divine inspiration; but many find a very great difculty in submitting to the idea that the divine Being ever intended to answer any purpose by means of man's transgression. 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 miracles were wrought all served and still serve to bring the object of their envy before the world of the Gentiles 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 divine 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 enquire for the meaning of the following 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 world 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 wOLRD which is according to scripture the hearer may 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 Jerusalem 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 punishment 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 unbe

lief 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 Almighty will perpetuate any sin in a future state only for the sake of tormenting his dependant offspring is dishonorable to his everblessed and gracious name. The opinion that the divine Being exercises a disposition 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 towords all his creatures, 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 finally enjoyed its blessed fruits. The same love moved our Father in heaven so to overrule circumstances as to bring Jesus to the cross by means of the blasphemy mentioned in our text, and it is evidently the revealed 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 permits 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 appears to be the true design of the text under consideration, it may be profitable to look at the com

mon opinion 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 to ever 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 cominitted 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 supposes 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 inflicted to all eternity on those blasphemers, is this exactly according to the spirit of Jesus, who on the cross, prayed; "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 spitefully and persecuted them; is it according to this spirit and disposition, that he will torment his enemies eternally in the merciless flames of fire and brimstone? If 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 reason to believe that he will consign the blasphemous Jews to never ending torment, than we have to believe that every tender, fond mother in America will at the expiration 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 un

der consideration is usually applied, duly consider the words of Jesus, to those of his disciples, 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 without fear; we may hate God, disregard his commandments, give no heed to the gospel and abuse the Saviour. 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 opposers 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 unchangeable 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 the 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 believer with love to God, and love to God is that alone which can lead us to obey him. Who then does this doctrine effect 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 miracles of mercy tended to open