to set fonh the grace
and salvation of God in a way to exclude the works of
the saved as the ground of such salvation, the argu-
ment now fairly turns in favor of the other side ;
for here are more passages than the one brought in fa-
vor of the contrary side.

What is the next thing to be done? Does he who
predicates salvation on works undertake to show that
the passages last quoted do not indicate the fact for
which they are adduced ? No, for this would be la-
bor lost : it would be as easy to prove that these pas-
sages mean nothing. What then does he do? He

346 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

proceeds to quote some more scripture on the other
side, such as the following ; " The willing and obedi-
ent shall eat the good of the land, but if ye rebel ye
shall be devoured with the sword, for the mouth of the
Lord hath spoken it. The soul that sinneth, it shall
die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father,
neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son ;
the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him,
and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.
Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him ;
for they shall eat the fruit of their doings. Wo unto
the wicked ! it shall be ill with him ; for the reward
of his hands shall be given him. 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. For we must all appear before the judgment
seat of Christ, that every one may receive the things
done in his body, according to that he hath done,
whether it be good, or bad." As it is perfectly evi-
dent that these last quoted passages do not indicate
that men are justified without good works, but in con-
sequence of them, the dispute stands exactly as it did
when it began, and where it must stand until these
disputants come to a determination to understand par-
ticular passages of the scriptures according to the par-
ticular subjects to which they respectively belong.

All those passages, which speak of judging and re-
warding men according to their works have their true
and just application to that divine economy in which
our heavenly Father administers to his moral offspring
that discipline which grows from his love and faithful-
ness and which our imperfection requires.

On the other hand, all those passages which speak
of the abundant grace of God, of his great love to sin-
ners, of his saving us, not according to our works, but
according to his own purpose and grace, which was
given unto us in Christ Jesus before the world began,
have their true and just application to that- divinely
gracious economy of the Father of our spirits, in which
he has made ample provisions for the spiritual and
eternal welfare of all mankind. And if we are careful

BALLOu's LECTURES. 347

to keep the different subjects of which the scriptures
treat, as distinct from each other as the divine testimo-
ny requires, we shall never apply the passage under
consideration to the immortal state of man, nor is it
believed by your servant, that any other passage can
be found, which speaks of rewarding men for their
good works, and of punishing others for evil works,
which can, with the least color of propriety be applied
to the state of man when this mortal shall have put on
immortality, and this corruptible incorruption.

To pretend that it is not convenient or proper for
men to be rewarded in this world according to their
works here, is more absurd than it would be to argue,
that it is not convenient or proper for children to re-
ceive rewards of merit, and chastisements for disobe-
dience at the school where they receive their educa-
tion. And to contend that all the good works, and
all the evil works done in this mortal state are to be
judged and recompensed in the eternal world, is a
thousand times more unreasonable than it would be
for a parent of vast wealth to go to the school mas-
ter who educated his children and get a particular ac-
count of every thing his children did while at school,
and then proceed to make his last will and testament
according to that account.

To conclude, while our text assures us, that good
works will never go unrewarded, nor evil works unre-
compensed, it by no means intrudes on the eternal in-
heritance given us in Christ Jesus before the world be-
gan ; nor does it in any way contradict the testimony,
that " as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be
made alive."

LECTURE XXV

> JUDGMEMTS ISSUE
ZEPHANIAH, III. 17.

He will rest in his love.

In this short book of the prophecy of Zephaniah
there is much said on the subject of the sins of various
nations, and of the sore punishments which the divine
ruler had seen fit to execute upon them for their cor-
rection, and as an admonition to his chosen people,
the Jews.

The design of the judgments of God is most clearly
expressed in the following, recorded in our context :
" Therefore, wait ye upon me, saith the Lord, until
the day that I shall rise up to the prey ; for my deter-
mination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble
the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation,
even all my fierce anger ; for all the earth shall be de-
voured with the fire of my jealousy. For then will I
turn to the people a pure language, that they may all
call upon the name of the Lord, to serve him with
one consent."

The account here given by the prophet, concerning
the indignation and fierce anger of the Lord, is of a
very different nature from the account of the same
subject, which is current in our times. The divine
indignation or anger according to our christian doc-
tors, is totally unmerciful ; and those on whom it is
fully and completely executed, no more than begin to
feel its horrors in this world, but are duly prepared by
an astonishing miracle, to endure the fierceness of its
burning forever in the eternal world. In the days of
divine inspiration and prophecy, when men " spake as

BALLOU'S LECTURES. 349

they were moved by the Holy Ghost," no such horri-
ble sentiments were held up to the people. Then the
desolation of cities, the captivity of their inhabitants,
plagues, famines, and pestilences were among the usual
denunciations of the judgments of God ; but now,
nothing that can be suffered in this world seems to
answer the purpose ; and our wise men pretend to
know the particulars of the eternal world much better
than of this, and speak of the horrors of future condem-
nation, and of the indignation of the Lord in that state,
without the smallest hesitation. Whether they are
correct, or the inspired prophets, we are at liberty to
judge for ourselves. It is a plain fact that their ac-
counts differ, and that as widely as day from night.

According to the prophet in the passage just cited,
the indignation, even all the fierce anger of the Lord
is poured out on the whole earth. Nothing is said of
reserving any for a future state. And what is worthy
of special notice is, after all this fierce anger of the
Lord is poured out on the people, and the whole earth
is devoured with the fire of his jealousy, God says,
" then will I turn to the people a pure language, that
they may all call upon the name of the Lord, ancl
serve him with one consent." So that the very same
people who suffer all God's fierce anger, are thereby
prepared to learn a pure language in which they shall
all call on the name of the Lord, with dispositions and
hearts to serve him.

As consequences resulting to the house of Israel,
from the execution of the divine indignation, the fol-
lowing is recorded by the prophet ; " In that day shalt
thou not be ashamed for all thy doings, wherein thou
hast transgressed against me ; for then I will take
away out of the midst of thee them that rejoice in thy
pride ; and thou shalt no more be haughty because of
my holy mountain. The remnant of Israel shall not
do iniquity, nor speak lies ; neither shall a deceitful
tongue be found in their mouth : for they shall feed and
lie down, and none shall make them afraid. Sing, O
daughter of Zion ; shout, O Israel ; be glad and re-
joice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem.
30

350 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

The Lord hath taken away thy judgments, he hath
cast out thine enemy ; the King of Israel, even the
Lord, is in the midst of thee : thou shall not see evil
any more. The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is
mighty ; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with
joy ; he will rest in his love ; he will joy over thee with
sinking."

