"Be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as G.o.d for Christ"s sake hath forgiven you." Now, we are to forgive as G.o.d does. How is that--To hold a grudge one day, and if they ask our pardon, to forgive them the next? No, we must uniformly possess a kind, tender-hearted, forgiving spirit, laying up nought against any one. Forgiveness does not consist in laying up a store of malice and vengeance, till our enemy come, and formally ask our forgiveness. No--he might never come, and then we could never forgive him. We are commanded to love and forgive our enemies whether they ask it, or not. So did our Saviour on the cross, and we are to exercise the same spirit of benevolence and meekness. We must, as our context says--put away all malice, wrath, and evil speaking from among us, and be kind, tender-hearted and forgiving.
Our Father in heaven is the most lovely and adorable of all beings!
Under the light of his character, every uncomfortable thought vanishes, and the dawn of a blessed eternity bursts upon us in a flood of glory. By faith we penetrate the veil of immortality, and read our pardon, and justification in letters of blood. Within that veil, we anchor our hope. Faith triumphs over the ruins of death, smiles at the darkness of the tomb, and through Christ within, the hope of glory, bids defiance to the crushing hand of death, and lights up its dreary mansions with the cheering beams of immortal day.
SERMON XIX
"For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of G.o.d; and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of G.o.d? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the unG.o.dly and the sinner appear?" 1 Peter iv:17, 18.
Upon this pa.s.sage, the believers in endless misery lean for the support of that sentiment, and on many occasions it is quoted with an air of triumph as though the pa.s.sage itself, without comment, were sufficient to silence all objections. Here they have one advantage of Universalists; and of this advantage they do not forget to avail themselves--viz: the prejudices of early education. But we sincerely call their application of this pa.s.sage in question, and shall stand forth in defense of the triumphs of Jesus Christ over all sin, and pain and death, fully believing that the hand of heaven "shall wipe tears from off all faces." We will attempt to show,--
First--What we are to understand by _judgment_ beginning at the house of G.o.d.
Second--Who were the _righteous_, and in what sense they were scarcely saved.
Third--Show who were the _unG.o.dly_, and where they appeared.
_First--What we are to understand by judgment beginning at the house of G.o.d_. Jesus Christ chose him twelve disciples and commenced the great work the Father sent him to do. To them he disclosed many events, that G.o.d would in a future day bring upon the world. He pointed them forward with more than human accuracy into the approaching revolutions of time, and painted out in noon-day light those astonishing disasters that would one day burst like a thunderclap on the thoughtless nations. He marked their certainty, and warned them accordingly. Among the many things, that lay buried in the vista of future years, was the destruction of Jerusalem. This was a point that most solemnly concerned the disciples of Jesus. It was no less than the destruction of their nation.
Christ was with his disciples in the temple, that splendid edifice which was forty and six years in building, and, in their presence and for the last time, addressed the stubborn Jews. He pointed out the many crimes of which they and their fathers had been guilty in shedding the blood of the prophets, and persecuting those who were sent unto them as the messengers of Jehovah. They had also made void the law of G.o.d through their traditions. While pointing out these things, and setting them home like a thunderbolt to their hearts, he p.r.o.nounced them hypocrites, blind guides, devourers of widows" houses, and declared that all the righteous blood shed upon the earth should be required of of that generation. While rehearsing these things to them, Jesus had a perfect view of all their approaching sufferings.
Many of them were to be starved to death. He saw by a prophetic eye the indulgent father and fond mother weeping over their infant train, who were begging for bread, but no way to procure it. Eleven hundred thousand he saw in a state of starvation, who were to fall by famine, sword and pestilence. He saw their cruel enemies surround the walls of their city, who would allow no sustenance to be given them, but determined to reduce them by hunger and sword to one common grave. All these things, that were coming upon them, rushed at once upon the mind of the compa.s.sionate Redeemer of the world. The affecting scene moved so strongly upon his heavenly feelings, that he dropped the the melancholy subject and burst into a flood of tears. He beheld the city and wept over it--"O Jerusalem! Jerusalem! Thou 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, but ye would not!" He then left the temple for the last time; but as he was departing from it, his disciples, astonished at his denunciation, and regretting that such a magnificent edifice should be destroyed, exclaimed--"Master, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here!" And he said unto them "there shall not be left here one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down." The disciples immediately asked him saying, "tell us when shall these things be, and what shall be the sign of thy coming and of the end of the world?" By the end of the _world_ we are to understand the end of the Jewish _age_. As they asked him the _signs_ portending this terrible destruction, so that they might know when it was nigh at hand, he immediately proceeded to point them out, and warned them to flee to the mountains of Judea for safety.
