judged, and that thou shouldeft give reward unto thy fervants the prophets, and to the faints, and them that fear thy name, small and great, and shouldest destroy them who deftroy (or corrupt) the earth." All the exhortations of the New Teftament go upon this fame proper christian principle.

The punishment of the wicked is alfo always reprefented as taking place at the fame time, viz. the day of judgment, and not before. Thus it is only " at the end "of the world," Matt. xiii. 14. that our Lord fays, "the Son of man fhall fend forth "his angels," when they fhall gather out "of his kingdom all things that shall offend, "and them that do iniquity, and fhall

caft them into a furnace of fire. "Then," and not before, "fhall the righteous fhine "forth as the fun, in the kingdom of "their father."

When the apoftles write to comfort the friends of deceased chriftians, they drop not the most diftant hint of their enjoying

any

any degree of happiness at prefent, which is a topic which they could not poffibly have overlooked on fuch an occafion, if they had really believed it, even though they had imagined that the refurrection was ever fo near at hand. It is plain, however, that the apostle Paul had not the notion of the refurrection being fo very near, when he wrote the Epiftle to the Theffalonians, whom he endeavours to comfort upon this occafion. For, in the fecond Epiftle, which, in this respect, is only explanatory of the former, he speaks of the rife, progress, and destruction of the man of fin, as to take place before this great event.

On the contrary, all the confolation that he has to offer, is derived from the profpect of the joyful refurrection of their deceased friends. I Theff. iv. 13. "I would not "have you to be ignorant, brethren, con

cerning them which are afleep, that ye "forrow not, even as others who have no

hope. For if we believe that Jefus died, "and rofe again, even fo them alfo who fleep in Jefus, will God bring with him.

"---Where

---Wherefore, comfort one another with "these words." The very phrase which the apoftle here makes ufe of, viz. “ fleep

ing in Jefus," clearly implies, that he had no idea of their being awake, alive, and happy.

Befides, we fee, in this very paffage, that the apoftle was apprehenfive that the perfons to whom he was writing would imagine, that they who fhould be alive at the fecond coming of Chrift, would at least have fome advantage over thofe who fhould be raised from the dead. For fo the word claTwμer ought to be rendered, and not prevent, as in our translation. This fufpicion the apostle endeavours to obviate, by fhowing that, of the two, those who had been dead would rather have the advantage of the living; fince the refurrection of the dead would precede the change that was to pass upon those who should be found alive; and this he relates, as by exprefs revelation from Christ, ver. 15. "For this we fay unto you, by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, and remain unto the coming

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"of

"of the Lord, fhall have no advantage over "them who are afleep, for---the dead in "Chrift fhall rife firft. Then we who are

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alive, and remain, fhall be caught up together with them in the clouds, &c."

Nothing can be more evident, from the confideration of the whole of this paffage, then that both the apprehenfions of the Theffalonians, and the method which the apoftle takes to filence them, go upon the fuppofition, that neither he nor they had the leaft notion of any intermediate state.

I would obferve, by the way, that by the phrafe being with Chrift, the antients never understood any degree of happiness that could be enjoyed by good men before the refurrection. For even those christians who, from their leaning to the principles of the oriental or Greek philosophy, imagined that the foul had a feparate existence, ftill fuppofed that it continued in Hades till the refurrection; and, at that time only, upon being united to the body, was taken into heaven, to be with Chrift, Indeed, our Lord

Lord himself fays, John xiv. 3. that he must come again before he can receive his difciples to himself; fo that the apoftles could not poffibly have any expectation of being with Chrift before that time.

I think it must a little embarrass the advocates for an intermediate ftate, to confider how the apostle Paul could avoid making mention of it, or alluding to it, in his long difcourfe concerning the refurrection, 1 Cor. xv. when the fubjects must be allowed to have a very near connection; or how he could represent the confequences of disbelieving the refurrection to be fo very great as he describes them; if the fouls of all good men were, immediately after death, made compleatly happy with God and Christ in heaven. On the other hand, it is plain, from the whole tenor of his writings, that neither he nor the Corinthians had any idea of fuch an intermediate ftate; fince the confequence of their error was nothing lefs. than this, that if there be no refurrection, both his preaching and their faith were altogether vain, ver. 14. "Alfo those who were "afleep