In this most interesting representation we are led to
contemplate the happy issue of the judgments of God,
even all his fierce anger, in the salvation of his people,
in their rest and joy. Even God himself is represent-
ed as rejoicing over them with joy, and as finding rest
in his love toward them.

In order that one may rest in love the following par-
ticulars seem to be necessary.

I. Love must be holy and all its desires righteous.
And,

II. The desires of love must all be accomplished in
their fullest extent.

To a moral being an unholy love and unlawful de-
sires are a source of inquietude, and the more such
love and desires are indulged the greater is the infe-
licity occasioned by them. But the contrary is the
effect of a holy love and of righteous and lawful de-
sires. The more they are indulged the greater is the
satisfaction, and the more perfect that rest which re-
sults from such indulgence. The love of our heaven-
ly Father toward his offspring is a holy love, and all its
desires are lawful and right. It is the holiness of love and
the lawfulness of its desires which justifies all the means
which are necessary to carry these desires into effect.

This subject may be represented by the love of pa-
rents toward their children. The parental love is law-
ful and all its desires are righteous. It looks on chil-
dren with strong desires for their improvement and
happiness. If they are disobedient, love desires their
reformation ; and it is the purity of this love and the
righteousness of its desires that justify those rebukes,
warnings, and chastisements which are necessary for
the bringing of the disobedient to submit to those
wholesome precepts which are alone designed for their
benefit. Take awav this parental love, and remove

BALLOU'S LECTURES. 351

the desire of doing good to the disobedient child, and
every rebuke, every admonition, and every punishment
inflicted, would be as destitute of righteousness, as the
heart of the parent is of love. But where this holy
love and these pure desires are in exercise, they fully
justify the greatest severity which may be necessary
for the good of the disobedient. And here let us cau-
tiously observe, that the parent never finds rest until
all that love desires is accomplished. While stubborn-
ness and disobedience remain in the child, and during
the administration of chastisement, the parent has no
rest. Anxiety, pity, grief, love and tender affections
mingle in the feeling heart with indignation, severity and
faithfulness ; but when this stubbornness is subdued, and
the disobedient heart brought to submit, how calm,
how quiet is the rest which the parent finds in that
victorious love, which has now conquered all opposition,
and carried into effect its utmost desires. If the parent
could find rest in the administration of punishment,
then, in order to continue this rest, the punishment
would be protracted ; but rest is taken after the labor
is done, and the longer the labor continues, the longer
rest is deferred.

To apply our metaphor, we may observe, that God's
love toward mankind is a holy love, and all the desires
of that love are righteous. The holiness of his love,
and the righteousness of its desires sanctify his sever-
est judgments and direct them all to the accomplish-
ment of the desires of love.

The figure of expression used in our text is very
strong ; it seems to represent the divine Being as being
in want of rest from the exercise of his severity and
indignation, and as finding that rest in his love toward
those whom he had chastised, by pouring on them all
his fierce anger, which terminated in their subjection
to his will. But the scriptures, without intending to
represent the Almighty as being changeable, use such
metaphors for the purpose of conveying an idea of
the ultimate design and goodness of God, in all his
works.

Where we have an account of the creation of all

352 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

things, we are informed that God proceeded with his
work day after day for six days, and when he had end-
ed his work, he rested on the seventh. But here let
us remark, that he rested in his love, for he was able,
after taking a perfect survey of all his works, to pro-
nounce the whole " very good." If there had been
any part of the creation which would not answer the
purpose for which it was made, God would not have
pronounced it good, nor could he have loved that
which was not good, nor could he have rested in his
love.

Man was the last work which the divine Creator
performed, and man he made in his own image. Man
he styles his offspring, he calls himself our Father, and
he directs his providence and grace in a way to provide
for us, and to bring us to the enjoyment of himself.

When man had sinned, and God came to him in
the cool of the day, he pronounced his judgments with
such limitations as to manifest his purpose in the final
deliverance of his sinful children from the power of the
tempter by the seed of the woman who should bruise
his head. Thus we see that God rests no where but
in his love.

Had the Creator., on this occasion, denounced on
man the malediction of never-ending misery, according
to the doctrine of our catechism ; and had it been his
pleasure to inform them, as the writers of our creeds
have informed us, that by this first transgression the
whole posterity of Adam and Eve had become liable
to the pains of hell forever, we could hardly find how
to reconcile this doctrine with the idea that our heav-
enly Father rests no where but in his love.

It may be profitable in this place, though it be pain-
ful, to spend a few reflections on the resting-place,
which the wisdom of this world has invented for the
Father of our spirits. This invention, in order to ac-
commodate our heavenly Father with the most perfect
and quiet rest, has assigned a great part of his rational
offspring to the most exquisite torments which improv-
ed imagination has been able to suggest, and has as-
signed the execution of this torture to him ! That pa

BALLOU'S LECTURES. 353

rents may not only see this subject, but feel a little by
having it represented in subordination to our under-
standing, we may suppose a similar invention for the
accommodation of the parent of a numerous family,
to give him the most perfect rest. Thus three quar-
ters of his children are to suffer the most exquisite
torments which human invention can devise ; and to
have this torture so administered as to be protracted
for a long time, and the parent himself must execute
this punishment!

Parents, would you call this a bed of roses ? Do
you wish to repose your weary limbs, after carefully
nursing and bringing up children, on such down as
this ? Disgusted, you reply, why do you torture our
feelings and greet our ears with such unnatural
similes?

We deserve to have our feelings harrowed with
these thorns, with these briars and thistles, for we have
spread them out by our wicked inventions for our
merciful and compassionate Father in heaven to rest
himself on to all eternity ! The creeds of the chris-
tian church now contain the invention under consid-
eration ; our preachers dwell upon it, and on its differ-
ent parts, with an earnestness by which they evince
their zeal for God ; and professors patiently hear this
doctrine proclaimed, and pronounce it wholesome or-
thodoxy. As long as this remains to be the case, a
hope is entertained that people in one way or another,
will be made to hear their doctrine applied in a way to
make them feel its effects.