The signs are as follows--many false Christs should arise, there should be wars and rumors of wars, nation should rise against nation, kingdom against kingdom, and there should be famines, pestilences and earthquakes in diverse places. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you, and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name sake. Then shall there be great tribulation such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no nor ever shall be. The most prominent _sign_ he gave them, and one that more immediately concerned his disciples, was that they should deliver them up to be afflicted, and they should be brought before kings and governors for his name"s sake. "But, (says Jesus) when they persecute you in one city, then flee ye to another."
Christ gave his disciples plainly to understand, that when the Jews began their persecutions against his followers, then the destruction of Jerusalem was nigh at hand. After giving these instructions to his disciples, he laid down his life, and on the third day he arose, triumphing over death and leading captivity captive. His disciples soon after commenced the spread of the gospel of peace, and waived the banners of the cross over kings and subjects, calling upon them to bow to the reign of Jesus Christ, who was King of kings, and Lord of lords. They proclaimed a religion so contrary to the partial notions of the Jews and the traditions of the Elders, that it began at length to meet with violent opposition. The disciples agreeably to the direction of Jesus fled for safety from city to city, till the tumult and opposition became general. Christianity gathered force and popularity so rapidly, that the Romans, it appears, gave permission to the Jews to imprison and take life. The disciples and christians had now no place of safety to flee to, from the gathering storm of persecution and death. Amidst these disastrous scenes, Peter called to mind the _warnings and signs_ his risen Lord had pointed out as a solemn premonition that the destruction of Jerusalem and of their persecutors, was nigh at hand, and in view of the approaching calamity over which Jesus wept, Peter exclaims, "The time is come that judgment must begin at the house of G.o.d, and if it begin first at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of G.o.d?" Thus we, see that what is meant by _judgment_ beginning at the _house_ of G.o.d, is _persecution_ beginning at the _christians_, which persecution was a _sign_ to them that the destruction of that nation was nigh at hand.
The reader will perceive that what the apostle calls "_house of G.o.d_,"
he afterwards calls "_us_," in the same sentence, and must refer to the christians, who are in many scriptures called the _house, temple, and building_ of G.o.d. [See Heb. iii:6. Eph. ii:21, 22.] That the persecutions were stated by Christ as a _sign_ of the impending judgment of G.o.d upon the Jews, is evident from the words of Paul, 2 Thess. i:5, where he calls them "a manifest _token_ of the righteous judgment of G.o.d" upon the unbelieving Jews, the persecutors of the christians.
_Second--Who were the righteous, and in what sense they were scarcely saved_. The righteous, mentioned in the 18th verse, mean the same persons called "_the house of G.o.d_," and "_us_," in verse 17th, and has reference to those christians _only_, who lived previous to the destruction of the temple, and not to any christians that lived subsequent to that event, much less does it refer to all the righteous that have ever existed or shall hereafter exist, as common opinion a.s.serts.
Under this head, we were also to show in what sense these righteous were _scarcely_ saved. It could not mean that their salvation in the future world was _scarce_ or uncertain; for it is _certain_ in the counsels of G.o.d, and in all things well ordered and _sure_. He has given to his Son the heathen for an inheritance and the uttermost parts of the earth for a possession. And all the Father hath given him shall come unto him, and he will raise them up the last day. He is mighty to save to the uttermost all that come unto G.o.d by him; and no one will deny that the righteous come unto him. How then can their eternal salvation be denominated _scarce_? Impossible. How then are the scriptures to be reconciled with our text, when they declare eternal life to be the gift of G.o.d--that we are saved by grace--that help is laid upon one mighty to save--that his arm is not shortened that it cannot save; and that the power of G.o.d is to be exerted at the resurrection in making them equal unto the angels? The answer is easily given--our text has no reference whatever to the immortal world, to a judgment at the end of time, nor to the final condition of the human family; but simply refers to the narrow escape of the christians from the destruction of Jerusalem, when they fled with their lives in their hands to the mountains of Judea for safety.
