is confirmed by
the whole tenor of the preachings and writings of the Saviour and his
followers,--by the spirit of boundless benevolence, of joyful faith, of
exulting hope, which is every where blended with their emphatic warnings
of the perils of sin, and their mournful regret for the infatuation of
sinners. It appears to us that against all this array of evidence on the
one side, little or none can be adduced on the other.

That which is brought forward most frequently and with the most show of
reason is the expressions commonly translated _everlasting_, and which
are applied both to the future happiness of the righteous and misery of
the wicked. These terms (which are much less frequently applied to a
future state than is commonly supposed) do not invariably signify
'everlasting' and 'eternal,' as is evident from their being applied to
various institutions and states which have already come to an end and
passed away: as to the covenant with Abraham, which is declared to have
been long since annulled; to the priesthood of Aaron, of which no
vestiges remain; and to the flames of Gehenna, which have been quenched
for ages. The strictly correct rendering of the terms in these cases is
_permanent_, _continual_, _lasting_, and not absolutely eternal.

In order to reconcile the terms as usually rendered with the attribute
of Divine justice, some Christians have imagined that the limited
punishment of the wicked will be followed by immediate destruction; but
this supposition leaves the difficulty where it was before, and is
besides destitute of all support from reason or Scripture; as it is
incompatible with the character of the Divine dispensations that
punishment should be appointed for any but corrective purposes, or that
sin and sorrow should triumph in the annihilation of any individual of
God's creatures.

If we are asked why then we firmly believe in the immortality of the
righteous? we reply, that we found our faith on much better evidence
than the use of the terms we have now been considering. We believe it,
because the happiness of the creature is the fulfilment of the ends of
creation and providence; because happiness is an eternal principle,
while misery is only a temporary influence; and because it would argue
imperfection in the Deity, if he were either unable or unwilling to
prolong a holy and blissful existence.

This doctrine,--of the limited and corrective nature of future
punishment,--is often likened