However men may err in their inventions, however
they may attribute the worst of designs to God, he is
of one mind and none can turn him. The love in
which he rested on the seventh day, after he had cre-
ated all things, is the same love which he manifested
after man had sinned. This is the love which he has
had in view in the administration of all his judgments,
and the same which he has manifested through Jesus
for the salvation of mankind from sin and death. The
hearer will recollect that we have said that in order for
one to rest in love, all that love desires must be ac-
30*

354

complished. This idea is within your easy comprehen-
sion. If one has a desired object, an object of the most
affectionate regard in view, but great difficulties and
dangers lie in the way of obtaining this object, you
know that this condition is by no means calculated to
give rest. But if the difficulties become surmounted,
and the dangers removed, and the longed for object
finally obtained, the successful soul finds rest in love.
Thus Joseph the persecuted brother, tenderly loved
his brethren, suffered many things for their profit,
overcome all embarrassments and finally received them
all under his safe protection and found a calm, a sweet
repose in his love. To prove them, to try them, for a
season he treated them roughly, and with severity.
He accused them of being spies, come to see the na
kednessofthe land. He kept Simeon bound while
he sent the rest to their families. He directed the sil-
ver cup to be deposited in Benjamin's sack, he gave
orders for his arrest, and greatly tried the hearts of
those who had sold him ; but during all this time Jo-
seph did not rest in this manifestation of anger How
often did he weep alone with love, pity, and grief for
his brethren ; but when he had humbled them enough
and made himself known to them, embraced them all
;md granted them forgiveness, he rested in his love.
Had he failed in his heart's desire of seeing all his
brethren duly humbled, and had two thirds of the
whole utterly refused to acknowledge their faults, or
submit themselves to him, we may reasonably suppose,
that he would not have enjoyed that rest in his love
which he did when he fed them all at his own table.

Let the mind pass from this circumstance to the
consideration of the love of God to mankind and to
consider the extent of mercy's design as manifested
through Jesus. The following passages relate to this
subject. " For God so loved the world, that he gave
his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him,
should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God
sent not his son into the world to condemn the world ;
but that the world through him might be saved. But
God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while

BALLOU'S LECTURES. 355

we were yet enemies, Christ died for us. Herein is
love, not that we loved God, but that he lovad us, and
sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. We
have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son
to be the Saviour of the world." By these passages
we learn that the grand design of the Father's love in
sending the son into the world was to save the world,
and this design must be fully accomplished in order for
the Father to rest in his love. My friends, you know
that love which desires that which we can never ob-
tain, in room of affording us rest, gives us uneasiness.
Now if the design or desire of the Father's love is the
salvation of the world, how can he ever find rest in
his love if this desire is never accomplished ? But he
worketh all things afler the council of his own will.
His judgments and his mercies will be employed and
well directed to their object, until the vast design of
love is completed in the reconciliation of all things to
God, who will forever rest in his love. Thus are the
judgments of God explained in the song of Moses the
servant of God, and the song of the Lamb. " Great
and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty ;
just and true are thy ways, thou king of saints. Who
shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name ?
for thou only art holy ; for all nations shall come and
worship before thee ; for thy judgments are made
manifest."

The divine economy in the moral system may be
represented by a bountiful and benevolent providence,
by which our temporal wants are satisfied. Winter,
in which appears no promise of bread in future, spring,
in which promises but just make their appearance,
and summer full of labor and toil precede the bountiful
autumn, when rest and festivity cause to forget the
labors of the past seasons, and we find that all has hap-
pily terminated for good.

This general subject may be contemplated to ad-
vantage, by taking into consideration the labors and
sufferings of our blessed Redeemer, all which terminate
in giving him rest in his love. After the prophet Isai-
ah gave a most circumstantial account of the Saviour's

356 BALLOu's LECTURES.

sufferings and the object of them, in which account
ne states the following : " He was wounded for our
transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities ; the
chastisement of our peace was upon him ; and with his
stripes we are healed," he further says ; " He shall
see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied ;
by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify ma-
ny for he shall bear their iniquities." St. Paul informs
us that the man Christ Jesus gave himself a ransom
for all men to be testified in due time, and that he by
the grace of God tasted death for every man. And St.
John says, he is the propitiation for the sins of the
whole world. Jesus himself says ; the true shepherd
layeth down his life for the sheep. Now these passa-
ges all go to show what was the desire of the Sa-
viour's heart, " who loved us and washed us from our
sins in his own blood." And they contain evidence
that the whole of his desire will finally be accomplish-
ed. When this is done, it will be evident that he rests
in his love.

When Jesus wept over Jerusalem, and said ; " O
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Jthou that killest the prophets,
and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often
would I have gathered thy children together, even as
a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye
would not ! Behold your house is left unto you deso-
late ; he further added ; for I say unto you, ye shall
not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, blessed is he
that cometh in the name of the Lord." It is worthy
of notice, that in this instance, and on this most in-
teresting occasion, the Saviour terminated his prophet-
ic malediction in a way to give place to his blessed
appearance and his being hailed with " Blessed is he
that cometh in the name of the Lord." Thus the
blessed Jesus rested no where but in his love.

When on the cross, at the close of his sufferings,
the dear Redeemer manifested that love was his rest-
ing place. He prayed for his enemies, saying; "Fa-
ther forgive them, for they know not what they do."

Keep in mind that the whole which love desires
must be accomplished in order that love may give

LECTURES. 357

rest. If the Saviour loved his enemies, if he loved
sinners, if he designed their redemption, their forgive-
ness, and salvation, can he ever rest in this love un-
less this desire be granted ? " He shall see of the tra-
vail of his soul and be satisfied." But he never can
be satisfied with any thing short of the joy that was
set before him, for which he endured the cross, and de-
spised the shame.

If, as has been erroneously held, and is now believ-
ed and taught, after the dispensation of divine mercy
through Jesus-Christ, shall have accomplished all it ev-
er will accomplish ; if after it has reconciled all that it
ever will reconcile, millions are to remain in eternal
rebellion under the dominion of sin, darkness and
death ; and if the same blessed mediator, who gave
himself a ransom for all men, who is the propitiation
for the sins of the whole world, who by the grace of
God tasted death for every man, is to execute on those
wretched millions never ending wrath, how is it that he
can ever rest in his love ?