In the 24th chapter of Matthew Jesus clearly describes the dreadful scene. He says--"Then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains. Let him which is on the house top not come down to take any thing out of his house. And woe unto them that are with children and to them that give suck in those days!" [Why? Because they could not remain in the mountains during the period that the city was besieged by the Romans.] "But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter neither on the Sabbath day." [Why? Because in the winter you would perish with cold--and if your flight from the city be on the Sabbath day, the Jews will stone you to death for traveling more than three miles.] "For there shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened there should no flesh be saved;"
[Saved from what? Ans. From death.] "but for the elect"s sake those days shall be shortened." That is, for the sake of the christians who fled to the mountains, G.o.d shortened the days of the siege. Let us hear Dr. Adam Clarke, a Methodist Commentator, on this--"Josephus computes the number of those who perished in the siege at eleven hundred thousand, besides those who were slain in other places; and if the Romans had gone on destroying in this manner, the whole nation of the Jews would in a short time have been entirely extirpated [destroy completely, as if down to the roots]; but for the sake of the elect, the Jews, that _they_ might not be utterly destroyed, and for the christians particularly, the days were shortened. These partly through the fury of the zealots on the one hand, and the hatred of the Romans on the other; and partly through the difficulty of subsisting in the mountains without houses or provisions, would in all probability, have all been destroyed, either by sword or famine, if the days had not been shortened."
Let us hear Clarke explain how these christians were _scarcely_ saved.
"But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved." "It is very remarkable that not a single christian perished in the destruction of Jerusalem, though there were many there when Cestius Gallus invested the city; and had he persevered in the siege, he would soon have rendered himself master of it; but when he unexpectedly and unaccountably raised the siege, the christians took that opportunity to escape." Clarke says "_unto the end_" means "to the destruction of the Jewish polity." Therefore when Peter says, the righteous are _scarcely saved_, he had reference to the dreadful judgment which was coming upon "the wicked and unG.o.dly" inhabitants of Jerusalem for shedding the blood of the righteous, and from this destruction the christians escaped with their lives in their hands to the mountains of Judea for safety as Jesus had directed them. They but just escape-- they were _scarcely_ saved.
The christians also suffered persecution from the Jews; and Peter draws this inference from it--If we, who obey the gospel of G.o.d, have to endure so many persecutions from the Jews--if this judgment begins at us, how much sorer punishment will our enemies have to endure, who obey not the gospel of G.o.d? And if we the righteous are scarcely saved from this long-predicted destruction, where will the unG.o.dly and the sinner appear? But how did Peter know that it was at hand? Because the persecutions, which Jesus had given them as a "_sign" or "token_" had then commenced at the house of G.o.d. The reader will now perceive that Peter was not speaking of a judgment at the end of time, because the judgment of which he was speaking had then commenced--"_The time is come_." Neither was he speaking of christians generally, nor of salvation in the future world; but of those christians _only_ who lived previous to the destruction of the Jewish polity, and of their being saved with _difficulty_ by watching the _signs_ and fleeing to the mountains of Judea as Jesus had forewarned them.