The prophet Isaiah calls the promised Shiloh, " the
everlasting Father and the Prince of Peace." But
with what propriety he can be called a father to those
for whom he has no mercy is utterly inconceivable ;
or how he is properly called the prince of peace, when
he is the administrator of endless wrath on his own
subjects, is truly difficult to understand.

Let us again repeat, in order that love may give
rest, all that love desires must be accomplished. St.
Paul exhorted husbands to love their " wives, even as
Christ loved the church, and gave himself for it ; that
he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of
water by the word ; that he might present it to him-
self a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle, or
any such thing ; but that it should be holy and with-
out blemish." According to this declaration Christ
gave himself for the church because he loved it, and be-
cause he loved it he undertook to sanctify and cleanse
it, that he might free it from every spot and wrinkle,
and present it to himself a glorious church. This
same Apostle says that Christ gave himself a ransom

358 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

for all men. All men are therefore of his church.
His church was unsanctified, unclean, full of spots and
wrinkles, and inglorious ; but by the ministration of
the word of life, he will sanctify and cleanse it. But
short of the completion of this work, he cannnot rest
in his love. The uncleanness of human nature was
the reason why his love moved him to the ministration
of his cleansing word, and as long as one spot or wrin-
kle remains the washing must be continued ; but when
sin is finished, when all shall know the Lord from the
least to the greatest, then will that love which moved
the Saviour to give himself for us, afford a heaven of
rest to him whose soul travailed for man's salvation.

Our subject may be profitably contemplated by ap-
plying it to the love which actuates the christian's
heart ; and especially to the love which moves the
faithful minister of Jesus Christ to be vigilant in his
ministry. And here let us remark, that as Jesus un-
dertook the ministry of his grace from pure love to
sinners, so it is indispensably necessary that the minis-
ters of his word of life should have the same love
which moved their divine master to our redemption.
If Jesus had had no love for mankind, if he had been
as strenuous for man's endless misery as many appear
to be in our day, he never would have given himself
for us. Remember the caution which our Saviour ob-
served with Peter. " Simon Peter, lovest thou me ?"
being answered in the affirmative, says ; " feed my
sheep." He did not say, terrify and frighten my
sheep ; but feed my sheep ; and Peter did most faith-
fully feed the sheep ; and it was because of the love
which he bore to the chief shepherd, and to the sheep.
And this was the case with the whole of that immortal
band of Apostles who went forth to feed the flock,
which Christ had purchased with his own blood, and
to wash the church with the washing of water by the
word. They labored, they suffered, but they had
peace and rest. They rested in that triumphant love
which incited them to the work of the ministry. But
this love could have given them no rest, if it had not
the power to promise success to their labors.

BALLOU'S LECTURES. 359

For many centuries the ministry in the christian
church has seemed to labor more to persuade people
into a belief of the general failure of the gospel dispen-
sation, than to inspire a hope that its success will
eventually correspond with the universal and impartial
love of the Saviour; and though the preachers have
uniformly professed great love for sinners, and a wil-
lingness to exert all their means to prevent the ever-
lasting ruin of souls, yet they have as constantly in
sisted that they shall rejoice in heaven to see the un
converted part of their congregations in a state of hope-
less misery ! But how is this consistent with the idea
of resting in their love ? It is easy to conceive how
the minister of the word rests in his love to the people
and to the gospel, if he has the prospect bright before
him, of the final, full, and entire success of the min-
istry.— St. Paul says ; " Having this ministry we faint
not." But what is the peculiar nature of this minis-
try which caused the Apostles not to faint ? See the
answer in the same Apostle's words ; " Who hath
made us able ministers of the New Testament, not of
the letter, but of the spirit ; for the letter killeth, but
the spirit giveth life." Possessing the love for mankind
which the Apostles evidently did, they must have faint-
ed if their ministry had been a ministry of death ; but
their ministry was a ministry of life, of righteousness,
and reconciliation, in which they labored that they
might " present every man perfect in Christ Jesus."

The same spirit of love, which gives rest to the faith-
ful minister of the word of life, is the rest of every
true believer. It is acknowledged by all denomina-
tions of christians, that the spirit of Christ is the spirit
of love, and that this love extends to all mankind.
With the different persuasions among us, there is but
one sentiment on this subject. All christian people
profess to love the whole human family, and to pray
for the salvation of all. Now since this is uniformly
the case, let us ask, what rest can they have while ex-
ercising this generous love and benevolence, and yet
believing that millions of their fellow creatures must
inevitably, not only be excluded the joys and peace

360 BALLOU'S LECTURES.

of heaven, but be the subjects of positive misery for
ever?

It is true we have been told the extravagant story
that the saints in heaven will rejoice forever in the. ev-
erlasting misery of the unconverted. We have been
told, that parents will rejoice in the sentence of end-
less condemnation passed on their own offspring in the
eternal world ! But will this be resting in love ? If
parents have as much love for their children in the next
state as they have here, will that love allow them to
rest in heaven, while their offspring are tortured in ev-
erlasting burnings ? No, allowing the doctrine of fu-
ture endless misery, those who rest must rest in eter-
nal hatred ! but in hatred there is no rest.

My brethren, did you ever find rest in a spirit of
enmity ? in a disposition to rejoice in another's mise-
ry ? Is it possible for unmerciful wrath to give rest ?
No, if we ever find rest eilher in this world or in the
next, it must be in love. And love, that it may give
rest, must have its vast desires accomplished.

What an unbounded field of glory and beauty our
subject presents to our rejoicing eyes ! The vast,
the unbounded, the incomprehensible love of our heav-
enly Father, is his eternal rest. After all his judg-
ments, after all his righteous indignation is fulfilled on
all his enemies, he will retain his unchangeable love to
all his offspring, and rest forever in seeing all the de-
sires of his universal, impartial love fully accomplished.

Jesus, the mediator, who loved us and gave himself
for us, shall see of the travail of his soul, and be sat-
isfied, shall see all the desires of his heart accomplish-
ed, shall have the heathen for his inheritance and the
uttermost parts of the earth for his possession, and
shall rest in his love for mankind forever.