Luke records the language of Christ more plainly to be comprehended than that of Matthew. "In your patience possess ye your souls. And when ye shall see Jerusalem encompa.s.sed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. Then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains, and let them which are in the midst of it depart out," &c. We should be led to suppose that, after the walls of the city were surrounded by an army, it would then have been too late for the christians to save themselves. But Christ as a prophet knew that Cestius Gallus would raise the siege, and fall back to make preparations for a more decisive attack, and thus afford the christians an opportunity to escape. It is evident to every candid reader that Luke expresses in chap. 21st, all that Matthew does in chap 24th and 25th. And that Luke does not refer to a judgment at the end of time is certain from the manner in which he concludes, which is as follows: "And take heed lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness, and the cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares * * * Watch ye, therefore, and pray always that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pa.s.s and to stand before the Son of man." Here we perceive that not the least allusion is made to a judgment at the end of time; because there would be no propriety in warning his disciples not to be _drunk or overcharged with the cares of life_ at a judgment day thousands of years after their death. The day when the christians were "to stand before the Son of man" was at the destruction of the Jewish polity, and it was to take place in the life time of some of the disciples. Christ says, "there be some standing here that shall not taste of death till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom." The day of Christ was therefore at hand, and the apostles were warned to keep it in view, and watch the signs that were to precede it. Peter was faithful to these warnings, and when he saw the _signs_, presaging its near approach, he exclaimed--"_The time is come_," &c. This was the day of tribulation, when the christians were scarcely saved from the dreadful fate that overtook their own countrymen, who remained blind till the things that made for their peace as a nation were hidden from their eyes.
[Concluded in our next.]
SERMON XX
"For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of G.o.d; and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of G.o.d? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the unG.o.dly and the sinner appear?" 1 Peter iv:17, 18.
In our last we have attended to the first two divisions of our subject--viz: what we were to understand by judgment beginning at the house of G.o.d, and who were the righteous, and in what sense they were scarcely saved. We now invite the attention of the reader to the remaining division of the subject. _Third--who were the unG.o.dly, and where they appeared_. By the _unG.o.dly_ and the _sinner_, we are to understand the unbelieving Jews, the murderers of Christ and the persecutors of his followers. It has _exclusive_ reference to them and not to the unG.o.dly who lived subsequent to the destruction of Jerusalem, much less does it refer to all the wicked that have ever existed, or shall hereafter exist, as common opinion a.s.serts. This needs no further explanation.
Under this head, we were also to show _where the unG.o.dly and the sinner appeared_. We have already had occasion to state, that Peter in our text refers to the destruction coming upon the Jews. The time was come when that judgment of persecution, which began at the christians, was to be returned upon the heads of their persecutors in seven fold vengeance and suffering. Their city and nation were to be destroyed, and their magnificent temple, where their devotions were offered, was to be laid even with the ground. Not one stone was to be left upon another, but the whole become one general heap of ruins. Then according to the prediction of Jesus, was there to "be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be." Then was "wrath to come upon them to the uttermost." Then was he to "take vengeance on them that know not G.o.d, and obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ." Then were "the children of the kingdom to be cast out into outer darkness where there was wailing and gnashing of teeth." Then, as a nation, were "they to go away into everlasting punishment;" for "these were the days of vengeance when all things, that were written, might be fulfilled," and "all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zacharias, should come upon that generation."
t.i.tus led the Roman army against them, surrounded the walls of the city on the day of the Pa.s.sover, where a great part of the Jewish nation were then a.s.sembled, and to which others had fled for refuge, being driven by the terror of his arms like chaff before the whirlwind. Here they appeared! Husbands and wives, parents and children, brothers and sisters, (one promiscuous throng) were gazing in breathless solicitude, while consternation and dismay were depicted in every countenance, and fearful expectation pervaded every bosom!
Death, a long lingering death, was gathering around them in all its horrors! Old men and young, maidens, matrons and little children poured forth their lamentations to heaven, invoking the protection of the G.o.d of Israel. But, alas! "the things, that made for their peace (as Jesus forewarned them) were hidden from their eyes!" Their hour was come, and the triumphant shouts of the enemy were heard around their stubborn walls, which (ma.s.sy as they were) dropped to the ground under the subduing power of the battering-rams of war. With these ma.s.sive engines of destruction, they laid the two first walls in ruin!