The apostles of the Lamb, who following the steps
and the example of their divine master, loved the hu-
man race, labored in the ministry of righteousness,
and reconciliation, suffered the loss of all earthly things
for the establishment and promotion of the truth, shall
see all the desires of their love fulfilled, and rest in their
love.

361

All the faithful successors of the Apostles, in the
ministry, who have been excited by the powerful influ-
ences of the spirit of love, to fulfil their ministry, in the
Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God,
shall see all the desires of their love fulfilled in the re-
conciliation of all things to God, through Jesus, and
shall rest forever in their love.

Every true believer in Jesus, who hath been quick
ened by the spirit of the gospel, which is the spirit of
love, shall see the boundless desires of his heart fulfill-
ed in the subjection of every creature in heaven and
on earth, to the authority and love of Christ, and shall
forever rest in his love.

To conclude — My friends, let us never seek rest but
in love. " Let not the sun go down upon your wrath."
" Let us love one another, for love is of God." " He
that loveth another hath fulfilled the law."

LECTURE XXVI.

CACY OF C

MARK v. 81.
Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, who touched ine 1

The occasion of these words was the following cir-
cumstance. One of the rulers of the synagogue, of
the name of Jairus, came to Jesus, and falling down at
his feet, besought him most earnestly, saying, " my lit-
tle daughter lies at the point of death. I pray thee
come and lay thy hands upon her, that she may be heal-
ed, and she shall live." The compassionate Saviour was
moved at a petition which flowed so directly from a pa-
rent's heart, and which indicated such strong faith in his
power to heal. He immediately went with the afflicted
father. No sooner was it known that he was going to heal
the sick child, than a great crowd of people followed and
pressed hard upon him. They were, no doubt, ex-
tremely anxious to be eye witnesses of the miracle.
In this vast concourse there was a *xman who had
been afflicted for twelve years with a distressing dis-
order, " and had suffered many things of many physi-
cians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing
bettered, but rather grew worse." This afflicted wo-
man had lost all hopes of recovery by the assistance
of human aid; indeed she was poor and pennyless.
Her little estate had already passed over into the hands
of her physicians, who in room of doing her any good,
had caused her many painful sufferings. Destitute,
alone and friendless, a thought came into her mind,
and it immediately formed itself into a resolution ac-
companied with a perfect confidence, that if she could
by any possible means, press through the crowd of peo

363

pie so as to but touch the clothes of Jesus she should
be made whole.

It is scarcely possible to imagine a circumstance
more calculated to excite exertion than this. She was,
no doubt, a very feeble person, a great multitude of
people were crowding, and pressing to keep close to
Jesus that they might not miss of seeing the miracle.
The difficulty of getting through the crowd was, no
doubt very great ; but salvation was so near and so
desirable, that it invigorated her feeble system to such
a degree that her efforts were availing. It is not un-
likely that we may form a pretty correct idea of the
manner of this woman's exertions on this occasion.
She would naturally direct her eyes toward Jesus and
get a glimpse of him as often as possible ; when it so
happened that she could, by the greatest exertion get
before one of the crowd, she never let the opportunity
slip; one step gained was cautiously kept; she was:
careful that no one should crowd her back ; she look-
ed well to her feet that they should not slide ; spake
not a word to any one lest she might miss an opportu-
nity to advance ; the nearer she gets to the prize the
stronger and more active she grows, till she eagerly
reaches forth her hand and touches the garment of the
Saviour. She now realizes her faith, her confidence
has not deceived her, she is made whole.

Though this woman did not once think that the Sa-
viour was apprehensive of her approach, we have good
reason to believe that he who knew the very thoughts
of men's hearts, who saw Nathaniel under the fig-tree,
knew her case, her faith and the efforts she had made
to come to him. Immediately after this woman touch-
ed his garment, he turned himself about in the press
and, as if surprised that any one should touch him,
said, who touched my clothes ? The disciples, being
ignorant of the particular case, and surprised that
their master should ask who touched him, when he
had, for some time, been pressed with the crowd of
people all around him, said to him, " thou seest the
multitude thronging thee, and savest thou who tOUCh-
ed me ?" Jesus made them no reply, but cast his eyes

364

round to see her, who had done this thing, when the
woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what was done
in her, come and fell down before him, and told him
all the truth. And he said unto her, " daughter, thy
faith hath made thee whole ; go in peace, and be whole
of thy plague."

Our subject, as it now lies before us, seems to sug-
gest the following particulars for consideration.

I. What appertains to the subject of the power of
Jesus to heal the natural disorders of the human body.

II. The consideration of this power as indicating the
moral excellency of the doctrine of Jesus, and its effi-
cacy in removing the moral and spiritual maladies of
mankind.

III. The similarity between the disorders of the body
and those of the mind.

IV. As there were no natural complaints that were
too malignant to be cured by the miraculous power of
Jesus, it seems to justify the inference that there are no
cases of moral or spiritual disorder, which are beyond
the reach of the divine efficacy of his grace.

V. The natural inducements which led the infirm to
Jesus, may be used to represent those of a moral na-
ture which lead the rational mind to the doctrine of
Christ.

VI. A noticeable difference in the motives of people
who crowd the places of public worship where the
healing doctrine of Jesus is preached, is signified by
the crowding multitude who pressed continually on Je-
sus, and the special cause of the woman's approach.
And

VII. The resolution and perseverance of this wo-
man may be used in a way to encourage sinners to
come to Christ.

But that the hearer may not be troubled to retain
these particulars, the whole subject, we say, is to be
seen by examining it in a natural and moral sense.

The miraculous power of Jesus was so manifested,
that even his bitterest enemies did not pretend to de-
ny that miracles were wrought by him ; they however,
attributed that power to an evil demon, or Beelzebub.

365

The miracles of Jesus were done in such a public
manner, and in such vast numbers, that not only his
keenest eyed enemies who surely would have been able
to have detected any imposition on the public, were
fully convinced. But the thousands who were healed of
all manner of diseases, remaining among the people of
different parts of the country, were living testimonies
by which these miracles were established, and the fame
of the divine physician sent abroad through every re-
gion- . . '. . .