But the third and last wall it was not in the power of the enemy to gain. The Jews fought with desperation, and by valiant exertions kept the enemy at bay, and for a while seemed to triumph in the fond hope of victory over the foe. The Roman army was driven to great extremity, and even to hesitation, while many of their most valiant men fell in action, and impending victory seemed to hang doubtful. In this moment of suspense, they came to a determination to make no further attack upon the city, but guard it and reduce its inhabitants to submission by famine. All supplies were accordingly cut off, and every avenue blocked up by the vigilant Romans. In addition to this, intestine divisions, civil wars and pestilence raged within the walls of the city. Having no employment in fighting the enemy, they fell to butchering each other. These things proved their ruin, and their national sun went down in blood. Every day thousands closed their eyes in death through famine and pestilence; and thousands by endeavoring to escape to the enemy and surrender themselves up as prisoners for safety and protection, were either cut down by the Roman sword, or met the same fate from their own countrymen. Here they appeared! All hopes of life cut off, nothing presented itself to their view, to end their woes, but the certain prospect of an untimely tomb! Fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, gazing upon each other in silent expectation, saw death gradually advancing in all its horrors. They were driven to the most dreadful extremities, until (is Josephus informs us) "they devoured whatever came in their way; mice, rats, serpents, lizards, even to the spider"--and lastly mothers were driven to eat the flesh of their own children! Here were lamentation and wo indeed! Such tribulation as our Saviour says never was, and never will be. In imagination the mind runs back to the period, and to the fatal spot.
It surveys the painful scene, characterized by nought but moral and physical woes--madness and revenge, cruelty and carnage, pestilence and famine, and all the mingled horrors of war! It surveys the starving child clinging to the maternal bosom for help and protection, but alas! That bosom becomes its grave. Here the unG.o.dly and the sinner appeared in deep despair! Unfeeling mortal, do you say that their punishment and sufferings were not sufficiently great, without adding that of immortal pain in the future world? Are you not satisfied without arguing that they ought to suffer endless misery in addition to their woes? Look with an unjaundiced eye over this scene of distress; and as you gaze let justice (if not compa.s.sion) once more take the throne of the heart, and then p.r.o.nounce the shocking sentence of your creed if you can.
That their sufferings were overwhelming is evident from scripture as well as from history. In Lam. iv. The prophet Jeremiah says--"The hands of the pitiful women have sodden their own children, they were their meat in the destruction of the daughter of my people." In Lev.
Xxvi. Moses describes their sufferings as follows--"And I will bring a sword upon you, that shall avenge the quarrel of my covenant: and when ye are gathered together within your cities, I will send the pestilence among you, that shall make you few in number; and ye shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy. And when I have broken the staff of your bread ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall deliver you your bread again by weight; and ye shall eat and not be satisfied. And if ye will not for all this hearken unto me but walk contrary unto me; then I will walk contrary unto you also in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins. And ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall ye eat." This did come upon the sinner and the unG.o.dly, and it was "according to their sins." Moses, Jeremiah, and Jesus spake particularly of the sufferings of the Jews in the destruction of their city and they all agree in concluding their chapters. Moses in conclusion says, "and they shall accept of the punishment of their iniquities, even because they despised my judgments, and because their soul abhorred my statutes; and yet for all that I will not cast them away neither will I abhor them to destroy them utterly and to break my covenant with them, for I am the Lord their G.o.d." And Jeremiah, after describing their sufferings in the 4th chapter of Lamentations concludes with these words--"The punishment of thine iniquity is accomplished, O daughter of Zion," &c. And Jesus, after denouncing upon them the judgments of heaven in Matt. xxiii. Concludes thus: "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." Thus we see that they agree in testifying to the same fact, that the punishment of the unG.o.dly and the sinner, which mean, no other than the Jewish nation in their overthrow and dispersion as we have already noticed, shall end.
I see therefore no arguments, that can be drawn from our text, to prove a future judgment or endless misery in the immortal world. If the objector can see a shadow of evidence in this pa.s.sage to support such a sentiment, yet I must frankly acknowledge that, for myself, I cannot. There is certainly no word in the text, that has the most distant allusion to the final condition of man. The _judgment_ began at the apostles and christians. But is the _"last judgment"_ to begin at them? Certainly not. But admit that it is; we would further inquire, did the last judgment begin as early as the days of Peter?