Respecting these miraculous cures, it is of import-
ance to notice, that no partiality was ever known to
have any influence in the bestowment of such favors ;
nor have we any account, that any worthiness in the
subject was ever inquired for, or that any known un-
worthiness excluded any from these mercies. In these
particulars the miraculous cures wrought by Jesus, bear
the indubitable marks of the true divinity. Had Jesus
made any distinctions, and had he healed some and re-
fused to heal others in the same condition, the use
of his miraculous power would have exhibited infallible
marks of the wisdom of this world, which has for ages
subverted the gospel of Christ, by teaching for doctrine
the vain tradition, that some only of the human race
were elected from all eternity unto everlasting life,
while the residue were by as early a decree, reprobat
ed fr m the divine favor forever. But the blessed Je
sus neither preached nor practiced such a sentiment.
Again, had the Saviour been careful to confer his mi-
raculous favors according to character, had he minute-
ly investigated the conduct of the infirm and sick and
confined his favors to the virtuous, he would then have
given, by way of example, some support to the doc-
trine of men, in which they have confined the favor
and mercy of God to the virtuous. But Jesus said, ?
"I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to
repentance."

We have every reason necessary for believing, that

the gracious design of our heavenly Father, in giving

such power to Jesus, extended beyond the temporal

benefits received by those who were healed of their in-

31*

366 BALLOu's LECTURES.

firmities. It is generally argued by christians, that the
miracles of Jesus were designed as evidences of his
Messiahship or divine mission ; and this we may safe-
ly believe, and yet believe that the design ex-
tends still further. What benefit, we may ask, is
there in believing that Jesus was the Messiah ? The
answer is, that we may receive him as a divine teacher,
and believe in his doctrine. But the inquiry does not
end here. What benefit is there in believing his doc-
trine ? — The answer is, a belief in his doctrine is a rem-
edy for the moral evil of our nature; or in other words,
the doctrine of Jesus is a cure for all the disorders of
sin, and our belief in this doctrine is a mean of its
healing effects in the mind. If the doctrine of Jesus
Christ were not possessed of this power, it seems im-
possible to understand the great necessity of its being
propagated in our world.

The notion that this doctrine consists of a long
string of abstract articles of faith, which have been
written into human creeds, the belief of which is pro-
posed in the gospel as a condition of our being made
eternally happy in a future state, is so perfectly desti-
tute of reason, and so foreign from the nature of events
which take place in the system of causes and effects,
that it is by no means entitled to any share of our con-
fidence.

The belief of the truth itself is of no other advantage
than its effects in delivering from sin ; and changing
the mind into the divine image. The miraculous
cures wrought by the Saviour consisted in removing
the natural disorders of the human body, so that the
leper was cleansed, the deaf made to hear, the blind to
see, the lame to walk, and the dead to live. And in
all these cases the divine efficacy of his doctrine was
most plainly indicated. For it is the knowledge of the
divine and glorious truths which compose his doctrine
that cleanses from sin and moral defilement. God
does not forgive the wicked as a compensation for be-
lieving in certain tenets, but forgiveness of sin means
no more nor less tfyan is expressed in the following
words of scripture ; " In that day there shall be a foun-

LECTURES. 367

tain opened to the house of David, and to the inhabi-
tants of Jerusalem, for sin and uncleanness. Behold
the lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the
world. Who hath loved us, and washed us from our
sins in his own blood. That he might sanctify and
cleanse it with the washing of water by the word.
Though your sins be as scarlet they shall be as white as
snow ; though they be red like crimson, they shall be
as wool."

Between the disorders of the human body, and those
of the mind, there seems to be no small resemblance.
Both are the natural productions of the constitution of
the creature, who was made subject to vanity, not will-
ingly, but by reason of him who subjected the same in
hope. Both are promoted by the indulgence of ap-
petites and passions, both become inveterate by habit.
Natural blindness and ignorance of divine things are
so very similar that the scriptures use the same word
to signify both, and the Saviour represents sinners by
those who are sick.

If the mind of the hearer has consented to the idea
that the miraculous cures performed by Jesus on the
bodies of people, were designed to indicate the power
of his grace to cleanse from sin and moral defilement,
we may proceed to consider one of the most glorious
truths, which the gospel was designed to reveal. This
great truth is seen in the following argument. As
there were no natural disorders which were too stubborn
for the miraculous power of Jesus to remove, no de-
moniac so raving that Jesus could not clothe him in
his right mind, none so strongly locked in the dark
house of death that he could not call them from thence,
we infer, that no degree or description of sin, howev-
er chronical, however inveterate, is beyond the power
of divine mercy to wash away.

We are informed that there was one instance of a
possessed of a devil whose case was beyond the power
of the disciples of Jesus ; but Jesus cast him out, and
told the disciples that their unbelief was the reason
that they failed of this miracle. The same may be the
case with many even now, they can find sins which

368 BALLOTj's LECTURES.

they think cannot be washed away, but all this is o\
ing to their unbelief.

The case of Lazarus was attended with peculiar civ
cumstances which may be profitably noticed in the
present argument. When Jesus advanced toward the
sepulchre, the weeping sister Martha exclaimed,
" Lord, by this time he stinketh ; for he hath been
dead four days." Probably her thoughts were the fol-
lowing. Hadst thou but come in season, such is thy
power, thou mightst have prevented my brother's
death, or even after his breath had left his body, possi-
bly hadst thou been here to exert thy power before
corruption had begun its work, the event might have
been to the praise of thy glorious power and to our
consolation. But the precious time is gone, the oppor-
tunity is lost, four days have surely carried my broth-
er beyond the reach of thy restoring power. But not-
withstanding all this reasoning, at the words of Jesus,
" Lazarus, come forth," the dead was raised.

Like faithless Martha, many who profess to be the
disciples of Jesus, have made their calculations, by which
they have bounded the grace of God, and carried sin-
ners of a certain character beyond those limits. It
is frequently the topic of our preachers, to set forth,
in the most lamentable language, the awful situation
of thousands and millions of their fellow-creatures, who,
they say, will come short of the divine mercy, through
delay. Had they exerted their powers in season, had
they improved their precious moments of probation,
all would have been well and the prize secure. But it
is now too late. The door of mercy is shut. And
though the poor wretched sinner would now givo a
thousand worlds, if he had them, for one hour in which
he might repent, he is denied the privilege of repent-
ing forever.