Impossible. Then he could certainly not have had any allusion to such a day, for he exclaims: "_the time is come_ that judgment must begin at the house of G.o.d." Here the judgment to which he refers had commenced, or at least the _signs_ portending it had commenced, and it was to end upon the unG.o.dly inhabitants of Jerusalem. This fact is evident from the context--"Beloved, think it not strange concerning the _fiery trial_ which is to try you, as though some strange thing had happened unto you; but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ"s sufferings, that when his glory shall be revealed ye may be glad also with exceeding joy." From this quotation there can arise no misapprehension as to Peter"s application of the text, nor of the persons it involves. They were the persecutors of the christians, and no one will dispute that these were the Jews.
If then this judgment was at hand, it cannot of course refer to a period at the end of time; and it is in this case equally certain, that the _scarce salvation_ of the christians can have no reference to the immortal world. These facts being irresistible, the argument must be wholly given up that "the unG.o.dly and the sinner" were to appear in a state of inconceivable torment beyond the grave, because the _condition_ of "the unG.o.dly" stands in contrast with the _scarce salvation_ of the righteous, and this _salvation or deliverance_ was to be in a day nigh at hand, and from a tribulation or judgment in which their adversaries and persecutors were to be involved, and the _signs_, by which the apostle was admonished of its proximity, had already appeared when he wrote the words of our text. The meaning of his words, I humbly conceive, is simply this--The time _is come_ when the persecutions, predicted by Christ as a _sign_ of the approaching destruction of Jerusalem, must begin at us. And if we the righteous who are innocent, have to endure so many "fiery trials," what will the dreadful punishment be of our disobedient persecutors? And if we are _scarcely saved_ from this impending destruction, by fleeing to the mountains of Judea, where will our thoughtless and sinful appear? We have endeavored to show you where they appeared--have pointed out the narrow escape of the christians, who were "scarcely saved," and referred you to the _signs_ by which Peter knew this judgment was at hand. It is therefore unnecessary to offer any thing further in defense of our views, as the text is, no doubt, plainly understood by every reader.
We close this discourse by noticing one very common objection, made by our religious opposers, to our application of several scriptures. I do this, because I am not aware that it has been done by any Universalist as a _designed_ answer to the objection. The substance of the objection is this:--
_There is not a pa.s.sage in the New Testament which speaks of a day of judgment, of the end of the world and of the coming of Christ, but what Universalists apply to the destruction of Jerusalem. Then, they contend, "every man was rewarded according to his works," consequently all subsequent nations are not to be rewarded, nor are they to experience a day of judgment_.
In reply to this objection I would remark, that we are not answerable for the many pa.s.sages which the Saviour and his apostles applied to that event. But if we make a wrong application of any scripture, why do not our opposers point out the error? We will now show why the apostles wrote so much in reference to that period. They do not so frequently speak of that event merely on account of the destruction of their temple city and nation, (though that might justify their frequent reference to it) but there were circ.u.mstances of a more imposing and momentous character to attract their attention to that catastrophe. These were the abrogation of the Mosaic rituals and the introduction of a new order of things by Jesus Christ of whom Moses and the prophets wrote. This was a period when every christian was to be delivered from the persecution of the Jews, and the spread of the gospel was to be r.e.t.a.r.ded no longer by their opposition. The Jews as a nation were to be punished for their deeds of blood, and that _spiritual reign or judgment_ commence which should pa.s.s upon all subsequent generations of men, rewarding every man according to his works.
The _gospel reign_ is called "the _judgment of the world_" by Jesus Christ, in the same sense that Moses judged the world two thousand years by the law. Jesus says, "Think not that I will accuse you to the Father, for there is one that _judgeth_ you even Moses in whom ye trust." From this it is evident that Moses was then judging the Jews.
But this covenant was abolished at the destruction of Jerusalem. Paul says, "he taketh away the _first_ that he may establish the _second_."
The word of G.o.d, in this covenant, is spiritual and sharper than any two-edged sword--it is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart, while that of Moses was outward, and took cognizance of the conduct only. The objections of our opposers are therefore unsound.