With such appalling language as this, and more to
the utmost stretch of imagination assisted by the blind-
est enthusiasm, the feeble nerves and delicate minds
of women and children are terrified into a kind of reli-
ligious delirium. But surely one plain testimony of
divine truth removes all those gloomy fears. " Where
sin abounded, grace did much more abound."

369

Rut it is not enough that we prove the proposition
that, the grace of God revealed in the gospel is suffi-
cient to take away the sin of the world ; it is of still
greater consequence that the mind should understand
the nature of this great truth. For this kind of know-
ledge is that which changes the mind from darkness
to light, and delivers it from the reigning power of sin
to the love of holiness and to the obedience of the
just.

The doctrine of Jesus Christ reveals the divine char-
acter to the understanding whereby the sinner is
brought to know God, whom to know is life eternal ;
God is love, and love has the power to transform the
mind into its own image ; God is justice, and justice
forms its own character in the heart of its moral sub-
ject ; God is truth, and truth drives out error and takes
up its residence in the soul ; God is holiness, and holi-
ness washes out every stain of sin, and implants in the
mind a love to its divinity. The sinner thus saved,
thus delivered from sin, is made rationally happy in the
enjoyment of those moral perfections which are the nat-
ural elements a moral being. All that can be termed
sinfulness is just as contrary to the health of the soul,
as disorders of the body are to the health of the body.
And all the salvation which a sick man needs is to be
delivered from his sickness, and all the salvation a sin-
ner needs is to be saved from his sins.

The opinion that a time will ever come when it will
not be just "in *he nature of things for a sinner to re-
pent, embraces and necessarily implies the absurdity
that it will be just for the sinner to continue in sin !

But the common doctrine of the church contends
that if men do not repent of their sins in this life, they
will not be allowed the privilege of repenting in a fu-
ture state, and therefore must remain sinful forever.
Now all these notions are the offspring of imagination,
and have no foundation in reason nor in the scripture
of truth. The gospel was sent into this world for the
purpose of reforming mankind, and reconciling the na-
tions to God. It was needed here, because it is here
that men are sinners. If it could be proved that the

370 BALLOu's LECTURES.

next state of existence is one subject to these moral in-
firmities, what reason can there be offered that their
remedy will not be found in that state as well as in
this. We have physicians and medicine in this mor-
tal state, and it is thought by some that there are me-
dicines in every climate sufficient for the disorders of
that climate. Now if the next state be incident to
sickness and disorders, what reason can there be offer-
ed that there will not be physicians and suitable me-
dicines in that state to cure those disorders ? — When
the great physician of souls was here on earth, he
was never known to shun a place because sickness
or wickedness was there. He, no doubt, knew
that legions possessed the man in the country of
the Gadarenes, yet he went there, and there he cast
out the devils ; and if on the other side of death le-
gions of demons possess men no doubt Jesus will in
due time cast them out.

The hearer is cautioned against supposing that we
allow that the next state will be subject to sickness or
to sin ; we distinctly say that the evidence of this is
wanting both in scripture and reason.

As the inconveniences of sickness and disorder are
sufficient to induce the patient to apply to a physician,
so the painful infelicities of sin are the proper induce-
ments to apply to the spiritual physician, whose doc-
trine is amply efficacious in removing our sins from us.
The supposition that has taken the lead of the minds
of religious people, that it would be desirable to live in
sin in this world, if it were not that it is so offensive to
God, that he will punish them forever hereafter to show
his resentment, is one of the most pernicious deceptions
that ever darkened the understanding of mankind.
This deception is the means of continuing people in
the love of sin. They long to live in it, and would
without restraint, were it not for this system of fear.
But it has been fully proved that this terror is no real
security to a virtuous life. Those who are the strong-
est advocates for this doctrine of tormenting men in
another world, because they have been sinners here,
are, in general, as wicked men as any other class. It

371

is true they endeavor to be more secret in the practice
of vice, but this only adds the wickedness of hypocrisy
to the rest of their sins. These remarks are by no
means directed against any particular denomination,
they are designed for general application. The fact
is, if men are really virtuous, they are so from the love
they have for the moral principles of our common na-
ture ; and we are happy to find some of this descrip-
tion among all denominations and in every class of
citizens.

It would be most glaringly absurd for one to tell a
sick man languishing with distressing pain, that there
is no penal law by which any punishment can be in-
flicted on him for being sick, he had better not send
for a physician, nor give himself any trouble about re-
covering his health. A patient who should be treated
with such communication would surely think himself
trifled with. If one who knew the situation of the
woman, who pressed through the crowd to reach the
garment of Jesus, had told her, that no punishment
would be inflicted on her if she did not go to him, and
therefore she might indulge in the pleasures of her dis-
order, would she have supposed the person serious ?
But this would have been no more absurd than it is to
tell sinners, that if there had been no everlasting dam-
nation in the eternal world for their sins in this, they
may indulge in all the pleasures of sin. As sin is a
disorder it certainly deprives of happiness, and plunges
the sinner into misery ; and if there be any propriety
in urging those who are sick to apply to a physician,
there certainly is the same propriety in urging sinners
to come to Christ, that is, to come to his doctrine, to
his truth, to his spirit. And the language of the Re-
deemer's invitation is most reasonable ; " Come unto
me all ye who labor and are heavy laden, and I will
give you rest."

The motives which influenced the multitude, who
thronged Jesus as he went to the house of Jairus, were
no doubt various. Some probably, saw Jesus now for
the first time, and were highly incited with the hope of
seeing a miracle wrought. Perhaps others were his

372

bitter enemies, and were on the look out to discover
some fraud or deception in the man. Some went in
the crowd because others were going, and they went
for the sake of the company. Some no doubt went
from the laudable motive of giving their countenance
and support to the divine teacher in whom they most
sincerely believed. Some very likely were there who
had experienced the healing power of the Redeemer,
and were rejoiced to have an opportunity of seeing a
miracle of mercy again performed. But among the
whole there was one distressed woman whose mind
was far from speculative contemplations. She was im-
pelled to press through the crowd that she might be
healed of her own infirmity.