And though we apply those pa.s.sages, which speak of a judgment, to the destruction of the Jews, yet that judgment or reign of Christ which then commenced, is yet going on, and will continue till all are subdued to himself. He then came in his kingdom, and will continue to reward every man according to his deeds till his kingdom ends. So we this day experience the effects of his coming, and of his judgment or reign, and are justified or condemned according as we embrace or reject the words of everlasting life. We see therefore the propriety of the apostles dwelling so much upon that great event, which should witness the pa.s.sing away of the types and shadows and the establishment of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
SERMON XXI
"For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." 1 Cor. xv:20.
The death and resurrection of all mankind are a theme of no ordinary moment, and have given birth to many theories and speculations among the advocates of Christianity. The common opinion is that one portion of our race will be raised to immortal life and glory in the future world, and the other to immortal d.a.m.nation and dishonor--that at the same instant the living will be changed and that the whole human family will, in this condition, be arraigned before the "Judge of quick and dead," and receive their irrevocable sentence for endless joy or endless wo. Others believe, in opposition to these limited views of the divine character, that the resurrection is the closing scene of the great plan of salvation, and that no judgment is to succeed it. This resurrection, they believe, will introduce the numerous posterity of Adam into the same condition of immortal glory and honor, being made, by the power of G.o.d, "equal unto the angels, and be the children of G.o.d being the children of the resurrection." As to the _judgment day_, they do not believe, that the whole human family will be congregated in one amazing throng at one period of time, but that the judgment of the world, by Jesus Christ, commenced at the destruction of Jerusalem, when the Mosaic dispensation, with all its imposing rituals, pa.s.sed away, and that this _judgment_, or in other words, this _gospel reign_ of Christ, is still progressing, and will completely terminate before the resurrection takes place.
Notwithstanding this view of the day of judgment, yet they suppose that the _resurrection day_ is a designated period when the cerement of the dead shall burst, and all the slumbering nations, simultaneously, start up from their beds of clay, the living at the same instant be changed to immortal beings, and this countless throng, in one unbroken strain, shout--"O death! Where is thy sting? O grave!
Where is thy victory"?
Though this scene would be full, and immortally sublime, and disclose a grandeur which a seraph"s eloquence never can describe, yet I take the liberty to dissent from this long and fondly cherished opinion, and will humbly endeavor to present you my views on the immortal resurrection of the human dead. The ideas I have advanced in my sermons on the _new birth_, require me to do this. And no one has more occasion to rejoice than myself, that we are bound by no creeds, and that the preachers of our order encourage and cherish free investigation. Among such able and benevolent theologians, I feel conscious, if I err, that they will endeavor, in the spirit of meekness, to set me right. I therefore hold no one responsible for the ideas I am now about to advance. I am by no means in favor of new theories built upon mere human speculations, nor do I deem it an enviable task to make innovations on the long and universally established opinions of the christian community. I shall simply appeal to the scriptures to sustain me in my present exposition, and by that standard I am willing my views should be tried, for by that alone, they must ultimately stand or fall.
From the text we have selected, it might, perhaps, be expected, that we should proceed to prove the final holiness and happiness of the human family by showing, that he who is "made alive in Christ is a new creature"; but as this has, heretofore been done so often and so ably, we shall confine our attention, princ.i.p.ally, to the different scripture accounts of the resurrection of the dead, and endeavor to ascertain whether it is indeed, to take place at the end of time and be general, or whether it is continually transpiring as gradual as the successive deaths of our race in Adam.
And here I would distinctly remark, that the dead are represented as being raised at the coming of Christ. This is admitted and believed by all. But where, I ask, is there in the Book of G.o.d _one pa.s.sage_ to prove any coming of Christ after the destruction of the Jewish polity when he commenced his _gospel reign_, called the _judgment of the world_? This was his _second_ coming; but where but where is there a _sc.r.a.p_ of scripture to prove his _third_ coming at the end of time?
For one, I have searched in vain for such testimony. That Christ came in his kingdom, during the life time of the persons he addressed, and then commenced the judgment of the world, is certain. This is not, however, admitted to be that coming of Christ when the dead will be raised immortal. Where then is revealed that _third_ coming of our Lord, at the end of time, to raise the dead? I think it will be an unsuccessful task for any man to search it out and bring it forward.
I would not be understood to say, that no destruction will attend this earth. On the contrary philosophy seems to warrant the idea. But the scriptures no not, in my apprehension, reveal such a catastrophe, nor a _third_ coming of Christ, nor a general resurrection at that period.
The reader may, perhaps, here inquire whether the scriptures do not clearly describe the resurrection of all mankind to be at one instant of time? I answer, no more than they describe the judgment of all mankind to be at the same instant. But, says the reader, the resurrection is to be at the coming of Christ, which must be at some designated period. Very well; the judgment was to be at the coming of Christ to the destruction of the Jewish state, and does not this designate some particular period? If so, how are we judged in the present day? If the judgment day, which _then_ commenced, has not yet ended, why may not the resurrection day be still progressing? If you contend, that the dead were all to rise at once, then by the same mode of scripture interpretation, I can prove that all the living were to be judged at once. Acts xvii. 31. "Because he hath appointed A DAY in the which, he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained, whereof he hath given this a.s.surance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead." 2 Cor. v.10. "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that every one may receive the things in body, according to that he hath done, whether good or bad."
Though this event is represented as transpiring in _one day_, and as though all men were literally arraigned at the same instant, still all Universalist admit, that it commenced at the destruction of Jerusalem, has pa.s.sed upon succeeding generations, and will continue from the present down to subsequent ages, so long as human beings shall have a habitation on earth. This is called the _last day_. Jesus says--"the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the _last day_."
So I contend, that though the resurrection is also called the last day, and represented as raising all mankind at one instant of time, still simply means, that the doctrine of Christ (viz. The judgment and resurrection) should, at his coming in his kingdom, be fully revealed to the living by their seeing his prophesies fulfilled in the abrogation of the ceremonial law, and this doctrine of life and immortality be permanently established and commence its sway over the living, as the last and best system of G.o.d to man, and this _resurrection day_ continue down to all subsequent generations of slumbering dead, raising every man in incorruption and glory. The judgment and resurrection of the world are therefore both progressing, for these two const.i.tute the gospel reign of Christ. He is "the resurrection and life of the world," as well as "judge of quick and dead." Both are to be accomplished in the _last day_, and that day is now progressing. A _general_ resurrection, at the last vibrating pendulum of time, cannot I humbly conceive, be substantiated by the oracles of truth, any more than a _general_ judgment. I am rather inclined to think that _the judgment of the world by Jesus Christ expresses the whole, including the resurrection and all; even as the high priest, clothed with the breastplate of judgment on the day of atonement, closed his services by raising the nation into the holy of holies, "which was a pattern of things in the heavens_."
If the Scriptures afford us any evidence of the _third_ coming of Christ, to raise the dead, for one, I must acknowledge my utter ignorance of the fact. In John (chap. vi.) Jesus several times uses the expression, "and I will raise him up at the last day." If others contend that this has reference to "_the last day of the last generation of the human race on the earth_," yet I must candidly acknowledge, that I cannot see a shadow of evidence to prove this position. The _last day_ in this instance, refers to the gospel dispensation, which commenced at the destruction of the temple, and involves the whole reign of Christ. It is synonymous with the "day of Christ" and the "day of the Lord" mentioned in several places by the apostles. Nor do I conceive it means, that Christ would raise them up by his own immediate power, but that G.o.d would raise the dead according to that doctrine, which he sent his Son to reveal to men, and this would be fully established in the world, and be believed and felt by Jew and Gentile Christians at the coming of Christ in his kingdom, at the end of that dispensation. _Then_ and not till _then_ were the predictions of Christ fulfilled, and then were those Christians, who had not seen Jesus after his resurrection, "made perfect in faith."
The dead are to be raised at the _last_ trump; by which I understand the _seventh_, for no other _last_ is revealed. This trump is mentioned by our Saviour (Matt. xxiv. 31.) and is the gospel trump which was to commence its sound at the destruction of Jerusalem. In Rev. chap. viii, seven trumpets were given to seven angels, who are represented as sounding them in succession, and increasing woes following, till the sixth trumpet sounded. But when the seventh angel sounded and the last dreadful wo pa.s.sed away, a very different order of things followed. Rev. x. 7. "But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of G.o.d should be finished as he hath declared to his servants the prophets." Rev.