As it was with the multitude, who, on various occa-
sions thronged our Saviour in the days of his minis-
try on earth, when some for one motive and some for
another joined those vast assemblies, so, no doubt, it
is with those who now assemble where the healing doc-
trine of Jesus is preached. Some from curiosity, some
from habit, some from fashion, some to keep the com-
pany of others, some we hope go because they love the
words of everlasting life, and now and then one, per-
haps, who feeling the infirmity of their own sinful
heart, go with a determination to press through every
obstacle and come to Jesus, who is the way, the truth,
and the life ; who is the fountain opened for sin and
uncleanness.

While delivering this course of lectures your servant
has often thought of the possible motives which occa-
sioned such uncommon assemblies to crowd every
part of this house, and a hope has been entertained
that among the many, a lew at least, were striving to
find him of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets
did write. A fervent desire has been exercised that
the doctrine of our blessed Redeemer might be held
up to the view of the hearers, that they might reach
forth the hand of faith and lay hold on the hope which
is set before them.

Being taught by the Saviour, we did not indulge in
an expectation that the word of truth, would be receiv-

LECTURES. 373

ed and kept by all who heard it. Jesus represented
the success of his own preaching by the instructive
parable of the sower, who went forth to sow ; " and
as he sowed some seeds fell by the way side, and the
fowls came and devoured them up. Some fell upon
stony places, where they had not much earth ; and
forthwith they sprang up, because they had no deep-
ness of earth, and when the sun was up they were
scorched ; and because they had no root they withered
away. And some fell among thorns ; and the thorns
sprang up and choked them. But others fell into
good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hun-
dred fold, some sixty fold, some thirty fold." If such
has been the success of those feeble efforts made to
propagate the gospel of the kingdom in this place,
surely we have reason to be thankful to the Lord of
the vineyard. If while the enemies of the word have,
like the birds in the parable, taken away that which
was sown in the heart, if while the spirit of persecu-
tion agitating the tongue of censure has caused many
to shrink from a steady perseverance in what they
gladly received, if while the cares of the world, the
deceitfulness of riches, and the lust of other things
have, like thorns, sprang up and choked the word in
some, others have received it in good and honest
hearts, have retained the precious grain, and brought
forth fruit to the honor of God, our labors have not
been in vain, our exertions are amply rewarded.

This last, of the course of lectures proposed for pub-
lication, in its conclusion, will call on all who hear, to
form the resolution which enabled the woman to press
through the crowd and come to Jesus, and come to
him likewise. That is, that you strive to the utmost
of your well directed abilities and means to come to
the knowledge of the Saviour's doctrine.

Is it not the case with many, as it was with the
woman, have you not spent much and suffered many
things of those " physicians *of no value," who have
endeavored to heal you with the doctrines and com-
mandments of men ? and do you not find that after
all you are none the better? Have you found peace
32

374

in believing that our heavenly Father has elected some
to everlasting life, and reprobated the rest to endless
wo ? Have you found that all your plague is healed
by fancying that you are elected unto life eternal,
while your companions and children may be devoted to
everlasting sorrow ? Can such medicine as this make
you perfectly whole. No, but in the bitterness of your
souls, when you look on your little ones, and believe
that they are exposed to endless ruin, you cry out as
Abraham did, " 0 that Ishmael might live before the
Lord." Come then, my friends, to the peaceful doc-
trine of Jesus, who took little children in his arms and
blessed them, and said, " of such is the kingdom of
heaven." O the peace there is in believing this tes-
timony ? It overcomes the plague of unbelief, and fills
the heart with joy.

Can you find any real relief from the power of a
carnal heart, by believing that your immortal state de-
pends on your own good works in this imperfect state ?
Do you feel whole from all your plagues by believ-
ing in this prevailing doctrine which rest the weight
of eternity on the imperfect works of mortality and
time ? This doctrine of human contrivance, always
associates the " heart- chilling" doctrine of endless mis-
ery for those who come short of their duty, with every
pleasing prospect of a world of joy for those who by
their good works win the immortal prize. This doc
trine as well as that of election and reprobation makes
an eternal separation between those of the most en-
dearing connexions on earth. Why is there so much
mourning, so much gloominess on the countenances
of those who hope to gain immortal glory by their
works ? Is it because they have pressed through the
superstitions of the church and caught hold of the gar-
ment of the Saviour ? No, this is not the case. They
have endeavored to mend their own garments, and
they find the rent is continually growing worse. Let
such come to the Saviour's doctrine, and believe thai
the gift of God is eternal life, and they shall find peace
in believing and joy in the Holy Ghost.

Nothing short of that which God has implanted in

375

the soul can satisfy the mind. The apostle says ; the
word is nigh thee, even in thy heart and in thy mouth,
the word of faith which we preach. This word of
faith is the gift of God, which is eternal life in Jesus ;
and nothing short of this can satisfy the mind. While
we oppose this principle we oppose our own happi-
ness ; and while we shut one individual of the human
family away from this word of life, we bring death to
our own souls in so doing.

Some are so embarrassed with one doctrine and some
with another, that they are prevented from coming to
the doctrine of Jesus. Many, very many, are striving
to feed on the husks that the unclean eat, and neglect
to come to Christ. The vanities of youth, the pride
and fashions of the age keep thousands back from com-
ing to the purifying religion of Jesus ; and yet his will-
ing, his gracious arms are extended, as in the last day,
that great day of the feast, when he stood and cried,
" If any man thirst let him come to me and drink."

To conclude — My christian friends, I feel it my du-
ty as well as a pleasure, when I reflect on the more
than ordinary attention which you have paid to these
lectures, and the liberal patronage with which you have
favored their publication, to tender you my most grate-
ful acknowledgments. And while T am constrained
deeply to regret that my labors should come so short
of the great subjects on which I have treated, I hum-
bly prostrate my soul before God, and implore his for-
giveness in every particular wherein I have erred
through ignorance or infirmity ; and earnestly entreat
that these feeble efforts may be attended with the bles-
sing of him who fed thousands of men, women and
children with so small a portion. And to his name
alone be all the glory. — Amen.

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Full text of "A series of lecture sermons, delivered at the Second Universalist meeting, in Boston"

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